Sex, Drugs and Literature

I went to the beach!

2010-06-08T05:20:00.000-07:00

There was seaweed. A lot of it. And it stank to high heaven. My baby Nikon died after about ten minutes of being there (I never ever remember to charge batteries!) so I only managed to get a few half-decent photos.

Rest in peace

2010-06-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

Dandelion.

2010-05-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

I took this a couple of days ago...

Do you like drinking tea?

2010-05-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

And good blogs? Check out this bad boy http://designingontea.tumblr.com/ by Chris, who did the same Foundation course as me. Us York students are amazing. End of :)

The saga of the sculpture.

2010-05-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

It begins with me skipping to college one sunny Friday morning (and I never usually go in on a Friday!) to put the finishing touches to my 9ft high masterpiece made from pastel coloured plastic balls (of the kind you find in children's ball pools) together. I spent roughly three hours completing it, picking excess glue off it, generally tidying up. I then snapped a couple of pictures on my phone and headed off - happy with the knowledge that I had finished a week before the deadline.

The following Monday I went to college armed with my trusty Nikon and decided to wait until lunchtime to capture my masterpiece in all its glory as the rooms would be quieter then... big mistake. My sculpture was stood on by someone rushing through the studio! It swayed pretty dramatically and I honestly thought that it was going to fall over - but no...it steadied itself and I examined it nervously. All seemed OK so I sat back down and continued with my sketchbook work.

Two minutes later I hear a cracking noise but no-one around me seemed to notice it. I tell myself I'm being paranoid and get back to work. I hear it again and this time Bex helpfully tells me that I'm cracking up. She shuts up pretty fast as another loud ominous crack splits the air. we all turn to look at my sculpture and notice that whilst we have been gossiping it has been doing a passable Leaning Tower of Pisa impression. And as we watch it begins to slowly lean further as a gap begins to widen near its base.

We dismantle it and I try not to worry. Its just a little crack, I'll glue it up.

But oh no, as I quickly realised when I went in two days later that because one part of my sculpture was now weaker it had collapsed in upon itself. The balls had imploded. So I essentially had to rebuild my sculpture. Steve - him of infallibly good advice - said to make the base shorter and fatter and the top a little shorter. So I followed his flawless plan and glue gunned madly, giving myself quite a nasty burn in the process. And this is the end result...I wasn't happy with it. But it was OK. I was finished a day before the deadline, which meant I could go back and refine it the next day.

On the morning of the deadline I walked into college to find this...

I honestly didn't know wether to laugh or cry at this point. I think it was only the fact that it looks very like a dick at this point that saved me from hysterics. Steve, him of astounding wisdom, offered this pearl of advice 'Stop standing there and get to work!!' Thanks Steve but I'd worked that one out for myself, I just didn't have a clue what to do. Due to its rebuilding and reworking the sculpture now obviously needed an internal structure - but I didn't have time to make one or rebuild it - with the deadline three hours away! Luckily I had my tutor Chris on hand who suggested glue gunning the top half to a wooden easel and making the bottom stretch up to meet it. He also said I should build it into a corner....for extra support. So with Bex, Anna and Zara all helping out we made a makeshift sculpture from a jigsaw of all the broken parts. I am definitely not happy with this... I was so excited and proud of the first sculpture but due to a series of accidents I think I can kiss a distinction good bye. Oh well, throughout the Foundation Year I've had fun and learnt a few important life lessons - the most important being, never listen to a man named Steve.

More from college.

2010-05-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

The last image is of one of my favourite pieces in the Fine Art room. Kathryn cut all the countries out of a large laminated map of the world and put them in a giant fish bowl full of water. The map with the cut out countries was mounted in plexi glass and displayed behind the fish bowl. When viewed from afar it was really professional looking, and when you moved nearer it was so intriguing to look into the bowl and realise what was there. I ♥ it!!

Lovely Legs!

2010-05-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Found this on Anne Berneckers site - I love this girls leggies!! Her tattoos are inspired by medieval imagery and I think they are beautiful.

Details from College!

2010-05-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Its my second to last day and I am so so so excited to finish. Its been a great year but very busy and tiring with the journey there and back very day...I will be so happy not to have any more 6:30 am starts! I've been very busy this week... my sculpture BROKE and with tomorrow being the deadline I've spent today gluegunning so much I have blisters :(

Photos of my sculpture will follow but for now here's a few pictures from today!

In a few days I'm going to go crazy.

2010-05-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

And post a whole load of my work.

Taxidermy.

2010-05-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

I'm becoming a little bit obsessed with it...however I feel ~~slightly~~ very guilty about taking pleasure in something which has encouraged so much pointless killing of animals. When researching it on the internet I always make a point to discover wether the artist uses animals that have died naturally - or were humanly put down because they were in pain. However, I do think that if the taxidermy is 'vintage' then it should be bought and enjoyed. If an animal has died to create this piece of art in years gone by then we should appreciate it. I have the same opinion on vintage fur...an animal died to create that coat!! I would never buy fur from a current designer, but I feel differently against vintage pieces. Anyway...enough of my chatter. These are vintage taxidermy pieces of rabbit sex organs.

The Idiots.

2010-05-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

This piece - entitled Ophelia - is a collaboration between Dutch artists Afke Godstelijn, Ruben Taneja and Floris Bakker. The top half of the lioness is a beautifully taxidermied piece dissolving into globules of seemingly molton gold. The lioness appears to be peacefully sleeping - perhaps insinuating that she is dissolving into a dream? Or is it a remark on the gold trade of Africa? Either way I think that this is a beautiful piece of taxidermy and indeed work of art.

Dead days.

2010-05-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

Beautiful.

2010-05-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

(PULP art book)

.

2010-05-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

It's raining it's pouring!

2010-05-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

I was poorly sick at home in bed, when I notice that it's tipping it down. So what do I do? Instead of snuggling up with a cup of tea I pull on my trusty wellington boots and head out into the back garden to take pictures of the frog-ridden pond. Complete with the obligatory plastic balls...

I'm pretty happy with these photos, I've decided that my final piece for this year isn't going to follow this line - purely because what I have planned will look better exhibited - but all of these 'ball' images are going to form a little book :)

Fuck Fashion.

2010-04-26T09:16:00.001-07:00

Lets Smoke Menthols.

Oh Alison how I love you.

Sitting in rivers in brand-new jeans!

2010-04-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

So recently I've been making hollow balls out of cling film and sellotape and floating them down rivers. This has resulting in what are some of my favourite ever photos that I've taken! I deliberately tinted them to look slightly off-coloured and am considering taking more photos with a disposable or even a polaroid camera - just because I want that 'untouched' look. It seems very relevant to me - I'm interfering with nature by placing these artificial objects into the water but then I'm documenting the process in the most lowtech way possible. I like creating art thats made with disposable items, I think it's a much more modern and relevant way of working.

I think that the top one is my favourite! I am definitely having a cheeky skive from college sometime in the near future in order to take more photos like these.

A bit of recent work.

2010-04-26T08:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not really too fond of this. I liked the idea of the body with its deformed shoulder but the physicality of it wasn't quite what I was aimed for. However, this is one of my first forages into creating a 3D piece and overall I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking of working into it further and building the shoulder up even more.

The photographs came out quite well considering it was the fuiji that I was using but again I'm not happy with them. Just didn't have the impact that I wanted.

If I could purr....

2010-04-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'd be purring right now. Actually, scratch that. I can purr! Its one of my lesser known talents. I found this on the ksubi website under their 'projects' section. Why have I never found this before? There is some killer stuff on there!

The King Blues

2010-04-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

I'd forgotten how much I loved these guys.

And these....today has been a good music day!

I'm sorry :(

2010-03-19T01:31:00.000-07:00

That I've been neglecting my little blog. I feel a bit like a bad parent, I don't even have a half decent excuse other than it's been a stressful couple of weeks. Then today its my day off and I've woken up at half past seven and decided that today is going to be a productive day! I don't really know if blogging counts as being productive but ah well c'est la vie!

I found this on http://www.gnarlitude.com/... amazing blog, I love it to bits. Anyway I'm not really interested in Urban Outfitters Back Lot Performances (whatever they are) I just liked the jumbled up phrase that made up the flyer/poster. Its being jotted down in a notebook as I type for future use.

Sick.

2010-03-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

(Image courtesy of gnarlitude.com)

I love it. What a statement.

This may not be permanent....

2010-03-07T11:04:00.001-08:00

But I just joined Formspring! Ask away...

http://www.formspring.me/becqui

xxx

Hello March!!

2010-03-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

I love this Tom Ford Eyewear advert. Glasses are Sexy. End of.

Yet more dolls....

2010-02-22T09:55:00.000-08:00

After the fiasco that was Leeds I decided that I'd better get a shibby on with some more work before my Manchester Interview (if I get one...fingers crossed!) so I took some photos of the dolls I've made in a Hans-Bellmerish way. I would post more images but Glee is calling me, so here's my favourite one of the day!

So I had an interview...

2010-02-19T06:14:00.000-08:00

...at Leeds Met. during which my interviewer said I couldn't draw, didn't like my photography and rejected everything that wasn't drawing or painting. We then argued over whether or not I was a feminist. I think it went quite well don't you?

I've decided who to do my essay on....

2010-02-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

Cindy Sherman - she's most widely known for her Untitled Film Stills, in which she photographs herself portraying various female stereotypes from 50's B-list Hollywood movies. However I find her later work more interesting, such as these also Untitled images which have become known as 'Sex Pictures'. Sherman wanted to explore how women are depicted in pornography, how they are objectified and placed on screen. By replacing women with these prosthetic dummies and body parts the images are no less shocking but instead they disgust the viewer - a conflict with the idea of pornography which needs to hold a persons gaze in order to succeed.

Pin-up tattoos and ukuleles.

2010-02-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

These images are all from a pin-up blog I found....I'm sorry I can't remember the exact address! I have always loved pin-up tattoos - especially sailors and pirate girls, there's a lovely old man named 'Leggy' who lives a few streets down from me with boobs out pin-ups all up and down his arms and I think he looks pretty awesome. (He also drives around in a beat up pick-up truck and owns about 24 dogs - a real character). My favourite is the very top one, a beautiful lady tattooed on a lady! I love the irony of pin-up girls tattooed on women - I wish I was brave enough!

Now for the ukuleles... I had what was possibly the best dream of my life last night. In it I learnt how to play the song 'Louie Louie' - Toots and the Maytals version - on my brothers ukulele and decided it was a wise idea to play (and sing) it at a pub in town... in my dream this didn't go down to well with my friends. I then decided to play 'I Fought the Law...' by The Clash and dance around pretty manically to cheer them up. It didn't work so they took to ingesting large qualities of illegal substances. We then all wandered along to Aspire, me carting along the ukulele - wheedled our way past the bouncers then proceeded to get kicked out. Words can't describe what an amazing dream it was. Fear and Loathing in Thirsk.

Alison Mosshart.

2010-02-13T05:41:00.000-08:00

I have always loved Mosshart's style I think she's the perfect blend of rock and roll edgy chic. The first picture is my favourite, I think I actually may have to copy that outfit.....

Manchester Blog.

2010-02-05T06:10:00.001-08:00

Done and Dusted! Wahey! Here's the link if any of you want to see what I'm sending them.

http://1060598384.blogspot.com/

Manchester Blog.

2010-02-02T03:29:00.000-08:00

I've applied to Manchester Met to do Fine Art next year, and before you get invited for an interview you have to create a "digital portfolio" in the form of a blog. I'm currently setting mine up, I will post the link to it when I'm finished so you can see the work I'm submitting. But for now, here's a few bits and pieces.

Coleurr.

2010-01-30T03:20:00.000-08:00

Is a pretty sweet blog by Waudby - a guy from college who randomly knows a few people from the little town of Thirsk. If you like graphics and BMX-ing then this is one for you :)

EDIT: silly me - forgot the link http://coleurr.wordpress.com/

No time to play with dolls.

2010-01-30T02:53:00.000-08:00

Margaux Lange's jewellery is for all of those who still love Barbies as they did when they were children. I think the jewellery is so fun, especially the one with Ken kissing Barbie - it would have pride of place around my neck anyday! However, it is a tad macabre and it kind of reminds me of the kid in Toy Story who chopped all his toys up!! I still love it though.

Back when it all began...

2010-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

...I was a regular Frankie Fan. If you have never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show then I urge you too, I absolutely love it. Its a crazy musical that pokes fun at itself with a plot line that includes aliens, transvestites, rock 'n' roll groupies and a soon-to-be-married couple. The costumes are outrageous - my favourite is Columbia's (pictured middle) who wears head to toe sequins, glittering tapshoes and baby blue ankle socks :)

Awwwwh.

2010-01-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

I found this on one of my favourite websites www.woostercollective.com and I just think its adorable! I love massive works like this, it just looks like a giant has casually doodled it onto the building. The artist is called Roa, he comes from Belgium and from what I've seen loves to create these massive quirky animals!

Tattoo Or Not To?

2010-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

I can't remember where I found this picture or even who its of, but I really like her tattoo. I've been toying with the idea of getting a feather tattoo for ages then saw this girl's feather and loved the placement - the feather not so much. However, recently I've been thinking about getting some text in a similar placement, high up on my ribs I know its a bit cliché but I've always thought tattoos like that look good. But then I'm not sure what text to get.... decisions decisions....

The Beautiful City Of York.

2010-01-19T13:52:00.000-08:00

Me and the boyfriend took these in York a couple of months ago for my Graphics project at college, it was a beautiful morning and the light was just perfect. Matt also turned out to have a surprisingly good eye for photography considering he is the most un-arty person ever!

On a different note - I went for an interview at De Montfort University in Leicester yesterday and they offered me a place! So happy, it's not my first choice but its nice to know that somewhere wants me!

Vogue November 2007

2010-01-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite ever editorials. I love Debbie Harry (aka Blondie) and her sense of style - and I think Sophie Dahl is absolutely stunning. So combine the two et voilà! Perfect! I think my favourite shot is the cover image, I just love her make-up. I really like her hair in this, I've always been a fan of bright blonde, I just wish I could get mine all sexy and tousled like hers! Plus although you can definitely tell she needs her roots doing I think it just adds to the rock n' roll feel of the shoot.

Whilst on the subject..

2010-01-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

...of Art. Here's a few pictures of the piece I did last year for my A level exam.

Art.

2010-01-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

I should really be sorting out my portfolio at the moment (I have my first interview on Monday eeeeek!) but instead I'm thinking about the essay we got set in Art History today. we have to write 2000 words on our "artist" of choice ie. painter/sculptor/fashion designer ect.

So I've been mulling over who to write about, and at the moment these are the top contenders.

Hans Bellmer.

Tim Walker.

Swoon.

Banksy.

Helmut Newton.

Quentin Tarantino

Ok so whilst Tanrantino might not be considered an "artist" I'm sure I can make up an argument for using him, I just love Tanrantino and Pulp Fiction and I know my Art History tutor does too!

I'm in love!

2010-01-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

With these beauties - Skittles boots by Carvela! In my favourite colour as well!

From ages ago.

2010-01-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

These are some shots of graffiti I took in London - taken agggesssss ago, I think about a year and a half?! I can't remember exactly where they're from, a couple are from a skate park on the banks of the Thames. One of my big obsessions is graffiti and visiting places like this where I can see such amazing work is somthing I love to do :).

Here's something to give you nightmares...

2010-01-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

This creepy little dolly is part of my current project. I took this with a shitty digital camera as my nikon is still on the rocks - add a bit of photo-shopping et volia!

The view from my bathroom window.

2010-01-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

This was taken back in summer, I just thought the lighting was pretty sweet so I'm sharing it.

Today...

2010-01-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

Me, Miss Fenwick and my lovely boyfriend created a new sport - Extreme Sledging!! We went up on the moors and the snow was almost knee deep everywhere...we abandoned Fenwick's car at the bottom of a hill as we could not get up it, and walked into this massive sloping field where the snow was pristine. I felt a little bit guilty for walking across it and spoiling it. Then we found this steep bumpy slope and tried sledging down it - the first few goes were a bit of a fail as the sledges scooped up the snow and you ended up covered in it! But once we'd kind of made a rough track down it got loads better, although the bumps threw me out a few times! The funniest moment had to be Fenwick going down on her circular sandbox lid which swivelled as she went down so she was facing backwards before snapping as she went over a bump so she ended up flying in the air and landing on her bum covered in snow! Before long we were all pretty soaking and cold so we went back to the car, however when we got there we discovered that by abandoning it we had also got it stuck in the snow :(. After pushing it out we went to Wetherspoons for a humongous burger and a hot chocolate that was mostly cream.

All in all - much better than going to college!

Perfect.

2010-01-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

(Image by Jak and Jil)

Never really been a fan of this whole oversized-armholes-with-bra-on-show look, to be honest I think it makes most people look like a bit of a prick with their usually nasty bras on show. However, I love this top! The higher neckline stops it from looking too slutty, the drape is just right and the bra is a lovely sequined number. Alright, alright I know sequins = tacky but i think these are NICE sequins, by which I mean their a nice colour, not too sparkly and brash.

Vivienne Westwood.

2010-01-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

These are some really old pictures from a Vivienne Westwood exhibition I went to in Sheffield. It was so inspiring, if you have never looked up her work then you really should - the range in the designs is like no other (although I am a tad biased as she has been my favourite designer since I was old enough to understand such things). I particularly love this "gay cowboys" t-shirt it makes me giggle way too much!

Probably...

2010-01-05T12:01:00.000-08:00

...the first half decent photo I ever took. I was just messing around with some friends and took this on the shittiest digital camera you can imagine. But I quite liked it, and from then onwards have become ever more interested in photography. No deep reason, no child prodigy... I just like taking pictures.

my poor little Nikon...

2010-01-03T13:42:00.001-08:00

Is dead for now, so I'm reduced to using my Fuji S7000 which I have never got along with. I've been trying to take some close-ups of Barbie dolls to go in my sketchbook but I'm really not happy with them, ah well...

They looked lovely and crisp on the camera, but once they're uploaded they look a lot blurrier - it's a problem I've always had with my Fuji - along with the colour temperature - hence why these are in black and white.

Surrealism.

2010-01-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

This film is AMAZING, the strangest thing i have ever seen but I LOVED it. And how amazing does machine-gun girl look? Kind of reminds me of a Hans Bellmer doll.

Have just been invited to go for tea at a friends - enchiladas yum yum! I'm looking forward to the food but also because I can hopefully pick her brains about HTML and how to make this little blog look good! I am so un-technological, but I am trying to learn.

First Post.

2010-01-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

Should probably be something amazing and original, but right now I'm trying to find my way around this blog! So erm, here's a photo of the snow outside.