MOXVOX

One week ago today I went to bed early, so that I could awaken at 2.45am, dress and make my way to ‘THE BASE’, Spencer Tunick’s latest installation. It took place on the steps of the opera house forecourt as well as inside the concert hall.
I still feel extremely priviledged and lucky to have been involved. It was truly a profound experience. People came from all walks of life and in all shapes and sizes, although as soon as they got their kit off, none of this mattered. In the mass naked sea of people, no-one could judge each other, we all had our flaws, we were all completely vulnerable. But as soon as we all removed our clothes, it was as though the taboo of nakedness was also removed. Clothing suddenly seemed heavy, the simple act of dressing yourself each day seemed like it was a burden. I had always believed that self expression through fashion was very important, now my thoughts were being challenged. What we chose to wear each day is so much more than just self expression. Like armour, it protects us, what we wear affects how people may see us, how others may judge us. Whether or not we wish to blend in or make a statement, express our personality or pretend to be something we are not…there are soo many layers to why we wear what we wear. And even though I will not stop expressing myself by means of fashion, I will never forget the liberating feeling of being naked (and I am not entirely sure if this same feeling will be achievable again, as I can only imagine a nudist beach or resort when no doubt have some kind of sleazy element to it)…it transcending the physical act so to speak….for 3 hours I was not bound by any notion of what others might think of me or the need armour myself. Fear is definitely conquered when you allow yourself to be vulnerable…….

I like letters.
What can I say…words and the alphabet appeal to me. In my creativity I have always incorporated some kind of typography or written word of some kind. Maybe its charm is the nostalgia I feel about first learning to read and write, fond memories of watching Sesame Street and using my Sentence Maker at school.

Even now as an artist and designer text and lettering features in my work.

At University I was always challenged by lecturers to explain why I used text and words in my art. I guess only recently has it really really made any sense. Before you can read and write, your world is made up entirely by images, sounds and feelings. So for me the appeal with typograghy and letters comes from that intial recognition of the shape and beauty of words. Some letters are more appealling than others and this can obviously be said about words also. Then introduce the vast array of fonts and you can see how I am in heaven ;]

Anyway…needless to say I was excited and beside myself to find these two cookie cutters out there in the interwebs.

WANT WANT WANT!!

Ok firstly we have these Helvetic cookie cutters and although they are not in production yet, I think  Beverley Hsu is pretty cool to have come up with them. Her calendar is quite nice too!

Luck for me the second beauty is alive and kicking in the world of online sales.  Message-in-a-Cookie sets are available at Williams-Sonoma exclusively

Make your own messages – more than awesome!! It’s awesome+awesome=AWESOMER

and when these babies arrive in my mailbox…first thing I will be doing with them is making these…. (oh!! and some french swearing ones also ;] )

I am a firm believer in everyone possessing the ability to draw. We all start off as small children having an innocent and free spirit with mark making…It’s primal. Mankind has always done it. The older we get the more we get told we either have talent or we don’t…so chances are that if you were told throughout school that your drawings suck, you probably stopped drawing. But…just think of the amazing artists that ignored this criticism.Your marks on paper are unique..it’s not about confirming…it’s about expression. Yeah OK there are other ways to express yourself…of course…but making mark on paper is a simple thing we can all do daily.

I while ago I started a daily doodle thing…but I guess it was not really that structured and I kinda lost direction. Here are 3 daily doodle projects I think are really inspiring…

Lunch Bag Art A dad draws on a brown paper bag daily for his kids!!

Awesome!

Postcards to my Parents -  Carolyn Sewell of Pedestrian Typography has started a project as an anniversary present to her parents. Everyday she sends them a new postcard that she has doodled. Love it!

Natalie of Definatalie.com offers her monthly desktop calendar for free download

and here is a little doodle project via twitter LUNCHDOODLE doodle during lunch and tweet it!

So whatcha waiting for…grab a pen and get doodling!!

Amazingly detailed stencil art from Evoltaste.com of Berlin. Awesome, awesome, awesome!! I am currently in awe of this guys stencilling. I love the detail and the way in which he makes boxes of all kinds into buildings. I came across this work after seeing a post a friend had made on Facebook. Check out his flickr photostream here. Below is the finished piece.

I just discovered this amazing project by artists Lenka Clayton & Michael Crowe

In April 2009, they sent 467 personal, handwritten letters to every household of Cushendall. In the hope of prompting neighbourly discussion and curiousity. It made it to the news and you can watch the video.Each and every memeber of the small irish village received their letter on the same day. Nice!

Mysterious Letters

I am currently studying french online. It is a challenge, but I am really enjoying it. I am also thinking of doing one of these courses on DESIGN BOOM.

Design Aerobics:
Courses 2009
30 lessons are published online over the duration of the course allowing you to study from
wherever you like – whenever you like. participants also have access to the ‘discussion area’
a blog / forum where lessons and other topics can be discussed with an international audience
of designers, architects, and numerous other backgrounds.

Paper:beyond a writing surface, paper can be used for so much more. furniture, lighting, packaging – from the planning stages to finished works,we will explore the infinite possibilities of this material…

Food: from its packaging to the surroundings in which it’s consumed and everything
in between. this course gives you a good taste of design in the food sector.

Now to choose!!

Today I went to see a few exhibitions which were part of SYDNEY DESIGN 09.
There was some really awesome stuff. I really enjoyed some of the pieces at the Saatchi & Saatchi gallery and also the EYESAW 09 street art in Omnibus Lane.

I still need to upload all the photos….but here is the fav of the day

Oh and did I mention: for lunch we had dumplings to die for!!