This is a call for expressions of interest from artists and designers in the UK for a residency programme based at Headspace studio and art gallery in Nara, Japan. Headspace is the beautiful brainchild of two Brits: Brighton and RCA-trained digital artist Jamie Goodenough and linguist-musician-artist-whatever Lee Walton.

The month-long residency is funded in part by the Daiwa Foundation and will be packed with opportunities to experience Japanese culture on many levels. Along with exhibiting in both the Headspace studio and other venues, the residency artists will be able to tap into the rich underground arts and music scene of the area, collaborate with local Japanese artists and get involved with other HeadSpace events and festivals. The programme aims to provide a ‘blank canvas’ for artists and designers to react to their experience of Japan by whatever means necessary!

The busy yet relaxed Headspace studio was inaugurated in 2009 and is a flexible working space that provides both opportunity for engagement and a venue for some serious work. It’s variously the home of Jamie’s design company, Headfull Productions; the events space for Lee’s bar, MR.Q; a gallery and events space as well as the location for the artists’ residency programme.

Jamie and Lee are not only focused on creating a ‘scene’ outside the well-stomped international art grounds of Osaka and Tokyo, but also bringing in artists and designers of all disciplines from the UK to make work in response to Japanese culture and fertilise some interesting cross-cultural collaborations.

Set up earlier in 2010, the residency programme has already enjoyed the madcap stay of visionary painter and illustrator David Shillinglaw and the junk suit antics of Josephine Dimbleby (erm, me…) and will shortly be hosting sculptor Ellie Doney, whose graduation show from the RCA Ceramics and Glass course in May left witnesses drooling.

If you’re keen, for more information, contact Jamie and Lee at info@headspace.com

or check out their website for more details and the online application form: http://www.headspace.jp/en/residency/residency-requirements/

I’m passionate about the value of creative expression to a fulfilling and fulfilled life for everyone. So often I am told ‘I’m not creative’ by adults who shut down their aptitude for creative play a long time ago when ‘art’ became a subject in the school curriculum they would have to be ‘good at’ as opposed to a medium for communication of thoughts, ideas, perceptions. In my experience most people when given half a chance to try, will surprise themselves at what they can create. Sunday Crafternoons are designed to encourage adults to bring out the dormant inner child within and resuscitate the enjoyment of play with art and crafts.

The first Sunday Crafternoon took place on Sunday 10 April at a community venue in Saltdean overlooking the sea. I was inspired by a painting by Oliver Kilbourn (a pitman painter) of women sitting around a kitchen table making a northern ‘proddy mat’ to generate a community of women to come together to participate in a creative project and invited a handful of women to knit, crochet, collage, make poetry, paint and – for fun – attempt origami. Materials were provided as was instruction and suggestions for mini projects: the women were invited to learn to knit and crochet by making 8 inch squares to be sent off to South Africa to be made into blankets for abandoned children and AIDS orphans (knit-a-square.com); experienced knitters tackled knitted hearts from a pattern downloaded from The Children’s Society’s website (childrenssociety.org.uk/bigstitch).

The afternoon kicked off with a ‘share and tell’ – everyone was invited to bring something either they had made themselves or something handmade which

they found inspiring. Lisa stunned everyone with her beautiful intricate embroidery, Jenny brought homemade pickle, Helen brought out a patchwork quilt which her grandmother had made and recounted memories engendered by some of the fabrics – her old green and white candystriped school dress had been cut up for squares – and Helen also shared a crocheted cover she had made for her parents’ wedding anniversary one year. Catherine brought handknitted socks and a collection of poetry containing one of her poems in print. Lotus used the event as an opportunity to get back into her watercolour painting, bringing with her an easel and canvas – she has been setting aside time in the week to paint ever since and maintains that the Crafternoon was an important support to this routine. Lynne left the event with enthusiasm for getting back into her lapsed hobby of leatherwork.

Catherine had provided home made cakes and these were served with tea. Leisa Brown, natural health practitioner (Highfields Natural Health), brought with her a massage chair and oils and relaxing music and pampered everyone who took advantage of her offer of a free mini-massage. These went down a treat and Leisa’s diary bore a few new bookings by the time she left the party.

Every one expressed that they had enjoyed taking ‘me time’ to make something. In many cases they had surprised themselves at what they had produced and the satisfaction they had taken to do so; some of the women who work together and thought they knew each other were surprised at what they hadn’t known which they learned as a result of the show and tell activity. Rumour has it that there has been a shift in the teatime gossip at work to discussions concerning needlework projects.

Invited to feed back her appraisal of the Crafternoon, Vicki wrote that the afternoon was ‘An opportunity for me to do something for myself and meet some lovely and inspiring people’. My intention to provide a nurturing space for women to express themselves was a success and my claim that ‘everyone is creative’ gained a few more adherents.

A Sunday Crafternoon is being planned for September. Follow me on twitter at @youarecreative to receive details of this and other community creative projects I am hosting in 2010.

There’s nothing I love more than browsing the pages of design magazines – Elle Decoration, World of Interiors, Homes and Gardens etc. I also love to flick through Country Living and Country homes and interiors. I often come across images that I just adore – whether it’s a cushion, a lamp, a vase of flowers. Last year (there was a period of time when I had a LOT of time on my hands) I went through the magazines cutting out anything that caught my eye. Since then I have occasionally got this folder out and used the cuttings to create cards for friends. It’s cheap, it’s personal and scores a LOT of brownie points!

I was really interested when I found out about Rosie Granger who has been making collages for six years. ‘I’ve always been a collector of interesting bits & bobs – pictures from newspapers & magazines, old labels, tickets, scraps of tissue-paper and lovely vintage paper…’ explains Rosie (to my delight!) ‘and I have a couple of books full of words I’ve ‘collected’ – lyrics, or passages from books & quotes which I use in my artwork’.

Her artwork has a real retro, nostalgic and idyllic feel to it. ‘I love the style of the ’40s and ’50s’ says Rosie. ‘The fashion, design and the music’. ‘And things of a quite utilitarian nature really capture my attention, so I often use pictures of vintage radios, telephones and clocks in my collages’.

Rosie came to Brighton in 1989 to study Art History at Sussex and, like many, stayed on in Brighton after graduating. At that time Rosie’s artwork took an illustrative style using pen & watercolour. She sold paintings & handmade cards through Brighton outlets and had a market stall once a week.

Rosie tells me how she gradually moved away from drawing and painting as a result of the demands of a young family. ‘I started making these collage-pieces about 6 years ago, as birthday cards for friends and family’ she explains ‘I think my two daughters have had an influence too, with butterflies, flowers and glitter also featuring, these days!’

Polly from ‘Cross Street Press’ (who I will also be featuring on the blog) encouraged Rosie to come up with a few collage pieces to frame and show alongside her lino-cuts. The originals and some Limited Edition giclee prints are on sale in Brighton in the Frame Factory www.frame-factory.co.uk where Rosie works part-time as a picture framer.

By Helen Ruff

Sara Norwood creates wall art, cushions and accessories. Her work blurs the boundaries between textile design and illustration. Here is the recipe for her particular style:

- A teaspoon of narrative

- A dash of novelty

- A pinch of interactiveness

- A small portion of humour

- A tablespoon of imagination

- A large tablespoon of fun
Sara’s ethos is to create art and articles in the most eco friendly ways as possible and inject them with humour and imagination. Having always been fascinated by animals they regularly appear in Sara’s work, as do street scenes, often of Brighton and sometimes the two combine to tell a story.

I really love the fact that Sara uses vintage fabrics as the backing for her cushions!

‘My work is inspired essentially by everything around me’ explains Sara ‘I am a bit of a big kid and love anything a bit magical or off-beat’. She tells me fairytales and folktales often inspire her as well as graphics and illustration. ‘I love the imagery of 1970′s craftbooks, as well as funky vintage fabrics and Scandinavian textile design. I am also a huge fan of Japanese craft, design and Kawaii culture’.

Before settling on textiles Sara turned her hand to varied creative pursuits – from graphic design to pottery (!) but drawing has always been her main passion. She holds a first class honours degree in Surface and Textile Design and is a member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen, a prestigious association for designer-makers founded in 1887 by William Morris and Walter Crane.

Originally from London Sara moved to Brighton with her family when she was 12 ‘I love Brighton’s laid back quirky atmosphere’ says Sara ‘and the fact that there are all walks of life here. You never know what you’re going to see next, you can be walking along the road and see someone dressed up as an enormous white rabbit and not even turn your head…..in this way, living in Brighton very much inspires my work!’

Sara’s work can be viewed and purchased via her website www.saranorwood.co.uk, at Pebbles Homestyle & Gift Store, 86 High Street, Rottingdean and Pardon My French!, 15 St George’s Road, Kemp Town. She is happy to undertake commissions – perhaps you would like a personalised accessory or art piece, incorporating your pet or street into a design…..

By Helen Ruff

If you’ve lived in Brighton for any length of time then you’ll surely have seen the bright flashes of colour and iconic graphics that announce the retro-futuro work of artist Pinky. A big fish in our little pond, he’s been exhibiting work for around seven years now, included solo and group shows in London, Berlin, Seattle, Manchester and Amsterdam.

What’s your earliest recollection of drawing or painting?

As a kid I loved comic books and cartoons, anything drawn with a fat black outline. I soon started copying them and making my own weird little comics.

How did your current style develop?

The icons I use come from the need to tell stories and narratives. Simple but powerful messages can be told with the Skull, the Owl, The Apple, The Pyramid, The Eye, Heads. The abstract work is a contrast to that… hopefully letting people see the wonder in the random, the chaos, the patterns and colours of life.

What’s your favourite piece from the last year?

Hmm. Well, I’ve done so much in the last year it’s hard to say… I’ve really enjoyed painting BIG again. ‘HEAD’, the group show I curated at the Prescription Art Gallery in the old Music Library was a real highlight. I painted a huge radiating sun beaming down on the good people of Brighton in the middle of the bleakest winter in years. Seeing people’s reaction to that was amazing… they were freaking out!

Who, where or what influences you?

Who… The work of other artists I know and love. Where… Brighton, St Ives, New Mexico, Hull, California – all places that have crept into my soul and exploded in my artwork. What… pattern, colour, shape, form. Getting wiggy, getting wild, getting precise, getting abstract, getting into it, living a free life, free expression, love, peace, unity and fun, fun, fun.

Do you have a muse?

Lonny Pop is my muse, she’s a writer and poet. She has a true eye, without her I’d be swimming in world of half baked thoughts and ideas.

Can you give any clues as to where your work is heading?

Right now, it’s heading in a more abstract direction. I’ve always been into colour and pattern and it seems to feel right to follow that path at the moment. Saying that, next week I might feel like drawing something more recognisable.

The big news: I’ve just been selected to create a huge public art piece that will take up a whole street right in the middle of Hull! It’s a really exciting development for me. It’ll be seen by thousands of people from all over the world as it’s being done to coincide with the return to Hull of the Clipper Round the world race in June! I’ll be hanging huge banners across the street and filling the windows of the shops with my art.

I have a solo show coming up in Amsterdam this summer and a piece in group show at the Grass Hut in Portland, USA. Oh and I just had a print selected by the V&A’s Word & Image Department that will be touring the country as part of a major exhibition in 2011/2012. I’ve been invited to be in several books this year including a Street Art colouring book, so keep an eye out for that nearer to Christmas. Things are looking up!

Do you produce work to commission?

I have done work to commission… the odd painting or papercut. My papercuts are always popular. Ink_D in Brighton have a range of my original artworks for sale. Recently I’ve been working on a lot of tee shirt designs for a range of clients including Levi’s (an artist led range out this summer) and a really cool US skate label Altamont Apparel. I also have small originals artworks and a large range of limited edition screen prints available on my website: www.pinkyvision.com

Written by Jo Dimbleby

Ooooh exciting! Do you remember Fimo? I used to love it! Moulding those coloured bits of plasticiny goodness, waiting for it to dry and then varnishing it! I also harbour a secret passion for cake and anything miniature such as dolls houses and dolls furniture… So imagine my excitement when I came across Mini Patisserie who like to make miniature food and turn it into jewellery!

The products include Marshmallow Flump Earrings, Banoffee Pie Necklace and the Jam Sandwich biscuit ring!

Alice runs the Mini Patisserie shop on Etsy and her sister Caroline makes all the miniature goodies. She has been making these sweet (in the cute sense) sweets for a couple of years since her neighbour commissioned her to make some small cakes for her daughter’s dolls for Christmas. Her passion for miniature startedwhen she was a child ‘I used to make small items for my Sylvanian Families and once I made a mini body shop with hundreds of little bottles of shampoo!’.

I asked Caroline how she comes up with her ideas and where she gets her inspiration. She tells me ‘I Google the word cake quite a lot’ and ‘I look in cake shops and take pictures of them when no-one’s looking’!!

Caroline, who is originally from Brighton, has followed her passion and is self taught in the design department. She has a ‘Master of Research’ degree in Genetics!

Her designs are sold via Etsy www.etsy.com/shop/itstimefortea and at the IO Gallery in the North Laines.

You can read the Mini Patisserie blog here http://minipatisserie.blogspot.com/ which details Mini Patisseries love of full size patisseries and they recommend some good Local places to visit for exceptional cakes (the pictures are mouth watering!)

By Helen Ruff

I came across Polly Sadourian Linocuts while browsing on the internet and I didn’t really know what a linocut was. I’m learning so much about design techniques!

Basically lino printing or lino cutting involves transferring a design onto a lino block. The block is then hand carved and the areas that remain are inked and printed onto fabric or paper.

Polly’s lino prints are sold as images to be framed and greetings cards. They feature all kinds of images – from hearts, to teacups, doves, tee shirts and socks! Polly tells me her ideas come from all kinds of sources and things catch her eye all the time – colour combinations, patterns in magazines, descriptions in books.

‘Films seem to contain lots of things that inspire me’ says Polly ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ had some lovely fabrics that gave me some good ideas for colour combinations and I saw Alice in Wonderland recently which gave me the idea for a new linocut ‘Curiouser & Curiouser’ which I’m working on at the moment’.

Polly is originally from an Art History background but has done practical courses along the way from adult education classes to the beginnings of a part-time degree in fine art. ‘Basically I just can’t get enough of making and have always been like that!’ she says.

Originally from Bethnal Green, South London Polly moved to Brighton with her husband 7 years ago. ‘I love the sea and the fact that everyone uses it – it can be a really wet and windy day but you’ll always get people down on the promenade just watching the waves’.

She goes onto explain more about her love for Brighton: ‘I love the vibrancy, particularly the North Laines where you see so many different types of people. It’s not unusual to see someone dressed as thought they’ve just walked out of the 1940’s in full 1940’s dress including a vintage bicycle’.

Polly sells her work through the Frame Factory in Sydney Street in the North Laines as well as through www.etsy.com/shop/CrossStreetPress?page=1

By Helen Ruff

Sarah Meredith has been dedicated to the art and craft of jewellery making since she was 16. After gaining a degree in metal work and jewellery design at Buckinghamshire University College, Meredith went on to work for various jewellery designers before starting her own jewellery business – ‘Rock Cakes’ in 2005.

Rock Cakes is home to an array of unusual and precious pieces. There is something for all ages, with cute silver ice cream cornet sundae pendants in the ‘Tuck Shop’ collection to an opulent black diamond ring in the ‘Grown up’ collection. Rock Cakes is no ‘run of the mill’ jewellers, it is extremely fun, and you are guaranteed to find a piece which is like no other.

My favourite collection is the ‘Proverbial’ collection. Based on everyday sayings, there are ‘In one ear and out the other’ earrings, consisting of two silver arrows, and ‘Every Cloud’ bracelets and necklaces – incredibly cute cloud shapes created from silver, linked together , with the option of diamonds for added sparkle.

With several collections, there really is something for everyone. The collections are fun and varied, with names such as ‘The Garden’ to ‘Brick a Brack’ to ‘Nightmares’! If there is something you are after which is not already listed, Rock Cakes welcomes commissions, and will create a piece of jewellery that really has your own stamp on it.

Meredith takes inspiration from her own surroundings, and can be found wandering around with her camera, looking for ideas that she can translate into jewellery. It is this ability to think outside the box which really makes her pieces stand out.

With a baby on the way (congrats!) Meredith is busy concentrating on Valentines Day, Halloween and Christmas pieces, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. If you are looking for an engagement or wedding ring for a spouse, a cute necklace for a friend, something with studs and skulls for your kid brother’s birthday, an unusual pendant for yourself, or a sophisticated string of pearls for your Mum, then you can be sure to find just what you are looking for at Rock Cakes.

Hannah Bradbury

The Heated has a new design! Inspired by a quote from the recent house tour over at Apartment Therapy.
You can find it here

As we know, I usually like to write about quaint, kitsch products – anything featuring teacups, cakes, florals – I’m your girl! But I’ve come across Flood The Valley and it’s totally the other end of the scale – harsh and brutal! But I like it because it’s unique. It’s kind of iconic in a very British way and the artist’s style really comes across.

Their work is based upon well known brands – the logos and words changed to give them a whole new meaning. i.e. the blue and white ‘Boots’ logo stenciled onto canvas and amended to read ‘Botox’. The iconic ‘Little Chef’ logo now reads ‘Little Chav’. The happy smiling face has been changed to look slightly menacing and a Burberry cap takes pride of place on the platter!

The ‘Ikea’ logo has been changed to read ‘Unklea’ and the image shows flatpack instructions of how to build stocks.

‘Killer Surprise’ is a play on the ‘Kinder Egg’ and ‘Air Raid Sirens’ takes off the retro ‘Sun Maid Raisons’.

All these iconic images are sold as limited edition screen prints for £49 + £10 postage and packaging and original work is sold for hundreds. The ‘Aah Castro’ stencil on canvas (Bisto meets Fidel)) is a snip at £359. Work can be viewed and purchased via the website www.floodthevalley.com

So who are Flood The Valley? They are Brighton based boys with an air of mystery. In my research I found the following quote on www.duck-artshop.com and thought it did a fantastic job summing up this duo: “Fuelled by a love of clever design and a mischievous sense of anarchy, Flood The Valley create twisted iconic images using wordplays, juxtapositions and a healthy contempt for corporate values and cultural stereotypes. Flood The Valley are what art should be about. True pop contemporary art.”

Given their air of mystery I was very lucky to speak to Jim (one half of Flood The Valley) and here’s some snippets of information straight from the horses mouth:

- ‘We came up with the idea for flood the valley while sat in a greasy spoon cafe called the saucy chef’.

- ‘We first started out at Camden market selling t shirts and hoodies’.

- ‘We have had a stall at 2 Glastonbury festivals selling t-shirts and artwork’.

- ‘We don’t like to get too opinionated with our pictures, more that we give the viewer enough rope to hang themselves if they wish’.

- ‘Artist ‘word to mother’ painted our shop wall’.

He also told me about the shop/gallery space they had in the lanes for 6 months ‘local street artists would drop by for our big paint sessions in the evening at the shop. Most of what was made was donated and then sold the very next day, the proceeds went to cover the rent’.

Flood The Valley are very ‘Brighton’. They had an exhibition at XUMA at Seven Dials and they were part of ‘Renegade Potters Extreme Craft’ at the North Road ‘Ink D’ gallery. But they are also big on the London scene – they have exhibited at ‘Situation’ in Clapham, they were part of a live art festival at Trafalgar Square and they’re looking to do another exhibition in London this summer.

So look out for them! www.floodthevalley.com

By Helen Ruff