10 Things I Love - Artist Edition part 2

Hot on the heels of CAB, I thought I would do another round of 10 Things I Love- Artist Edition, which gets quite a few hits on my blog. I guess people are always on the look out for new art, and I am most happy to oblige, having come across quite a few new artists on pinterest and etsy recently.

1. Cate Parr
Cate's women are feminine and bold, colourful and intricate; the sweep of an eyelash, the swirl of a dress, all captured in watercolour.

2. Valentina
Love, love this artist, who I happened upon by chance on flickr. Quirky and so impressively detailed.

3.  Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
I actually founds these illustrations here, on Illustration Art, a lovely blog in itself if you're interested in art and history. But let's talk about these leaves for a minutes. So enchanting, with the twists and curls captured in lovely pencil sketches.

4. Kelly Tankersley
Mixed media art here, using multiple techniques: handmade paper, photography and a process called solar plate etching (hope this link provides the correct explanation). Love the use of nature and symbolism in art.

 5. Claire Brewster
The art is created within and out of maps, the results which are these delicate and detailed structures.

"My work for me is about catching a mood and a moment and trying to represent it. It's an ethereal thing, which is why nature appeals to me because though we try to understand it, we never really can, something that as you try to grasp it always slips through your fingers"  (from here)

6. Filipe Gouvea
Ink, more ink and some watercolour. Gorgeous. 

7. Jessica Durrant
Jessica does both  fashion and travel illustrations, which I find equally lovely.

"I find that I love how fluid, striking, beautiful and chaotic watercolors can be. I like to break people’s misperception that watercolors are always painted in a muted, earth tone palette. You have to give up a bit of control when you work in watercolors, and I love that aspect of it. As in all art, sometimes you have to let loose!" (from here)

8. Olaf Hajek
I'm conflicted about these pieces mostlly because of all the imagery and themes going on in it. I feel like there are messages I'm not quite getting and some of the images are slightly creepy in their own way. I can't deny, however, that they are compelling pieces.

9. Paula Mills
I love the various techniques and processes involved in Paula's work. No two images are ever quite the same, and it feels like she's always experimenting and trying something new with each piece.

10. Isuri
This post wouldn't be complete of course, without mention of our favourite local blogger, the multi-talented Isuri, who has more blogs than I can count (found here, here, here and where ever else you find her) and sings and quite possibly does a mean salsa as well. Watch all the spaces above for more of her stuff; she's going to be famous soon.

CAB 2012

When it comes to not understanding art, I've observed two types of people. The first type will look at something and  say "well clearly I'm not sophisticated/educated/aesthetic enough to understand this" with a deprecating smile that says they are all of the above, thanks very much, this thing I'm looking at is just dumb. The second type, and I fall quite solidly into this category,  are those who will look at something and say "they call this art? Meh. Real art is ". Both are equally irritating and both are equally right, I think. Some artists are better than others, as is some art. It really just depends on who is looking at it.

Art exhibitions always make me think and re-evaluate what I consider art. This year's Colombo Art Biennale for instance, did just that. I was fresh off visiting Druvinka's exhibition at Barefoot, and everyone knows I have raging arty hard on for her work, so that is the benchmark by which I judged the artwork at CAB this year.

I was and was not disappointed.

First off, sadly, I missed many of the art talks, some which I heard were really good. Secondly, in contrast to last year, the artwork was on display at multiple locations, which made it quite a bother to see everything and I ended up missing CoCa's fringe event. While I do like the art-around-town idea they were going for, in execution I think the vibe of the last Biennale was missing, where you felt immersed in the feel and the theme of event. I apologise for how fruity that sounded.

The theme this year was 'Becoming',  and I think the local artists completely outshone the international, in both execution and thematic interpretation; some of the work really had me becoming confused, pardon the pun. But those that stood out, really stood out.

The piece below Second Skin, for instance, a dress made out of elastic, was just fantastic, and not captured in this photograph are a series of photographs on the opposite wall of the artist (?) draped in the dress in a series of poses.

 

This piece titled The Fireflies Network I did not get, but it was pretty cool.

This larger than life woman sitting in her own tears was.. upsetting.

I cannot rave enough about Pradeep Thalawatta. His series "Disappearing and Reappearing Landscape" depicted travel between Colombo and Jaffna, in what I thought was the most creative and playful sense of art. The highlights for me being the two pieces below; one a mixed media piece showing the foliage highlighted against the ever familiar candy striped wall so popular to the North and East, and the other a series of vehicles, from transport to terror. The video demonstrating the technique used for the first piece was an added plus. 

Juxtaposed against the lighter side of Becoming; the looking forward, was also the darker side; the looking backward. There were tables and chairs made of razor blades that creeped the life out of me, as well as some other structure of the same. A series by Koralegedara Pushpakumara titled "Barbed Wire" also invoked ideas of war and entrapment, and there were other war-themed motifs, including a sardonic "this is not a white flag" series.

Dominic Sansoni's set of photographs, however, were the star of the show for me. Titled 'The Jaffna Home", the series depicted the interiors and curios of old homes. The faded cloth of a sewing machine caddy, the patterned cabinet that, in another time and place, could be considered "vintage", the tattered shoe, the light falling through the window onto a wall of scribbled emotions, the bare bed in the darkened room.. they all of spoke of life, the hard, no nonsense life so many in post-war Sri Lanka live. 

I was discussing the series with a colleague and she was saying how sad she felt looking at these pictures, of how hard these lives must be, but I admit I was thinking on a totally different level; more along the lines of omgaaawd these are gorgeous, these colours, omgaawd. Seriously, the photographs were stunning. Everything from the exposure to the composition was so flawless, and the eye on the photographer must be amazing. And I say this because I have seen and photographed these very same houses; walked in and out of these same dark rooms thinking there's nothing to photograph here, only to see them brought to life in this series. It was a lesson in photography all on it's own. 

I had to take photographs of the photographs, but the series is online here.

*Sorry for the poor quality pictures. Blame it on the camera phone.

RIP Whitney

We grew up with her music. What an amazing voice. It's a sad day.

 

Recipe: Apple Sharlotka

Readers, I have for you the easiest cake you will ever make. It's moist, dense and largely guilt free because the main ingredient is apples. Also, no butter! Check it.

Apple Sharlotka: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Serves 8

6 large apples (Granny Smith or similar)
1 tspn cinnamon
1/4 tspn nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
powdered sugar, to finish

1. Peel and chop apples into 1/2 inch pieces. It's handy if you have a younger sister/slave on hand to save you some time here. Took me half an hour.

*though the recipe called for green apples, I threw in a couple yellow apples as well, to balance out the taste. Based on the final outcome, I'd recommend tossing the apple chunks in some cinnamon and nutmeg for added taste.

 

2.  Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and and pile the apples directly into it. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until thick and frothy. Whisk in vanilla, then stir in flour with a spoon until just combined. Pour the thick batter over the apples and smooth it down with a spatula. The batter should drip down between the apples, leaving the tops exposed.

4. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a fork comes out clean. Let cool for ten minutes and then flip out onto a dish and dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Serve plain (tasty), with fresh cream (delicious) or ice cream (divine).

30 in 12

I have a confession to make.

For the last few years I've struggled to read more than, possibly, 5 new books a year. Saying that out loud causes me great shame. I don't even know what to blame it on, except that I found re-reading old favourites more enticing than the mystery and allure found in the pages of a new book. Those were dark times.

But huzzah. Look at this. 

 

30 books in a year! Ok I cheated a teeny tiny little bit, in that I actually finished my last book a few days into 2012, but I think it totally counts because I only started the challenge somewhere in February. So if a year is 12 months, and it is, then this totally counts as a win.  Boo to you Mr Samuel!

Of all the books I read this year, the most memorable would be Cutting for Stone, the Dark Materials trilogy, The God of Small Things, The Help, It's a Magical World, The Secret Life of Bees and The Colour Purple. The others ranged from good to meh. Reviews and ratings can be found here.

For 2012, my goal is the same. I contemplated really pushing myself and going for 50 books, but in the end settled on 30. Towards the end of last year, I found that the pressure to finish the challenge spoiled the enjoyment of the book, and since the purpose of the challenge is to read books, not speed read books, I think 30 is a solid number to aim for.

I must say I'm really excited about the books I have in store; Shantaram, Chinaman, Let's talk about Kevin, Thornbirds, the Glass Palace and Half of a Yellow Sun, among others. I've started, however, with a Thomas Harris spree. I could've sworn I've read Red Dragon et al before, but for the life of me I can't remember the story so I figured it counts as a new read.

 I do recommend that you get on Goodreads and start a challenge for yourself, because it's such a great motivator, but even without a challenge, it's nice to see what others read and recommend, even if you're just looking for that one book to get through this year. 

As for me, I shall keep you avid readers posted on what I am avidly reading. (It was right there). 

Until then.