i wish i was here....

Top of my destination wish-list for this summer is Southwold Pier which is home to "a mad arcade of home-made slot machines and simulator rides".   Under the pier show was created by Tim Hunkin, an english engineer, cartoonist, writer and artist who lives in Suffolk.    His work embodies the very best of British: inventive, quirky, full of wit and humour and truly original.


My favourite machines include:  

Sit inside and the booth activates mechanisms to provoke a wide range of expressions while taking the photos:

And rent-a-dog:  Stand on the treadmill, hold the dog's lead and go for a walk.  Includes stops at several interesting sights.  Features dogs POV and excellent barky soundtrack.

Tim even shares his knowledge and passion for all things automata by providing a very thorough tutorial on how to create your own slot machine.  

Check out the excellent clips below:

www.underthepier.com

timhunkin.com

eco warriors

Watch how we turned this....

into these.....!

I've just spent a really fun, but full on saturday at the art shop and gallery in abergavenny, south wales where I ran two workshops in one day (phew!)  In the morning a group of eco warriors, aged 8-10 years, made body armour from recylcled cardboard boxes and packaging.  The session started with creative brainstorming, drawing & design.  After a break including cakes provided by the (award winning) angel hotel, the designs were then realised in 3D using the HUGE pile of cardboard, some metallic paint, glue, scissors & some brass split pins from my stationary drawer.  The results were awesome...

In the afternoon, a busy group of 5-7 year olds created swords and shields using the same huge pile of cardboard boxes & materials.  Again, the session began with some creative drawings & designs which were then translated into this arsenal of rather beautiful weaponry.

Thanks so much to the wonderful Pauline for having me, and to Lucienne for the pictures

feathers

I found some lovely feather trim pieces when I was rummaging around in a cupboard and was wondering how I could use them.  Then I remembered Corinne Days iconic image of Kate Moss on the beach. I love the natural simplicity and joy that the image captures.  

Suitably inspired, I got to work and created a couple of headdresses out of what I had, but this soon led to a mini obsession with finding more feather trims (I recommend barnett lawson a treasure trove of trims.  Its well worth the detour to visit there if you can, one of my favourite shops)


I'm planning to repeat the most successful headdresses.  My favourites include the full headdress with  black and red feathers.  This would have been my dream come true as a child.  I also love the orange feathers with pink embroidered headband.  You can see the ones that made the grade in the etsy shop   etsy.com/shop/iwishiwasa

The King

Driving down the edgeware road I spotted this caped crusader at the bus stop. He had more than a touch of Elvis about him....

super capes!

During half term Arch and some of his friends sat in the sunshine and embellished these calico capes with bits I had in my scrap bag.  As we were in the park, it was pretty basic:  some scissors, fabric glue, fabric pens and a bit of hand stitching.  Goes to show that low tech doesn't mean you have to compromise on creativity! 

"lightening boy FD"

"spider Vi"

"furry man"

Dress your upper lip

In the words of Wing Commander Sammy Hoare 

".....a moustache cannot be taken seriously unless it is visable from the rear"

A sample of moustaches for fathers day (on sale now!)  For the man who has everything (except his own facial hair).  Modelled by the fathers of the future....


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