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Chilterns Craft Show – 24th to 27th August 2012 – Stonor Park – Henley-on-Thames

Creative and Art Events

Embrace the summer months and visit the Chilterns Craft Show from the 24 – 27 August where you will find the best that British craftspeople have to offer. Set in the beautiful surrounds of Stonor Park near Henley-on-Thames, this inspiring show will showcase handmade and unique arts and crafts for the home and garden, live music, features, displays and a stunning show garden as well as delicious food and drink.

More than 250 craftspeople from all over the UK will be showing why handmade is best with some fantastic gifts and treats for the home and garden. With everything from ceramics to glassware and jewellery to paintings, the show offers something for everyone.

This year teams from Rowan Forestry and Toad Hall Garden Centre will be joining forces to create a stunning Show Garden for all to see. Showcasing some sumptuous plants and flowers along with water features, sculptures and ornaments, this is the ideal place to get inspiration for your own tranquil oasis this summer.

Brand new to this year’s show, the Graduate Marquee will showcase the work of newly qualified designers and makers from across the UK. If you fall in love with one of their designs you will be able to purchase it at the show and take away some special, unique and limited pieces from talented British makers.

Dont miss the Good Food LiveArea which is a must-visit for all foodies! Head to the Live Cookery Demonstration Theatre where guest chef Paul Da Costa Greaves will be whipping up some mouth watering demonstrations with lots of inspirational and easy ideas that will transform your summer cooking.

Stock up on delicious goodies in the Specialist Food & Drink Marquee where you will find some of the finest produce around including cheeses, marmalades, chocolate, chutneys, fudge, wine, beers and much more besides, sure to tempt even the most strong willed! Finally, match the perfect wine to your feast at the Tutored Wine Tasting. With a selection of wines from around the world, it’s your chance to pick up tips from the experts and leave ready to impress any dinner guest you might have.

Get involved in one of the hands-on workshops and activities including ceramics, paper making and stamping – there will be something for all of the family to take part in. Visit the Traditional Rural Crafts Demonstrations where experts will be showing you how to get the most from traditional craft techniques. This is your opportunity to learn more about basket making, wattle hurdle making, stick dressing and furniture making.

Make sure you book your special advance ticket to enjoy the splendour of the Stonor Park Manor House and beautifully tended gardens. Set in the Chilterns, the views from Stonor Park are spectacular and are blessed with an array of fantastic wildlife including deer, pheasants, hares, red kites and buzzards plus many other woodland creatures.

There is plenty of fun for all of the family, with lots of activities for children including face painting, bouncy castles and a children’s play area, as well as live music and craft workshops. Make sure you don’t miss the Chilterns Craft Show this August Bank Holiday – you won’t be disappointed!

FACT FILE

CHILTERNS CRAFT SHOW

24-27 August 2012

Open 09.30 – 17.30 (17.00 Friday)

Adult £6.50 (Advance £5.00) Senior £5.50 (Advance £4.00)

(Advance tickets need to be booked before 5:00pm on 20 August 2012)

Child under 16 free if acc by parent – otherwise £3

BUY 10 ADULT OR SENIOR TICKETS Get One Adult Free (In advance only)

COMBINED CHILTERNS CRAFT SHOW & STONOR PARK HOUSE & GARDENS

Adult and Senior £10.00 (In advance only for Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday afternoon visits only)

Buy tickets online at www.ichf.co.uk or phone Ticket Hotline 01425 277988

Follow on Twitter @ICHFUK & Facebook www.facebook.com/ICHF-Events
Area: South East   London  Oxford

Two Mopeds, The English Countryside And A DSLR – By George Langridge

Creative and Art Events

I decided, in all of my wisdom that a road trip on 50cc mopeds would be a good idea. Fortunately my friend is as ‘bonkers mad’ as I am, so we headed off in the strong winds and occasional down pour.

The Route

When I said, “Let’s go for a road trip on our mopeds”, I didn’t think we would have ended up where we did. We left Chatham and headed to Pluckley, from there to Ashford, then on to Hythe, Dymnchurch – where it became too windy to continue – and then turned back through Hythe, to Folkestone. Here we decided to plan our route back to Chatham, which went through Canterbury, Faversham, Sittingbourne and Rainham.

The Pictures

I thought I’d start with the trusty 50cc mopeds that carried us along our mega-sized road trip.

The trusty vehicles.

This picture was taken outside of Pluckley, where I got us lost – again. This picture captures the awesomeness of our road trip, these little mopeds only have 50cc (the grey one has 49cc) engines, which is no more than 40mph managed to carry us over 70 miles (taking into account the bendy country roads, and getting lost) without breaking down or exploding. So, yeah, we held up a huge amount of traffic, sorry. I chose the de-saturated look because I thought it really shows how exhausted this mammoth trip made us, especially our backs, and numb behinds.

This has a cool story.

Coming along one stretch of road we noticed it was very quiet, so we pulled over and I grabbed my camera. If you look at her face you can see she is looking at me and something in the distance. I am in the middle of the road, on one knee with camera in hand. Behind me is mister trillion tonne lorry… It could have turned out worse I guess. Other than this you can clearly see the enjoyment that accompanied this trip.

*Note to self/photographers – Do NOT stand/kneel in the middle of a road to take a photograph*

If not a little windy.

Just outside of Folkstone we pulled up next to the beach to stretch our legs. I think it is safe to say it was a little windy, which explains the cutting off of the side mirrors (flags and other things where in the way). With this photograph I decided to keep it a little dark and gloomy, to keep with the sky and show the weather. Although I added a little colour to really show the colourfulness of my helmet, yes I wear a bright, ‘hello, look at me.’ helmet.

All in all the day was truly enjoyable and I would love to do it again, although maybe on a 125cc or 600cc and maybe in the sun and heat.

For other photographs and the full resolution versions of these pictures, go to my Flickr stream – http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgelangridge/

Also check out my Twitter and Instagram : @georgelangridge

I am still on the hunt for any volunteer models to model for a few hours, to help improve my portrait photography.

George Langridge

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland  South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands  

Limehouse Design : This Is What I Do – By Emily Foster

Editorials

As a fellow creative, you will understand that not everybody understands us.

Since finishing university and making my first proper steps into the world of work, I am often asked what it is I do now. For an elderly relative, it is enough to state briefly that I am working in publishing (books have been around a long time). For my friends outside of the creative industry, this might not be enough; to them, I am the Graphic Designer, and sole creative person of the group. Even though they’re not sure what this truly means, the title seems to satisfy them.

But none of this is enough for my creative friends, nor enough for the Creatabot readers, I feel. The other creatives always seem to ask more questions; they need to know exactly what and how and why. They need the specifics. Luckily, ours is a sharing community, so here I plan to share exactly what it is I do, design-wise, at Limehouse Books.

So what is it that I do? And what does that involve?

First, the obvious. I create covers, and lay out the text, of the books. This involves some direction from my boss, the Managing Director of Limehouse Books. It involves accurate page sizes with bleeds and margins, and exporting to pdfs. It involves liaising with printers and pre-press teams who check (note: check, not fix) your file for you.

What else? There’s design for a purely digital purpose. The Limehouse magazine, for example, which is released online-only, and various digital catalogues. All of these can be seen here: http://www.slideshare.net/limehousebooks. There’s also a few other, little pieces that need to be done. Creating pack shots of books to go on our website, for example, or making an advert as a banner to go on another website. A desktop wallpaper, an event flyer, a cover image for Facebook.

However, all this stuff is still pretty standard. Loads of other companies manage their own creative output just fine. One of the hardest things about working for Limehouse is that we don’t do this with an experienced production team. We do this just us. Just me – the fresh-faced design graduate, not too much experience but eager to learn – and the Managing Director – smart but still doesn’t understand what a baseline grid is.

This sometimes makes for a very scary working day. At the moment we are preparing our next VIB – Very Important Book – to send to print. This project is different as we are producing it in collaboration with another company – so there are more people to potentially disappoint. If this wasn’t enough, we are printing not our usual two thousand copies, but ten thousand copies of this book. If this goes wrong, it will be all our (read: my) fault.

And why am I telling you all this?

I share all this for you to understand. If you feel like you’re in over your head – don’t worry, so do we. We learn as we go along. Being a designer, especially at Limehouse, is much more than knowing Indesign inside out. It’s about having motivation, about listening and learning all the time. Half of what I do now, I didn’t even dream of this time last year. And I hope I still feel the same in another year’s time. 

By Emily Foster

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/emilyjaynefoster

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Fuse Festival a Real Success and Plans Already Underway for 2013

Creative and Art News

Fuse Medway Festival came to a close this Sunday after a fabulous weekend of free entertainment from local, national and international outdoor performers.  Huge audiences enjoyed the Friday night’s Opening Parade, an explosive weekend programme of street theatre, dance, circus and music and Saturday and Sunday spectaculars. This was new artistic director Lélia Gréci’s first full year at the helm and her choice of artists and programme proved to be a winning formula.

Says Artistic Director Lélia: ‘It was an incredible weekend for audiences and performers alike – from circus all the way from India, provided by Kawa, to our very own ‘home grown’ commissioned artist Jane Pitt and her floating festival choir Ri-zound.  It was also an honour to host the premiere of a unique piece of work for the under-fives, Little Universe, which surprised and delighted its young audiences and their families.’

In order to plan for next year, Fuse will be taking on board all feedback provided through audience surveys gathered during the festival. People can still offer their feedback on www.surveymonkey.com/s/fuse2012. If you want to have your say about next year’s Fuse in a more informal manner, why not pop along to the Brook Theatre, Chatham, on Monday 9th July at 6pm and make the festival truly yours?

Fuse Medway Festival is jointly funded by Medway Council and the National Lottery through the Arts Council England and the 2013 Festival runs from 14-16 June.  For more information visit the website at www.fusefestival.org.uk, or join them on Facebook or Twitter.

Area – South East

#Digibury – Meet Up For Digital Types – July 11th 2012 at 7pm – Canterbury

Creative and Art Events

Digibury is the meet-up event for digital types in Canterbury!

They meet up on Wednesday 2.0 (the second Wednesday in the month – oh hai!) for talks, demos, messing about with digital stuff and drinks.

Around 50 people show up every month and they have 2 or 3 speakers giving talks which are short, sweet and personal with plenty of time for questions and conversation.

Lineup

He’s going to talk about ‘ethical hacking’, ‘penetration testing’ and other exciting stuff in relation to hacking the mainframe, being a l33t h4x0r and his research on “the GIMP ScriptFu buffer overflow vulnerability.” Whatever that is when it’s at home.

The speakers are going to talk about how they took advice from previous Digibury speakers and knocked out a geo-fencing game in a couple of afternoons.

Daniel made a robot. Keith developed the neural network which made the robot afraid of the colour blue. They’re coming to Digibury as part of their community service.

The event takes place at 

The Farmhouse, 11 Dover Street, Town Centre, Canterbury CT1 3HD 

– it starts at 7pm and finishes at 9ish.

For more details please visit http://deeson-online.co.uk/digibury

Tea presents: Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society – 16 June 2012

Editorials

There is something about small venues and they don’t come much smaller than the cellar of the Singapora Lounge in Rochester. TEA presented an excellent evening of guttural blues-rock form Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society, stomping through a set to launch their new album ‘On The Brink Of Misadventure.’ Ably supported by somewhat settled hobo, William Harper, they created an oasis from the football and towiesque pseudo-hell usually occupying this part of town. Surveying a catalogue of slide, picked and thumping numbers, whilst haunting the dimly lit nowhere, the band mesmerised an audience set on looking beyond an easily packaged night out.

The brutal cry of ‘Decimation’ leapt out from the set, calling us all back to the workhouse on a well deserved Friday night, as Mr Turner threw aside his megaphone to focus on some thorough guitar beating.

Rochester has been in dire need of an alternative High Street venue. Somewhere unshackled from the zombie march towards clubland, and although a cellar full of music lovers might seem a small start, there is hope below ground.

More about Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society can be found at http://www.myspace.com/stuartjamesturner

By Roy Smith

www.royalansmith.co.uk

Area : South East

Life Powered By Caffeine and Other Things That Inspire Me – By George Langridge

Editorials

I thought I would share with you what inspires me to photograph. Also I thought I would tell you what my personal photographic interests are.

What Makes My Mind Tick

When I am out shooting (imagine it now, a mop headed teenager with a Nikon strap) I am inspired by a huge variety of things. These things change depending on what I am shooting – if shooting to a brief or challenging myself -. If I am shooting street photography I grab my inspiration from people and the streets around me.

Space and Stall.

This shot I took in Camden Market sums up my street inspiration almost perfectly, notice the small details on his desk. Also his little hiding spot. I thought this was a great shot, personally. The shot kind of incorporates this man’s culture and habits/way of life as well as this 1/250th of a second.

My main influence is people and animals. I mean, every person that walks past must have a story. What has just happened to them? Where are they going? Where have they just come from? I think I have developed a huge number of scripts/story outlines based on this curiosity.

What’s his story?

This image really shows my inspiration in people. I think I actually planned a script around this particular cyclist. This man must have a story, similar to this photo. Other than my usual inspirations I had started a competition with a friend, to see who could get the most candid photos – I think I won. My favourite part to this photograph other than the man on the bike (well framed if I say so myself ) is the people walking along the path behind him, I think it reminds you that it is real life and that life continues outside of the image.

My inspiration does not stop at people and animals, I am also inspired by beauty and interpretative beauty.

Interpretative beauty.

I would class this image as interpretative beauty because it has no immediate subject -as such- and it is something that most people over look. In reality I believe that the little things are just as beautiful as the bigger things.

Give Me A Choice

Personally, I love to photograph people, not portraits, more candid and street. I really enjoy the rush and context of a candid and street photograph. It is also a great way to kill a few hours watching people without just watching.

I was recently given an old Pentax MX (35mm film) which I have only just found some batteries for, now I am itching to get it in to my kit bag and shoot. With its 50mm prime lens, I think it will be coming to London with me next time. If you have any suggestions on good places to shoot candid or street, get in touch or leave a comment.

@georgelangridge

I am looking to improve my portrait photography, if you are interested in being a model for a day drop me a tweet – Medway Towns Only.

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‘A Monster Hit’ – Review of Frankenstein

Editorials

That quote as the title, taken from ‘Time Out’ does not give justice to the amazement my eyes just saw. I have just witnessed the encore screening of Danny Boyle’s adaptation for the stage of ‘Frankenstein’ shown at Uckfield Picture House and other cinemas across the UK as part of the National Theatre.

Mary Shelly’s original is undoubtably a narrative beyond its time and Boyle’s new creation creates a distort and unbelievable production. The staging is original, unique and so simple it’s complex. I say this because of the limited props on stage at any time, but how this created a new world to the audience to view moveable scenery, a revolving stage and a forever flowing performance scene after scene.

Now I only say this on screen of the live performance and not the physical experience of being there myself, much as I would have love to. But this opportunity put forward by the National Theatre is one to take advantage of! Especially for a drama and media student like myself. Starring the remarkable Benedict Cumberbatch, who you and I must love from ‘Sherlock’, this brings him into a new level of powerful acting. I saw him as the monster, but the actor himself changes roles on performances with the incredible Jonny Lee Miller. Both actors were like brothers, but the creature and the creator portrayed some of the best acting I have ever seen. Once the play had finished I realised I was actually in a cinema and not caught up in a corrupt cruel world.

Studying the gothic genre in English Literature this year I will luckily be studying Frankenstein and find this an inspiration to my work and a starting point for what I think will become one of my most passionately loved stories. I recommend to you all to see this if you have a chance: or any of the National Theatre plays, it’s a whole new experience and revolution in what on-screen and in theatre can create, where will we go next?

On the official website I looked up whether a DVD of the production will be made:

‘We have no plans to release a DVD. We know from letters, tweets and emails that a great many people wanted another chance to see the production – and these encore screenings have been scheduled in response to that huge public demand. Our rights arrangements with actors and crew don’t currently permit DVD release, and we’re also keen for as many people as possible to experience the broadcasts in the format for which they were created: broadcast in HD to cinemas.’

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/69696/productions/frankenstein-faqs.html

I can tell them now if they do make a DVD this is something I will watch over and over and over and over again. I believe something new can be found in it every time.

Before the play itself was shown a small film on behind the scenes in rehearsal was shown which was a huge insight into creating the world on stage. To be part of that workshop must have been thrilling.

This is something that has changed my view on acting on stage and spilled my imagination on ideas for my drama devised piece for my exam this year.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

More productions can be found here: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntlive

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland   South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands  

East End Film Festival – 3rd to 8th July 2012 – London

Creative and Art Events

Founded in 2000, the East End Film Festival is one of the UK’s largest film festivals. An annual multi-platform festival held in London, the EEFF presents a rich and diverse programme of international premieres, industry masterclasses, free pop-up screenings and immersive live events. The EEFF’s mission is to discover, support, and exhibit pioneering work by global and local independent filmmakers, and to introduce viewers to innovative and challenging cinematic experiences.

Attracting an annual audience of more than 30,000, the EEFF has established itself as a major international film festival situated at the heart of London’s most dynamic quarter, hosting an active year-round programme as well as producing its own fringe festival in CINE-EAST, a day of completely free cinema across 100 East London venues. Committed to the work of first and second time directors, the annual EEFF showcases more than seventy features film screenings, several short film programmes, and a variety of cross-arts events and industry activities across a six day festival. The EEFF’s established awards system includes: Best Film (reserved for first and second features); Best Documentary; Best UK Short Film; and the EEFF Short Film Audience Award. Featuring in the jury for EEFF2012 will be industry experts Dexter Fletcher, Sandra Hebron, Adrian Wootton and Joe Wright.

The EEFF boasts large audiences, ever-increasing industry support, high levels of international press coverage, and a large and incredibly diverse range of partnerships with organisations such as Amnesty International, Sheffield Doc/Fest, World Pride, Digital Shoreditch and Film London. As the only film festival operating in the Olympic zone during the Olympic period, the festival will be receiving unprecedented levels of attention in 2012, and will be showcasing films to diverse, engaged audiences in record numbers.

EEFF 2012 takes place 3rd – 8th July 2012 for more details visit http://www.eastendfilmfestival.com/

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INDIE GAME : THE MOVIE – Film Screening – 29th June 2012 – Rochester – Kent – UK

Creative and Art Events

Creatabot have their first event! And its a biggie! We are hosting the screening of INDIE GAME : THE MOVIE in Rochester, Kent on the 29th June 2012.

This brilliant film looks at the underdogs of the video game industry, indie game developers, who sacrifice money, health and sanity to realise their lifelong dreams of sharing their creative visions with the world.

Following the making of the games SUPER MEAT BOY, FEZ and BRAID, this Sundance award-winning film captures the tension and drama by focusing on these developers’ vulnerability and obsessive quest to express themselves through a 21st-century art form.

As you can tell, Creatabot treasures creativity so we are thrilled to be hosting this screening!

For more details about the film visit http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/about/

Details are as follows:

INDIE GAME : THE MOVIE

Ticket price: £6.60 BUY TICKETS

Date – 29th June 2012

Location – Rochester Visitor Information and Art Gallery – 95 High Street – 
Rochester
 – Kent – ME1 1LX

Time:    Doors at 7.15pm       Film starts at 7.45pm

Popcorn and refreshments will be provided!

Attendees can also attend the Tigercats gig at the Deaf Cat for FREE – compliments of TEA concerts!

 http://indiegametigercats.eventbrite.co.uk/

For more information please email natasha@creatabot.co.uk

Area – South East Kent London UK Britain

Cape Crusaders Overpowering Action Man?

Editorials

For my EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) I am studying the superhero genre linking to me studying media studies. I am only at the early stages of research, but so far a recurring theme of reports I am reading are about the superhero genre replacing the action genre as it ‘fades away’.

Recently, ‘The Avengers’ has been known to be seen as the biggest superhero film of all time, beating ‘The Dark Knight’ and other releases. This film contains many superheroes, such as The Hulk, Thor and Captain America. However, this film does contain action, but is put into the ‘superhero’ genre as it’s a comic adaptation and also the given that there are men in capes flying around saving the world, as usual.

As I point out in my vlog here it is the year ‘OF THE SUPERHEROES’ and will be a genre that will be across the media and magazine covers throughout this year making comic books popular with newbies and even something that inspire my EPQ. (more details in future articles).

Genres do adapt and change over time to fit the audience, I am seeing much evidence of this in my project through the superhero genre specifically with Batman who went from a cheesy light heart adaptation to a Gothic blurred line between hero and villain. So the superhero genre will most likely always appear as having elements of action due to the good VS evil fights, but using hybrid genres these have also contained elements of comedy (*spoiler* In ‘The Avengers’ the fight between Hulk and Loki) and romance (*spoiler* In ‘Spiderman’ (1) the upside down kiss between Peter Parker and Mary Jane).

But does this mean the attachment of action and superhero will make action alone die out? From the looks of things the answer is no, most genres will never fully die out – so it seems. The genre may simply ‘fade out’, as put forward by Sylvester Stallone.

‘As Sly told Entertainment Tonight days ago: “This genre, unfortunately, is becoming… let’s just say it’s fading away.”’

http://galaxieblog.com.my/blog/permalink.asp?id=5655 (13/06/12)

Maybe Stallone or ‘Sly’ is right, even though ‘The Expendables’ earned more at the box office than the superhero ‘Green Lantern’.

Personally I feel the superhero genre is as powerful now as it will ever be what we Robert Downey Jr. signing up for six films all together this year: 3 ‘Iron Man’ and 3 ‘The Avengers’. Maybe the superhero genre will fade away for a while after bombarding the media and it’s audience throughout the last year and the next. Hopefully though it is a genre that won’t fade out for to long if it does as superheroes is something we all need in our lives, even if it is just on the screen or a comic book.

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland   South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands  

A Medway Vision 9 – Capturing Reality

Editorials

Over the course of these articles one name keeps popping up.  So many times I would ask an artist to send a picture of themselves and time after time the email back would say ‘oh could you credit this to Phil Dillon, it’s one of his’ Phil Dillon has, over the course of the last few years single handedly captured the look and feel of this ‘Medway Vision’, this startling, vibrant and fiercely independent artistic scene.

Phil Dillon has produced some astonishingly powerful images that somehow capture the grit of real life but never makes them dull.  His subjects convey a sense of drama and excitement that is very tricky to pull off.  Phil manages it with apparent ease.

Phil began “carrying a camera around all the time” in 2006 “I was interested in changes in my local environment, and how the seasons and time of day affect the way places are lit by the sun. Then I got interested in how Medway had changed over time and started digging old photos out of the MALSC archives and recreating them. After that, I began to consider what regeneration would bring and what it would take away forever. It was while I was reshooting the archive stuff that I approached the Brook Theatre because I wanted to get up on the roof. The staff were very interested and extremely helpful, and this resulted in me being given an all areas tour of the building and subsequently being offered an exhibition. That’s how I became a photographer by accident”

Working with just natural light, you can see Phil’s photography adorning album covers by bands such as The Len Price 3, Groovy Uncle, Theatre Royal, Crybaby Special and the Monsters, Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society and Wheels, among others.  But, for me it’s the hundreds of live photos Phil has squirreled away that make me most excited. Looking at pictures, such as the one of Lupen Crook, he clearly knows how to take the tension from a room and coolly pop it into his camera.

Maybe it’s his musician background (Phil had been in bands for years before concentrating on photography) that makes his pictures say so much about live music.  Maybe it’s his love of live music.  Phil explains, “I like real life and the moments it allows us to capture. I try to point up things you might not have noticed about a place, or show it to you from a different perspective. With music, I try to take pictures that capture something of the music itself, portray the performer and make you want to hear the music”

When you see his pictures they speak more about that artist than any written review ever can.

Although not influenced by any particular photographer Phil admits that his love of music means that “a lot of Mick Rock, Kevin Cummings and Linda McCartney (massively underrated)” informs his work.  Phil has had three exhibitions to date: 21st Century Cave Painting in Medway (2007), Exposure (2009) and Two Sides of the Same Coin (with Daisy Parris) in 2011.  In addition to these, he has contributed to a number of group exhibitions by Medway Eyes.

But what of the future, where next for a man charged with capturing the essence of this ‘Medway Vision’?  “I’ll do something biggish in 2013, I think. My work gets released all the time, either digitally through my Flickr portfolio or physically through the CDs and records they appear on. I’m thinking about doing another exhibition, or perhaps a book in both digital and physical formats. The working title is ‘On The Record / Off The Record’.”

Phil Dillon captures these Medway times so perfectly, so dramatically that we can only hope that this planned exhibition and book comes off because, frankly, our lives would be poorer, less real if you will, without it.

You can find out more about Phil Dillon and his photographs at: www.phildillon.co.uk

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

My Life’s Fascination With Fashion – The Story Of Henrietta Franklin

Featured Creatives

Henrietta Franklin is a fashion label run by Sharon Richards from her shop and studio in Gillingham, Kent. Designing and making made to measure garments for women and children, Sharon is one of the few fashion designers that still see’s through each stage of her garments being made – from her initial sketch through to the finished garment. Sharon talked to Creatabot to tell our readers how she got into fashion and remains independent as a designer…

I progressed into fashion naturally, I believe because I was an only child for the first 8 years of my life as well as the fact  I was also an only child among my parents’s piers. Let me explain: on birthdays and at Christmas I received many presents, one year when I was about 8 I had accumulated 7 dolls and they all needed clothes! My mother dabbled in making curtains and the odd dress for me, which is where I got started, by using the off cuts. I began by making dolls clothes and my hunger for clothes making and design progressed from there. At John Burn’s primary school, Battersea, we had needle work lessons, which stretched my imagination. At secondary school, Garret Green, Tooting, I took needle work and art as subjects, which I enjoyed. I remember my art teacher Sue Skelton, she was very inspirational. She opened my mind to many options in art and design.

I went onto to study at the London College of Fashion, I remember the interview day.  I remember what I wore, of course I do, I designed and made it! To this day I believe that was the biggest and most important event of my life to date. I got in! I studied there for 4 years, it was a wonderful time. I was one of the lucky ones: I was offered a job at my end of year fashion show: for an outer wear company.

“To succeed you would need to stand out and have contacts in large established fashion houses or be prepared to globetrot to places like China and India”.

From my experience I would say that my formal fashion education was paramount in facilitating my path in fashion. Unfortunately the fashion industry is an ever decreasing circle in this country. The combination of the intervention of computers and ever shrinking world make it feel almost like a pointless venture for new students leaving universities. To succeed you would need to stand out and have contacts in large established fashion houses or be prepared to globetrot to places like China and India.

The fashion industry “Rag Trade” that I worked in was primarily run by 3 ethnic groups. The largest of which was from a Jewish background mainly based in the West End of London, North London: Greek/Turkish Cyprian backgrounds, and the smallest group was in East London from Pakistani and Bengali backgrounds. I personally did not fit into any of these backgrounds so could only go so far. I started out as a designer/pattern/cutter at a Jewish company and ended up in design/sales at a Greek Cyprian company actually based in Cyprus. I felt that was the top of my career within the “Rag Trade”.

I soon reached a point though when I realised I wanted to be independent in my career, so the next natural progression was working for myself. This is when Henrietta Franklin came out of the shadows.

When I think about who inspires me today, I have to say Natasha Steer locally, she is an eclectic little maverick, she helps people to stand up for themselves, something she has done for herself successfully. She exudes confidence subtly. She is a bright light in the community that can only get brighter. Universally I have to back into history. Samuel “Sam” Sharpe – a Jamaican slave who played an instrumental part in the beginning of the journey that ended slavery. He is a part of why I am free and here today.

What about the future? I can answer that kind of question easily – to have a successful international business. Truly, in today’s economic climate my goal is to keep my business going.

Henrietta Franklin specialises in day wear, evening wear, wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses and mother of the bride outfits. Sharon has also created the label “Tropical Fruit” which is her new range of hand made children’s wear made from natural fabrics wherever possible.

Visit www.henriettafranklin.com to see more of Sharon’s work.

You can contact Sharon on 01634 321 522

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Unravelling the National Trust – Call For Artists – Closing 31st July 2012

Creative / Artist Wanted, Creative and Art News, Creative Opportunities

Unravelling the National Trust is a series of exhibitions that aim to showcase extreme and conceptual craft in a site-specific context, showing in three different National Trust venues across the South East of England from 2012 – 2014.

The second exhibition is due to open at The Vyne, part of The National Trust on June 28th 2013. It will run for 6 months from this date till 7th January 2014.

Unravelled is a new arts organisation that works with artists and crafts people who explore extreme and conceptual craft. The directors of Unravelled and the curators of Unravelling the National Trust are Polly Harknett (Independent Curator, formerly Contemporary Craft curator at Hove Museum & Art Gallery), Matt Smith (Independent Curator and Ceramicist) and Caitlin Heffernan (Artist ). The group and exhibition are supported by Arts Council England, the National Trust and the Headley Trust.

Submissions Sought

For Unravelling the National Trust at The Vyne are offering ten commissions for artists or makers using or subverting the notion of craft in extreme and conceptual ways. Proposed artworks should be site-specific and engage with the idea of creating interventions within the historic house setting, or within the gardens at The Vyne.

They aim to include a broad cross section of artists working in a variety of media and at various stages of their careers. The aim of the exhibition is to provide a high profile showcase for contemporary artists and makers and engage artists with historic houses and their archive collections. It is strongly recommended that prospective artists visit the property before submitting their proposal. 

The brief and full details are available here – http://www.unravelled.org.uk/news.html

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Videogames – Money vs Creativity – By Jack Bulmer

Editorials

Industry

Videogames are big business. That’s sad really, the business part. It truly is a creative medium that has, for a part, been transformed from a bunch of guys having fun and making games because they want to, to a bunch of guys in suits deciding how best to monetise their product. It’s like all the fun is being sucked out, and the games industry has become just that, an industry churning out yearly updates to products. Rarely are people making games just for the fun of it. Even independent games are changing and becoming more ‘about the money’.

I didn’t fully realise this until I started working for a company. The first thing on their mind was monetization. Not gameplay, story or even graphics. Just, ‘how much money can we get from this?’. It was actually difficult to design such a money-based game that I couldn’t continue doing it, it felt morally wrong to charge players for something so easy to create. Sure, not every game is like this, but rarely do you see a new title released without some sort of purchasable extra. Things like this used to be free. It makes me wonder if this really is a creative industry, a lot of decisions are already made based on target audience and potential sales, so as a game designer, it’s up to us to just implement these systems.

Spectrum

I don’t understand why some people still think videogames are aimed at children, it’s an archaic view and I am glad it’s slowly changing. I suppose it’s a generation thing.  ‘Videogames’ is such a broad term to be categorised. Depending on who you ask, the first videogames someone will think of will probably be completely different to someone else. Titles such as Space Invaders, Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, Guitar hero, Final Fantasy, Katawa Shoujo, Child of Eden and Heavy Rain are each placed far apart in the spectrum of ‘Videogames’. In a way, when people generalise videogames, it’s on par with generalising any other form of creative industry.

Generally, the industry as a whole has to learn from the mistakes of others, especially when imitating them. Really, games are just taking the best parts of other mediums. Storytelling in games has improved because of cinematic techniques being used and a deeper focus is being put on character design and development. Music has not only just influenced games through music-rhythm games, but also through dedicated soundtracks, evolving from simple melodies to full orchestral scores.

Immersion

I think videogames have the potential to be the most immersive medium to portray a message or story, more so than a film or a book. To me, it just makes sense that as an active part in a story, you feel more immersed than a spectator. This isn’t true for every game, but many try to make you create relationships with characters. Final Fantasy is well known as a character driven series of games. I’ve heard people talk more about how Aeris died and how they felt that any other character from any media. I think immersion in videogames helps the player experience emotions that wouldn’t be possible in other media, due to the choices sometimes presented.  I remember when I felt remorse in a videogame, and I didn’t expect it at all. I had the choice to kill an innocent family for some gold in Oblivion. I did, and the game auto saved. I just couldn’t continue. Experiences like that don’t happen in other media.

Future

I do not believe there is going to be a crash, like in the past, but I think videogames will branch off and separate from each other. Like I said before with the spectrum, I think they will separate and go down different paths. This is already happening, I suppose. For example, I’m not sure how similar two games like Heavy rain and Child of Eden are. They seem nothing alike. Games are also spreading into popular culture, and the gamification of non game contexts has only just begun. Gamification in itself is a really interesting topic, and probably what I’ll write about next!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this article!

By Jack Bulmer

@J_Bulmer

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Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 2 – By Luke Crook

Editorials

Hello again!

So, the last article was a bit of a ramble aimed at some of the tech/admin steps you go through at a label to take a release from X tracks on a CD-R or Pendrive and getting it out to digital and physical retailers worldwide.

This time, lets talk about something that’s a little more…well, creative!

Artwork.

Next to the music itself, artwork is in my opinion the next more important part of a release. Before streaming music became so incredibly popular, all you had to go on was if you’d heard it on the radio and how awesome the front cover looked!

So, where do you start?

Well, first things first, you need an idea. Whilst it might sound stupid, you can waste a lot of time if you don’t have some direction, because more often than not, the music is more or less done before the artwork starts, and no-one wants to rush. Following that, you need a designer to put it all together. This can take some time too, so make sure you’re looking out for one. Check out other CD designs you like, artwork, even book covers. Students are good, as they are cheap! Friends are even better! Discussions about whether you can gloss finish, matte finish, pantones/fluros (neon colours), metallic effects, how many pages you want in your booklet/inlay, how you want your digipack to fold and open will follow that. Lots of fun!

Then, once you’ve got a designer working on your great idea, you need to work out formats. CD/Limited Edition CD/LP/Digital/Magical Unicorn Edition.

Now, on the surface, a pack shot (Album Cover) is a pack shot, but format changes everything. CD’s are fairly straight forward and versatile. If it’s a jewel case, your inlay/booklet doubles up as your pack shot! Yaaay! All you need after that is your artwork for under the tray (where the CD slots) and artwork for the back of the case, which more often than not has the track listing. Digipacks are slightly different, because it’s all printed onto one piece of card and then folded. It can be gatefold, 2 fold, 3 fold (Rammsteins latest release opened out 5 ways if memory serves!). You need to remember where the slot for your inlay (if you have one) is going if you have one too!

Now, before I go any further, I’ve forgotten to mention one of the most important aspects of artwork. Label Copy. Label copy is essential the bible for the release. It’s a document containing everything about the album/single. Catalogue number, artist, title, track listing, publishers, copyright and publishing rights, collaborators, thank yous, websites and loads more. Most of this will go into your booklet and back cover for legal and information reasons.

Great, that’s the CD covered. Oh…what about the LP? No booklet there (Unless you’re feeling fancy!). So, you’ve not got to go back and ask your designer very nicely if he/she can do you a whole new template. Front and back sleeve (And center if it’s a gatefold) and stickers for the vinyl. This leads me back to my point about making sure you know all your formats before you go to design, otherwise you’ll: A. Irritate your designer or B. End up having to pay more for another format design. LP’s tend to have a far more stripped down label copy on them, purely for the sake of space.

Digitally, its pretty simple. Just a packshot. Bliss. Through iTunes you can also get a digital booklet to go with it if you want, as an added extra.

All of that, when all most people will ever see is the pack shot, when they walk past it in the shops or scroll past online. That’s your one chance to catch their attention and get them interested. The rest, that’s their reward for picking it up.

Always run it past your artist for approval. They don’t need to see it at every stage, just when there is a significant change or update.

Oh, and don’t forget to proof read it. Lots!

by Luke Crook

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YouTube – The New TV? – By Alice Stansfield

Editorials

Image

We went from no television, to black and white, to colour and now the internet – to sum up our channel viewing quickly. Our technology is forever advancing, but where will it go next? Across the media platforms: print, broadcast and emedia, it is clear to see the popularity of emedia constantly growing in the new generations, but will broadcast via television die out?

The simple answer is we don’t know, but in some way or another it will always continue as we advance in technology. Whether it be posting a video on the internet or watching the next series of Sherlock on your sofa seeing if you can work the mystery out before the man himself, broadcast will always be around.

However, a popular form of broadcast lately has been a convergence of emedia and broadcast on a very popular website ‘YouTube’. YouTube, as Wikipedia defines, is ‘a video-sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. The name and logo of the company are an allusion to the cathode ray tube, a display device used since the early days of electronic television. This website has proved popular in the last few years with a certain species known as ‘vloggers.’ If you don’t know what a vlogger is it is a person who makes video blogs or to dumb it down – an individual who sits in front of a camera and talks about their life (I am one of those people and proud to say so!).

The reason vlogging has become so popular over the years is that anyone can make a vlog. Yes even you. The reasons it seems so popular is it’s free to upload; free to get feedback and a great way to share your content. YouTube isn’t only a place for vloggers, anyone can upload anything whether it be…

a music video

a short film

or a video of their cat looking adorable

But why am I suggesting this could become ‘the new TV’? Well, like I said, the generation of today is moving more towards emedia than any other platform. Possibly due to user generated content (UGC) of putting your own information online and the internet becoming so powerful. With this mass audience open to the online virtual world 24/7 it seems silly not to consider the fact that the internet is the perfect place to, as YouTube says, ‘broadcast yourself’.

BBC themselves have their iplayer available on their website for those who don’t wish to watch the programme on TV at the time it’s on or don’t have time to, etc. As you can Subscribe on YouTube (meaning you would get updates about that channel when they upload a video) it becomes an online TV for yourself to view who you want when you want. Therefore, in the future if we are so glued to the laptop screen now, then who is to say we won’t move from our TV screen to permanently look at the internet to watch when we want.

Yes, however, there is now the option on things like the Sky Box to have On Demand settings meaning you can record programmes and watch them when you choose to, but the internet is somewhere where you have it all in one place. So I can see why YouTube itself may not become ‘the new TV’ but the internet itself may take over the idea of a family sitting down on a Saturday evening with their dinner trays to watch the latest episode of ‘Doctor Who’, because of this on demand system.

This isn’t a good or bad thing, it’s just another thing that moves with the times, keeping up with the generations which are forever changing. Either way the idea of a story being told through word of mouth, reading or watching will always be in place. YouTube is just one of the websites that gives the opportunity to get yourself out there and allow others to see you rather than fight for an audition to appear on the big screen, the little screen is just as good – and by the looks of things has more viewers. So just think, what will you be watching?

By Alice Stansfield.

Alice Stansfield your friendly neighbourhood blogger!  http://www.youtube.com/user/HisLittleEmo

Feel free to Tweet me if you have any questions or feedback  @hislittleemoo

Everyday I’m Tumblrin  http://wonderlandreject.tumblr.com/

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Introducing A New Creatabot Contributor – Alice Stansfield

Editorials, Featured Creatives

We have a fab new contributor – Alice Stansfield is a creative Vlogger from East Sussex who will be bringing a nice selection of articles and videos to Creatabot.  We are really looking forward to reading and seeing her work and we thought you would like to know more about her.

So Alice, what is your creative background?

I used to be in a local group at my college called ‘Spiritus’ which performs at festivals (such as London and Brighton) so I would be dancing, on stilts or designing costumes. From this I got really into choreographing and directing scenes and routines. In primary school I was part of a dance club but this was when my dance really started. However, at this point I became more involved in drama and recently left a club I was part of for 3 years performing on stage, directing, making films and more. Outside of this drama club I audition at National Youth Theatre and performed at the Royal Shakespeare Festival.

I’m still very into my drama studying at it at AS level and hoping to carry it on to next year with media studies. Studying media has made me want to continue it on to University as I love making films and for the last few years I’ve been making vlogs (video blogs) and other projects to put up on my YouTube channel and one I share with two friends called ‘TwoNAC’ (www.twonac.com).

At GCSE level I won an award for a project I did, ‘The Barnes Gate Manor Award’ for a project I wrote called ‘Ripper’ and made a trailer for with a friend. At my college, outside of my subjects, I film and write some articles for the school website to gain experience. Also, a few years ago I entered a competition with people at my school to write a short story (one page long) to be published in a book called ‘SAGAS’. I was one of the people to get published and still try to write short stories today, although my stories become more video based. Recently I have been busy writing lyrics for a song, which my friend is creating as part of his music experience and we have already made a music video. 

Creativity has really made me who I am and I have left a few things out, but this is the things I have done and currently do that really shape my creative mind.

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Local inspiration has to come from working with friends, as cheesy as it sounds, without working with people ideas do not get shared. At this point in my life where we are all in college still and fresh with ideas, listening to each other and experimenting with ideas is inspiration itself.  

Universally, many actors are inspirational (such as: David Tennant) but mainly people from YouTube such as Alex Day. Those who amaze so many people out of just putting their content on YouTube and make money from something so simple, are so inspirational to me.

What would you like to achieve in the future?

In the future I would like to still be making video projects and be able to earn a living out of what I make. I am still unsure which area of media I would like to go into, but would love to always be making videos.

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

A creative website I love, as mentioned before, has to be YouTube where people share all their video projects to make their own channel content. Another website I use is Flickr where you can share photos for others to see. Both these websites produce UGC (user-generated content) meaning people can give feedback on what I and others have worked hard on which really boosts confidence and allows improvement to be made.

Thank you Alice, we are really looking forward to seeing your articles!

Find Alice:

@HisLittleEmoo

http://www.youtube.com/hislittleemo

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Faversham Festival Presents – Mad, Bad and Misunderstood – Opera – 15th June 2012

Creative and Art Events

More about Faversham festival at http://www.favershamfestival.org.uk/

Area – South East

Stepping Stone Studios – Maidstone – Kent

Creative Communities and Inspiring Websites, Creative Opportunities

Stepping Stones Studio is a community interest company set up and driven to promote aspiring and established artists in Kent.

Their vision is to encourage and enable visual artists by providing:

  • An affordable studio space in which to create work, and attend/ hold your own workshops
  • A cafe in which to connect and collaborate with other artists
  • A gallery and shop to showcase the range of emerging talents
  • A subscription to the studio granting incredible opportunities and discounts

Their space will stay affordable for artists and – unlike most studios and galleries – will favour applications from those without previous exhibition credentials. The aim is to keep the studio neutral, to play host to a variety of artistic groups in this area, and to showcase under-represented artists.  Through the central location and overarching love of visual arts, they aim to create a centre of art activity for the artists and art enthusiasts of the Maidstone and wider Kent district.

This opportunity offers a professional environment in which to gain indispensable experience in the organisation and publicity of ones own exhibitions, and brings local artists together as a collective.

The studio encourages artists to hold their own classes, workshops and open studios for the public.

This unique artist’s venture is run by artists, for artists, and the only space in this area promoting local untapped talent through a collaborative voluntary effort.

To find out more visit www.steppingstonestudios.co.uk

Area – South East

West Sussex Opera Return With Cosi Fan Tutti – July 2012

Creative and Art Events

Following their successful productions of ‘Hansel & Gretel’ (December) and ‘Dido and Aeneas ‘(March), WSO return with Mozarts most popular comic opera ‘Cosi Fan Tutti’. WSO will bring a night of sheer delight not to mention Fianceé Swapping under the baton of renowned tenor Jon Grave.

Two rascals decide to put their lovely fiancées to the test and pretend to be conscripted and go away to war. Secretly they return in disguise and try to woo each other’s girl with hilarious results – this great opera is up their with any Whitehall Farce. But Whitehall farces don’t also give you the Mozart’s wonderful music.

The company was formed by Artistic Director and tenor Jon Grave, who performs worldwide in famous concert venues; on major film soundtracks, Radio, TV and solo recordings. Classic FM said ‘one impressive tenor’. Through his work lecturing at the University of Chichester and Prebendal School, the company has formed strong educational ties, providing opportunities for local talented musicians to perform in the chorus and alongside the professional orchestra.  
Principal Guest Conductor Rachel Grave is an exceptional cellist, film composer and has conducted the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Her award winning work has lead to her music being heard in cinemas all over the world.

Soloists have performed at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and with other top international opera companies.

‘Cosi Fan Tutti’ takes place from 7.30-10.00 (bar opens 6:30pm):

Fri 13th July at West Wittering Memorial Hall.

Sat 14th July at the beautiful Assembly rooms, Chichester

Tickets cost £5-20 at West Wittering and £6-£25 at Chichester Assembly Rooms. These prices include concessionary discounts and half price for under 16’s.

Tickets are available online at www.wsopera.com – book in advance for special ticket offers.

Disabled access is available

Area – South East

Wigmore Arts Weekend – 30th June to 1st July 2012 – Wigmore – Kent

Creative and Art Events

St Matthew’s Church and Community Centre will be holding an arts weekend on the 30th June and 1st July. Over 100 artists and crafts people will be exhibiting and demonstrating their work. Paintings, crafts, dance and live music feature throughout the weekend. Entry is free to the general public and the event will be start at 10.00am (to 4.30pm) Saturday and 11.00am (to 4.00pm) Sunday.

The art show will be held in St Matthew’s Church and the demonstrations and workshops in the community centre and grounds. About “100 metres run” of art will displayed in a variety of media, including poetry, ceramics, and all paint media. The art show will fill the church. Also on Saturday as the art show is in progress there will be some live music entertainment. Outside, there will be demonstrations of Morris Dancing, Fire Breathing, Fire Poi, Belly Dancing and some Bollywood Antics!! A lot of fun for everyone.

Children are well catered for with puppet making, face painting, lino cutting and plenty of other activities to keep them interested.

There will be a Variety Show on Saturday featuring many of Medway’s talented people and on Sunday a recital by David Griffiths (accompanied by his wife Christine). They are internationally acclaimed musicians from New Zealand and they will perform Schumann’s Dichteliebe (Op 48) and a range of songs from New Zealand.

There will be art workshops taking place and a few places are still available, but be quick and book a place.

We hope you will agree that there is something for everyone. Do come along and put Wigmore on the Arts map!!

A full programme is available, so e-mail wigmore.arts@hotmail.co.uk, sae to 42 The Goldings, Rainham ME8 0AX or telephone 01634 372508

To book a place on a workshop e-mail wigmoreartsworkshops@hotmail.co.uk or sae/telephone as above.

Picture:

Paul Warren of St Matthew’s Church, Wigmore.
Wigmore Arts Weekend organiser

Area:   South East

Hansel Of Film 2012 – Travelling Film Screenings

Creative and Art Events, Creative and Art News

A ‘hansel’ is a Shetland dialect word meaning a gift that marks an event such as the launch of a new boat, the birth of a child or the creation of a new enterprise. John J Graham – The Shetland Dictionary.

Shetland Arts is taking a UK-wide part in the London 2012 Festival celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  ‘A Hansel of Film – Shetland to Southampton and Back’ is a relay of screenings of short films made by the public in each of the nations and many of the regions of the UK.

It will be launched in Shetland on 10th June with the arrival of the Olympic Torch in the isles as it reaches its UK most northerly point. The films will be relayed between participating venues by ‘runners’; that is, creative and energetic individuals who will employ whatever means of transport they can devise to get the right films to the right venue on time. This will culminate in a marathon screening of over 100 short films at Shetland’s annual film festival, Screenplay 2012, between 4th and 9th September.

The project will take films made by Shetlanders and others to twenty one venues around the country and will form a celebration of ‘home made’ short films similar to that which takes place annually at Screenplay. 

Acclaimed film critic Mark Kermode and film historian Linda Ruth Williams, who are the curators of Screenplay, will be very active in promoting the project across the country, although they will not be able to attend all the events. They will be greeting the ‘runner’ at The Harbour Lights Cinema in Southampton at the project’s half-way point, and will visit some of the other participating venues in between.  

The Hansel Team is delighted to be launching this exciting, nationally inclusive film relay, spreading the spirit of the London 2012 Festival from Shetland in the north to Southampton in the south and back again, and taking in many points east and west along the way. We are looking forward to partnering up with cinemas, arts centres, film societies and film-makers across the UK who are as enthusiastic as we are about watching films, about people making their own films and about taking movies on the road.

The project also comes at a very exciting time for Shetland Arts in the opening year of Mareel, Shetland’s new £12.2m music, cinema and creative industries centre. We will be inviting representatives from the participating regions and nations to come and join us back in Shetland for Screenplay 2012, making it a truly celebratory event.

The London 2012 Festival is the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad, the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.  Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.

Medway filmmaker Mdhamiri Á Nkemi will be having his short film “String Theory” shown on the following dates:

              Kino Digital, Hawkhurst                            Monday 9 July

                Salisbury Arts Centre, Salisbury                 Thursday 12 July

              Harbour Lights, Southampton                    Sunday 15 July

 

“String Theory” follows a couple of school boys who invent the world’s first cup and string telephone, which gets popular as more and more people find out about it. Their playful existence is threatened however, when a business-man makes an unexpected appearance.

To find out if there are screenings in your area please visit:

 http://hansel2012.org/get-involved/attend-an-event

@hansel2012

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Billy Childish – Frozen Estuary Exhibition – Review

Editorials

Cult labels can obscure the viewer’s perspective of the artist’s work, with associations of niche celebrity given meaning by sycophantic fans and media observers. Childish is touted as a ‘cult’ figure in his latest exhibition at Chatham dockyard. This could scream popular or ‘cool’ to the ‘right’ people or celebrate an alternative and underground status. Childish’s character(s) loom large, set on pleasing themselves before courting the crowd, perhaps at the risk of eclipsing his work. In a 2010 video for the Tate’s ‘Sound and Vision’ series, he dons the costumes of painter and musician to playfully interview himself, with respectably awkward questions. When the artist asks about his influence on the musician, the answer is ‘no’ followed by a wistful smile.

The frozen estuary series offers something pleasantly different. The dockyard exhibition gives some space to history and personal mythologising – displays of album covers, books and memorabilia to greet the audience. Maybe this is a triumphant return to a place he left with little love lost.

13 oil and charcoal on linen paintings cover the main walls, some with the paint still wet. Despite featuring friends and family, the subject seems less personal, the focus is the river itself, depicted in vivid blues and whites and frozen in time and canvas. Inspired by photos of the winters of 1895 and 1947 when both estuaries froze over, Childish captures a stark landscape, where workers pose with boats locked in ice, dominated by blue skies and glaring white. Details run in earthy browns, a muck upon the landscape, as wet paint dribbles down many of the canvases, forming icicles of dirt and snow.

Here is something about place rather than person, escaping the ‘cult’ cliché and exploring the relationships between time, place and identity. A full size nude stands by the entrance, leading visitors through the memorabilia to something else entirely. Something brave.

The exhibition is on at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, until 30th September 2012. Details are available at: http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/NetsiteCMS/pageid/1023/Billy%20Childish.html

By Roy Smith

@roy_smith 

www.royalansmith.co.uk

Guest Writer

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Tracey Emin – She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea – Margate Exhibition Review

Editorials

Like most people my earliest memory of Tracy Emin’s work and most prominent is the unmade bed from 1999.

As time went on I discovered she studied in Medway at what is now known as UCA, and in the last few years she has held various exhibitions in the South East. On a recent visit to Margate I felt I couldn’t miss a walk around the Turner gallery to check out her current exhibition.

Something that I love is Emin’s neon writing work as it shows her variety of creativity. Unfortunately only two neon pieces make an appearance in this exhibition. Reflecting very much on her life’s history the work on display is very expressive with some containing text that gives extra input into the concept behind the piece.

My favourite piece was called furniture. It was part of a series of paintings that were of the same theme, but I felt they had an added depth to them compared to the other pieces in the exhibition as a whole. I do really like the blue ink on canvas, and this is the form of most of her pieces in the exhibition.

The majority of work on display were inspired by Turners female nudes, but personally I felt they lacked the warmth of an artist trying to capture the bodily form of a female. Of course Emin is often very open about her sexuality and this is nothing new, but I felt from the work that she captured an element of disappointment within her own sexuality, which of course was not really Turners aim in his erotic paintings – his nude paintings were often termed as beautiful. If you want an interesting read on that subject see “A Censorship story Goes Up In Smoke“.

A painting by Turner.

She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea, Tracey Emin.

There are a lot of repeats in the exhibition, which unfortunately I feel shows a lack of imagination in regards to a theme, and baring in mind 3 large rooms of the Turner gallery are taken up with repeat imagery until September, I can’t help but feel disappointed for the local art scene. I realise that a big name will attract numbers but I wonder how other artists will get to reach a big name status if so much space is taken up by one artist in what I feel should be a gallery for creatives no matter how big their audience.

I would be interested to hear how others feel about the exhibition…

Natasha Steer

Area: UK Britain East of England East Midlands London North East North West Yorkshire Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands

Somehow Education-like – By George Langridge

Editorials

We Don’t Need No Education

This week I went to my local country park to meet with a fellow photographer. However, she wanted me to teach her to shoot in manual. So my theme was ‘Education’.

 So here are a few of my favorites from the trip. The rest are on my Flickr in beautiful full resolution.

One of mine.

We went walking around some huge wooded areas and fields looking for some good shots. First of all I took some sample images, this one was hidden amongst some leaves and branches. This is the first time I have consciously looked for small insects, I actually am amazed by the idea of these little creatures going about their day hidden away from us. I think this ties in well with the next picture.

This is one from my ‘pupil for the day’.

This picture actually amazed me this morning when I -finally- got to editing. The only thing that let the RAW file down was the exposure, which was changed during post. This is one of those shots that if you blink you miss, which I guess is what drew me to this particular image. I think Kudos go to my ‘pupil for the day’ on this one. I’d love to get your opinion on this photograph.

Another from my ‘pupil for a day’.

The origional RAW file seemed almost pointless, until I imported it in to Lightroom, where I had a play with the levels. This shows that my ‘pupil for a day’ can really think outside of the box and through to post production. I am excited to see what she does with it in her edit. This was another one which was a little ‘iffy’ as regards exposure, but I really ‘dig’ the feel of it.

My pupil for a day was – Hanna Havoc

Next weeks theme is ‘RoadTrip’, another friend and I will be riding along the A20 towards Ashford via villages such as Pluckley, Kent.

@georgelangridge

Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike (CC-BY-NC-SA) George Langridge

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands

Working For An Indie Record Label – Part 1 – By Luke Crook

Editorials

As some of you may know, I work for an Indie Record Label. It’s a blast, but not what everyone thinks it is. So, I thought it would be interesting to do a little blog about what the day to day is like working for an Indie Record Label because as much as I make it sound like gigs galore and nights out in reality, it’s really not!

Paperwork. Data entry. There’s lots of it.

 Before this job I thought getting a record made meant going to the studio, getting the tracks done and then sending them off for mass production. If only.

So, we’ve got the music. Great. Then you need to get it Mastered. Which is fine. So long as you remember to deliver the relevant ISRC codes (Unique, trackable numbers for each track) with it. Oh, and the correct track listing for the Redbook/DDP (final format for delivery to manufacture). Forgot to write “feat. Blah blah blah”? That’ll be an extra £40 to get it amended.

Then, you enter the lovely world of Metadata, or the spreadsheet of doom as I like to call it. You enter ALL the track/album info into a spreadsheet. Title, artist, feature artist, release data, catalogue number, publisher, composer, producer. Everything. 10 track album? Not to bad. 5 formats? Not so easy. CD, LP, Digital, iTunes Exclusive, German Exclusive? Yup, need to write a separate one for each. And make sure you get a new barcode for each. And the right catalogue number. Did you know Scandinavia can’t take iTunes videos? So an exclusive with video means a separate entry all together.

 Oh, and the price. Easy you think? “We’ll sell it for £xx”. But then you have to talk to separate countries about their price, and if you don’t, it wont show up on their system. And they don’t tell you till the last minute. Handy.

And between all that, you’ve got the Label Copy. Label Copy is a document that holds all the information about the release. Contributors, publishers, copyright holders. 9 guest artists? Better get all the separate publishing information for them, ASAP!

Whilst all this is going on, you’ve got artwork. Pricing for artwork. Working out the unit cost of each product. Did you know you can’t release a CD in Europe if it’s not shrink-wrapped?

 *Breathe*

That’ll do for now I think. For me, its fascinating to see what goes into actually getting a CD released to the public, and how it works. Above is just a teeny part of what goes on. There’s also marketing, sales notes, picking singles and remixes, track ordering and much more. I will be back with more about what it is like working for an indie record label soon.

By Luke Crook

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Whatever Floats Your Boat – Open Air Family Theatre – Medway – June 2012

Creative and Art Events

Taking place during Medways Fuse Festival “Whatever Floats Your Boat” is an open-air family theatre show presented by Students of Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (DATE) from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama.


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Introducing A New Creatabot Contributor – Luke Crook

Creative and Art News, Editorials

Luke Crook works for indie music label “Sunday Best” and he will be writing about what it is like to work for an indie label as well as what is going on in the world of indie music. We knew you would like to know some more about Luke so we asked him some questions so that you can get to know him better.

So whats your creative background?

Creatively my background has more or less always been musical. I found my Dads rock vinyl, told my Mum I wanted to play guitar and ended up learning piano for about 3 years! Then I went on to teach myself guitar, and after that a bit of bass and drums. Jack of all trades!

After that I got into sound engineering, mixing and the like. From there I did my A levels in Music Technology then trotted my way up to De Montfort University in Leicester to do a BSc in Audio Recording Technology. Maths, Physics, expensive mixing desks and general madness. Lots of fun!

What made you get involved in the indie music field?

I’ve always been a fan of local music, and Medway has always been a hotbed of musical talent. I spent most of my early teenage years getting down to Bar M and the Rafa Club to watch bands, or trying to get gigs myself. I played in a variety of bands myself, and I had a pretty eclectic musical upbringing, so it varied from heavy metal to pop to bluesy bands. I loved and still love the ethos behind local and indie music. Trying to make it, doing it for the love and fun.

The journey at local level is beautifully organic and frustrating.Out of Uni, I wound up working in my local indie record/guitar shop, Sound & Image, for a year which was an education in genres! From there, I was finding myself looking more into independent record labels and independent artists, and how their popularity can vary. People forget sometimes, I think, that Adele goes out on the label XL, who are an indie, not a major, and just look at her success.

Then, from there, I sent a very innocent e-mail to Sunday Best inquiring about a job, and on a Sunday at about 9pm I got an email asking me if I’d like to start as intern! That was 10 months ago, and now I’m neck-deep in the indie industry!

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Locally, my biggest influence has to be the wonderful Manny Rossiter. Long standing supporter of local music and also my mentor, what the man doesn’t know isn’t worth knowing! Also, when I was younger local bands like Innersense and Back To The Drawing Board were favourites of mine and they probably helped start my musical bug. There’s also an old boy who regularly comes into the shop called Pat. He’s probably one of the best guitar players I’ve had the privilege of knowing. He played with a lot of great bands back 60-70 years ago and watching him play has been a big game changer for me.

Universally, it’s not limited to music. Musicians like John Martyn, Jeff Buckley, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nina Simone. Composers like Tim Burton and John Williams. Music that breaks the mold and makes you go “Wow, how did he/she do that?!”. Writers like Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams who take wacky ideas to the extremes. What’s more inspiring than one man who’s written nearly 40 books about a turtle that flies through space with 4 elephants on its back, or another who wrote about a robot with depression and a restaurant at the end of the universe which recreates the big bang over and over?!

What would you like to achieve in the future?

Good question. I’ve only just started out in the career path, but I’d like to take it as far as I can. I wouldn’t mind heading up an indie label one day, that would be amazing! I’ve got a few musical projects in the pipe line that, personally, I’d like to get done and have some fun with.

I guess I’d like to be known as someone who influenced or helped others. It’s a nice way to be remembered I think. Plenty of people have helped me along the way. Soppy, I know!

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

Tricky! There are so many!

http://fd2d.com/ is a great website/magazine I found at Uni for Midlands based creatives.
http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/ is great for music.
Also, check out http://amazingradio.co.uk/ It’s a great online radio station for unsigned and new music. It should be back on DAB radio soon too.

Thank you Luke for bringing some news and information from the indie music world to Creatabot!

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SureShotFilmsUK Launch New Video

Creative and Art News

SureShotFilmsUK are a small production company of 10 film makers lead by Director Cameron Ward with the assistance of Henry-Ashton-Ward. Set up in August 2011, the aim of the Blackpool based crew is to create special effects videos through limited means. Launching their new video ” Sentinel 22″ they hope to create a bigger, more consistent fan base and continue to bring out high quality videos on a weekly basis.

Using just a Canon 600D, tripod and a homemade fig-rig they have managed to create short films with special effects, which is something they want to make people more aware of in the UK. FreddieW (YouTube) has made this genre popular in the US  and they would also love to create their own series of shows based on a storyline.

The video was made in Poulton-Le-Fylde near some abandoned buildings, it took about 5 hours to shoot and 25 hours to edit.

Follow Cameron on Twitter

@cam_ward

along with

@sureshotfilmsuk

Cameron Ward

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Bikeminded Launches ‘Cycle Shorts’ Filmmaking Competition – Closing 15th June 2012

Creative / Artist Wanted, Creative and Art News, Creative Opportunities

Bikeminded, a cycle campaign run by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has launched ‘Cycle Shorts’ a filmmaking competition open to anyone interested in the filmmaking process from raw talent through to the more experienced. 

The entries, which need to be submitted by Friday 15th June 2012 at 5pm, will be judged by award winning film director and bicycle enthusiast Richard Loncraine.

The shortlisted films will be shown at an exclusive viewing at the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill. The winning entry will be shown at the Portobello Film Festival and the Olympics Festival on Exhibition road, and the winner will also receive £1000 for their next film whilst the people’s choice winner will receive £500.

To bring the competition to life, Bikeminded has launched its own animated film to be shared among the filmmaking community and to encourage entries: 

Entrants can let their creative talents run wild by submitting a film of any genre, be it for example, humorous, gothic horror or romantic comedy, and it can be shot with a pro-camera and crew, on mobiles, or could be animation or stop-motion.  The end result must be a short film of just 90 seconds which challenges people’s barriers to cycling in the city, and inspire them to get back on their bikes or take up cycling for the first time.   It must also reference the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in some way.

Richard Loncraine, judge of Bikeminded ‘Cycle Shorts’ says: “Everyone has their own idea of cycling and in particular what cycling in a big city such as London is like.  Through this competition we want to tap into the incredible creative talents of filmmakers throughout the UK and through their films inspire people to dust off the bike and get back on two wheels and enjoy the city from a different perspective.  As a passionate cyclist myself and with so much untapped talent out there, I’m very much looking forward to judging the entries.”

Councillor Nick Paget-Brown, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea says: “There are many people across the borough who love cycling and exploring the local area on two wheels. However, there are some who have never considered it for a number of different reasons.  This competition aims to show people just how much fun cycling can be especially in such a visually beautiful and well-known part of London.  We hope that film-makers are inspired by our streets, and that, through their films our residents and visitors will be inspired to start cycling.”

 To see full competition and entry details and Bikeminded’s own short film please visit: http://www.bikeminded.org/2012/04/bikeminded-launches-cycle-shorts-filmmaking-competition/

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A Medway Vision 8: Monster Ambition

Editorials

Taken by Phil Dillon

It’s so often not just about the talent.  It’s about work rate too.  The distinctive artistic blossoming of the Medway Towns, that vibrant feeling that something special is happening, the ‘Medway Vision’ as I call it, can’t merely happen from wanting it to happen.  Work goes into it.  A lot of sweat needs to be leaked if you are going to get your art seen or heard.  If hard work brings rewards then up-coming Medway band Crybaby Special and the Monsters will be reaping heap loads very soon.

The band only came into being in September last year but have already played in virtually every venue the Towns have to offer culminating in the release of their first ever EP ‘Man in the Woods’.  And let’s not forget all their London and other Kent gigs.  Starting out as an acoustic two piece (Josh Carson, Jason Stafford ) they wrote a few songs and spent one day rehearsing (yes, ONE day, these boys want things done fast) before debuted them at an open mic night.   In the words of Josh Carson “it’s been non-stop ever since, with Lewis Crennell joining the band on drums at the end of January 2012”.  Before this, the band was just one man, singer Jason.  He performed solo as Crybaby Special for the best part of a year before deciding he wanted to play as a band.

And so, endless gigging led to their first EP ‘Man in the Woods’  The EP was recorded in February 2012 with Mik Whitnall (Babyshambles guitarist) and Adem Hilmi (who also records Babyshambles and Peter Doherty solo). Mik even plays on three of the 6 tracks.  Their sound has been described in a number of ways.  As Josh points out “Bob Dylan on Crack…Creepy, Eerie, Spider, Jiggery…Folk Punk sung by Fagin…our favourite though is probably Exuberant Garage-Folk-Punk from the Medway Delta from Bug Bear promotions who put on gigs in London” Oddly enough those descriptions sum up their sound pretty well.

However, seeing as Mik Whitnall from Babyshambles produced the EP you can’t help but hear the Pete Docherty influence too.  Add to that, if you will, a bit of ska as imagined by Midnight Oil and you’re getting the picture.  But, as cute and cool those Babyshambles/Ska tracks are it’s their most original sounding work that excites me most. The almost middle-eastern tinged title track feels most vital.  It’s not only the best track on the EP, but, if there is any justice, it will be on repeat play on radio stations throughout the summer.

Judging by the continuous cycle of gigs then the EP seems to have cemented their following.  But you know full well that these lads are not going to be happy with that.  There is an ambition here, a desire to get to the top.  This is already a touring band, a band that develops its sound the more it interacts with its audience.  Josh confirms “our plans for the future are to too just carry on as we are by playing at every given opportunity and anywhere we can”

It’s ambition; it’s hard-work; it’s about having a vision.  A Medway Vision.  Crybaby Special and the Monsters will carry on growing and adapting and reaching out to whoever wants to hear them next.  I think it was Paul Weller that said something like the people who ‘made it’ are the ones that didn’t give up.  If true then you can be sure that sometime soon, Crybaby Special and the Monsters will have ‘made it’.

‘Man In The Woods’ EP is available to buy from iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/album/man-in-the-woods-ep-ep/id525040739

http://www.facebook.com/crybabyspecialandthemonsters

http://crybabyspecialandthemonsters.tumblr.com/

Mr Young

Independent Filmmaker

www.themoontheeye.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Mr_Young

www.facebook.com/themoontheeye

Area  South East

Fuse Festival Programme Released – Medway – 15th to 17th June 2012

Creative and Art Events

The timetable for Fuse Festival 2012 has been released and you can now plan your  inspiring weekend!

http://fusefestival.org.uk/festival-programme/

Area   South East

Call For Illustrator – Single Artwork

Creative / Artist Wanted

James Colah requires help from an illustrator to design cover art for his new single which will be available to download through iTunes. The track entitled ‘Cha Cha Chiwawa’ requires artwork of a Chiwawa dog dancing the Cha Cha Cha. 

James is a very successful Smooth Jazz artist and record producer with his music being played all over the world. He has also just won the ‘Coffee Talk Jazz Radio International Songwriter of the Year Award’.

James is looking for someone who would like more exposure of their work as the song will be released on all major digital music platforms including iTunes, cdbaby and Amazon. He has a huge fan base around the world which will add to the illustrators publicity when the single is released. There is no budget available so he hopes that the amount of promotion the illustrator will gain through the opportunity will make up for this.

For more information about James, please check out his website here:

http://www.jamescolahproductions.com

If interested please send examples of your work or link to your website to jammy.c@hotmail.co.uk

Area: UK Britain East of England East Midlands London North East North West Yorkshire Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands

Artists & Illustrators launches the 2012 Artists of the Year competition – Closing 16th August 2012

Creative / Artist Wanted, Creative and Art News, Creative Opportunities

For the fifth consecutive year, artists of all abilities are being invited to submit their best artworks for entry into the Artists & Illustrators Artists of the Year competition, in association with the Victoria & Albert Museum.

 Last year saw a record number of more than 3,000 works submitted from around UK and abroad and this year is set to be even bigger.

 Artists from around the world are encouraged to send in their very best artworks for consideration for this year’s prizes and, to further encourage creativity, there are no categories for this year’s submissions to fall into. Participants are free to submit their very best artworks, whatever the subject or medium may be.

 “We are very excited about this year’s competition in particular as the new ‘open entry’ system will pave the way for all kinds of interesting and imaginative works to come through,” says Artists & Illustratorseditor, Steve Pill. “Since its inception in 2008, the competition has steadily generated more and more interest, both among our regular readers and also the general public. Remarkably, the standard of work also seems to get better and better with each passing year.”

After the 16 August 2012 closing date, a shortlist of works will be drawn up by a panel of expert judges, lead by Royal Watercolour Society’s new president, Thomas Plunkett. Readers of Artists & Illustrators will also have the chance to vote for their favourite works online.

The creator of the overall winning artwork will be crowned the Artists & Illustrators Artist of the Year 2012 and will receive gallery representation from a leading London art dealer and a practical art course of his or her choice at Newlyn School of Art.

Three additional prizes will also be awarded to outstanding artworks of our panel’s choosing. These are The Maimeri Watercolour Prize, The Society for All Artists (SAA) Prize and The West Design Prize. All four winners will also take home a £200 voucher to spend on Canson products and receive a free year’s membership to Artists & Illustrators online art community, Portfolio Plus.

To find out more about Artists of the Year visit www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/artist-of-the-year

Or, for further information, please contact will.delmont@chelseamagazines.com

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands

Summer Arts Carnival – 14th July 2012 – Maidstone – Call For Artists – Stepping Stone Studios

Creative / Artist Wanted, Creative and Art Events

Stepping Stone Studios are holding an Arts Carnival on Museum Avenue , Maidstone, on the 14th of July. They are joining up with local businesses and want to involve the town’s art groups.  This is the call out to get stall holders and performers involved. 

They are thinking bunting, hot food, arts and crafts stalls, performance. If anyone has any suggestions simply pitch your ideas in!

Here are some things to get you started:

1. Pitches and Stalls going for £6! Be one of the 15 stalls taking part.

2. Ideas for entertainment / food / performance. Know any awesome musicians or street performers? Pass the details on – the more acts the better!

3. Exhibit over the week! With all the fuss of the carival, increased footfall and a summer of exciting events it’s pretty good exposure in town centre.

4. Fabric donations required! For bunting workshops to start in June!

The event will kick off at 12pm

Please get in touch via bookings@steppingstonestudios.co.uk

www.steppingstonestudios.co.uk

Area – South East

Half An Hour At The Beach – Photography Feature By George Langridge

Editorials

Every Friday I go out and take some photographs, usually based around a theme. My original theme this week was ‘anti-fun’, however this week I found myself at the beach with my camera, and no tripod. This is a far cry from the ‘anti-fun’ theme I was supposed to be basing my shooting around. So here are a few of my favourites from the trip. The rest are on my Flickr in beautiful full resolution.

Half An Hour At The Beach

By George Landridge

As I was walking along the path just off of the shingle, I noticed this little plant growing from the cement. I was almost amazed at how out of place this little group of plants looked. Just after I took this photograph a gentleman stood flat on the plant which must count as anti-fun, no?

Further along the beach I saw this sign, instantly it was ‘anti-fun’. Also further back I had seen a dead fish so it was almost ironic. I love the way that the sign points down along the length of the beach, and as you look further down the beach it looks ever more out of focus.

As we were walking along my sister found this little shell, which I instantly stole and took a photograph of, in that way that I do. This image shows everything to love about abandoned beaches; the wood, stones, sand and shells. The warmth of the photograph also makes the beach seem nicer than it actually was. In that half an hour the light changed very quickly.

Next weeks theme is “Education” – in which I will be teaching a fellow photographer how to use manual mode on a DSLR.

All full resolution photographs from “Half An Hour On The Beach are here.

By George Langridge

@georgelangridge

Attribution-NonCommercial-Sharealike (CC-BY-NC-SA) George Langridge

Area:   UK   Britain   East of England   East Midlands   London  North East   North West    Yorkshire    Scotland South East    South West    Wales   West Midlands

Win Tickets To Weald of Kent Craft Show – 7th to 9th September 2012 – Penshurst Place – Kent

Creative and Art Events

The Weald of Kent craft show returns in September for another weekend of showcasing creative talents from across the UK. There will also be a stunning show garden and delicious food and drink.

Over 200 skilled craftspeople from all over the UK will bring you the very best in handmade gifts and treats. With unusual wares you wouldn’t often find on the high street, there’s something for everyone from ceramics to glass, and jewellery to paintings.

Following their success with an award winning garden at the 2011 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, “How Green Nursery” along with “Chilstone of Tunbridge Wells” will be returning to the Weald of Kent with ‘The Chilstone Ice Garden’. This stunning show garden will house some of the fantastic ‘ice’ sculptures from the renowned sculptor Jane Robbins and showcase a sumptuous selection of plants and flowers that will whisk you off into the Garden of England.

Brand new to this year’s show, the Informed Design Graduate Marquee will showcase the work of the best newly qualified designers and makers from across the UK.

The Good Food Live area is a must-visit for foodies and you can match the perfect wine to your feast at the Tutored Wine Tasting. With a selection of wines from around the world, it’s your chance to pick up tips from the experts and leave ready to impress.

If you have always wanted to see a hawk, eagle or peregrine falcon in action make sure you visit the Birds of Prey Display where The Hawking Centre, based in Doddington, Kent will bring this thrilling experience to life. Two of the UK’s most famous falconer’s and television presenters, Leigh and Jo Holmes, will be bringing their favourite birds along to wow the audiences and give both young and old an unforgettable experience.

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

All winners have been notified.

Show Details

Weald of Kent Craft Show

Penshurst Place

7-9 September

Open 09.30 – 17.00 (17.30 Saturday)

Tickets:

Adult £6.50 (Advance £5.00) Senior £5.50 (Advance £4.00)

(Advance tickets need to be booked before 5:00pm on 3 September 2012)

Child under 16 free if acc by parent – otherwise £3

BUY 10 ADULT OR SENIOR TICKETS Get One Adult Free (In advance only)

Combined Weald of Kent Craft Show & Penshurst House & Gardens

Adult and Senior £10.00 (In advance only)

Buy tickets online at www.ichf.co.uk or phone Ticket Hotline 01425 277988

*COMPETITION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  • Closing date is 12th August 2012
  • One entry per person.
  • There are 4 pairs of tickets on offer, a total of 8 tickets.
  • Employees (and immediate family members) of any company involved in the Competition or, if relevant, any advertising agency connected with the competition are not eligible to enter the Competition.
  • In the event that any entrant is disqualified from the Competition, in our sole discretion we may decide whether a replacement contestant should be selected. In this event, any further entrant will be selected on the same criteria as the original entrant and will be subject to these Terms.
  • You must not sell the tickets. If you are unable to attend the tickets may be passed on to another creative or returned to Creatabot so another winner can be selected.
  • Competition entries must be made in the manner and by the closing date specified on the Competition Notice. Failure to do so will disqualify the entry.
  • We reserve the right to disqualify any entrant if we have reasonable grounds to believe the entrant has significantly breached any of these terms and conditions.
Area:   South East

Call For Artist / Creative – Exhibition In Orpington – July 2012

Creative / Artist Wanted, Creative Opportunities

Chloe Robinson is a young composer from Orpington in Kent who is currently planning an exhibition involving her recordings at the ArtStyle Gallery in Orpington.

Chloe plans to use a collage of voice recordings that reflect the way we discuss our life through social media and how we share  information about our private lives. She is looking for a creative person to collaborate with from any field – priority being that the space of the gallery is used in the most fulfilling way.

The gallery is already booked for 6 days from the 10th of July so all costs involved for hiring the gallery have been catered for. This is a fantastic opportunity for a creative to gain exposure of their work and experience the productivity a collaboration can bring.

If you are interested please email Chloe Robinson on chloepiarobinson@hotmail.com

To find out more about Chloe visit www.wix.com/chloepiarobinson/colonies

Area   South East

Putting the Spark Into Education

Editorials

As we move into the future more engaging ways are needed to educate, support and inspire todays youth. Enter Sparky – a puppet from another planet. Originally created for the project “Imagination Our Nation” Sparky takes a unique role in encouraging young people to actively engage with their creativity.

With the direction of co-producers Ciaran McKay and Charlie Ralph, a team of creatives take Sparky to visit schools in the Medway area and run workshops with the pupils. The goal of the workshops is for all the pupils to collaboratively hold an annual event involving Sparky for the local community in Medway.

The workshops begin with teaching pupils how to animate Sparky in a way that mirrors their own movements. The class then develop their ideas for the theme of the community event, often using various art mediums and creative writing.

The way Sparky engages with children is unique and this impresses the teachers as much as the children. Discussing the positive effect Sparky has, Ciaran responds by saying “Sometimes you go into a class and there are children who lack so much self-confidence, but by the end of the workshop these quiet children are the ones most involved! Sparky puts so many smiles on children’s faces and I really love the joy that brings to all involved”.

The theme for the 2012 event is “The River” and this year it will take the form of a parade that will be held during Medway’s “Fuse Festival”.

Sparky and his more recently created brother Magma are just two of a family of 20 puppets that were created to represent different regions of the UK for “Imagination Our Nation” – a project devised by international carnival design group Kinetika.

If you would like to find out more about Sparky, Magma and the rest of their puppet family please contact:

Ciaran ceem@live.co.uk or Charlie charliecookdesign@gmail.com

By Natasha Steer