Amelia’s Magazine | Boxbird’ s Chirp to all Illustrators and Printmakers!

Teague2

Image courtesy of Zara Wood

Boxbird Gallery is on the search for the hottest Illustration & printmaking talent to join in with their May 2010 show ‘A to B: An exhibition of contemporary printmaking inspired by travel’. All the work in the show will be based on the experience of travel, viagra buy countries, seek foreign landscapes and transport making it a very open and exciting brief to work to! The gallery will be accepting 10 new artists to the exhibit alongside existing Boxbird artists including Jon Burgerman, generic Fiona Hewitt and Zara Wood, all the entries will be judged by Gallery Owners Alice Teague & Graham Carter. The exhibition will be open from Friday 7th May – Sunday 30th May 2010. All work will be on show in the gallery throughout the fringe & sold online at boxbird.co.uk. Alice Teague is inviting you to be part of the A to B Exhibition and in this interview tells us how to get your submissions in now!

Teague8Images courtesy of Sally Elford
Valerie Pezeron: What kind of work is Boxbird looking for?
Boxbird Gallery: Please take a good look around the website, this will give a good idea of what Boxbird organisers are looking for in terms of style and influence. For this exhibition all the work must be hand made, ie. originals, screenprinted, mono prints, gocco, lino cut etc etc. Any digital or giclee printswill not be accepted. You may not have produced prints before in which case Boxbird can advise you how to go about it should you be accepted!

Teague3Image courtesy of Graham Carter
VP: Who can apply?
BG: Anyone can apply from any country and creative background though please note that we specialise in contemporary printmaking & illustration. We invite applications from graduate & student artists up to established names.

Teague4Image courtesy of Lee Baker
VP: How do Amelia’s readers apply?
BG: All applications must be accompanied by an application form which can be obtained by emailing hello@boxbird.co.uk. Entries without the correct paper work will not be accepted. You will need to send with your completed application form no more than 3 examples of your work. Please ensure these examples are in the style of which you would produce the final work for the show should you be accepted. Important information! DO NOT SEND ORIGINAL WORK – IT WILL NOT BE RETURNED. A digital print-out is fine. Your examples do not have to be to the brief, existing pieces from your portfolio will be suitable at this stage.

Teague5Image courtesy of Cheryl Taylor
VP: When do we all need to get our applications in?
BG: All applications must be delivered by post no later than 30th JANUARY 2010. Email applications will not be accepted & any applications arriving past that date also wont.

Teague6Image courtesy of Mibo
VP: What will happen after that?
BG: All the applications will be judged by the gallery owners Alice Teague & Graham Carter. Once we have made our final 10 choices the successful applicants will be contacted by phone. Unsuccessful applicants will be contacted by post.

Teague7Image courtesy of Ellen Giggenbach

VP: So ok, let’s say “Yay! I have been accepted!” What happens next?

BG: If you are accepted you will receive the full brief, deadlines and show details by email.Please note that being accepted into this exhibition does not guarantee continued representation by the gallery. Pass it on!If you know someone who might like to apply to be part of this exhibition please forward this article and tell them to get in touch! Thank you for taking the time to apply, and we wish you the best of luck!

Call Alice Teague, the gallery owner on 01273 734295 or email her at  hello@boxbird.co.uk, and let’s get the ball rolling! I will definitely apply. What about you?

Categories ,A to B Exhibition, ,Alice Teague, ,art, ,Boxbird Gallery, ,competition, ,contemporary, ,Fiona Hewitt, ,Graham Carter, ,illustration, ,illustrator, ,illustrators, ,Johan Burgerman, ,mono prints, ,printmakers, ,printmaking, ,prints, ,Zara Wood

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Amelia’s Magazine | Boxbird’ s Chirp to all Illustrators and Printmakers!

Teague2

Image courtesy of Zara Wood

Boxbird Gallery is on the search for the hottest Illustration & printmaking talent to join in with their May 2010 show ‘A to B: An exhibition of contemporary printmaking inspired by travel’. All the work in the show will be based on the experience of travel, viagra buy countries, seek foreign landscapes and transport making it a very open and exciting brief to work to! The gallery will be accepting 10 new artists to the exhibit alongside existing Boxbird artists including Jon Burgerman, generic Fiona Hewitt and Zara Wood, all the entries will be judged by Gallery Owners Alice Teague & Graham Carter. The exhibition will be open from Friday 7th May – Sunday 30th May 2010. All work will be on show in the gallery throughout the fringe & sold online at boxbird.co.uk. Alice Teague is inviting you to be part of the A to B Exhibition and in this interview tells us how to get your submissions in now!

Teague8Images courtesy of Sally Elford
Valerie Pezeron: What kind of work is Boxbird looking for?
Boxbird Gallery: Please take a good look around the website, this will give a good idea of what Boxbird organisers are looking for in terms of style and influence. For this exhibition all the work must be hand made, ie. originals, screenprinted, mono prints, gocco, lino cut etc etc. Any digital or giclee printswill not be accepted. You may not have produced prints before in which case Boxbird can advise you how to go about it should you be accepted!

Teague3Image courtesy of Graham Carter
VP: Who can apply?
BG: Anyone can apply from any country and creative background though please note that we specialise in contemporary printmaking & illustration. We invite applications from graduate & student artists up to established names.

Teague4Image courtesy of Lee Baker
VP: How do Amelia’s readers apply?
BG: All applications must be accompanied by an application form which can be obtained by emailing hello@boxbird.co.uk. Entries without the correct paper work will not be accepted. You will need to send with your completed application form no more than 3 examples of your work. Please ensure these examples are in the style of which you would produce the final work for the show should you be accepted. Important information! DO NOT SEND ORIGINAL WORK – IT WILL NOT BE RETURNED. A digital print-out is fine. Your examples do not have to be to the brief, existing pieces from your portfolio will be suitable at this stage.

Teague5Image courtesy of Cheryl Taylor
VP: When do we all need to get our applications in?
BG: All applications must be delivered by post no later than 30th JANUARY 2010. Email applications will not be accepted & any applications arriving past that date also wont.

Teague6Image courtesy of Mibo
VP: What will happen after that?
BG: All the applications will be judged by the gallery owners Alice Teague & Graham Carter. Once we have made our final 10 choices the successful applicants will be contacted by phone. Unsuccessful applicants will be contacted by post.

Teague7Image courtesy of Ellen Giggenbach

VP: So ok, let’s say “Yay! I have been accepted!” What happens next?

BG: If you are accepted you will receive the full brief, deadlines and show details by email.Please note that being accepted into this exhibition does not guarantee continued representation by the gallery. Pass it on!If you know someone who might like to apply to be part of this exhibition please forward this article and tell them to get in touch! Thank you for taking the time to apply, and we wish you the best of luck!

Call Alice Teague, the gallery owner on 01273 734295 or email her at  hello@boxbird.co.uk, and let’s get the ball rolling! I will definitely apply. What about you?

Categories ,A to B Exhibition, ,Alice Teague, ,art, ,Boxbird Gallery, ,competition, ,contemporary, ,Fiona Hewitt, ,Graham Carter, ,illustration, ,illustrator, ,illustrators, ,Johan Burgerman, ,mono prints, ,printmakers, ,printmaking, ,prints, ,Zara Wood

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Amelia’s Magazine | Calling all illustrators, budding illustrators, or just people who like drawing, and wearing clothes …

If you try to describe this to someone (which you shouldn’t, this web sales don’t give anything away), doctor medications you will sound like you are conjuring from memory a nonsensical and fantastical dream; not something remotely tangible that actually happened in a 25-minute journey through a Shorditch warehouse.

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Enter the ride and find yourself wheeled through 15 distinct scenarios with over 70 artists acting out micro-performances. “Designed to mentally and visually astound”, check; “leaving you overwhelmed and exhilarated’, check and check; and finishing the ride “in a totally different emotional state from the one you were in when you embarked on the journey”, most definitely true: utterly elated, mesmerised, and psychologically discombobulated.

The You Me Bum Bum train represents a new branch of experimental live art where the line between performer and audience is not just blurred, but utterly turned on it’s head; interaction is integral to the experience, and how far you take this is up to you. It’s creators Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd, intend to strip individuals of decision-making, giving passengers the would-be ordinary experience of somebody else’s shoes. You are left with fleeting slices of alternate realities, one moment you might be a drummer, the next a translator (I really don’t want to say much!). It’s real human experience through the prism of the utterly surreal, and it will take you some time to reclaim your grasp on the two, a most marvellous and novel experience.

The venue is essential to the experience, and they describe Cordy House as their dream venue, lending itself to the most ambitious event they’ve held yet.
There isn’t much time to go, and I whole-heartedly recommend it as an unforgettable experience. It runs every Saturday from now until the 20th of December between 7pm and 11pm.

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Hip Parisian fahion and electro label, buy Kitsuné, what is ed are fast becoming as well known for their associated music as they are for their fashion. In fact, there is a clear cut three-way divide at Heaven tonight: scenesters, dressed for the fashion blog photographers collide en masse with those who know Kitsuné for the music and are quite unprepared for the additional rooms full of said scenesters, and with the regular Heaven clubbers, used to G-A-Y Camp Attack on Friday nights and probably the most bemused of everyone here.

Within the four rooms there’s a frustrating mix of real djs and acts like Autokratz, whose Pet Shop Boys go big beat set was a joy to behold and left me humming ‘Stay The Same’ for the rest of the night. Hearts Revolution, Punks Jump Up and Kitsuné house band Digitalism all turned out in force to impress and did so, although at times the acts felt a little repetitive. Alas, alongside these quality acts, we also got a number of vanity djs, including various models and boutique owners, which all blurred into the same set as the night progressed and seemed to play to rooms full of people aiming to get to the bar and move on.

It transpired that the ‘Don’t Panic’ room was the place to be. Inspired by K-Tron, blasting bass heavy No-Wave, they held me and the room in near divine rapture. The highlight of the night however, was Matthew Stone who dragged us back to 1985 via The KLF, his effortlessly sublime musical compass taking us on a seemingly random adventure, fitting perfectly with the tone of the night. There were some true high points tonight, but Kitsuné are probably best enjoyed via one of their compilations than live, based on tonight’s evidence.

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Global Day of Action is a direct action environmentalism initiative that started in 2005 Global Climate Campaign to focus world attention on the anthropogenic effect that humans are having on global warming.
Actions take place on this day to coincide with a Climate Change convention; a meeting of world leaders from 189 nations, viagra dosage that meet every year to discuss climate change.
We have the listings for the actions taking place on the 6th in London, viagra 100mg for a list of other cities actions click here.

Global Day of Action
6th December 2008

This will be the Saturday midway through the next round of UN Climate Talks and our best chance to influence the decisions of delegates ahead of the critical UN talks in 2009 at which a post-Kyoto treaty agreement will be decided.

LONDON

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Climate Bike Ride 2008
Assemble 10.30 am Lincolns Inn Fields for a mass bike ride around Central London joining up with the National Climate March at Grosvenor Square (see next listing for National Climate March info)
The three stops on the route are:
-Outside Greenergy, 198 High Holborn – for an agrofuels protest organised by Biofuelswatch
-Outside E.On 100 Pall Mall – for a speaker on NO NEW COAL
-Outside the Department of Transport – for a speaker on sustainable transport
Everyone welcome; decorate your bikes, bring whistles, bring music!
Want to help out for this action? Contact Jeremy Hill on 07816 839883 or jeremy.hill1@btopenworld.com

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National Climate March and Global Day of Action on Climate
The march starts at 12noon at Grosvenor Square and will move via Carlos Place and Mount Street to Berkley Square and Berkley street to Picacadily, Picadilly Circus, Lower Regent street, Pall Mall and Cockspur street to Trafalgar Square and Whitehall to Parliament Square.
We will bring the UK issues of Aviation, New coal and Biofuels to the streets of London, along with a call for more investment in renewable energy, more energy efficiency and more green jobs.
Speakers will include Nick Clegg (leader Liberal Democrat Party), Caroline Lucas (leader, Green party), Michael Meacher (ex-Environment Minister) and George Monbiot (Honorary President, Campaign against Climate Change).
Contact: 020 7833 9311
www.campaigncc.org

There will also be an After-Party in the Synergy Centre from 5.00 pm till late.

The March on Parliament has four main themes –
1) NO to a 3rd runway at Heathrow and the runaway expansion in aviation expansion.
2) NO new coal – no new coal-fired power stations as planned at eg Kingsnorth in Kent
3) NO to the expansion of agrofuels – with negative impacts on forests, the climate and world food supply.
4) YES to a renewable energy revolution and green jobs – a “Green new Deal”
Come with your own banners, costumes on one of these themes and join up with others pushing that theme……

The March on Parliament for the Climate marks the Saturday midway through the UN Climate Talks in Poznan, Poland and we make our demands on the UK government in solidarity with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities that will suffer worst and most immediately from climate change caused overwhelmingly by the rich long-industrialised countries.

We need the government to act now on climate, to stop building coal-fired power stations and new runways – and to begin the renewable energy revolution. We need a tidal wave of people outside parliament to make them act to stop climate catastrophe now! Be part of that tidal wave, be there! Next year may be too late.

for more information:
http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org/ – for a list of cities and actions!
www.campaigncc.org

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BUST Magazine Christmas Craftacular
6th – 7th December, St Aloysius Social Club, 20 Phoenix Road, Euston, NW1 1TA
craftacular-uk@bust.com

BUST is a magazine devoted to the female. Providing an unapologetic view of life in the female lane, they break down stereotypes! Based in the US and established in 1993, the magazine addresses a variety of different issues within pop sulture, including music, fashion, art & crafts and news.
Editor-in-Chief, Debbie Stoller, decided to call the magazine BUST, because it was “aggressive and sexy and funny… It was a title that could belong to a men’s porn magazine.”
For Women With Something To Get Off Their Chests!
Click here for the Christmas Craftacular’s Facebook Page


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Jumble Fever
Under the bridge on Beck Road, E8
Saturday 6th December
Midday-4pm, Entry £1
A fabulous jumble sale with a boogie twist! There will be a great deal to see and do and buy.. See you there!

ETSY
An online shopping bazaar; Etsy is a cross between eBay and Amazon with a humble handmade twist. Launched in June 2005 by Robert Kalin, for sale Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik, the site has grown to be incredibly popular, with tens of thousands of people selling their handmade goods (90% of whom are women!).
As Christmas draws nearer and greener, we have chosen our favorite handmade things to inspire your presents list.
www.etsy.com

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“The Kelsey”; a pleated clutch in paisley mocha
This handmade clutch is one of many adorable bags created by GraceyBags; get in touch through etsy.com to custom order a clutch and choose from a rainbow of fabrics.
Featured is ‘The Kelsey’ in a paisley mocha print on the outside in greens, blues, pinks, yellows and browns. The inside has been sewn from a silky brown fabric and the bag closes with a small magnet.

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Recycled Journal – handbound
Find a lovely selection of hand bound recycled books by Rhonda; bookbinder and book artist.
This particularly wonderful journal is made with a variety of recycled scrap papers ranging from large envelopes, posters, junk mail, blank paper, lined and graph paper, covers from old sketch books, old maps, discarded photocopies, misprints from the computer printer to paper bags.
Perfect as an art journal, the book is covered with an old map of the world, the one pictured above showing the islands of Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
There are 256 pages (when you count both sides of each sheet). The pages are handbound using green and brown linen threads, visible on the spine in 4 rows of chain stitches.
The book size is approximately 4″ x 4¼” and 1″ thick (or 10.5cm x 11cm x 2.5cm).

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French Bulldog cotton tote bag

This adorable cotton tote is the perfect carry-all for any occasion. BellaBlu Designs signature French Bulldog silhouette has been cut from Heather Bailey‘s ‘Sway in Brown’ Pop Garden print and appliquéd to this cotton canvas bag. It is 100% 10 oz. cotton, measures 15 x 13 x 3 inches and can be customized with most other dog breeds.

TREEFORT
http://treefortkids.myshopify.com

We’ve also had a browse round treefort.myshopify.com, for some gift ideas for those of you with little ones in your life!

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Dreamlets Dolls
These cute little creatures would make an adorable gift this season, and as a product that gives 1% back to Artworks, Bridges to Understanding, or Poncho, they’re doing a lot more than making a loved one happy! The dolls come in a variety of shapes and colours, each with their own quirky personality. You are also able to choose which organization will benefit from your gift by registering your doll online.

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Nikki McClure’s Mama & Baby Things
Treefort also sell many of Nikki Mcclure‘s prints, books, cards, and calendars. Nikki McClure creates complex, yet natural designs by cutting away from a single piece of black construction paper with an x-acto knife. Her works are printed on 100% Recycled, 100% Post-Consumer Waste, Processed Chlorine Free paper that was manufactured with electricity that is offset with Green-e® certified renewable energy. Her work is printed by a small family-owned press in Portland, Oregon, US- and uses soy-based inks.

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Kids On Roof “House”
is made of Eco friendly-100% recycled cardboard and is 100% biodegradable. These houses are the perfect gift for creative children, as they’re meant to be decorated and personalised! (see below for examples from treefort) Kidsonroof donates 5% of its profits to specific Unicef projects; €24,000 has now been collected for the Unicef project for building better, small-scale housing for HIV/Aids inflicted orphans in Russia.
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Beyond Retro Christmas Party!

This evening Beyond Retro is throwing it’s annual seasonal gathering – in both it’s shops, viagra buy the original Cheshire St warehouse and new sibling store in Soho – from 6pm – 8pm, there’ll be lots of exclusive goodies for you to browse through and they’ll even throw in some mulled wine and mince pies. Good times.

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Made In Clerkenwell

This evening and all weekend, the Clerkenwell Green Association open their studios for Made in Clerkenwell, an event that showcases the work of over 70 designers they support through providing them with studio space, mentoring and business advice to help them create their work.

The fruits of their labors are exhibited and available for purchase, so you can hunt out that unique Christmas gift and buy all kinds of original and creative wares – ranging from fashion designs to jewellery, accessories, textiles and even ceramics.
What makes this shopping experience so different is that you can mingle with and chat to the designers and find out about their craft, inspirations, working method, becoming a designer, anything you want to know! So pop down, get a great gift and support new designers.

Open 6pm to 8pm, Thursday 27th November 2008 and
12pm to 6pm on Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November 2008.
£2.50 entrance – free to the under 16s.

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It’s no secret that Brooklyn’s the place to be for smart indie pop these days, view but look a little closer to home and you might be surprised. Take tonight’s superb support acts, advice for example. First up is Pens, erectile a cute lo-fi local trio who, despite playing to only a handful of people, put on a wonderfully frantic and ramshackle performance – think Karen O‘s kid sisters gleefully bashing at snare, guitar and synths.

Fellow Londoners Chew Lips are up next and are nothing short of a revelation. The threesome cater in captivatingly melancholy electronic music and boast a bona fide icon-in-waiting in singer Tigs; she prowls and creeps around the venue, all black bob and wide eyes, unleashing powerful vocals and jumping on the bar to serenade us, while the boys whip up a glitchy synth and bass storm in the background. ‘Solo’ is the band’s set-closer and an undeniable highlight – scuzzy and danceable yet strangely sad, it will be one of your anthems of 2009, no question.

This bunch are hard to follow, but Telepathe just about manage it. Dave Sitek-produced debut ‘Dance Mother’ is on the way in January, and recreating its majesty live is clearly still a tricky undertaking for the Brooklyn duo. They do their best, unleashing a stream of cluttered soundscapes, layered harmonies and clipped rhythms, and while the effect is hypnotic at times, barely a word is uttered between songs – resulting in a distinct lack of atmosphere. This could of course be due, in part, to the fact that they are playing to a room full of typically disinterested Shoreditch types. Whatever the reason the performance falls a little flat, until final effort ‘Chromes On It’ that is, its spine-tingling beats waking the crowd from its stupor and climaxing with speakers shaking and half the band hanging from the ceiling as the hysterical throng down the front excitedly punch the air. It’s just enough to convince us that we’re not quite prepared to give up on Telepathe as a live proposition yet. More like this please.
Nuclear: Art and Radioactivity
discount -4.064941&sspn=16.764146, visit this site 39.418945&ie=UTF8&ll=51.524712,-0.079694&spn=0.008598,0.019248&z=16&g=E1+6PG&iwloc=addr”target=”_blank”>Nicholls and Clarke Building, 3-10 Shoreditch High Street, Spitalfields, London E1.

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‘Half-life’
Chris Oakley, 2008
High-definition video, 15 minutes

‘The Nightwatchman’
Simon Hollington & Kypros Kyprianou, 2008
Installation

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The Nicholls and Clarke Building hosts an exhibition that explores the changing perceptions of nuclear power. In our rapidly deteriorating climate, the effects of nuclear development from the past have come to haunt us. ‘The Nightwatchman,’ by Simon Hollington and Kypros Kyprianou, captures this disturbing predicament.

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As we entered the installation there was something immediately unsettling about it. A board-meeting table situated in the centre of a large dilapidated storeroom indicated recent activity, and as we crept further through the exhibition space there was more evidence of some night watchmen. But they are no where to be found…

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Together with the film ‘Half-life’ by Chris Oakley, there was a sense of being caught in a crossfire of two different eras: the naïvely optimistic 80′s and the knowledgeable cynicism of the present day.

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The film showed a series of paradoxical images of nature vs. technology, and through it we were reminded of how our idea of what is progressive has been turned on it’s head.

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If you’d like to have something of yours across the chests of music aficionados throughout the country, viagra you might like to apply for this. 100% music, cheap 100% recycled paper (well done), sildenafil Bearded Magazine is preparing for the re-launch of the printed magazine on January 29th, and they’re throwing in a t-shirt as well.

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When it came to deciding what should go on the front of said t-shirt, they mumbled gibberish into their beards and drew blanks, and so they’ve put the task out to you the reader to help them out. In fact, they might be so filled with indecision that there could be four winners, so better chances for you! Have a look at the criteria and send in a design soon, you have until the 15th of December.

Categories ,Art, ,Bearded Magazine, ,Competition, ,Fashion, ,Music, ,Recycle

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Amelia’s Magazine | Competition time! The Pickled Award for new character illustration.

Laura_Anderson PIckled Ink
Pickled Ink illustrator Laura Anderson.

Calling all (newish) illustrators! Fancy gaining lots of experience, ailment wider recognition, approved representation from brand new illustration agency Pickled Ink…. and earning yourself a fabulous prize of £1000 into the equation?

As you know I am a major fan of anything that gives up and coming illustrators a way to showcase their work to a wider public and entering competitions is one of the best things you can do to keep the old creative grey matter ticking over whilst you contemplate how to make your way out into the big wide world after graduation.

Hanako_Clulow
Pickled Ink illustrator Hanako Clulow.

Behold then, for sale the Pickled Ink Award for an outstanding new character-led artist to illustrate the new graphic novel script by Jenny McDade, best known for the 1980s TV Series Super Gran. Together with comic book author and editor Pat Mills (who is by all accounts a doyenne of the British Comic industry) they are looking for two lead characters, a 20 frame sequence and a front cover design to illustrate a book called Party Girls. If this sounds like your sort of thing you really should get stuck in as soon as possible. The deadline for entries is Monday 8th November 2010. Full information can be found on the website here, but please note that the award is only eligible to illustration or art students in their final year of university or within 12 months of graduating.

Perfect!

Categories ,Character illustration, ,competition, ,graduates, ,Hanako Clulow, ,Illustration Agency, ,Jenny McDade, ,Laura Anderson, ,Party Girls, ,Pat Mills, ,Pickled Award, ,Pickled Ink

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Amelia’s Magazine | Glastonbury Festival’s 2014 Emerging Talent Competition: My Top Three Acts

Alev Lenz memphis video still

I was very flattered, when, thanks to a recommendation from Stay Loose music PR, I was asked to be one of the judges for the first round of Glastonbury Festival’s 2014 Emerging Talent Competition. The panel is made up of ‘about 40 of the UK’s top online music writers’ that includes the likes of Drowned in Sound, TLOFBF and Breaking More Waves, so I am indeed in good company. Together we have compiled a long list of 120 acts from around 8000 entries (with the selection sent to me predominantly consisting of folk, electronic, acoustic and pop acts, at my request), from which the second stage judges must pick the 8 finalists and then the final winner. Over the years I have frequently been very impressed with the bands that have been highlighted by this competition as ones to watch, and so it was a real honour to be included in the early stages. The Emerging Talent Competition gives new and unsigned artists a chance to showcase their wares on a main stage at the festival, and previous entrants have gone on to great things, including Stornoway and Treetop Flyers.

Given so much talent I found it incredibly hard to make my final three choices, and in the end based much of my decision on the professionalism of the acts and the need to pick a balanced offering. So I choose my very favourite best tunes – the ones that had me hit the virtual rewind time and again – and then I looked for a good stage presence since this is essential in a festival setting (this was sadly a let down with a few acts that I really liked) and finally an aptitude for self promotion, as I feel this is vital today (again, too many acts had not really thought this through, which I feel shows a lack of ambition or belief, both of which are necessary to survive). It is perhaps no surprise that my top act is coincidentally one that had previously (before the competition) contacted me to cover their music, which I did, you can read my post here: I love a bit of get go in a creative!

Here, without further ado, are my top three choices: I hope at least one of them makes the final cut! And I hope to write a further blog post recommending some of the other great bands I found but which sadly did not make my final three. Click on the titles to hear the tracks on soundcloud.

1. Arthur Rigby & the Baskervylles – Moonlit Strangers

Arthur Rigby

Arthur Rigby & The Baskervylles - Moonlit Strangers By Warren Clarke

Arthur Rigby & The Baskervylles – Moonlit Strangers By Warren Clarke.

On Moonlit Strangers the Leeds based band Arthur Rigby & the Baskervylles employ lush orchestration and multi-layered vocals to tell a tale of loneliness and heartbreak. It’s a brilliant showcase for their exuberant melodies, with a folksy violin curling around the lead vocals, all backed by an enthusiastic brass section. The anthemic tunes and sing-a-long choruses are perfect for the Glastonbury crowd. (NOTE: between the time of writing this blog and the announcement of the long list Arthur Rigby sadly announced their demise… so it seems I did not pick a good horse after all. Here’s hoping that my other two choices fare better in the cut throat music world. I wish I could have given someone else a chance.)

2. Alev Lenz – Memphis

Alev Lenz, photo by VIKTOR VAUTHIER

Alev Lenz, photo by Viktor Vauthier.

Alev Lenz by Hannah Boothman

Alev Lenz by Hannah Boothman.

The opening notes of Memphis bear the woozy electronic hallmarks of German/Turkish singer Alev Lenz’s collaboration with acclaimed Finnish drummer Samuli Kosminen (Múm, Hauschka, Kronos Quartet, Jónsi). Her swooping vocals carry a beautiful melody of heartbreak and dreams across softly twinkling keys, a style which is further showcased on Song No.1. In other tracks she effortlessly combines classical influences with electronica to create a unique and engaging sound. I think Alev Lenz is an exciting new talent that we will hear much more from. 

3. George Boomsma – How High The Mountain

George Boomsma

George Boomsma by Angela Lamb

George Boomsma by Angela Lamb.

How High The Mountain is a simple slice of folk which showcases swoonsome vocals from North Yorkshire’s George Boomsma, all bound together by an elegiac violin. I found his live version of the song absolutely mesmerising and feel it would be sure to turn heads and gain fans at Glastonbury. I was also impressed by further tracks, with rollicking tunes and plentiful harmonies. 

I hope you will help me spread the word about these talented musicians, all of whom deserve further recognition x

Categories ,Alev Lenz, ,Angela Lamb, ,Arthur Rigby, ,Arthur Rigby & the Baskervylles, ,Breaking More Waves, ,competition, ,Drowned In Sound, ,Emerging Talent, ,George Boomsma, ,Glastonbury Festival, ,Hannah Boothman, ,How High The Mountain, ,Memphis, ,Moonlit Strangers, ,Samuli Kosminen, ,Song No.1, ,SoundCloud, ,Stay Loose, ,Stornoway, ,TLOFBF, ,Treetop Flyers, ,Viktor Vauthier, ,Warren Clarke

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