Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Catwalk Review: Pam Hogg and Nick Cave, Peaches Geldof, Mika

Pedal-powered cinema: doesn’t require a spanner in the works

Oxford, approved for the most part, viagra is an academic, see civilised city, but last night it was very much in store for some monkey business. Yes, GAFI (The Great Apes Film Initiative), SOS (Sumatran Orangutan Society) and the Ape Alliance were in town at Oxford Brookes University holding a screening of a primate-driven conservation film, powered, not by dirty old carbon, but by pedal energy.

We’ve covered the subject of pedal-powered cinema in the earth section recently, of course, but this event partnered the unusual film viewing experience with an interesting initiative – namely, using it to help raise awareness of and finance for pedal-powered cinema opportunities in the remotest parts of the world. GAFI, under the wind of its c-founder and filmmaker Madelaine Westwood, has committed itself to showing conservation films to the public in remote areas that highlight the damage they and their society are doing to their own environment.

Madelaine, present at last night’s event, said that GAFI took up pedal-powered cinema as a resource after children in Cameroon had to walk 20 miles to a GAFI screening, only for a priest who had agreed his church could be used as the venue for the screening called it off, leaving the children to walk all the way back home without even having seen the documentary. A pedal-powered cinema kit, made up merely of a bicycle, a car battery, a DVD player and several different cables and coming in at a top price of just £2,000, was the answer. Thanks to this technology, GAFI can now screen films anywhere; on the side of a building’s wall or even a blanket.

Clever piece of kit: all you need is a bicycle, car battery, DVD player and lots of cables

Admittedly, last night’s screening may not have raised much towards this project – admission price was only £3 – but it was certainly well attended by an audience of up to 50 people, and not all of them obvious students either. And, in my opinion, the major feature shown, ‘Losing Tomorrow’ (directed by Patrick Rouxel), was certainly a success. Unlike the disappointment that was ‘Ice Bears Of The Beaufort’ I sat through at the Artivist Film Festival last weekend, this documentary successfully highlighted the problems – complex as they are – that blight both Sumatra’s primates, most of them orangutans, and the people who are involved in the logging industry that is depriving the monkeys of their habitat and the island of its rainforest.

Over the course of the last century, 50 percent of Sumatra’s rainforest has been cleared for logging, so dominant is the industry there – indeed, it’s estimated that just each day an area of rainforest the size of Manhattan is wiped out. However, suddenly to curtail the logging would rob a large number of people their livelihood – impoverished as they are – while, on the flip side, if the logging continues the country’s rainforest will be entirely wiped out and the logging employees without an industry to employ them anyway. It’s a fine Catch-22 with no easy answers. All the same, the audience was informed there is something they can do – contact their local MP or MEP to put pressure on the British government and the European parliament not to allow the import of timber furniture and wood pulp-produced paper that comes out of Sumatra – 75 percent of which is illegal anyway, so widespread is the logging industry there. The British government has so far made no move in this direction, but the European parliament has been looking into it, so there is some optimism, at least.

And we’re off! The cyclist pedals and the audience watches on

But what, specifically, of the pedal-powered cinema experience? Well, I must say, on a personal level, it’s rather an invigorating thing to be part of – or at least watch. On this occasion, as something of a gimmick, British cyclist and 2012 Olympic hopeful David Smith took to the pedals and, to give him his due, kept up an impressive tempo for about 45 minutes, before – a bit pooped – he handed over the reigns to another volunteer. There is certainly something agreeable about watching something worthy and well-crafted, while you’re aware the power that’s generating it is carbon free and directly man-produced – either that, or it’s just proof of the old maxim that it’s always enjoyable to watch someone working while you’re lazing about doing nothing. Either way, the pedal-powered cinema kit worked perfectly well and was a great advert for GAFI’s aspirations.

‘Losing Tomorrow’ was followed by the short documentary ‘Dear Mr President’. Filmed by Madeline Westwood herself, it showed reactions of Sumatran locals while watching the first documentary and then featured one or two of the viewers addressing, direct to camera, the Sumatran president at the time, asking him to do something about the primate/ logging problems in the country. ‘Dear Mr President’, we were subsequently informed, was indeed shown to the president, but just how much that act has achieved, of course, remains to be seen.

And how much can be done, in general, about Sumatra’s rainforest debacle remains to be seen too – but, as mentioned, we can all do something. For those interested, the MSc 10th anniversary conference on primate conservation will also be held at Oxford Brookes University on the April 23 and 24 – it’s open to everyone; the public as well as students and academics.
Pedal-powered cinema: doesn’t require a spanner in the works

Oxford, thumb for the most part, is an academic, civilised city, but last night it was very much in store for some monkey business. Yes, GAFI (The Great Apes Film Initiative), SOS (Sumatran Orangutan Society) and the Ape Alliance were in town at Oxford Brookes University holding a screening of a primate-driven conservation film, powered, not by dirty old carbon, but by pedal energy.

We’ve covered the subject of pedal-powered cinema in the earth section recently, of course, but this event partnered the unusual film viewing experience with an interesting initiative – namely, using it to help raise awareness of and finance for pedal-powered cinema opportunities in the remotest parts of the world. GAFI, under the wind of its c-founder and filmmaker Madelaine Westwood, has committed itself to showing conservation films to the public in remote areas that highlight the damage they and their society are doing to their own environment.

Madelaine, present at last night’s event, said that GAFI took up pedal-powered cinema as a resource after children in Cameroon had to walk 20 miles to a GAFI screening, only for a priest who had agreed his church could be used as the venue for the screening called it off, leaving the children to walk all the way back home without even having seen the documentary. A pedal-powered cinema kit, made up merely of a bicycle, a car battery, a DVD player and several different cables and coming in at a top price of just £2,000, was the answer. Thanks to this technology, GAFI can now screen films anywhere; on the side of a building’s wall or even a blanket.

Clever piece of kit: all you need is a bicycle, car battery, DVD player and lots of cables

Admittedly, last night’s screening may not have raised much towards this project – admission price was only £3 – but it was certainly well attended by an audience of up to 50 people, and not all of them obvious students either. And, in my opinion, the major feature shown, ‘Losing Tomorrow’ (directed by Patrick Rouxel), was certainly a success. Unlike the disappointment that was ‘Ice Bears Of The Beaufort’ I sat through at the Artivist Film Festival last weekend, this documentary successfully highlighted the problems – complex as they are – that blight both Sumatra’s primates, most of them orangutans, and the people who are involved in the logging industry that is depriving the monkeys of their habitat and the island of its rainforest.

Over the course of the last century, 50 percent of Sumatra’s rainforest has been cleared for logging, so dominant is the industry there – indeed, it’s estimated that just each day an area of rainforest the size of Manhattan is wiped out. However, suddenly to curtail the logging would rob a large number of people their livelihood – impoverished as they are – while, on the flip side, if the logging continues the country’s rainforest will be entirely wiped out and the logging employees without an industry to employ them anyway. It’s a fine Catch-22 with no easy answers. All the same, the audience was informed there is something they can do – contact their local MP or MEP to put pressure on the British government and the European parliament not to allow the import of timber furniture and wood pulp-produced paper that comes out of Sumatra – 75 percent of which is illegal anyway, so widespread is the logging industry there. The British government has so far made no move in this direction, but the European parliament has been looking into it, so there is some optimism, at least.

And we’re off! The cyclist pedals and the audience watches on

But what, specifically, of the pedal-powered cinema experience? Well, I must say, on a personal level, it’s rather an invigorating thing to be part of – or at least watch. On this occasion, as something of a gimmick, British cyclist and 2012 Olympic hopeful David Smith took to the pedals and, to give him his due, kept up an impressive tempo for about 45 minutes, before – a bit pooped – he handed over the reigns to another volunteer. There is certainly something agreeable about watching something worthy and well-crafted, while you’re aware the power that’s generating it is carbon free and directly man-produced – either that, or it’s just proof of the old maxim that it’s always enjoyable to watch someone working while you’re lazing about doing nothing. Either way, the pedal-powered cinema kit worked perfectly well and was a great advert for GAFI’s aspirations.

‘Losing Tomorrow’ was followed by the short documentary ‘Dear Mr President’. Filmed by Madeline Westwood herself, it showed reactions of Sumatran locals while watching the first documentary and then featured one or two of the viewers addressing, direct to camera, the Sumatran president at the time, asking him to do something about the primate/ logging problems in the country. ‘Dear Mr President’, we were subsequently informed, was indeed shown to the president, but just how much that act has achieved, of course, remains to be seen.

And how much can be done, in general, about Sumatra’s rainforest debacle remains to be seen too – but, as mentioned, we can all do something. For those interested, the MSc 10th anniversary conference on primate conservation will also be held at Oxford Brookes University on the April 23 and 24 – it’s open to everyone; the public as well as students and academics.
Pam-Hogg-A/W 2010 by Etiene  Del Monte
Pam Hogg by Etiene Del Monte.

Pam Hogg can pull in an all star rocker crowd and she knows it. I wondered if this begat the complex star sticker system on our invites, drugs which involved double gold stars for rock royalty (or just quite crap celebs), salve single gold stars (presumably for those not destined to make the next day’s paper but still quite important) and any number of other coloured stars for lesser mortals. The mere presence of a star was in itself no assurance of speedy entry, so it was lucky that I and a few of my contributors were already in Victoria House, drinking cups of tea on funny shaped chairs next to an abandoned display.

Amelia Gregory, Sally Mumby-Croft, Satu Fox
Yup, looking happy there girls. That’s me with contributors Satu Fox and Sally Mumby-Croft. Who don’t like posing clearly.

Jodie Marsh at Pam Hogg.
Jodie Marsh at Pam Hogg. This is what you look like if you make an effort, for a bit of contrast like…

This meant that we got to the front of the queue where we were able to get a perfect view of all the celebs as they came prancing in. Jodie Harsh looked every bit as wonderful in the flesh as she does in photos, but much less false (she puts natural born women to shame) and was more than happy to pose for me. Then came Tim Noble and Sue Webster, scowling as usual… Nick Cave swept through like a gothic prince, then came Pearl Lowe (dreadful biography, don’t do it) the execrable Jaime Winstone, Peaches Geldof (shoot me now) and apparently Mika in drag, though I didn’t see him at the time (bonus of leaving your write up awhile and being able to trawl the internet)

Jaimie Winstone at Pam Hogg
Jaime Winstone in the front row. She kept hoiking up her dress.

Peaches Geldof at Pam Hogg
Peaches Geldof in the limelight. Again. With a man who looked like the mascot for KFC. Great look.

We were also unceremoniously shoved aside by lots of arch looking people who I am sure were very rock ‘n’ roll but I have absolutely no idea who they actually were. Behind the barrage of hapless PRs – “Don’t worry, you’ll all be able to come in soon” – we could see people sloshing back free booze from a makeshift bar. How convenient that it should run out by the time us plebs were hastily shepherded in, just moments before the show started. Named Valley of the Shadow of Darkness, our noncommittal grey invites all had a tribute to Alexander McQueen at the bottom of the invitation, reading Lee RIP 1969-2010. Were they good friends? Or was she just showing fashionable solidarity?

Siouxie Soux at Pam Hogg by Amelia Gregory
Siouxie Soux at Pam Hogg. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Cult 80s singer Siouxie Sioux opened the show, looking extremely dramatic in barely there lace topped with a netting puffball. Unfortunately I don’t think the look did her many favours – she looked so severe that not only did I have no idea who she was, but I actually thought she was a middle-aged man in drag. Woops. She is 52 years old at the time of writing but she looks a helluva lot better in recent pictures found on google, so yes, Siouxie, I know you and Pammie have been bessie mates for, like, forever, but next time you might want to but your foot down before stepping out in something so unflattering. Here in an incongruous shot of the pair of them with Dame Shirley Bassey: surely not a bessie too?

Pam Hogg. Sophie Willing, photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. Alice Dellal. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. Ben Grimes. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. photography by Amelia Gregory
Pam Hogg. photography by Amelia Gregory
Sophie Willing at Pam Hogg

Of course it’s well known that no one does glitzy catsuits and sexed-up bodycon quite like Pam Hogg, and so it was that we were treated to starry model after starry model attired in all manner of skin tight mesh pants suits, mini-dresses, many more netting hair bombs, and lots of bum-bouncing tulle with a bit of well placed ribbon or fluff. Panels of rubberised fabric, lace and shiny lame gave a futuristic feel which was emphasised in the bold black eyebrows, and splashes of silver, gold and bright red punctuated the otherwise steely palette of black, dark grey and white. One of the most striking red outfits was modelled by Alice Dellal, she of the asymmetric (currently) blonde hair and sulky pout, and has since been modelled by no less than Lady Gaga (on the short trip from the O2 Arena to her hotel, if reports are to be believed), though I’m not sure she really pulled it off with those ripped fishnets. I think Pam Hogg is worn most successfully when all around is sleek.

Pam-Hogg-A/W 2010-sophie willing & jethro cave, by Etiene Del Monte
Sophie Willing & Jethro Cave, by Etiene Del Monte.

When the lone male model stopped for a mannered snog with one of the girls halfway down the runway to whoops and cheers, I knew they must be well known. A google search further revealed the real reason for Nick Cave’s attendance: the beautiful skinny boy was none other than his son Jethro Cave, and he was kissing Sophie Willing, a fellow Ozzie model and also his girlfriend. Together they appear in a tacky bondage inspired photoshoot called Boys Will Be Toys. Tasteful. Apparently daddy was very proud. Also in attendance was model du jour, Ben Grimes. That’s a girl in case you were wondering.

Pam-Hogg-A/W 2010-Etiene Del Monte
Sophie Willing plays the sexy angel, by Etiene Del Monte.

Sophie Willing and Jethro Cave at Pam Hogg

Siouxie Soux and Pam Hogg
Siouxie Soux and Pam Hogg.

At the end Pam came right down along the catwalk in a hug with Siouxie Soux towering over her – she looked very much like a cartoon character in skintight shiny black, sporting fake bright yellow hair. She has always catered well to rock royalty but I can suddenly see why she might appeal to Lady Gaga’s pop sensibility as well. But I’m left with the pressing question: who dyed their hair that vicious shade of Ed the Duck yellow first?

Categories ,80s, ,Alice Dellal, ,Ben Grimes, ,celebrities, ,Etiene Del Monte, ,Fluff, ,Free Bar, ,Jaime Winstone, ,Jethro Cave, ,lace, ,Lady Gaga, ,Lame, ,London Fashion Week, ,Mika, ,Net, ,Nick Cave, ,Pam Hogg, ,Peaches Geldof, ,pop, ,Rock ‘n’ Roll, ,Siouxie Soux, ,Sophie Willing, ,Tim Noble and Sue Webster, ,Tulle, ,Victoria House

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Owl Dancers – Porcelain Plates by Tiff McGinnis aka Grande Dame

v
Who remembers the very first issue of Amelia’s Magazine? Come on, store I know I only printed 1000 of the buggers but there’s got to be a few people out there still hoarding a copy. They’re worth a bob or two these days so I’d hold on to yours if you do have one.

All of this preamble is leading somewhere… because Tiff McGinnis featured in my very first issue under the guise of Crazygirl… since then she’s been busy busy busy – on art and animation projects as well as music – and she’s recently launched a limited edition porcelain plate which I just love. Meet the Dancing Owls…

Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway
Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway

Your artwork style is pretty inimitable… how have you ended up working this way? 
Thank You! I’m a self taught animator/ video director. I started making animated videos 13 years ago, health because I couldn’t afford to film. The videos are very labor intensive, and the detail I put into them borders on insanity. So, all of my images I use to make things come from my animations. In a way it’s like recycling. I put in so much work, it seems a shame that people can only see an image for a second, so this way it has more longevity. 

Cherokee Nation by Tiff McGinnis
Cherokee Nation by Tiff McGinnis.

What inspires you, and why are your creatures always a strange shade of green… where does that come from?!
Again it all starts with music. When I was little, before music videos, I would create scenes in my mind. I can still see all the images from Sgt. Peppers, that I dreamed up when I was 4 years old so clearly. I thought everyone did that. Recently I was talking to a friend and said “Remember before music videos, when you would create the video in your mind” and he said “no Tiff, only you did that.” Ha Ha! I was shocked, I thought everyone did. So it starts with music, and from music comes the images. 

Harmonium Harmony by Tiff McGinnis
Harmonium Harmony by Tiff McGinnis.

Colour is a big deal to me. I respond to it. It’s a mood elevator. It lifts you up and transports you to another world. I am blind in my right eye, well, actually my optic nerve isnt connected to my brain, so it doesn’t work, born that way. Recently I was fitted for glasses and given a colour test. The doctor was amazed at my results and said it was the highest score he’s seen, so perhaps my left eye compensates with colour? Who knows. Turquoise and Jade are my favorite colours, that’s why I always use them. For the last 20 years everywhere I have lived the walls are painted turquoise.

kali by Tiff McGinnis
Kali by Tiff McGinnis.

What prompted you to produce a range of fine porcelain plates?! It’s quite a novel way of producing your artwork for consumption, but I guess there is a grand tradition of decorative plates that might go on a wall. However I understand that your plate is also usable?
I made up some giclee prints last summer of other images, and got a really good response from people. Then my best friend Kirsten said “I want to see your designs on plates.” So, she planted the seed. In a short time the response from the plates has been much greater than the prints. Probably because they are more of a bespoke item. The plates are 100% food & dishwasher safe. 

Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway
Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway.

Can you tell us a bit more about the story behind the dancing owls…. what inspired them?
The first plate design I did was for my new audio/ visual project Grande Dame. The first single Im releasing is called Black Leather, the video has a strong bondage theme, so I made up a bondage plate, but since Im not releasing it for a few months, I thought about doing a design that would appeal to a broader spectrum of consumer. Hence the owls!! The owls are from the video I directed for Patrick and Eugene’s cover of “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” back in 2007

How has the process been of working with a china factory in the UK? Is it an easy thing to do? What have you learnt from the process?
I had to try a few different places until I was happy with the product. The first round took 2 months and the samples were awful, so I searched around for somewhere else. It’s very expensive, and takes ages, but they look absolutely gorgeous. There’s not much of a profit to be made, but Im hoping that they will garner some attention and help to establish me as an artist. 

LSDiva by Tiff McGinnis
LSDiva by Tiff McGinnis.

You appeared in the first ever issue of Amelia’s Magazine with your Crazygirl musical project. How is the music these days? 
The music is great! I recorded an album last year with an amazing roster of players. It’s a purely analogue album steeped in roots rock & roll and sounds of the Mississippi Delta. String arrangements, pedal steel guitar, brass fanfare (with some of the horn players from Amy Winehouse and Primal Scream) and I even have some of the singers from PFUNK singing back up on a few tracks! It’s a very big sound, big production. Hence the name – Grande Dame. The first release Black Leather will be available on my own label – Burnt Offerings, in early Oct. I have 4 tracks up on the facebook page. You can hear them here.

Blotter Design by Tiff McGinnis
Blotter Design by Tiff McGinnis.

Art has always been a major part of what you do, are you still doing your animations to accompany music?
Yes, I still am… This is the first video I did for the project – The Shakes. It’s the B side for the single. The music is kind of swampy blues meets exotica and the style of the video is Mughal on acid.

What can we expect next, apart from more colourways?
Right now my main project is Grande Dame – a boutique creative powerhouse manufacturing cultural artefacts and curating live audio/ visual experiences. So I’m focusing on launching that. My living room has been turned into a print shop where my husband is making screen printed t shirts and bags from my images, I have more plates coming out, and then in October I’ll be releasing the first single – Black Leather. I had 300 limited edition pink splatter vinyl 7′s pressed up. Each comes with a sheet of blotter acid (undipped unfortunately) designed by me and made by the Institute of Illegal Images, San Francisco. Look out Grande Dame live!

Wedded Bliss by Tiff McGinnis
Wedded Bliss by Tiff McGinnis.

Grande Dame Black Leather

You can buy The Owl Dancers on Etsy here. Who’s in? I’m so having one. Screw Wedgewood, it’s all about the psychedelic owls.

Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway
Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway.

Here’s the Grande Dame website and find Grande Dame on Facebook and Twitter.

Categories ,7 inch, ,amy winehouse, ,Black Leather, ,Blotter Acid, ,Burnt Offerings, ,ceramics, ,Crazygirl, ,Cultural Artefacts, ,Dancing Owls, ,etsy, ,Giclee, ,Grande Dame, ,horns, ,I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, ,Institute of Illegal Images, ,Mississippi Delta, ,Mughal on acid, ,Patrick and Eugene, ,Plates, ,Porcelain, ,Primal Scream, ,Rock ‘n’ Roll, ,San Francisco, ,Sgt Peppers, ,The Shakes, ,Tiff McGinnis, ,Wedgewood

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Owl Dancers – Porcelain Plates by Tiff McGinnis aka Grande Dame

v
Who remembers the very first issue of Amelia’s Magazine? Come on, store I know I only printed 1000 of the buggers but there’s got to be a few people out there still hoarding a copy. They’re worth a bob or two these days so I’d hold on to yours if you do have one.

All of this preamble is leading somewhere… because Tiff McGinnis featured in my very first issue under the guise of Crazygirl… since then she’s been busy busy busy – on art and animation projects as well as music – and she’s recently launched a limited edition porcelain plate which I just love. Meet the Dancing Owls…

Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway
Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway

Your artwork style is pretty inimitable… how have you ended up working this way? 
Thank You! I’m a self taught animator/ video director. I started making animated videos 13 years ago, health because I couldn’t afford to film. The videos are very labor intensive, and the detail I put into them borders on insanity. So, all of my images I use to make things come from my animations. In a way it’s like recycling. I put in so much work, it seems a shame that people can only see an image for a second, so this way it has more longevity. 

Cherokee Nation by Tiff McGinnis
Cherokee Nation by Tiff McGinnis.

What inspires you, and why are your creatures always a strange shade of green… where does that come from?!
Again it all starts with music. When I was little, before music videos, I would create scenes in my mind. I can still see all the images from Sgt. Peppers, that I dreamed up when I was 4 years old so clearly. I thought everyone did that. Recently I was talking to a friend and said “Remember before music videos, when you would create the video in your mind” and he said “no Tiff, only you did that.” Ha Ha! I was shocked, I thought everyone did. So it starts with music, and from music comes the images. 

Harmonium Harmony by Tiff McGinnis
Harmonium Harmony by Tiff McGinnis.

Colour is a big deal to me. I respond to it. It’s a mood elevator. It lifts you up and transports you to another world. I am blind in my right eye, well, actually my optic nerve isnt connected to my brain, so it doesn’t work, born that way. Recently I was fitted for glasses and given a colour test. The doctor was amazed at my results and said it was the highest score he’s seen, so perhaps my left eye compensates with colour? Who knows. Turquoise and Jade are my favorite colours, that’s why I always use them. For the last 20 years everywhere I have lived the walls are painted turquoise.

kali by Tiff McGinnis
Kali by Tiff McGinnis.

What prompted you to produce a range of fine porcelain plates?! It’s quite a novel way of producing your artwork for consumption, but I guess there is a grand tradition of decorative plates that might go on a wall. However I understand that your plate is also usable?
I made up some giclee prints last summer of other images, and got a really good response from people. Then my best friend Kirsten said “I want to see your designs on plates.” So, she planted the seed. In a short time the response from the plates has been much greater than the prints. Probably because they are more of a bespoke item. The plates are 100% food & dishwasher safe. 

Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway
Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway.

Can you tell us a bit more about the story behind the dancing owls…. what inspired them?
The first plate design I did was for my new audio/ visual project Grande Dame. The first single Im releasing is called Black Leather, the video has a strong bondage theme, so I made up a bondage plate, but since Im not releasing it for a few months, I thought about doing a design that would appeal to a broader spectrum of consumer. Hence the owls!! The owls are from the video I directed for Patrick and Eugene’s cover of “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” back in 2007

How has the process been of working with a china factory in the UK? Is it an easy thing to do? What have you learnt from the process?
I had to try a few different places until I was happy with the product. The first round took 2 months and the samples were awful, so I searched around for somewhere else. It’s very expensive, and takes ages, but they look absolutely gorgeous. There’s not much of a profit to be made, but Im hoping that they will garner some attention and help to establish me as an artist. 

LSDiva by Tiff McGinnis
LSDiva by Tiff McGinnis.

You appeared in the first ever issue of Amelia’s Magazine with your Crazygirl musical project. How is the music these days? 
The music is great! I recorded an album last year with an amazing roster of players. It’s a purely analogue album steeped in roots rock & roll and sounds of the Mississippi Delta. String arrangements, pedal steel guitar, brass fanfare (with some of the horn players from Amy Winehouse and Primal Scream) and I even have some of the singers from PFUNK singing back up on a few tracks! It’s a very big sound, big production. Hence the name – Grande Dame. The first release Black Leather will be available on my own label – Burnt Offerings, in early Oct. I have 4 tracks up on the facebook page. You can hear them here.

Blotter Design by Tiff McGinnis
Blotter Design by Tiff McGinnis.

Art has always been a major part of what you do, are you still doing your animations to accompany music?
Yes, I still am… This is the first video I did for the project – The Shakes. It’s the B side for the single. The music is kind of swampy blues meets exotica and the style of the video is Mughal on acid.

What can we expect next, apart from more colourways?
Right now my main project is Grande Dame – a boutique creative powerhouse manufacturing cultural artefacts and curating live audio/ visual experiences. So I’m focusing on launching that. My living room has been turned into a print shop where my husband is making screen printed t shirts and bags from my images, I have more plates coming out, and then in October I’ll be releasing the first single – Black Leather. I had 300 limited edition pink splatter vinyl 7′s pressed up. Each comes with a sheet of blotter acid (undipped unfortunately) designed by me and made by the Institute of Illegal Images, San Francisco. Look out Grande Dame live!

Wedded Bliss by Tiff McGinnis
Wedded Bliss by Tiff McGinnis.

Grande Dame Black Leather

You can buy The Owl Dancers on Etsy here. Who’s in? I’m so having one. Screw Wedgewood, it’s all about the psychedelic owls.

Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway
Future Owl Dancer Plate Colourway.

Here’s the Grande Dame website and find Grande Dame on Facebook and Twitter.

Categories ,7 inch, ,amy winehouse, ,Black Leather, ,Blotter Acid, ,Burnt Offerings, ,ceramics, ,Crazygirl, ,Cultural Artefacts, ,Dancing Owls, ,etsy, ,Giclee, ,Grande Dame, ,horns, ,I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, ,Institute of Illegal Images, ,Mississippi Delta, ,Mughal on acid, ,Patrick and Eugene, ,Plates, ,Porcelain, ,Primal Scream, ,Rock ‘n’ Roll, ,San Francisco, ,Sgt Peppers, ,The Shakes, ,Tiff McGinnis, ,Wedgewood

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Amelia’s Magazine | Renegade Craft Fair in London 2011 Review: Ceramic Design

Renegade Craft Fair London oct 2011 -Melanie Roseveare - aka Melody Rose
Upcycled vintage crockery from Melody Rose at Not On The High Street.

Plenty of fab ceramic design at the Renegade Craft Fair last weekend. Here’s my favourites.

Renegade Craft Fair London oct 2011 -Melanie Roseveare - aka Melody Rose
Melanie Roseveare – aka Melody Rose – prints new designs onto upcycled bone china crockery. Her work reminds me of plates reconstructed by Carrie Reichardt as art pieces, ed but has a slightly more commercial edge. Her range comes in three collections: Urban Nature, cost Modern Surrealism and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Renegade Craft Fair London oct 2011 -Zosienka & Rosie
Zosienka & Rosie had produced some beautiful ceramic heart necklaces.

Renegade Craft Fair London oct 2011 -JimBobArt
It was nice to see that since the Bust Craftacular last Christmas the range of plates by James Ward (working under the name by JimBobArt) has expanded to include lots of new designs and other ceramic goods.

Take a look at my other Renegade Craft Fair blog posts.

Categories ,2011, ,Bone China, ,Bust Craftacular, ,Carrie Reichardt, ,ceramic, ,craft, ,Crockery, ,hearts, ,James Ward, ,JimBobArt, ,london, ,Melanie Roseveare, ,Melody Rose, ,Modern Surrealism, ,Necklaces, ,Not On The High Street, ,Plates, ,Renegade Craft Fair, ,review, ,Rock ‘n’ Roll, ,Truman Brewery, ,Upcycled, ,Urban Nature, ,vintage, ,Zosienka & Rosie

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Amelia’s Magazine | Live Review: Crystal Stilts, The Bats and Comet Gain at the ICA

The ICA has always struck me an odd gig venue; with it’s white lights and shiny floors, viagra 100mg symptoms but on Friday 22nd May, pilule something exciting was rumbling in it’s deep dark underbelly and I went home prepared to eat my hat…
I didn’t know too much about Comet Gain before the gig, viagra 40mg and expected them to be over-shadowed by the rest of the line-up, but they held their own in spectacular fashion with their unique blend of Northern Soul and lo-fi, to create a danceable but refreshing rock n’roll.

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The Bats

Putting age before beauty, the Bats were on right before young whipper-snappers Crystal Stilts; the most magical inhabitants of New Zealand since hobbits. Having been around since the early 80s and having released a string of consistently good records they seemed to have avoided become publicly known and are quite the cult institution. The crowd at the ICA, myself included, are, blown away by their awesome crashing and soaring folky rock, with Crimson Envy going down like a treat. They have the look of the modern day Pixies (kinda old), with a sound that veers towards early Yo La Tengo or Low.

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The Bats

Whilst loving the Crystal Stilts’ debut album, I’m always sceptical of hype bands, but Crystal Stilts most definitely deserve their hype. From the first note, their post-punk, melancholic wall of bassy noise and murmur vocals enrapture the audience. Their single ‘Love is a Wave’, the second song played is a butterfly in the stomach shoe-gaze fest of blurry noise and the rest of the set follows to form.

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Crystal Stilts
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It is perhaps over easy to compare Crystal Stilts to My Bloody Valentine and their shoe-gaze peers, (it seems that a lot of Brooklyn bands at the moment are being shoehorned into a neo-shoe gaze poor fit) and whilst an element of that is present; mostly from Jesus and Mary Chain‘s Psychocandy, Crystal Stilts are more indebted to the Velvet Underground in their sustaining of a glorious continous noise, and the tuneful grumble of Brad Hargett’s voice is not dissimilar to Lou Reed. Whilst having roots buried in a deep and fruitful musical heritage, Crystal Stilts manage to create something unique to themselves. A band not to be missed.

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Crystal Stilts
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Photos appear courtesy of Roisin Conway and Cari Steel

Categories ,90s, ,Brooklyn, ,Folk, ,ICA, ,Indie, ,Live Review, ,Lo-fi, ,London, ,My Bloody Valentine, ,New Zealand, ,Rock n’ Roll, ,Shoegaze, ,Velvet Underground, ,Yo La Tengo

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