Comica Comiket and being a mate.

I spent my last Saturday morning over by the Gherkin, trying to find a bank – FYI all banks in the business section are closed on Saturdays. The reason for this was that my little childhood friend, Bex, was selling some of her wares at the independent comic and ‘zine festival Comica Comiket.

I’m not really into superhero stories, but there was more than enough printing, illustration, writing and small novelty items to keep me amused. Which is where I come to Bex’s work: drawing, print, painting, collage and charming little books are her thing. She would kill me for saying ‘charming’. Bex’s books are small and cute (again treading dangerous territory here) but also dry, witty and politically aware – see the naively titled: The Day I Met a Fatty.

So if you like ‘zines, decent illustration (none of that naive-art bull…), and interesting little stories check her out.

Here’s few tiny tasters….

…lovely handmade screen-printed robot cards, and Tick, a book about a little steampunk robot and his quest to find a purpose in our modernised lives…

An excerpt from Rumble - the battle between Mike Bison and Trevor Bearbick (ahaaa..)

Finally a couple of snippets from The Day I Met a Fatty – which taught me that make-up does not make you stupid, and not to be scared of chavs. I wish all helpful life lessons could be learnt in this way…

…more to come from Comica Comiket in the next few days.

Thank you to Miss Bex Bagley for helping me to discover a new genre of doodles.

Popshot Magazine…young poet WLTM enthusiastic illustrator.

Trying to get into a magazine..? Failing to get an Internship with any of the big names (like me!)..? Like drawing or writing things…? Popshot is the place to start!

This British bi-annual magazine brings together contemporary poets and illustrators from across the globe, clawing back poetry from a reputation as that stuffy wordy rubbish best kept in the classroom.

…how it works…

Popshot only accepts poetry for a few months every year and at the moment they’re closed for submissions – but only ’til June which gives you a couple of months to bash out a few decent lines. However they’re always looking for new illustrators so you can email them with your website and they’ll take a peek! Those lucky enough to be chosen as a Popshot illustrator are sent each new edition’s chosen anthology and are asked to produce an image for each poem, next one of these is chosen and bada bing, bada boom there we have a set of sharp poetry and edgy illustrations to match: Popshot!

The Childhood, Love, Power and Liberate issues are still available to buy at just £6 a piece which is pretty good for what’s basically a small illustration paperback if you ask me.

I’m going to get started on some poetry – I’m not much of an illustrator but apparently I can do words all right.

Koshi Kawachi’s Manga Farming: Broccoli bookmarks.

Ingredients:

1 bag of radish, buckwheat, broccoli, rucola or basil seeds

1 expired manga comic or book

1 daily dose of sun, water and air

Place your seeds in between a few of your favourite pages of your manga comic or book before binding tightly together with rubber bands. Pour a glug of water into the top of your manga, set aside by a window and watch it grow!

Japanese artist Koshi Kawachi uses this method to turn piles of used manga mags into miniature vegetable gardens, both permanently bookmarking her most-loved stories and recycling something that would otherwise go to waste.

Plant cuttings in your chic-lits, grow hedges in your horror stories and sow flowers in your fantasies.

Brian Dettmer: Textidermy.

While looking at Georgia Russell, I discovered another book-art fanatic, Brian Dettmer. However instead of tearing up pages to make completely new sculptures, Dettmer uses the texts’ existing words and images to tell new stories, create complex illustrations and to make strong statements.

“The completed pieces expose new relationships of a book’s internal elements exactly where they have been since their original conception.” – Dettmer

Dettmer describes his practise as “reading with a knife”: when he starts cutting through the pages he has no idea what he’ll come to so he decides upon his story and composition whilst he works.  This above image is a mechanical book from the 1940s and through isolating particular words and phrases Dettmer has transformed the clinical, instructive language into poetic lines and verses, carefully illustrating these with pieces of the existing mechanical diagrams.

Here’s a sneek peek inside his studio: Dettmer seals the edges of his books before using surgical tools to dissect each volume, slowly revealing words and images to form his intricate drawings and statements.

…so that’s how he does is, here’s the man himself explaining why…

I’m at home this weekend so surrounded by bookcases, which are suddenly beginning to look rather a lot more interesting – hacking up Mother’s books, the perfect procrastination technique to avoid making my website. Hrmmm…

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE!

- Tracey Emin on a good day.

Georgia Russell’s books, and birds.

I was researching an artist who slashes up books yesterday, who will remain anonymous as she (oops) led me on to Georgia Russell’s work which is way more exciting! She tears up books, maps, music scores, photographs and newspapers for these vitrines of organic, birdlike creations.

…this piece in particular reminds me of a horrifying experience I had with small stuffed crested crane (have a look, it’s disgusting) we had in our art classroom at school – I tripped over its stand, it fell over and its head snapped off! Not. A. Nice. Day.

Georgia Russell is exhibiting at the moment as part of the Courtauld Institute of Art’s East Wing X which I think is in Somerset House so have a lookie if you liked this lot

Shakespeare and Co, in memory of the great George Whitman.

Shakespeare and Company alone might just be about half of the reasons that I adore Paris so much. This tiny little bookshop on the left bank has been a haven for bohemian types since 1941, a quiet escape from the bustling streets of gay Pariiii..

 

The late George Whitman offered beds to writers, artists, aspiring actors and creatives alike, but on one condition: they must write him their biography first. Shakespeare and Co was a temporary bed for Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Man Ray – the list goes on – and most people who have passed through this  ”light in a dull and homogenised world” have left their mark in some way.

Shakespeare and Co sadly lost it’s founding father in December last year, but this little literary museum has been passed on to  the safe hands of George’s daughter, Sylvia Whitman, who will no doubt continue to run it with the same passion and morals as the great Mr Whitman himself.

eBooks, Kindles, whatever… can never live up to this. Who doesn’t love the smell of an old book?

Speaking of which, this one is fantastic: a beautiful story of a troubled American who found a home in Shakespeare and Co.

Read it.

…and if you like this post you can buy me a ticket to Paris, oui?