Friday 10 May 2013

Artistic WOW: Riusuke Fukahori




Believe it or not, these are NOT photographs of happy, swimming fish. Japanese artist Riusuke Fukahori, merges the boundary between painting and sculpture. The process is meticulous. Fukahori alternately layers liquid resin and a painted 2D cross section of the fish, revealing more of the creature each time.   


This really is sheer optical illusion. Watch the video below to see the magic happen!

Wednesday 1 May 2013

So I received these in the post today...


To my boyfriend over in Georgia, Atlanta, US of A, I thank you.

So what do we have here in this glorious array of colour? From the top right corner clockwise: dark chocolate m&m's, coconut m&m's, mint m&m's, Rainbow Nerds and Red Vines. (There was also a bag of dark chocolate and raspberry m&m's but the evidence seems to have vanished.)

When it comes to candy, America knows how to put the cherry on top. For a nation with an infamous sweet tooth, Britain is lagging behind. Only good can come of such a variety of m&m fillings.

Such sickeningly sweet goodness is not completely out of our reach though. If you don't have a willing correspondent, Stateside but are desperate for some cavity causing, candy, cereal and even Kool Aid, visit Cybercandy online or in store. Although there is nothing like experiencing the true American candy isle.  

Sunday 21 April 2013

Word of the day: Scintillant

Image via Pinterest
scin·til·lant {ˈsin-tə-lənt} adjective;

1. A spark; a flash.
2. Astronomy: Rapid variation in the light of a celestial body caused by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere; a twinkling.

Noun; scin·til·la
Adverb; scin·til·lant·ly

Origin (via dictionary.reference.com): 1600-10, Latin scintillant, stem of scintillāns, present participle of scintillāre to send out sparks; flash.



Friday 12 April 2013

The Street Magician






















It is not possible to amble along a downtown Atlanta sidewalk undisturbed. Street entertainers line the building sides promising to impress, and business owners try to coax in the most discrete of passers by. 

Adorned with a red, western neckerchief and clad in denim, the magician crouched against the wall of a quirky vintage boutique. He was nestled among tie-dye, tatty cardboard boxes with weather bitten corners, and an array of old vinyl records as he fumbled with a deck of cards and tobacco paraphernalia. We then all made the mistake of letting our primitive human intrigue become apparent.


















Initially seeming redundant and absorbed by the cards, the man burst to life in a low rambling of what we thought to be another language, thrusting the splayed deck in front of us. He signalled for us to pick a card. We hesitantly obliged. Every word uttered was unrecognisable but the fluctuation of his voice, and exaggerated hand gestures made it clear when weren’t complying. The progression of the trick relied on our trial and error, but he eventually reproduced the card we had originally picked.

Deeming him “very talented” and slipping him a few creased ‘ones’, we proceeded to walk away, but the encounter was not over for the magician. He stopped us in our tracks and continued to demonstrate the variety of tricks possible with the deck of cards. Intimidated by his abrasiveness, we handed him more dog-eared notes and began to edge in the opposite direction. The next was slightly alarming since communication was not possible.

He then became more subdued, slowly and discretely reaching inside the breast of his jacket. This combined with a threatening murmur we had no reason not to fear him. Perhaps he was reaching for a cigarette or a packet of chewing gum, but eighteen dollars short we cut our losses and walked.

Unavoidably passing him again on the way back, he offered his coarse ashy hand to shake, perhaps as a peace offering.    





 

Friday 5 April 2013

Word of the day: Fecundity

fe·cun·di·ty {fi-kuhn-di-tee} noun;

1. The intellectual productivity of a creative imagination.
2. Fruitfulness or capability of fertility.

Adjectivefe·cund

Origin (via www.merriam-webster.com): Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin fēcundus.

Friday 29 March 2013

Extreme Ventures


It isn't news to us that exercise has been to proven to increase the ‘happy hormone’ in our brains, Dopamine, but I was sure there must be something more to the elusive advice, do something that scares you everyday. The answer is in extreme sports.

Image via www.time.com (read the article)
Dopamine is responsible for the high after risk taking and becomes addictive. It aids in the reward and pleasure centres of our brains, making us feel happy and motivating us to go back for more. 

I thoroughly believe in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I notice the difference in my moods and levels of motivation after a day of healthy eating and a little exercise, but there is only so much excitement that can be gained from a visit to the gym.

A little low on cash for a session of skydiving, I tried my hand at snowboarding. Snozone in Milton Keynes is one of the very few real snow ski slopes in the UK, so living only 20 minutes away, I felt it wrong to not take advantage.

In such an academia orientated age, an extreme release could be what we need to find that sense of primitive and childish freedom once again. 


Sunday 24 March 2013

Alexander Binder: Allerseelen

Born on the night of Halloween in the Black Forest, Alexander Binder is one spooky self-taught photographer.

Allerseelen, a German phrase for 'all souls' which refers to the state of purgatory before redemption, is one of Binder's most beautifully sinister photographic series. He merges the boundaries between horrific uncertainty and purity, creating a warped sense of spiritual acceptance.


Image via www.alexanderbinder.de

Image via www.alexanderbinder.de

Binder’s make-shift lenses produce raw and psychedelic images with intense lens flare. He portrays mythical creatures seemingly trapped in a state of limbo, questioning mortality and afterlife.



In an interview with Dazed Digital, the artist revealed that any props or masks were also self-made and that his models are friends or family. Alexander Binder is clearly an artist with an important personal connection with his work, his imagination exuding from his prints.