Steel Wool Photography

So I recently got a chance to take part in a workshop for steel wool photography!
To get the effect you need a DSLR, a tripod/steady hands, steel wool, a whisk and some sort of strap.
Basically you attach the strap to the whisk, put the steel wool inside the whisk (making sure its NOT going to fall out!), light the wool on fire and spin it around. 

By using a long shutter speed you can capture the entire path the whisk creates and by using a small stop (large f number) you ensure that all the sparks are in focus. The settings they recommended to us were: 

• Aperture greater than f/5.6
• ISO 100
• Manual Mode
• 5+ seconds shutter speed (I thought a really long shutter speed of 30 seconds worked well because it brightened the picture and captured every single spark!)
• Self timer of 2 seconds (so that when you shoot there isn't any shake, you can also use a remote if you have one

Apart from the fact that it was absolutely FREEZING outside the workshop was so much fun and I think the results were fantastic! I brightened the photos up a bit on photoshop and here are the end results.

Design Seeds

Anyone else out there just LOVE colour? Those paint pallet samples from Ace Hardware were used for many a craft project in my childhood. I love combining colours, mixing colours, clashing colours, rainbows. Whether it be getting a manicure (always takes me forever to decide); putting together an outfit; redecorating my room or creating some art, choosing the colours is often the longest yet still my favourite part of the process. I find it fascinating when colours just work together when you really feel they shouldn't. I'm not talking red, white and blue here but things like orange and beige, try it - it works. 

Maybe that's why I love this website http://design-seeds.com. A pallet of colours is chosen based on a picture which often evokes a mood or feeling. This is super useful if you're looking for a colour scheme for your next interior decoration project (and IKEA is not providing enough inspiration) or you're stuck on where to start on a poster that you have to design. The colour "dropper" tool (technical name?) on photoshop really comes into use here! The website is neat and simple and I could look at it all day! 

PHOTOGRAPHER: Fabian Oefner

Continuing on from the theme of science and art that inspired Julien Picaud, I introduce to you photographer Fabien Oefner and his collection - Millefiori. In my opinion, art is always about inspiration and experimentation and here Oefner says he was inspired by science and technology blogs as well as the work of Japanese artist Sachiko Kodama. He uses watercolours mixed with ferrofluids (a magnetic, viscous solution). He says that photography is a beautiful thing because you can capture tiny, precious moments that happen in a second and preserve them forever, this is true if you are an amazingly talented photographer. My photos sadly never look as good as the image I am trying to capture in real life! 
Here are some examples of some of his fantastic multi coloured, magnetic, seaweed brains and his website so you can see his other work. Apparently he's also going to be speaking at the TEDx event at my university next year! Will definitely have to get tickets for that. http://www.fabianoefner.com/ (There is also an awesome video of the ferrofluid being combined with the watercolours on there!)

Ditology

"Il Dito" in Italian means the finger, which is the main subject for artist Dito Von Tease who creates celebrity portraits with the main subject being an index finger, this is seriously photoshop mastery.
The images are cute and amusing but the work deals with the deeper meaning of identity (especially for celebrities) and what the fingerprint represents in terms of information and uniqueness. You can just take the images at face value though (pun 100% intended) and try to guess what celebrity they are trying to represent! These are 3 of my favourites.
http://ditology.blogspot.com/
 

Sorry if the page was going a bit crazy in the past hour! Been doing some major re-decorating, hope you like it! 

Panic Room

Sick music, cool graffiti, cress idea. Watch the vid.

ARTIST: Julien Pacuad

Hey there!
*insert standard apology for not blogging in ages*
I found this awesome artist the other day - Julien Pacaud.  He is a french artist who is fantastically quirky. On his website it says that he "hopes he can someday have enough free time to devote himself to his real passion : time travel."
I am a massive fan of collage and my recent obsession with anything to do with space/galaxies/star print meant that Pacaud is the artist of my dreams! He combines vintage images with modern prints and concepts and his work has a scientific edge to it which was probably influenced by his previous job as an astrophysicist. 
His work is pretty surreal (a style that I am usually not a fan of), but I think he makes it work really well because of the simple shapes that uses.Check him out here: http://www.julienpacaud.com/  
I even created a new cover photo for my Facebook profile inspired by his work! 

 Artwork for Tamara Goukassova's EP : "August in September"

my inspired collage

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jasper James

Jasper James is an awesome photographer but my favourite collection of his is his "City Silhouettes" series. These incredibly simple portraits have been captured beautifully and skilfully. Having lived in an apartment all my life, the familiar view of a city skyline with tall buildings reminds me of home. I'm not sure if these portraits are created where the view from the window is relevant to the subject or not but that could add a personal touch to the photo. My favourite part about this collection (apart from the unique idea) is the way the simple silhouettes are such a contrast next to the busy, crowded streets and buildings - it really works! 
Check out more of his work here: http://www.jasperjames.co.uk/project/people-and-places-2/

Naughty Ceramics

"Trixie Delicious" is a crafty artist from New Zealand who re-works vintage plates and tea cups by painting rude words/phrases on them (some of the pieces just have simple graphics). I find these so simple yet so amusing as well. Just seeing these nasty phrases on such pretty and prim pieces of china creates a fantastic effect. Maybe it's because you associate the plates and tea cups with fancy tea parties, a place where you would never hear words like "whore", "maneater" and "ass."
You can buy her work from her Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/trixiedelicious?page=1#
Or even try recreating it with some cheap finds at a flea market and a permanent marker! 

Barbie Girl

Woah! I can't believe its been so long since I've done any new posts (almost an entire year!). I shall try to update the blog more regularly from now on.I came across this project by artist Jocelyne Grivaud and loved it as soon as I saw it! All girls (and maybe some boys too) will remember playing with Barbies when they were children. Opening up the packaging for a Barbie doll was always a brilliant experience as their clothes and hair were all shiny and new! That moment was a special part of Grivaud's childhood and she has created a tribute to Barbie with this exhibition by recreating famous works of art with the iconic image of Barbie.To see more of her work go here: http://www.barbiemamuse.com/eng/barbie_galerie.php