Bibelot » Art

May 15

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Craft, Creative, Interview 0 comments tags: Cats, Illustration, Morwenna Farrell, Norwich, Print, Screen Printing

Morwenna Farrell – Interview

Illustrator, artist and maker Morwenna Farrell chats family, fishermen, film and finding her passion. 1. Do you think growing up in Cornwall has helped shape the kind of work you do? I come from a very creative family, so I think I’ve been influenced by everyone a little bit. My mum is a wonderful painter and used to make the most amazing clothes. She made me a yellow Beauty and the Beast dress and everyone at my birthday party was jealous. My big sister, auntie and cousins are talented painters and potters. My stepdad was an incredible musician who used to play his harmonica while doing a headstand, and my great granddad was a beautiful photographer. My Uncle is also a collector. We’re very proud to have a link in the family to Alfred Wallis, so it’s most definitely in my blood and shows in the way I produce lots of different things – from film and photography to printmaking. I love to dabble in a bit of everything! My family is also very eccentric which influences and shapes my work. I see the little things and want to cherish them and bring them out in my work. I enjoy a quirky character and a good story. There […]

Oct 05

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Craft, Creative, Interview 0 comments tags: Floral, Flowers, Hanna Nyman, Paper, Paper Art

Hanna Nyman – Interview

We fell in love with Hanna Nyman’s striking paper illustrations in pretty, yet bold pastel palettes combined with snippets of printed text, that pop out at you, and come alive as each paper petal unfolds. We couldn’t wait to find out more about the Stockholm-based designer… 1. How would you describe your work to someone who hasn’t seen it before? Paper illustrations. 2. What is it about paper as a medium to work with that appeals to you? You know the feeling of when you have a small piece of paper in your pocket and you just roll it and bend it between your fingers, I like that feeling. I like how paper feels and how you can bend, fold or roll a piece of paper. Its a simple material and its easy to handle. You don´t need any machines or much equipment. But what appeals most to me with paper is that something that is just flat and plain can be built in to almost anything three dimensional. 3. Flowers feature a lot in your work. If you could be a flower what would you be? A light pink peony, that’s my favourite flower 4. When […]

Sep 07

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Creative, Interview 0 comments tags: Eddie Perotte, Illustration

Eddie Perrote – Interview

Eddie Perrote is a prolific and distinctive illustrator and designer, his creativity currently emanating from Brooklyn. His high-contrast colourways are to be envied and his resume reads like All The Best Things You Can Possibly Hope To Do As An Illustrator. He’s got an amazing body of work, several awards under his belt and has worked with some of the coolest brands around. This isn’t the picture of a wallflower who waits for things to happen to him, nor someone who is afraid of hard work. We wanted to find out a little more about this exciting artist, to learn what makes him tick, and get his perspective on his own work… 1. As a Wisconsin chap, what are your best and worst things about living in Brooklyn? How convenient the city is as a whole, as well as how late everything stays open. Worst is probably having to go to the post office. 2. What type of artwork do you like to have in your own home? I enjoy having artwork of friends almost entirely, but I also keep a large stash of art books and small zines to flip through. 3. You’ve achieved some amazing goals and won so […]

Jul 08

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Craft 0 comments tags: Competition, Crafts Council, Exhibition, Twelve Tall Tales

Twelve Tall Tales – Crafts Council Exhibition & Competition

Twelve artists, makers and designers tell tales through objects, motivated by their ability to contain, convey and inspire stories. Selected by designer Onkar Kular, this eclectic group of works presents varied and unexpected approaches to translating fictional, humorous, cultural, political and historical stories and references into crafted objects. This exhibition is the first in a three-year partnership between The Hospital Club and the Crafts Council. Featuring works by Åbäke Auger-Loizeau Carl Clerkin Cecilie Gravesen El Ultimo Grito Zhenhan Hao Hilda Hellström Hefin Jones Dash Macdonald Noam Toran Dawn Youll The exhibition is open from 22nd July – 29th August 2016 in the gallery from 11am-6pm daily. To celebrate the launch of Crafts Council UK’s exhibition Twelve Tall Tales, they’re giving a lucky winner the chance to win a nights stay and dinner for two at Hospital Club! Fancy it? We thought so! All you need to do is let them know what object you would make to help send someone to space? Post your answer tagging @CraftsCouncilUK and use #TwelveTallTales www.craftscouncil.org.uk

Jun 01

by melinosa in Art, Reviews 0 comments tags: Barbican Centre, Exhibition, photogra

Review: Strange and Familiar

Do you ever wonder how foreign visitors to Britain view the country and its inhabitants? How do we appear and what do they make of our ways and customs. Do we appear familiar to the outsider’s eye or are we strange and peculiar? Bringing together a stellar cast of 23 international renewed photographers, including greats Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, and featuring previously unseen work, a new photography exhibition at London’s Barbican Centre, seeks to address these very questions by focusing on both the mundane, and eccentric aspects of life in Britain. So not too surprisingly rain sodden sooty pavements, derelict housing estates, and the bright lights of London as well as decaying northern towns are all on display here. But what makes this exhibition unique and the photographs on display utterly compelling is the story they tell about Britain and its changing cultural, social and political identity. The earliest images in the exhibition date from the early nineteen-thirties, and the most recent are from 2014. So as you wander around the exhibition you see desolate post-war Britain merge into the spirited 1960s with its mini skirts, nudity, student protests and optimism. The rigidity of the British social class is also […]

Mar 07

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Creative, Interview 0 comments tags: Illustration, Megan Reddi, Screen Printing

Megan Reddi – Interview

We caught up with Birmingham-based illustrator Megan Reddi to find out more about her passions for print, pens and her adorable pooches. How would you describe your work to someone who hasn’t seen it before?  Probably quirky and colourful, with lots of texture. I try to avoid depicting things exactly as they should be – I like my work to be a bit playful! What feelings, subjects or concepts inspire you as an artist?  I’m really inspired by printed textures. I work a lot with screen printing and I love going through my old mis-printed items and squirrelling them away to cut up and use within my illustrations! Other than that, I’m inspired by those weird little thoughts and ideas that pop into your head during the day when you’re not really thinking about anything in particular. How does your creative process work?  I still feel a bit ‘new’ when it comes to illustration, so my process is constantly developing at the moment! Right now, I’m trying to find a comfortable balance between working traditionally and digitally. I usually start with my brush pen and my sketchbook where I’ll work really loosely to flesh out some basic […]

Sep 09

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Craft, Creative, Interview 0 comments

Poppy Chancellor – Interview

London based papercut artist, Poppy Chancellor is running with scissors to create something unique in the craft world. She’ll be appearing alongside Kirstie Allsopp at this Summers Handmade Fair at Hampton Court, sharing some of her impressive skills in workshops over the weekend. We asked the cutting edge illustrator about her influences, inspirations and paper related injuries… 1. What is it about paper as a medium to work with that appeals to you? I love that it’s a cheap everyday object that people often disregard. Paper is such a familiar thing to us, something that we’d probably just chuck in the bin. I enjoy that I can elevate it and turn it into something really beautiful. 2. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people. My best friend growing up was my pet duck. 3. Who or what were your early influences and how has your life/upbringing influenced your work? My early influences were shadow theatres and silhouettes. When I was at uni I discovered Pollock’s Toy Museum just off Tottenham Court Road. I often visit to see their Polish papercut collection and admire the paper theatres. My upbringing was very ramshackle. No rules […]

Jul 24

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Craft, Creative, Interview 0 comments

Kitty McCall – Interview

We chatted to print designer Catherine Nice about Ireland, aspirations and the success of her interiors and accessories brand, Kitty McCall. 1. There are loads of things we fancy on your website – what’s your best-selling piece? It’s a tie between the Matisse and Rousseau Butterfly. 2. If you could only choose one colour to represent yourself, what would it be? Green – every shade of green! 3. Being an artist and textile designer sounds like a dream job – are there any downsides? Not for me. Getting to do what I Love everyday and see other people love it too is such an amazing feeling. 4. What’s your ultimate ambition as an artist/designer? To create something that other people get joy from. 5. You say on your website that you like old patterns. What’s you favourite past era for design? For artwork inspiration I’m a huge fan of the Bauhaus and De Stijl movements, butI also love mid-century modern furniture. The chairs from that era are fantastic for reupholstery. 6. What’s your most treasured possession? My children. 7. Where’s your favourite place in Ireland? Blackrock. 8. As […]

Jul 20

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Creative, Interview 0 comments

Jade Spranklen – Interview

We first discovered Jade Spranklen, aka Sprankenstein, through an Instagram hashtag #Instasprank. A super-cool project she’s currently working on doodling monsters, colourful patterns and weird creatures over the top of Instagram photos. Her eerie and sinister characters are reminiscent of the scribbles found in John Lennon’s sketchbooks, and the bizarre characters in Miyazaki’s animations. She tells us of her dreams of becoming the next female Tim Burton, of strange childhood habits and what’s inspiring her work right now. 1. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people I have to eat a handful of raw pasta at least once a day. A daft (and really unhealthy) habit I have carried with me from childhood! Oh, and I dream about the world ending most nights of the week *big sigh*. 2. What do you like to do when you’re not illustrating? I am also a bassist, so I like to spend time playing and writing nit-bits of riffs and songs. Although, I get distracted VERY easily all the time and just go in to my own world. This means I always have parts of ideas for songs here, there and everywhere just floating around like dust, waiting to […]

Jul 01

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Creative, Interview 0 comments

Nanna Prieler – Interview

We caught up with Vienna-based illustrator and graphic designer Nanna Prieler to find out what inspires her work. 1. How would you describe your work to someone who hasn’t seen it before? I would say it’s a colourful reflection of a strange girls mind. 2. Tell us about the techniques you use to create your illustrations. The main part happens with photoshop, on the computer. I only need the path tool on different layers to create. But the sketch is the heart of every illustration. Without doodling it wouldn’t work. 3. When are you happiest? Lost in thought whilst doodling in nature, enjoying barbecue’s with a glass of tasty wine and sleeping in a tent. 4. Which book illustrations have stayed with you from childhood/influenced you? There is one decisive book who has accompanied me since my childhood. It’s Eric Carles classic ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar“. I have been fascinated and influenced by its style since I was a little girl. 5. You’ve worked on some very cool graphic design projects. What’s next for you and who would be your dream client? Oh, thank you. There are exciting projects planned in the near future; Logo design for an […]

Jun 29

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Competition, Creative, Interview 0 comments

Yasmin Mason – Interview – PLUS Illustration Competition!

Yasmin Mason is an illustrator with a passion for all things pertaining to art and papery goods. Bibelot asks where she draws her inspiration. 1. How would you describe your work to someone who hasn’t seen it before? Colourful and probably somewhat offbeat, without being too self-consciously ‘quirky’. 2. What’s the first piece of art you can remember making? I’m not sure I remember much of the actual making, but I know there’s a collage somewhere in the house called ‘Boy Holding the Moon’ that’s dated 1997. I haven’t seen it in a while but as I recall it’s made of different coloured scraps of paper with some perforated metallic blue plastic stuff in there somewhere. 3. When are you happiest? Artistically speaking, there are two moments. The first is when you manage to produce something which comes close to measuring up to the vision you had in your head for the piece. The second is kind of the opposite, when you have a ‘happy accident’ or an experiment that turns out better than expected. Both can be very satisfying. 4. Do you have a favourite subject to illustrate? Not as such, but, having done a couple of portraits […]

Jun 15

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Creative, Inside The Artists Studio, Interview 0 comments

Inside The Artist’s Studio – Lally Macbeth

We get a glimpse into the magnificent and many-splendoured studio of artist Lally Macbeth. Come with us for a gander and learn how an up-bringing in the wild and windy landscapes of Ireland, and an appetite for all things bordering on the bizarre has shaped her creative work. Enter Lady Macbeth… 1. We love your use of bright and bold colours in your work. Which artists/designers inspire you most? I’ve always been a bit of a visual magpie; I’m constantly on the lookout for new artists and designers both contemporary and historical. At the moment I’m feeling really inspired by the work of the late 19th century photographer and painter Alfonse Van Besten he created beautiful dreamlike photographs- very painterly in their style. There are also people who I constantly refer back to: Collier Campbell, Matisse, Niki De Saint Phalle, Kim MacConnel, Sonia Delaunay – mainly artists / designers who use(d) lots of colour and pattern! 2. Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people. I grew up in Southern Ireland. It’s such a beautiful landscape; windswept and wild. I constantly see its influence in my work – my interest in folklore particularly. Cornwall, where I live now, is similar in many […]

Apr 22

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Events, Fashion, Reviews 0 comments

Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty – Review

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was hailed as one of the most innovative designers of recent times, but a new highly anticipated V&A exhibition in celebration of his lifework, Savage Beauty, sadly doesn’t always succeed in showing or explaining why McQueen’s work mattered. The exhibition, which was first seen in New York four years ago, starts with a London section (an added addition not included in the New York exhibition), which features garments from some of McQueen’s first shows such as The Birds (1995) and The Hunger (1996). A large quote from McQueen inscribed on the wall states: “London’s where I was brought up. It’s where my heart is and where I get my inspiration.” The thinking behind this section, one presumes, was to show how the city was rooted in McQueen’s work. But it doesn’t quite work. Apart from the quote and a voiceover from McQueen, who committed suicide aged 40 five years ago, proclaiming his love for London, and his ideas on beauty, there is very little in the way of explanation about how the capital and McQueen’s early years influenced his work. McQueen was born into a working class family; his dad was a taxi […]

Apr 06

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Craft, Creative, Interview 1 comments

Ingela P Arrhenius – Interview

Stockholm-based illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius tells us what inspires her work, where she’d like to go in a time machine, and how an invasion of shampoo bottle and yoghurt pot people are slowly taking over her studio with no sign of a retreat… 1. What’s the first piece of art you can remember making? We had a big cupboard in my kitchen filled with fun artistic materials when I was kid. I remember making a lot of different characters in clay; rock artist, priest, cowboy etc. It is fun when I think of it because I still like that theme, I have done several “character products”, like my 3D Character puzzle, Mix and Match game. And of course my own projects like all the wood block figures and painted bottles. 2. Who would play you in the movie of your life? I said this question out loud, sitting by the kitchen table and my 16 year old son is sitting here aswell doing his homework, and he immediately said Partricia Arquette. Good choice, I’ll take that. 3. Do you have time for personal projects, if so, what are you making right now? Yes I do. Even though I […]

Mar 27

by bibelotm_wp in Art, Interview 1 comments

Charlotte Day – Interview

We caught up with Charlotte Day to discover how her fondness of florals and passion for plants evolved into a career as a gardener-turned-designer. 1. Where did your fascination for all things floral stem? My Mum kept a really beautiful garden, it wasn’t big but there was huge diversity in it. A shady bit with ferns and arums, trees with swings in, flower beds bursting with colour and wildlife. I really took it for granted until I left home and went to university. It was then I realised just how much I missed the garden and started to take an interest in plants. The more you learn the more fascinating they become. 2. When are you happiest? It will come as no surprise, I am happiest when in a garden and not necessarily my own. I love to visit botanical gardens, especially glass houses. I love the smell of the warm compost, the humidity, it’s like stepping through a wardrobe into another world full of giant leaves and exotic treasures. 3. What do you like to do when you’re not illustrating? Walking the dog is always a pleasure, as is watching a good film, but between illustrating […]