Sharing knowledge... and art

...not mine I hasten to add!

A month or so ago I discovered some lovely ladies on Ustream. These ladies stream live on the internet from their homes and studios (via http://www.ustream.tv/) while they create and make art. There is no editing, there are no retakes, it all happens live and its a great way to watch and learn and see other aspiring artists at work (or play!). Plus its a true interactive experience; if you have a question you can ask it in the chat window and the host will answer you... just make sure you create a ustream account/username (its free) before you start and true interaction with the artist on screen is yours! (Chat is fairly moderated, so like minded people are encouraged, trolls and spammers are not!)

Since finding "The Stream Team" I have found myself quietly addicted to their shows and as such relinquishing the TV remote to the hubster of an evening while I watch like-minded souls create art, most of them on the other side of the pond in USA and Canada.

And there is none more lovely than Dede, who is an über talented mixed media artist and has two regular weekly shows; 'Coffee and Art in the Morning' on a Wednesday & Thursday at 2pm GMT (9am EST). During these shows, Dede creates art... in a variety of different ways, it may be a collage piece, it may be a painting, it may be a murial... either way its always inspiring, always entertaining.

And if it can't get it any better... well it just has. Last week Dede undertook her first live "follow along class". By posting a sketch on her blog, we were encouraged to print it out and follow along as we learnt to colour and shade the sketch using watercolour pencils. And this week there is another one!

Visit Dede's blog to print out the Rose Sketch and then why not play along? The show is on Thursday 3rd February at 2pm GMT (9am EST) and I'll be there!

An Art Inspiring weekend!

It's been a while since I went out to meet a friend and go somewhere different, so when an arty friend asked if I interested in going to the London Art Fair at the Islington Design Centre... I thought, "why not?".

The week before, I had been run down with a flu-ey virus and wondered if I would be ok to go but a couple of days before, the virus abated and I was really looking forward to going. So Saturday dawned bright and clear and I was up and ready to view the Modern British and Contemporary Art on display!

It was a very very inspiring trip... instead of just staying a few hours (as I thought ...this is usually the case when going to such an exhibition or gallery!), my friend and I spent the whole day admiring the amazing works, laughing to our sides hurt and being agog and some of the prices of the art!

Maybe it was the *fantastic* company, maybe it was the overload of ideas that rushed around my head from seeing so many interesting pieces... but either way I went back the next day too!

Here's a little montage of some of the pieces I found most interesting... or thought provoking!