This is a sign I made for craft fairs—it’s a nice heavy block of reclaimed hardwood, thick enough to stand up on its own, and it proved very eye-catching indeed. Commercial laser-cutting is very expensive (I’ve been quoted £1 a minute) but London Hackspace own their own laser-cutter, and £3 an hour covers maintenance, electricity, [...]
Sounds like a silly idea, but it’s actually a really good material—tough, lightweight, and durable. That black & silver choker is made from Fabriano Tiziano pastel paper, folded & laminated, and then very thoroughly varnished. It ends up very like thin leather, but it’s entirely vegan. (Not all papers are; most art paper uses animal [...]
Usefully, System 3 “Rich Gold” paint and Tri-Art “Iridescent Gold Deep” ink have almost exactly the same colour quality, so I can easily switch between them for a project.
Checking the cupboard, I’ve discovered I have a lot more Satirico mask blanks (the half-face masks with long hook-pointed noses) than I thought. I’d had the idea that I was down to one or two unused ones, but no, there are seven here, so I’m quite pleased. And also about to do something creative to [...]
Note to self: my printer (HP Photosmart 2570) just cannot handle newsprint. It’s fine with much thicker card than I’d originally expected (basically, if it’ll curve and relax, it’ll go through) but newsprint’s too flimsy and jams about half the time.
Quick post to mention another good materials source. Falkiner’s (formally Shepherds Bookbinder Ltd) on Southampton Row (near Holborn) – specialist bookbinding supplies. Good paper in large quantities, thin leather of just about any description (including stingray, parrot fish, perch, and cane toad skins), and Useful Tools. They also sell good-quality lightfast pigment ink calligraphy pens, [...]
Further to my post on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, something else occurred to me when I walked past on my way from Waterloo to Charing Cross Road on Friday – having sculptures which are explicitly designed to be temporary means artists have a much wider choice of materials. Model for a Hotel 2007 [...]
Which glue to use is always a tricky problem. This to That will not only tell you which one works for a particular purpose, but why, and how to use it. It’s US-centric, but a lot of products cross over, and a bit of poking around will always find you a UK equivalent.
Quick post to note down where I’ve been getting things from – mostly, Atlantis Art in Whitechapel, and Intaglio Printmaker in Southwark. The latter is a bit of a trek to get to, especially in a London summer, but it’s worth it. For those of you (most of you) outside London, both places do mail [...]
I’ve just got back from a visit to Atlantis Art in Whitechapel. It’s really quite an amazing place, and the cheapest source for art materials I’ve found in London – stretched canvases at about half the price London Graphics offer them at, and unprimed 10oz cotton duck canvas from the roll at £4.47 a metre. [...]
