Sad Troll

Troll by Alison Day

When I was a kid I had a troll - they were ugly, plastic and came in a variety of sizes with coloured hair - mine had orange.

In Internet slang, a troll is:

A person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.   Verb: trolling. Source
OR: Being a prick on the Internet because you can.
Early morning, on Valentine's Day, I discovered a rather surprising and very misguided message had been left for me on my Facebook page: 'FUCKING PHOTO THIEF'. It came from a woman, of self-professed, deep faith and spirituality, living in the USA and although I won't name and shame her, because unlike her action, I'm not in the habit of stooping that low - it is, worthy of a blogpost.
These days, with the internet playing an increasingly important role in our lives, for a plethora of reasons - social contact, work and love - I feel a certain amount of decorum should be maintained. This verbal attack not only crossed a line, it was completely unfounded. 
For those of you who may not be familiar with it, my Facebook is a place where I share my personal art, design and written work. It contains links to my website, and other social media and wherever my work gets featured. My work generally carries a copyright watermark, for the simple reason that I don't want it to suddenly turn up somewhere as a t-shirt design without my permission! Also, I feature the work of other artists on my page - out of mutual interest and support, as well as things that interest me, such as ecological and environmental ideas, re-cycling, up-cycling etc. In all cases, posts and photos link back to the artisan or creator!
Unable to see the troll's point, I decided to report said post to Facebook, via their support. Unfortunately, in my haste I clicked on 'Hate speech' instead of 'Harassment/bullying' by accident, but I'm sure they were able to make an educated evaluation and sort it into its relevant pigeon hole, for processing.

Twenty-four hours later, a reply came from Facebook. They didn't see this as a breach of any of their community standards and had decided not to remove the offending post.

OK...

Honestly, I was surprised. I didn't expect them to delete it - I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself and did, but no cautionary email to the purveyor saying that this wasn't acceptable behaviour - on the Internet, off the internet or even from one adult to another?!

Oh, the devolution of it all!

I find it pitiful that someone, without bothering to find out anything about me or my work, feels the necessity to launch an unfounded, verbal attack. Initially, jealousy came to mind, but I think it is more a case of a lot of unresolved issues from a very sad troll.

P.S. Photo by ME — illustration ALSO by ME by Alison Day


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Mosaic Waves

Upcycled mosaic table top with an organic, multicolour design, created using a mix of conventional white tiles, handpainted tiles and pieces of mirror.

by Alison Day

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Floral Self

Selfie by Alison Day

Final Illustration! - Theme: Urban Life - Prompt 20: #Selfie

#spoonchallenge @spoonflower #illustration #alisondaydesign

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Beetle Swirl

Beetle by Alison Day

Theme: Animals - Prompt 13: #Beetle

#spoonchallenge @spoonflower #illustration #alisondaydesign

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Fruit &Veg

Strawberry Pug

Take a look at Vicki Sawyer's wonderful website filled with animals. Portrayed with technical realism and with and with a personal sense of humour.

As a child, family members taught her the different species of plants and animals, which ultimately led to art college.

Work as a graphic artist has meant she has created hundreds of murals containing the beloved birds, insects, grasses, and wildflowers seen in her childhood.

Her animals with hats series popped up one day as a thought, when she was on a walk: "If birds could build nests, then they could make hats."

Garden Sheep

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Flowing Time

Embroidery has a long history dating back as far as 3000 BC and is considered one of the earliest forms of art. With the appearance of the needle and thread and handmade clothing, embroidery seems to have appeared all over the world concurrently.

Early apprenticeships often lasted 10 years, with as a result, culture and material dependent embroidery styles were passed down through the ages to the present day.

These vibrant pieces, were created by Peruvian embroiderer and artist Ana Teresa Barboza. Her threaded natural landscapes are alive, as they literally flow out of the confines of their frames and down the wall.

By portraying the natural world through a time consuming process like embroidery, Ana is highlighting the common connection between the two - time - needed to make something worthwhile, both in the natural world and art.

Artist's work and photos via Bored Panda

Sources: Embroidery

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Banshee Moon

It's been a while since I took part in an illustration call-up for Amelia's Magazine.

So, ... feeling inspired, here's my illustration of: Tallulah Rendall. For the accompanying article written by Amelia Gregory, about Tallulah and her new album: The Banshee and the Moon >>> HERE

 

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Etsy

 

Blue Train Mural

Below is a short (amateur) film of a hand-painted mural (1 x 1 metre), I created for the wall of a young boy's bedroom. When asked what he wanted, he said: a blue train, with ten carriages, filled with animals and him driving the engine.

Although the mural no longer exists, I’ve written and published the story to the mural accompanied by a series of illustrations, which will soon be self-published as a children's storybook.

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Wild Wild Wood

Amber Jean, has been declared one of America's 'Woodworking Greats' by WOOD magazine. Having taught herself to use a chainsaw in her early 20's, she makes the most amazing creations in wood, whilst other ideas are destined to become cast  in bronze. 

The wild horses bed has a lovely feel to it - the combination of galloping horses, and the more subtle flow of the wood - still recognizable as trunk and branch. They are both the antithesis and complimentary of each other; the bed comes alive, but seems a peaceful enough place to slumber away the hours. 

The same flowing movement can be see in her bronzes sculptures, which are beautifully detailed and original castings; rendering shows an obvious love for animals.

Howzat!

The Connections -  publication of which I am editor, designer & writer.
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Recently, I've been busy with updating the interface and content of my website. 

For those of you who have visited before . . . there's more!
For new visitors — take a look here: Alison Day Designs

And, that's not all . . . there's more to come — I'm still busy . . . Happy viewing!

Carolijn Slottje: Interior Design

Decorations in the park (the Noorderplantsoen), during the ten days that the annual Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival is held are often refreshingly original, and in some cases thought provoking for the viewer. Summer 2012, saw the inclusion of an unusual collection of birds throughout the park: outlines of over 30 familiar species native to the area, and they were constructed from detailed, three-layered laser cutouts of mirror. Each was mounted on heavy iron bases by metal nuts and bolts and displayed at intervals throughout the park; one could spy a kingfisher hanging from a pole, a heron balanced on a branch staring intently into the distance, or groups of birds standing in the water’s shallows.

A promotional postcard from the festival, which turned out to be a pitch to the CBK (Centrum Beeldende Kunst) to realize the project, led my curiosity to contact interior designer, Carolijn Slottje.

Carolijn told me that apart from the obvious decorative aspect, the thinking behind this project was to make people aware just how many bird species are resident in the Noorderplantsoen, and what effect the presence of a festival can have on the indigenous flora and fauna.

I met her at her studio, in part of an enormous, high-ceilinged old school premises destined for demolition, and run by the anti-squat organization, Carex. It is here that she has all the room necessary to work on the five or so projects that she completes per year; either under her own name, or as part of the collaborative label (with Eileen Blackmore, Martijn Westphal): Young and Hanson. We ascend a series of bright red wooden stairs to the slightly warmer, large-windowed, mezzanine area of the studio, and sit in the sun, with large glass beakers of hot amber-coloured tea.

A graduate of Minerva, Carolijn has had a great deal of interest surrounding her work, beginning with her graduation project: Capilliar. This organically formed and ‘intelligent’ display structure has exhibited in Berlin, been written about on blogs, and drawn attention from museums for its originality. Looking like a magnified cross section of blood vessels and arteries on a glass slide under a microscope, and constructed from a series of adjustable rubber membrane cells, plastic straws, and with grey plastic tubes as inner display areas, this book case can be adapted to fit any space.

I ask Carolijn where she gets her inspiration from. It seems that her design philosophy and approach comes from her interest in natural structures, the stories contained within patterning, sustainability and fair trade. Finding inspiration in the mechanical working of things, for example bionics, she then figures out how she can translate this for human use. Or from nature: the already documented information on how a leaf unfurls, or the resistance of a riverbed. Knowledge gained from the former has already been applied to the technology of how a satellite opens in outer space. The natural world for her is inspirational through its planned chaos: “If you fill a pot with stones, whether big or small, they will naturally fall to accommodate each other within the pot, and find their own level.”

It can take up to a year before Carolijn can finally launch a new product on the market. Not only does the designed object have to be able to exist in its surroundings, but there is the question of feasibility; materials have to be costed, the end design has to be tested for safety, and then there is the question as to whether there is a market for it.

Although her income could do with a boost, Carolijn is just able to survive from her work: commissioned interior projects, and the creation of small saleable objects. For example, her fabulous up-cycled Zaanse clocks as bird houses – traditional old style Dutch clocks, with new life blasted into them. Plus of course, products from the design collective: Young and Hanson, in house at Vos Interieur.

For the future, her objective is not so much about making a name for herself, but to maybe work for Ikea or Hema, producing products with the underlying philosophy of them being financially accessible and attractive to all. Also, she would like to use her knowledge for the design of a “good chair for a well-known label.”

If you’d like more information about Carolijn’s work: www.carolijnslottje.com. Or call her: here.

© Alison DayFirst published in the Connections magazine #38 Winter 2013

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Bells On!

No, they're not mushrooms, or some invading fungus, but Sound Architecture IV, an art installation by Ronald van der Meijs.


The installation works with wind - as the wind blows, the bells ring, rather like a wind chime.

Via: Landscape Architects Network

Chocca Choo

Ever the love of chocolate - what about this? ... The longest chocolate train ever, created by Maltese chocolate artist, Andrew Farrugia? 

Setting a new Guinness World Record, it measures 34.05 metres and weighs 1,250 kg and took 700 hours to complete. 

It is magnificently detailed and includes tiny details such as a bar and a restaurant within some wagons.

Via: DesignTaxi 

Come Dance With Me

Enormous replicas of high-heeled shoes made from shiny pots and pans by Paris-born, Lisborn-based artist: Joana Vasconcelos.

These stunning pieces of footwear are part of an installation called 'Shoes', which have traveled the world. 

Beautiful in their conception, they are also a comment on the persisting traditional double role that womankind continues to lead, in a modern day world.

Via: DesignTaxi

Living Doll

Just had to share these amazingly lifelike and original toys created by Russian based artist, Santaniel.

Made from a combination of fimo clay, fabric fur and wire, but they almost seem to be alive!  For more: here

Smooth Artist

The power of mother nature, the artist... 

A beach in Fort Bragg, California that became dumping ground for people's waste in the earlier part of  the 20th century. 

By the 1960's there was a clean-up initiative, but they were unable to totally remove all the glass that was left. 

Several decades later, with a constant beating from the sea and sand particles, all the broken glass has transformed into round pebble-like forms, resulting in a glittering glass beach - beautiful!

Source: here

Portrait of a Sculptor - Ynskje Penning

It is two o’clock on a Friday afternoon, as I make my way along the narrow stone alley of the Uurwerkersgang. I pass the Harmonie buildings of the Rijksuniversiteit on my right, complete with its boundary of metal bicycle racks, filled to capacity as usual.

A little further down on the other side is Ynskje Penning’s gallery, and as I approach I can see she is less than amused by the fact that an enormous silver-coloured car has been parked right in front of the gallery, blocking the entrance completely. Fortunately, there is just enough room for us to squeeze alongside the car and into the gallery.

The interior is surprisingly more spacious than the outside had led me to believe, and its wooden beamed ceiling and white painted floor give it an airy feel. Atmospheric, scenic and portrait paintings cover the walls from a guest exhibitor, Jacqueline Kasemier. Ynskje’s sculptures sit at intervals on long low black plinths around the room or in the two glass cases either side of the door. There is a small reception desk on which a neat pile of one of her historical novels Emo’s Labyrint is stacked; she is a published author too.

We head upstairs to her studio, but before we can start our talk, there is a customer. He buys a signed copy of the aforementioned book and talks at length with Ynskje about her work. Pen and pad in hand, I stand and listen, jotting down facts as he covers areas I had planned to ask about myself. Curiosity satisfied he leaves, and Ynskje and I sit down with cups of Camille tea, surrounded by her work and posters of past exhibitions on all sides.

Always interested in art, Ynskje wanted to study at art school, but was advised by her parents to follow a study that would offer her a way to make a living. In their eyes it was hard to earn a crust in the arts. Taking their advice, Ynskje studied to become a teacher and taught for a number of years. It was only after her marriage and the birth of her daughter that she decided now was the time to follow her passion. So, she gave up teaching and started writing and sculpting.

She learnt the sculpting tricks of the trade as well as clay and wax basics at the Kunstencentrum. After that, it has been a long continual search spanning thirty-five years, coupled with sheer determination and an invaluable study of anatomy. The results of this can be seen in her bronze busts, where not only the physical but the essence of the person is present. In her words, sculpting is more complicated than painting, as it has to make sense for the whole 360 degrees of the head. Also, whilst a portrait may be emotive it must be timeless.

A commissioned work isn’t realized from a selection of photos, (and where relevant) sittings alone, it often involves the whole family as well as friends. Ynskje uses their reactions to gauge her work’s authenticity, and no sculpture is finished until both parties are absolutely satisfied; a portrait must be tangible, and if she has done her work well, often it can be confrontational too. She gives the example of the man who commissioned a portrait of his then deceased wife; he wanted a younger, timeless version, not his wife aged sixty-two. By studying photos of the woman taken over the years, it was possible for her to create a bust which brought back the striking youthful face of the woman in her younger days, for a cast in bronze. Constructive comments from the family helped along the way with necessary alterations, and, she knew she had succeeded when the woman’s brother-in-law exclaimed “This is her!”

Her personal sculptures differ greatly in style; her inspiration comes from both people and animals, with a particular love of human characteristics in the latter. To illustrate this point she motions to the coffee table and her piece of a mother elephant and child; a study full of movement, with the baby pulling on the mother in much the same way as a human child would do. In contrast to her commissioned work her human figures are simple, with unnecessary detail removed and stylized so that the essence and glance remain. Male models are harder to come by, so her subjects are generally female, voluptuous and curvaceous, often carved out in a white stone.

Her other passion is writing, and she has over sixty books to her name, including historical novels and children’s books. Oftentimes, she will have to research an historical era before embarking on a new project; this can mean delving into hundreds of years of history. Her most popular to date are Emo’s Labrint and Storm Vloed, in their second and fifth editions respectively.

I ask Ynskje if she has any advice for anyone interested in starting a career as a sculptor. From her position seated calmly in the middle of the sofa, with her hands folded in her lap, she tells me that sculpting is a dying art; few sculpting courses remain in The Netherlands, so interested parties often have to travel abroad. Also, you have to ask yourself some serious questions; do you think you could earn a living from it, and if not or it doesn’t turn out to be as you expected, what do you do then? It takes a long time to become a sculptor; you have to be driven, learn to look and be prepared to give it all you’ve got. The world of three dimensions is a long road to travel upon and as her father said: “You can want it, but you have to have the opportunity.”

Should you want to see more of Ynskje’s work, from April 2012, her work can be viewed in her new studio: Emmalaan 7, 9752 KR, Haren.

www.ynskjepenning.nl/

www.emoslabyrint.nl/

www.penningboek.nl/

© Alison Day
First published in the Connections magazine #35 Spring 2012

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