Crow fight on a sunday morning

Snail trail: the track of a journey

How long did this snail (or slug, let's not presume anything here) take to travel across the step, make the ingenious loop and somehow manage to leave the building? Answers in a tweet please! @orlaghob

"Leak" - HardbackHenid's tribute to Cornelius and John Cage

The rain doesn't end this week! "Now how can I get some different sounds from this unexpected drop intruding into my room?" It's a rainy June day and cabin fever demands a little play."Totally arty like!"



ANd this is just the rain falling on the roof; lovely!

Swimming sessions - illustration as a personal certificate of achievement for incremental but satisfying improvement

My new year's resolution for 2012 was to set a small, attainable, achievable and measurable goal for myself each month. Actually, each lunar month, as thats somehow more cyclic, and I can watch the month passing in a satisfyingly graphic passage of time. Anyhow, the last month (#3) was to swim 2km. Now, I know all you swimming people think: yeah, 'thats a fair enough distance to do in one go', but I, not very comfortable in water, decided to swim it over the course of the entire month. Very humble, (but measurable!) So I sputtered and splattered my way, and improved modestly, doing 2.6 in the end.So here's my personal achievement certificate, a drawing done last night.... a layer of just line and some water-based inks. Tried drawing on the iPad this evening in the pub but can't seem to get the sense of it yet... have a great weekend now anyone reading this....

Wild Droppings

I'm finding the winter blues can be a bit of a downer. No shots of whiskey though, but slashes of crazed colour inks cheered me up this weekend. Not particularly cool but just the tonic for the bleak greyness.

The results won't win taste awards, but the process is so much fun. Daub some water onto heavy paper in a shape you like (thank you cheap bamboo brushes). Load a syringe or dropper with your psychedelic hues and let gravity take its course. Tilt and swivel for a class of substractive colour theory. If you really get into this, you can start using alcohol inks and glues for some ferral effects.

Oh, and check out this image by Pery Burge on the new scientist site... made by firstly dropping some oil-based gold paint onto water then adding two colours of acrylic inks. Beautiful.

What is it about trains and working?

There's something special about simply being on trains. When I have my notebook or laptop, the items that have sat on the long finger, or the work that is a little stuck, seem to unravel…. and flow with the movement of the land passing by. Is it the defined time? Is it the actual motion of the train? Is it the sense of being in an inbetween place: nowhere to go: nothing else to do? the internet connection is too slow to get too distracted…. Being on a train is like having a deadline without the adrenalin. The physical rhythm seems to allow the necessary changes of mind and perceptions to let go: to move forward. Or maybe it's all in my imagination….  maybe it's just me?

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Beautiful timelapse sequence from Florida.
Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

USA - Ways of Getting Around

Hang on: did you see Rodin's Thinker tucked away behind the jews? What's he doing??

Life Remembered – The Vicon Revue

This gadget is pretty interesting. It just sits around your neck and takes photos all by itself. Either on timer or in response to sensing things happening by changes of location, heat, movement and more. There is no screen or viewfinder. It costs £500 ex VAT. Why?? Well, for people with Alzheimers who want to remember events in their lives. But also for research and arty stuff.

Developed by Microsoft Research Cambridge, via Infostethics ... Reminds me of Jean Luc Godard's latest flick 'Film Socialisme'. The trailer makes my mind spin.

Nerd – Maths Dance

This has brightened up my otherwise frustrated day. Ah the joys of being both a nerd and an enthusiastic dancer. My friends will tell you that as a "youngster" (and not-so-young), I like to do the ol' improvised routine based on themes such as basketball, shopping, DIY etc. Gladly, these children's-presenter discotheque moves have been out done by one American youth, Amelia Downs, but a fan of maths. And dance. Scatter! Scatter!

Via infosthetics

Irishships.com

Those guys sure were adventurers. Thanks to J for this link: it's a beauty.

All the Time in the World

An Electroluminescent Art Wall for British Airways Heathrow Terminal 5
Troika was commissioned by Artwise Curators to create 'All the Time in the World'; a 22m long electroluminescent wall that marks the entrance to the First and Concorde Galleries lounges in the new Heathrow Terminal 5.

Post-it Action