Day 313: Ouch!

This is about as much creativity as I can muster today.

Warning: don't cut aubergine with a serrated knife.

Day 312: Good old British Afternoon Tea

Today my Mum, sister Becca and I have eaten our weight in cake. It's not something we normally do, I have to add, but Becca and Mum have come across to Bath to visit. What better way to celebrate than with cake?

We went to this really posh Hotel thingy and had afternoon tea as a belated birthday present for my sister (thanks Nanny), which made us feel a bit snobby, but man, the cakes were good.

As you can see, there was a lot of them. I'm pretty sure they were locally made which made them taste better somehow. None of this shop bought nonsense! It was someones job to experiment, make and display those cakes we enjoyed. What a cool job! I'm going to look into such a career I think...

We're now all sitting here looking a bit full and feeling a bit sick, but it was worth it for that scone with cream and jam. Mmm...

Day 311: The Hobbit!

I am SOOOOO excited. I just watched the first video blog about the making of the long awaited Hobbit film. For all you Lord of the Rings fans out there, check it out RIGHT NOW. They have rebuilt Bag End, Rivendell and they look beautiful. Peter Jackson gives you the rounded tour and it's so exciting!

This clip is not just for LOTR/Hobbit fans. Creative people listen up. This clip is full of weapon making, Costume design/making, Choreographing fights/action scenes, set building, shooting...you name it, it's there.

I am so siked about this film and we've still got to wait two years, but you know it's going to be worth it! Peter Jackson is amazing. An inspiration to creative folk everywhere!

Ps, if you haven't read The Hobbit, DO IT!!

pps, Is it just me or do you have a massive urge to watch Lord of the Rings RIGHT NOW???

Day 310: BP Portrait Award 2011

Today this year's shortlist was announced for the BP Portrait Award held at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The finalists are:

Ian Cumberland
Wim Heldens
Sertan Salten
Louis Smith

They're all from different countries and all came to art in different ways. I think it's inspiring to see how wide creativity really is. It part of everyone in some way, even those people who claim to be without a creative bone in their body (whatever that means!)

Take a look at their entries.  My favourite is Heldens. I want to know what he's looking at. It's like a snapshot stuck in time. Why is he holding a pencil? Is he an architect? The intriguing title, Distracted makes my imagination fly; distracted from what, from who? What or who distracted him...? I'm pretty much ready to make a story inspired by it...

Which one do you think should win?

Day 309: Art and Poetry Collaborations

Today in class we were talking about combining art and poetry and how it could work. Generally, people that write poetry aren't that great at visuals, but people who are good with visuals (painting, sculpture, graphic design etc) aren't that great at poetry. Usually people have one specific creative gift they lean towards, but I find that create things I'm no good at (like dance) really inspire me to get creative with words. It's good to work with people of different creative disaplines so we can learn from each other, don't you think?

So how do we make visuals and poetry come together? Which do you enjoy? Do you know anyone who's good at the other? Why not have a chat and see where it goes...?

When I did some digging I found all sorts of collaborations going on. This video was created by James Wray, using typography to animate Robert Frost's 'Mending Wall' poem.

> This poetry sculpture was produced by poet, Linda France and blacksmith, William Pym.



What could you do...?

Day 308: Zombie poetry...

So, today, I thought I'd post up a little poem I wrote the last time I went in and helped the Year Fives at Saltford Primary. I am by no means a poet, but it's fun just to play around with words and ideas, not to make anything important out of it, but just to get your creative juices flowing, you know?

In class Cliff Yates, the poet (see Day) asked the class to write down a thing (like a fish or a tennis ball) and then briefly describe it. I wrote 'A Piano: melodies played on black and white keys.'

Then we jumbled them all up so the things were in one pile and the descriptions were in another. Cliff read them out in a random order and then we wrote a poem with one word and one description. This is what I wrote:

TV is the walking Dead

It sits, still
unchanged by its endless dribble
that leaks from its front in
cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Its eye shines,
lighting up the living room
with flickers and flashes at night.
Watching, unblinking, alive but not living.

It moves unbalanced from sports fields
to deserts. From dog rescue centres
 to streets of shoppers.
Unaware, unchanged, not caring one bit.

You sit, still
in front of it now, transfixed
by its stare, without thought or care.
Its drawing you in, beware.

Try it yourself and see what you can come up with. Here's some other ideas we put together to start you off:
- A piano that snorts and stinks.
- Frost is something you write with.
- A flame thrower jumps from tree to tree.
- A pen is someone that looks out for you and helps you when you're stuck.

Could any of these inspire your creative work today?

Day 307: Free your imagination with the BBC

The BBC have got a new season of programs on TV and Radio all about books.

It's focusing on old-school literature like DH Lawrence and Micheal Faber. They've recreated their stories through dramas which will all be on iPlayer for you to enjoy at your leisure. What do you fancy? Documentaries, debates, events, films? Well, they got it all, so have a peek and get involved.

Check out their website for loads more exciting recreations! You can even get email updates of what's going on. Don't miss out on this opportunity to get into books and their inspiring ideas...