Sundance Film Festival London

 

This weekend I was lucky enough to travel up to London, where i had won tickets (through 02 priority moments) to the Sundance London Film Festival at the 02 in Greenwich.  The tickets were actually for a private screening of the Indie, Rom-Com 'They Came Together' - followed by a Q&A with Director David Wain. Being a bit of a movie buff and lover of most things American, this felt like an ideal opportunity to do something slightly different on a Sunday and to head up to the Capital, a place which is always seems to inspire and get the creative cloggs turning. It seems wherever you go in London or whatever corner your turn there's always something - be it a poster, piece of street art or a strangers street style - that captures the eye and doesn't leave you short of interesting things to look at.

Having not been to the 02 before i didn't quite know what to expect; perhaps it was because it was the last day of the festival (and a Sunday evening) or it just isn't a popular event (most likely appealing to film students or film lovers like myself) but it seemed to lack a certain buzz and atmosphere. Regardless of this however, there were still a few other things besides the film viewings that were available for free - an interactive Nissan exhibition gave you the opportunity to try out the Daytona PS3 racing game and share ideas about transport for the future. 

Whilst in the evening, after the film - ,in the new venue, The Brooklyn Bowl - they had live music from Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra 'a blend of complex funk grooves, Nigerian traditional music (including hi-life), African percussion, underpinning the jazz horns and solos from other instruments, as well as rhythmical singing.' It was a great venue with a vibrant, but relaxed atmosphere - a place which you could casually stroll along to following a few drinks or meal in one of the many restaurants and bars in the 02.

All in all, it was a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon and had i lived a bit more central to London it would have been great to see some of the many other films showing such as 'Frank' and 'The one i love', as well as attending more of the independent talks and workshops. Guess there's always next year.....thanks 02!

Guilty Obsession - Pinterest

Despite in my last post talking about sites such as Pinterest simply being a fleeting click of the button, i have to say I've recently re-kindle my love of it. I love the fact that, like a pin-board you can create separate categories of inspiration boards, etc fashion, recipes, things for the home. 

Heres a Snippet of some of my recent posts. Have a love of bright pinks and fluorescent oranges at the moment - perfect colour block combo. Reminds me of one of my favourite colour Artists - Mark Rothko - 

      

Hello 2014, New Beginnings!

So, its that time of year again. A year on since i last wrote a blog post and feeling pretty guilty - have wanted to be able to write a daily blog for a long long time and this time I'm going to stick to it!! Hoping to have it is a 'bit of everything' blog - covering everything from art, food, inspiration and fashion to my current thoughts and ramblings. This is more a blog for myself, but if other people wish to read then be my guest :)

Recently I've found with so many image based site, such as Instagram, Pinterest, tumblr etc its easy to look at images and re-blog etc without actually giving any thought to the pictures themselves. As quickly as we look and like <3 the picture, it is gone in an instant - never to be looked upon again. Ive started to wonder however, why we are drawn to certain images? Everyone has a different aesthetic taste as it were, hence why each Instagram, Pinterest account etc is different. 

I have to say, Instagram is by far my favourite picture based social platform. For me, it is the most original as it allows users to share their photographic eye no matter what creative background they have. It can show a visual diary and journal of someones life and travels. From the obvious imagery of food and drink - to unusual places, beautiful sunsets, countries or more detailed photographs that show someones unique perspective of the places and objects surrounding them. 

Its strange that with such an abundance of visual imagery surrounding me, that i seem to be less inspired than ever before. Much like a writers block, as a creative individual hoping to finish and get a degree in visual communication, my imagination and ability to compose various ideas etc seems to have diminished in recent months - much to my frustration. Which really brings me strongly to the belief that inspiration in primarily found in life - the people, places and things that surround us rather than sreen based images of things. That one has to be immersed in a sense of travel, nature and things which perhaps others would fail to pick up on or are aware of. Each journey, walk, trip or simple day-to-day tasks contains an opportunity for a story or an idea - but one has to be in tune and receptive to these, to look both closely at the details and a wider view for the whole picture. 

Enough of the deep stuff, its feeling more spring like which I'm loving. Warmth and sunshine trumps cold and snow anyway. So bring on the warm days, colourful flower beds and positive vibes! This year I'm going to make things happen again, miss being a busy bee - flitting between Bath and London meeting amazing creative people, running on adrenaline and ideas. Time to start a new chapter :) Happy Spring y'all!

New Year, New Blog

Im enjoying the small snippets of warmth and sunshine that we've been having these past few days, offering a glimpse of spring. I have to say spring is one of my favourite seasons of the year, knowing that grey, leafless trees and the current sombre, muddy coloured British landscape will soon be slowly transforming into a sea of greenery, leaves me hopeful and motivated for brighter, warmer days. 

This evening i'm looking forward to spending an evening in good company with wine and food at a friends dinner party. Im providing the pudding and have managed (with some helpful expertise) to whip up a toffee, pecan and chocolate fudge cake for dessert which i'm sure will go down well.  Will try to post up pictures and a recipe.