Happy New Year. I thought I'd post up some of the art related xmas presents I sent and we received. First up is the rather marvelous book Street Sketchbook by Tristan Manco. We were very pleased to receive this and I'd much rather have had this than a straight graffiti book. Loads of sketches and doodles from the likes of Ekta, Microbo and a whole host of others. Click more info for further arty gifts.

My other half Chris has a fancy new website as of yesterday, that includes his portfolio of Lino prints and board graphics as well as a blog and an online shop: www.chrisbourkeart.com

There are two new shows on in my neck o' the woods. Worcester native and skate photographer Chris Johnson has a show at Spine Skate Shop & Gallery: the teeny artspace I help run. "Sensation Unsurpassed" is an impressive display of skate photos and portraits of skaters taken in the UK and Europe. Chris is a regular contributor to Sidewalk magazine using several different photography formats, making these extracts of his portfolio definitely worth a gander. It's on until 1st March.

If like me you're partial to zines, then you'll more than likely be interested to hear this half hour radio programme dedicated to them, presented by the delightful Jarvis Cocker. It was originally aired on BBC Radio 4 last Tuesday, but by the power of the internet you can listen again if you follow this LINK. Look for 'Zine Scene' in the right hand column and listen away. It's actually part one of a two part show. I think it'll be up there until this coming Monday. The next installment is broadcast on Tuesday at 11.30am (British Time). You can listen live on the Radio 4 website, or catch it when it's uploaded to the 'listen again' section for one week after it's aired. Great stuff!

When contacting artists for the Concrete to Canvas books, Neil Blender is a name that croped up time and again as an inspiration to many of the artists in the book. He was one of the orginal 'arty skateboarders', a pro skater who was into art and did his own graphics, and as such inspired a generation to make the connection between art and skateboarding. He was responsible for this classic 'coffee break' graphic - image pinched from google images:

He has a website up at www.theheatedwheel.com. The website's been up a few years but I've just noticed that it says "This site is going away January 23, 2008". So check it out while you still can. The website includes Blender's skateboards, paintings, prints and 'skatetoons', as well as a gallery of skate photos. Great stuff.

I've had a fairly creative week this week with lots of card making and a crafty get-together with a friend. Here are some pics, click more info for more...

These are some of the cards made with cut and stuck paper, felt and wobbly eyes, a 'get well soon', birthday and random peas in a pod:

Whilst mooching about on my computer I came across this image. It's a photo of some stickers I made and submitted to the quality publication Izastickup by Bo130 and Microbo, and this is the page they appear on in the book. I've made a big red arrow to point out my little fellows:

I came up with this idea for a project quite some years ago now and fully intended to do something with it, a zine and/or a show, but as is the case with most of my ideas they get put on the back burner while I juggle other more pressing things. My original idea was to stick eyes onto inanimate objects in the street, ones that already had 'mouths' so it created a face. I've stuck a fair few about on letterboxes, bins and my personal favourite: the post box. This is one I did last week not far from where I live. Remarkably they are still there:

Twist AKA Barry McGee has his first major solo show on at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts in Gateshead, UK. It started on the 21st January and is on until the 27th April. The blurb for the show states that the exhibition will consist of "site-specific installations with a selection
of reinterpretations on existing works." I would LOVE to get to Gateshead and see this show. Unfortunately Gateshead (near Newcastle) is over 3 hours away on the train, which means the price of the ticket will be extortionate. Boo. The Baltic Centre kindly sent me a few images so I could see what I'll be missing. By the looks of things as you'd expect, the show features lots of his lovely geometric patterns, a plethora of TV screens and his instantly recognisable character paintings.