Today I made some art...

To some the above four screenshots may not seem like much, but to me they are a creative break in a long period of time where I have suffered from (without wanting to sound totally pretentious) "artist's block". The trouble with moving home to my parents' house for summer was not only lack of physical space, but a shortage of space to think and be free to do weird arty "me" things. As a result, I ended up spending countless hours in the library looking for research and "inspiration" on the internet, getting deeper and deeper into the wanting to make "logical" art work as a product of research. The moment I stopped thinking and just did something, I felt far more accomplished than trawling through pages of artists work wishing I was as witty and clever as them. So I'm just leaving this here as a reminder to stop over thinking stuff and JUST DO SOMETHING!!! :)

East Street; Azn in Ldn...

My rubbish photos definitely do not do the place justice! (need to step up my blog photo game) I've wanted to eat here since we went to Tampopo in Reading for a friend's birthday. This was pretty much the same menu, but in a quirkier setting. Loved the decor and the food! After sharing the East Street starter platter, I had chicken mee goreng and Will had crab meat pad thai. Would definitely recommend for a casual meal out or some drinks :)

The rest of August...

The past month has flown by! I've basically spent my time working, wandering around art galleries, spending time with some of my fave people, or eating shit food with William. I feel like I've learnt to just do the things that I want to do this summer, rather than waiting for other people to join me or feel like I have to be sociable or drunk all the time. Maybe this is what growing up is?

Benito's Hat; Covent Garden

After a few misunderstandings about the specifics of which branch of Benito's hat we were supposed to be meeting at, we eventually had some amazing burritos and a massive sharing platter. In case you haven't heard of it Benito's hat is pretty much the Mexican equivalent of Nando's; fuss free, fast service and filling food that can be good for a quick stop or a meal out. I would definitely recommend their steak burrito! Afterwards, we wandered down the road to a churro place and claimed something Will had bought on groupon; a really good chocolatey churro each for desert. We sat in Trafalgar Square for a while watching people walk past and listening to a really great busker. Times like this in London re-affirm how much I love this city. We were just discussing how weird it would be to live far away from the capital. I certainly couldn't imagine it and wouldn't want to!

Chilled Sunday: Shopping, Fitness & Face-Packs

Yesterday was my first Sunday off in ages, so after going out for drinks with the girls and the other William in Walton on Saturday night, Will and I had a really nice day doing lots but not really anything at all (if that makes sense?!). After doing some tidying and things around the house, we ventured into Bromley for shopping somewhere different to usual, got some ice cold drinks and failed to buy anything we actually wanted. As Will is on a health kick, he went for a run before dinner, and I being the awkward person I am (unable to run places apart from on a treadmill) took a leisurely stroll behind him in the sunshine. Despite some complaining, I am really liking Will's current "healthy" routine recently as it encourages me to not be lazy or eat loads of crap. 

In the evening we watched "Captain America: Winter Soldier" with his parents, which I thought was pretty good considering I hate most superhero movies, lots of gun violence though (maybe too much?). We ended up doing face packs before bed (because we're really cool), though in the photo I am the only one looking like an idiot as Will had a clear coloured "manly" face-pack that you could peel off, while I was there scrubbing at a load of purple residue on my face afterwards. 

Disobedient Objects & Wedding Dresses @ The V&A

Working so close to the Victoria & Albert Museum meant that I could see their two current temporary exhibitions on my lunch break, so I did just that. I found "Disobedient Objects" really interesting as it was concerned with different movements and how people expressed their protests using objects and props. For example there were picket signs, barrage blocks and costumes, among many other things. Two exhibits I found most intriguing; the first being the "Guerilla Girls" who highlighted how females are represented in the art world. After receiving a speech in my second year of uni from my studio tutor proclaiming how female artists have hardly any chance of making it despite being in majority interest (preaching to a room of females and one male), it felt good to see this movement shown in a widely viewed institution.  The second was the "Barbie Liberation Organization" (pictured above), who switched the voices of Barbie and Action Man dolls so that they had the opposite when children took them out of their packet; a step away from the gender norms, so that Action Man said phrases like "I wanna go shopping" and vice versa. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't take many photos in the Wedding Dresses exhibition, but there were some beautiful pieces on show. One of my favourites was Gwen Stefani's wedding dress from her wedding to Gavin Rossdale, with the pink ombre train. 

Matisse & Malevich @ the Tate

Matisse's "Cut Outs" & Malevich: "Revolutionary of Russian Art"

My new job has given me the major advantage of being able to view a large number of temporary exhibitions that would usually be paid for, for free! Thus, I took advantage and spent an afternoon wandering around one of my favourite places in London; the Tate Modern gallery. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by these exhibitions. Usually the Tate has one traditional artist and one contemporary artist that uses mixed media, but the content of these were both predominantly concerned with shape and colour; something that doesn't really interest me in a piece of art. Both exhibitions also had a similar curatorial style; very much a "White-Cube-esque" way of presenting pieces with pieces hung on white walls, which isn't very interactive or exciting (in my opinion). Aesthetically, I did enjoy some of the larger scale pieces in the Matisse exhibition, and I thought that the collages had a bigger impact on the viewer when lots were placed together on a wall. In the Malevich exhibition, my favourite room was the futurism one (pictured above). 

Despite the exhibitions not being to my taste, I had a good time anyway, as I always love the atmosphere at the Tate. I ended up spending an extortionate £16 on a book in the gift shop (which I will review at a later date), in the hope that it would assist me on my own art practice and get me a good degree mark (pleeeaaase?!?!) next year!