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How I am feeling today, I made this bear collage myself hehe … |
Gosh it has been a very long time, it almost feels unnatural for my hands to tap on the keys of my phone, what an amazing feeling …
How has it been two months since I last posted a blog post ?
I apologise profusely. My pledge to blog more frequently had gone awry and in all honesty - I have no excuses. I am truly, genuinely and extremely sorry. It hurts my heart as well, leaving one of my passions unattended for such a long time …
Believe it or not ( despite my severe phases of inactivity ) blogging is my favourite medium to communicate my experiences and thoughts. More than Instagram in fact, there is a certain personalisation and customisation to a blog which makes it more aesthetically pleasing. It seems I constitute “aesthetically pleasing” to persistently drowning my text in saturated colour and pictures …
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Skiyodu is in love with colour ! |
As I come back to this beloved passion project of mine a realisation looms over me with an incessant gloom …
It taps my shoulder and says,
“Cyd, you have not blogged for the entirety of March !”
I begin to break down and sob ( this is intense hyperbole ) and rattle for answers in my coconut brain, hoping to extract any sort of rationale for this intense procrastination.
Frankly, my brain could not conjure up any genius ideas for why I skipped out on blogging in March. Damn it, I had some really cool outfits in March …
But what my brain could fathom is the potentiality for a “rebirth” - that word has consistently been on my mind as of recently. I am back, to continue what I started. Flamboyant, long-winded blogs which help me to articulate the rush of thoughts which bounce from one side of my head to the other.
I hope to discuss some milestones and tribulations which have occurred over March and some which have occurred during the past days of April. Not only that is to be discussed however, of course ( what a shocker ) my current artistic obsessions are to be elaborated upon as well.
Inspiration has not been coming to me in waves but in fact oceans or vicious streams, you know the peak of the waterfall before it takes a steep drop ? I like to imagine I am at the bottom of said waterfall, getting pelted with endless droplets of water, as the water crashes tenaciously onto me - nearly killing me in the process. Eek, that is a macabre sentiment. What I am trying to gesture to is that I currently have TOO many ideas roaming through this tiny head of mine, so much inspiration but yet my hands are not moving quick enough.
Hopefully by investing some much needed time into this blog, I can generate some clear and cohesive thoughts about where my art and personal aesthetics are heading to, and how I can take the initiative to create what I envision in my head.
The tactile and practical, the tangible aspect of making art is by far the most rewarding. Seeing all of your labour and hard work come to a euphoric fruition is fantastic. I do not want to compromise or stunt myself from joy or happiness, in fact I want to cultivate an abundance of it into my life. So let us see using the momentum from past work and current, how I can bring joy into my artistic life …
Perhaps you might start brainstorming or elaborating on previous notions for your own artistic success. Let us roam around various spheres of influence together. Shall we ?
I will start off with personal successes which have now been profusely influencing the way in which I approach my artistic endeavours and time. However that is not to say there has not been struggles in changing my schedule and discipline. For some reason, habits which are seemingly not related to art seem to have the biggest impact on whether I have a productive artistic day or not. As of recently the imperative for a good, productive artistic day has been re-arranging my relationship with my phone …
It seems like a meagre, trivial task which wastes time : detracting from interacting with painting, drawing or sewing. However, it proved to be a crucial organisational task in improving my mental state. As it pushed me to take one step further in terms of healthy media consumption. Let me recount what happened :
Picture this, it is the 9th of April 2023 and it is nearly midnight. After procrastinating heavily on getting a detailed outline done for a painting, the weather has been mediocre and so was my artistic turn out - also my mood, strangely enough was rather sullen and downtrodden.
My eyes widened and I had sudden realisation which hit me like a stack of bricks,
“Oh my gosh, if you quit wasting time gawking on your phone all of your paintings would have been probably done by now,”
Do you ever scare yourself into getting crap done ?
Because I certainly did !
Now, the last thing I would like to do is act like a nomadic, holistic mogul because I am far from it - in fact I am using my phone as of right now as we speak to write this blog. Eek ! However I wanted to harness some deep-seeded motivation and urge to succeed artistically as a means becoming more productive and the first step to that was cutting out all of the unnecessary noise which pervaded my life through the usage of my phone.
This eventual procession of cutting out the majority of my unproductive phone usage entirely was comprised of three integral pillars if you will :
1. Acknowledging my incessant self-absorption and reclusive nature :
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Me on more days than I would like to admit … |
This is not me being self-deprecating, but simply me recognising my flaws and using them to benefit my life instead of depressing me. Yippee to a quick turnaround !
Let us dissect this statement.
“incessant self absorption,”
I am an absolute saturated, multicoloured fiend who is hellbent on their own art and success. That sounds self-absorbed indeed but do not fret my friend, I had acknowledged this a long time ago. Ego and self-preservation is a trait arguably present in most people …
( this sounds like that horrendous “human nature” argument for Capitalism I promise this is not that, this blog is not compromising its anti-establishment views )
but learning to cultivate that into a healthier lifestyle which excludes you scrolling looking at photos of yourself on your phone is one path to healing and self-betterment. My word to the people who have a tinge of vanity ( my alternative friends I am looking at your beautiful faces’ ) , try to unlearn that by partaking in activities which are not just dormant honouring a of your own reflection but instead tangible actions which boost your own self-confidence and self-esteem through YOUR OWN hard work and YOUR OWN creative output.
For example :
If you are an artist who is trying to make a myriad of colourful self-portraits which explores the tropes of middle-class Englishness and the emergence of a Great Britain with an increasingly sterile, robotic notion of aesthetic class which deters cultural or alternative expression which denigrates fashionable and social variety.
( Definitely not me, actually it is certainly me … )
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This is the GB flag but I wanted to put it in the blog anyways, actually I think I have a photo of me looking overly excited waving the St. George’s flag during the 2022 World Cup season. Hold on let me try and find it … |
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There we go ! The St.George’s flag, you know I used to find it a bit more intimidating than I do now. Nowadays not so much … the design is quite minimalistic, a Red Cross can say so much ! |
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Found it ! Credits to Jacqui for snapping this … |
Then instead of aimlessly scrolling on your phone, pulling yourself to sleep over the reference photos you took yesterday for your painting or gawking at your coloured pencils which need to be sharpened so that you can commit to an outline of your paintings’ compositions. How about you do something physical which will kickstart you into actually doing the work which you need to do ?
That is what I would have liked to accomplish.
Because, let’s get real, SO real just for a minute. Artists like to do these three things which I have originally dubbed the “triple F’s” - this is my own term. These are the three adjectives they embody through their behaviours and gestures before they put paintbrush to paper or pencil to paper - you get my drift.
Flaky
Flowery
Futile
Now this template does not apply to all artists of course, actually this might in a strange universe apply to me and I would be the crazy one, but extending outside of art for a quick minute we have a tendency as modern people to do trivial activities before work in the hopes of easing ourselves into labour, however instead of our goals being achieved more easily through these menial activities we drain ourselves of energy which would be better utilised if we just started doing work.
That is such a wordy way of putting it. Ignore that. TLDR : Stop doing random activities you think will make you more productive to distract from the stuff you actually need to be doing in order to make progress.
Much better, skiyodu.
Let us talk about my first pillar - the Flaky :
This is where before you start a painting you do a million things before actually starting that piece of work, whilst simultaneously not finishing any of those a million things and hopping from one to the other in order to get a dopamine hit - which sends this strange message to your brain that,
“Yes I am totally working hard !”
( Skiyodu is not affiliated with any study of psychology, she is not a psychologist and is applying her menial observation of herself to this analogy which is meant to extract humour and comedy from an anecdotal experience ).
In my case this was, sharpening pencils then stopping midway to mix palettes then stopping midway to get water then stopping midway to go on the most dreaded device of all - the phone.
GIRL ( and when I shout “girl” I am shouting at myself not at you I appreciate YOU ) this was the worst cycle of all time and I used to do it everyday and it practically ensure I got substantially less painting or drawing done at home. By not finishing the tasks which I started and allowing myself to get bored really easily, I abandoned imperative tasks for tasks which were increasingly less important, which resulted in me going on my phone, maximising my screen time and wasting precious painting time aimlessly scrolling on Instagram.
SOLUTION to the “1st Pillar of Artistic Failure” which is “Flakiness” - I need to coin a better term for my theory so I can become a corporate sellout and make a ton of money off of it in the form of a “self-help” book :
FINISH a task before going on to the next one. Now, I am a renowned flake when it comes to getting academic work done and artistic work done, I am horrendously spontaneous and I cannot concentrate.
Most likely because my attention span has been horrendously limited due to my time spent on social media …
Everything is connected !
But in all seriousness, the euphoria which comes with getting one really important thing done ( such as sharpening your pencils to start outlining a painting ) will motivate you to start your work quicker and motivate you to get whatever it is that you need to get done - done ! If I finished the task of sharpening my pencils in the morning without any distractions or menial side tasks in the space of 5 minutes, which is literally no time at all, I would have made exponential progress on my new painting.
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I am always looking off to the side, always dozing off …I must try and focus in all honesty, I am trying now girlies ! |
But no, because I was flaking on an important task when I had ample time to do it - I have to rush to now get the outline of this painting solidified before I return back to school. This is not a deadline set by the school, this is a deadline set by myself based on my own personal beliefs about what I want to achieve when I come back after the Easter Break. I want to show up for myself because I believe my standards have value and through acts of ritual and discipline I want to honour the artistic standards I have set for myself which are easily achievable.
I just have to put in the work, part of this work is writing my blog. Writing is the hardest part in all honesty, but it is crucial - otherwise I would have no blog if I did not write !
Seriously though, I prefer the formatting and pasting of videos and pictures a lot more believe me …
I had to demolish my First Pillar of artistic idleness in order to start making progress on my current painting so from the 9th of April 2023 I made a pledge to myself to be diligent when sharpening pencils. As sharpening my pencils was a huge motivator for me to take action on an outline for future paintings, which deterred me from going on my phone.
Let us tackle the next behavioural adjective which is “Flowery”, honestly I think a better term for this would be the word “Florid” but the former sounds cheekier. I like cheeky words …
Once again let us get so real. As an artist, I will speak for myself and many others who may stumble upon this blog, we love to fantasies and hypothesise about our utopia, which probably encompasses us sitting on a cloud, all cute and picturesque with an artistic utensil in hand, our canvas at our front. Upon this cloud we just so happen to be making the most beautifully conceptual, meaningful, culturally significant, poignant and intricate work we have ever made in our lives.
I say this strictly to myself but girl, stop the daydreaming. Because as far as I know I am not even gotten up my 14 step stairs, never mind finding a cloud residing in the sky. Honestly, I think I spend more time thinking about being creative as opposed to actually putting in the work for creativity to prosper in my life. Not to be rude to myself, but that is what people usually define as delusion …
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This has to be my one of my favourite GIFs … |
Strangely enough, this all links back to my phone. Yes, I am semi-harping and lampooning about my phone degenerating my artistic practice but stick with me because I think I can draw a clear correlation between my incessant daydreaming and my cellular device. When I start dozing off into idealistic musings, which effectively kills any productivity I once had, I try and find visual aid which facilitates my daydreams, one word : Pinterest. My daydreaming and Pinterest go together …
So where does all of this flowery thinking, all of my elaborate semantics transfer to ? Where can I harness this desire to daydream into a productive space ?
Well …
I started making regular to-do lists which got increasingly pragmatic and achievable as the days had went on. They first stated as more of an information dump, a brain dance if you will, everything which I could think of strewn across a page. This included photoshoots I could potentially take, random paintings for the foreseeable future which I could potentially start, and clothing which I would desire to stitch and embroider. However now when I make to-do lists I break them down into the utter imperatives and essentials which need to be done for the day. Then I make a separate one for the week.
I thought to-do lists were completely pointless, but upon pondering on their potential benefits - I realise they really did keep me in check. Perhaps it is my ego which deters me from straying away from my to-do list : I have too much pride to incentivise my life and then not take any practical action.
So to-do lists were my first call to action which would help me get all of my crap done. My “crap” in question was :
-To take photos of my neighbourhood in the style of George Shaw’s paintings. Regular British homes.
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I do not lie when I tell you I live in close proximity to very George Shaw-esque locations … |
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Cannot wait to paint these on canvas ! At least I think I will paint these on canvas - just because that is what I have available at home and I would not want to waste resources … |
- To finish the outline of my next painting on board. Hopefully this will be posted either to the blog or Instagram. So a few more people may be able to see it.
- Take reference photos for my next painting. I might have to go visit a pub …
I got multiple photos of my neighbourhood in the style of George Shaw’s paintings and I managed to get my outline for my painting on board done within a one hour and a half time frame from 8AM to 9:30AM, that actually shocked me. Honestly, I do not think I have ever just buckled my head down with no breaks to do art before in that manner. Perhaps this was a fluke, maybe “beginners luck” and this had nothing to do with the to-do lists but I am still going to keep doing them.
Hehehehe …
Now the next thing is actually in reality, extremely stupid and looks semi-egotistical. However, it is really motivating - I re-did my Home Screen theme …
Yes this results in no physical, tangible artistic outcome, but it helped me put to rest all of my idle daydreaming, as I placed all of my fantasies into my Lock Screen. My theme is prioritised around my favourite artists’ beautiful work and some of my favourite artistic photoshoot memories .
Many people consider it sacrilegious to have any sort of reference to your singular face on your Lock Screen or Home Screen, is this the modern world’s interpretation of collective, ritualistic thinking ? It seems to be an “ick” for many people as it comes off potentially as self-absorbed. But whatever, whoopsie daisy ! Unless someone magically finds the passcode to my phone, no one is peering into the details of my Home Screen to judge my visual choices.
I am technically already letting people judge, as my Home Screen is pictured above for everyone to see, well you have to put yourself out there in one way or another !
Here are my Home Screens :
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All of these portraits on this page were made by yours truly, with vivid watercolours - these were then digitally finessed and made into prints on cartridge. I have actually made a post about these prints before. I have “Photoapp” and “Remini” for a strange reason - not because I want to enhance old photos of my grandparents. But for a rather different reason haha. This sounds strange but you know the notorious AI art mess-ups where they give a figure seven fingers or a random ear ? When you process already high quality photos through these strange quality enhancing apps they distort them in a similar manner. Arguably a bit more ethically. Arguably … |
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This bares no explanation per se. But I really enjoy this page above, the widgets consist of my photos and art once again. We have my abstract art and a photo of my trinkets, we all love trinkets ! I think I should do a blog where I live as a minimalist for a day … I would love that ! |
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This low-key looks self indulgent. But hear me out, this page is the one I look at when I feel unmotivated to dress up and take photos and edit pictures. I have already done it in the past, it is not hard for me - I just need to stop being lazy and create content and cultivate aesthetic ideals which satisfy my artistic tastes. This page is a reminder of that. Also random side note, knitted dolls are the cutest things. Those vintage-looking, slightly kitsch, grandma-esque knitted dolls are LITERALLY a million bucks in my eyes. Absolutely golden !   |
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Here, I place myself alongside some of my favourite artists’ works in the widgets. We have a still from a video I had done, I would like to post it but I do not know if I am still happy with it ; it needs a bit of fine tuning. In the top widget we have Portia Munson’s work, one of my favourite artists she does these incredible installations which tackles the ideals of feminism, consumerist culture and the environment. If you click this body text you will be taken to Portia Munson’s website, where you can view all of her works. Her work is maximalist in nature and yet it is refined, a beautiful combination. Also on display is Brian Chippendale’s artwork in the middle right widget. He is really a jack-of-all-trades, he has a band with Brian Gibson which is a noise-rock experimental project called “Lightning Bolt”, renowned and famous in the noise rock scene. Their music does not read as traditional noise music per se ( a la Merzbow ) it is less atmospheric and more chaotic, as if they were constantly playing in vexation.  I would happily make a blog about my top ten favourite musical artists, l definitely I can limit down to ten. Lightning Bolt is certainly up there, I would recommend to anyone into experimental music to give them a listen on Spotify … Click this body of text to visit Lightning Bolt’s bandcamp , and view all of their beautiful colourful music and album art. Not when you want to feel relaxed - well, actually I feel quite relaxed listening to Lightning Bolt ! All of it made by Brian Chippendale himself !  Here is more of Brian Chippendale’s artwork which I am simply in love with. It is so anarchic and energetic, Brian Chippendale was an art student before a musician before I believe. He went to RISD !    I will make a blog post about my most prominent artistic influences, genuinely I cannot even cover all of the amazing work Chippendale has participated in from his graphic novels titled under “Ninja” to Fort Thunder … Oh my gosh do not even get me started on Fort Thunder, one of the best things to happen to the art world. I am in so much aesthetic debt to Fort Thunder. I will fangirl about Fort Thunder later … |
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The top widget is more of Portion Munson’s work. She did these visceral and ornate series of bird portraits, I believe the birds were indeed photographed. Such gorgeous prints. The small widget is dedicated to Hundertwasser, I do not often like to indulge in utopian fantasies or ideals. But I think if I could paint my own utopia, it would be very visually similar to Hundertwasser’s artwork - he was also an architect ! The bottom widget is Emery Blagdon’s work from his “Healing Machine” in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In Blagdon’s spare time he would make metal assemblages , these went behind his house in a two-piece shed if I remember correctly. The rooms quickly became filled with Christmas tree lights and hand-painted light bulbs and all sorts of trinkets.  Interestingly, Blagdon would not have called himself an artist but he was fascinated with electricity and the therapeutic tendencies of the assemblages he built hence the name “Healing Machines”. Inspired to heal after seeing his parents die of cancer, he backs interested in alternative medicine and the ideas of electropathy. I relate to him in many regards, how the accumulation of objects which you have put your energy into, objects which you have carefully considered - can have therapeutic healing qualities. I think that is beyond beautiful. Blagdon pursued that sentiment through his metal assemblages, I pursue it through my textiles and abstract art predominantly. It almost brings me to tears, that belief, that your creations protect you from harm and shield you from the cruelty of the world. Even if it’s for a fleeting period of time. I do not know if I sound slightly juvenile, but in all honesty I am not too sure if I care. Here is more of Emery Blagdon’s work :     And for fun’s sake, here is the man himself :  Too cute ! |
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More of my abstract artwork in the large widget. This piece was highly enjoyable to do, and I got it done fairly quickly. I do not remember having so much fun doing a digital piece. Because, honestly ? Sometimes it is a whole struggle bus for me to get my digital work done. This is a reminder for me when I have a plan for a digital piece, that I can do digital work.  I have horrible imposter syndrome, and sometimes I feel as if my work is never good enough. However, I say this with full blown confidence, if you want to grow and heal and develop as an artist you cannot continue doing that self-pity stuff. It is okay to see your flaws, it is not okay to see your flawed occurrences as natural and unsolvable. Take action in developing your character. I know it is hard ! |
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More of my own artwork haha. This has to be one of my favourite pieces I have done, the children’s slightly off-putting faces are a lovely touch. But my work is not the main thing which I would like to discuss on this page. I would love to talk about Aloïse Corbaz - a Swiss, Outside artist with an evocative and lavish style. I love how unapologetic her mark making was and her bold application of colour. |
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One of my favourite artworks. |
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I love how her work has an artifactual quality to it, they remind me of the tapestries of the Early Middle Ages. Corbaz was a dressmaker, I think it is clearly depicted in her drawing clothing in her work, so colourful and ornate and imaginative. |
“Come on Cyd, you colourful thing do not waste 30 minutes of your day, get back to doing the things you’re actually passionate about !”
My own art and good memories as widgets on my Home Screen serve the purpose of aiding me visually in my motivation and strive towards artistic proficiency. Those photos of my own art and past photoshoots tell me,
“Cyd you have been productive before and you have the strength to be productive again.”
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I was high-key a cutie … still a cutie but you catch my drift - eek ! |
It takes me 27 seconds to scroll through my Home Screen and I usually waste 30 minutes scrolling through Instagram, I know which one I would rather choose …
Woo ! This is going to be a long blog post !
The last Pillar of Artistic Idleness is the “Futile” arguably the worst one for me. Futile is when you embark on useless activities in between your bursts of productivity which make you feel 10 times worse after you have pursued them. For example, when I start painting a million thoughts are running through my friend - one of them is to go through my phone and check if I have any messages despite turning my notifications off so I do not get disturbed by social media, spending 15 more minutes on Instagram and ignoring the time limit I placed on that forsaken app and randomly taking selfies with my painting for no apparent reason. All of that in culmination takes about 24 minutes out of my day …
GIRL BYE !
Those “time limits” which you can place on apps genuinely did nothing for me in the past as I did not have the discipline to leave my phone alone after that hourglass with the sand popped up on Instagram telling me I had reached my time limit for the day. Nowadays however I am trying my absolute hardest to leave that thing alone, so that if I do need to go on Instagram it is so I can message someone, or post, or compile a cute story together. Definitely no aimless scrolling on the explore page anymore though, and oh my gosh …
NO INSTAGRAM REELS !
That bears no explanation, enough said.
So no more than 15 minutes on Instagram per day now. I kid you not. In this current moment at this time of the year, I really want to focus on producing the art I want to and know I can create, putting my mind to those endeavours requires me to not gawk at my phone for long periods of time, if those “long periods of time” do not have a considered and carefully created blog post at the forefront.
Of course on a day that I post, I might spend more than 15 minutes on Instagram, replying to people’s lovely comments and thanking those who re-share my work, but it will be marginally more than 15 minutes in that case. 20 minutes instead on Instagram per day
I am so artistic and self referential …
( sarcasm if it were not obvious ) …
YES ! We have gotten through my Pillars of Artistic Idleness. So now let us talk about my recent influences and the insurgence of new motifs which I really enjoy and would like to incorporate into my own work.
1. I have recently been really inspired by natural imagery, perhaps it has been because I have been walking more and taking the time to absorb my surroundings. This is imperative as I often spend long days on end staying in my room drawing or painting, so those quick or long ( depending on the day ) breaks walking through greenery or strolling around my neighbourhood or sitting by a river has proved to be really beneficial for my mental health. Subsequently as a result of this engagement in nature I have really enjoyed natural, pastoral imagery in artworks.
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Still missing this day, love you miss Inezzy ! I love making GIFs out of images, they are so cute and really add a certain amount of dynamism to the blog … |
I used to really enjoy more synthetic aesthetics ( that sort of rhymes ) and I used to like everything being slick and plastic-y. You can sort of see this natural progression on my Instagram, the fabrics of my clothing become more natural and the colours more earth-toned.
Currently, I really enjoy the paintings of Connor William Mason Brown, this REALLY shocked me because his style of painting is one which I had never had an affinity for until now. I love the vibrancy of his berries, the fullness of his trees band the wistful nature of his clouds. I really think my surroundings and environment shifted my taste, aiding me in appreciating art I would have not considered as influential beforehand …
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Look at how luminous those raspberries are ! |
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These autumnal trees are particularly picturesque, how they reflect so beautifully into the water … |
A period which I have become increasingly fascinated in, which has perhaps been spurred on by my recent love for consistent walks and nature, is the Central Indian Prehistoric rock art. My favourite Prehistoric period is the Chalcolithic period in India, as Chalcolithic culture flourished there. There is an article by the Bradshaw Foundation which captured my eye, and I find myself frequenting it constantly. It will be accessible in the body of text below this one :
I will place some of my favourite pieces of Rock Art in this Blog to show just so I can discuss them in more detail, I suppose this is my version of fangirl-ing in a sense :
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All of these photos were taken from the Bradshaw Foundation’s website, these paintings are so beautiful and inspiring. |
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Friendship ! A beautiful display of human connectivity … |
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More friendship and community ! |
There is an element of elation and spontaneity in Prehistoric artwork which is difficult to generate as an artist living today, I feel. Often, I am very serious and strict with my artistic practice, which is dictated and monitored by time restrictions and discipline - this is what works for me of course, and in many circumstances I would not have it any other way. But I suppose Prehistoric artwork teaches us the important lesson of engaging with the fun nature of creating work : there is a celebration of life in Prehistoric work which is vastly overlooked today. What do we have which we can celebrate and act upon ?
Two current subjects of passion down, and one more to go !
This is certainly last but not least …
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Yippee ! |
I have become increasingly fascinated in English traditions. This is strictly admiration and appreciation, I do not wish to appropriate these costumes in my own work, by “appropriate” I mean myself donning such clothing. Instead, I would like to incorporate some small motifs and nods to these people’s rituals and ceremonies, whether it’s through an aesthetic or philosophical communication.
I was talking to an elderly person as of lately and I had shown them a photoshoot of mine, and they said I reminded them of the Minehead Hobby Horse. Unfortunately, I feigned ignorance to this tradition in Somerset so I kept a note in my head to search up what this Minehead Hobby Horse looked like. Upon researching this tradition I felt really flattered to have been compared to the honorary subject which is the Hobby Horse of Minehead, let me show you a few pictures.
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Such an intricate and vibrant work of art ! |
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Love this image in particular ! |
I had known of the “Obby Oss” of the Cornwall which is black but I did not know that there was a colourful Hobby Horse from Minehead ! I am in awe of their costumes. There is not just one Minehead hobby horse however there is from what I know ( please anyone inform me of my ignorance if I happen to be wrong ) there are several which can be found through photos online.
If you would like to read more about the Hobby Horse traditions and the types of Hobby Horses all over the world I would recommend you click the two bodies of texts down below :
I enjoy the circular patterns on the Hobby Horses’ bodies and their bright shivers of ribbon and ostrich plumes. I quite like ribbon and feathers myself …
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Who would have thought ? |
As of recently also, I have seen a Minehead all pink Hobby Horse ! It can be seen if you click the body of text below :
Click here to see the pink Minehead Hobby Horse on Somerset Live !
Click here to see The Original Sailors Hobby Horse Community Page on Facebook !
How beautiful …
I would really like to do a detailed blog post on my 10 largest influences when it comes to art and fashion. So 20 influences in total - I think it would be really beneficial to have a visual diary of all the things which make me happy. I do not necessarily like to come off across as egotistical but I really do see my blog as a passion project which encompasses all of the beautiful things in the world which I am happy to be an observer to.
This will probably be my next blog post. I feel really bad though haha, remember in my last blog post ( way back when ), I said I would make my blog post on Robin Hood’s Bay - that has unfortunately been pushed to the back burner as I do not necessarily feel too passionate about writing about my Robin Hood’s Bay trip anymore. This is why you must act upon all of your desires with urgency - so you actually do them !
A lot of my blogs as of recently have been autobiographical so I have been trying to vary the subjects of my posts quite a bit. The next post will be about the aesthetic world of Cyd, and then the next post will be about the “real” world of Cyd. Although, let me make myself clear I definitely consider my aesthetic world real. Haha, I am a bit nutters !
Before I leave I would like to recommend a few documentaries which you could potentially watch in your spare time, I know it is sometimes hard to come across sometimes.
I really enjoyed this documentary, titled “World of Skinhead — Documentary” uploaded by the channel “Trojan Skinheads - Early Reggae” as it showed a variety of Skinheads from all different ethnic and racial demographics, which deters from the Ultra-European-Nationalistic reputation that Skinheads often get. From England to America, different Skinheads are interviewed about their involvement in the scene and how it has shaped their livelihoods. This documentary can be viewed on YouTube and I have placed the video down below :
Another video which I heavily enjoy is this one ( which is also on YouTube may I add ) and it is titled “1926 Lotte Reiniger - “Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed ( visual highlights )” and is uploaded by the amazing channel “magical media museum” one of my favourite channels on YouTube. Let me copy and paste the description of the video as it is far more eloquent than anything I would ever say about Reiniger’s work …
“A poetic fairy tale in silhouette animation. Lotte Reiniger cut the figures out of black cardboard with a pair of scissors, and joined movable parts with thread in order to animate them. Experimental avant-garde filmmaker Walter Ruttmann collaborated on the special effects. Some of the techniques he used are similar to his work on his "Opus" series.”
What a beautiful description. Here is the YouTube video :
I wish I had a third video to recommend but I believe that is all I have to share for today, and for once I have held myself to my own word and I have finished my script for my blog on Wednesday the 12th of April 2033. Time to appropriately format this blog, add photos and videos and GIFs !
My favourite process is the GIFs process …
This concludes the blog post for today, thank you so much for visiting my blog and reading this post in its totality it is greatly appreciated !
I need to move my bum and get working …
Posts on Instagram despite my willingness to keep off that app will be delivered more regularly, and I have a myriad of paintings to display too ! Thank you for your endless support and kind natures, I hope you have an amazing day going forth !
I have recently been reinvigorated with a zeal for life and a penchant for excitement, I hope to chase these ideals fervently and passionately as I embark on future artistic tasks.
Salamat !
