Friday 19 April 2013

Street Art Festival

Pineapple Dazzle Adelaide Street Graffiti Art

Pineapple Dazzle Adelaide Street Graffiti Art

 Not everyone can travel to Melbourne and trawl around its laneways just to spot the infamous Banksy rat on a wall. And why would you want to anyway? Save your pennies (as its not there anymore) and stay  local.

Adelaide this month is excitedly hosting its first ever Oi You! Adelaide Urban Art Festival where 22 works from the infamously satirical Banksy will be on show. Yes people, Banksy is coming to Adelaide. Well... some of his pieces are. Who knows he might actually be in town.

It's not all just about Banksy (UK), there will also be artwork showcasing Faile (USA), Swoon (USA), Antony Micallef (UK), David Choe (USA), Paul Insect (UK) and the Milton Springstreen (NZ).

There are lots of events on but the one that I'm most looking forward to is the Big Walls Tour. Local Adelaide artists take you on a stroll of the best artwork shown here on our streets. I like my urban art gritty and where it should be, on the street. None of this fancy under spotlight locked away inside business. We have some fabulously talented locals who I'd argue rival some of the bigger names coming down for the event. Instead of hitting the pub this weekend, get out there whilst the weather is still mild and check out some art!

Oi You Adelaide! Festival runs from Saturday, April 20 to Sunday, June 2 2013.

Pineapple Dazzle Adelaide Street Graffiti Art




Wednesday 17 April 2013

Dreaming of Coachella

Pineapple Dazzle Coachella 2013 Billboard Crowd

I adore music festivals. It's not just about the day itself but all of the tingly nervous excitement and preparation for it. I will daydream over the line-up and create mixtapes. I organise a plan of attack to the minute & then on the day let spontaneous insouciance take over. My girlfriend is incredibly organised (and me by default) as she laminates sweat and water proof line-up cards for us. I like to add my own quirk to each festival so I begin my day setting myself a quest. I once travelled to a festival called Sunset Sounds in Brisbane. I noticed at that particular festival there was a high incidence of Wayfarer wearing hipsters. I challenged myself to get as many photos possible of me wearing said hipsters wayfarers with the hipster in the shot. That was a fun festival, and challenge.

Over the years as my means have increased my desire to travel further and visit festivals in other countries has grown. So far some of my dream festivals include:

Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Fujirock in Japan.
South by Southwest in Texas.
Primavera in Barcelona.
Burning Man in Nevada.
Reading & Leeds, in Reading & Leeds.
Glastonbury in Somerset, UK.
Coachella in California.

Sadly of the list, I've visited only one so far. I almost tagged Lollapalooza into my latest travels but my desire to be a Roller Derby girl at Rollercon has taken over and I miss out this year. Coachella has just rolled around again this year and seeing photos of this years festival is making my heart ache.

Pineapple Dazzle Coachella 2013 Billboard Crowd

Pineapple Dazzle Coachella 2013 Billboard Grimes Crowd

Pineapple Dazzle Coachella 2013 Billboard Tame Impala Crowd

Pineapple Dazzle Coachella 2013 Billboard Crowd

Gah, next time! I'll have to deal with my FOMO by shutting my eyes blissing out to the below mix of Coachella 2013.

I'm just going to have to find a cool downtown bar in New York this July to get my international live music fix this time around. Any suggestions?



images from Billboard

Friday 12 April 2013

Creepy Friday

The sun is shining and yet the day still holds terrors.

I don't normally talk about my fear as it is completely irrational. I cannot change how I feel about it. I feel a slick sweat creep over my skin. My heart clunks. Goosebumps strain so tight my skin hurts.

I am terrified of zombies.

I know they don't technically exist and yet I cant stop myself from panicking. I won't see a scary zombie movie with you. I'll avoid the city when the Zombie Walk takes to the streets and I plan my escape months in advance. (The date to avoid this year is Saturday 12th October). I do this as I know I would take matters into my own hands with the nearest blunt weapon. This fear does not encroach into other monsters of fantasy. Maybe because they never create lame romantic movies about them?

A friend of mine took me to see a movie a long time ago without divulging anything about the name or plot. I still don't remember why I agreed to go. That night I watched 28 Days Later quite possibly the most terrifying movie I've ever witnessed. Even with my eyes closed the sounds from that movie echo inside my skull still.

The brain is a fascinating place to explore. Where fear gets locked away in a deep dark box. When I recently found this mix I found it a brilliantly deep and moody soundscape. Until I found the track that awoke my terror.




Thursday 11 April 2013

A Personal Challenge

Earlier this year I completed a personal challenge to stop buying things just for the sake of buying them. 3 months on and I'm happy to say that I am still feeling comfortable making do with what I have & have been able to control the urges to shop. My focus these days are on experiences not possessions.

Before however if I took a fancy to something it was brought home. I have always had a bent for clothes that are retro inspired especially anything from the 70's or British Mod 60's. But to be honest I was a bower bird. If it was brightly coloured, sequined, patterned, feathered, fluffy, textural, shiny, fuzzy or just plain silly I'd buy it. I have a very large dress-up box full of bizarre eclectic creations.

I was chatting with a friend the other day and she told me a story of watching a largely over weight man eating a cream filled bun. She watched the man eating it and realised that he wasn't even enjoying the experience. Food meant nothing to him. I realised for a long time I used to be this way with shopping. It was something I just did to fill the void.

When I do purchase something to live in my wardrobe now it has to be spectacular, fit me perfectly and make me feel amazing. Now that I have those parameters in my mind when I do finally bring something into my wardrobe I know it will be there for a long time and get a lot of use.

In saying that I still have to live with the gluttony of my past excess. I'm not proud of it, but I currently have more clothes than I need or even use. I estimated that I could wear a new piece of clothing every day & never repeat any for more than 2 years. My clothes live in more than one room in my house. When I look at all the clothes I own I realise that I only wear a small percentage on a regular basis. Most just hang on their hangers looking pretty.

I've decided that I need to shed my old skin & embark on another challenge: to halve my current wardrobe. This is not going to be easy but if I chip away at it constantly it shouldn't be too daunting. For the pieces that I cherish but just never wear I'm hoping I can let go and donate or give away to loving homes. Hoping by the end of this challenge I can see the holes in my wardrobe more clearly and have promised to let myself splurge on some new treasures.

I'm looking forward to being able to look in my wardrobe and only see pieces that I love or need. Its time to banish the bad choices from my life and move on. In saying that I still don't think I can give away my canary yellow fur coat.

Any helpful hints and suggestions on how I can do this is more than welcome!

Wednesday 3 April 2013

Recovering Artaholic

I am recovering from my purge of artistic delights some of you might know as the Adelaide Festival and its young rival, the Adelaide Fringe. It was a short and very sweet experience this year for me as I had only 4 days to immerse myself before flying overseas.

During that brief time I was blindfolded, tied up and then dragged through a sensory maze of delights, frights whilst meeting the most caring strangers. Pulled through a secret door into a wonderland of you-wont-believe-what-happened. (If you must know I was transformed into a beautiful unicorn sparkling with pearls and bling but my camera was confiscated so I don't think you'd ever believe me.) Watched a loveable larrikan tumble and fumble on stage. Listened to a marching band play sexual healing whilst I watched a good friend get married inside Barrio. Found myself a lovely derby girl & got hitched myself before dancing the night away under the stars.

Not your average art adventure but that is the point. Art is meant to be what you want it to be. That is why I love my town and its quirky sense of fun. So what does a recovering artaholic going to do now??

All life affirming art suggestions welcome.