The Christmas Outlaw

Yeah, I know it's not even November yet, but hell we've had Christmas rammed down our throats   since we were still in flip flops and bermuda shorts and pretending we were having a lovely British summer.

I've just designed my first Christmas card of what will hopefully be a small range. It's a bit of a two fingers up or flicking the bird (whichever you favour) to the great man himself..... Father Christmas. I just can't believe he's that nice anyway or else he would bring us presents all year round and not just when we are freezing our nuts off with the energy companies bleeding us dry.

Message inside of card

Front of Card

Back of Card

The Norwich Tap House

I was recently asked to design a paper-cut by the newly opened Norwich Tap House.
https://www.facebook.com/TheNorwichTapHouse?fref=ts

They sell lots of really great beers including a lot of independent ones and also some of my favourite from Camden Town Brewery. Check out some of the fabulous designed beer labels on the bottles in the fridge, you'd be crazy not to sample the contents of one, two or several too!

Of course whenever beer is mentioned then I'm all over it like a rash so it didn't take me too much persuasion to get my scalpel into action, the outcome is below. 













The super talented guys at The Norwich Tap House have done an amazing job of the decor in the beautiful old building that everyone in Norwich knows as 'the old Country & Eastern'  and the design was inspired by the swags of hops around the window.

November Paper-cut Workshops

It looks like November is going to be a busy one, this is good news -  anything to keep me out of trouble and fend off the winter blues.

In addition to the workshops I will be running at Norwich Arts Centre (follow link) http://norwichartscentre.co.uk/paper-cut-workshop-3-nov-2012/ I will also now be running paper-cut workshops from my Railway Cottage in Norwich. The details for these workshops can be found in the ad below and on my website at http://www.suowendesign.com/

Long Nights & Shadows

Ok, so we might just have seen the last of summer. But on the plus side that means it's time for long candlelit evenings and possibly even a bit of late night story telling.

So with that in mind I've recently been working on some new paper-cut ideas.

Following on with my minor obsession of all things circus, I have made a small collection of circus characters for you to put on your own little show. I will be adding to these so please watch this space!
The paper-cut shadow puppets and paper-cut lanterns are available from my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/suowen?ref=si_shop or through my website http://www.suowendesign.com/  just click on the shop tab.

I will be running some paper-cut workshops at Norwich Arts Centre. Dates are Sat 29th Set, Sat 3rd and 24th November (early booking is advised due to limited spaces) Please go to http://norwichartscentre.co.uk/paper-cut-workshop-sept-2012/ to book a space.

Mermaid Aerialist Shadow Puppet

Circus Man Shadow Puppet

Circus Tent Shadow Puppet

Circus Zebra Shadow Puppet

Japanese Flowers - Paper Lantern

Little House - Paper Lantern

Trees - Paper Lantern

Kissing Zebras - Paper Lantern

ICH LIEBE BERLIN

At the beginning of this month I had the good fortune to go to Berlin for a week. I had never been in adulthood but lived there when I was very little. 

One of the only memories/partial memories I have of being there was that an old lady told my sister and I not to go into the woods alone or we would be eaten by wild boar.

On first arriving I thought parts of the city were comparable to a post apocalyptic nightmare with it's seemingly abandoned buildings and graffiti. Several hours later, I was intrigued. Several days and many miles on foot later I was hooked and didn't want to leave. 

I thought my feet would never recover but it was well worth going everywhere on foot or bike. They did recover and I didn't get eaten by wild boar.

Here's a few pics from the trip.

The wonderful Bauhaus Archiv building

The old airfield at Berlin Tempelhof

Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum

C A M D E N   T O W N   B R E W E R Y 


There's no crisps, snacks, not even a pork scratching but you can order in pizza if you like....and there's loads and loads of really good beer which is all anybody really needs. Afterall who needs food? (Ok, porkies you can get some tasty street food to go with the lovely beers)


It's a gem of a place tucked in some old railway arches and the antithesis of pseudo crappy bling bars. 10 mins walk from Chalk Farm tube station.


So what has beer got to do with design, well this little beauty for a start:

I spotted this design on a poster on the back of the toilet door and I must say I almost thought it might fall off and find its way into my bag. However being an ex-caf owner myself I thought this would be a terrible thing to happen, so by some fluke it stayed and I took a photo of it instead. I will ask the fellows at Camden Town Brewery if I might be able to purchase one at some time.

I had a pint of this.....

.......and I will definitely be back for more.

There's more info about Camden Town Brewery on their website at 

http://www.camdentownbrewery.com

For now here's some more of their lovely bottle labels.

Bauhaus at the Barbican

Barbican Centre London

B A U H A U S   A T   T H E   B A R B I C A N 
  
Well, summer came to London last Sunday and so my friend and I shunned public transport in favour of a leisurely stroll in the 'long time coming' but nonetheless very welcome sunshine. 
Our starting point was Camden and our destination was the 'Bauhaus: Art as Life' exhibition at the Barbican. The last time I visited the Barbican was to see the work of architect and product designer Ron Arad. I also had the pleasure of bumping into Matt Horne (from Gavin & Stacey) in the canteen so it was a win/win kind of day, 2 for the price of 1.


It was very nice stroll indeed for the first mile or so, nipping in and out of shops and gawping at all the old and new architecture, shop fronts, olympic prep stuff and so on .... but then my new sandals ensured that the rest of the walk (about another 2 miles) was going to be anything but leisurely or pleasure-ly. 
Anyhow painful, blistered feet aside we finally arrived bang on time for our timed slot. Advance booking had been advised but as it's the tail end of the exhibition it wasn't too busy and not much neck straining had to be done to see the displays plus it was l o v e l y and cool.


If you're a fan of modern architecture as I am then the Barbican building and surrounding housing estate are worth visiting and taking a little meander through the walkways, there is even a conservatory and aviary that I had never spotted previous to this visit. The building is an example of 1970's Brutalist Architecture and was voted London's ugliest buildings in a poll in 2003.

Bauhaus typography

'A   D R I V I N G  F O R C E   I N   M O D E R N I S M' 


I have been a Bauhaus 'fan' for quite some time and love the work of the Constructivists with their geometric shapes and forms. The Constructivist guys joined the Bauhaus in 1923 four years after it began in Weimar and for me that's when things got really interesting. The Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, it was set up to challenge society and find a new way of living. 
There are over 400 works on display including architecture, painting, photography, product design, textiles and theatre. As you work your way around the exhibition form top to bottom the whole story of the Bauhaus unfolds.
It's well worth a visit if you're brave enough to fight your way through the olympic malarkey. I personally would advise against public transport and travel by foot but take my advice and wear some decent footwear.

Bauhaus building, Dessau

This is what the Barbican says about the exhibition: 'The biggest Bauhaus exhibition in the UK in over 40 years presents the modern world’s most famous art school. From expressionist beginnings to a pioneering model uniting art and technology, this London exhibition presents the Bauhaus’ utopian vision to change society in the aftermath of the First World War. Bauhaus: Art as Life explores the diverse artistic production that made up its turbulent fourteen-year history and delves into the subjects at the heart of the school: art, culture, life, politics and society, and the changing technology of the age.'


The exhibition finishes on the 12th August.  http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=12409

Herbert Bayer Typography

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

Paul Klee ' Tomb in Three Parts 1923'

The two images above were amongst my favorite exhibits, I had never seen that particular work by Paul Klee before, which looks like a photograph and the Moholy-Nagy work was truly inspiring...love it!!

Rainy Day Drawings

The plus side about all this rain right now is that it is good for productivity at least.
This past week I have taken a small break from paper-cutting to give my index finger a rest. So, I have done a few illustrations and here are some of the results. I use fineliner pen to draw and then digitally colour the drawings. The house drawing is of my house but I am willing to do house portraits! 

Prints are available from my Etsy Shop.


https://www.etsy.com/listing/104718490/house-on-a-mountain-print-of-a-hand

Crow & Cup 2012

House Portrait 2012

Geo Skull 

Geo Mountains

The Ballad of Rose and Jack

I have absolutely no idea who Jack and Rose are but I have been using them for the past few years for any examples of  personalised designs. Although I did watch a film once featuring one of my all time favourite actors - Daniel Day Lewis called  'The Ballad of Jack and Rose', it must have subliminally come from that. Who knows.....


Anyhow, I have just completed a new paper-cut and wedding stationary to go with it and they are available to order from my etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/104300211/custom-wedding-invitation-set-circus?ref=pr_shop
https://www.etsy.com/listing/104297681/custom-papercut?ref=v1_other_2

Paper-cut 'Circus' 2012

Wedding Stationary from Etsy Shop

Wolves in Wolves Clothing

Some of my favourite Norwich based 'Outlaws' - new clothing company 'Wolves in Wolves clothing' will be printing some of my designs onto their t-shirts and tote bags soon, I can't wait to see them. Here's some more of what they do. 

You can buy online here  http://shop.wolvesinwolves.com/ 

 

Punk Dinosaur

So, the cowboys and the graphic work of Dan Stiles inspired me to create some new paper-cuts on the theme of 'Outlaws'. Being an old punk dinosaur I still love the idea of anarchy and rebellion even if it's only through paper and a knife (and my bad language)

Paper-cut by Su Owen 'Thieves & Vagabonds' 2012 

Paper-cut by Su Owen 'Play Filthy' 2012

OUTLAWS

II've been a fan of cowboy stories for a while now though I used to hate Sunday afternoons at home when I was a kid when my dad would put Bonanza on....only the snooker could have been any worse. 


I recently read a book called The Brothers Sisters by Patrick deWitt, if you've ever read Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, it's not half as gruesome or harrowing as that. It's about two outlaw brothers who play good cop/bad cop through the story and it's a road trip (on knackered out horses most of the time) 


The illustrations are by a guy called Dan Stiles who works on a lot of designs for rock bands,I love his style which is reminiscent of stuff by Saul Bass - check out more of Stiles' work. http://www.danstiles.com