Massive Little World - Sonic Egg

On Saturday I joined the Eggsters that made up 'Sonic Egg' at Massive Little World. Located very handily in a pink-floored railway arch in Deptford, Massive Little World is a new space for doing whatever and showing it to people. It was a rather windy blowy day but the egg was boiled and noise was made. I played the Microkorg and used the vocoder for the first time ever which was incredibly exciting and now I want to do it again.

I think I may do it tonight actually as it is my first ever World News Vision performance on Resonance today at 8pm-9pm, I'm doing the clearspot. So tune into Resonance FM 104.4fm this evening if you are in the London area.

The Sonic Egg will be part of the next Patricide magazine, along with my track Inflatable Doll. I think my Foulkestone compadre Richard Sanderson will feature on its CD too, with one of his wonderful melodeon improvisations. He did one on Saturday as well and very good it was too. And thanks to Simon Bartholomew, Neil Coombs and Stephen Kirin for looking after the PA and the day and the egg ...

For now at least, a live recording of the Sonic Egg can be picked up from files.me.com/neilcoombs/8hhbfi.mov

It's also on soundcloud - http://soundcloud.com/neil-coombs/sonic-egg-live-at-massive

Our upcoming exhibition at the Trattoria Saporia, Newington Green

Olympic Parking

The boat is moored by the Olympic stadium - a policeman told us it was the most secure site in Europe. So yesterday I made my way to work over from HAckney Wick. Is so nice there.

Lori D.

Enjoying Lori D.'s illustrations. She's based in Portland, Oregon. I have a friend, Rich Pederson who moved back there. It looks a very cool place to live. Her storytelling illustrations are good and inspiring. I like the way she does a big scene, lots of characters, all very clean but simple. Quite folk art / illustration, which I seem to be headed towards too ...

Rain down the drain - Soundart radio have the August show tonight!

Technical difficulties stopped play at Resonance FM but the World News Vision show's going to be rescheduled. Meanwhile, my show is on Sound Art Radio tonight, tune in for August's World News Vision, www.soundartradio.org.uk

I said 'rain down the drain' as it was so rainy when I arrived, Richard at Resonance had to tip off the rain out of my hood into the sink. Was a bit embarrassing to arrive complete with my own makeshift pond.

Duck got a frog

Very sad. Poly got a duck in the pond. I couldn't watch. Frogs are beautiful.

Review for For the Messengers in the Morning Star

After a couple of false alarms, the piece was published, thank you so much to the poetry editor.


http://jprtr.org/2011/08/16/for-the-messengers-jude-cowan-review/

World News Vision on Resonance FM

My World News Vision show is coming to Resonance FM this week - Wednesday 17th August (tomorrow) at 8pm 9pm. Do tune in via the website or on 104.4FM (the latter if you are in the London area. I promise to sing about people giving themselves electric shocks in Jakarta by lying on railway tracks, in the hope that it will help improve physical ailments.

Oils

Flirting with oils again! Painting autobiographical scenes in mediaeval style borders on a piece of wood that Matt found in the street. I sized it with acrylic gloss gel. Must get some transparent acrylic gesso, see if it makes a difference. I'm using only one brush, maybe that's a mistake but it makes a kind of naive folk art style, which when it comes to this kind of work, is my style. It's all experimentation at the moment. Well this is.

I was looking at medieval illustrations from one source and saw that borders are made of objects magnified whereas the scene of the saint enclosed was in miniature as if viewed by a telescope. I found this interesting and started to apply it to scenes from my life, but soon forgot and began making my borders out of symbolic material that could be associated with each scene, in my life anyway. For example, on one outdoor scene of the boat and solly I put the sun moon and clouds to signify how 'out of doors' having the boat makes us feel, which is what we like about it, even in winter. Well one of the things we like about it.

Sketch with wildflower from Les Pennes

The Grotto

at Les Pennes ... a lovely surprise to find this idyllic water spot on our walk through the wild flower meadows. Beautiful place, thankyou Patrick and Christiane.

Project Fukushima

Matt's playing in the Hauntological Orchestra at Cafe Oto on Monday. Simon came round to rehearse the other night so I guess they know what they're doing. We'll hear if they do on the 15th. Should be a nice evening.

The Space

Meeting Pradeep at The Space this morning to discuss my upcoming one woman show and fifteen minute play 'For the Messengers'. It's going to feature as part of a theatre festival called 'Fifteen' at the Space Arts Centre on the Isle of Dogs.

Insects on holiday

Flowers on holiday

Reuters art

Working on my large canvases for the exhibition at Woolfson and Tay in November. Looking at the second, longer blue canvas - I think it's roughly done.

Landscape - oil pastel and pencil

Travel sketches

I think oil pastels and pencil is a good combination for travel. I like to use pencil on top of the oil pastel as well as oil pastel on top of pencil. Makes the colour look less like it has just come out of the box. Generally, a hard, HB or harder pencil is what I want for this kind of work. I love the texture as the pencil goes into the oil and the paper to make a depression and also the flecks of oil pastel making little colour spots across the paper.

Holiday sketches - cows

Holiday sketches - details - wood, flowers

Massif Central - more sketches of the countryside around Les Pennes

Mermaids at the Pharmacy of Stories

Unmeasurable distances below a floating egg, the thermal reversed roof of algae,foreign underwater galaxies,the bay watchers blind spot, the last bit of air that travels in an unpredictable bubble,treasure islands, submarines..................
mermaid songs and lustrous balm!
Artists participating to this show:
Jude Cowan, Jo McCormick, Nick Baxter,Rosemary Hudson, Melanie Stannard, Eoin Ryan,Hase,Lightning Rod,Flo Brooks, Tina Bueno, Anna Galkina, Kit Simonot, Allison Cole.

Two sleepy dogs

Here are the two dogs at Les Pennes, sleeping, sleeping, the old and the young. Sleepy in the sunshine.

Les Pennes

Just back from a lovely few days as the guest of Patrick Dreux and Christiane in Les Pennes in the Massif Central.

This is the first of a few sketches to come!