Meeting an Online Chum & Misty Installations

I took a day off on Tuesday to take a trip down to London. I had a fun day out, meeting up with an online friend from New York, who is over here for a brief visit. And though I took my camera with me, I was so swept up in the day that I didn't pull it out once. As far as memory-keeping/blogging goes, I'm sooooo crap at the moment.

Thankfully, my friend took this photo and sent it to me, so I have something to show for the day.

So let me back up a bit. Here's who I met up with...

(I grabbed this photo from his blog)

You may or may not recognise him as the mixed media artist, Seth Apter.  And he is a kind, generous,  witty and charming companion to go around London with. Am I gushing? Then don't get me started on his talents as a teacher in mixed media art. He creates the most stunning, textural work and has shared some of his techniques in a couple of DVDs, both of which I own and were how I first came to know of him.

To say I'm a fanboy is an understatement. I own his stencils, his stamps, his books. He's lucky I didn't grab the shirt off his back when we met up lol.

Much as it may surprise you, he did not fly all the way from New York solely to spend a few hours with me (and joking aside, Seth, if you are reading this, I know I've said it to you already but I'll say it again, I'm incredibly honoured and grateful that you took time out from your busy schedule to meet up).  No, he's also on these shores to teach classes at Art From The Heart up in Harrogate.

So what's with the photo at the head of this post? Well, we went to the Wellcome Gallery, just round the corner from Euston Station to see Ann Veronica Janssens: yellowbluepink exhibit. You know I'm a sucker for these entertainment/art installations. You enter through closed double doors into a room, painted floor to ceiling in white. It is filled with a thick fog, lit by coloured lights from above. You can barely see what's in front of you. A couple of times, my nose nearly touched a wall before my eyes could focus. It's disorientating, for sure but then I have no head for directions already, before you put me in a fog filled closet.

So yes, I'm fully made up for the rest of this week, possibly month :) And last night, the arty fun continued when I attended a demonstration from an artist who painted a beach landscape, from start to finish, in acrylics, in an impressionistic style. Absolutely breathtaking to watch.

The only thing that seems to be missing is any art or craft within the walls of my own creative space. Hopefully soon. Hopefully soon :)