If you are unsure about an entire wall the Franco- British duo behind the paper; Famille Summerbelle, are also the people behind the stylish London, Paris, NYC and San-Francisco city maps.

The wallpaper is £45 per roll.
The City Map is £45.

Tell us a bit about your style?
I work predominantly through Collage, whether it be by hand or digitally mainly because I enjoy having the freedom to work with layout and composition without having to commit straight away. It also suits my perfectionist tendencies.

Where did you find the images for the Everything is Beautiful series?
All the images in the series are photos taken by my Grandad in his younger days. He passed them all over to me in a small suitcase and I fell in love with them straight away. Alot of them feature my family, including my Mum as a toddler.

What was the inspiration behind them?
I really love old Black & White photography, and I particularly loved how all the photos were square rather than rectangular. I worked digitally so not to damage the original photographs, and I wanted to inject a sense of life and atmosphere into them. I had the idea to overlay vibrant colours and textures to highlight particular elements of the photograph and the first piece I created (and my favourite) was with the pigeons, I feel it truly captures what this series is all about, how when you start to take notice, everything really is beautiful.

What would be your dream client and / or commission?
I’d love the opportunity to adapt my collage work to a really large scale, maybe a shop window or a big wall mural. I’m also considering putting all of the Everything is Beautiful series together as a book, but at the moment it’s still growing so that’ll have to wait a while.

Featuring a group of contemporary photographers including: Rob Carter, Harry Cory Wright, Rick Giles, Ken Griffiths, Paul Hill, Jane Hilton, Josef Hoflehner, Peter Newman, Sam Pelly, Wim Wenders and David Yarrow the exhibition features works from each artist’s unique and varied perspective of the landscapes and environments which inspire them.

From natural phenomenon to immense urban structures, the photographs featured convey a strong sense of location. Carefully considering their environments, these artists capture an experience of being in a place. Their personal and evocative relationship with the space around them is articulated, revealing atmospheres from wonderment or adventure to solitude and loneliness.

20th January – 17th March, 2012
Eleven, 11 Eccleston Street, London, Sw1w 9lx.

Image credits:

Jane Hilton: Mustang Interior, Nevada Desert, 2008, C-Type hand print, 23 x 28 in / 58.5 x 71 cm, Edition of 10

Wim Wenders: The Black Car, Havana, 1998, Lightjet print, 41 x 95 ½  x 2 in / 103.5 x 242.2 x 5 cm, Edition 6 plus 2 artist proofs

A deep-bedded sense of occasion is prevalent throughout the vast majority of Myer’s work making for remarkable results. With his most noteworthy collection produced while Myers was in tenure as the Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Stourbridge College in 1969, he received wide acclaim for his batch of work entitled Middle England, a series of portraits of people known to him and taken in locations near to his residence at the time. Middle England was noted for its presentation of the human specimen as self-conscious yet seemingly at home all at the same time.

Myers’ work moved on in the 70’s to the exploration of ‘boring’ landscapes within Stourbridge. Making a concerted effort to reject the prominent ‘value added’ approach to photography that was fashionable at the time, his work depicted landscapes devoid of humanity; an urban space with no narrative or hidden story making for a refreshingly simple yet poignant group of shots.

Through capturing the ordinary in flat light and the use of a deadpan style, Myer challenges the idea of what is considered ‘devoid’ and embraces the generic, creating stunning pictures that tell the story of mundane Britain in breathtaking silence.

Until 5th February 2012

Words: Lee Hall
Image Credits:
Santa Claus at Tesco’s (1972). Photograph from the series Middle England. John Myers. Courtesy the artist.
Television No 3 (1973). John Myers. Courtesy the artist.

My current work encapsulates the other-world aesthetic of our young (and our youth), mixing memory and feeling with inspiration from the natural world, fashion, literature, music and film, a word, a phrase, a feeling or a friend. I draw using graphite and finish with water colour to define the composition.

For details on how / where to buy Leanne’s prints visit her website here.

Rose has been busy all day creating artwork from people’s tweets. We think ours is pretty special thank you Rose x

Some of Rose’s other images…

Get on Twitter for 2 more days of artist doodles here.

However our visit wasn’t just about sampling tasty noodles (which they really are) but to check out the work of local graffiti artist Glenn Anderson. Inconspicuously placed around the busting restaurant the pieces by Anderson adorn several walls. A face on the street art scene his work can be spotted all over the city as one of the must-call people for a wall piece or mural.

Wagamama teamed up with Moniker Art Fair (the street-art fair based in London taking place during October) to choose a selection of artists to adorn the walls of the restaurants up and down the country.

“Wagamama wanted to give a platform and free funding to these emerging artists and bring their art to the masses, as it wouldn’t normally be seen. By working with Moniker art fair to take this out of the traditional gallery space, they are creating an alternative street art movement which is more mainstream.”

Anderson’s pieces were a different take to the characters we recognise him for. For this installation he’d opted to present some smaller collage-based framed paper pieces that included his signature characters surrounded by abstract patterns and animals. Another piece looks like a flat totem made from, we think, a skateboard and brooms.

Along with the wall pieces whichever city you choose to dine you’ll get to see other work by the 9 artists on the place mats.

The pieces will be on display until the 20th November so you’ve got a few days to check them out.

Artists involved in the artandeat project
Remirough (London and Cardiff), Holly Thoburn (London), Patriciaellis (London), Inkie (Bristol), Malarky (Newcastle), Matt Sewell (Manchester), Pam Glew (Brighton), Mark Lyken (Glasgow) and Glenn Anderson (Birmingham)

Our favourite Wagamama eats:
Duck Gyoza – 5 deep-fried tasty and succulent duck dumplings with a delicious spicy cherry hoi sin sauce

Chicken Raisukaree – Tender marinated Chicken breast stir-fried in a coconut and lime curry sauce with mangetout, peppers, red and spring onions, fresh ginger and garlic. Served on sticky white rice and garnished with red chillies, coriander and lime.

Chilli Squid – Tender and soft deep-fried squid seasoned with sea salt and shichimi (japanese chilli pepper) served with a chilli, garlic and coriander dipping sauce.

Stephen invited independent, artists and producers from the cultural industries, based in or associated with Birmingham, to appear in the paintings and asked them to choose one of the scenarios.

When he approached team Fused (image above) to take part we scoured the book and opted for this ‘Jab to the Eyes’ pose – we must have been on deadline! We were also allowed to choose the colour. A few photo’s, one sitting later and, we’re sure, painstaking hours of time by Stephen, and the results will be seen as part of Ikon Gallery’s Autumn Almanac from the 17th – 20th November.

Other practitioners featured are Ian and Pippa Francis of 7 Inch Cinema, artist duo Juneau Projects, writer and curator Matt Price (pictured above), artist Tom Ranahan, the Founding Directors of artist-led space Eastside Projects and a self-portrait.

“I approached each of the subjects and asked them to look through the book and choose a particular illustration that they were attracted to. I offered a limited range of colours to choose from and only permitted myself to add white to the body of the chosen colours. These monochrome paintings are transcriptions and re-enactments of the illustrations found in the book”. Explains Stephen. “The book’s role is to inform the reader of how to be self-sufficient in difficult circumstances, an important quality for anyone involved in the cultural industries, a precarious life with no clear career paths or financial certainty”.

Showing Thursday 17 November – Sunday 20 November, 11am – 6pm at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (Second Floor Galleries). Free admission.

There are a series of events taking place for the Autumn Almanac:

Oliver Beer – The Resonance Project: Pay and Display
17-20 November, First Floor Galleries
In June 2010 artist Oliver Beer worked with Ikon and singers from Ex Cathedra to create a sound piece at Pershore Street Car Park in Birmingham.

Ikon Posters
17-20 November, Second Floor Galleries
Specially selected by Ikon’s Director, Jonathan Watkins, these posters assert the breadth of artistic talent featured at Ikon during the last eleven years.

7 Inch Cinema – 17.11.11,
Thursday 17 November, 7-10pm
£3 on the door (Or free if it’s your birthday. Proof required)
An evening of short films and music, taking place on and inspired by the seventeenth of November.

Moseley Folk Festival – Treetop Flyers
Friday 18 November, 7.30pm – 10.30pm
£4 plus booking fee from www.moseleyfolk.co.uk or £6 on the door
. Five-piece Treetop Flyers recently earned themselves a slot at Glastonbury’s prestigious Other Stage after winning the Emerging Talent Competition earlier this year.

Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham – Crossroad Collision
Saturday 19 November, 2-3pm
Free, Donations welcome
Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham harnesses the arts to raise awareness of the contributions that refugees make to the UK, and in particular to the city of Birmingham.

Slow Boat Sessions
Saturday 19 November, 7.30-10pm
£5 on the door
In September, Ikon Youth Programme’s (IYP) Slow Boat hosted a series of performances by local musicians, embarking on a journey of sound along Birmingham’s canals.

Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Sunday 20 November, 2-4pm
Free
BCMG gives a rare performance of all 34 of Luciano Berio’s Duetti for two violins, with a sprinkling of solo pieces by composers including Howard Skempton and Oliver Knussen.

Capsule present Andrew Moscardo-Parker and the ensemble Ore
Sunday 20 November, 8-11pm
£6 (available via www.theticketsellers.co.uk and on the door)
Andrew Moscardo-Parker performs as Lash Frenzy, exploring the action of playing, turning performances into immersive, participatory events.

Stitches and Hos

Ross Cotton caught up with one of the founding members, Sara Fowles (@needlesandhooks), who recently completed a commission of knitting decorations on Skegness pier (pictured above) as part of So Festival.

“We started in 2005 as a group of us, four or five initially,” says Sara. “It was one of those in-the-pub conversations where we were sitting around and the subject of knitting came up. We’d seen some stuff on the internet; there was a group in London called Cast Off, who had a regular night, and there was also a knit graffiti group called Knitta who were based in the States.”

“They were tagging stuff,” explains Sara. “It was like, oh well, we could be something in the middle. It should be in the pub ’cos the best things are always in the pub.”

“We always thought that if it was a disaster, at least we could drown our sorrows. And if it was a success, we could still have a drink; it makes us sound like a bunch of alcoholics!”

It’s clear that Sara is keen to break the stereotype of stitching, as the monthly knitting social “attracts quite a good mix of people. A lot of people, who have never been to the night, think that it’s all grannies,” says Sara. “There’s kind of a resurgence of young people knitting which is great. We do have boys come; it’s thought of as exclusively female, but because it’s in the pub, it is more accessible.”

Sara and her gang have also tagged Birmingham landmarks such as the ‘Floozy in the Jacuzzi’ (the city’s large fountain feature in Victoria Square) with their knitting, a project that started out quite differently.

“The original idea was that it was all measured, designed and made for parts of the Bullring,” says Sara. “But when we went to install it, the security guards came out and told us to leave in no uncertain terms. So we just re-appropriated the stuff we’d done; for example, big circles that we made were almost the perfect size for postboxes. It was a happy coincidence.”

“We tend to do it quite late at night or unbelievably early in the morning.  I do really love that kind of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it. I think with the knit graffiti, especially the stuff we did in Birmingham, it had all gone in about two days. The scarf around the floozy had gone by the end of the day.”

You might wonder exactly how Sara managed to graffiti such an awkwardly positioned monument. “I rolled up my jeans and waded in, like a good guerrilla artist.  A little bit of water isn’t gonna stop me!”

So keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of months for some woollen wonders. “There are plans afoot,” says Sara. “Birmingham is quite brown and our mission is to inject a little colour.”

Stitches and Hos hold their welcoming free knitting social at the Hare & Hounds, every last Tuesday of the month, so why not join them for a drink or two, meet some new people and take a break from the books.

‘Hard Times’ launches on 8 September at Birmingham’s St Martin-in-the-Bull Ring Church where the series of images of Big Issue vendors taken in their “homes” – be they squats, hostels, caravans or nothing more than the street – will be shown.

Shedding light on the hidden lives of Britain’s homeless, the portraits offer an insight into their background, their family situation, the challenges they face while selling the magazine, their achievements and aspirations.

Throughout 2011 The Big Issue will be celebrating a remarkable 20 years in business. 20 years in which it has helped thousands of homeless people to help themselves, in the process creating a world renowned blueprint for social change.