The Sublime Zine Issue 2015/5

2015/5

A Magazine for the arts and culture.

WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART SPECIAL The Sublime 1

MEET THE TEAM Jax

Editor in Chief

Jon

Creative Editor

EDITORS NOTE May-Day....May-Day....Are you reading us loud and clear?!?! Good! Don’t worry folks, we’re not in trouble, we’d just like to proudly announce the May issue of The Sublime and my golly gosh are you in for a treat!

This month we sent Mr Wild up a very large lump in England to write about his toe nails and the breathless beauty of the summit of Skiddaw. Our resident chef Shelly Skellington has cooked up a storm of flavour with no less than two recipes to hinder your hunger. Dunc tears an Android to pieces with nothing but words and The Berryman talks dressing up cos playing is fun!

As if that wasn’t enough....

Mr. Wild Content Editor

Luke

Staff Writer

Mottled Gray Staff Writer

You may also have noticed this issue is the Wimbledon College of Art Degree Show Special!!! Now swallow that mouth-full of words, tasty isn’t it? But what does it consist of?! Well we decided that each May issue we will pick an art school and showcase the emerging talent that will be graduating that year followed by a full review on the opening night in our July issue. Peel over the next few pages to see the history of the college and a strong selection of the graduates showcasing their work this year. It’s a must see show and we are excited to be a part of their journey as they pass into the world of art, a scary but exciting time we’ve all been through in The Sublime office.

All this and we’re already considering what’s next for the Sublime Zine. Over the next few months we have some Bond villain scale plans to begin our campaign of world domination. Competitions, growth, data to produce for the arts council and lots more of that zesty creative goodness we keep on reporting to you.

The magazine has hit over 3000 readers now on this here platform you gaze upon. It’s now reaching out globally and recently in the sublime office we have been overwhelmed with submissions and articles from you wonderful people. As our manifesto states, we aim to stick to our guns and publish everyone who contacts us.

Thank you all again so much for the support, sharing the zine, sharing your art, sharing your lives and sharing your wordy words. The Sublime wouldn’t exist with out you.

Shelley Wild Food Columnist (skellingtons Bakery)

Remember guys For Calum Keep it surreal Keep it Sublime Jaxx, Jon & Mr Wild The Sublime Elders (editors)

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THE SUBLIME ISSUE 2015/5

CONTENTS WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART DEGREE SHOW 5 THE IMPORTANCE OF A DEGREE SHOW 6 REBECCA FONTAINE-WOLF

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NELL SULLY 12 Cover image by Julian Bose Published by The Sublime Design by Jaxx Shepherd Concept by Jon Wilford

JON CLAIR 14 ALICE GATFIELD

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ALVIN BABBEA

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GAYATHRI ANAND

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HOLLY REES 28 JULIAN BOSE

THE ART OF THE DRESS 66 30

THIS ISN’T THE DROID I’M LOOKING FOR

MINI BREAKFAST OMELETTES

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RED THAI CHICKEN SOUP 69

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GORDON IRVING 39

KEVIN BENNETT

THE CYCLE 46

SKIDDAW AND THE HALLUXIAN NIGHTMARE 74

WEIGHTLESS 48 LULLABY (HUSH NOW)

LUCY GORDON 49

SOUTH KILBURN STUDIOS

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FIELDS 84 50

DEANO ROBOTIC (JAMES DEAN)

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FALLING OLBERS COMET 62 (THE SOLAR SEA) 62 OVER THE SKYLINE

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INTERVIEW WITH A QUAGMIRE

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Artist of the month

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WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART DEGREE SHOW This month we are extremely pleased to be covering the Wimbledon College of Arts graduate show, an extremely prestigious event in the art scene where those in the know can get a glimpse at the new and exciting talent that will help redefine British art in years to come. We are excited to offer our readers an exclusive chance to peel back the curtain behind this event, as we bring you a sneak peek of what’s on offer. There will be many artists here who will achieve great success and join a long legacy of prominent art figures to emerge from the school.

Wimbledon College of Art itself has a storied past. It started as a simple art class at the Rutlish School for Boys and eventually became an independent entity in 1930, with BA courses first being introduced in 1974. The school became part of The University of the Arts London in 2006. It offers courses such as the Fine Art disciplines of Painting, Sculpture and Print and Time Based Media, and the Theatre and Screen disciplines of Costume Design, Digital Theatre and Drawing. In joining the University of the Arts London, the school became part of the largest arts specialist institutes in Europe. Their alumni include Samantha Cameron, Quentin Blake, Peter Doig, Jarvis Cocker and Lucien Freud, while Wimbledon College itself has produced such notables as Tony Cragg, Jeff Beck and Phoebe Philo.

These alumni have gone on to achieve high praise and win awards in the art world. Jeff Beck is a commercially successful and critically acclaimed recording artist, playing with The Yardbirds (whose former members include Eric Clapton) and forming The Jeff Beck Group. He was ranked 5th on Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time” and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Christopher Oram is a theatre set and costume designer whose accolades include two Olivier Awards, two Critic’s Circle Awards, an Evening Standard Award and a Tony Award.

Tony Cragg was the recipient of the 1988 Turner Prize and has won several prizes for his sculpture work. Peter Doig has had exhibitions at Tate Britain, Dallas Museum of Art and the Scottish National Gallery. In 1994 he was nominated for the Turner Prize.

It’s worth noting that it’s not just the alumni that the students exhibiting their work this time around can look up to. They’ve also had the able assistance and guiding hand of the latest in line of a superb teaching staff. Among the lecturers and course leaders at the college has been Painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling, whose Scallop tribute to Benjamin Britten has attracted both praise and controversy, and who was awarded the Jerwood Prize for painting in 1995. Other past notable staff include fellow Jerwood Prize winner Prunella Clough, heraldic artist Anthony Wood and theatre designer Yolanda Sonnabend, whose work includes award-winning collaborations with the Royal Ballet.

With all of this prestige behind them and a bright future in front of them, we look forward to showcasing the graduates’ exceptional works, and to tracking their future careers and awards.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF A DEGREE SHOW If you’re doing an art degree the chances are that there’s one day in the year that will have you frothing like a rabid dog with excitement.

THE GRADUATE SHOW! A showcase of the work that has been put together over the past three years refined into an elaborate send off. It’s a celebration, a practice run for the real world and a chance to show-off the best work by each art student with a hope that someone will buy it, collect it or offer a job.

Not only is this important for the reasons mentioned above, but the whole process is quite often integrated into the grading of the degree.

Each student gets a mark for the work, the research behind it, the presentation (yes even a speck of dust on your glass can lose you a point) and the organising, distributing and managing of the whole event. It is basically a make or break show, with the end result to have an opening night unlike any that ever came before!

just plain pathetic.

Step Two – The Venue (or Venues).

This is the key to the success of your show (as well as the work being hung). One graduate year-group I knew of chose to set up a marquee outside Freeport shopping centre in Fleetwood, Lancashire. This was a disaster; now without resorting to stereotyping, the town is very much a working class fishing port on a little knob sticking out into the Irish Sea, hardly a catchment area for headhunters and art collectors. The venue needs to be right in the thick of it. We chose The Brick Lane gallery in London. In the middle of a thriving art scene with every hipster and art critic nearby. We even had Steven Tyler from Aerosmith show up (he just happened to be in the area). We also chose The Cube in Manchester (RIP).

Step three – MONEY!!!

The process begins months before the event happens, while the students are busy producing their final pieces, collecting their theories to back it up and writing their dissertations (8000 to 14000 words depending on what art course they’re doing). They also have the added pressure of forming an exhibition committee. It is marked as part of the course too, and no-one escapes this onslaught of labour and responsibility. So what exactly does it entail?

Step one – The name.

When we did our graduate show, this was the worst part. Seventeen students all with an idea, a style and each a strong voice. Trying to agree on a name for the show was like trying to name a child fathered by seventeen different people, it took a lot of work, we wanted it to mean something, but still not come across as out of fashion, dumb or 6 The Sublime

Unfortunately art degrees are not science degrees, therefore the government doesn’t fund for equipment or anything really. You have to fund it yourself. Galleries aren’t cheap either. So you have two high-end galleries in mind, you have secured a date to exhibit. It’s time to dress up like an idiot and walk around campus with a money bucket, organise some epic (a liberal term) student nights and raft in the profits to pay for your flyers, posters, press release and venue. Your eighteenth birthday bash was a walk in the park to organise at this point. You then need transport, your own place to stay, frames, canvas, prints and so on.

Step Four – Curating That word that we all want to do. You have the floor plans, you know the size of the work and you want yours to be the centrepiece. Along with

everyone else. Joes is Yellow and doesn’t go with Amanda’s Blue piece. Charlie has a huge sculpture of Lenin and a speaker that blurts out some Avant guard noises. Maisy wants a quiet room for her performance. You have limited space and everyone wants it set up to suit his or her work. It’s not possible, it’s not a one-man show it’s a group effort.

So together you have to plan how to hang the show and think of ideas and actual theories (yep there are hundreds of hanging theories for aesthetics and effect with regard to exhibitions). It needs to work and not end up being your parent’s fridge display.

Step Five – Promotion.

Ah the Internet, a way of networking. You need to promote the show. This doesn’t mean inviting your mum, mum’s mum, mum’s best friend and mum’s hairdresser. This means making a mailing list and actually sending out invites to everyone who is someone in the art world. Fliering the streets, paying for your Facebook page to be promoted, giving away free stuff. Ed Miliband can learn a lot about promotion from art graduates.

Then the show happens, but you don’t have a team to hang it. Its not the Tate, so you spend days actually hanging it, buying booze and dishing out instructions.

So why is all this effort important again? Well it teaches you the fundamental skills of working in a team, creating something from an idea and then executing it. It helps you network. Bond with our piers and form a strong creative relationship with them. Show your ability to micro manage, collaborate and work on your own. It gives you a chance to show the community that you exist and it gives you experience of working in the real world after being a student for pretty much sixteen plus years.

Then the bonus. If you manage to pull this off successfully, right night, right venue, right name, right marketing then you might, yup might just give yourself a career.

Date: July 1988 Location: Old abandoned port in London. South Docks.

Organiser: That Yorkshire bloke Damien Hirst Art School: Goldsmiths

While an art student at Goldsmiths college of art, the great and powerful Hirst and his coconspirators, including Angus Fairhurst, created their exhibition known as “Freeze”. A show of work earlier in the year by Angus Fairhurst had already set the stage for what “Freeze” would be, an intentional imitation of the first gallery set up

by Charles Saatchi in St John’s wood.

Saatchi actually attended the show and decided to purchase a piece by Mat Collishaw, not bad going so far, but it got even better. A tutor from Goldsmiths Art College, Michael Craig-Martin used the force (of his art community influence) to even convince Norman Rosenthal and Nicholas Serota to attend the exhibition.

Their catalogue was a surprisingly well put together little gem as well, designed by Tony Arefin and including an article by art critic Ian Jeffrey it was funded by the property developers Olympia and York.

The whole show was named after one of the descriptions in the catalogue pertaining to Mat Collishaw’s image Bullet Hole, a macro photo of a gunshot wound.

The outcome: The richest living British artists to date. (They even out riched Francis Bacon, Who up until this point was the richest living artist)

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WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART

REBECCA FONTAINE-WOLF 8 The Sublime

WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART

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WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART

In my practice portraiture becomes a vehicle, allowing me to examine themes surrounding female identity, ideals, mortality and iconisation. In it ‘Beauty’ helps frame existential questions of perfection, and the impossibility connected with it. Influenced by Lacanian concepts of desire, lack and the spectral image, my work explores what images of ourselves and others come to represent in a society in which self-myhtolisation has become part of the everyday experience.

From Beyond Traces Oil, acrylic, ink and pastel on canvas

Oil, acrylic, ink and pastel on canvas

150cm x 110cm

180cm x 110cm

Spectrum

Facing Evanescence

Oil, acrylic, ink and pastel on canvas

Oil, acrylic, ink and pastel on canvas

206cm x 106cm

122cm x 122cm

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NELL SULLY 12 The Sublime

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Www.nellsully.com @nellsullyART

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JON CLAIR

iPadThe study 14 Sublime

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Across_divded series 1 HQ

www.jonclair.com At the core of my practice is the notion of digital intimacy: how the digital sphere—from touchscreens to the depths of the internet—creates or extends intimacy. Unpacking the relationship and connection between the digital and the physical, where the virtual meets the real, and the body meets the screen, I ask what is the digital body, where is it located and of what is it made? Through a lens-based practice spanning new media installation to alternative photographic processes, I incorporate elements of identity and self, spectatorship and exposure, ownership and privacy.

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WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART

ALICE GATFIELD

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ALVIN BABBEA Untitled, 2015, Gold thread and gold-plated nails on white wall CONTACT alvinbabbea@hotmail.com The Sublime 21

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GAYATHRI ANAND

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WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART

Cling (2015) Foam,MDF,Wood, Acrylic and Oil on Panel

gayathrianand.com @gayathri anand (twitter) @gaia_three_ (instagram)

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Continuance (2015) Foam, Silicone and Oil on Panel

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Drift (2014) Foam, Spray Paint and Oil on Panel

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Interception (2015 Foam, Silicone, Spray Paint and Oil on Panel

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Languid (2015) Foam and Oil on Panel

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WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART

HOLLY REES

Website: hollyrees.co.uk untitled intermediate (dusk) - oil on panel, 100 x 80 cm

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WIMBLEDON COLLEGE OF ART

detail of untitled intermediate (after ansel adams) - oil on panel, 80 x 60 cm

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JULIAN BOSE

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Four Grey Rectangles Brown Flame Shape Col our Paint Drops on White Background Black Shape with Missing Part Black Circle in Middle (2015) Acrylic on Un-streched Canvas

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Black and yellow background Brown circle on bottom right Grey background with square cut in middle Canvas with 3 burnt holes (2015) Acrylic on Un-stretched Canvas

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Private View: Thursday 18 June General Exhibition: 18 - 27th June 2015 Other events (yet to be confirmed) e.g. MFA symposium will be held during the course of the exhibition Expect an exciting and engaging degree show exhibition of artwork by emerging artists who are graduating this year.

This is the first degree show featuring BA and MFA works simultaneously Fine Art Pathways: BA (hons) Painting Painting- wide ranges of contemporary approaches to the longstanding medium of painting. This includes a variety from traditional painting techniques to the expanded fields of painting, exploring other mediums.

BA (hons) Sculpture Enquiries and experimenting with approaches to a sculptural practice that engage with sculptures history and contemporary contexts.

BA (hons) Print and Time Based Media print time based medium combines the traditional with the contemporary, bringing together print-making, photography, film, audio, writing video and performance art.

MFA Fine Art The graduating Master of Fine Art students at the Wimbledon College of Art break with tradition to exhibit a fully curated and cohesive show. With interests as diverse as technological hacking to neoclassical painting, the core ethos of the postgraduate degree centres on the public-facing nature of the professional artist.

Follow our Social Media Channels! : Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/958811607471314/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/wcadegreeshow2015 Twitter & Instagram : @wcafineart15 Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Wimbledon-College-Art-Fine-Art-8277821/about

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THIS ISN’T THE DROID I’M LOOKING FOR

By Dunc

I’m an open-minded kind of guy, I like trying new experiences and things. I don’t always like them, but you never know til you try. What’s the old saying? “You should try everything except line-dancing and incest”. As such over the years, this fondness for tinkering coupled with a deep love of technology means I’ve given all sorts a whirl for better or worse. On computers I’ve tried Mac, Windows and a couple of different flavours of Linux. For gaming platforms I’ve tried PC, PS3, Nintendo and other iterations over the years, I’m even considering dabbling in the upcoming Steam platform once it’s revealed itself to the public and had its proverbial bumps felt.

With regards to mobile platforms, I remember the days when it kind of didn’t matter- the era of the Dumbphone.

I had an old Nokia which I dare say would still work if I could unearth and charge it. Chuffing indestructible it was. The nearest we got to Bendgate in those days was George Michael trying to fluff a Yankie Scuffer in the khazi. Then Uncle Steve came along in 2007 and the iPhone was born. Now many people don’t like Apple, didn’t like Jobs and I can understand why however you can’t deny that following that Keynote the mobile phone landscape changed for the better. Think you’d be sat there playing with your Galaxy S-whatever if Apple hadn’t released the iPhone?

Now I was part of the Apple walled garden for a long time. For a period I had an iPad and an iPhone and they were great for a while. Then gravity stuck its ugly maw in my affairs and my phone’s screen was shattered in twain.

Bastard! I attempted a repair myself but was defeated by the sheer size of the components. Seriously, I knew exactly what I was SUPPOSED to do to get it repaired; I just couldn’t handle the screws at that size. I’m quite a ham-fisted mook so when you’re supposed to delicately unscrew something smaller than a butterfly’s ring-piece we’re talking tricky undertakings. So I got it repaired with a budget replacement screen for about forty quid, not cheap but not bank-breaking either. That is until I dropped the fucker again. Loathe to replace the screen with another third party replacement which I was never happy with and unable to afford Apple’s own repairs, I was in the market for a new phone and could not afford a new iPhone.

Plus I have a strange love/hate relationship with mobile phones these days. I’m noticing more and more how people are glued to their devices and I don’t want to be one of them. This isn’t a reactionary, hipster move, I genuinely loathe the dependence many people have on

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phones.

On the other I hand I do have a phone myself. I have a cheap hundred and fifty quid Android phone by Motorola which is seriously getting on my tits. It’s not because it’s a cheap phone though- the screen’s good, it’s fast enough, has decent storage. My main complaint about the hardware is the crappy camera, but I can live with that. My biggest beef is with Android.

My mobile is little more than a glorified Walkman. I have a few basic games installed for passing the time while I’m passing a solid, I of course use it for texting and calling people occasionally but it spends at least ninety percent of its time playing music and doing sod all else. Yet still I’m unhappy with it. I’m even using Google’s own software for playing music, still not happy.

One of the biggest problems with Android and the word you’ll hear most associated with the phones and tablets is: Fragmentation. Basically Apple makes the iPhone and the iPad. No-one else. When you get an update for either of those it’s the same for every supported device. So long as your phone or tablet isn’t older than about three or four years you’ll get the same updates at the same time as everyone else. Anyone can make an Android device and that’s the problem. When Google release an update to their Android software, it will then need tailoring and tweaking to each device.

So in my case, Motorola got their hands on the latest version of Android OS and then had to make sure it works on my phone and any other phone or device they make.

Even if Google releases a new update then, it can take months to filter down to each and every handset.

Samsung release a new phone or tablet every eight minutes, imagine the headaches at their end every update? The most recent version of the OS is called Lollipop. Google figured that naming their incremental updates after sweeties would make them more PR friendly, I think. It took the best part of six months to arrive on my phone and guess what?

It has quite a few major bugs in it, like Starship Troopers sized bugs. The Bluetooth is goosed, the Wifi’s unreliable, battery life is seriously reduced and Google’s own music app will refuse to play music.

That’s like walking into a bakery and the baker shouting at you “No fucking bread!”

It also provides a hugely unfriendly user interface.

There’s always several more steps, buttons and icons than you need. That’s something Apple have nailed from day one, all the hard work and complicated chicanery happens behind the scenes and we’re usually none the wiser. Google’s interface is always a little less easy, a little less intuitive. For example, the Notification Drawer if that’s what it’s called, could be the Update Truck or the Announcement Codpiece or some shit.

The notifications are accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen, easy enough. To then access a simple quick-settings screen you swipe down a second time. But the quick settings aren’t always quick. They’re just on or off buttons, you can’t really tweak anything. And if there are no notifications there, why not bypass that ‘drawer’ and go straight to settings instead of showing an anemic “No Notifications” notice? I can see that by the fact there’s no little icons across the top.

And then there’s the volume/mute controls.

Previously there was a handy shortcut where you pressed and held the power button and a small box popped up with a button for powering off the phone, turning on Airplane Mode and setting the device to normal audio, vibrate, or silent. Lovely stuff. Now you press one of the volume buttons and underneath the volume slider it asks you how it should or shouldn’t interrupt your blessed silence.

So instead of saying “Mute” the button I’m looking for is “None”. Except it doesn’t give this option if you’re listening to music. So to mute my phone when I arrive at work in the morning I have to pause the music, disconnect the headphones. Close the App from the Recent Apps button and the Notification Bustier because there’s a bug with the App which means it resurrects more than Lazarus on the pull, press the volume button, lower the volume all the way down and then select None.

Handy.

Except None doesn’t mean None. It means “Mostly”. Because certain Apps will just chirrup and make noise as they see fit anyhow, even though the entire phone is supposed to be silent. So Alarms and Calls will be silent, but Youtube and Dungeon Wanker can make as much noise as they like on your MUTED phone.

Google bundles with their OS a feature whereby you swipe up from the bottom of the screen and can use voice access to search your phone and the web, like you would with Cortana or Siri. Except

instead of being accessed with a swipe you could put your phone on a plane, send it Sydney, dig a ninety-seven foot deep pit under your house, fill it with egg boxes, wrap nine towels around your head and whisper the words “Swipe Up” and it would still work, it’s that sensitive. And the three main buttons for Home, Recent Apps and Back?

On the bottom of the screen. You can’t disable or uninstall it either, no no no. Nor can you get rid of Google+, or Google Hangouts, or Google Books, or Google Movies, or Google Music or Gmail, or Google Magazines, or Google Syphilis or Google Horsetits.

The idea behind Android is that it’s more open and tweakable than iOS and that’s its biggest flaw. It’s like saying when you’re designing a house you wanna be able to move walls and ceilings. Not gonna work out well.

At first I took delight in the openness of the Google Apps though, named the Google Play Store. Emulators especially were a welcome sight after the rigid control of the Apple App Store. Clearly a sign that Google takes a more open and easy-going approach to what is permissible on their turf. Unfortunately that means their store is overflowing with some of the most utterly unacceptable shit on the planet. If it’s not malware disguised as a game it’s a very poorly made clone of an existing game loaded with ads. Google would no doubt have you believe they foster ingenuity and invention on their store with a hands off approach, like Charles Manson’s Dad. So I’m presented with a dilemma. Much as I hate the modern habit of being mated to a small device and paying through the nose for the privilege, I do so miss the ease and simplicity of Apple’s offerings. As I’ve mentioned I recently switched back from Mac to PC for financial reasons, same as I moved from iOS to Android, but there’s a big difference. Microsoft have improved. It still annoys me a lot but it’s manageable and the upside in performance and cost is immense. But I can’t say the same on a mobile level. The shortcomings of Android are just too much because the fault lies with the small stuff. Easily playing and listening to music, putting the phone on mute, these aren’t things that should be hard work, they’re fundamental. It’s like buying a brand new car and saying “It drives great… except on corners”. I haven’t got a problem with the cheapness of the Motorola handset- overall it doesn’t feel cheap and I was well aware of its shortcomings when I bought it. It’s Android, it looks cheap, feels awkward and it gets so many of the basics utterly wrong. This is from one of the biggest tech companies on the planet who are currently working on self-driving cars and Artificial Intelligence in a big way.

So… anyone wanna sell me an iPhone before the world ends?

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GORDON IRVING

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The internet as we all know is a brilliant, sometimes strange creation. The brilliance of it allows us to see the art work of an artist who lives thousands of miles away and then, just like we are sat in the same room spark up a conversation. For those of you reading this in places other than America I have the power to bring you a well seasoned special, who’s work has caught my attention that much I have tracked him down with my CSI skills. So mystery artist from a land far away, who is the person behind these amazing pieces of work and where on Earth have they been born?

The person behind the artwork is Gordon Irving. I was born on Earth,I am told, although I really don’t remember entering this or any world or landing on Earth…!

I was born in Kilmarnock,Scotland where I lived for the first three months of my life. As a family we then moved to live in Ayr,a lovely town by the sea looking out to the Isle of Arran. I grew up in Ayr,went to school there,worked in a Bank, then a Rent Office, then went to Art College in Newcastle Upon Tyne for a year.I then worked as a commercial silk screen printer. Next I was employed in the electronics industry for about 14 years printing solder mask and notation on printed circuit boards.

At the age of 36 ,after attending twice weekly evening classes at Glasgow University for a year, I gained entry to a full time degree course studying theology in order to enter the ministry with the Church of Scotland.Graduating with a Joint Honours Degree I became a Parish Minister and served for 10 years.

Parish ministry brought many successes and its own rewards, but also many demands and a great deal of stress which led to my suffering from depression and anxiety attacks. Deciding to leave the ministry I then trained to become a secondary school teacher of religious and philosophical studies. Nowadays,when I am not painting in my home studio, I work as a Supply Teacher covering all subjects,with opportunities to teach Art and Music in several of the schools in South Ayrshire.I would describe myself as no longer religious in any way. Humanist probably.

Agnostic/atheist depending on the weather!

Phew! Anyway,that’s the heavy bit over... After the breakup of my marriage I lived on my own in a flat for some time. With lots of time o my hands, I started painting very regularly. I have painted on and 40 The Sublime

off all my life,but now I painted almost daily, and I found it raised my spirits and helped me cope with depression. I found myself painting portrait after portrait after portrait! All these faces. Mostly rock icons. I play music as I paint…usually the music of the artist I am painting at the time, say Dylan or Leonard Cohen or John Lennon…

The Internet is where I sell most of my paintings. I am part of a growing community of online Artists and writers and musicians,which has really opened up the world to me.

We find that most artists paint for a personal reason, a strong form of enlightenment. The more adventurous ones paint portraits. What made you decide to paint portraits and how did you find the subject matter that is consistent in your work.

I began painting portraits only within the last four or five years. Before that my painting was only occasional. I decided to paint portraits I suppose as a way of challenging myself… maybe it’s the ultimate challenge…to achieve true likenesses, and as a confidence builder…I am a keen reader…a slow reader…but a keen one. I have read the life stories of John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and so on. To paint these icons was my way of “meeting” them face to face, and also of de-mythologysing them, getting to the real person up close and personal. As I began to paint portraits of these people whom I would never meet, the power of their “presence” was quite powerful. (I was living alone at the time and spent long period of time on my own.) I play guitar and I used to sing in Folk Clubs last century! My repertoire consisted of a mixture of traditional folk songs and modern folkie songs, such as Dylan, James Taylor etc. I played their recorded music;I sang their music;I read about their lives, so now I paint their portraits! In many ways their music has been the soundtrack to my life.

When I listen to the music of the Beatles I am in a very happy place. Something happens to me…I find happiness and I find peace from a restless mind and a restless world.

I have painted several portraits of Leonard Cohen.

His music and poems and lyrics have spoken to me in a deep and profound way, particularly when I was depressed. Many would say Leonard’s songs are depressing…but I GET him! I really do! He inspires me with his sense of irony and hope… His song

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Anthem moved me and strengthened me when I was down.

“The birds they sang at the break of day Start again I heard them say Don’t dwell on what has passed away or what is yet to be.

Ah the wars they will be fought again The holy dove She will be caught again bought and sold and bought again the dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in.”

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I have painted self-portraits and portraits of my two sons and also my partner. (She is a MacMillan nurse.

We live in Prestwick.)

I have painted actors such as Jeremy Irons as the Merchant of Venice and Al Pacino as Shylock.

Through FaceBook I enjoy being part of the social network. I have connected with so many fellow artists and customers... they too have their stories and experiences of life.

I ‘met’ a Norwegian woman on Face Book. She wrote a poem tribute to Leonard Cohen. I decided to put chords to it and made it a song. I recorded it on You Tube. A Scottish /Norwegian collaboration over the internet! Our story was featured in a Norwegian newspaper!

My aim is to spend the rest of my life painting. I will retire from Supply Teaching in 3 years, if not sooner.

The sooner the better! Teaching is only a means to an end…to make money. Painting and music are my passion.

her friends who have known her for a long time.

Her many friends also made very appreciative comment about my work.

She is a random portrait,if you like, but not Joe Bloggs ha ha ha! and she doesn’t work in a timber yard or visit the pub! But through posts and messages on line,and ultimately a surreal conversation on Skype which was interrupted by a visit from her plumber, I engaged with her and found out quite a bit about her.She informed me that she was a a chief MD /neurologistpsychiatrist in a 100 bed ward in Hungary,before moving to Florida 20 years ago. She sent me this message, “Your picture is in the center of my conversation in life and in Skype, because it is hanging behind my chair, next to me.”

Music plays a big part in a lot of peoples lives.

Personally I find that when I see a musician I admire, even though they are just normal human beings, they have this status. Might be too far to say a ‘god like’ status but they do certainly hold this presence that we (as normal people, or not so famous) become overwhelmed by. I find it really interesting that you paint these stars to create a personal attachment to them, metaphysically meeting them in your brush strokes. What effect would happen with you if you was to paint a random Joe Blogs who works in a timber yard and regularly visits the pub. Someone who’s life is not as significant or exciting?

I received a letter from Leonard Cohen’s agent in Beverley Hills after sending him an art card of one of my portraits of Leonard. It felt like I had received a letter from a god! (or a god’s agent!)

I recently received a commission to paint the portrait of a lady who lives in Florida. I accepted the challenge to paint a portrait of this stranger… a large canvas.

What effect did it have one me? I felt I got to know her day by day as the portrait evolved. I did worry a bit that I might unintentionally offend her in some way and that she may not think it looked like her!

When I posted a photo of it to her she didn’t say much at first. I worried initially that she didn’t like it, but she later assured me that she does like it and confided in me that she suffers from a low self-esteem.When it arrived in Florida she posted a photo of the portrait on her Face Book page and she received a flood of “likes” (60 or 70 or more if I remember rightly) from many of

I think if we forget about money and trying to earn a keep, we put aside fame and popularity. The greatest achievement in why art is so important has been illustrated in your example above. Your art has become something special in someone’s life, and if you find it special too; in my eyes you have become a successful artist.

It is great to hear stories like this.

I am also impressed with Leonard Cohens agent writing back to you. Other than Leonard, Who else has influenced your heart and passion? I had a deep relationship with Jim Morrison when I was in my late teens, I grew up in Blackpool where drugs where strife and creativity was accepted.

Jims high poetry about lucid dreams and love really reached out to me and influenced my early paintings, helping me find a surreal voice and challenge myself.

Your question, “Other than Leonard, Who else has influenced your heart and passion?”

The life,contribution to music and art and death of John Lennon had a deep effect on me. Bob Dylan has had a huge effect on me. He sings word pictures or paints wordscapes for me. Stream of consciousness lyric writing inspires me to paint what or who comes into my head. My paintings surround me in my studio…lots of faces and eyes watching me…Its like being in heaven with all my musical heroes! My partner Jean has influenced my heart and my passion. She understands my need to paint constantly,and allows me space and time in which to operate in my creative sphere The Sublime 43

Francis Bacon admired Picasso, but his true inspiration was his lover George. Picasso himself had many lovers that inspired him, but Dora Marr was his ultimate muse. We find a connection with other artists we admire but we have that special thing with the person we love, have you painted your partners portrait? what feelings did you connect with the actual painting that are similar to your feelings to Jean.

Reflections of our story…We are both in the picture…You can just make me out in the left lens of Jean’s sunglasses taking the photo with my mobile phone…it was a sunny day in springtime…we had known one another for maybe 4 or 5 months… reflected in Jean’s shades is Culzean Castle,Ayrshire which we visited that day…I worked there as a Castle Guide while I was a student at Glasgow University.

Feelings of love and falling in love…we often reflect on our pasts.She and I have deep conversations about life in general and our future together.We are both 61 going on 62. I wanted to portray Jean and my love for her. The reflections in the lenses fascinated me. I was anxious that she would like the painting,and relieved that she does!

Deep down inside that is what art is all about, it doesn’t matter about the money when you can find a true sense of existence when you create. Your work shows the strength and passion towards your subjects. What are your plans for the rest of 2015? Do you have any portraits in mind or any shows coming up?

I plan to paint,paint,paint! Portraits yes..and also the human figure and also mixed media i.e. photos of my paintings incorporated into digital images… interpreting song lyrics such as Dylan by creating digital “paintings” using brush tools and other tools.

I may mount a new one man show later on this year…I have already had two one man shows at the Harbour Arts Centre,Irvine and also a show at Greenheart Gallery, Ayr. This time I might have a small show in my home studio.

We would love for you to keep us update to date with it all. One last thing, what advice would you give to a young artist wanting to start doing portraits.

I would advise a young artist to be daring and to 44 The Sublime

paint what and who really interests and excites them. Just to dive into a great pool of creativity…into the deep end! it’s so much more exciting than wading about in the shallows!Paint what YOU want,and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Grow your own confidence. Imagination has no borders or boundaries. Experiment with your subjects and mediums. Vary them. Vary your palette. Don’t be afraid of failure or to stop and discard a piece and to think again and start again. Think big. Think small. Go into the dream world of painting…enter that special place where you become LOST in your painting, and you may FIND yourself!

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A Poem By Mottled Gray

THE CYCLE She says that she dreams of her death, I’m there in her mind, She’s trapped just watching my life, Unable to move on.

Even in screams I can’t hear her.

She watches me try to stay strong with her loss, But it’s hard, and she sees that I suffer But can’t give me comfort.

She follows me Trying to adjust to a life when she’s gone.

Such sorrow, It feels like I’ll never belong, Her energy’s left me.

I’m falling behind, I trip, and she never will catch me, But always she tries.

Her torment is watching me deal with her death When she feels she’s alive, My torture was watching her die.

Her dream is too much to describe, Subconscious spills over And when she awakens, she cries.

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But again when she sleeps, Her dream will repeat, And it’s always the same.

But then she explains: There is one day in the year when I see her.

And for just a few moments in time, I feel when she’s nearer, See when she smiles, And when features have ripened to laughs I can hear her.

These hours of relief are her bliss That allows her endurance in emptiness.

But it goes on: ‘Cause now in the dream I am older But she hasn’t aged, At this stage of my life I’ve settled with kids and a wife, But in death I still love her.

So now it’s my family who suffer, And I must explain how her bliss Will affect my relationships.

Yet neither can break this tie, ‘Till I sleep, And the death that I dream of is mine.

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A Poem By Mottled Gray

WEIGHTLESS I weigh my bones with every breath, To check my worth, when I’m alone.

But in this space, my mass is close to none.

Can this be truly me?

Without the gravity of people near, It seems like I become someone With dust as an identity.

I’m lost, and somehow, just forgot That I existed here.

My life is isolated mimicry Of portraits dreamed when I was young, Before this smoke had seeped into my lungs, And I could see my sphere.

But now imagination’s gone, I need these humans close to ground me.

Or else I fear I’ll become As weightless as they found me.

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A Poem By phillip Michael callaghan

LULLABY (HUSH NOW) Lullaby (Hush Now) Tear drops fall And I will dry your eyes Tear drops fall from Ever clouded skies Hush now and be still Listen to my lullaby Mornings almost here Hush now and close those eyes I will hold you close Never let you go Time is on our side Set free your sorrow Hush now and be still Listen to my lullaby Mornings almost here Hush now and close those eyes Close your eyes And dream of a new day For I am right here To guide your way...

Hush now and be still Listen to my lullaby Mornings almost here Hush now and close those eyes Hush now and close those eyes Mornings almost here Listen to my lullaby Hush now and be still “… as a child, when darkness comes, the unknown awaits, at one time or another in all our lives we can feel this unknown, this uneasy… the comforting sounds of ‘lullaby’ …” …adapted for lyric for the album ’Beauty For Ashes’ by Phillip Presswood

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SOUTH KILBURN STUDIOS

By Mottled Gray

Hidden in the heart of one of the least affluent estates in London lies an old, temporary Portacabin, formerly used as the headquarters for Brent Council’s New Deal for Communities. From the outside, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was an abandoned space, with metal shutters guarding the windows and a distinctly derelict demeanor wafting from the structure. However, this ‘temporary’ space was initially given just 6 months of life in 2010, and yet here it stands today, tired, but proud, 5 years later. And rest assured, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.

After an apparent failure to reach a new deal for the community, the New Deal for Communities project that formerly occupied the space was forced to leave and terminate its’ work. At this point, South Kilburn was left with an empty building in the middle of an estate rife with social deprivation and associated challenges, and this caused concern for Brent Council. As such, they decided to try and occupy it with some other form of activity, and as part of a larger regeneration scheme for South Kilburn, they appointed a Creative Coordinator to do something with the space. And fortunately, what they did has truly had a long-term impact.

The decision was made to build 13 studios around the inner perimeter of the building, with a large communal space in the centre. A creative individual or team would apply for the space, and on acceptance, be allocated a studio relevant to the size of their operation. In lieu of financial exchange, the Creative Coordinator, along with Brent Council and The Architecture Foundation, decided it would be more beneficial to create a system by which each occupant would be assigned an intern from the locality to learn about whatever corner of creativity the occupier was involved in. To further give back to the community, it was also made mandatory to host events in the communal space at least twice a month.

This was a success, and in just 3 weeks, all 13 studios had both tenants and interns, and the entire building was a cornucopia of creativity, buzzing with eager ideas and ambitious individuals. So five years down the line, although the space is not as organized as it was in its initial conception, there are still some incredible people involved in the project, still trying to breath creativity and

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engagement into an otherwise void area. This article is a tiny glimpse into their world, and the movements and activities they are involved in today.

The first person I spoke to on visiting South Kilburn Studios was a Congolese native by the name of Bantu Masta. As a long-term collaborator with Mottled Gray, he runs a radio show on the K2K online radio network promoting education through entertainment and awareness through creativity. Using the format of collectivism with his project WanLuv Koncepta, Bantu is also trying to unite African people globally to attain a practical Pan-Africanism across a wider creative network. As well as this, he regularly hosts and attends open mic nights and jam sessions in an attempt to unify individuals through his musical outlet and expressions. South Kilburn Studios provides a real life platform for Bantu to pursue this, and what struck me was that this goal of unity, peace and education was all being done in a building that was itself in an area of social unrest and varying degrees of conflict.

However, this is the whole point of the space, in that it provides people an opportunity where before there was none. Another individual, Max, is responsible for setting up K2K Radio (Kilburn to Kensal) with his company Radioactive, and his idea was to have a show that could bridge the gap that exists between these two areas. Despite the closeness of their geographical locations, postcode factions and lotteries have sprung up which have caused feuds and rivalries between communities, often escalating into violence. Max’s idea was to have a show where people from the community could voice their expression and be heard by those outside their community, and in doing so, encourage unity and understanding between separated groups. And in fact, Max implements his ideas on a global scale. Often when there is extreme conflict or natural disasters such as floods or tsunami’s, the first thing to go from a community is their communication with other people. At the time of my visit, as it happened, he was in Africa building radio masts and erecting them in some of the most impoverished and unsupported villages in the world.

I found his activities fascinating not only because he

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possesses all the skills to actually build these radio masts from scratch and to make them operational, but also that his skill could so easily be utilized for a corporate and commercial purpose. But instead, he has chosen to use his expertise to try and help those less fortunate around him. This is what South Kilburn Studios is about.

The next person I spoke to was a local who had grown up in the area, and who knew the kind of unrest and lack of engagement his community can suffer from. His name was Musa Jebak, a budding multi-faceted artist who found his direction through art and creativity, and who had been at South Kilburn Studios for a year and a half.

We spoke about who he was as a person, and how his journey lead him to this place. Musa described his pathway of self-discovery through his art forms, and how he felt that he really needed to prove himself, not for anyone else, but to feel more secure within his own personality. He spoke about his process and method of working, and how he learnt to take his time with things so as not to charge head on into his work. He conversed about how he needs to keep his experiences of things fresh, and almost naive, in order to draw from them for his art. We spoke of how although it may seem that his work comes out of the blue to somebody on the outside, really, he is thinking about his work all day, until that opportune concoction of method and madness combine into what you see before you. But what interested me the most about talking to Musa was his description of how he views his life at this point, and how having a space at South Kilburn Studios exclusively to work on his art has allowed him to create not just paintings, but a lifestyle that is truly his own. He said that the more you think about doing isolated things away from the mundane, the more you end up doing them: the more things you end up doing in isolation, the more links you can create between them: the more links you create between them, the less isolated those activities become: until in the end, you are only doing things that you think about, and therefore, that you really want to do within yourself. Musa was describing this process in the context of his work, and how he’s been able to progress from working normal jobs for other people to being able to successfully work for himself, but this just reinforced my belief of how thought processes directly affect practical activities, and how if you really want something bad enough, no matter where you’re from, it can be achieved.

South Kilburn Studios have allowed him to do this, and this is undoubtedly inspirational.

Finally, I spoke to Valerie Vamanrav, a really energetic individual who has a studio for

the premise of entrepreneurship. She has just started a company called Vox Pop Videos, a service that provides training on self-promotion and marketing using video as the medium. Her idea is to show how important videos are in the modern Internet age if you are trying to spread a message to people, and as an experienced film and video producer, she also helps people to distill their message and to find out what they really want to say. Regardless of if it is for commercial or just social applications, her focus is to prove how effective small, lo-fi, bite sized chunks of video content can be. In a broader sense, Valerie is also trying to create a cultural shift so that it becomes more normal for people to communicate ideas through short video exchanges, which are both dynamic and amusing in their engagement. We spoke quite extensively about her ideas and her overall, long-term goal, and she seems to possess rather an exquisite energy which I feel will inspire and drive a whole host of other people that are fortunate enough to come into contact with it. And like she said, ‘If you just leave a whole load of creative people alone in a space together with some electricity, some truly remarkable things tend to get produced.’

So on the inside of this apparently humble building, there are people who think big, and who are completely dedicated to the cause of creativity, whether it is for commerce, cultural exchange or just for selfdiscovery and fulfillment. There were also a whole load of other people in the building who I never got around to speaking to properly, one of whom was a local singer who, after initially interning with Clean Bandit (who had started with a studio there) had then gone on to sign her own publishing deal with EMI. An extraordinary feat to come out of what was meant to be a temporary space.

But all of these success stories go to show two things: the first, is that regardless of the outward appearance of material things, whether they are buildings, people or situations, you can never know what is really going on until you take the time to look inside. The second, is that if only more people and organizations, particularly within the government, gave communities the opportunity to flourish creatively without the involvement of financial concerns, then some potentially revolutionary processes and systems would most likely blossom. And in my mind, South Kilburn Studios is the epitome of how, with time, true potential for individuals and communities can eventually be realized.

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DEANO ROBOTIC (JAMES DEAN) 54 The Sublime

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Tell me about yourself.

Talk a bit about your undergraduate/education experience.

Everything! My girlfriend says that I’m always ‘taking in the atmos.’... (not paying attention!)

I am a 33 yr old self taught artist living in the South West. Art has been a passion of mine from a very young age. When all the other kids were out playing I was in my room drawing. Someone told me I was good at it so I just kept going.

The funniest thing about you is? I wear trainers everywhere!

I studied Art at Exeter College and have continued to work from home, selling stuff in galleries and doing commissions.

Why do you want to go into this field? Is art a passion for you?

Do you have a vision for your work?

My ideal position to be in would be to give up my day job and work full time from home concentrating totally on my artwork, however, with a family of hungry mouths to feed I need the security that comes from having a salary.

How do you think/want other people to respond to your art?

All I ever really want if for my art to be seen and to be positively received. I really like the thought that my artwork is hanging in someone’s hallway or front room somewhere!

Do you see yourself in your artwork? How? My artwork is a real reflection of the things I am interested in and I definitely have a certain style.

What do you think your work stands for?

These kind of questions are tricky as I find myself trying to think of something interesting to say by way of a response but the truth of it is, there are no hidden messages or meanings, I just draw what I’m interested in and hope that people like it.

Describe yourself in one word. Why that word?

Misanthrope. I find the human race difficult! Maybe that’s why I like to draw so much?!

What motivates/inspires your work?

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Where are you heading next with your work?

Getting it seen! I have my work in 3 galleries in Brighton who are selling limited framed prints on a regular basis. I like to send them new stuff as often as possible so that they have a fresh turnaround. I will continue to promote my work further afield, contacting galleries in Bristol and London.

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A Poem By Phillip Michael Callaghan

FALLING OLBERS COMET (THE SOLAR SEA) Cold as the western wind Behind winters mystery Falling Olbers comet...

On the first of February As close to the sunlight Raining down, fire lights the sky Lost is the falling star...

The blue horizon starts to cry Old days passing by me...

Far out from the burning blue A million nights and one night The moon gone from view Across the solar sea Cold is the western wind Behind winters mystery The showers of Olbers comet...

On the first of February The sun looks on As earth sparkles in view Lost is a falling star...

Across the burning hue Old days passing by me...

Far out from the burning blue A million nights and one night The moon gone from view Across the solar sea A million nights and one night Across the solar sea

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A Poem By Phillip Michael Callaghan

OVER THE SKYLINE The painted skies, shades of blue The river runs from the Crimson hue All our hopes and dreams A heart so true...

Over the skyline Across the great Devine We learn to love We learn to say...

The last moment in time The velvet sun, setting in red The thunder of words left unsaid All our hopes and dreams A love so true...

Over to the other side Across the great Devine We learn to love We learn to say...

One moment we hope to find The heavens tell how great you are The sun and the stars All our hopes, all our dreams A heart so true...

Over earth, over ocean Lost Through devotion We learn to love We learn to say...

The last moment in time Over the skyline Across the great Devine We learn to love We learn to say...

The last moment in time Devine is...

Devine is...

The last moment in time

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INTERVIEW WITH A QUAGMIRE

By Mr Wild

It was on the evening of the 27th of May 2015 that I sat down to conduct my first interview with an artist who has often claimed to not be an artist at all. Writhing through the undergrowth of paths long discovered and traversed by better men the lowly worm rose his head for the sake of the sun. As a bird spying prey I took the opportunity to swoop on his vulnerable position and pull apart his segmented mentality...

concentrate on your writing no doubt!?

MW: Good evening Mr Wild...How does this evening find you?

MW: I know how you feel! You’ve been writing recently for The Sublime online zine though, has that not given you more sense of a purpose?

Mister Wild: It finds me toiling in the filth of my own making once more I’m afraid.

MW: Oh dear...sounds like you’re having a bad day?

Mister Wild: You could say that, you could also say it was a good day, I left my job today...I didn’t like it anyway, besides I’d rather stew in my own shit than someone else’s.

MW: Good point! So where were you working?

Mister Wild: I had a job at a popular children’s attraction in Manchester...That sounds like some ‘Pogo’ shit...but it was just a job...it helped me land on my feet when I first moved here.

MW: So why’d you leave?

Mister Wild: I kind of wanted to leave anyway, it was a ball ache, dealing with kids is bad enough, but the parents are the fucking worst. Basically though I got incredibly drunk and fed up one night and just thought ‘ah fuck it’ and sent a resignation in rhyme to my employers...I don’t think they took it seriously at first...To be honest I don’t know if I did, but once it was done I figured I might as well stick to it...it was what I wanted, though probably not necessarily what I needed to do.

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Mister Wild: I guess, the problem I find with free time though is that something free has no value, so I don’t end up doing anything valuable with it! I like writing though, it has a cathartic purpose to it, but y’know... sometimes I think ‘what’s the point?’ Most of the time I feel like I’m just kind of talking to myself.

Mister Wild: I don’t really feel like I have a purpose at the moment, writing for the zine has kept me writing, like I said though, to some extent the most enjoyable aspect I find in writing is in a kind of cognitive release.

Dumping my brain into a word document and sorting the tangled mess of thoughts into something tangible I can examine and learn from. In some ways I feel like much of what I produce for the zine is just filler, I’m reviewing things and writing stuff up just so I have some input into the thing we’re trying to create.

But I think most of what I produce is of a low calibre, something you couldn’t even blow your brains out with. I’d like to write stuff you could blow your brains out with...something ballistic, something that feels like I just blew my synapses onto the wall for all to see.

MW: Do you think that is something people would want to see?

Mister Wild: Probably not, but it’s what I would like to see, is that not what art is all about?

MW: You’ve spoken before about your reluctance to refer to yourself as an artist though, what’s the reasoning there?

Mister Wild: I suppose with the term artist there comes a certain seriousness with which one should take oneself, the idea that creating something must ‘mean’ something, that your thoughts are somehow valuable

and they simply have to be shared so people can hear what important things you have to say, I don’t like that.

I don’t take myself seriously most of the time, I still feel the need to share though, I just don’t think what I share is important in any way so I don’t promote myself as an artist...I’m just a guy...rambling about shit no-one cares about.

MW: I suppose art is just that though, just expression, it doesn’t need to be important or even valued by yourself, others give it meaning by imprinting their own neuroses on the work you create.

Mister Wild: Yep...how does that feel?

MW: Well with all due respect I’m sure if I was you I’d know it.

Mister Wild: Switch your selfie cam on and have a look.

MW: My selfie cam doesn’t work I’m afraid.

Mister Wild: Yeah mine neither, try the mirror, who’s there?!

MW: WHAT THE FUCK!!

Mister Wild: Blah blah blah I don’t care...I left more than just work today, I left behind a dream, something Mister Wild: Yeah man, told ya. tantalising, like a carrot dangled before a horse, something I galloped and galloped to chase, something MW: So all this was just us talking to ourself?

I sprinted and spurned and burned my muscles for.

And for what?

Mister Wild: Yep. I may as well have spent the last few months trying to MW: And I thought you were a bit of a dick as well! suck my own dick for all the good it did me.

MW: Erm...well it’ll no doubt manifest in some way, written perhaps, perhaps a new poem? You released a book of poetry a few years back, any news on some new material?

Mister Wild: Nope.

Mister Wild: A little self loathing is good, helps keep the ego in check.

MW: THIS IS HORRENDOUS!! What the hell’s been the point of all this?

Mister Wild: You tell me, it was your interview.

MW: ...Ok...well you’ve been creating some intriguing images as well as written works, tell us more about what’s going on there.

MW: I have no idea? Well...fucking waste of my time... you wanna call it a day?

Mister Wild: Nah, this is getting boring, you’re boring me...

Mister Wild: Yeah man, I got nothing else to say to ya really.

MW: To be fair Mister Wild I’m not here to entertain you, it’s my job to ask questions...

MW: Thanks for speaking to me I guess.

Mister Wild: Well ask me something interesting.

Mister Wild: No worries...don’t forget to get bog roll tomorrow.

MW: Alright, well I heard that you were going to conduct an interview with yourself, that should be interesting.

MW: What, there isn’t any now?!?

Mister Wild: Yes that’s occurring right now.

MW: FOR FUCKS SAKE!

Mister Wild: Nope.

MW: What do you mean?!

Mister Wild: This is the interview I’m doing with myself...

MW: Are you trying to tell me I’m you?!?!

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THE ART OF THE DRESS

By Luke Berryman

I have been cosplaying now for going on three years.

For the uninitiated, cosplay is a portmanteau of the words “costume” and “roleplay”, a phenomenon that started in Japan's rabid anime and manga community and has now spread worldwide. In Japan there are several genres of cosplay including “idol groups” (usually female singers in colourful outfits), gothic lolita, cyberpunk and the famous maid and butler cafés that dominate the Akihabara district of Tokyo. There are many cosplay cafés, games of human chess and studios in which one can dress up and take photographs in locations as varied as classrooms, Edo-period fortresses, wizard's lairs and basketball courts. Although dressing up as popular anime and manga characters is a large part of the scene, cosplay in Japan boils down to the idea of the roleplay, affecting the mannerisms and personal relations of a role. These elements have translated to Western cosplay, but it's much more common to see anime and manga characters focused on almost to the exclusion of the non-franchised types of cosplay.

Western characters are also popular, with everything

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from Marvel and DC superheroes to characters from Supernatural and Firefly, from internet memes to intricate and ornate Game of Thrones outfits. Having been involved in the hobby for a few years, buying cosplay and props or making them myself (with some assistance), I started to wonder what it is that makes this cultural phenomenon appeal so brightly to me. Why do I keep going back to the conventions, posing for the photos, buying the apparel, working at improving my skill and spending endless hours and money on crafting a new level of outfit? The roleplay aspect has an obvious appeal to me as an actor, but I think it boils down to one other thing. It's the Art of the Dress.

It's the effort I see other people going to, the sheer creativity and open-mindedness of it all. Whether it's made from scratch in fabric, foam or worbla; whether it's normal clothes edited and embellished, whether it's simply bought from a store or ordered online, there is something amazing and magical that goes on every time a cosplayer slips an outfit

on. When you look up reference photos for poses, you're putting in work that will perfect embodying the character.

When you twirl a prop around or recreate a fight scene, you can feel your blood pumping. When you realise a famous moment, interact with other characters from your chosen franchise or even imagine how your cosplay might interact with any of the other thousands of strange and wonderful roles on display, you're completing a rewarding process that can take months of sewing or gluing or just plain fan enthusiasm. For me, it's this magical moment that makes the whole thing worthwhile. A cosplay can be easily bought, but it's how a person wears it and wields the associated personality that makes the Art of the Dress.

For those who do make the outfits from scratch, this art extends itself over the whole period, but it still comes down to this final moment. The recognition you get from your fellow cosplayers, the things you can learn from the more experienced and talented, lead to a continuous process of perfecting the art. For me, it has been an evolution from not knowing anything about sewing or props to planning the creation of a massive warhammer and crown, from a hastily assembled collection of clothes to learning dress patterns, sewing and the mysteries of worbla, and from a lone person at my first convention to a member of a burgeoning guild of talented and helpful people. They help me with my creative process, we create photos of iconic moments together, we embody the characters and have fun in our crazy world. I look forward to expanding my horizons into more and more complex cosplays, including delving into the waters of the genderswapping Rule 63, but it is knowing that everyone will support each other and that every effort involves passion and love that drives me. That, more than anything, is the Art of the Dress for me.

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SHELLY SKELLINGTON’s RECIPES

MINI BREAKFAST OMELETTES I make these in batches of twelve, and grab one in the morning on the way to work. These can be frozen if wrapped well and individually, I freeze half and have the other half in the fridge. The red pepper really pops in these little omelettes, but you could use whatever you have in the fridge, like mushrooms or spring onion.

You could even add a little bacon if you wanted to make them really breakfasty. The frozen spinach pellets….. these are awesome. I buy them at the supermarket and its miles cheaper than fresh spinach, it’s frozen fresh and doesn’t have anything added to it. I only use that now.

Serves 12 Ingredients 225ml Skimmed Milk 100 Light 50% Less Fat Cheese Half a Red Pepper, Chopped 4 Eggs 6 Frozen Spinach pellets, Defrosted Salt & Pepper Preheat oven to 180c fan. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan with fry light. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. If you’re defrosting the spinach in the microwave, let it cool before adding it to the mix, otherwise it will scramble the eggs . Pour mix into a jug, then divide between the 12 muffin holes. Bake in the oven until the top is golden, about 35 minutes. Let them cool in the tin then pop out with a palette knife. If you have a silicone muffin tray, use that, greased with fry light, that way you can just peel the tray back and pop them out.

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RED THAI CHICKEN SOUP I stayed away from making Thai recipes as I thought in order to make them taste authentic, it would cost a fortune, using ingredients that are hard to get hold of. It turns out that Tesco have these ingredients, so I thought I would give it a shot. It's all I have been making for weeks now, Thai this, Thai that….It’s so easy! The adding of lemongrass, chilli, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and ginger to the curry paste really makes a difference, don’t leave the lemon grass or kaffir lime leaves out, this is what makes it taste authentic in my opinion.

The adding of chilli is optional. A quarter of a standard chilli will give the soup a nice hum, half a chilli will give it a real kick, and a full chilli will make it “Madras” hot. I don’t use all the chillies that you get in the supermarket bag before they start to turn, so I freeze them whole. This is perfectly fine, when you need it, use a sharp knife to cut off what you need, then place in a jug of warm water while you get on with other prep work, it will be ready to use in 5 minutes.

Serves 4 Ingredients 1 Can of Light Coconut Milk 750ml Chicken Stock, made with one cube 1 Chicken Breast, Diced 1 Large Sweet Potato, Peeled and cut into small cubes 2 Tbsp of Red Thai Curry Paste 2 Garlic Cloves, Peeled and sliced 2cm Piece of Root Ginger, Peeled and chopped Half a Red Chilli, Chopped (optional, this makes it VERY spicy) 1 Tsp Olive Oil 1 Fistful of Coriander, chopped 1 Piece of Freeze Dried Lemon Grass, bashed a little 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves Freeze dried Juice of one Lime Start off with the teaspoon of olive oil heated in a medium to low pan. Add the garlic, coriander, ginger, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and chilli (if using), and cook for a couple of minutes until the aromas are released. Don’t fry them on high, we want them to soften, not char. Add the paste and a splash of water and cook for a few minutes until the aromas are released again. Then add the stock, coconut milk and sweet potato and cook until the sweet potato is tender. Once the potato is done, take out the lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves and discard. Whizz up using a stick blender. Now add the chopped chicken and cook on medium until the chicken is done. If it’s a little too thick adjust the consistency to your liking by just adding water, it won’t dilute the taste in this soup. Squeeze in the juice of one lime Garnish with a little piece of coriander and serve with prawn crackers.

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KEVIN BENNETT

We here at the Sublime love reaching out and searching for artist you may not have had the pleasure of seeing yet, its our job and duty to introduce these talented artists to you and (forcefully) let you become a fan ;). Our next artist has grabbed our attention and we are dying to let you meet them.

Hi! I'm Kevin Ray Bennett. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am a self-taught artist and I am also colorblind. It's ironic because I love color, but I am not always entirely sure what color I am using...

Its a first for the sublime to have a colour blind artist. How has this affected your journey as an artist? Have you found it to be a struggle or have you used it to your advantage.

Really? Well I'm honored to be the first! Being colour deficient has definitely affected my work and my creative process. It can be a struggle and it has been in the past.

Skin tones and earthy tones are very difficult for me to distinguish. I've only been able to get them right with someone looking over my shoulder telling me what paint to mix. It can be frustrating but ultimately I have used it to my advantage. I've always loathed reality. More specifically the realistic things I'd see in my waking life. In my mind, I love to see things that you wouldn't always see. I'd love to see Purple or pink skin tones, or random coloured hair. And looking at it from that perspective, being colourblind can actually be to my advantage. I don't always want to paint something as you'd see it in a photograph. The photograph already exists. So why not paint something in a way that it doesn't already exist? I feel if this is a disadvantage, I don't mind. It fits my style.

I love your vision for the world. I always teach people that painting became important when the camera was invented. We didn’t need to paint a picture because we could snap one and painting became a way of taking a picture of our imaginations.

Your style is totally refined, its unique. What journey did you take to find your style.

I started painting randomly one day in late 2011. My original paintings were pretty much abstract shapes, ideas and animals. I started portraits soon after. I was very minimalistic in the beginning probably because of my inexperience. But I did catch on fast. I would paint people 70 The Sublime

or characters I could relate to for good or for bad. I lost my father when I was four and because of that I had to face the idea of death at a very young age. From there I had a lot of problems with my family for the majority of my life. I was bullied at both school and jobs. I never really had a sanctuary as a child into my young adulthood..

Someone that I cared for very much and that I was in a relationship with committed suicide. At 19 my uncle that I was living with passed away far too young and that was an extremely difficult situation for me. Watching that was the beginning of a lot of self-destruction. I began painting tragic figures and people who's lives were cut far too short, because that's all I knew. All I knew was loss, struggle and pain. In 2013 a series of very unfortunate events happened in my life, followed by the worst thing I could think to ever happen to me... and then I lost it for awhile. One night I came home, grabbed a knife and destroyed all of my original paintings of all of those tragic figures.

I took refuge within myself and found sanctuary in my imagination. I grabbed my favorite colour, Purple, and started painting my inner escape. One painting became 25 paintings. I called them my Ultraviolet Collection. That was the beginning of my current style.

4.

We often find that creativity comes from a deeper event in some ones life. I certainly paint to forget reality and be in my sanctuary. Through tragedy you have created something beautiful for

us all to see and I have so much respect for you.

Apart from the people you have mentioned and painted, what artists have inspired you? How has their work affected you?

I would have to say, first and foremost Frida Kahlo. There is something about her struggles and heartbreak in life that I can relate to deeply. She depicted her pain in her self portraits and it is truly moving and inspiring to see. It helps me to not feel so alone. Her story leads me to believe that there can be triumph in all of our sufferings. Her honesty is admirable, and gives me the hope that I can be honest in the same way too. I would say JeanMichel Basquiat is a great inspiration to me as well.

Similar to Frida, I can relate to a lot of his struggles through his life. His confidence in his work, despite what anyone else thought, inspires me to just be myself with courage.

5.

Two very strong figures in the art world. It's refreshing to see some one inspired by their lives as well as their art. What message would you like people to perceive when they view your art?

A message that I would like people to take from my art- No matter what ugly and tragic things that you face in life, you can create something far more powerful and beautiful from it. In any medium.

There is still hope, joy & light to be found in even the worst moments in your life. I've had moments in my life that I considered giving up and ending it

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though I still have many dreams and goals for my life to realize, in this moment I feel successful.

It's a positive way to tackle life itself.

You seem to be proactive with your creativity at the moment. What can we expect to see from you for the rest of 2015? Any shows or big ideas?

I usually just go with the flow creatively.

The pieces I have planned this year will be connected in one way or another. I like to tell stories with my work, and I see each painting as a small scene in a bigger story.

I'm interested to see where that takes me.

I actually haven't had an opportunity to showcase my artwork yet. That is one of my goals & dreams is to be able to have a showing of my work. I'm open to anything that comes my way or crosses my path. I have a lot of hope for the future and personally I believe in divinity. So whatever should happen, will happen at just the right time.

Based on your creative journey, what advice to you have for our readers about following their artistic dreams?

Stay true to yourself. In being fully honest I believe you can be express yourself to the fullest. Look inward at your personal life and personal journey for originality.

Follow your heart, keep trying and never give up. Many great things have come my way, and I believe it's because I've never all. If I would've at that time, these paintings wouldn't exist and given up. If I keep working on my craft and the paintings to come would never have been. Never give up on expressing myself through my paintings your dreams, no matter how much of a struggle it can be to get I believe even greater things lie ahead.

Anything is possible. It doesn't matter where there. I hope my paintings can be a beacon of hope and light you come from or what cards you've been to someone someday. You can take your tragedies and create dealt in your life. My life is an example something magical out or them. of having the odds stacked against you in almost every way possible, but I have and

That is simply beautiful and inspirering. What does the will continue to overcome them and you can too. Believe in yourself. Even when no one quote "successful artist" mean to you? believes in you, NEVER lose your faith!

I consider myself successful when I put my ideas or my visions on canvas. Every time I finish a painting I feel successful.

Anytime someone enjoys or is inspired by my work, I consider THAT success. Material things in life are fleeting. I am going for something longer lasting and far more fulfilling. Actually even 72 The Sublime

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SKIDDAW AND THE HALLUXIAN NIGHTMARE

By Mr Wild

“TOE NAILS ARE AMAZING�? Is a statement you will almost certainly never ever hear in the entire course of your life. Why? Cos toe nails are shit...

Finger nails? Now there's an evolutionary boon...pick your nose, paint them, find the end on Sellotape. These keratin claws on the ends of our hands offer a fortune in favours for us modern Mammalians.

But do we really need them on our feet? How many times have you used your toe nails for something useful?!?

Think hard....Harder...Have you ever?

Once?!

Never!! They just grow and use up resources better directed elsewhere. Pointless oddities that get out of hand and tatter your socks. Hidden away down there it's all too easy to forget to trim them too, an amnesic error you'd be glad to avoid if you were ever say...going hiking up a mountain.

And that's precisely where I was heading, with a full set of toe nails, ferried in the toughest little Rover ever made to the great fells around the town of Keswick.

Would the car's brakes catch fire again?!?!!? Who knew...but even if we didn't nearly die this time it would no doubt be an interesting trip, heading up to the summit of Skiddaw, the fourth highest summit in England should at least be a pleasure if nothing else.

Along for the ride on this occasion were The King, SBF, SBF's friend and brother-in-law Mr B and myself (obviously).

Pre-hike banter was fuelled by the fresh country air, sucking it into our lungs and pushing it back out in a most agreeable way, making sounds we each understood...the sheep looked on, baffled by our advanced exhalations, waves of linguistic prowess, a million years in the making...and we spoke about...the weather, and y'know...stuff...how long it might take... four hours maybe? It always takes four hours...

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Best get cracking then! First things first, a big fat inclined road, a warm up, though I was warming too much already, and certainly not to the prospect of what lay ahead. The road was already providing a stark reminder of why my sloth-like lifestyle is NOT GOOD! This was only the beginning, in fact not even that, the base of the trail was still up ahead. By this stage already then...the fucking start, I was shy on breath and struggling to keep pace hoping the others didn't notice that I was a slobbery waste on the brink of heart failure.

Thankfully the first part of the trek was gentle on us, a fairly shallow incline no worse than you find on a city street or something, but it soon became far less gentle, like something you might find on say...a mountain hike...a steep rocky ridge of loose craggy shit lay before us, like what you would imagine the moon to be like and I was seriously breaking a sweat.

It was raining at least and slightly windy, not the warmest day of the year, but my body still felt like a furnace and the flames of fatigue were burning my muscles and calories by the trough full.

Did someone say Truffle?!?! No....'trough full', completely different, though I could sure go for some chocolate truffles right now...AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I'M IN THIS STATE!!! So we continued. SBF and his friend Mr B climbed the hill with almost no obvious sense of difficulty, my good friend, the King, was falling back with me, though I got the sense it was not from being tired. He did his best to trundle along at my pace and keep up the pretence that he was also not as fit as he thought he was, but he is nonetheless a great deal fitter than I am, and his pace matching mine could only be from sympathy and a desire to help me bear the load of being a drag so that I might not have to bear it alone.

ALL HAIL THE KING! Anyway we stopped about half way up this first incline, I had to, I was really short on breath already and a sense of despair was pulling on my limbs like lumps of lead. We took fluids...far in the distance up

ahead the other two stopped and looked back, no doubt pondering the prospect of having me airlifted off the summit, catastrophic cardiac failure cutting my climb (and life) short. As I took my breath back from the thieves of fatigue we got ourselves together and began the climb again, we soon caught up with the two advanced cragmen and on we went.

It was a comfort to know in hindsight that this was the worst part, whether through some similar sense of sympathy, or perhaps their own encroaching weariness, from this point on I remained with the group and kept pace with them for the most part. At the time of course I didn't know this, hindsight only becomes relevant after the fact, it's a bit shit like that.

Despair sucker punched me again.

Thankfully it struck a silent blow, although it were a weight on my mind I trudged on as though nothing more were weighing me down than my massive ball bag.

Speaking of ball bags, there were lots of them coming back down the mountain, young kids, old people, fat people, a precession of sobering reminders of my bungling efforts to keep in shape.

One man didn't even stop as he took the opportunity to tell us that the top was not only snowy, not only windy, but both, in fucking spades...He actually used the word 'Blizzard'.

A blizzard! Ha! We laughed it off...those old mountain goats, teasing folk on the way up about the treacherous weathers that lay ahead...he was just teasing?! Right? Or was he warning us?!?!

Couldn't be a blizzard though that's just silly... onward we cried! The feeling of despair and lethargy was dissipating in me now, as though the mountain was sucking it from my feet with each step, purging my body of fear and doubt and reminding me why I do these things in the first place. Everyone's mood was an uplifting comfort and as our place in the space of the world became ever higher so too did our spirits.

About half way up the mountain the whole place fell into a serene quiet, it seemed as though all other life on the slopes of it's gradient wonder had faded away, pale dots hundreds of feet down could still be seen, but no-one else was around. That sense of vastness, overlooking the hustle and bustle of tiny towns in the distance, detachment from the problems of

the everyday, and a welcoming peace from mother nature were what awaited us there. As all the world was turning and all it's problems churning, right now we were but four men, and the only four...

The first flakes of snow began to dance past us and lay in the grass. That giddy excitement people feel in the snowy days of winter crept upon us, the urge to stop and play for a minute was not one to be ignored.

The King decided it was time to try his new camera, a portable Sony GoPro style thing that let him film in like 240fps or something. Mr B and his luscious locks volunteered himself for the first test of this equipment. Performing a Baywatch style run through some snow, swishing his hair from side to side, he paraded himself towards the lens as Kingo failed to find the correct setting on his camera. He opted instead for the far less impressive 60fps. Playback at this stage was not possible though and so...SNOW BALLS...

A short pelting occurred as the wind picked up and a fog crept in all around us. There were no boobs anywhere.

Plenty of cairns though, which is good, because we couldn't see shit otherwise and they helped no end in finding the path. They soon led us to what appeared to be a summit, but in no way was it large enough or impressive enough for us to be satisfied that we'd reached the top of Skiddaw. In fact this was the first of three summits we accidentally passed over on the way through the trail. This one was known as 'Skiddaw Little Man'. Far from little this particular summit stood at Eight-hundred and Sixty-five Metres...This also meant that we couldn't be that far from the true summit either. Skiddaw being only slightly higher at Nine-hundred and Thirty-one.

Was the end in sight? No...not even my own hand in front of my face was and the wind was becoming a deafening gale...it would seem that the old mountain goat from earlier was not fibbing at all and we weren't even at the top yet.

Or were we?!?! We didn't really know...and then suddenly, we did! We just kind of came across it, a large flat area, even in the fog it couldn't be clearer and the wind ROARED us a welcome. I lived in Blackpool for a good part of my life, spending some of that at the top of Blackpool Tower measuring the wind speeds that came in off the sea....they were The Sublime 75

ridiculous...but this? This was something else. It was intolerable, if you faced it there was a moment of panic as it whipped the breath from your mouth, a suffocating force, a tsunami of atmosphere, crashing up the side of the mountain and flowing over the summit in a flood of snow and air.

We saw a large cairn ahead with a crescent shape offering some refuge with outstretched arms. We went straight for it, throwing ourselves down in it's sheltered cradle as though soldiers diving for cover.

The difference was immediate, behind the cairn it was real chilly, but the wind dropped to a whistling breeze compared to the tempest all around it. I even had to fasten my jacket at this point, something I've never done because I got too fat before I ever needed 76 The Sublime

it. But I needed it now, I sucked in and got the thing closed, I tell you what, getting that zip up was a task bordering on the impossible, far more difficult than the entire climb had been already.

The King and SBF, for some reason neglecting the need to bring gloves were lamenting their error...the wind threatened to freeze their digits like thin bony sausages. The best I could do for them was offer up a clean pair of socks. They each took one and gave their hands alternating respite.

A quick refuel with half a sani as another group blundered out of the fog and threw themselves next to us. A young group who had come up behind us, no doubt the last of the day. We exchanged our feelings of disbelief before concluding it was time to

move out again, a decision most welcome...

And then the descent...It was a worrying thing that we knew we had to pass along the top of the plateau a little before getting to the trail leading down the other side, but we braved it and once more hurried across the summit at a kind of side-way slant. We soon reached the path, another steep slope of loose rocky moon shit, eager to get out of the wind we swiftly began our descent. Something those damn toe nails would have something to say about.

You see the problem with toe nails (besides being useless) is that when you forget to cut them before a climb and then put on really tight walking boots, the descent, with each foot fall, causes your foot to push up against the front of your boot with some proper guff. If you have long toe nails, well, toe nails might not be too happy about this.

They hurt and bend in horrid ways and knife the toe next to them, and they do this with every step, literally every step, they hurt a little more. Each time you worry that this'll be the foot-fall that either snaps the whole thing backwards or pushes it somehow back up your toe.

IT'S SHIT!!!!

Not a good feeling, I grieved over my lazy negligence every second of that long descent. Because it was just that....loooooooooooooong. Every foot of mountain we had gone up had to be trod back down, and for the most part the descent was much steeper than the ascent had been. So it became a relentless knackering effort.

We did take time about two-thirds down to stop in a little nest of rocks that looked like that bit in Lord of The Rings where the crows pass over the fellowship on their way to Caradhras. Another welcome break, and we passed the third summit of the day 'Carl side' at Seven-Hundred and Forty-Six metres.

first trying to walk backwards, which worked surprisingly well, and then just bum sliding down. I say 'we', but I mean The King and I...SBF and Mr B had gotten down the standard way ages before us.

Finally meeting them at the bottom was a relief and we stepped onto the road to begin the last leg of the journey back to the car...a good time to take it a little easier and talk about things like....EmDrives....

Yeah man, SBF dropped this bombshell on us about a possible 'warp' drive being developed by NASA...I'd love to go into it here, but I have NO IDEA WHAT THE INFORMATION ON THE SITE MEANS! That's something to keep an eye on though if you're into that kind of thing.

Anyway we got back to the car, it was just over four hours, so close to Kingo's estimate, we laughed, we changed, we made our way to a great little cafe for a post-hike coffee.

The Filling Station cafe just outside of Keswick provided us exactly what we were looking for. Hot drinks, fair prices, a warm welcome and heavy metal. We got coffee, excellent coffee, contemplated food, but decided not to, and perused some of the video's the King had taken on his camera...minus the Baywatch clip that we couldn't find. It was a job well done, the four of us had relished the challenge, in-spite my early despair, and the benefits of such a thing made themselves apparent in the clear headed spirits of our post-hike banter.

We were worn but invigorated, tired and uplifted and although my toe nails were sore, I walked on air back to the car to begin the long journey home.

As we ambled on the younger group that had come up behind us passed us by. Not a bad thing really as the girl with them looked pretty fit and had great legs, we watched with hushed wonder as we considered how good her thigh-gap would be.

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LUCY GORDON

Drawing animals is a skill, Drawing animals full of individual character and personality is a super human power. I have seen many animals posed in baskets or drawn like water-ship down but until now I have never seen an artist capture Animals in such a way that they contend with most of our contemporary portrait artists.

You are in for a treat with our next artist, an illustrator who's magic has captured my aesthetic eye and heart with her beautifully yet uncanny interpretations of the furry kingdom. Who is this artist I hear your reading voice say?

Lets draw the curtains back and let her introduce you to her world.

I am a painter and illustrator living and working in Glasgow. Originally from Lancashire I moved to Scotland many moons ago to study at the Glasgow School of Art. Since then I have been quietly working away in my wee attic, painting and drawing. My current body of work shows whimsical representations of animals but with an added anthropomorphic flair of familiarity. Using literary references, childhood memories and everyday banality, my aim is to create fun and often surreal images for your viewing pleasure.

Using those images as my inspiration I started putting paint to canvas and I just haven't stopped.

I enjoy making work that puts a smile on folk's faces and have always had a love for the surreal.

By adding something as simple as a shirt and tie, I was intrigued by the impact it had on the

I see the strong reffeence to surrealism in your creature's perceived personality. I began to portraits, making the uncanny familiar. The animals look look differently at people around me; trying like snap shots our of ordinary lives with humour laced to attribute animal characteristics to family, over them. I hear them talking to one another voiced friends, acquaintances, strangers and using

by Noel Fielding. How did you refine this concept in them as inspiration for my next creations. It can work, what journey of discovery did you embark on to work the other way too. If I spot a particularly eventually start these hairy masterpieces. cheeky looking squirrel, gormless dog or wicked looking seagull, their personalities are creatively Ha ha, I love the idea of them being voiced by Noel predetermined in my mind and it is just a matter Fielding. I'm a big fan! of trying to communicate that onto canvas or This work all came about quite by accident. After leaving paper.

Art School I did a variety of different jobs, one of which was teaching at an Arts Centre in Glasgow. All the tutors It is refreshing to see an artist not just were invited to submit some work for a joint exhibition paint what they see in front of them but to paint and I had nothing! Zip. I hadn't picked up a paint brush in what they perceive in front of them. What would a good few years. I was also heavily pregnant at the time your grand self portrait be like? The kind of with my second child, so the week I went on maternity self portrait that once you are over the rainbow leave I started to paint. Initially I had no clue what to do; bridge, all of the art students go mad about and it was a real struggle but I had recently been for a jaunt to the dealers want. Your own version of the Green London and visited the Natural History Museum. I had Van Gogh maybe. Talk us through all the little taken a selection of photos of some dismembered heads details, the animal you see, the situation, the that were on display in the Ornothology Department. clothes you would be dressed in.

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It would be a farcical-looking giraffe wearing an Elizabethan ruff and balancing a tea cup on my head while teetering on a tightrope! It needs no explanation really.

I absolutely love the vision you have posted in my mind. We would love to see this one day, maybe reading an issue of the Sublime.

Your work shows great dedication, have you been able to form a career out of your work or are you living the usual split life like myself.

My bread is bought by having a day job in education and my head is saved by filling all of the school holidays, weekends and evenings with art. For me to have painting as a career and the way I feed myself will take out the

passion and turn it into ‘the thing I do’.

I also lead a double life. During the day I work as a Youth Counsellor with the NHS. After Art School I trained as an Art Therapist, so I use a lot of those skills when I'm working with young people. When I'm not working or keeping my own kids out of mischief, I am up in my secret attic space painting away. I find the creative process very meditative...I love it!

Its always good to balance life and art, keeps us sane. So apart from painting your self portrait reading an issue of the zine what creative plans/events are in your calendar for the rest of 2015?

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I completely agree although I would like to be able to spend a wee bit more time painting, if I had the choice! Plans for the rest of 2015...well, I would love to start doing illustrations for books so I'm working on building up my portfolio! I feel very excited at the moment about the future and I'm just really enjoying making and creating.

Sounds exciting, make sure you keep us updated with your progress. One last question, if youcould go back in time, what advice would you give yourself about art?

I certainly will. If I were to give myself advice...mmmmm! When I was at Art School, I totally took for granted having the time and the space to make work. I have thought about that a lot over the years! I had an absolutely fantastic time at Art School but I would love to go back and make the most of an amazing opportunity, rather than monkeying about (which I did an abundance of!) I would also advise my younger, naive self to keep up my practise and not let it slide. It made it so much more difficult to return to drawing and painting for me but it was worth persevering!

You can see more of Lucy’s work at the following: Email - info@lucygordonart.co.uk Website - www.lucygordonart.co.uk FB - www.facebook.com/LucyGordonArtWorks Twitter - @LucyGordon4

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FIELDS

By Mr Wild

Fields come in all sorts of varieties; Higgs, Rice, study…Constructs of maths, Earth and understanding.

To have a field is to have a place to cultivate, to grow, to allow the fruits of some labour to spring forth in great crops of knowledge, drugs or baryonic mass.

emotional baggage. I can only hope she died and all memory of the shambles is forgotten.

For most people determining their field would be simple, whatever they studied, that’s their field, that’s where they toiled, spending nights digging around in it, uncovering truths, learning its scale, its proportion, its fertile spots and pot holes.

Anyway sometime before this, apparently some movie, or song, or some kind of giant lie insisted that college girls are easy. Perhaps in rich wanker land they are, but here in the wild college girls are hard… way harder than Street Fighter 2 Turbo Black Belt Edition, way harder than that jigsaw with no picture, shit man, I find Wally faster than I find college girls that are easy.

Unfortunately though I didn’t study, not properly anyway. The problem I found with studying at college was that it vied with my attention for other more important things…like nice boobies.

When I was in college the only thing that came close to being ‘easy’ was not going in again, but even that got hard when my mother started challenging me on it.

So my academic prospects wilted at the masturbatory spiral I was jizzing my life down. If anything you could argue that I studied College girls as passionately as required for that to be my field…but all I ever got to do was the theory…

“You need to get out there…” she’d say “Learn and meet some girls…” she’d say “Play the field…” She’d say…

Someone say ‘Awwww’…

“Awwww…”

Thank you…

So when I was asked to do an article that had some relevance to the ‘field’ in which I worked I had two choices: I could either write about college girls, or write about nothing.

Nothing is a surprisingly baffling issue though, if we’re gonna floss our thighs over that we’d need a whole other article, and on the other hand, I gave up on college girls years ago...

What shall we talk about then? Erm...I don’t know...so yeah...this is a bit awkward...BAD DATE FLASHBACK. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad because of the girl, she was lovely...I on the other hand...WELL CRINGE! You know that kind of cringe that even makes you turn red when you think about it ten years later, that makes your guts squirm with shame? That kind of cringe, plus some shame and some other horrid

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Play what field?!?! Another field I was missing out on, a field to play in...

For me then my little wild things, such things, such things...

There’ll be no frolicking in a breeze of heathery concepts, no rolling in the grasses of understanding, no flirting with the summer nymphs.

No field means no yield, no years of study to honorific ends, I never got to ‘play’ with the nymphs, save this bit here and that bit there, always over underwear...I mentioned that bad one right...OF COURSE I DID...I remember it like it was only Two-hundred and Ninetyone words ago!!

So where did it leave me, all these years later, seemingly devoid of any chance at redemption for my past apathy? It left me where such apathetic endeavours should leave anyone, laying in a ditch with a bottle of cheap vodka, smelling like a gypsies tampon. It’s true baby, it did right when it left me like that...

A lot of stories are like this one, perhaps even YOURS! A tale from the wayside of life...laying by a road well trodden by the feet of progress...ours is to be the

observer, to merely bear witness, BUT I’M FUCKING SICK OF IT! It’s in interaction that we define ourselves, we discover who we are when measured against the merits and minuses of the multitude.

Are we to be restricted from this field or that just because we never studied it closely, probably, but even so we can always peer over the fence and jump the gate.

We have the chance to walk into a field unknowing of its fundamental prejudices, the established paths, we look upon it with the eyes of a child, questioning the topography laid before us. With immense strides we can straddle the borders, as though a giant awakened, and view the speciality of human endeavours with objective eyes.

This chance to meander through the vast countryside of knowledge gives us time...time to think...and not about tits or college girls, well not entirely, but about where we’re going, what we’re doing and what we want.

Sooner or later you may indeed find a field that you can set up in, and believe me it’s never too late folks, the chance to study and to learn is a venture one should only cease when the gloomy veil of death cuts us off from every peachy bottom that ever was.

And so now to a new field I wander...ever on the search for a place to stay...and a lay...perhaps today my friends...perhaps today...

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