Claire has made her career as a visual artist, with exhibits across the UK as well as internationally. She developed an interest in the organic, in natural processes, and in the bodily connotations of natural materials.

It is this fascnination that makes the foundation for her sculptural taxidermy installations.

The following installation, fluid for Northumbria University in an exhibition called Building With Colour uses hundreds of strawberries and a taxidermied crow.

Morgan’s sculptural material is ordinary, familiar and everyday, but is transfigured through the rigor of formal composition into becoming resonant with a mysterious melancholic power that allows it to be unfamiliar to us again.”
(Darren Ambrose, Lecturer in Art Theory, Birmingham City University, 2007)

http://www.claire-morgan.co.uk/

“It is almost necessary to make sure you love your workspace: because it is at your desk where your best work and ideas are born and developed.”

Well, can’t argue with logic like that! Check out the post here!

It’s always an ardous task when you go to sit down at your desk. In fact, these days just sitting down is half the battle when it comes to completing assignments or doing some work. For this very reason, you might as well make your work space an attractive one. Over at La Couturier, this is exactly what her latest post suggests you should do.

Fashion blogger and writer for DuJour mag,  ’La Couturier’ knows her stuff. In this latest post, entitled My Space she gives you all the advice you need to revamp your work space and make it an inspiring and oh-so pretty one.

Images via weheartit.com

Photographer, Guy Sargent from West London gives us a taste of his amazing skill to capture the stillness of a landscape as well as the splendour and grandness of some of today’s architecture. ‘What lies beneath the surface’ displays, from across Europe, landscapes as their creator intended – natural, untamed and free from the impact of humankind. From the following interview you will begin to get a feel for Sargent’s passion for his profession, “There are elements of romanticism, the spiritual & political in this work. In a way I just want to say as much as I can using as little information as possible.”
Guy Sargent has an uncanny knack for capturing feeling in his work; whether it be the quiet calmness and serenity of an undisturbed,  rocky English shore – or the humbled, awe inspired feeling when one stands in the shadow of the Grande Arche…

Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from and where are you living now?

Born in 1965 I’m originally from Hertfordshire in the UK but now live in West London.

At what age did your interest in photography develop? (Pardon the pun)

At age 14 I was given a Kodak EK6 instant film camera for my birthday but I could rarely afford the film so it didn’t get much use. Later on I bought a Praktica SLR, quickly followed by black & white darkroom equipment…

What photographers/photographs have inspired you?

When it comes to inspiration I have to admit that painters play a much bigger role than photographers, Velasquez, Turner, de Hooch and others. Although I admire the work of hundreds of photographers the one that stays with me the most is Bill Brandt, his surrealist leanings and sense of detachment constantly inform me.

Did you go to a photography school or take a course in photography? Or are you self taught?

I’m completely self-taught, lots of experimentation, reading of books etc.

Once you have an understanding of the basic stuff like f-stops the camera becomes like any other tool, you just move on to the important stuff, composition, lighting, and philosophy…

Where are the majority of your photographs captured?

The photographs in my current portfolio are for the most part all taken in the UK. Others are from short trips to Paris, Venice and most recently Sicily.

What type of assignments do you prefer?

The ones that rarely, if ever happen like go and photograph anything you would like to!

I particularly liked your ‘what lies beneath the surface’ series, can you tell us the story behind this project?

In early 2006 my attitude to making photographs shifted from the mechanical/observational way of doing things and I began to introduce philosophy and a more rigorous discipline. It’s a tough one to answer fully as I am aware that my vision is changing as I seek to extend it constantly.

There are elements of romanticism, the spiritual & political in this work.

In a way I just want to say as much as I can using as little information as possible.

What is the worst thing about being a professional photographer?

I haven’t always been able to work full time as a photographer so I don’t see much bad in it.

And the best?

Being involved every day with something you love doing is priceless!

How would one go about becoming a professional photographer? Any advice for those would be photographers?

If I were young and felt strongly about it I would go to college, assist and learn all aspects of it from the commercial business side to the ever growing art side.

If I were middle aged like me I’d make sure I believed strongly in my own work and do just what the worlds greatest living artist told me to do… “Trust yourself”.

www.guysargent.com

A huge thanks to Guy from the Design Tavern – Your passion for photography is truly inspirational.

I was delighted to hear that one of my favourite architects and designers Sebastian Irarrazaval has been awarded for his ‘Pedro Lira House’ and will also feature in the just published Phaidon atlas of the 21st century World Architecture  -
Check it out!

The Architect : SEBASTIAN IRARRAZAVAL ARCHITECTS are based in Santiago de Chile. Their Projects range from single family housing to office buildings and hotels. Their approach to architectural design combines theory and practice. As a result, innovative and well crafted results are expected for every commission. As a commitment to this approach, every member of the team shares professional practice with university teaching.

From Irarrazaval blog: http://irarrazaval.blogspot.com/

The Project: The contemporary designed PEDRO LIRA HOUSE in Santiago, Chile.

The use of materials in this building is amazing it’s like the  architects have fused common building materials (concrete, timber and glass) in such a way that create a harmony in the building. The textured concrete walls and structural members together with the timber floorboards go well together –  The use of concrete suggests a feeling of mass and permanence whilst the floor boards give a sense of warmth and remind us that the building is still a home.

The house is also well lit – by light wells that remind of portholes protruding from the ceiling through to the roof, linking in and out. The warm lighting again reinforces this sense of harmony and homeliness.

You are lead from ground to floor to mezzanine to roof through the use of long ramps and staircases, the use of such long ramps highlights the elongated form of the house and other than the obvious use of access, provides its own visual input that a normal scaled ramp or staircase just could not provide.

I love the  courtyard – I think the off-centre single tree in a perfectly rectilinear patch of grass compliments the house well. Both minimalist, both modern and contemporary. There appears to be no difference in height between inside and out and the decking used outside mirrors the floorboard in. The mezzanine level is also continued from in to out. In this shot you can see the retaining wall runs through the glass into the house, and the 2nd patch of grass is also levelled with mezzanine.

The high triangular prisms jutting from the roof are also well placed, preventing the home from becoming a flat and rectangular shape. They obviously serve to let natural filter through and bounced off the interior walls, lighting the building well.

This is one of my favourite homes, i could really see myself living comfortably here. (I’m sure many could!)

Here’s hoping i can visit one day.

Check out the other amazing work of Sebastian Irarrazaval at

Blog: http://irarrazaval.blogspot.com/

URL: http://www.sebastianirarrazaval.com/

and make sure you check out ‘House in Las Palmas’ another great project by the talented team.