Monsters Gallery
So I've been invited to exhibit at the Brick Lane Gallery. Should be exciting. I've been giving some thought to the theme of my show, and started thinking about the gist of where my work seems to go. And we have it: Hairiness. Both in terms of the follicular nature of things, but also in terms of hairy moments. It seems that I spend a lot of time drawing strange monsters of one sort or another, so the idea of a Monsters Gallery started to coalesce. They themselves are usually rather hairy, and they also insill fear into their observers (if the aforementioned monster is work his salt, that is. The idea of light and dark, fear, monstrous creatures and the absurdly hairy. I've begun work on my collection, and I'm beginning to make real progress with my aim to incorporate simple electronics into some of the pieces to add charm and a certain amount of interactivity. My exhibition is not really intended to tackle serious issues, or delve under the skin of the human condition – more that I'd like to create work that amuses, but is made with care and craft – with an eye on the treats that technology can deliver. A noodlers dream!
Screenprint Delights
My first screen prints arrived today. Very pleased with them I am too. Especially the glow in the dark one. Thanks Tuckshop, it's quite literally – outstanding!
Lightboxes
As a development of the previous experiments, and with time on my hands – I tried something else that I'd been thinking of doing. Turning the brush and ink illustrations into a more rewarding experience. By using some mirror board, and a few strips of LEDs, how could you build a simple, illuminated picture frame? Pretty easily it seems. Prototyping a strip of illustrations that I had to hand first. On seeing the results, I was asked if I could create an Owl version for young Matilda. So I began.
Paperlite
Another little noodle underway in the lab. I'd been thinking about how to create naturally lit effects in paper (as any good noodle would). The thought occurred to me that my masking out an image using a darker substrate – you could create, in effect, a natural lightbox. Combine that with some charming wordplay and you have a rather interesting object.
NeoPixel Noodling Part 2
So I've finally had some time to put the NeoPixel together. It required some fiddly soldering to attach the 4 pieces together, and then some more fiddling to get the code right – but pretty straightforward really. It's a very cool piece of kit. The LED's themselves are super bright, and as they are 'smart', they can be addressed individually which means you can make each one do separate things in any order. I've had a go with some simple routines, and I've also put together a RTC breakout component which means I can use it as a clock!
V&A Soft Circuits
Illustration Set 1
Here's my first collection of illustrations available for purchase. Original artworks inked onto 425gsm Bockingford watercolour paper – 240x180mm.
Available with matt black aluminium frames for £45,
and unframed £35 + P&P. To find out more, email: rich.hood@icloud.com
RH40
Turning 40 is a significant event in anyones life, and deserves to be celebrated in some degree of style. I'm lucky to have a bunch of chums who agree with this principle and arranged an expedition from Turin to Genoa – on Vespas. Travelling from London, Paris and Amsterdam, the six of us arrived in Turin and began an amazing 480km trip, through the rolling hills of Barolo (wine country) and Casina Rocca, all the way down to the beautiful coastal town of Portofino, and along the coast to Genoa. An amazing experience for the noodler, and one for us all to remember. To mark this grand event, and as we usually do, a special book was created to capture the experience – and provide us with a useful tool to demonstrate to others our organisational skill, ability to ride at relatively low speed for long distances, and a well developed facility for drinking along the way. I'd recommend it to anyone.
NeoPixel Noodling
I got a new toy in the post today. An Adafruit Neopixel ring. Sounds kinky right? It's set of super bright, smart LED's that you can program to light up in loads of different ways. I'm still looking at it, wondering how to make it work – but I will.
https://youtu.be/4ZatJAPwI_4
