10,000 Songs

The big day is finally here.

The day we've reached the magic number of 10,000 songs on our itunes list. It's taken many, many years to do it and quite wonderfully, it's one of my favourite artists that supplies song no. 10,000 itself, the rt hon. Divine Comedy, from their 2010 output Bang Goes The Knighthood and the song itself is a little peach At The Indie Disco if you wanted to check it out.

There's plenty of hubbub going on in preparation for the next set of Sound Track shows in the new year.
Keep your eyes on the blog in 2011 for Nursey Bang Bang and O&C collaborations alongside oodles more gaming reviews, previews and and specially commissioned articles.

Woop Woop
t&i

Good day from Bloggington

Welcome to December 18th,

It's the final day of the Bridport Arts Centre Snap It Up art market, curated by the good folks at Dorset Visual Arts, which we've been a part of. To give someone an O&C limited edition handmade book, is to bring joy into their lives.

We'll be dishing out our own personal joy to some friends and family over the coming days, say no more, say no more.

There's going to be some very special radio shows on Forest FM that I'm presenting for the next 3 Sundays;
19th December = Disney
26th December = Boxing Day Bond
2nd Jan = MGM Musicals
Tune in from 9am till 10am every Sunday for these magical pieces of ear entertainment and we'll be back to the regular shows from 9th Jan.

The good ship Tracey has been doing great things in the Video Gaming world, more reviews at both GGUK and Sci-Fi-London (check out our Gaming Gift Guide) as well as special industry preview parties and events chock full with freebies (big fat zombo staring at me from the top of the monitor anyone?)

Best festives from Bob Carolgees, Spit and O&C

ABC

We are thrilled to be a part of the ABC (Artists Books & Chairs) exhibition, organised in collaboration between Dorset Visual Arts, Bridport Literary Festival and Bridport Arts Centre. This exhibition marks a new stage in the development of Dorset Visual Arts and artists were invited to explore the notion of Territories through concertina book form.



We had a great time there during the coffee morning yesterday, meeting and chatting to other exhibitors as well as hearing all the exciting news about future opportunities for artists across Dorset from DVA director Jem Main.

We were joined by our good friend Nursey Bang Bang who sent through these lovely photos of us having a 'Jem Sandwich'

We are currently developing a series of crafty workshops and pop-up events with Nursey that will be launched over the next couple of months! That should keep us busy bees for a while.

See, Read, Hear

Things are going well in the Orange and Cyan house, the fruits of many labours can be audienced over the coming days and weeks.

We're part of a new exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre entitled 'Artists' Books and Chairs' curated by Dorset Visual Arts and runs until 17th November showcasing our joint works on the series Plastic Words and some of Ian's writing in volumes 1-6.

The radio show Sound Tracks on Forest FM is going well, this Sunday is week 5 and Ian has been sharing some barnstormers and treating the ears of the South and the wider internetical world via forestfm.co.uk at 9am every Sunday.

We've posted our latest insights for sci-fi-london after our recent trip to the biggest video game expo in Europe which was at Earls Court earlier in the month and played some games which aren't coming out for months, including the new Zelda Skyward Sword title.

O & C
Purveyors of fine words since 1980

All We Hear Is...

Goodly greetings, today I can reveal with much joy in my heart, that I'm heading back on the radio.

I have previously presented on a couple of radio stations, oop north, and passed on my deep passion for music from film soundtracks and scores to the good people of Southport and Merseyside. The show originally grew from a 2hr Tuesday nighter on Southport Community Radio to a 4hr behemoth called Saturday Night at The Movies with guests, interviews and live music.

I've been on the hunt for a station down here where I can fit in and I've found it with Forest FM. It covers Verwood and Bournemouth on 92.3FM but is also available on line at forestfm.co.uk and is the second most listened to station in the area after Radio 2.

I've already got my first show "in the can" and will be doing another one soon. It'll be going out weekly on a Sunday morning 9am till 10am GMT starting Sunday October 3rd.
It's a new software system, so it's fun to learn, mix and normalize myself in post production.

Keep an eye out for gems from the films of Almodovar, Sturges and big Spielberg himself.

Until the next time film fans...Mr Abbott

Long Time No Sea

After a month of enjoying the beach, soaking in the sea and devouring ice cream, we thought we'd get back to work and get creative!

Tracey is working with her friend and artist Nursey Bang Bang on a new performance installation inspired by many things including a shared love of cardboard, walking the prom,'The Owl and the Pussy Cat' and of course boats.
Check out the work in progress:


we've used about 5 boxes so far and are now working out how to make a beautiful cabin. Lots of biscuits and cups of tea were also consumed in the process and we can't wait until the big launch! Creating waves in Bournemouth!

Giveaway!

As we approach the final hurdle of Dorset Art Weeks, we have been looking back on how it's gone, reading all the lovely comments left in the guest book, gulping down the leftover nibbles, preparing to fill the cupboard once more with shoes, coats and umbrellas and of course are now planning our next creations - the newest idea we love the most is a giant TV guide featuring Tom Selleck.....!

To celebrate the final weekend of the Orange and Cyan Arts exhibition, we are having a very special giveaway! If I can get over 50 people following me on Twitter, I will create a one-off-uber-exclusive-unique-limited-edition artwork for one of my followers!

To be in with a chance of winning, make sure you follow @tamcgarrigan on Twitter!

Good luck and thanks to everyone for supporting our work :-)

Preview Party

Last night we had 18 friends, artists and co-workers through the Orange and Cyan DAW doors and all had come to see our little exhibition. Guests were invited to a drink of Orange or Cyan and there were Complimentary Consumption Cartons full of tasty treats for guests to nibble as they viewed the work or munch on their way home.

We were delighted to welcome so many talented, friendly and jolly people to our home and would like to thank them all for their positive comments and support. We had great fun and were pleased that everyone enjoyed the work and the experience!

So much so, we're doing it all again tonight! Can't wait to hear and see how our guests react!

Also, for all you media munchers out there, we were featured in the Bournemouth Echo Newspaper today so all in all, a good days work and a great evening!

DAW Week 2

Well, the early birds are out today! Visitors aplenty and it's not even 11am. People are actively seeking us out as they're intrigued by our "difference" and are looking for something which isn't sea landscapes and pet portraits.

Here are some of the comments we've had so far:
"Really creative and unusual", "Loved it", "Great typography and photography", "Some people to watch!"

Here's a peak inside The Writings of Ian Abbott Volume 4 entitled 'You Cannot Throw A Myth From A Grotto' and if that's not enough there's a brand new photograph from Tracey in the gallery today in a very limited edition."

Jesse Playbill Image

Here's a super sneak peek of what has proved to be very popular amongst the visitors of DAW, it's a playbill based on the mighty Jesse James. Running along this there's a Yuri Gagarin and Sir Galahad as well to complete the trio.

We're planning a series of intimate private views next week for some of the good artistic folk of Bournemouth and there will also be some brand new artwork on display in the next few days, keeping the content fresh throughout the exhibition.

Bye bye
Ian

DAW Day Four

Despite some horrible weather, we've had some lovely visitors to our first DAW exhibition and happily, we've sold some pieces! All our visitors are loving Ian's new playbill posters and we've had some great feedback.

We hope to get to see some of the other DAW artists work in the area later this week and can't wait to meet more people to chat about our work as DAW progresses.

Will be putting some exhibition photos on the blog sometime next week so keep checking back here for updates!

Happy days
t & i

The Beginning of DAW...

The exhibition has officially begun.

The door is open, new work has been made, the space has been prepared, nibbles have been purchased - all we need now is an audience for what might be the smallest exhibition space in Dorset Art Weeks (more will be revealed over the next 2 weeks).

Here's a sneaky perusal of one of the new images which Tracey has made for Plastic Words Cubed, it was made in response to my piece of writing 'the man who eats the weather' and it's only available in an edition of three.

Be back soon
Ian

Preparation!

It's been a while sine our last post as we're frantically putting the finishing touches to our new exhibition! As part of Dorset Art Weeks (29th May - 13th June), our tiny hallway will be transformed into a haven of all things orange and cyan. Ian is working on a new series of playbills and has been doing lots more writing whilst I'm busy shooting the next in the 'Plastic Words' series (which really means playing with Playmobil and occasionally taking some photos).

This exhibition will be a collection of old and new works so now's the best time to buy some O&C pieces before they all go! We're looking forward to inviting people from around the UK through our art deco door and can't wait to see what other artists in the area are creating too.

To get in the mood, I've been swap-botting again and this time I've made some ATC's inspired by Resident Evil 4! I've always wanted to draw Leon as he's my favourite character and am working on a cross stitch of him but thought I'd try and translate key moments from the game onto a 2x3 inches ATC - what a task! I've played the game again and again (research purposes, honest) and I've created two cards so that when they sit together they form one big picutre or when apart, become an evil vs good set. Hope you like!

Tracey

Sci-Fi London

We had a fabulous time at Sci-Fi London. Got oodles of freebies and there was lots to see. The best thing we saw was "ONE" - a film based on the essay, One Human Minute by Stanislaw Lem. It takes his fictional review of a book, which purports to be a collection of statistics of what happens on Earth in the space of 60 seconds, and turns it into a mystery story. When the entire content of a world-renown rare books store disappears and is replaced by hundreds of copies of a single book called 1, those present in the shop are investigated by the Bureau of Paranormal Activity (RDI Reality Defence Institute)..... It was beautiful and had some fab archive footage thrown in!

I also got to meet Marcus Gilbert - my mum used to fancy him rotten after he starred in Jilly Cooper's 'Riders'. He was very charming and looked very tanned.

We also learn about how if you destroyed 50 of the most important satellites in space, the world would come to a complete and devestating stand still within 11 and a half hours. On a brighter note, we got to spend time with our dear friends Adele and Tom, eat lots of yummy sushi and feel ready to create some fab work for our upcoming exhibition for Dorset Art Weeks!

All in all, a lovely bank holiday jaunt!
t

Here's an absolute peach of a XStitch creation by our Tracey.

It was a gift to our friend Al for her 26th birthday - she seemed to like it very much and I'm sure she'll proudly display it in a prominent area.

Just a shorty, but I'm back on the old postcrossing and receiving some gems from around the world, latest one from New Zealand. We also had a smashing trip to Swanage at 'tweekend and snapped up some glorious retro postcards from the shop on the pier. Did you know it won 3rd place for pier of the year in 2004? It was robbed.

Ian

Animal Cross Stitching

Ooh, have just signed up for a great new swap on the ole Swap-Bot. This time it's a computer game ATC. Have already decided that I'm going to do Resident Evil 4 - so excited! In the meantime, whilst the brain is ticking, here's a couple I did earlier in the month for another swap - Animal Crossing was the theme so thought I'd get out my box of threads and get stitching. Each figure is 10 stitches x 20 stitches and took a total of 8 hours to complete both - great to do whilst Columbo is on! Watch this space for more computer cross stitched creations - I've got the stitching bug.

PS talking of Columbo, Dirk Benedict (Face from The A-Team) is playing the great lieutenant on stage in July at the Lighthouse, Poole. It's like all my birthdays come at once - 80s kicks for t!!!

Games Reviews Agogo

We're heading into our original love - the world of video game reviewing, courtesy of sci-fi-london.com. Of course there's a little twist, you'll get a male and female review, one from both of us in our own inimitable style.

Here's a snippet of our first:
The XY Review by Ian Abbott
A flimsy interpretation of a classic literary masterpiece? Check.
Mr Dante has a slight disagreement with Death and decides to steal his almighty scythe. Now Mr Dante (let’s call him Big D from now on) has a good-looking lady, Beatrice, back at home and lo and behold - she gets caught up in a Lucifer love triangle who steals her away into the nine circles of hell and guess where Big D has to go to get her back? Big D has a lot of choices to make on his quest to save his lady. Should he a) punish the damned souls who get in his way and pump up his unholy-ometer? Or b) absolve the poor wretches of their sins and get on the good side of the man upstairs? I’m not one for historical accuracy, but you’d fail your GCSE History of Literature if EA were providing the revision guides.

The XX Review by Tracey McGarrigan
Pay attention at the back. Now as I’m sure you all know, Dante’s Divine Comedy (written between 1308 and 1321) is an epic poem split into 3 parts; Inferno (hell), Purgatorio (purgatory) and Paradiso (paradise) and it’s the best bit - hell - which EA have concentrated their efforts...The hellish minions and beasts are varied and tough little blighters, there are some inventive and impressive moves, dozens of different button combinations for fighting and the game play is fast paced yet balanced (there are puzzles and climbing obstacles to give your thumbs a rest whilst the animated cut scenes are short enough to reveal the story and provide some context without being dull or breaking the momentum).

Head to the website to find out what we really think of Dante's Inferno.
Until the next time...
Ian

PS Due to recent adverse weather conditions our international guests were not able to follow in the great footsteps of our current champ Mr Tyler Myers. All footraces will be put on hold till further notice.

Foot Race 1 - Winner!

Tracey and I were proud to host the Inaugural Bournemouth Foot Race which took place between groynes 20 and 21 on Bournemouth beach on Wednesday 3rd March 2010.

The first competitors were Tyler Myers and Stephen Fiehn (Chicago performance duo Cupola Bobber who've just finished a short English tour of their 4th work Way Out West The Sea Whispered Me in cities ending in -er).
It was a tight and physically punishing race and Stephen lost by about 2 lengths at the end. From his beaming smile, I think we can all tell that Tyler was very happy to receive his plaque from Tracey.

We're hosting a few other international competitors over the next few weeks from Germany, Lancashire and Wales so I hope to post further updates on here soon.

Enduringly yours

Ian

Zombie Dancer

This one is for Ian - never mind Tracy Turnblad, this is Tracey Turnbad!

Zombie Dinner

After months of working for other people, I finally got around to a bit of my own work this week and realised how much I have missed sitting with my battered old lap table (made by my Grandad, complete with wonky legs) and my giant orange fluffy pencil case of delights! I've recently signed up to Swap-Bot (see link on the bottom right) to find inspiration and focus. It's a great idea; you sign up to a swap - no pressure, you only commit if you want to - make a little art work, pop it in the post and wait to receive one back.

Much of our work has been made via art mail projects - they have formed a large part of how we work and create, how we respond to and discuss other people's work and I love seeing how an idea can grow in ways we'd never have thought of if we didn't share or collaborate.


The freedom of Swap-Bot is perfect for me as I can fit it in around other commitments and there's a good enough range of swaps that I was bound to find one I like. I think it totally appropriate that my first swap was to draw a Zombie! Exactly how I've felt over the dark, winter months (although the eating people bit goes against my veggie diet).

Turned out how I planned too - I love it when a plan comes together!
Only bad thing is, makes me feel hungry...
Tracey

Now it's my turn...

The gauntlet has been set by Tracey. There are some interesting titles on her lists, but I'm going to keep mine to a top ten. No sub lists, no black and white - just my top ten films of all time.

And the list goes a little something like this:

10) Chopper
9) Stop Making Sense
8) Dancer in the Dark
7) Tears of a Black Tiger
6) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
5) Tokyo Story
4) Blue Velvet
3) Hausu
2) Last Year in Marienbad
1) West Side Story

I can confirm no Kevin Costner is present. He will not be making any appearance in anything I do, watch, smell or ingest.

Two of my selections are brand new as I've seen them this year, Hausu and Tokyo Story, during my recent jaunt to the BFI in London.

That's it from me, be back soon.
Ian

Hi All!

So here they are. It's taken me a long time just to get to this stage... and the lists will probably change again.
Had so many that nearly made it but I've gone for ones that I could watch again and again without getting fed up or beginning to dislike them.

Here are my top ten colour films
1) Terminator 2
2) Cool Hand Luke
3) Reservoir Dogs
4) The Sound of Music
5) The Untouchables
6) West Side Story
7) Amelie
8) Spirited Away
9) No Way Out
10) The Breakfast Club

#have only just realised that two of these have Kevin Costner in - Oh my GOD! I think maybe number 9 might become The Blue Max (not really as thrilling but a young George Peppard is way better than Kevin Costner any day of the week). This realisation might have just ruined the whole list. In fact it definately has. And I was so close..
Ones that oh so nearly made it - Rear Window (1954 version), Singin' in the Rain, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ghostbusters, Battle Royale, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Delicatessan, 3:10 to Yuma (1957 version), A Matter of Life and Death, Nightmare Before Christmas, Breakfast at Tiffanys, the Life of Brian, Speed, Vertigo, the Neverending Story, The Paleface, Muriels Wedding, Black Narcissus, The Burbs, The Little Shop of Horrors (1986 version), Weird Science!.......... and that's just the tip of the iceberg! The list goes on and on - it's no use, I'm going to have to redo the colour films list. How can I get it to just ten? Maybe I need a top ten musicals list which would free up a couple of spaces.

However, I am sure my black and white film list is absolutely correct!
Here are my top ten b&w films
1) Bringing Up Baby
2) Mr Smith Goes to Washington
3) Went the Day Well
4) Last Year in Marienbad
5) Spirit of Saint Louis
6) Wuthering Heights (1939 version)
7) Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 version)
8) To Kill A Mockingbird
9) The Music Box
10) The Wicked Lady (1945 version)

Would be great to hear what your top tens are! (and no mum, you can't just have ten films with Keanu Reeves in). This always seems to come up in conversation and films are an important part of our work so I thought I'd finally try and come up with an answer. Don't even get me started on what my top ten books might be......

Back to the DVD shelf for me!
Tracey