The Slovenian Road Trip of Dreamzzzz!!!

Helloooo from Slovenia (Eurovision Style!)
So the past few days have been awesome...and some of the favourite days OF MY LIFE wahhhh!!!! I had the chance to be kindly taken on a magical, whirlwind road trip around beautiful Slovenia....I had the best time EVER!!!!

First up was an adventure to AMAZINGGG Lake Bled where we checked out the castle and sampled the gourmet local vanilla slice!!!! One of the prettiest places I have ever been...I'd be more than happy to have a fairytale view like this everyday!!!

Next on the cards was something I have wanted to do FOREVER!! We headed to the town of Radovljica to attend a workshop at the Lectar Museum- which is basically a chance to watch the masters at work as they craft the famous gingerbread hearts- and then get in there and make your own! This was sooo much fun...one of the best places in the World for sure!!! The best part of our workshop was when a tour group of about 30 business men rocked in and we ended up with a this outrageous audience- The real pinnacle was when I was
mistaken for a member of staff in the bakers paradise- obviously I look like a professional gingerbread maker.... we also had the most incredible lunch with a beautiful view over the mountains at the Lectar House and a spider dropped on me from a tree....
After the glorious session at the gingerbread palace we headed to the capital, Ljubliana and it's also one of my new favourite places!!! Plenty of curly buildings and an abundance of deluxe cakes!!!

Also in the mix this weekend was a wonderful trip to the countryside where I was kindly invited to the 'house of dreams' by two lovely girls, Katra and Iris! AMAZINGGG house full of trinkets and treasures complete with orchards, an old brewery and magical views!!!!  We were staying in Zalec  and also popped to Celje to check out the castle!!!
Ok, so words are not enough...so I'll round this off with some pictures...obviously I've been selective as I was so excited that I was in total tourist mode and snapped about 600 photos!!!!
Love and Sparkles,
Emma
xxxx

Radio Station Fun Times and Other Joys....

Oohhh Hiya!!!!
Well, to be honest the past few days have mainly involved being hidden away in the studio, covered head to toe in glitter, sewing frantically ready for a photoshoot that I was working on today.... it also involved a lot of fake, sugar free Red Bull, ghost dodging, marathon watching and of course the occassional slice of freshly baked strudel!!!

A few days ago we did an interview with the guys at Radio MARŠ here in Maribor which was so much fun....it was also followed by the most gourmet Tiramisu ice cream! A little dog also came along for the ride and radio action!!!!
The other night I went to my first ever Harp recital ....which I really enjoyed and was hosted at a lovely event at Skrinja Galerija with a dance performance and a viola!!!!
This week I've been working on a weaving project that uses the physical space of the

gallery where I am based, alongside creating
the new pieces that I will be exhibiting here in Maribor as part of my series titled 'The Hives of Lepi Spomini'. More on that some other time!!!
So, today was one of my favourite days since I arrived here in beautiful Slovenia.... a big part of my project here involves collaborating with local creatives and the art scene here in the city... today I was working with an AWESOME team on creating some photography that will be

showcased as part of our 'Call me Human Torch' exhibition that opens next week. I was so excited to work with a bunch of people here in the city and I'm looking forward to unleashing the images that we created!!!
In other exciting news...the posters and flyers arrived hot off the press this morning and they look all shiny and glorioussss!!!!
Ok so I shall leave you with a couple of pictures...
Love and Sparkles,
Emma xxxxx

 

'Call Me Human Torch'- New Exhibition!!!!!

Ooohhhh Hiya!!!!

Weeee super excited that now we can unleash the info on our upcoming exhibition here in Maribor, Sloveniaaaaaa!!!...I'm the cat puppet with the pink hair and green eye make-up of course!!!!

On May 28th 2012 myself and fellow artist in residence, Jérôme Souillot, will be opening 'Call Me Human Torch' at the gallery KOROŠKA 18... the exhibition will showcase our projects created in partnership with Guestroom Maribor, Pekarna Magdalenske Mreže and MARIBOR 2012:European Capital of Culture. Yayyyyyy can't wait....and as the poster says, 'secrets, cakes and gossips welcome' so we won't complain if you turn up with treats or some juicy scandal!!!.... If you happen to be in town then pop in and check it out!!!!

Finally, I shall leave you with the GLORIOUSSSS view that I had the delight of clocking as I walked home over the Drava River this evening, with my bag full of buns and wool.....

Love and Sparkles,

Emma xxx

Textile Factories, Rhinestones and the Dalai Lama...

Good Evening from Mariborrrr!!!!!
So it's been quite an action packed week.... although mainly this involves parking up in the studio surrounded by sequins, jewels and glitter which is always great!!! I've also been trying to master how to say 'kvačkanje' which is the Slovene word for crochet which, I have been doing a lot of this week.... queue the magical shades of orange and blue wool that I've been working with....


Alongside the sewing I've also been starting the preparations for a couple of collaborations that I have coming up here which I'm soooo looking forward to!!! I'm soon to be shooting with a Maribor based photographer- and yessss, she rocks up to meetings in AMAZING ball gowns so this is set to be a super exciting project!!! 
Today has been especially awesome..... it began this morning after I ate some lovely strawberries...next thing, the Dalai Lama is driving down the street past the gallery, police escort and all....so I do hope that he LOVED our magical bunting that is festooning the building?!?!!?! Random start to the day!!!! 
This afternoon I made an encore back at the textile factory to pick up some delights in their  fabric store....I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! They're one of the few factories in the industrial area of Maribor that are still producing and everything they sell is manufactured here in the city so I'm really excited to be using materials that I've sourced locally....picked up some real gems today....AMAZING colours and awesome prints!!! 
Next up we were on a mannequin hunt and went to visit a jewellery designer who makes wonderful, magical creations and who had whipped up a lovely chocolate and banana cake! With colourful sprinkles and allsorts!!!!
The rainy day was rounded off with a quick visit to an illustration exhibition that was opening down the road..... and finally I can watch some Jersey Shore and finish off a bit of bejewelling before bedtime!!!!!!
In other news we had an incident involving a fire alarm courtesy of some burnt toast and I successfully managed to navigate the complicated foreign washing machine.... 

Love and Sparkles,
Emma
xxxxxxx

Yessss, of course I'm loving the Slovene TV when it involves outfits like this!

Presentations, Theatre Trips and BIG CAKE!!!!

Hello from Maribor!!!!
So, it's been a busy past few days....Earlier in the week we hosted an artist presentation in the gallery which was a great chance to share our 

work with the local community and fellow creatives in the city. I showed some slides and film from previous projects and discussed my upcoming work here in Maribor....there was also a chance to go to the opening of French culture week here in the city which was mucho fun!!!!
On Wednesday night I went to the see the world premiere of Jan Fabre's performance with Antony Rizzi called 'Drugs Kept me Alive', at the theatre which was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G ....Loved it!!!! It's a really beautiful theatre so was great to get the chance to go...lots of sparkles and awesome chandeliers!!!! 
Also in the mix have been too many trips to the second hand store....simply because they have wayyyy too much good stuff!!! I expect I will have a major problemo with excess baggage when I leave here!!!
I've mainly been locked up in the studio working on my new pieces so, now there is a nice carpet of glitter beneath my desk!!!!

 Last night I ended up going on an impromptu road trip to the nearby town of Celije to check out a new photography exhibition at Galerija Plevnik Kronkowska which was fun....and in other news I ate the best ice cream of my life....DELUXXXE cherry and chocolate flavour!!!!
The cake situation is getting out of hand.... there are just too many swirly creations to sample!!!I'm going with the excuse that it's for 'research'!!!! Other goings on include punnets of mutant strawberries, suspected ghosts, homemade cake deliveries, obsessions with the vegan fast food kiosk, climbing church towers and a vending machine that specialises in only milk!!!!
So yeah, it's been pretty action packed.... It's a really awesome city and I LOVE IT so, I'm hoping for plenty more gossip and extravangazas...but for now it's bedtime!!!!
Love and Curly Cakessss,
Emma
xxxx

Studio in the Gallery of Dreamzzzz!!!!

Hellloooo!!!
Just a quick one with some updates!!!It's been a busy few days....flea markets...almost getting killed by an umbrella....getting lost in the hills....So now we have moved into our new workspace in the gallery in the city!! It's amazingg!!Big old 16th century building with spooky underground cellars!!!!Such a nice space!!!LOVE IT!!! Today we started decorating the exterior of the gallery ready for an event we are doing tomorrow evening- an artist presentation which we will be kicking off at 7pm at the K18 gallery (KOROŠKI 18)...so if you happen to be local then pop on down!!!! 

I've started cracking on with my projects now, so there's been research akimbo going on and I have a nice 'Bumblebee' chair and a Barbie table for my sewing antics!! Glorious!!!!! Been checking out all of the great fabric shops and continuing with my cake eating mission!!!
Ok...so I'm going to leave you with some pictures of the gallery alongside some random snaps I've been taking.....
Love and Sparkles....
Emma xxxxxx

The wonders of Slovenian TV.....AMAZINGGG!!!

Hello From Maribor!!!!!

Helllloooo from Slovenia!!!!!
I finally arrived!!!! After 3 frantic flights, 4 countries and an Olympic style airport sprint, I eventually arrived in the magicalllll city of Maribor where I will be based throughout the upcoming weeks working as artist in residence with the Guestroom Maribor programme at Pekarna Magdalenske Mreže...  I'm soooo excited to be here and it's been great to finally meet the lovely team who are running the project as well as my fellow artist in residence, Jérôme Souillot from France!!!

Since arriving I've mainly been checking out the city ready for the hardcore sewing to begin!!! I LOVE IT!!!It's super pretty with a glorioussss river and a cake shop about every 5 yards!!! We took a tour and got a chance to check out the gallery where we will be setting up studio and eventually exhibiting our work!!! So basically the past couple of days I have been getting to grips with the city, trying to read the complicated lingo and starting to prepare my projects....today we visited the old,  industrial area to check out an awesome textile factory which of course was followed with the best ever cake filled with rum punch!!! AMAZING!!! I've settled into a lovely apartment, the colour of a juicy tangerine, just a stones throw away from the town centre and I can't wait to see more of the city and get the chance to work with local creatives!

As I mentioned, Maribor is currently celebrating it's place as European Capital of Culture 2012, which means there are events, activities, exhibitions and allsorts going on constantly, so it's a perfect time to be here and see what's going on! Tonight we rounded off the day at the opening of the Jan Fabre exhibition at Umetnostna Galerija Maribor...

Right, with that I shall leave you with a few photos as bed is calling!!!

Love and Sparkles,

Emma

xxxxx

Slovenia Calling! New Artist Residency!!!

Zdravo!!!!!
Time to get the old backpack out!!! For some time I've been working in preparation for a new project I have coming up that I'm super duper excited about!!! Tomorrow I'm heading to Slovenia for the first time to get cracking on my new artist residency in the city of Maribor! I was recently awarded a residency and scholarship with the Guestroom Maribor programme at Pekarna Magdalenske Mreže Cultural Centre and as of tomorrow I will be beginning my projects in the city! My upcoming works propose to engage the fields of wearable arts meets fashion based around community interaction, cultural identity and craft heritage. Maribor is currently European Capital of Culture 2012 so I can't wait to get involved with all of the goings on and action....weeeeee too exciteddddd!
Looking forward to collaborating with creatives in the city (so if you are based in Maribor, drop me a line!!!) and also excited for gourmet swirly cakes and cheese dumplings!!!!!
So right now it's packing mayhem as I try to squeeze in all of my equipment and a stash of Earl Gray teabags whilst juggling dyeing my hair, polishing off a spot of work and fending off the wisdom tooth drama that has been plagueing the past few days!!! eeekkk!!!
Roll on tomorrow- labyrinthine journey from UK-via Germany-Via Austria and finally onto Slovenia to the wonders of Maribor!!!!! Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!
Love and Gibanica,
Emma xxxx