01 Mar 2009 2 Comments
in Design Indaba, Opinions & reviews
Steven Burks spoke during the graveyard shift – that time after lunch when I struggle to keep my eyes open. His presentation was also rather unstructured, and he insisted on having some free from jazz playing as he spoke.
As a result, I struggled to figure out what exactly his talk was about. More
01 Mar 2009 Leave a comment
in Design Indaba, Inspiration, Opinions & reviews Tags: Design Indaba, incredible india, india, royal enfield, wieden and kennedy delhi
Some of the presentations were a real treat of sumptious images, rocking music and moving content: such were Mohit Jayal and V Sunil from Wieden and Kennedy Delhi. Here was another team of presenters who really connected with the audience.
They are probably best known for their “Incredible !ndia” campaign, which they took from the sublime: More
01 Mar 2009 Leave a comment
in Design Indaba, Opinions & reviews
OK so its really rather ridiculous to devote an entire blog post to the lunch break at the Design Indaba. But I had to make space for my photos, and my drawings of Dave Ferguson, who performed during the lunch break.
Dave is a sort of one man band with a harmonica, octave and loop pedals and he got our post lunch digesting energy up again, ready to pay attention to the next speaker. More
01 Mar 2009 Leave a comment
in Design Indaba, Inspiration, Opinions & reviews Tags: architecture, Design Indaba, green, housing, Luyanda Mpalwha, South Africa
What I enjoy above all at the Design Indaba is its buzz, all that positive energy. This is created simply by people speaking on subjects they are passionate about. And sometimes you hear about projects which really make a positive difference in the world. Architect Luyanda Mpahlwa spoke to us about his participation in the Design Indaba 10 x 10 low cost housing project. This is a attempt to alleviate our housing crisis by encouraging innovation in constructing low cost housing.
In 2008, Design Indaba invited architects to design ten low cost houses on ten sites in partnership with ten international architects, for ten families. More
28 Feb 2009 Leave a comment
in Design Indaba, Inspiration, Opinions & reviews Tags: Design Indaba, electric car, Joule, Keith Helfet
I must admit that, although I am ordinarily not very interested in cars, I cannot continue a conversation when a Jaguar drives by. Another speaker on day one of the Design Indaba was Keith Helfet who has worked for most of his life as an automotive designer for Jaguar. One would expect him to come across as the ultimate arrogant designer, but no:
His presentation was thoughtful, wry and sincere. He was just as happy to share his designs of MRI scanners, as of the F-type Jaguar. More
28 Feb 2009 Leave a comment
in Design Indaba, Inspiration, Opinions & reviews Tags: Anthony Dunne, design, Design Indaba, Fiona Raby, Royal College of Art
Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby from the Royal College of Art in London were two of my favourite speakers at the Indaba. Partly, I must admit, because I enjoyed drawing Fiona. She is so deliciously caricaturable:
Before her talk, she came tripping past the P Q at the women’s loos, chirping – “I’m on next – I’m a presenter – sorry!” and vanished into a cubicle. I could not wait to draw her. More
28 Feb 2009 Leave a comment
in Design Indaba, Opinions & reviews Tags: design, Design Indaba, Rick Valicenti
The second speaker on the first day of the Design Indaba was Rick Valicenti.
Here he is on stage, taking a picture of the technician who was trying to help him get his presentation started. Actually – it might have been better if that technician had failed. Valicenti without the presentation was much more compelling than his performance with all the technology working. Which was ironic as his main theme was that of “real human presence”.
28 Feb 2009 Leave a comment
in Design Indaba, Inspiration, Opinions & reviews Tags: adamsmorioka, Cape Town, design, Design Indaba, Noreen Morioka, Sean Adams
I was lucky enough to be allowed to attend the 2009 Design Indaba – and here is the first in series of posts to share what I heard and saw.
Before I get to the Indaba itself – I must revel in the goodies that came with the conference bag:
I spent the rest of the conference filling that blank book with notes and drawings. More
26 Jan 2009 Leave a comment
in Art, Opinions & reviews Tags: southern ink, tattoo
So I spent some time at the Southern Ink Xposure Tattoo convention.
I will remember – the sound of a perfect swarm of tattoo needles buzzing all around me. Strolling in and out of clouds of disinfectant. The intense discomfort on the face of a man having a Koi tattooed on his leg. A little girl under a table – drawing.
22 Dec 2008 2 Comments
in books, Myself, Opinions & reviews Tags: cornelia funke, diana wynne jones, escapism, fantasy, is fantasy escapist, morals and fantasy, tolkien, x men
One of my students interviewed me as part of a research project on readers of fantasy books. It was an unsatisfactory experience as she had already made up her mind on the fundamental issue. Question: “What attracts readers to fantasy and science fiction? “ Answer: “A need to escape”.
20 Dec 2008 Leave a comment
in Myself, Opinions & reviews Tags: South Africa
I’m not comfortable with patriotism. When I was growing up, that meant standing to attention in the school hall while the school and county’s flag were paraded down to the front of the stage. It meant us against them. It meant “Die Stem” and commemorating The Day of the Vow – or Blood River Day – in all its grim detail. Being told, as a small girl, that my thumb represented God, my index finger the President of our country ( P. W. Botha at that time) the middle and ring fingers were parents and headmaster and the smallest finger was myself.
I have not heard “Die Stem” for years. Blood River Day has become Reconciliation day. The flag is much improved, and I only ever see it in connection with sports teams.
Other things have changed. In the city center of Cape Town, foreign faces and voices. Nigerians, Kenyans and Congolese guarding cars and selling food, shoes and hair extensions. British, Dutch and American hippies fill the backpackers in Long Street. And there are so few other white South Africans in the city centre that I’m constantly being mistaken for a tourist. Why is it so infuriating to be asked “Where you from?”
I’m a stranger in my own country.
27 Jul 2008 2 Comments
in Animation, Art, books, Colour, Illustration, Myself Tags: children's books, Illustration
Some books touch your heart. ” An Ocean World” by Peter Sis is one of these. It tells a simple and powerful story about a whale’s search for friendship and love. Apart from the writing on the postcard on the first page, the entire story is told through the images- the evocative watercolour marks and the muted colours. We meet the whale for the first time in baby picture that has been turned into a postcard:
On the back of this card we can read a message from Peter Sis to his children: More
01 Jul 2008 4 Comments
in books, Illustration Tags: creative process, hobbit covers, JRR Tolkien, story telling, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, writing
Where do stories come from? The process of story creation is fascinating. I’ve been reading a lot about JRR Tolkien, and how he came to write The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Most of the following information was found in Humphrey Carpenter’s biography or Tolkien. You can also read about them here at Tolkien online.com and here at warofthering.net
Tolkien was someone who immersed himself in stories. He had been creating the language and history of Middle Earth for many years, and his stories seem to emerge out of this preoccupation. Tolkien, as quoted in Carpenter’s book: More
30 Jun 2008 3 Comments
in books, Colour, Illustration, Inspiration Tags: children's books, gennady spirin, Illustration
What makes a good subject for a children’s picture book? I see so many similar books on the bookshop shelves. Clear happy pictures, short happy stories. “Once There Was a Tree”, written by Natalia Romanova and illustrated by Gennady Spirin, could not be more different. As a foretaste, here is a page number:
You can read more about Spirin at this page. He is described as being “like a magician, using his paint brush as a wand.” I hope these scans of the books do justice to his work. I was once lucky enough to see an exhibition of his original paintings. They are breathtaking. More
19 Jun 2008 9 Comments
in books Tags: books, children's books, reading
Don’t you find some books are just MADE to be read out loud? Phrases stick in your head, and you can recite bits of them at will. How about “The Thirteen Clocks” by James Thurber:
This is how it starts: More
Masha du Toit 
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