Exhibition alert: Su Blackwell

At Ellie Ellie, we pride ourselves on our sustainability. So we were utterly fascinated when we discovered paper artist and book sculptor Su Blackwell. Taking this idea to a whole new level, Sheffield-born Blackwell creates mesmerizing, intricately detailed, three-dimensional artwork from antique books and paper.

Her new exhibition, Dwelling, is currently at the Long and Ryle Gallery in London until 9th October. You you can expect to see three-dimensional sculptures of tree houses, cottages, and lighthouses hat tell their own story, all cut and glued from pre-loved novels and storybooks.

While some are made simply the black and white pages of text from fictional storybooks such as Blackwell's favourite Alice in Wonderland, others have a burst of colour, like this flower arrangement cut from A Field Guide to Wild Flowers in Britain.

Blackwell has also been involved with several commercial projects, using her steady hand to create exquisite work for set designs, book covers, editorials and turning to art-direction for advertisements.

Head over to her website for her full portfolio, and we'd really recommend going to see her work in person to be fully transported into a fantastical paper world!

www.ellieellie.co.uk

Crossing the teas project - Volunteer and visit!

It’s no secret that the British love a good cup of tea, but who ever though it was a fact worth exploring to the extent of an art project? From this month until June, ART;sync; a network of creative professionals, are building a collection of memories based purely on the concept of drinking tea.

Funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund, ART;sync have partnered up with several Brighton-based associations to bring us a fascinating study of the tradition that so many of us simply see as an every day part of life! From a cuppa and cake on an afternoon with friends to the celebrations during Iranian New Year, the project involves nine groups of people with varied cultures and backgrounds hosting their very own tea party. The stories captured will then be on display in Jubilee Library from 22nd June until 16th July 2015.  It's also a chance to see some beautiful and historical crockery from around the world, as well as the stories behind them!

Sound interesting? Good news! The organisation, whose vision is to "mainstream cultural diversity in the arts", is accepting volunteers to get involved right now!. They are on the lookout for Memory Collectors, Community Heritage Facilitators, and Photographic Assistants. So if you're handy with a camera, fancy gathering stories or just looking to find out more about the whole idea, head over to ART:sync to find out more!