The Chantilly Belles

Back in the late 2000's burlesque was THE buzz word that was taking over the world. It was a time when every bar, pub and community hall was hosting its own burlesque night and you couldn't move for new acts called, 'Von' this, or 'Kitty' that. Even Ann Summers cashed in and nipple tassels suddenly became a top seller. It was amidst this chaos of glitter and false eyelashes that a little burlesque duo began to carve a niche for itself.

A pair of opposites, one short and blonde, one tall and dark, both with a drive to make their act something different and not take themselves too seriously, The Chantilly Belles comprised of two idiots with a creative flair for the absurd. Namely, myself and my friend Rene.

We were both artists and had become friends while at Uni doing an MA together some years before. I'd never imagined that down the line we would end up spanking each other on stage in front of 500 people.

It was out of the blue one evening when Rene rang me to ask if I fancied teaming up to do some sort of performance art. She'd just been to a private view and seen a woman singing as part of the exhibition. She thought 'I could do that', and then immediately wondered who would be daft enough to join her for moral support.

I'm no singer so that avenue was out of the equation, but I do love to dress up and prance about, so how about something like that? It just so happened Rene had attended a burlesque class for beginners and the idea of a burlesque duo was formed. Neither of us had an urge to take our clothes off in front of an audience so we knew our USP had to come from our physical differences and our artistic talents. We soon realised we had an uncanny skill for morphing into a cartoonish version of ourselves once we started trying ideas out, think Morcambe and Wise or Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.

Rene was always willing to try out ideas and amazing at coming up with details that made things gel perfectly. She was completely out of her comfort zone but determined to give it her all. We would take it in turns to perform our parts in front of the other to see how the act was coming along and give each other pointers and praise. Rene was more of a natural than she ever gave herself credit for.

The Chantilly Belles brand of comedy and dance told stories inspired by music, costumes and silly props, and in perfecting it, we'd spend hours rehearsing routines in Rene's living room. Every Saturday morning I would walk up to her house and for the next few hours I'd be gasping for air as we made each other laugh till we cried. I'd literally collapse on the floor convulsed while she sat chuckling with mascara running down her face.

 Our debut performance 2007

As the Chantilly Belles we performed across the UK at various events and burlesque nights. We debuted at Dukes 52 in Manchester as part of a variety fundraiser compared by the policeman with the funny accent from 'Allo Allo' and went on from there to take part in local nights with other newbies. In time we took part in talent shows, charity gigs, art events and headlined at the Oxford O2 Academy.

When you think of burlesque it conjures up images of sexy ladies with long gloves and high heels, suggestively removing satin robes and silk stockings so that soft gossamer feathers are the only things to stand between their naked forms and the eyes of the audience, it's effortless and tantalising and oh so glamorous. Well yes, it is all of these things, but it's also getting lost trying to find the venue, sharing a broom cupboard with six other girls all attempting to apply tit tape and not ladder their nylons, and the last minute calamity just before you're about to go on stage. As The Chantilly Belles, we had a lot of those!

I remember painting Rene's nails bright red while she bombed it one handed down the M40 because she hadn't had time to paint them before we left. I also remember stopping off at a service station in the middle of the night after one performance still dressed in our goat and goat herder costumes and the cashier not batting an eyelid.

Before one memorable performance (the big one in Oxford) we were getting ready for our Fox and Hunter routine when Rene's recurring Spondylitis flared up. Out of the blue her knee swelled to three times it's normal size and her riding boot wouldn't fit over her calf. As we got the 2 minute call to show time I was on the floor wrestling with the boot while Rene tussled with her leg. 'Push, Push!' I yelled as sweat dripped down both our foreheads and Rene grunted. It was like a scene from a delivery room. I felt my heart galloping and anxiety racing through every ounce of my being. Yet, somehow, finally, said boot moved into place and like the professionals we were we stumbled to the side of the stage before pulling off the act without a single hitch to the biggest audience we had ever had.

The Chantilly Belles achieved so much in the short time we were performing. We made the grade to take part in the Big Burlesque Bout which featured international contenders all battling to be crowned the number one burlesque act of 2008

We were filmed and interviewed as part of a massive summer exhibition 'Express Yourself' at The Lowry celebrating dance, which gave us a chance to show burlesque could be about story telling and fun for everyone.

 Rene's interview with BBC Radio Manchester for Express Yourself

We performed as part of Comedy 4 Christie's at The Lowry helping to raise thousands for a brilliant cause, were commissioned by The Whitworth Art Gallery to create an act to showcase their new wallpaper collection, and took part in countless Dr Sketchy's around the UK which blended our love of art and creativity with burlesque performance.

Over the years we met some fabulous people too, our good friends Scarlet Fever and her husband Tony who had their own burlesque story from appearing on Channel 4's Faking It, and many talented performers such as Immodesty Blaize, Beatrix Von Bourbon and Kitten on the Keys. I have fond memories of meeting and performing alongside some lovely people and I wonder where they are now (Anna Fur Laxis, you were a total doll, great to reconnect on instagram!)

We performed in venues where we had to get changed in the disabled toilets, the kitchen, the pub's upstairs room, the cupboard under the stairs, right through to a real dressing room with our name on the door!

Rene was such fun to work with and together we had a great chemistry that translated perfectly to the stage. Above all my memories of The Chantilly Belles, my outstanding one is my mate Reens who drove me mad at times (the woman had the craziest life) but gave me such joy and the chance to explore my creativity in a way I would never have done without her. It's led to new friends and ventures for me and even though I go to them alone her memory is always with me.

I'm so happy we had this chapter together Rene. Thank you girlfriend x

Rene Lumley 1972 - 2019

For more on The Chantilly Belles, type 'The Chantilly Belles' in the search box above

Everything I See I Swallow

I've just seen a woman tied up and suspended from the ceiling. Her pale naked body contrasted with the red ropes that criss-crossed her skin as her flesh swelled slightly around the cords. Her entire shape was transformed as the ropes cut off her ability to move and forced her into an unnatural position. As she swung round and round, she was no longer like you and I, she looked helpless and immobile, bound fast, but she was far from powerless, she was completely in control.

I've just left the theatre from a showing of Everything I See I Swallow, a commissioned production taking place at The Lowry as part of their Week 53 celebrations. My mind is humming with thoughts of the things I've seen and heard.

Using a mixture of aerial skills and Japanese rope bondage known as Shibari (or Kinbaku) Everything I See I Swallow explored the complex and difficult relationship between long standing feminist ideologies and modern feminist viewpoints as portrayed by the play's characters, a young woman called Olivia who has found empowerment through submission and her mother, a woman who has tried to bring her daughter up to own of her own body, and steer away from damaging female stereotypes.

When the mother finds out that that her treasured peach of a daughter is posting naked images of herself in rope bondage on Instagram she is horrified and dismayed. In an attempt to protect her precious offspring she hammers home the feminist theories she herself has been educated on and the words of feminists past tumble from her in desperation, words we know she has read and memorised from the piles of feminist literature heaped round the stage.

Is Olivia doing this just to get online followers? Does she realise how harmful these type of pictures are? Or what a bad message they send out to other young women? Has her mother taught her nothing?

For the daughter the experience of being tied up is anything but exploitative. The beginning of the play starts with her hanging chrysalis like bound in her ropes, and like a butterfly, she hatches from their bonds a new person. As she carefully removed each knot, untying them herself and stepping to the ground she explained her journey to freedom.

For Olivia it was the pressure of living up to an acceptable version of femininity placed on her by society that truly confined her. It was good to be pretty, but bad to be pleased about it. It was expected that she should be flattered that men found her attractive, but bad to act on her own sexual desires. In time she felt ashamed by her own sexuality, hiding her body away. Yet, having the realisation that what really turned her on was submission was a turning point for her. A chance to actively play out the role of passive female through choice.

Choice is the really important message Olivia is trying to convey. No-one is forcing her to submit, it's a completely free decision and one that she gets pleasure and her own agency from. For her mother its hard to accept that something so intrinsically derogatory can be positive. As Olivia tries to explain her reasons for bondage, the mother is conflicted by her need to protect and nurture her daughter and get on board with such an alien idea.

To some degree this is an argument I've heard many times before. Topics like burlesque, Grid Girls, even make up and high heels have been compared to constraints invented by men for the pleasure of the male gaze; for every woman who feels legitimised by these sensual and sexual tropes another feels belittled and stagnated by them. It's never a simple issue of who is right or wrong but a tangled web of time and place, personal experience and choice.

For me, the play spoke eloquently about these precarious arguments in a focused and engaging way. It was easy to like both characters and understand where their very opposing views came from. The daughter's inner monologue describing her daily struggle to find her place in a male dominated world where she felt both comfortable and respected touched on unspoken emotions I, and I suspect many women, have often felt. Modern living for the younger woman really can be an ongoing journey of awareness and analysis, measuring your worth against a man made scale of what is acceptable and realising you can go against the norm. However finding the strength and understanding to do this isn't always easy.

The daughter character found that being tied up through choice and enjoying it subverted the struggle. It turned the power play on its head. Essentially she found full ownership of her body both physically and mentally by fully living in a moment where she was 100% compliant and enjoying herself. This was beautifully illustrated by a segment of the play where sensual music thrummed, the lights glowed red and through a crimson haze we saw Olivia look directly at the audience with a suggestive grin. She moved with fluid motion across the stage wearing diamante and little else. Finding the coils of red rope she expertly began to tie specific knots winding them over and around her torso, between her breasts and down her back. Within no time she was transformed into the living work of erotic art swaying gently above the floor suspended by her bondage.

Then her mother entered. The music stopped abruptly, the lights turned white and her mum's disapproval stole the moment of all it's magic. Olivia was instantly unsure and awkward and clawed at the ropes to remove them. 

The mother character, like many feminists who grew up during the 60's 70's and 80's had first hand knowledge of what it was like to be sidelined and marginalised to a much greater degree than the young women of today. It is because of the older generations relentless fight for equality that young women like her daughter have been able to find their own voices and make such unlikely life choices while they are still young. The disconnect occurs when these choices seem to go against the older generation's moral compass. What this play reinforced for me was that the fight was for nothing if the old school don't support the freedom of choice even if it may seem to take on a patriarchal leaning. Choice is a huge step towards the ideal of equality. Understanding, conversation and support are key to moving forward.

Everything I See I Swallow was a beautiful and moving production that often left me in awe at the incredible aerial work which was used to describe memories and emotions. Both actresses, Maisy Taylor and Tamsin Shasha were fantastic at climbing high above the audience and creating elegant effortless shapes that defied gravity. The ropes they climbed could be both a device to bind them or give them opportunity to fly, depending on their state of mind. 

This was a thoroughly insightful look into the psychological, sexual and emotional journey of feminism within the modern world, an ongoing journey that is taking new and unexpected turns. It is up to us as a whole to make sure we don't get tangled in all the politics along the way.

Joan Collins Unscripted

  

I went to see the wonderful Dame Joan Collins in her one woman (and one man) show at The Lowry this week. I can happily say I have now seen two of my holy trinity of legendary female icons, that being, Dolly Parton, Joan Collins and Joanna Lumley (only Lumley to go).

Joan Collins has fascinated me for years; as a little girl I was caught off guard by her bitchy sexy character Alexis in Dynasty. If she came on TV I'd find myself drawn to the screen to just look at her. The combination of glossy lipstick, huge earrings and high hair mixed with that cut glass English accent certainly left an imprint in my mind. 

As I got older it was Joan's approach to life that next caught my attention. I admire the way she looks no matter what the occasion. Joan Collins is glamour! Not once do we ever see JC slumming it in joggers and a slouchy top, never without her hair done, and NEVER without her makeup. One interviewer once made the faux pas of asking if she ever forgoes the glamour at the weekend and Joan practically winced, 'NO. I wouldn't want that for myself or for anyone else'. Her standards are high just like her self esteem.

 

The live show began with Joan clad in a black lacy trouser suit sitting alongside her husband Percy in a simple set that put me in mind of Claridges. Percy MC'd while Joan answered the never halting flow of questions from the audience, 'What was Hollywood like in the 50's?' (Exciting, she went to lots of showbiz parties and her first film there was opposite the legendary Bette Davis), Did you ever meet Marilyn Monroe? (Yes, and it was while chatting that Marilyn gave her the advice to watch out for the Hollywood studio bosses who could drop her at the click of a finger if she didn't make them happy. Joan managed to dodge the casting couch), What was it like working on Dynasty? (Wonderful but hard work, she had to keep her weight below eight and a half stone to fit into the costumes as the camera adds ten pounds). 

By the second half Joan had changed into a champagne gold sequin gown and looked every inch the star she is. The evening was full of delicious tidbits about Joan's lifestyle, friends and packed career interspersed with wonderful film clips and photos. When an audience member asked if there was any rivalry between Joan and her late sister Jackie while growing up, it was asked with such reverence you could feel the theatre give a little collective nod of respect to the author. Joan answered that of course they were competitive but ultimately they were crazy about each other and she misses her sister everyday. 

 I loved hearing about my favourite period of Hollwood history from someone who had lived through it. Paul Newman, Gene Kelly, Joan Crawford... there were so many names dropped I couldn't keep up! Then of course when Joan chatted about her beauty regime, make up and style rules I was all ears. There was even a little window into Joan and Percy's wedding night that involved gaffer tape and a lot of yelling. I wont go into details in case you see the show yourself but it was highly entertaining. The whole evening was a relaxed and fun insight into the life of a much loved living legend and was a wonderful treat I'll never forget!

Busy busy busy...

A small section of Panoramia by Leo Fitzmaurice

It's been a while since I last posted as I've spent the last three weeks helping to install the new Leo Fitzmaurice show at The Lowry.

This show is part of the Transformations series based around artists responses to The Lowry's Promenade Gallery. It's a huge space and this show was pretty hardcore to produce. Imagine creating countless reproductions of film cartridge packaging on a giant scale (the walls are about 6 metres high, the gallery as long as a street!), complete with muli-coloured spectrum! The end result though is completely impressive, a show that lives up the the brief of transforming a space into a new landscape.

Leo Fitzmaurice artwork concentrates on advertising, signage, packaging and print reworking these themes to reveal other, often suprising, aspects from materials we often take for granted. The exhibition, Panoramia runs from now until the 5th September, with the private view taking place on the 13th May.

I will resume normal posts this week as I recover from muscle ache.

Other news:

The Chantilly Belles have recently been commissioned by The Whitworth Art Gallery to produce a new routine for the launch of the new adult learning programme!

Myself and Rene la Rouge are so excited to be involved in this event. We are creating a brand new routine as a response to the Whitworth collection, in this case a fab wallpaper featuring vintage style pin ups! The launch night will be on the 11th June and I will fill you in on things as we put the routine together and rear up for a very busy month!

What's on in Manchester right now!...

Uptown, Leonard Pytlak 1939

Now that I have just about finished rushing around like a maniac putting shows up and doing art fairs I have some time to reflect on the world around me... and what better way than to take in some culture! So here are some of the current local exhibitions I have seen or plan to see in the near future!

The American Scene, prints from Hopper to Pollock
The Whitworth Art Gallery Manchester
19th September - 13th December 09

This show focuses on American artists creating prints from the 1930's. Each image explores the American Scene, the urban environment and cityscapes. The big draw here for me is the evocative pull of the pre war era; being able to experience something of what America was like for the artists during what we now consider a vintage period. I also love the work of Edward Hopper, most famous for his paintings such as Night Hawks painted in 1942. I particularly like this image for its timeless feel, and the intense loneliness it exudes;

The Half, Photographs of actors by Simon Annand
The Lowry Salford Quays
19th September 09 - 3rd January 2010

I have a personal interest in this show as I helped to put it up! The work is a series of over 100 photos taken by the artist in the West End dressing rooms of some of the best known and well loved actors of the past 20 years. 'The Half' describes the 30 minutes before a stage show begins and Simon Annands pictures capture the actors as they transform from their everyday persona to the character they are about to portray. I really like the photos of Alex Kingston and Daniel Craig, and also the nation's favourite, Stephen Fry;

Image taken from www.simonannand.com

Angels of Anarchy, Women Artists and Surrealism
Manchester Art Gallery
26th September 09 - 10th January 2010

I'm not a big surrealist fan in truth; I like my art to invite the viewer in not confuse them, however, that isn't to say I don't appreciate surrealist art and understand it's massive importance in the scheme of things. This exhibition aims to 'explore the crucial role that women artists played in the surrealist art movement' and includes work by Freida Khalo amongst others. It is also divided down into different themes including landscapes, fantasy and self portaiture.

Claude Cahun, Self Portrait 1927

Other shows worth noting include:

Fantasies, Follies and Disasters: the Prints of Francisco de Goya
Manchester Art Gallery
Until 31 Jan 2010

All at Sea by Gemma Parker
Taurus Canal Street Manchester
Until 31st Oct (Catch it while you can!)
See my last post for details.

Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2009
Cornerhouse
Until 25th Oct
I'm hoping to see this one next week...

The Electric Michelangelo

Last week I picked up a fantastic book by chance from my local library. It was the cover that pulled me to it, so I guess that old saying 'never judge a book by it's cover' was wrong in this case.

The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall is a story about tattooing. But focuses on the turn of the 1900's making it's way through the 20's 30's and 40's all to finish in the 1970's. Just think how much tattooing has changed over all that time.

The story focuses on Cyril Parks, an unassuming lad who grows up in Morecambe amongst the seaside atmosphere of music halls fish and chips and the Northern working class taking their treasured holidays on the coast. He lives in a sea front guest house run by his no nonsense mother who frequently takes in consumptives so that they can enjoy the sea air.

As he grows older we meet his friends, join them on their mucky adventures and learn about the town's tattooist, the notorious Elliot Riley; a man with a reputation as a drunk with a bad mouth.
Cyril eventually becomes his apprentice and learns the art of tattooing the painful way. No sentiment is spared by Riley who is made up of equal parts of good and bad and treats Cy (as he is known) to all the dark recesses of his bitter life. Riley's one redeeming feature is his art. He is the best tattoo artist in the whole of North England and people come to him because he is a legend and it is this gift he passes on to Cy.

After both his mother and Riley pass away Cy emmigrates to New York, setting up shop as The Electric Michelangelo on Coney Island boardwalk, the macabre end of town complete with circus freak shows and fun fairs. It is here he meets and falls in love with Grace, an eastern European immigrant working as a bare back rider. She commissions him to tattoo her entire body with eyes.

This book was so atmospheric and brought up many issues for thought. Not only did I enjoy learning about the history of the art itself, which the author obviously had researched thoroughly, I was mesmerised by the idea that a female would want to alter her body so drastically and step away from the normal ideals of polite society! I read with eager morbid fascination as her body was slowly covered from ankle to neck in thick oultined eyes. Again the whole idea of a female body staring back at the viewer was an interesting concept and one that was quite shocking but admirable in its reasoning. Grace, feeling that by altering her body in this way, she is in command of how it is seen, forever challenging the male gaze.

The story has many twists and turns and ends very well but leaves you deep in thought for a long time afterwards. The fact that the book blends so perfeclty with my own research and studies of classic sailor tattoos and pin up girls was brilliant. There was whole pages dedicated to a mermaid tattoo who seemed to have a siren call to the men that chose her. The author goes into deep analysis of just why tattooing is so necessesary to create landmark occassions in peoples lives. She also goes into discussion of why tattoo shops thrive by the sea, combining myth and art into contemporary folklore. I totally loved this book and have added all the ideas and images it has given me to my growing list of inspirations to my new work.

Other news:

Last week I told you about The Chantilly Belles performance at The Lowry in aid of Comedy 4 Christies. I recieved some photos from the night's official photographer in my inbox yesterday so thought I'd share them with you. There are more to come too!

The Doctor doesn't quite know what to make of her creation

The Monster just can't help herself!

Bandages off!


Chantillystein!

Goddesses

Mrs Edward Mayer as Medusa

I'm loving working on my new water colour paintings inspired by sailor tattoos, pin-ups and nautical sayings. This week I was lucky enough to find out about a fabulous photographer called Madame Yevonde who was a pioneer of colour photography from the 1930's!

Her beautiful images fit perfectly with my current inspirations of dreamy, melancholy and melodramatic images and emotions evoked by the likes of French artists like Air and Pierre and Giles (see two posts ago). In fact I can see a lot of similarities between her work and that of the french photographic duo.

Madame Yevonde was a revolutionary, beginning her life as a devoted promoter of the suffragette movement and staying a supporter of women's rights throughout her life. By the age of 21 had set up her own photographic studio. Her photos were very different for their time, using props and costumes and friends as models (usually high society ladies, one even being the Prime minister's wife!) she created a new and exciting way of exploring women's social and sexual roles.

I particularly like her 'Goddesses' series from 1935, where the sitters are transformed by simple props and symbols into mythical women who's iconography has stayed strong throughout the ages.

The Hon Mrs Byran Guiness as Venus

Her images have the same otherworldly quality I am enjoying creating in my own work which I am infusing with a vintage and magical atmosphere.

'On the Rocks' finished but unframed

'All at Sea' in progress

What's more Yevonde did a study of nautical tattoos! I was so excited to find this out! She was interested in the symbolism behind both male and female tattoos and the strong sexual impulse they could both imply. She photographed the tattoos combined with knots, representing links and binding, and possibly exploring the relationship between the sexes.

Madame Yevonde is obviously a very important artist from the 20th Century and one I think may have been overshadowed by her male counterparts such as Man Ray, such is the irony! However I am now a proud owner of a beautiful exihibition catalogue and postcards of her work, which I am very happy about!

She's alive! ALIVE!!!

Taking a little break from my art work; This Sunday The Chantilly Bellles burlesque double act are performing at The Lowry in Salford at the Comedy 4 Christies event all in aid of Christies Hospital! We will be unwrapping our brand new monstrous act 'Chantillystein!' for the first time and performing alonside such comedy genius as Justin Moorhouse and Barbara Nice from Channel Four's award winning Phoenix Nights!

As we are keeping the details of this act secret until it's big debut all I can really reveal is that we have taken much inspiration from horror classics including The Bride Of Frankenstein! and this promises to be a brilliantly fun night!

Tickets cost £15 and can be bought from www.thelowry.com, the show starts at 8.00pm.

A bit about The Bride!:

It was the stunning Elsa Lanchester who played the Bride in the 1935 film made by Universal Studios. Although she made many films after The Bride of Frankenstein she will always be remembered for it as her defining moment. An unconventional beauty Lanchester was the perfect choice for the Monster's love interest. Her iconic hair flashed with white from the lightening bolts which gave her life was created by fixing a cage to her head and building hair pieces and her own hair around it.

Make up artist Jack P Pierce created the electric hairstyle and iconic make up for the film. Lanchester was later to remeber how Pierce took his work very seriously, wearing a white surgical smock while taking hours to perfect one of her neck scars that could be bought 'for ten cents from a joke shop'. Whatever he was like his work is amazing.

The actual film has been said by some to exceed that of the original 'Frankenstein' from 1931. It is a fab film and very funny in places, high camp and over acting abound, but if you are hoping to see a lot the Bride then you may be disappointed as she only appears in the last FIVE MINUTES! It just goes to prove how iconic her role was to cause such a stir and remain so influencial for over 70 years! I think she is beautiful.

For more info, 'Monsters: A celebration of the Classics From Universal Studios' is a great read!

PS, isn't it weird that the film is called the Bride of Frankenstein, when Frankenstein is the name of the doctor and the actual monster is nameless?

A pic 'n' mix of tasty tidbits!

Last week's Urbis Creatives launch night went brilliantly! The night was a great opportunity to exhibit art work and show off our other creative skills within a gallery environment. For me it was a first in showing my art work and actually performing within viewing distance of it.

My portait of Scarlet Fever on display on the launch night.

I have to admit I was quite anxious about performing in front of my work collegues, as I was sure none of them really knew what my burlesque act was like, and the thought of prancing about in frilly knickers in front of everyone I was working with the next day did give me the jitters just before going on. But the great thing about being in a double act is the pressure is shared and much easier to deal with, and even if I say so myself The Chantilly Belles rocked Urbis that night! I decided to exhibit my portrait of Scarlet Fever, the star of Channel Four's, Faking It, and a good friend of mine. I wanted to highlight her story which I think sets the scene for modern burlesque and shows it as a contemporary form of feminism and female empowerment. This piece of art work combined with my own burlesque performance blended really well and created a strong presence on the night. The great thing is Urbis were so pleased with the entire show they have asked for it to be left in situ for the forseeable future! So if you are around Manchester this week pop in to the city's landmark building and gallery of city life and take a look at Scarlet in the flesh as it were!!!

Other news:

The Chantilly Belles are proud as punch to announce that we will be performing as part of the Comedy 4 Christies night to be held at The Lowry next month!!!
We will be appearing alongside other acts including Justin Moorhouse and Barbara Nice from T.V's Phoenix Nights all in aid of a great cause! More details of our progress as the date looms to follow...

Rainbow watch:

A few weeks ago I told you about a commission I'm doing for a friend of mine of her pussycat Rainbow. Now I know this isn't the usual kind of subject I'd paint, but if any cat could have been a pin-up queen it was Rainbow, and I just couldn't say no!
I've been working on this piece between other projects and have finished half of the bag Rainbow is sitting in. Here's a peek of where I'm up to now:

Rainbow ponders the bigger issues of life while sitting in her favourite pondering bag

In the meantime I'm still working on my nautical pin-up tattoo seires and have been researching some fab artists that I hope to share with you over the next few weeks!...

Burlesque film youtube debut!

Hi everyone! I am pretty excited this week as the fabulous film made about The Chantilly Belles for The Lowry's 'Express Yourself' family dance exhibition has now been put on youtube! So for the first time here it is to share with you! We have the lovely Hilary Easter Jones of Wynter Productions to thank for making this film. You can contact her at: hilary.ej@btinternet.com

'Express Yourself' runs at The Lowry until Sunday 27th September and is free! Galleries Open: Sun - Fri 11am; Sat 10am. Close: Closing times daily 5pm.

Express Yourself

I went to see The Chantilly Belles film as part of The Lowry's 'Express Yourself' exhibition last week. The show is brilliant and ticks all the boxes of bringing you a family show about all forms of dance, which is one of the reasons I am so pleased with how our film fits in so well! It has always been one of mine and Rene's goals to show burlesque as a true art form that doesn't rely on stripping to make an impression. Although burlesque will always be associated with the risque and avant guarde (as it quite rightly should) it can also be a fun way to explore character, roles and narrative.

Don't miss your chance to see this excellant exhibition and take to the floor for a shimmy yourself! 'Express Yourself' runs at The Lowry until Sunday 27th September and is free! Galleries Open: Sun - Fri 11am; Sat 10am. Close: Closing times daily 5pm.