Happy Birthday Rik!

2 years have passed since we lost marvellous Mr Snowley. This is some wrapping paper that he made for me. Happy Birthday Dear Rik xx

Mix tape

This was a mixtape I received from Rik Snowley in 2002, a beautiful compilation that I still love to listen to.

With Love x

Rik Snowley and Stanley Lunger

27 August 2002

Red toenails and forget-me-nots

My friend Rik Snowley used to paint his toenails red in the Summer. One of his many little eccentricities which we loved him for.

Dismemberment

Anish Kapoor exhibition, part of Brighton Festival. It was the private view and they would not let me in so I took this picture from the doorway. Then I went and sat on the beach and watched the sea. It was a beautiful, poignant day.

The Sea

Rik Snowley exhibition

All work by Rik Snowley 1959-2008.

A lovely show, in a beautiful setting on the seafront.

Day trip to the sea.

Wearing my Rik memorial brooch.

On the train journey to Brighton, here are some of the things I brought with me. Drawing and embroidery materials, my camera and a guide with a map.

Happy Birthday Rik.

Rik Snowley would have been 50 today. We miss you Rik! It would have been a grand party. Here he is in 2001 loading a pinhole camera ready for action in Stoke Newington Cemetery.

Rik Snowley

Rik Snowley (1959-2008) has a retrospective of his work at the JAG gallery in Brighton from the 2nd to the 14th May. Rik was a brilliant photographer, artist and teacher with a wicked sense of humour, fabulous dress-sense (including several animal costumes) who died last year at the age of 49. His partner, family and friends have been putting this exhibition together of his eclectic work in his memory. This image is on a real record sleeve with the vinyl still inside. Rik was also known for his DJing in the rockabilly fraternity where he was called Rik Winner.

Peace and Goodwill.

Here is a more detailed picture of the brooch I made in memory of Rik at the Jessie Chorley workshop.

I also wanted to wish everyone who reads this blog a very Happy Holiday season and a Peaceful New Year and in particular to all those people we have lost this year and in previous years, we miss you.

I will be back next year with new resolutions to fulfill the many promises I have made to all those lovely friends I have met over the last 2 years on this blog and through flickr and have yet to keep (you know who you are!). And I hope to launch my etsy shop at last!

Jessie Chorley workshop

Work in progress

Work by Jessie Chorley

One finished brooch and another started...

Last month I was lucky enough to take part in a workshop day led by Jessie Chorley. The workshop was to design and make a wearable book brooch. There were 8 students. Jessie had brought lots of her work to show us and we were able to get a really good insight into her working methods. It was a very magical day. My brooch ended up with only one page, it was a memory piece for my friend Rik Snowley who died earlier this year.

Looking and Walking

I was woken this morning by the sunshine streaming through a crack in the curtain at 5.30am. So, with the immortal words of Rik Snowley in my head I went out to do some LOOKING AND WALKING, lots of walking and even more looking. Here are a few of the things that I saw.

Rik Snowley

Self portrait by Rik Snowley

1959-2008

RIK SNOWLEY: “ON PHOTOGRAPHY”
I honed my photographic-printing knowledge by working and watching the great “TOP BUZZER”, unfortunately now in exile. I’d witnessed that bloke perform some superb darkroom-deeds, once he even got a photographic image onto cottage cheese…………..MARVELLOUS!
I’m a great fan of photography but desperately try to avoid a majority of photographers. I generally find that they stooge around in floppy clothes, they say things like:”f.11 this and AUTO-FOCUS that”, and as for that other cliché; “What lens did you use?”……….please. Well the lens I use looks rather pleasant, it has a nice purple colour on the front of the glass, and lots of numbers engraved around the outside. Once I added all these numbers together, it came to 80.4, so it must be a good one. The images shown here are a very small sample of the type of subject-matter my lens and I have seen. They are the result of “LOOKING +WALKING”, lots of walking and even more looking, looking until it hurts. When I spy something that looks ideal then “TAKE DEAD AIM AND ATTACK”. When I’m in the darkroom then the sexy bit begins; stinking warm chemicals, expensive photie paper sliding out of sensuous packaging from romantic places, Ilford. I’m standing over the exposing-image for an eternity, waving my hands over areas like a crazed-fool, wishing I’d got the camera exposure right. Maybe I should have listened to those floppy stooges with that “f.11” stuff. Don’t donkey around, just get out there and capture images.

These words were written for an exhibition of Rik's art work in 2001. There is a retrospective exhibition being planned for 2009.