Why Not Take a Class?!

"What would you like for your birthday?" my sister asked me.

My inner monologue when asking myself this question was:
C: 'I already have everything I need/want' (we're so lucky!)
'What is something that would be cool to have?'
'A skill?'
'A skill would be pretty cool!'
So I asked if I could attend a brush-script lettering class which was something I've wanted to do for ages!

I booked straight into a one-day brush-script lettering class at Old School New School in Abbotsford. On the day I was so excited! I wore all of my 'crafty human' clothes including my new polka-dot Gorman raincoat that I bought myself with a Gorman voucher I received for my birthday.

Abbotsford was absolutely beautiful and as soon as I parked my car, the atmosphere was incredible as there was a farmers market going on just next door to the typography school that I was attending. Veronica (our teacher) welcomed us all with an unlimited amount of tea, cakes and biscuits and we were quickly settled into the gorgeous exposed-brick studio.

We initially started learning how to use our brush-script pens, learning how to control upper and downward strokes, where to make lines ascend and descend to, how to grid our letters so they appear even and structured... I had honestly never thought that there was such focus and timing put into these amazing signs and hand-lettering techniques, but I loved every minute of it!

The whole day flew by so fast and it was so therapeutic focusing on every single stroke I was putting down on the page (as well as having some goodies from the Convent Bakery to satisfy my hunger)... and I honestly can not fault one second of the whole day. Veronica our teacher made the day so enjoyable, giving us useful tips, doing live examples of lettering, teaching us how to personalise our lettering and also by playing a little bit of Barbara Streissand to lighten up the mood (loved it!). 

If there's one thing I would recommend, it's to ask for a class for your birthday. I have another three to look forward to in the next few months including: a weaving class in October, a two-day handmade holiday class in November and a cooking class at the South Melbourne market too. I cannot wait for all of these and there's nothing better than learning a skill to take on-board with you forever!

Old School New School also offer 5 day classes that teach brush-script lettering, copperplate calligraphy, fraktur and broad pen lettering, you can do most of these as one-day classes too. Check out their website to find out more:

http://newschoolfordesignandtypography.com/learning/

-Christine

La Onda De Elia y Elizabeth.

Elia y Elizabeth (Elia and Elizabeth) were a Columbian sister duo in the 1970s. The music of the two sisters were reordered with a well known music arranger in Latin America Jimmy Salcedo. The sounds of Elia y Elizabeth were quite underrated and hidden from the pop music history of Latin America in the 1970s. Their sound is a unique combination of soft 70's pop with Latin American folk. Their album and recordings are historic of representing the possibilities and discovering of the recording studio. The duo compile beautiful and fine melodies, in corporation with Spanish lyrics which are inspired by the idea of youthful thinking, expressing mysteries of life, love, nature and their country, their recordings lay a historic ground into the exploration of music and sound in their time.

I found the duo on Sound Cloud as I was fishing though a profile and without any background knowledge on the artists, the sounds soon made me feel as if I was in a summery place looking over bushland with a view of the ocean.  This was soothing to me, enabling me to escape for a while from the cold bitter weather that Melbourne is currently experiencing. The soft voices of both Elia and Elizabeth are so harmonious and combine beautifully with the music, holding together a moment in time and the sounds of classic pop in the 1970s.

Although I am not fluent or really know much Spanish, from translating the lyrics I grew fond of the historical aspect that is brought together when you read or listen to their songs. The lyrics definitely do stand their place in time, and tell us of a view of Spain's cultural and social aspects from a youthful and somewhat juvenile perspective. For instance, their song Descripcion meaning Description is a true perspective of a teenage girl's imagination in lust and adoration for someone. Drawing their lyrics back to describing the landscape and scenery of Colombia they use this scenery to portray the beauty they see in a certain loved one or significant other. Conjuring the love and passion for a person and their land, insight into a perspective of a young girl growing up in 1970's Latin America is found. 

Overall their  album La Onda De Elia y Elizabeth is great to listen to in the car, at a park, by the beach, at home, anywhere calm really, and is definitely worth a listen to so you can form your own interpretations and feelings towards where the recording of Elia y Elizabeth can take you. 

You can listen to the La Onda De Elia y Elizabeth in full on Spotify

-Isabella 

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week

The days are getting a little longer and the flowers are starting to bloom, so this can only mean one thing; Melbourne Spring Fashion Week will soon be upon us!

Commencing on the 28^th of August, the Melbourne Town Hall and CBD will be a buzz of all things fashion. Australia’s top designers and brands will showcase their latest Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collections on the runway. 

Alongside the well-known Australian labels, is a showcase of the insanely talented emerging designers in the Emerging Runway 1 and 2. These are my absolute favourite runways, because it’s a great way to support the future designers. 

Fred Hates Fashion is also another showcase bringing together five emerging and established designers, five emerging local directors and five music composers to take on the challenge of creating their own fashion films (epic or what?!).

If runways aren’t your thing, ACMI have a great selection of fashion documentaries which look fantastic or you can check out all the free events going on around the CBD. You can purchase tickets and find out more about what’s going on here.

Remember, stay classy.

- Sarah  

*Mosaik does not take credit for the photo used in this article

Movie Review-vie: Amy.

I was introduced to jazz and the soulful music of artists like Billie Holiday and Nina Simone when I was pretty young. Their music was so raw, so sad, and yet there was a satire and wit to it. I felt it summed up all the contradictions of life; I loved it and it  has remained my favourite genre of music. Inevitably one day I stumbled upon the music of the tragically talented Amy Winehouse. I was pretty young when Amy Winehouse died, her death didn't really effect me at the time, I didn't know much about her other then her music. She was just a girl with really big hair, thick, feline eyeliner, tattoos and a substance addiction which she died from in 2011, becoming a member of the 27 club alongside other legends of music that also died at the harrowing age of 27 like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison. 

When Asif Kapadia's documentary Amy was released this year I was interested to go, mainly to learn more about the woman behind the heartbreaking lyrics and haunting vocals I loved so much. I invited Beth along to the movie without telling her anything about it, but when she found out what we were about to see she was less then enthusiastic and a combination of her hesitation and an empty theatre did make me a little skeptical. However, five minutes into the movie I began to relax as Beth whispered "I'm already loving this." and I was too. 

The documentary was a retrospective caught through archived videos of Amy's life in the years before her death. The footage was extremely intense and upsetting as it was so fittingly accompanied by Amy's autobiographical lyrics that narrate her tragic demise. It is no question that Amy was a lyrical genius and an incredible vocalist and perhaps the depth of her talent was only scathed in her short life. We shared in her joys and felt the heavy grief of her sorrow.

As the credits rolled I let myself sob before I turned to see how Beth was feeling, she was silent and before she could talk her chin started to quiver and she was crying too. We left the cinema emotionally exhausted and disillusioned. We talked about it all the way home and all through the next day. 

We had never been this affected by a movie.

Our thoughts on the film were best reflected by Russell Brand, a comedian, author, actor, a friend of Amy's and a recovering drug addict himself, who filmed a video discussing the movie on his Youtube channel in which he pointed out that the true sadness lies within the fact that "there is something about deaths from addiction that feel preventable" and in this film about Amy Winehouse we as an audience are "forced to confront her youth, her talent, her beauty, her vulnerability" and the shameless way so many people took advantage of those facets. 

The film is truly sad, and sadly true and definitely one of the best films I have seen for a while. 

-Alessandra 

*Mosaik does not take credit for the photos used in this article

Melbourne Uni Law Revue - On Ice

They say laughter is the best medicine and in a week heavily filled with assignments it was a joy to escape into the Wonderland Spiegeltent and enjoy a couple of hours of classic sketches, perfectly executed by the entire cast; even if it was all the way out in Docklands *shudders*. All jokes aside, the venue itself was beautiful. Wonderland Spiegeltent has you in the mood to see a show the minute you walk through the door with its draped, Art Deco interiors reminiscent of an old style 1940's circus tent. 

The eight comedians were unique in their acting style, effortlessly slipping into any character required of them. The twists and turns of the short story lines were laugh-out-loud funny, not only for their incredible wit but their skillful execution. All boxes for a great performance were ticked, those boxes being; no cringe worthy moments, no faltering accents, a couple of shocked gasps turn laughter, maintenance of attention span, achingly sore stomach when walking out due to intense laughter and general happiness in the satisfaction that everyone in the room has enjoyed themselves.

And it's not too late for you, there are three shows still to come on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of August, all starting at 7:30pm.

You can grab your tickets here: http://www.thelawrevue.com/tickets/

General admission tickets also sold at the door.

The Wonderland Spiegeltent is located at 120 Pearl River Rd, Docklands VIC 3008, Australia

- Alessandra, Beth and Miriam 

*Mosaik does not take credit for the photos used in this article