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There’s a definite Hallowe’en flavour to this week’s event listing, but still a lot of variety – from drawing monsters to doing the monster mash, I’m sure you’ll find something to enjoy this week! Tuesday 22nd October Belfast Chic featuring Nile Rodgers: Ulster Hall, 7pm Although it sold out ages ago, it’s still worth a mention. I saw Chic in The Mandela Hall last year and it was one of the best gigs I have ever been to. The king of disco funk, Nile Rodgers has more chart-topping production credits to his name than most of us have had hot dinners, and he’s guaranteed to treat the audience to a comprehensive set list of them. If you’re at the Ulster Hall on Tuesday – enjoy! Cheaper Than Therapy: Black Box, 8.30pm – 11.30pm Described as ‘comedy from the therapist’s couch’, this show brings some of the best comedians in the country to Belfast. Following a successful run at the Edinburgh fringe festival, the show sees the stand-ups work through their psychological issues with regular hosts Alan Irwin and Christian Talbot and “exchange their neuroses for laughter”. Visit the Black Box website for tickets, priced £5 each. Thursday 24 October NI-wide The Big MONSTER draw As part of The Campaign for Drawing’s The Big Draw, Art Take Part have been inviting entries all month for this scary competition! Entries close on Thursday, so there is still time to send them your monster pictures. There are six age categories, with each winner taking home a £75 Smyths Toy Shop gift voucher. You can use the Facebook app to upload your drawing, or post it in. Full information available from the Art Take Part Facebook page. Derry ~ Londonderry City of Derry International Choral Festival:  Thurs 24 – Sun Oct 27 inclusive The only event of its kind in the UK, the festival will welcome 20 school choirs from Northern Ireland, and 30 national choirs from across the UK over the course of the weekend. Competitions, workshops and concerts. For venues and a full programme, visit the festival website. Belfast Jason Clarke & Guests:  The Empire, 8.30pm 29 year old Belfast singer songwriter Jason Clarke had his first major success last year with his single Gotta Go which was a huge online hit, with over 30,000 views in the first month of release. His latest song Loving You has been similarly popular notching up over 2,000 hits within two days of release in June this year. He has supported Paolo Nuttini on tour and his sound has been compared to Mr Nuttini as well as The Script. Tickets are £7 and available from The Empire’s website. Friday 25 October Lisburn Murder In The Rectory The Lisburn Historic Quarter Group‘s annual Murder Mystery Night. (disclaimer: I am the secretary and press officer for this group) There’s been a grisly murder in the heart of Lisburn – but whodunnit? Wannabe Poirots and Miss Marples are invited to test their skills of deduction in the former Georgian rectory which now houses the R-Space Gallery. The Armagh Players will provide the story and the clues, NI Gourmet Chef will bring the food and there will be wine, raffle prizes and something special for whoever spots the killer. Tickets are £12 and available from the Island Arts Centre box office by calling 9259 9509. The event is now sold out! Belfast Smoking Tongue EP Launch – This popular Lisburn four-piece are bringing their hordes of loyal fans and their brand new EP, Gak Tooth Grin, to Voodoo in Belfast. Describing their music as “guitar driven, riff soaked aggression”, I can personally attest that Smoking Tongue are an exciting band to see live and sound just as great recorded. Any Lisburnites hoping to go should hop over to their Facebook event page as quickly as possible, because they are offering bus travel to and from Lisburn plus a ticket to the gig for a tenner – not surprisingly, these are selling quickly. Ticket prices are £5. Saturday 26th October Bangor The Big Draw at Project 24:  12pm – 4pm Another Big Draw event this week – art collective Project 24 are inviting you to get creative. The theme is ‘Drawing Tomorrow’ so they want lots of pictures showing what you think the future will be like. This all-ages event is a chance to be imaginative, experiment with different materials and produce pictures showing what you think we’ll be eating, where we’ll be living and how the world will look. See Project 24 for more details. Larne Hallowe’en at Carnfunnock Country Park:  2pm – 6pm The woodlands of Carnfunnock Country Park will be transformed into a spooky Hallowe’en wonderland on Saturday. This family event features a dragon hunt through the maze, with creepy creatures at every turn, as well as pumpkin carving, magic shows, stalls, arts and crafts and a fancy dress competition. Free admission, but car parking charges apply. For more details, check larne.gov.uk Belfast Sunglasses After Dark;  The Menagerie, 9pm- late The regular rock n’ roll club is inviting you into the “chamber of chills” this pre-Hallowe’en night, with an amazing soundtrack. Astro’s Hombres, greaser kings The Sabrejets and a spooktastic set from the DJ booth will warm you up and you can also expect “Also expect 50’S b movie horror visuals and films projected on to the walls, trashy décor and spook-tackular surprises, drinks promos, special cocktails and more”. More details on the Facebook event page. #derry #cityofculture #edinburghfringefestival #cheaperthantherapy #internationalchoralfestival #comedians #chic #lisburnhistoricquarterartsgroup #murderintherectory #ulsterhall #thesabrejets #thecampaignfordrawing #smokingtongue #theblackboxbelfast #nilerodgers #eplaunch #carnfunnockcountrypark #halloween #codi #Lisburn #choirs #thebigdraw #londonderry #sunglassesafterdark #astroshombres #murdermystery

TO ANY DWELLER IN LEWIS STREETAnd do you know a man was bornin your short street of brick and slatewho made his life a simple chartthat he might keep inviolatethe clear precision of his sightfor curve of hill and field and treethat he might set their colours down with delicate economy?Although tall chimneys hemmed him inand gantries bound the sky with bars,he came to his best years betweentwo pitiful disastrous warsand though the hearts of men were tornhe held his patient well aloneand while earth shuddered with despairmatched mass with mass and tone with tone.JOHN HEWITT (JUNE, 1940) The poem above reflects Hewitt’s admiration for Belfast born painter John Luke, whose work is currently on display in the Ulster Museum. Hewitt actually curated Luke’s first solo exhibition at the museum, back in 1946. Now that those shamrocks have been well and truly drowned, maybe you’d like to spend next weekend with a quieter celebration of Irishness/Northern Irishness by enjoying ‘Northern Rhythm – The Art of John Luke (1906 – 1975)’. Dr Joseph McBrinn, Lecturer in History of Design and Applied Art at the University of Ulster has put together this elegant presentation of Luke’s life and work. From his entry to the Belfast School of Art at the tender age of 16, right through to his final commission which took a painstaking two years to complete, this exhibition explores his early sketches of Belfast shipyards, his experimentation with ancient painting crafts and his commentary on contemporary life, to his sculptures and murals in the later part of his career. The sheer variety of this man’s work was what struck me – stunning, vividly coloured, almost cartoon-like works in tempera; dark little linocut studies on Japanese wood; disturbingly life-like self portraits in oil; pencil work; sculpture… Examples of tempera works, from the exhibition’s accompanying catalogue. Linocut on Japanese wood (top) and wood engraving on paper. I got a real sense that this was an artist who, while he took his craft seriously, enjoyed his work immensely and conveyed playfulness in a lot of his paintings. He was a lifelong vegetarian, which also endeared him to me as I’m veggie too 🙂 You’re not allowed to take pictures in the museum’s galleries and in hindsight, I’m glad, as I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise and joy you will get from seeing John Luke paintings first hand. Make sure to take a good look at the glass case exhibiting his tools; this was one of my favourite parts of the exhibition. I love to see the actual objects an artist or craftsperson used to create their work, especially when it was some time ago. To imagine those very things were once in the hands of the man you are reading about and were used to bring these paintings into being – it’s fascinating. His fingerprints and DNA are probably still on those bottles of pigment and brushes. I do recommend buying the accompanying catalogue, somewhat misnamed as it is more a 100-page art history book, beautifully illustrated with photographs of the artist’s work. Available for £9.99 from the Ulster Museum gift shop. You can search for and buy prints of John Luke’s work online at the Ulster Museum’s online picture library. Culture Northern Ireland featured a lovely piece about the exhibition when it first opened and you can see some more of his work on the BBC’s Your Paintings site. #artiststools #art #painting #DrJosephMcBrinn #exhibiting #inspired #pigment #HistoryofDesignandAppliedArt #lifelikeportraits #UlsterMuseum #Japanesewood #painter #paintingbrushes #Belfast #creative #studio #culture #gallery #museum #commissions #tradition #making #linocut #StPatrick #CultureNorthernIreland #poet #JohnLuke #JohnHewitt #artist #colour #arts #sculptor #sculpture #selfportrait #Ireland #NorthernIreland #NorthernRhythmstheArtofJohnLuke #exhibition #tempera #BelfastSchoolofArt #curator #heritage #learning #galleries #Ulstermuseumartexhibition #murals

This What’s On This Week comes tiptoeing online, in the hope you won’t notice it is two days late… It hopes to make up for it with an eclectic mix of events for you to peruse. A huge variety of festive happenings this week, from Christmas tree festivals to panto, but not everything is Yuletide-themed. Enjoy. Tuesday 10 December Belfast / Derry ~ Londonderry Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival – Mon to Sat, various locations Running from Monday to Saturday inclusive this week is the second ever Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival. Every year, a range of organisations in NI put on events to mark and celebrate Human Rights Day on 10th December and last year, they joined forces and the NIHR Festival was born. View the full programme on the NIHR Festival website. Lisburn Christmas Tree Festival – Lisburn Cathedral, 11am – 9pm You’ve just got time to catch the last day of this festive six-day celebration of one of the most recognisable symbols of Christmas – the Christmas tree. Over 60 trees adorn the inside of the church, imaginatively designed by schools, businesses and community groups – no two are the same. For more details, including information on food and musical entertainment, visit The Lisburn Cathedral website. Mother Goose Pantomime – Island Arts Centre, 7.30pm (every evening at same time up to and including Sat 14th) The Lisnagarvey Operatic and Dramatic Society has brought one of the world’s best-loved pantomimes to the stage in Lisburn and are nearly alfway through a hugely well-received week-long run of performances. Tickets are £10 and available on the Island Arts Centre ticket website. Wednesday 11 December Belfast Pigeon and Plum Christmas Cabaret – The Black Box, 8pm. (Wed 11th – Sat 14th, TICKETS LEFT FOR THURS AND SAT ONLY) Tops and tails, petticoats and plumage at the ready, ladies and gentlemen – Pigeon and Plum is back! Messrs Pigeon & Plum’s Victorian Music Hall and returns to the cosy and opulent surroundings of Ye Olde Black Box Tavern. There’s an optional hog roast (or veggie meal) for £25 all in, or £18 just for a ticket to the show. See The Black Box for details and booking. At time of writing, Wednesday and Friday’s shows are sold out. Thursday 12 December Belfast Nicholas Keogh Solo Exhibition – Golden Thread Gallery, 6pm (continues until Sat 14th Dec) Nicholas Keogh’s work is engaged with Shamanic practices, alternative rituals and alleyway pastimes. In this exhibition audiences are invited to experience, explore and interact with sculptural sound installations and video work. Central to the exhibition is a pair of ‘Bin Discos’, portable sound systems, originally created to be played at illegal alleyway parties. See the Golden Thread Gallery website for details. The exhibition continues until Saturday, with special events throughout December and January detailed on the website. Saturday 14 December Derry ~ Londonderry Oíche Gheimhridh – The Glassworks at Great James Street, 8pm Performed against the spectacular backdrop of this former 19th century Church, Oíche Gheimhridh, will be a special evening of Irish traditional and festive music featuring Ireland’s most acclaimed choirs and performances of the sensational “From Derry to the Sea” and “Droichid Dhoire”. These commissioned pieces were composed and performed by the people of Derry to rave reviews during Fleadh 2013. Tickets are £10 and include refreshments. Spaces are limited and advance booking is recommended. For more information call 02871264132 or visit the website. #derry #mothergoose #GoldenThreadGallery #pantomimenorthernireland #northernirelandhumanrightsfestival #lisburnchristmastreefestival #christmastreefestival #OícheGheimhridh #pigeonandplum #legenderry #nicholaskeoghexhibition #lisnagarveyoperaticanddramaticsociety #pigeonandplumcabaret #BlackBox #nicholaskeogh #LisburnCathedral #panto #pantomimelisburn #CityofCulture2013 #goldenthreadbelfast #londonderry #glassworksderry #victoriana

Yep. Aware it’s technically Tuesday now. May have to look at the name of this post…. or get my act together. One of the two. Anyhoo! I wanted to do a ‘Monday’ Makes that didn’t involve sewing; variety being the spice of life and all that. So I homed in on my obsession with jars. I collect ’em. My boyfriend scratches his head as I carefully wash, dry and keep every coffee, jam and pasta sauce receptacle that enters our house – seemingly for no reason. “I’m going to make things with them,” I bleat, “They’re USEFUL.” I discovered this stuff in the DIY section of Smyth Pattersons in Lisburn. It cost about £6. Pretty pleased with the results, I think they’re cute. (Don’t look too closely at the lace one, mind, I think I was a bit hasty in removing the tape…) #craftideasforjamjars #art #painting #design #jars #makeyourownvase #makecandleholder #upcycling #creative #MondayMakes #upcyclingglassjars #DIYglassfrosting #making #craftingideas #DIY #jamjarideas #crafting #handmade #howto #craft #ThePatchworkQuill #glassjars