'These typographic maps byaxis maps take locating a destination to a whole new level. Each map accurately shows the location of streets and highways, parks, neighborhoods, coastlines, and other features of each city using only words. To create these impressive maps, every single letter and word was manually placed, taking hundreds of hours to complete each map.'
I have just discovered the work of Stephanie Posavec and am really interested in how she visualises words.her project 'writing without words' is a project that explores methods of visually representing text and visualises the differences of writing styles of different authors. take a look at this project and her website HERE
discovering a piece of work by roman ondak has made me think of the varied age groups who were involved with the wigtown word project . in the participatory installation by the Slovakian artist every visitor is encouraged to mark their height on the wall and after several months a dark band encircles the gallery.
Progressive decoration for your walls. Start with a grid of printed letters, and add circles around words as you find them. This wordsearch-inspired wallcovering is created by 5.5 designers.
g u s s e t s h a m b o l i c g e r r y m a n d e r i n g s e r e n d i p i t y s k e l l y f u s i o n l e s s f a n k l e s l i t h e r i n g p u g n a c i o u s p h l e g m m e g a b e r t l o q u a c i o u s b a n t e r p r o p i t i o u s s w i t h e r i n g p u g n a c i o u s p h l e g m m e g a b e r t l o q u a c i o u s b a n t e r p r o p i t i o u s s w i t h e r h u n k y d o r y f l e e k c a l i p i g i o u s d r e i c h c o o l m e g a i d i o t j a y b o b b e a s t m e n t a l h a r d t a t t i e s c r a z y m a g p i e d o o d o o w e i r d d u m d e e d o g l o o l o o s c r e a m p o o f a n c a t l e a v e b a c k f l i p f l u f f y c r o p z a n g o o m p a l u m p a c o l l e c t o r O M G r i b e n a s h i n g !!! s p e c t a c u l a r b r i l l i a n t a m a z i n g s q u i d g y s p o r t h o r s e c r a z y g r e a t z i p p y g u i t a r b e a u t i f u l believe sheep fun chocolate hey fansheeptastic sup awesome sausages cheese hightops singer muppet water clootie friend weird mam weeble gruesome scrubdub bong princess cake love football ozzy scribble serendipity clipclop hello tara africa clarty binbag wahoo oliver food zap wicked chumchumadoo lettuce fandabydosey blob free kaboombay
balloons over wigtown
look HERE letters made of foam flying above heads at IFA Berlin. How they're made? A foam printer...
A
Amazing atlantean ambit adrenalin area aubergine armpit apple awesome annual-leave assume apricot alleviate akimbo autumnal anguish aardvark alabaster
B
Banter backerties bigjessie bibliophile buarach bailar brother bumptious beast bob beautiful believe bong blob bosom baboon boomboom bleather blowin bananna bakedbeans bus basketball burger bed ban bird bat bahookie bum bowl book blab bubble burble boanthropy bamba balmy bombastic bumfluff buddies burny bun bin but booze buoyancyaid bananna
As artist in residence at Wigtown, I spent some time asking visitors and writers at the festival for ideas of what to do next with the collected words. Robert Twigger , a fan of kites suggested making word kites and setting them to flight over Wigtown.
a wall of fridge doors stacked: giant words and a ladder to reach them ...now there's an interactive / active idea??!
there is a great interactive work by Berlin artists TheGreenEyl
'A surface is covered by a large number of coloured stickers, positioned in a grid. People can remove stickers, leaving white spots in the layout, as a result individually and collectively changing the walls appearance. These stickers then take on a life of their own, as they spread, extending beyond the installation itself, infiltrating private space and merging the boundaries of public and private space.'
fridges, their doors and fridge magnet words. It would be interesting to make work which is interactive and could have a life beyond the exhibition or residency so i am trying to come up with ideas which consider this.
When in Wigtown I noticed an image of a sampler on display with other objects relating to Wigtown. I had been thinking of using a similar technique when stitching the alphabet so it was great to find a sampler relevent to Wigtowns history. The sampler commemorates the erection of the monument in Wigtown in 1858 dedicated to the Wigtown martyrs who were executed in 1658.
Date:
1858
Description:
An embroidered sampler commemorating the erection of the monument in Wigtown that is dedicated to the Wigtown Martyrs, executed there in 1658. The monument was erected in 1858, and this piece was probably sewn around the same time. Although somewhat faded, the text was originally embroidered in gold or deep yellow with intermittent use of dark green within the border pattern. Future Museum South West Scotland
THE WIGTOWN MARTYRS
There were many cruelties perpetrated in Scotland in the 17th century during what became known as "The Killing Times." People were imprisoned, tortured, deported and even hanged or beheaded, for wanting to worship according to the dictates of their conscience. One of the crudest acts ever perpetrated during this period took place at Wigtown. Two women were martyred in a heartless fashion for adhering to the Covenant. They were tied to a post in Wigtown Bay, and then drowned as the tide rose over their heads. Their names were Margaret Lauchlison and Margaret Wilson. Lauchlison was the 63-year-old widow of a carpenter from the parish of Kirkinner, and Wilson was a farmer's daughter of 18 from Glenvernock Farm in Penninghame parish near Newton Stewart. Lauchlison's stake was driven into the sands below that of Wilson so that she would drown first. In this way it was hoped that Wilson would recant when she saw the older woman drown.
I have been reminded of a really interesting contemporary project calledSampler Culture Clash which is an international collective of djs, embroiderers, sound artists, textile designers, dancers ,spoken word artists, curators and graffiti artists. Together they are exploring the connections between textiles and sound and the cultures of embroideryand dj-ing using the common word 'sampler' as the starting point for investigation.
On the last night at Wigtown the sweary words were released from their box and over the duration of the festival had magically transformed into a printed scroll tied with a red ribbon . They were eloquently read out by an important member of the Scottish press.
680 words now and I am enjoying the combination of words that the wigtown wordles have been throwing up
wigtown booze
supertastic venacular
fractious freckle
mitsubishi morning
chocolate muppet
shambolic skedaddle
incandescent lettuce
The Wigtown words were donated to Jean Atkin a local poet and I had a poem delivery the next day.
chouette words for Wigtown: believe
a crazy magpie backflipped round the bookshops. Mingle
tangerines and baked beans on trolleys. Scribble
fricative pastiche on a mawkit linguist. Zap
his crepuscular cludgie with ribena. Toss
that pithy gentleman a sapphire.
This unicorn is foxed. Guantanamera!
This Van is outstandingly frabjous. Squid!
This bosom is opalescent. Goolie!
This tent's a lurcher. Bum!
This rain's a scunner. Hum!
Keek!
at the glint in the polymath's eye;
Scamper!
from the totalwipeout tatties.
Huff!
at the squidgy princess.
Ogle!
the wanabee wicked.
get with the wistful interloper,shlep with the zealous tip-top cat,
clip that scrofulous jabberwock, sling that burger, stop that yak.
repeat these awesome wordy wordly words:
assert, splosh, egg, book;
flirt, lipstick, chick, book;
fantail, thump, fun, book;
nail-polish, green, ban, book;
curious, moose, name, book;
furious, scary, blame, book;
estatic, tangled, bed, book;
historic, fairtrade, red, book
bumptious, off the hookbook
read book, write book love, book
book, look, book.
gusset shambolic gerrymandering serendipity skelly fusionless fankle slithering pugnacious phlegm mega bert loquacious banter propititious swither hunky-dory fleek calipigious dreich sapphire turnpined raging think scunner horses phantasmagoria peace guddle ballistic veer corrieneukin cadaverous smackered stooshie backerties pish sustain bigjessie heebyjeeby fanny cheese penis fantouche multicultural maybe swan amazing supercalafragilistic atlantean bibliophile mummy family fragrant seaside son marmaleise wifey festoon thanks love dick moss two chocolate gorgeous whimbel gay still ambit circumnavigate springtime television fecund pillywalley adrenalin discombobulated chutzpah spatula cardigan tintinnabulation foxed area wonder lagom mooncalf sinister fractious fricative velvet pithy stumour eedjit reinverdire nuance fractious lagom paul sumptuous gooey feline bacherties crapulous zombie glaikit slightly gricer mawdlet flange crimson buarach chemical cackle sylphlike bailar chemical fink aubergine frabjous palimpsest stooshie lurcher pallid tropical skelf phosphorescent discharge elemental moist flaccid strathspey haughmagandy somnolent brother iconic thistles skeelish bumptious cool mega idiot stupid jaybob beast mental hard tatties tattiescones crazy magpie doodoo weird dumdee dog looloo sam scream poo fancat leave backflip sumsum fluffy crop zang oompaloompa collector mummamia OMG ribena shing!!! word spectacular brilliant zang bob soisant amazing bakarule squidgy sport horse crazy great zippy guitar beautiful believe sheep fun chocolate hey fansheeptastic sup awesome sausages cheese hightops singer muppet water friend weird mam weeble gruesome scrubdub bong princess cake love football ozzy scribble clipclop hello tara binbag wahoo oliver food zap wicked chumchumadoo lettuce fandabydosey blob free kaboombay chubby totalwipeout dumpling clootie heuch! cullenskink faffing glint projink linguist mawkit fankle ostrobogulus crabbit keekin lobby bleather cooriein stoor polymath little onomatopoeia toxic mitsubishi sgionneil summerafternoon bosom skedaddle chin-o squeegee sumptuous zealous poltergeist plype baboon smurr meandering moose pillock boomboom chouette mignone goolie idiosyncratic extremely crumble plainstanes clarty scrofulous jabberwocky pastiche blowin wanabee life bamboozle wistful frabjous obfusc pernickety entschildigung freckle elemental eichornchan armpit curious sunflower banana historic apple excited supertastic chicken lubricant crepuscular cludgie terrifying drums silly basketball play happy spontaneous squishy pop bang bakedbeans ecstatic smelly what bus awesome paper india volcano prototype chuckling shabaladindong burger coat world knot nap cat leave red freckle crumbs crunchy plooky supertastic van jewel historic toilet stony dress twilight bed splash cast sling lola onion run princess tent ban minging tangerine kite flower pen tomatoes bird chips lollies juicy scarf lipstick nailpolish seats hairband shops hairdo morning bat transformer funny crisps bahookie transport landscape yuk terrifying bum cartoon emotion rain name
discovering a piece of work by roman ondak has made me think of the varied age groups who were involved with the wigtown word project . in the participatory installation by the Slovakian artist every visitor is encouraged to mark their height on the wall and after several months a dark band encircles the gallery.
'A surface is covered by a large number of coloured stickers, positioned in a grid. People can remove stickers, leaving white spots in the layout, as a result individually and collectively changing the walls appearance. These stickers then take on a life of their own, as they spread, extending beyond the installation itself, infiltrating private space and merging the boundaries of public and private space.'
When in Wigtown I noticed an image of a sampler on display with other objects relating to Wigtown. I had been thinking of using a similar technique when stitching the alphabet so it was great to find a sampler relevent to Wigtowns history. The sampler commemorates the erection of the monument in Wigtown in 1858 dedicated to the Wigtown martyrs who were executed in 1658. 
I have been reminded of a really interesting contemporary project called Sampler Culture Clash which is an international collective of djs, embroiderers, sound artists, textile designers, dancers ,spoken word artists, curators and graffiti artists. Together they are exploring the connections between textiles and sound and the cultures of embroideryand dj-ing using the common word 'sampler' as the starting point for investigation. 
