The Culture Trip is a website which details the best art, food, culture and travel found in every country. Based in London, the site also recommends books and films for each destination. With contributors from over seventy countries, Culture Trip focuses on getting inside information whether it’s architecture, local galleries or traditional food.

From local news to cultural calendars, the site is a one-stop comprehensive guide that works as a source of information before and during travels. For those filled with wanderlust, it’s also an excellent source of inspiration for future holidays.

Before going on your next trip, take a look at the Culture Trip here.

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

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For more creative delights we’ve Spotted on the web take a look here.

Gregor Muir is a freelance graphic designer, based in Glasgow. Here he talks about his new travel zine, anecdote.

anecdote is a travel zine about journeys and trips taken all around the world, long or short, big or small, far and wide. Primarily anecdote is classed as a travel/photo zine with some written content throughout.

Every issue is about a journey I, the creator, has taken or about a trip another fellow traveler has been on. The design of each issue circulates around the nature of the trip taken. Issue one was a very personal trip which encompassed many different cultures and countries therefore many different design styles, paper choices and treatments are included within the same issue, whereas issue 2 circulated around a quick trip taken over the course of 4 days on the Isle of Arran. It has more of a consistent style and was produced as an easy read, something relaxing and fun, much like the trip, so it was printed on newsprint to gave that “Sunday newspaper” feel.

While I’m away on any journey I write postcards to myself of what I’ve done each day or at each location. This is the basis and foundation of each issue and is used to keep each issue consistent and give a true account of what I’ve done each place. An authentic anecdote.

It is solely produced by myself (the first two issues anyway). I do the design, production, art direction, photography (occasional contribution via people I may have traveled with) and writing. I do it on the side of my main job.

Overall you could describe anecdote as an experimental zine as the design, format and production of each issue should change dependent on the location and journey. It should evoke a reflection of the content and represent the journey taken and the unique experiences or adventures witnessed by the traveler/s.

It’s not a travel guide or ‘how to travel’ document but an insight into someone else’s journey, with notes and quotes from experiences they have had. It’s more a personal reflection.

Only two issue have been released so far. Issue one, which has sold out, was based on a three week trip inter-railing around Central Europe. Issue two is based on a long weekend away on the Isle of Arran.

In future issues, I’m hoping to collaborate with more people and feature more journeys and trips taken by other people who love travel and adventures.

You can buy anecdote via its website here or on Etsy. For more from Gregor, see his showcased work here.

More: Website | Twitter

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Find more zines we’ve featured here.

Kyle Durrie is a letterpress printer based in Silver City, New Mexico, USA. Here, she tells us about his mobile letterpress shop.

Tell us about yourself.

My printing business is called Power and Light Press, and I specialise in off-color greeting cards and posters. I am also the proprietor of Moveable Type, a mobile letterpress print shop in a truck.

What is Moveable Type?

Moveable Type is my mobile print shop, a 1982 Chevy Step Van that I converted to function as a letterpress shop and mobile home. I travelled all over the USA (and into Canada, too), teaching workshops, doing demonstrations, and generally sharing the history of letterpress printing. The truck was my workspace and my home, where I spent many a day sharing my love of printing, and many a night curled up in my cozy sleeping bunk.

How did the project come about?

To be honest, I was jealous of my musician friends who were travelling and touring behind their music. I thought, ‘if they can do it, why can’t I?’ I’ve always been a traveller, and I figured it couldn’t be all that difficult to load up some of my printing equipment into a truck and hit the road, spreading the good word about printing the old fashioned way. It took a TON of planning, starting about eight months prior to my initial departure in June 2011, and pretty much never stopping until I got back home in May 2012. I raised the initial seed money via Kickstarter.com (check out my pitch video here) and the rest of the trip was funded through individual donations, sales of my own work along the way, and occasional stipends/honorariums when I visited a university or other institution that had a budget to spare. It was really important to me to keep it accessible to everyone – I wanted to be able to visit people and organisations whether they could pay me or not. But I had to also be realistic about my needs (GAS, truck repairs, and food). Things had a way of working themselves out in the end, though. If one day I went somewhere that couldn’t pay me anything, then maybe the next day I’d visit a museum that could offer $250. It all balanced out, and it was a great lesson in trust and faith in humanity.

The tour was really long. There must have been plenty of great and not so great things… Tell us about what you loved about the tour.

The initial tour (there have been 4 in total) was over 11 months long. It was exhilarating and exhausting in equal measures. Hands down the best part was just getting to see so much of the country and meet so many interesting people – and also being able to share this process/craft/trade/art/whatever you want to call it. I was met with overwhelming generosity – people invited me into their homes for meals, showers, warm beds (though my bunk in the truck was great as long as I could plug my space heater in somewhere!).

What didn’t go to plan? What would you do differently now?

Gas was REALLY expensive. Not that I wasn’t expecting it to be that way, but there were certainly times, especially toward the beginning of the tour, where I really struggled to afford to get from Point A to Point B. Things got better as the tour gathered momentum – gas never got any cheaper, but people started getting more generous with their donations as the project became better known. I’d estimate about 90% of my expenses went straight into the gas tank of that truck. I’d also probably allow more down time and days off throughout the trip, if I do it again. My tour schedule was pretty relentless. Often times I’d drive 6 or 7 hours, go straight into a 3-hr workshop, eat dinner, then stay up till 2am catching up on emails and making plans for future stops. Then get up the next morning and do it again. Next time, I’ll definitely allow at least one day off per week, maybe two.

I’d also weatherproof the truck a little better (see my last blog entry about my winter travels last year…)

The project finished earlier this year. Any plans to ever do something similar again? Or did other projects come directly from Moveable Type?

I’m enjoying being still for a while, so I currently have no plans for another trip. This doesn’t mean I never will, it’s just not in the works at the moment. Since I’ve gotten back home from the last trip, I’ve been diving back into my printing business (Power and Light Press), getting my wholesale accounts more stable and building my card line. I had to put everything on hold while I was travelling, so it’s been a lot of work getting things back up and running, and I’m really enjoying the stability and routine. Of course, I know I’ll get restless again at some point, so we’ll see what happens! Right now, I’m in the midst of printing a series of the 50 US States, certainly inspired by my travels!

What happened to the truck?

It’s currently parked in my yard and functions as the guest room!

All images courtesy Power and Light Press.

More: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Although there are many collaborators and friends of the Center, Cat and Zack have formed the heart of the team in most locations. The Center is currently at work on the “Spice Mix Super Computer” for AND’s Mobile Republic.

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On our adventures traversing the globe, we have not stayed anywhere for more than 4 months in the past 2 years. With such a nomadic existence, ‘where we make’ is always changing.

On a flight: a good place to think, read and sketch, and catch up with stuff offline.

We have developed a variety of strategies for concentration and focus. For example, Zack works best early in the morning at a coffee shop with headphones on listening to drone music, while Cat works best in the peace of the late night when it seems the world has gone to sleep there are no other distractions (except for the occasional snore from Zack).

Just in the last week, we have worked at Bold Street cafe in Liverpool, on a plane, a train, in an airbnb room in Manhattan, and right now at a house with a large kitchen garden in Connecticut, charging our computers along the way and catching wireless connections where we can. These strategies have worked to greater or lesser effect in all of our temporary accommodations over the last year:

CANADA (Vancouver)
INDIA (Bangalore, the Koorgi Region)
IRELAND (Dublin)
NETHERLANDS (Amsterdam, Leiden, Rotterdam)
NORWAY (Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen)
SINGAPORE
SWEDEN (Stockholm, Uppsala)
UK (Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Milton Keynes)
USA (Portland, New York City, Connecticut)

Our amsterdam apartment and office, while working on Pray for beans Project. The closer the deadline, the bigger the mess!

Every place we visit is an opportunity to connect unexpected dots. Moving around so much means we can exchange ideas, artifacts and recipes between seemingly unconnected places and people. I am sure we wouldn’t be making a Spice Mix Super-Computer in the UK if we hadn’t spent time in Bangalore being drawn into spice-rich karnatakan cuisine. Our Smog Tasting project in Bangalore was prompted by a quote in Harold McGee’s “On Food & Cooking” which seems like a particularly American approach to food. And so on.

Smog Tasting took us to the rooftops of Bangalore for a week of in-situ cooking.

The AND festival’s Mobile Republic is a microcosm of our last year. So far we have visited Manchester, Liverpool and London to work on the project, and we will be taking the caravan on the road to 4 locations in northern England. Taking on a project like this in an unfamiliar place is always a challenge because the simple tasks, such as sourcing various materials, become research efforts in their own right. The upside is that we generally see the places we visit from an unusual perspective. There can’t be many visitors to Liverpool who have strolled along Edge Lane to visit the B&Q.

The sign with no sign on edge lane by b&q, Liverpool, source: google maps

We do not have a permanent home or studio. We have attempted to consolidate our travel kit to the absolute essentials, but it is hard to bring an entire kitchen with us!

Here is an example of our other work space in the Netherlands: the kitchen of a restaurant that we took over for one evening. (Photo Credit: Lucas Evers)

Following food stories around the globe has been amazing, but we are looking forward to finding a landing spot and opening up the Center for Genomic Gastronomy as a non-nomadic entity. Maybe 2013?

All images are courtesy and © The Center of Genomic Gastronomy

Find out more:
Website | Blog | Twitter

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Want to take a look at more suggested blogs by artists? Look here.

Cassandra Harrison is a print and textile artist based in Edinburgh. Originally from Nebraska, USA, Cassie creates artwork which experiment with textures, textiles and printmaking.

As well as an account of current commissions or personal projects the artist is undertaking, This is how I roll also features reviews about exhibitions Cassie has been to, and links to interesting artists she comes across in her outings. There are also some very good hints and tips interwoven in the posts about being a working artist.

Whether you are a fan of Cassie’s work, want to find out about the art scene in Edinburgh or need a bit of motivation to start your own project, we recommend you bookmark this blog.

Read Cassie’s blog here.
See more of Cassie’s work on her site here.
Follow Cassie on Twitter here.
See more work by Cassie on flickr here.

‘I am sure we’ll see some day. We are here waiting for you.’

Packing and Mourning is a project about departure, journeys, the destination, and arrival.

The life of any artist involves travelling and moving, and in turn the unavoidable but complex necessity of safely packing and storing belongings, while mourning the loss of friends made but revelling in the excitement of the new possibilities created on arrival. Our blog documents the thrill of departure, the best way to pack, the nature of transit, sadness of leaving and the impact of place on work produced.

Four artists: Penny Anderson (via Manchester England, Bilbao Spain and Berlin Germany) Eija Hirvonen (via Oulu Finland and Kracow Poland) Shelton Walker (via Copenhagen, Denmark, New York and Virginia USA) and Youngjoo Yoo (via Seoul South Korea, London England and Bilbao Spain) document the process of living, leaving and being drawn back to Glasgow, where they will show work based on their experiences of packing, mourning and moving on as part GI 2012 courtesy of The Mutual Charter.

The artists involved have in common frequent relocations, as tourists, visitors, travellers and artists. The title emerged as I texted Eija to say goodbye as she reluctantly left Glasgow. When asked what she was doing, Eija replied: “I am packing and mourning.”

Some of the artists have met only briefly (if at all) but readily agreed to work together. Meanwhile we are all slowly returning to Glasgow for an exhibition of work inspired by our travels and the blog we have been writing.

Visit the Packing and Morning blog here.
Follow Packing and Mourning on Twitter here.

Well, perhaps not one really BIG daunting prospect, but lots of little teeny tiny daunting prospects – learning the language, the application for residency, does one pay tax here or back in Scotland, affording to live here on the money I make, whether to have money paid into my Scottish account, or whether to have a Swedish Account, should I make myself more expensive here, who to talk to about such things, clearing up debt back in the UK, paying off Student Loans (or not paying them if not making enough money), maintaining work relationships back in Scotland and convincing previous clients, employers, buyers that living in Sweden will not be an obstacle should they wish me to work/supply art for them.

There’s also the fact that I’m a 32 year old woman, with no capital aside from a rather large collection of artwork, and a heap load of stuff gratefully hoarded in my parents’ attic.  (Seriously, there are over 100 boxes, portfolios, sentimental items in there – should they insanely decide to move house in the next year, I’m stuffed. No amount of cheap Ryan air flights are going to cover that bitty beast – picture that bent grey old hag from the Jim Henson film Labyrinth with all her belongings on her back…).

So how did I end up moving to Sweden anyway?  Well, I guess it all started when a very good friend of mine Charlotte, who’s Swedish, asked a group of us if we wanted to go to Berlin for the 20^th anniversary of the wall coming down. I had just completed a great couple of well paid projects and thought ‘F**k it, I deserve a ‘trip’ somewhere, and this would be an amazing event to draw. It would be a good reason to test-‘draw’ the drawing application on my NOKIA phone too’.

Long story short, I came to Berlin, stayed with Charlotte’s Swedish friend who part-owns a holiday apartment there. His name was Mattias, he was greatly intrigued by my drawings and I guess by me too. That was back in 2009.  I’ve now just moved in with him here in Stockholm – the commute was killing me. J

It’s a decision that feels right to me, but there are also a lot of other issues on my mind. Is he the one? Am I right for him?  Do I want to have children? How does his IT job, where he gets up at 6.30am and goes to bed about 10pm, fit in with my propensity to get up around 9.30/10am and head to bed at the earliest 1am?  Can I as an artist be inspired when imposing a 9-5 working regime on myself?  Will I hate him for ‘making’ me work more sensible hours just so I can see him some evenings?  Will I hate it if I don’t get to see him as much as I want to?  How can I contribute to this relationship equally if he currently and more regularly makes WAY more money than I do?  Should I get a part time job? CAN I get a part time job if I don’t know Swedish?  Is it going to take away from my job as an artist, or might it improve my Swedish to better aid getting creative work?  Is Stockholm too young, hip, corporate and image conscious for an aging, chubby, broody mare like me?  Where indeed is the creative scene, and do I want to be part of it?  Indeed, what creative scene was I part of back in Scotland, and really, does anyone actually care?

Gads, enough of my neurosis!

But nay, there are supporting facts.  My parents are getting ‘old’, I’m suddenly getting more conscious of staying in touch with friends and loved ones since it appears that if they haven’t got married off, are having kids, not getting out much because of the costs of mortgages, having a family, pets, affected by spending cuts, redundancy, house possessions, then they’re in a different country, or very sadly, they’re dying.  I feel like Rip Van Winkle suddenly waking up to an old new reality. Why in God’s name did I not start saving money, investing for when I’m old and grey, why did I fritter all my money on good times, travelling and creating my art?  I can thankfully be honest that I have frittered most of my money on creating my art, and surviving in the times when my art has not been making any money. It better all be worth it.

(I had an image for here in my head, but unfortunately it stayed there).

I moved to Glasgow 3 years ago after living at my folks for 2 years while I set myself up as a fully fledged visual/documentary artist. I got to do a lot of really exciting things, draw a lot of great original live music, theatre and other miscellaneous events, find new technologies for drawing, and discover so many new and wonderful people to collaborate with – mostly in the last 7 months of my stint in Glasgow…Before all that I lived in Taiwan for 3 years, so I should be better prepared for heaving myself off to a place of different culture, learning a new language, experiencing a different climate…

So here I am, starting again in not only a new city, but one where just finding out how to get a simple giclée print (never mind getting a cocktail for under £9!) is an arduous task.  I have however already started making contacts in the past year of visits, particularly regards the original music and arts scene having drawn Lustmord, Lloyd Cole, Florence & The Machine, The Black Heart Procession, and favourite gig so far here – Mogwai supported by RM Hubbert – great to see these awesome Scottish counterparts.  Regards Sweden’s stars, well my biggest ambition so far is draw any re-incarnation of The Knife, Fever Ray in particular.  In general, I’m just looking forward to learning more about the music and arts scene of the country that is the third in the world for exporting music and who’s design industry is legendary.  (I’ve also yet to see the original Millenium Trilogy by Steig Larsson although I managed to rip through the books)

I’ve also discovered Platform Stockholm – a collective of artists and a hub of creativity not too far from where I’m staying. I’ve signed up to various galleries and plan on doing a ‘gallery crawl’ sometime very soon. Moreover, I’ve made some great Swedish contacts and friends both at home in Scotland, and here – well, I guess it’s definitely my second home now – and am actually really looking forward to the wealth of potential projects to be involved in between the two countries, remembering that it’s only a cheap Ryanair/Norwegian air flight away (must also remember to do good deeds concerning the environment for every carbon footprint I make!).

I guess I should also mention that I got to draw at last year’s prestigious Polar Music Prize for Björk and Ennio Morricone – that was certainly one of the highlights of my life, Björk in particular being one of my all time idols, and experiencing the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra first playing Ennio Morricone’s music, and then hers – both of them sitting about 8 seats away from me with the Swedish Royal Family – absolutely awe-inspiring.  Here’s a picture of Robyn singing Björk’s Hyperballad.

And, (suppresses stupid girly blushing giggle) I have the total unbelievable honour of getting to draw this year too, though this time I’m actually ‘officially’ documenting. I shall also be drawing no other earth shattering combination than the (swoon!) Patti Smith and the incredible Kronos Quartet.  I shall play it cool though.  (Cough). I’ll be drawing them do their talks the day before, which the Polar Music Prize affiliates will then make into prints to be presented in gift bags to all the music/arts/art glitterati attending the ceremony. What a way to get introduced to the Swedish music and arts scene!

So I guess I have nothing to grumble about. AT ALL.

Nonetheless, here I am fervently settling in as much as possible, being domesticated (just did two loads of washing, drying, folding), made the bed (I mean, who DOES that? Isn’t art more important??  No. I need my bed made mathematically neat before I can progress with my creative day – seriously).  I’m doing it from the ‘confines’ of my new abode, a very tiny south facing 2^nd floor bed-sit that I have to state is more than self-sufficient and very cosy.  It has the most glorious pine tree right outside so that all you can see is the sunlight shining through a spectrum of colours, shades, densities, textures which in turn create the most interesting reflections on the wall. This sunshine wakes me in the morning, which is helping me adjust to the same waking hours as my other half.

I’ve also been cycling, swimming, walking, camping, jumping into lakes, SUNBATHING for goodness sake! All giving me bag loads of happy energy, something I wasn’t great at experiencing back in Scotland. Sweden is also one of the best nations for parenting since both parents get a much better equilibrium of maternity and paternity time – I’ve never seen so many dads out with kids of all ages. In fact, I’ve actually seen more dads with kids, than mums. So if having a family is one of the things that happens – it’s definitely not on the cards just now while I set myself up – I should have a lot more support to be a ‘working mum’.  Not that I know what that will comprise of being a freelance visual artist/documenter/sometime art educator.

All I know is, moving myself and my creative practice to Sweden is a great unknown, but I have the artistic licence and luckily the belief/support of those closest to me to make the leap. I’m not doing it on my own, and what creative successes I do have are pretty much down to my own sheer bloody-mindedness to never give up, do the best I can and keep on drawing.  This relationship was founded on drawing, thus will continue being fundamental.  Just like I did when I started my stint in Glasgow, I will keep drawing, wherever I am, whatever I am doing…Everything is my creative scene.

Keep an eye on my progress here – http://drawingsweden.wordpress.com/

You can also see a bigger archive of my drawing the live original music and arts scene in Scotland here – http://www.jennysoep.blogspot.com

Keep abreast of random twitters here – www.twitter.com/jennysoep

Like me on facebook here – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Soep-Drawing-The-Experience/162856643761735

ALSO!! Last few days to check out my solo show at the Arches if you’re in Glasgow – until this Sunday - http://www.thearches.co.uk/events/arts/jenny-soep-drawing-time-and-attention-an-audience-member

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My Creative Scene is an insight into different creative & cultural happenings in cities where your members and readers live. Browse through more insider guides here or contact us to write about the arts scene where you are.