Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Having the task of reporting on the arts in West Yorkshire led me to thinking, "What is Art?" Unsure of where to start I took a long drive around Huddersfield for inspiration. As the traffic was at an all time high I came to a stop in front of the outdoor market and found myself staring at an old man arranging his fruit and veg! "Is THAT Art?" I asked myself. After a small debate in my head I realised that everyone has their own artistic flair.

Rick: "Being creative every day!"

I went into an Indian beauty salon and spoke to the owner. I asked her what she thought about the idea of everybody having an artistic flair and to answer this question, she showed me around the salon. In one corner a young lady was looking slightly uncomfortable while getting her eyebrows threaded (a traditional Indian form of hair removal). On the other side someone was creating the most intricate henna design on the hand of a bride-to-be. The small things like these I feel go unnoticed as forms of art so I decided to interview artistic people in West Yorkshire!

The Stilt Walker

The first person I met was Mariesa Martire, an ex-Bradford Bulls cheerleader in Thornbury. Five years ago she ditched her pom poms for angle grinding, fire breathing and stilt walking. She believes that art, for most people, can be anything and everything. But Mariesa says that in her art everything is visual: "With the use of make-up, costume, and accessories we can become somebody else in a different world." We discussed how she loves the different reactions she receives when she is dressed in outrageous costumes towering over crowds of people on her Dura-Stilts - which are actually stilts designed for plastering ceilings! She had to think hard when I asked her what was the most memorable job she had done, but eventually she answered that it had to be opening XScape in Castleford. That meant having to ski down the 170 metre snow slope while fire breathing! Now I'm sure you can imagine bravery is a key characteristic for fire breathing, let alone in a situation like this!

The Graffiti Artist

From Thornbury I went on to Bradford to meet Rick Shipley. Rick feels art is a person's thoughts expressed through their chosen medium and his just happens to be graffiti, whether it's painting on a 50-foot wall, on a canvas or through his graphic design and screen printing. At the age of 13 he was into Hip Hop culture which lead him to discover graffiti as an art form. He started sketching, met some local graffiti artists and he has been painting ever since. He started off by doing a few commissions for free, but once he had built his portfolio and made the right contacts the world was his oyster: "The best part of what I do is being creative every day...The worst part is the great British weather!" Rick's advice to people wanting to get in to graffiti is: "Research. Graffiti isn't a new art form -Μύ we've been writing on walls since man was born! Develop your own style, work hard, be creative and don't take yourself too seriously!"

One of the most important things at Asian weddings is henna and Sana feels this is something that has always been in fashion within her culture, regardless of what year or season we are in. And when it comes to make-up, she says that while 20 years ago it was thickly applied at special occasions, there's been a drastic change with make-up used a lot less these days. Sana claims that brides are now going for a much more natural look when it comes to make up. For people out there who are starting out as designers, her advice is: "Design pieces that are different to everybody else's out there as it is a very competitive field, but still try to keep with the fashion of today. Fashion is for people who like to be daring, so dare to be different!"

Sana: "It's either heels or pumps now!"

The Hair Dresser

Nineteen-year-old Fatima Walker works in a multicultural hairdressing salon in Bradford. She's only been working there for a month but, looking at the pictures of previous hair styles, she has designed her talent is undoubted. Her art is Cain Row, a form of hair braiding originating from Africa centuries ago. Fatima says: "When I do somebody's hair I don't really do simple designs, I like to go for difficult patterns and I make it different every time." She says that looking at hair magazines gives her inspiration but she prefers to use her own imagination. Self-taught from watching and studying her mother from a young age, her dream would be to eventually own her own salon. She has tried in the past to teach people how to Cain Row but always fails as the best way to learn this technique is to watch, study and practice: "If you get your hair Cain Rowed or plaited it can last for ages so you don't have to mess around combing your hair." Fatima feels that the art of Cain Row has been around for years because it's convenient and helps to save a lot of time when it comes to styling hair. She says: "If you're thinking about doing hairdressing then go for it as long as you don't mind standing on your feet all day because that's the worst bit!"

After working on this piece investigating what art actually is, I feel there is so much more to it than I had originally thought! Everywhere I go in West Yorkshire, somebody is showing off there artistic flair in different ways. It has made me appreciate other art forms that I would normally look at as not really being 'art'. It's something that needs to be encouraged more in schools, for example, as many vocational occupations involve being artistic in some way. Yet there are very few lessons in schools for children to express themselves this way. But, most artists seem to be self-taught in what they do so maybe you can't learn to be artistic, maybe you just are?