Bridport girl reaches final of short story competition run by Chris Evans
11:00am Wednesday 23rd May 2012 in News By James Tourgout
TALENTED teenager Bethan Smith has beaten 74,000 rivals to win a place in the finals of a short story competition on Chris Evans’s breakfast show.
The 13-year-old is in the final 25 of her age group is the Radio 2 DJ’s 500 Words contest with The Antique Shop.
Colfox pupil Bethan will travel to the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts in Wales with the other finalists for a live broadcast where the winner will be announced.
And she may have her story read by funnyman David Walliams as part of the event.
Bethan, who lives in Walditch with mum Tracey, dad Anthony and sisters Abbey, 16, and Imogen, four, said: “It is really exciting.
“I didn’t think I would get this far.
“It is the first writing competition that I have entered.
“I am quite nervous about the festival but it is a big achievement just to get in the final 25.
“I don’t really mind how I do. It should be a nice day.”
Some 74,000 youngsters entered the short story competition run by DJ Evans on his breakfast show. Judges will pick gold, silver and bronze winners in age nine and under, and 10 to 13 age categories.
There are 25 finalists in each age category.
Bethan’s story tells of a girl who goes into an antiques shop and is captivated by a music box, but there are unforeseen consequences.
David Walliams will be among those reading entries at the Hay Festival in at the end of this month.
Bethan said she heard about the competition from her friends and saw posters advertising it.
She is a fan if the Twilight series of books and recently just read the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which she loved.
Bethan said: “I’ve always written my own little stories but this is the first competition I have entered.”
She added she would like a career as a writer when she is older either writing books or in journalism.
Mum Tracey said that Bethan always has her nose in a book or a Kindle.
Visit bbc.co.uk/radio2/ 00words/2012/ to read Beth’s story and for more information. Bethan’s story is also on dorsetecho.co.uk
Beth's story: 'The Antique Shop'
The old shopkeeper sat at the counter, wasting time. He hadn't had a customer for years; antiques just weren't that popular anymore.
He'd been sat here for years. He wore plain clothes, old fashioned and moth eaten, but these were hidden by his long black coat which hung about him with an air of mystery. Not eating, sleeping, moving, he looked almost frozen in time. But he didn't need any of that, not anymore.
Suddenly, the old rusty door bell jingled brightly, and the frozen shopkeeper came to life. He sat up and gave a welcoming smile. A small red haired girl wandered in, browsing around.
Then she spotted it, sat in a clear glass display case, glittering in the sunlight, was a blue glass music box, with gold patterns and a shining golden key. She went over and pressed her nose against the glass, gazing longingly at it.
The glass display case was shining in the sunlight, but splotchy patches were grey due to a build up of dust. The shopkeeper looked at her hopefully; egging her on 'Please' he thought 'choose the music box'. She strolled nervously to the counter.
"How much is the music box?" she mumbled hopefully.
"£10," he smiled "Can I buy it, please?" she asked, slightly impatiently.
"Of course of course, sorry," he mumbled and ducked under the counter. He came up a second later with a rusty ring of keys, and led the way to the display case.
As he lifted the glass, there was a slight whoosh of the clean, fresh air leaving the display case. The girl reached in and picked up the music box, stroking her fingers along the smooth glass casing around the clockwork.
She turned the small key four times clockwise and listened to the tune.
He watched with anticipation as she started to fade away. She didn’t notice, she was too absorbed in the sweet tune, hypnotised by its menacing music. She faded and faded until she was nothing but a wisp of smoke, hanging innocently in the air, wavering at the slightest breeze.
He pulled a jar out from his long black coat and caught her in it, clasping it shut as if she was a precious diamond. Then he put her on the shelf with all of the others.
The young girl wandered into the Antique shop, looking at all of the old dusty jewellery boxes, and china statuettes.
A large vase with a marbled pattern caught her eye, reminding her of her mum. She'd like something like that.
The girl went to the back and looked at all of the furniture, the dusty moth-eaten armchairs and the rotten rocking chairs that looked as if they would fall down at the slightest touch. Nothing interested her much, so she turned to leave.
She was almost at the door, when she saw it, shining in a dusty glass display case, blue glass with golden patterns and a tiny golden key. It was a beautiful music box.
Source: www.dorsetecho.co.uk
Catholic community adds voice over Zuma painting - Xinhua News Agency
by Ntandoyenkosi Ncube
JOHANNESBURG, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) on Wednesday voiced its concern over a controversial painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed and called on the presidency to lead a dialogue on reconciliation in South Africa.
Archbishop Wilfrid Napier said the painting is a clear indication that South Africa is still divided and is dominated by social faults.
The SACBC said it's a clear indication that South Africa has failed to address national reconciliation.
"Simply reducing this incident to the level of race is a sad indicator that we have once again allowed the easy card to be played because it serves to deflect us from the real issues of national reconciliation," Napier said.
"I call on the President to lead the nation to a new dialogue on reconciliation and dignity – let us all make every effort to be the South Africa we want to be and want to become," he said.
The painting by artist Brett Murray stirred outrage from the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and a national debate on freedom of speech and the right to dignity after it went on display at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg and published by the City Press newspaper on its website.
"These are two separate matters that I think must be dealt with individually," political commentator Munjodzi Mutandiri told Xinhua. "The ANC government has done enough to push reconciliation, " he said.
Rather Mutandiri urged South Africa to take the situation as a platform to start constructive debates on various social ill affecting social, economic and political development in the country.
The ANC and its supporters are fuming over the painting, calling it racist in disrespect of the president and the black majority. One white political analyst told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that it is hard to single out the motive of the painting.
"But what we can all agree is that it was aimed at humiliating Zuma and undermining black leadership in all sectors," she said.
SACBC views the action as highlighting the true South Africa society.
"The furore over the painting 'The Spear' by Brett Murray has exposed a number of fault lines in our South African civic discourse. I wish to express my horror at the tone and temperament of the language around this painting," Napier said.
"We need honest, respectful and clear dialogue in South Africa – We have lived with enough violence in word and deed," the clergyman added.
Fruitless efforts to convince the gallery and the City Press to remove the painting prompted the ANC to take the case to the High Court in Johannesburg. The court on Tuesday postponed the hearing to Thursday.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu called on all South Africans to join Zuma, his family, the ANC and its alliance partners to support the party's court application.
"We call upon all South Africans to support this noble course and to demonstrate rejection to this act of indecency, vulgar and disrespect of the Constitution of our country and the values it stands for," he said.
The Goodman Gallery lawyers argue that the painting cannot be banned because the Constitution protects the right to artistic expression.
"Let the courts decide – this is why we have an independent Judiciary and laws that are not arbitrary," Napier said.
"Let me be clear. I don't like the painting -- its graphic subject matter or the slur on the character of the President," he said.
On Wednesday, the Goodman Gallery removed the painting from display after it was defaced. "We have removed the painting from the premises to a safe location pending the court case," the gallery said in a statement.
On Tuesday, just before the court began its first hearing, one man smeared the painting with black ink, while another man painted a red cross across Zuma's face and genitals. Later a third man damaged the gallery's walls to show his outrage. The three men were arrested and appeared in court on Wednesday.
The gallery said it has laid charges of malicious damages to property against the suspects who defaced the painting and damaged the walls.
Source: news.xinhuanet.com
Zuma painting defaced to 'prevent civil war' - Mail & Guardian Online
Barend la Grange. (Nickolaus Bauer, M&G)
One of the men accused of defacing the contentious spear painting at the Goodman Gallery said he did so to prevent a civil war split along racial lines.
“It took me 15 seconds to destroy this insensitive artwork. We have a lot more to worry about in South Africa than a painting.
There are people’s lives in danger, the racial tension is there and people don’t realise what this can lead to”, a resolute Barend la Grange told the Mail & Guardian outside the Hillbrow magistrate’s court.The Spear depicts President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed and forms part of artist Brett Murray’s Hail to the Thief II exhibition.
The artwork caused a national outcry and has been labelled racist by the ANC, who are seeking an urgent court interdict to prevent the painting from being exhibited or published.
Spoilt ballot paper
La Grange admitted to painting a large red X over the genital and facial area of the art piece, before his co-accused Louis Mabokela smeared black paint all over the surface of the image – all the while eNews television cameras filmed the incident on Tuesday.
La Grange also claimed he had never met Mabokela prior to the incident and that both acts of defacing were carried out independently.
He said his act of defacing the artwork symbolised a spoilt ballot paper.
“The first X was against ANC led government, who I believe are going the wrong direction and the second X was against people making a mockery of our president,” he said.
La Grange said that while he didn’t like Zuma, he was still his president and had respect for the office of the presidency.
“I saw the people at the gallery were not there for art, they were there to make a joke of the president.
La Grange also accused the Goodman Gallery of perpetuating the racial prejudices of South Africa’s past by allowing the painting to be exhibited.
“I lived through apartheid, I didn’t govern the system but I benefitted from it. I thought it only right as a white person to destroy this insensitive thing that was also created by a white person,” he said.
Change the Constitution
La Grange then echoed the ANC’s assertion that the constitutional right to freedom of expression cannot be used as an excuse to violate the dignity of others.
“If the Constitution protects people who do thing like this, then the Constitution must be changed. I didn’t diffuse the situation, but the fact that this painting is no longer there makes me feel far better,” he said.
The duo’s case was postponed until June 28 to gather more evidence.
Mabokela refused to comment after the case was postponed but his lawyer Krish Naidoo confirmed he had laid a charge of assault against security at the gallery.
Footage showed Mabokela being roughed up by gallery security immediately after defacing the painting.
“We intend to seek justice in the matter of my client being assaulted at the gallery,” Naidoo told the M&G
The police confirmed security guard Paul Molesiwa had been arrested and briefly appeared in the Hillbrow magistrate’s court on Wednesday, where he was granted R1 000 bail.
Interdict continues
Meanwhile the ANC has vowed to continue its court challenge against the artwork – despite it having been defaced.
“We still believe this painting continues to tarnish the image of Zuma. That’s why we are still going to court to find out if his rights have been violated. This is no longer just about him in any case, this matter needs to be resolved as it is polarising South African society,” ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu told the M&G.
Source: mg.co.za
Zuma painting an attack on African culture - New Zimbabwe.com
THE controversial painting by Brett Murray which exposes President Jacob Zuma’s genitals cannot be classified as art but a personal attack on a black head of state by a white artist considered by some as a racist.
The painting, titled ‘The Spear ’, is being displayed at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg. It is an insult to blacks and their culture and outright abuse of artistic freedom by Murray and the gallery that is displaying it.
South Africa is a democracy and has one of the best constitutions in the world. South Africans have the right to criticise anyone, including the president, but making personal attacks on the head of state and putting such provocative paintings of Zuma with his genitals exposed is just over the limit.
Murray has just gone too far in exercising his freedom of expression. In fact this is outright abuse of the freedom of expression and a violation of the President’s rights and privacy which he is entitled to as a citizen of this country.
Surely Murray’s painting has nothing to do with freedom of expression but a direct attack on Zuma, his family and the presidency itself. I wonder what would happen if Murray had insulted the head of state of an Islamic country or Prophet Mohammad. Moslems would have invaded the gallery and beat the hell out of the artist in question or any official who allowed such offensive painting to be put on display.
The artist would probably have joined British author Salman Rushdie in hiding. Rushdie got carried away while exercising his right as an author. But he went too far when he published his book titled ‘Satanic Verses’.The book sparked worldwide controversy in the Moslem world, leading to the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, passing a death sentence on him on February 14, 1989.
Moslems around the world were ordered to hunt the author down and kill him for insulting their faith and prophet Mohammad. Rushdie was forced to go into hiding and was provided with round the clock protection by the British government.
Well, we don’t want that to happen to Murray but he is also lucky that he lives in South Africa where artists can abuse their freedom of expression and get away with it.
What angers me as an artist myself and writer is that there are some people, especially whites, who have come to Murray’s defence while his backers have ignored Zuma’s rights as a human being, father and citizen of this country.
I am also not surprised by many black people who have condemned his painting. Murray has also been attacked by Zuma’s political opponents who believe that this time, the artist has gone too far and should be dealt with decisively. These are probably times when the ANC needs people like Julius Malema to deal with Murray, men of conviction.
South Africans of all races should unite in condemning the abuse of artistic freedom by Murray and other artists who hide under the country’s constitution. Zuma is a public figure as head of state but he is also a an individual whose rights should be respected by all of us.
You do wonder what would have happened had Murray been living in Zimbabwe or China after attacking the President like that. Your guess is as good as mine. Such behaviour by Murray has become a recruiting platform for those who take the view that leaders like Robert Mugabe are heroes of the African continent. Mugabe does not tolerate nonsense in his country, especially from people who think they are better than other races.
During the apartheid era, white journalists and artists never insulted white leaders using their art. Why are they allowed to insult a black President? I am not a Zuma apologist, but it angers me as a black person to see a white artist abusing his artist freedom to insult a black President.
I was not surprised when one official of the Church of Nazareth, Enoch Mthembu, called on South Africans to kill the artist Murray for what he called “insulting blacks and their culture”.
Mthembu, whose church has embraced African traditions, said Murray's painting was an attack on all black people in South Africa and deserved to be stoned to death.
Source: www.newzimbabwe.com
Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show and Polygon Partner to Maximize Exposure - Yahoo Finance
LAS VEGAS, May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Antique Shows, a major producer of antique shows in North America, announced today that the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show has partnered with Polygon, the most active online community and trading network for qualified gem and jewelry professionals. The integration of these industry leaders will assist in cultivating relationships among the thousands of annual show attendees, traders and vendors from all over the world.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120516/NY08436LOGO )
Through its partnership, show visitors will have exclusive access, on the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show website, to view and purchase some of the finest pieces from Polygon's network of more than 2,800 members. Polygon members will also benefit from complimentary access to any upcoming U.S. Antique Shows.
"We're proud to be partnering with Polygon as both organizations share a deep commitment to the jewelry business," said Andrea Canady, Fair Director for U.S. Antique Shows. "As digital platforms are a major force in the jewelry marketplace, it is only natural for the two companies to strategically align once again."
Polygon will be on-site at the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show at booth 1299. The company is also set to participate in educational seminars at the upcoming Miami Beach Antique Jewelry & Watch Show in October.
"Polygon is thrilled to continue our long-term partnership with the U.S. Antiques," said Lindsay Watkin, Polygon's Sales & Marketing Director. "Jewelry retailers, dealers and other industry professionals use Polygon every day to trade great estate and vintage pieces. The show is a live reflection of the kind of day-to-day activity we see on Polygon."
For more information about the show, or to purchase tickets, please call (239) 732-6642 or visit http://www.lasvegasantiquejewelryandwatchshow.com. Connect with us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VegasAntiqueJewelry.
About the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show
The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show is produced by GLM®. GLM is a leading producer and marketer of consumer product tradeshows in North America, serving industries as diverse as giftware, home furnishings, social stationery, home textiles, tabletop, gourmet housewares, contemporary furniture, personal care, antiques, jewelry, art, surf, skate, water sports, swim and resorts. GLM also manages business expositions and conferences on behalf of others, within the hospitality industry. Additional information about GLM is available online at www.glmshows.com. Follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VegasAntiqueJewelry. For additional information, visit www.USAntiqueShows.com.
About Polygon
The most active online community and trading network for qualified gem and jewelry professionals, Polygon has helped thousands of members gain invaluable knowledge and find unique trading opportunities that have significantly impacted the year over year growth of their business.
Over 2,800 members benefit from best-in-class professional social network tools and the largest online selection of estate pieces, high end watches, jewelry, loose diamonds, colored stones, pearls, coins and more. The high caliber of members on the network and the active participation of some of the brightest minds in the industry have made Polygon's community one of the most avidly sought business tools in the trade. Call 1-800-221-4435 or email info@polygon.net for more information.
CONTACT:
Rachel Tabacnic
Fish Consulting
954-893-9150
rtabacnic@fish-consulting.com
Source: finance.yahoo.com
Choice decorates household hand-painted oil painting skills - OnTheSnow.com
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Now have the knowledge, have grade, artistic and more people, in the life of the art of frequent contact with more and more people, in decorating a process to art into house decoration person is also more and more. And in the trend of home buyers to buy a ...Source: www.onthesnow.com
Trial of alleged vandals of Zuma painting postponed - Business Day South Africa
THE trial of two men accused of vandalising a painting depicting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed was postponed in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The matter was postponed to June 28 for further investigation.
Barend la Grange and Louis Mabokela are accused of defacing the Brett Murray painting at the Goodman Gallery on Tuesday.
Bail of R1000 was extended for both men. They face charges of malicious damage to property.
The gallery where the controversial painting of Mr Zuma is housed was temporarily closed to the public on Tuesday. It was still closed on Wednesday morning.
Gallery owner Liza Essers said the move was prompted by numerous threats and the defacing incident. The painting was defaced by two people visiting the gallery.
The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg will hear an African National Congress application on Thursday to have the painting taken down.
A third person, George Moyo, was arrested for spray-painting on a wall outside the Goodman Gallery. He appeared in the Hillbrow Magistrate’s Court earlier on Wednesday.
Ms Essers said the painting, The Spear, had generated a debate that clearly engaged important legal and constitutional issues.
"I furthermore never imagined that this debate would transform into harmful physical action," she said. "This is over and above questions of political power, which formed part of its original dialogue."
The gallery recognised how divided the country had become over the controversy the painting had sparked.
"We must take cognisance of all responses to our exhibitions, and do not value one opinion above another," Ms Essers said.
The painting was defaced with red and black paint, obscuring the face and waist of the figure.
SAPA
Source: www.businessday.co.za
Painting by Brenda Figuerido on display at Tiverton gallery - Herald News
The Visiting Artist Gallery at Tiverton Four Corners will present “The Moby Dick Series: Recent Paintings by Brenda Figuerido,” from May 26, through June 2.
Figuerido’s current work has been inspired and informed by her long association with the sea and the natural world. She was born and raised on Cape Cod, and received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1971.
She subsequently followed a career as an artist in the service of science, working at Woods Hole for 40 years. As a visual information specialist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, her job consisted of producing graphics, charts, and photography. She was and still is a translator of ideas into images.
She developed the first NMFSC fisheries archival image web site in the early ‘90s, and has spent an extensive amount of time at sea, often off-shore for weeks at a time, surveying the coastal waters from The Bay of Fundy to Cape Hatteras. She now lives on a commercial fishing dock in a two hundred year old whale ship’s chandlery. These powerful experiences remain at the core of her work.
“The Moby Dick Series” began as an attempt to simplify the world she creates on canvas. In her artist statement, she notes that “the dull blackness of chalkboard paint is, in and of itself, mysterious, silent and seductive.”
Figuerido seeks to express a language that is uniquely and formally her own. The battle of Ahab and the Whale, Man and his relationship with his God, the power of the unknowable, and his place in relationship, is an allegory referencing a complex abstraction and an artistic process. She sees these paintings as a sort of “stations of the cross” but they are meant only as things themselves, not really pictures of other things, for naming, like charting, superimposes form to void, as naming always does.
The opening reception is Saturday, May 26 from 2 to 6 p.m. at Tiverton Four Corners Arts Center, 3848 Main Road, Tiverton. The event is free and open to the public. “The Moby Dick Series: Recent Paintings by Brenda Figuerido” runs through June 6.
Source: www.heraldnews.com
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