BLUEFINGERS

Sunday was indeed that, the sun was splitting the heavens and where better to be than rowing a traditional Irish currachs at the mouth of the river Liffey. The spring tide meant that we only had a window of three hours to get out and back in without being stranded by the outgoing tide. Setting out from the East Wall we headed out and around the North Bank Lighthouse. Below are …

We were delighted to be asked to work along with some kick ass creators for the ever prolific duo that are “Designgoat” as part of their slick conversion of an old warehouse on the banks of the Docklands Dublin.  The space is to be used for the Startup Bootcamp project where some lucky internet startups will inhabit this working space. We were asked to join some other nice people to …

Two hand-crafted currachs were launched into the Irish Sea on Saturday the 7th January 2012 as part of a special project highlighting the ancient Irish craft of boat building. The launch at East Wall Sports Club on January 7th follows a month-long currach workshop where a team have been hand-building the boats under the careful guidance of artist and boat-builder, Mark Redden, who learnt the craft from Jackie Mons and Cork …

Our good friend Kate Brangan introduced us to the work of her friend Lizzy Stewart who she met in Central Saint Martins. This is a book she made and her drawings form part of it, she is an amazing illustrator and does a mean nautical doodle! Lizzy is an illustrator, based in London, who graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2009. Her work is inspired, primarily, by a need to …

We have just added a new product to our collection, We screenprinted some silk using our fish friendly inks, collaborated with the good people of Hannah Hats of Donegal to have this limited edition product produced.   The Illustration was created by James Kirwan who has a great sense of Ireland and what makes it paradise. For a closer look head over to this product in our shop here The …

Hold written on one set of knuckles and Fast written on the other was meant to give a sailor good grip in the rigging. A Rope tattooed around the wrist meant that a seaman is a deckhand. A tattoo of an Anchor told that a sailor had crossed the Atlantic, or was part of the Merchant Marines. Crossed Anchors on the webbing between the thumb and index fingers marked a bos’n’s (or boatswain’s) mate. A Nautical Star or Compass Rose was given so …

Introducing Bluefingers Artist Network, a group of emerging and established Irish and International artists who will be contributing on special projects, clothing collections and experiences with Bluefingers. Here is our first mis-fit, the incredibly witty and talented James Kirwan.. James works from his garden shed in Co. Wexford. He’s taking a break from the big smoke to get some serious work done. When he is not drawing you can find …

“Agricultural sheds represent the true vernacular architecture of rural Ireland and constitute a strong and pervasive aesthetic. Julie Connellan explores this cultural narrative which tells of people’s connection to and reliance on the land as contemporary jewellery. By removing these structures from their normal context and placing them on the arm, the body is used as a stage for opening dialogues and triggering memories. A parallel relationship presented itself between …

Ted said it would be great if we posted up his evolution project and this is what he said about it. “With all the recent, fiery controversy between evolution, creationism, intelligent design, science, religion, the political left, right, etc., I thought it might be provocative to throw my visual two-cents into the ring. The images beg the question, “is it really so difficult to believe we came out from the …

A young man under orders from his chiropractor to take up swimming for the benefit of his back. He goes through the motions like a surly teenager until one week he meets a girl who offers him advice on improving his technique. As our young hero becomes more proficient at swimming he grows more confident. He is clearly smitten with his unofficial tutor though we are unsure of her feelings …

SURFACE TENSION brings together work by artists, designers, engineers and scientists to explore the future of water, playing on its physical properties, its role in politics and economics, and ways in which it may be harnessed, cleaned, and distributed. Bottled Waste & Sea Chairs are two exhibits at ’Surface Tension: The Future of Water”. in the Science Gallery. It runs until 20th January 2012 so check it out. Consisting of a series of gearings, …

Flotsam & Jetsam is a documentary based around the beachcombers of Texel, one of the largest Frisian islands north of Holland. Due to Texel’s geographical position, tidal system and strong winds, an estimated two tons of Flotsam & Jetsam washes up on its beach each day. The film follows the lives of the beachcombers (or Jutters as they are known), exploring their relationships and history as extraordinary people in extraordinary …

Neil Craver

Last Thursday we attended Peter Gordon’s Wild Garden Exhibition and Book Launch at The Centre for Creative Practices, 15 Pembroke Street Lower, Dublin 2. The exhibition and book feature Peter’s Landscape Photography from Co.Wicklow taken over the past 5 years. ‘Wild Garden’ is an emotional journey through the rugged beauty of Ireland’s County Wicklow. All imagery has been created by Peter Gordon on traditional transparency (slide) film. We got a chance to ask Peter some quick questions about …

Cloud iridescence is the occurrence of colors in a cloud similar to those seen in oil films on puddles, and is similar to irisation. It is a fairly uncommon phenomenon, most often observed in altocumulus, cirrocumulus and lenticular clouds, and very rarely in Cirrus clouds. The colors are usually pastel, but can be very vivid. Iridescence is generally produced near the sun, with the sun’s glare masking it, so it …

A rare white humpback whale calf has been spotted near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Believed to be just a few weeks old, the 12ft calf was seen at Cid Harbour in the famous reef’s Whitsunday Islands area by a family out in the bay in their boat. White whales are highly unusual, with only 10 to 15 believed to exist among up to 15,000 living along Australia’s east coast, and …

Mammatus, also known as mammatocumulus (meaning “mammary cloud” or “breast cloud”), is a meteorological term applied to a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud. The name mammatus, derived from the Latin mamma (meaning “udder” or “breast”), refers to a resemblance between the characteristic shape of these clouds and the breast of a woman. Mammatus are often associated with severe thunderstorms, sometimes very ominous in appearance, mammatus clouds are harmless and do not mean …

‘No man is an island… and yet we’ve all had dreams of escaping to one.’ (Fringe Festival) If you haven’t been to see the desert island on the Liffey then get you ass down there to check it out. Between Sean O’Casey Bridge and Samuel Beckett Bridge Artist Fergal Mc Carthy has set up camp. Definitely recommend hearing what he has to say on his daily updated blog here All images …

Poster boy works his magic on a NewYork subway, armed only with a razor blade, he cuts up vinyl ads on the subway, turning bright, cheerful marketing campaigns into freakish collages.

At first I thought these were photographs of an art installation but as it turns out they are documentary photographs. After reading of Namibia’s abandoned diamond mines, photographer Alvaro Sanchez-Montañes went and shot this otherworldly series of photographs. The Namibian desert has ravaged entire villages, showing us what appears to be a sneak preview of what our world might look like if nature decides to have its way with us – beautiful.

The Higgs Ocean series by acclaimed photographer Andrea Galvani, winner of the 2010 Exposure Prize documents a unique action staged off the coast of the Svalbard Islands in the Arctic Circle. The project involved one research institute, two scientists and a crew of 16 people, and was borne out of fours months of study and preparation with a group of New York based Russian engineers. Over the course of the 2800 km sail, …

The award-winning photographer Camille Seamanhas been known for their moving images of polar regions.With the latest series ‘The Big Cloud’ it goes back into their demanding Seaman, documentary and artistic way to capture the awe and beauty of nature. Supercells are servere thunderstorms that have deep, continuing updrafts. Supercells are the largest and most severe types of thunderstorms. They range from all sizes small to large, low or high topped. …

The Liffey Swim 2011 took place on Saturday the 3rd September at 2.30pm.  The course began at the Watling Street Bridge near the Guinness Brewery and finished at Custom House Quay. The first Liffey Swim race took place on the 22nd July 1920, almost a century ago with 27 male swimmers. It now attracts upwards of 250 swimmers. The swim is organized by Dublin City Council with swimmers of all abilities and …

Undulatus asperatus (or alternately, asperatus) is a cloud formation, proposed in 2009 as a separate cloud classification by the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, Gavin Pretor-Pinney. If successful it will be the first cloud formation added since cirrus intortus in 1951 to the International Cloud Atlas of the World Meteorological Organization. The cloud looks a little like the surface of the sea on a choppy day, which is why …

We never thought that we would reference analogue cameras and canned sardines in the same sentence, but here it is: the Lomographic Society has just brought out four new lomo cameras, all of which are inspired by the shapes and colour of the humble sardine can. Really! The analogue camera cases are inspired by the produce found at La Sardinia fish market and come in four awesome varieties: El Captitan, Fischer’s Fritze, Sea …

Massimo Vitali was born in Italy in 1944. Vitali studied photography in London; he first worked as a photojournalist in the 1970s and then worked later as a movie camera operator. His more recent work, below, can be considered fine art photography. They are meant to be viewed as very large prints. “My photography comes from absolute matter-of-fact situations but also from a deep curiosity that I possess for people, for what they do and how they think”

New York’s Museum of Modern Art ran a six-week summer session called “Shred, Thrash, Carve: The Visual Language of Skateboard Culture” to 13- to 19-year-olds. The recent visiting artist was none other than legendary skateboarder and  visual artist Mark Gonzales. He showed up with his Circle Board, a nose-to-tail chain of boards forming a giant, circular skateboard comprised of nine decks, 18 trucks and 36 wheels. “Back in like ’91, …

Check out this video on photographer Joni Sternbach talking about her unique approach to ‘surf photography’ using 19th century tintype photographic techniques to photograph local surfers. An accidental surf photographer.

Our latest T-shirt range inspired by Irish sunsets. The various colors are added to the screen and we let them do their magic. A truly limited edition as each print is slightly different from the previous one and never the same twice. Check out this little ‘making of’ video our friend JJ Rolfe has just put together for us.

The first ever Irish Cloud Festival will take place on 27th July in West Cork. Expect cloudspotting, cloud debating, eating and picnicing, and a talk from Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society and author of The Cloudspotter’s Guide and The Cloud Collector’s Handbook. The event is organised by TICAS (The Irish Cloud Appreciation Society). Ticas is an informal group of interested individuals who share pictures and information relating …

TRAILER #2: Temporal Collections… In the General Vicinity of Inner & Outer Space from R.T. on Vimeo.

An anonymous artist going by the name Mudlevel made this clever bicycle-based contraption dubbed a “complicated technical solution to aide in simple acts of vandalism.” Check it out.

The Irish rain cloud sends some love to East Africa. Bluefingers has teamed up with the Irish Red Cross in an attempt to raise awareness and money for the East African Drought Crisis. 50% of all sales of our Classic Black & White T-shirts goes to supports the work the Irish Red Cross are doing in East Africa at the moment. The countries of Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia and Dijbouti …

“He’s the real thing, an original seed, the original virus that infected all of us. He was beyond comparison. To this day I haven’t witnessed any skater more vital, more dynamic, more fun to watch, more unpredictable, and more spontaneous in his approach than Jay. There are not enough superlatives to describe him. In contests, Jay was simply the most exciting skater to watch. He never skated the same run …

The surfing community suffered a great loss this February when surfer and renowned photographer, Leroy Grannis, passed away at age 93 from natural causes. A Hermosa Beach local, Grannis was inducted into both the Surfing Walk of Fame and the International Surfing Hall of Fame and went on to co-found International Surfing, now known as SURFING MAGAZINE. 1969, LeRoy Grannis surfing Hermosa Beach with his Calypso amphibious camera, invented by …

Thursday last we went to see our friend, Niall O Brien’s installation ‘ANGER’ at Block T in Smithfield. Niall is an old friend from college in iadt and we got to know each other on surf trips to Achill Island and Lahinch, Co. Clare. Since then he has re-located to London and has been producing some really excellent work with a focus on youth and subcultures. The installation featured dark sounds …

Most of the eastern half of the country gets between 750 and 1000 (mm) of rainfall in the year. Rainfall in the west generally averages between 1000 and 1400 mm. In many mountainous districts rainfall exceeds 2000mm per year. The wettest months, in almost all areas are December and January. April is the driest month generally across the country. However, in many southern parts, June is the driest. Hail and …

Great new video from Mickey Smith featuring Irish Fergal Smith dominating at dawn. Teahupoo, Tahiti. Fullscreen it! 

Long before Kelly Slater was picking up World Champion titles for his surfing prowess, the sport was being followed by Hawaiian natives in the 19th century. And now the first ever picture of a surfer has been found in a photo album that dates back to 1890. The Hawaiian is photographed wearing a traditional loin cloth and shown standing in the shallows holding his rudimentary board. Missionaries who went to the island after …

Moxie Studios hosted the first in a series of workshops organized by ReMake design network. 50 designers worked in teams disassembling 100 old chairs, mixing and matching the pieces to create brand new furniture designs. Established in 2005, Moxie Studios is a not-for-profit arts resource organization that provides workspace, materials, technical assistance and consultation, exhibition and performance opportunities to musicians, artists and groups. ReMake Design Network is a community of …

Eddie Linehan Ireland’s greatest living storyteller tellstales of Myth, Magic and Mystery for adults and children! When Eddie Lenihan appeared in Irish national television’s 12-part series ‘Storyteller’ in 1986, most of those seeing and hearing him were doing so for the first time. However, two further series titled ‘Ten Minute Tales’ in 1987 and 1988 changed all that for good. But what viewers did not know was that he had …

Introducing Chloe Early – We’ve always been a big fan of her work, she’s a really lovely girl and also an expert skipper by all accounts. She eats lots of really nice food and is fond of a good scone or scon as some people call it. ‘My current works are oil paintings on linen and aluminium. Large scale painterly montages, I work with an abstracted urban landscape background placing interchangeable …

Iori Tomita is a Japanese ex-fisherman who studied ichthyology. While in University, Tomita was first introduced to the creation of transparent specimens for the scientific purpose of examining minuscule bone structure. Now an artist, he transforms marine life with a scientific technique of preserving and dying organism specimens with his series that he calls, New World Transparent Specimens. Tomita first removes the scales and skin of fish that have been preserved in formaldehyde, …

Thanks to everyone for coming to the launch party and hope you all had a good time, Here are some photos of the early part of the night before all the free beer was drank and people started scoring other people in public, in the changing rooms and generally did things they may not want published on the internet. Thanks to all the lovely people who spent their hard earned …

John. F Kennedy gracefully describes our love of the ocean at the America’s Cup Dinner, Rhode Island, 14 September 1962. “I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an …

Bluefingers Launch Party took place on 10.06.2011. T’was rocking till the early hours. Check back here soon for pics of the night.  

Just watched the BBC “The Secret Life of Waves”, it’s well worth the watch. Apparently, waves aren’t made of water, they’re made of energy. When a wave crashes onto a beach or a reef, the energy dissipates either into the sand/rocks or into sound. The sound of the waves is made by squillions of tiny bubbles, each of which releases its energy in a single plink which, massed together, makes …

The Bluefingers logo is based on a Cumulus cloud. The particular variation is the Humilis formation, the smallest Cumulus cloud, being wider than they are tall. A cotton wool tuft, it appears more solid and defined than the other cloud types. They appear almost as if you could reach up and touch them or lie on them and if you could they would be the softest, most comfortable things imaginable. …

We just recently convinced Mick Murphy, a friend of ours, to get into his attic and search out some old Irish surfing photos for us. Mick is from Limerick and played a large part in setting up both the WESC (West Coast Surf Club) in August 1970 and organising the European Surfing Championships in Co.Clare in Sept 1972. Surfing in Ireland only really kicked off in the 1960′s and it …

Introducing ‘A Rubbish Idea’ a long term Bluefingers environmental art project inspired by rubbish. Our focus is on marine and beach debris in Ireland; we understand this is a global issue as waste moves around the world with ocean currents. We have learnt that 80% of all waste is dumped inland, then enters our oceans via rivers and streams. We spent no more than half an hour lightly combing a …

In this humorous and factual tour of the skies, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society argues that we dont appreciate clouds enough. The book introduces each of the different characters in the cloud family, pointing out which are the predictors of fine weather, and which of unsettled. It tells us of clouds being used to predict earthquakes, and of one type of cloud in Australia that glider pilots …

Pier pressure. We found some old photographs recently. Spring is here!

The lovely Kate Mullins is in love with the sea. She spends her evenings embroidering these sea inspired little broaches. She has a thing about sewing machines and that is she doesn’t use them. The broach pictured above is one of many creations that find there way into birthday surprises for a special few. She has promised to make some for our little shop so we look forward to seeing …

Getting to grips with our amazing water based inks from Permaset Aqua. They are a joy to work with and we highly recommend them. They are completely solvent free and they also smell really nice as they are being cured. We are currently going through the process of testing the cure times, t-shirt fit and material types, our labeling and packaging. We want to make sure that you are really happy …

Mark Visser, gnarly night time big wave surfing in Hawaii with a disco surfboard!

Beautiful intro into a beautiful film. Feminine grace. A man could never get close. Lil’ clip of glass love (the andrew kidman film) found on the net. go to http://www.litmus.com.au/html/glass_love.htm

Our favorite surfing short movie by Mickey Smith.

Beautiful, unique sculpture project by Jason deCaires Taylor highlighting natural ecological processes. see more at…http://www.underwatersculpture.com/

Half of all the fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead For more info and to get involved you can join the campaign at www.fishfight.net

Friday after work Guinness led to 76 nautical themed drawings.