Last week, I got to go on a street art tour of Shoreditch with work, followed up by an awesome workshop we we got to try making our own art. It turns out that using spray paint to make a masterpiece is really difficult and I couldn’t even muster a legible name!
Both our guides were incredibly knowledgable and made me see the streets that I frequently walk down with a fresh pair of eyes. One of my favourite pieces that they pointed out were the mushrooms made out of polyurethane foam that an artist called Christiaan Nagel has put up all over roofs in Shoreditch. Regardless of the meaning behind the pieces, the bright colours in the skyline make me happy. My other favourite thing the guides pointed out were the awesome gum pieces by Ben Wilson. He paints mini masterpieces on the pieces of flattened gum on the pavement, and since the gum on the pavement isn’t private property he’s not defacing anything.
After the tour wrapped up, we headed back to the Red Market to start the workshop portion of the evening. We started out simple, trying to make our own tags and then gradually moved on to patterns and stencils and some freehand drawing. I was a spray paint newbie – I’d only used it once – to spray paint a pair of shoes for prom instead of buying a new pair (true story). Sadly, I don’t have a future as a graffiti artist, but I had a blast in the evening!
This colourful piece was by the man who painted the biggest chuck of the Berlin wall.
One of the tiny gum masterpieces.
A piece by Stik.
This Banksy piece is now behind plexiglass to protect it.
One of the mushrooms that I mentioned.
I f you’re interested in the workshop/tour check out Alternative London’s website.
