Her mini exhibition, Butterfly Effect, in the window of Studio 3, is an installation of her latest journals and various found items, suspended together from the ceiling.

With recycling pieces of wood and metal, she wants to bring the attention to the downside of the throwaway culture, whilst providing an original notebook for jotting down your thoughts. Great as a present, they are sold for between £30-50.

Do we need a diary in the age of facebook and twitter? ‘Definitely’, she says.

Watch idea13 interview with Ness about her work:

The exhibition is open throughout May.

Studio 3 / 85 Broadway West, Leigh on Sea, Essex, SS9 2BU
Tel 01702 716309 / Website

Here are some photos from the opening:

The next event is on 24 May and included David Whitney, a ‘3 Flying Ducks veteran, or maybe that should be survivor’.

‘For those of you who ventured over for our one-night stand in Canvey Island, you will be familiar with David’s fine blend of political satire and pure filth. As a thinking person’s comic we think he’s just perfect for our discerning Leigh audience.

‘Born in Aberdeen into an army family, David grew up all over the world on various army camps. He went to a military college himself with a view to serving in the British Army but, just before going to Sandhurst, he chickened out and went to drama school instead. Years later he was working in Los Angeles when, due to a string of lies he had been trying to impress girls with, he found himself performing his first stand up comedy gig at the Friars Club in Beverly Hills. Since then he has not looked back and now plays some of the biggest clubs in the UK. David is also an accomplished bagpiper and, not someone who shies away from big performances, David by personal request played at Gwen Stefani’s wedding.

‘Elegant, and carries disguised spin… Huge laughs… A Silver-tongued warrior’.
- THE SPECTATOR

‘His trajectory is perfect. He squeezes the laughs out of an audience. He is the squeezie person’.
- EDDIE IZZARD

Support comes from Danny Ward and, as a special guest, the winner of last month’s open mic competition – Mr Nathan Evans, hosted by Daryl ‘the Drake’ Easlea.

Tickets are available from the usual outlet – The Book Inn, Broadway West, Leigh on Sea, from Jules, Jane, or via request to 3 flying ducks 2ducksandadrake AT gmail.com.

Mat Bo is currently showing his film at Thames Delta at Focal Point Gallery. When he was also invited to organise an event to accompany the exhibition, which is inspired by the local art scene, he thought it would be interesting to bring together artists and musicians in an unusual networking mini festival and fair, expecially highlighting the peripheral industries that exist around the music scene.

SAAL-HALLA was held at Kursaal, in close proximity to Tiffins (ex-music club) and the Chinnerys, and the participants included: Level4 art magazine, the Railway Hotel, Culture as a Dare, Southend Punk and Noisy fanzine, and the artist Mark Titchner.

Here they briefly introduce their work:

For more information about Thames Delta, click here.

Everybody Dance: Music, Meaning And The Body.
7.30pm – 10pm
Jackie Wilson at Zero 6, 1972
Chris Hill first plays at The Goldmine 1973

Special guests: internationally acclaimed sociologist and musician, Professor Les Back; hugely influential soul DJ and music promoter, Chris Hill, and journalist, music critic and percussionist par excellence, Snowboy.

Book your tickets here.

Listen to This is a series of events centred on the importance of popular music to the formation of people’s identities and sense of place, developed and presented by author Daryl Easlea and academic Andrew Branch.

Taking place in Chalkwell Hall, Southend on Sea, Listen To This places a specific focus on the local in relation to national and international popular culture.

Listen To This reflects on past era-defining moments in popular music and culture with a local South-East Essex perspective. The evenings will culminate in a concert at Village Green 2012.

Video from last Listen to This event:

Metal / Chalkwell Hall, Chalkwell Park, Southend – website

Chris Lang’s artwork spans painting, sculpture, installation, photography, film and poetry. This exhibition brings together much of his life’s work and provides an emotional insight into the life of a largely unknown, yet prolific painter.

The exhibition gives particular focus to Lang’s paintings which dominated so much of his adult life and heavily informed his sculptural multi media works. Semi-abstract pieces, often auto biographical in subject matter, combine portraiture and self portraiture with a language of marks, colours, layers and moods. Chris Lang developed a very raw, painterly form of expression which manages to convey feelings, head spaces and atmospheres, almost impossible to articulate with words.

Open until 20 May.

CoExist Galleries, TAP, North Rd, Southend, SS0 7AB – website

http://www.facebook.com/events/280118862066795/?notif_t=plan_user_invited

Snowboy and the Latin Section are Europe’s leading Afro-Cuban Jazz performers and  recording artists, led by multi-percussionist Mark ‘Snowboy’ Cotgrove.

The Latin Section is have recorded 15 albums over a 25 year period, played festivals, concerts and clubs in 32 countries worldwide.

This is an exceptional opportunity to see them live in Southend.

For more information, visit Snowboy’s website.

Tickets £16.00 – book here.

Palace Theatre / Westcliff on Sea, 01702 351135

Visitors will be able to meet resident artists in their studios and enjoy an exhibition of their work in the Appliance Hall Gallery. Just don’t ask them to slide down the firemen’s pole!

A selection of workshops will be available over the weekend as well.

Hadleigh Old Fire Station was refurbished by Essex County Council in association with Castle Point Regeneration Partnership and with funding from the Homes and Communities Agency.

It is now home to 15 artists and two local community groups.

Hadleigh Old Fire Station / High Street, Hadleigh, Essex SS7 2PA, website

You can download the map here or pick it up from participating venues.

Artists include:

Marie Antonoiu, Sharon Stone, Rick Williams, Rick Williams, Kitty Guthrie Oakley, Philip Blower, Southend High School for Boys, Daphne McSean, Sue Glassock, Kitty Guthrie Oakley, Malcolm Keogh, Malcolm Perry, Ann Robson, Debbie Hadley, Ann Robson, Brenda Hopkins, Nicola Upton, Sharon King, Mara Chrystie, Danielle White, Art by Blind Artists, Joanne Andrew, Estelle Westlake, Marie McGarvey, Kevin Lorghran, Emma Mower, Ian Treherne, Natasha Kamburova, Summercare Daycare Artists, Cathy Cant, Philip Blower, Trevor Bell, Bronwyn Oldham, Steve Whittle, Michael Kinsella, Emma Mower, Christine Robinson and others.

Venues:

1 The Westcliff Hotel
2 The Beecroft Art Gallery
3 Studio eleven
4 Cliffs’ Pavilion
5 Dolly’s Tea Room & Bistro
6 Display Store
7 Classic Cap Co
8 Westcliff Fuji
9 Empire Cakes
10 Garri Bailey
11 JJ Sweets
12 Eliza
13 Margaret Raymond Florist
14 Casa Bonita
15 Westcliff Travel Service
16 Southend Blind Welfare Organisation
17 Halo
18 Aaron Lyons
19 Forever Flowers
20 Clouseaus
21 Havens
22 Summercare Ceylon Rd
23 Bathstore
24 Revivos Cafe
25 Stellisons
26 Athena
27 Open House, 240 Hamlet Ct Rd
28 Classic Carpets
29 Danceland at Dalby’s
30 Glass studio
31 Belvoir Estate Agents
32 Avenue Baptist Church
33 Westcliff Library

For more information about Westcliff Art Trail and how to participate next year, see their website.

This ‘witchy, Farfisa-fied garage rock band’ was formed in November of 2009 in Nashville, and their gig at the Railway Hotel is part of their UK tour this week.

They will supported by Wobbly Lamps and the newly formed The Other Lot!

Free entry. Starts at 7pm.

The Black Belles – Wishing Well

The Railway Hotel – railwayhotelsos.co.uk