Painted Skulls at ‘Glug’

I recently had the pleasure of making my way down to Glug in Brighton. Glug is a networking event for creatives that takes place in London, with Crush and Agency Rush teaming up to present it in Brighton.

As many freelancers will know, getting out and connecting with people can be difficult, so a night with music, entertainment, and cocktails, where you can meet others in your industry, is well needed.

While DJs and projected films and animations worked on the atmosphere, it was a good opportunity for people to relax and mingle. Intermittently, everyone was invited to listen to talks by Red Design, Lark Rising fashion designers, and photographer Mike Diver.

While also having retro arcade games and a pop-up art shop to keep us entertained, a long line of illustrators diligently worked throughout the night. Each illustrator had been given a ceramic skull to decorate, bringing their own interpretation to the Halloween theme.

I had a chat with a few of them about their inspiration for their designs. It was really interesting to see how wide ranging their ideas were and how each found their own concept from the same starting point. Carlos Gardemartin looked to Macbeth for inspiration, illustrating all the ingredients from the witches’ recipe.

He was obviously happy to have fun with it, saying that it was more about the joy of the idea. Next to him, Rosie Irvine’s Mexican Day of the Dead-inspired skull was showered in colourful images. She takes inspiration from old family photographs, often using them in her other projects.

Further down, Shan Jiang’s skull described a return to the earth. His crows and ornate flowers painted with the tiniest and most delicate of brush strokes represented the cycle of life. While Shan brought us to the earth, next to him, Ollie Munden took us the bottom of the sea. His barnacle-covered skull lay in the depths, complete with a menacing tentacle slowly creeping out of one of the eye sockets.

Peter James Field’s skull, which he had affectionately named Rhodri, illustrated snap shots from it’s owner’s imagined life. He described the character as a heavy drinker who was proud of his macho persona. While painting disappointment on the skull like a tattoo, he explained that underneath the light-hearted style of the drawings was a subtle comment on the young drinking culture of today.

It’s such a great idea for a night, perfect for any creatives out there looking for somewhere free from their desk. I even managed to tear myself away from the illustrators and meet some new faces. At only £4 entry plus a free cocktail, I’ll definitely be on the look out for the next event.

A big thank you to Craig Sawyer for all the great photography seen here.