Silversmithing

I've started an evening class in silversmithing and I'm so excited to be making things again after a little 
break. Top picture is the very beginnings of my first ring, it's pretty ugly but you've got to start somewhere!

It's so nice to learn a new skill, and I can't wait to be able to set huge stones. It's great to see so many 
Etsy sellers making simple, well thought out jewellery. I'm feeling inspired. 

Have you ever tried working in silver?

Etsy sellers from top:

KittyStoykovich

ColbyJune

BeatrizFortes

SusanaTeixeiraJewels

Instagram

Hello! So I'm a little late to the party but I've been enjoying using Instagram a lot lately. You can follow me here. Let's share retro-looking photos of our lunches (and cats)!

Map of Cambridge

I was recently commissioned to make an illustrated map of Cambridge, highlighting the central location of my old university. Obviously I started by drawing cows and bowls of noodles. Stands to reason really. I think it's come together quite nicely.

My First Book Cover

Nearly a year ago on a research trip with a lecturer, I met welsh poet Grahame Davies. He commissioned me to turn one of my illustrations from this project into a cover for his next book of poetry which is now for sale at Seren Books. I was thrilled to receive my copy in the post this week.

Imagined Places

I read a wonderful book a few months ago about a journey into the Peruvian cloud forests along the Inca trail. It got me a bit wanderlusty...

The book was To The Last City by Colin Thubron, and I instantly wanted to make images from its lovely descriptions. I've never been to South America so it's all imagined, but I hope one day I will go there.

These were very simple paper cut and drawn elements. I could see them being matchbox labels, couldn't you?

Boffins in Coffins

..is the unofficial title of Giants Beneath Our Feet, a Heritage Lottery Project run through Chesterton Community College, Keystage Arts and Heritage, and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

It was based on a local cemetery where many famous Cambridge University alumni were buried and I was asked to illustrate a map to support it. I'm really pleased with the result.

Being able to control all the design and illustration from the outset was a nice challenge, and to end up with a real thing that hundreds of people will use is exciting. I enjoyed designing my own typeface too. If you've not tried it before, I'd thoroughly recommend yourfonts.com.

The map can be found at the Tourist Information Centre in Cambridge.

South Africa - Part 3 - Bo Kaap

 

 

Google Cape Town and you will probably see photos of these colourful houses in Bo Kaap, the Malaysian quarter of the city. They are a bit of a tourist hotspot, but quite wonderful nonetheless.

Have a happy weekend.

Public Health

This is a commission that just went to print for Cambridge University's Research Horizons magazine. The issue was on public health, and various aspects relating to it. I had fun drawing all the strange elements, and it was lovely to be able to handle it as a real thing. Exciting!

South Africa - Part 2

 

I miss this place, it was so beautiful. Various shots from Table Mountain, Sutherland, Infanta and points in between.

South Africa - Part 1

 

I got back last week from spending a fortnight in South Africa. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement. We drove from Cape Town through the Western Cape to my auntie's house on the coast, then north through the Karoo to see South Africa's large telescope near Sutherland. After hours and hours on dirt tracks, we drove through some of the most impressive mountain passes, then headed back to Cape Town. More photos soon..

Jacqueline Ayer

I've been talking to a few illustration students this week about the beautiful work of Jacqueline Ayer and thought it would be nice to share some. This is one of my favourite books by her called Nu Dang and His Kite, and was written and illustrated in 1959. I've talked about Jacqueline's work before and have since found out that she trained as a fashion illustrator in Paris, before moving to the far east with her husband. I love her observations of daily life in Thailand, and her use of line with flat colour.