Competition entry

I got back from Belgium last night after a brilliant week drawing. The weather was really weird, unbelievable downpours one minute, clear blue skies the next, but we had such fun.

In Antwerp we watched a car chase being filmed for a TV show. It all materialised right next to us as we sat outside a cafe having lunch. Make-up artists, camera men and directors descended within minutes and an hour later they had their shot and the whole square stank of burnt rubber! So exciting! We partied in Liege with Erasmus students, soaked up the atmosphere in beautiful Bruges, ate chocolate in Pierre Marcolini's shop, went to a flea market and drank lots of beer. Photos and drawings to come...

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see my entry for a wine label competition. I cut the lettering and images out of coloured paper then added logos etc on photoshop. A worthwhile exercise (especially as the prize is a week's holiday in San Francisco!).

Seaside Texture

I don't know where the last two weeks have gone.

We had some sad news last week, Jacob's grandfather passed away, leaving the most amazing legacy. You can read about him here. I've been clearing out our spare room to make way for Jacob's new study area (he does his teacher training this academic year, so I wanted to get him comfy and ready as I could). And tomorrow I hop on the Eurostar for a week in Belgium with my girlfriends from uni. We'll be drawing up a storm - or so I hope, I'm quite out of practice.

It still seems relatively quiet in the blog world, what have you been up to? Something fun I hope.

PS these photos are bits of lovely crumbly boat on Aldeburgh beach. Don't they look tactile?

Istanbul

Complete visual overload! Istanbul is the most amazing place.

We were pretty sticky wandering round the city as it was always around 33 degrees and 95% humidity, but we had an absolute ball. We took ferries and trams and ate fish sandwiches by the Bosphorus. There was beer served in mugs, an amazing junk shop, banter with stall-holders, fireworks and fresh produce markets to die for, and reflective times in the most fabulous mosques and palace architecture.

What a brilliant trip!

Arrivals

Phew! Just got back from an amazing week in Istanbul. I'm shattered and off to bed in a min, but have missed you dear blog, and wanted to wish you goodnight with pictures of prints that I listed on Etsy before we left. I promise not to neglect you anymore.

Istanbul images to come this week...

Night night xx

A collection of things

One day we also collected a whole hoard of pottery bits, sea glass and shells. Then we lay in the sun and I shut my eyes as Jacob passed me one piece at a time to identify. Weirdly, I got through about thirty of them correctly by just touch! I wonder if there can be a career in this..?

A Welsh week

Time is whizzing by this summer! We got back from a week in Tenby on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales yesterday and it was beautiful. I'd stayed there a lot when we were kids so it was lovely to find it as special as I remembered it. One day we went fishing on a boat and caught lots of mackerel for supper. Another day it rained and I found the most wonderfully overcrowded bookshop. And one night we went clubbing in a place as big as my living room!

Dog days

Today is the last day of dog-sitting. It's been fun, Saffy!

A lot of bottle

Hello! Long time no see!

Today I've been painting paper and cutting the shapes of my old bottle collection. I love looking at the lovely raised lettering on them, they're so tactile. I like that they are from local (and long since folded) companies too, and the more gross things like 'Lung Tonic" that appear on the sides are hilarious! Ew, lung tonic...

Tomorrow I am babysitting the most gorgeous labradoodle called Saffy. Her owners are off to Italy for three days and I have lots of fun walks and picnics planned. I'm pretty sure the weather is going to be awful but I don't mind getting a bit damp and chasing rabbits! Thing is, she barks like fury at men. I'd have her at home with me in the day but of all the blinking weeks of the year, this week my landlord is having the entrance to our flats repainted so there will be noisy workmen everywhere! Typical! Any of you lovely lot got some rainy day ideas for dogs? Wish me luck people...

Finding the way

So, rather fatally I'd been playing with patterns with a view to ending up with some nice new paper collages for the shop, but things don't often work out that way. There's something about experimenting whilst knowing that it should amount to something nice which instantly sucks any joy out of it! But then I started looking at the things around me, my turquoise collection piece, the box of Echo and Narcissus prints back from uni marking and I realised something...

Cutting paper letters is what I'm probably destined to do. I absolutely love it. And when I think about it, it keeps popping up in my work - the Tobacco Trader project, my Freakshow poster, my Porto typography book - and they're some of the projects I liked most in the last two years.

Obviously I still love drawing and making images but making type really excites me. I have some plans now for new collection pieces, in the same kind of format as the collection of turquoise but varying the theme. I'd love to have a shop full of lovely posters.... the first of which will be a new ABC poster (top picture) in the shop soon.

A Fresh Approach

Since uni's been out for summer I've been losing momentum like nobody's business. It's fine, I needed a break, but now need a bit of a kick up the arse to make some nice work.

This month and next I'm working as a research assistant for one of my lecturers and am looking at storytelling, in particular Folk tales. The tales I've heard are mainly based on strange things lurking in forests and a lot of superstition which for me at least, conjures all sorts of visual intrigue.

Then on Thursday I found this wonderful book full of interesting patterns (that I instantly thought Lucie would love), which got me thinking about patterns and their early origins and uses to identify people. I don't know if any of this will lead to any new work but it's got me excited which is a good start...

In print!

I had some exciting news today. One of my images is going to be used as the cover of 10,000 student diaries at my university!

A couple of weeks ago I submitted a "colourful image" for consideration and today I got an email to say they are going to use it. I don't know if anyone else submitted anything so I guess they had little choice, but it just goes to show it's worth doing these things. My biog and web address will be printed in every copy too so it might bring me a bit of traffic and the image will be used to decorate freshers' info in September. Yay for paper diamonds eh?

And the winner is....

Congratulations Caitlin!

Thanks for everyone who left a sweet comment, I wish I could send you all something.

Caitlin if you can send me a quick email with your postal address I'll get the jug and brooch on their way to you!

All tied up

For the last couple of evenings, Jacob and I have been working on a project togther. And it's been great! Jacob is wanting to get into sailing this summer so was looking at knots on the internet. I'd always wanted a knot sampler since the collection project I was set last summer and I love arranging things as you might know, so it all came together quite quickly. I'm so happy with it!

Me me me

The lovely Cathy of habit of art contacted me a couple of weeks ago about doing a little interview with me and I immediately jumped at the chance...then promptly forgot all about it. But this morning I emailed her my answers and with impressive speed she's put together a lovely piece all about little old me! You can read the whole interview here. On her blog she also writes about her own creative practice, fashion and beautiful design.

Thanks Cathy!

Life's a beach

On Thursday we went to Wells-next-the-Sea, as it seems to be our favourite beach on the Norfolk coast. I finally got the chance to photograph most of the gorgeous beach huts there and am planning to do some drawing from them when I have time. Aren't the colours amazing? See the whole flickr set here.

Giveaway!

To celebrate my 100th sale on Etsy I am giving away a happy face brooch and a hand-painted milk jug!

It feels like it has taken forever to get to this landmark but I've learnt so much on my way. My style has changed a lot and more and more I'm making my shop reflect what I do in my uni life, which is exciting.

Thanks so much for all your support on here, you lovely things. Leave a comment before midnight Wednesday (UK time) and I'll draw names out of a hat on Thursday morning to decide the winner.

I've also listed another happy face brooch on etsy, sad faces to come soon...