A little something beautiful

I stumbled across this blog whilst on twitter, and was so impressed I felt that it had to be shared! Laura (a.k.a Lupin) sells and makes decorations, brooches and other crafty items made of felt. I particularly liked the above xmas decorations of tits, finches and robins. Reminds me of bird watching in my parent's back garden... You can see more of her lovely stuff at her blog here.

Speaking of birds, I've been enjoying drawing some chickens just lately. When I've done more that I'm happy with I'll put them up on here for people to look at. I'm thinking of working them into some kind of xmas/winter related theme, but not sure what. Any suggestions people?

Sale at JUMBLE!

It's been an exciting couple of weeks! First of all, I discovered that my pie illustrations are to be in the Association of Illustration annual next year. Then, I did a stall at JUMBLE monthly with my good friend Jo Cheung, you can see her lovely work here. And finally, at the start of last week me and my classmates graduated! We all looked very smart in our ceremonial garb. Some pictures of our colourful table at November's JUMBLE below, enjoy!

Some pics of the surroundings: Deptford Town Hall, the Amersham Arms Pub where the event was held.

And on a wall next to the pub, a mural by Gemma Correll! Small world, eh?

A trip to the north

Hello everyone! Well It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. This is mainly due to the fact that I normally update on Fridays, and on the due date of the last post something rather exciting happened... I got engaged! As you can imagine this prompted the need to spend the evening calling family and friends to tell them the good news, instead of tapping merrily away at my laptop. This weekend I toddled off northwards to County Durham to deliver Christmas presents to the now in-laws. During my visit we went on a trip up to the moors, which offers some really stunning landscapes.

Whilst up there we also dropped in on Tan Hill Inn, the highest altitude pub in Britain, to enjoy a pint and a spot of lunch. The pub really is like taking a step back in time, with it's thick stone walls, massive roaring hearth and flagged floor. All in all, a really wonderful weekend.

Etsy shop open NOW!

Hidy hi! My etsy shop is now open and ready for business! Follow the link here to check it out. At the moment I'm selling some cute felt animal badges. There are a range of different designs, you can have a peek at them in the images below. I will be adding more products to the store in the coming weeks, including some special bits for Hallowe'en!

All things bright...

I've been working pretty hard on a few bits and pieces lately (they'll make it onto the blog at a later date!) as well as at my part time job-to-pay-the-bills, so I spent a relaxing afternoon using up some beads that I had kicking around to make colourful beaded bracelets.

Love to y'all! xxx

I'm back!

Hello everyone! I've just gotten back from a spell with my folks back in Leicestershire. It was really nice to spend some quality time with my family and old friends. The small town we live in, Oadby, is home to the Leicester University Botanic Gardens, where a sculpture exhibition is held every summer. The exhibition is free to enter and the garden itself is an important local cultural hub, I would urge anyone visiting the area to pop along and have a look!

Anyway, below are some of my favourite sculptures from the exhibition. Enjoy!

Olive Wootton, The Albatross about My Neck Was Hung

Jon Buck, Dove

Marjan Wouda, Dog Performing Headstand

Jilly Sutton, The Fallen Deodar

Kate Denton, Paladines of Charlemagne

Sokari Douglas Camp, Asoebi - Lace Sweat and Tears

Celts and druids

Good evening everyone! Well it's been a busy couple of weeks (sorting out house stuff, unfortunately) but I felt like it was high time to get back to the drawing board. These charming little chaps are the fruit of an afternoon sketching and roughing out ideas for the Amelia's Anthology of Illustration competition, which is about the ecologically friendly technologies of the future. You would be justified in wondering "what have celts and neo-druids got to do with that?" but to answer would be telling. Be patient, and all will be revealed!

Until then, enjoy!

Show numero deux!

Greetings everyone! I hope you've all been enjoying the summer, having picnics, bbqs and days in the park. This last week I've been running hither and thither all over London trying to look for a place to live after the end of July. Ironically, after scoping out places as far apart as Mile End, Ealing Broadway and Brixton, we found the cutest little place just round the corner from where we live now! Maybe it's like trying on shoes, the first pair is the one you like best, but you still have to try all the others, don't you? So, I expect the next month or so will be mostly occupied with sorting things ready for the move, though there will be time still to do my weekly post on here.

Anyway, as I mentioned in the last post, Monday to Wednesday last week was the D&AD show, a huge event on any artist's or designer's calendar. Our class had a stand on which to exhibit work alongside other emerging talent from across the country. Below are images of the show, stand and work. I was fortunate enough to go to the private view, and had a wonderful time chatting to the other talented exhibitors there. Good luck to all of you!

On an unrelated note... did anyone notice my blog's new look? I thought it was looking a tad shabby so I spent a couple of days last week making it a bit more swish. Opinions/ suggestions are welcome as always!

Fish 'n' Chips!

Hello everyone! Well it's hot as hell here in London, so I have been out of doors enjoying the sunshine the last few days (well if not now, when can you? This is England after all...)

It's been a strange couple of weeks indeed, having to face up to being a responsible adult after so long of being a student, and actually having a bit of spare time after so long of having no life besides uni. The posts have been a little thin lately because I've been having a bit of a breather, but today I feel rested and ready to start work again, hoorah!

We Brits are famed for our fish 'n' chips. Below are some kinds of fish typically served with chips in Britain (from top: whiting, hake, bull huss, pollock, haddock, cod) and a large scale painting of a chippy counter. These were originally created as a piece to be hung on the wall at our degree show, but it was a bit too big. Instead they have gone into my portfolio for the D&AD show, which for anyone who doesn't know is a big trade show for illustrators, designers, advertisers and art directors.

I'm thinking the fish could be used to make some cute cards of some kind as well....

Enjoy the sunshine while it lasts and peace out! xxx

End of degree show... real world here we come!

Last Thursday was our much anticipated end of degree show, an opportunity to showcase our talent and celebrate everyone's hard work.  The private view was a success with a great turnout, despite the ill-timed tube strike!  I decided to put my pies up, and even made some things to sell on the merchandise stand.  Here are some photos for anyone who wasn't able to make it.  

Oh I almost forgot, you can see work by the people in the show at this website.