small fry

new designers

2010-07-14T20:50:00.002+01:00

we were exhibiting at new designers: part two last week. sold a print to the lovely miss coke and also had someone invite me to be part of an exhibition slash auction in a disused shop in shoreditch in the autumn, sounds pretty exciting. sian, sarah, nick and kathryn were also asked i believe, it will be fun to see everyone again in october, all going well.

i've just worked out how to link to things, can you tell?!

london things

2010-07-14T20:44:00.002+01:00

2010-06-30T17:15:00.000+01:00

2010-06-30T17:06:00.000+01:00

2010-06-01T00:20:00.001+01:00

2010-05-31T19:12:00.000+01:00

so that was art school then...

2010-05-29T15:55:00.003+01:00

i can't quite believe it's all over! this was me on opening night last friday, with a pint of pimms in my hand. it was so lovely to be able to show my family and friends what i've been doing. my old art teacher (she's not actually 'old'!) from school even came down to see!

hoping now that some commissions and job offers come trickling into my inbox... so far it has been somewhat slow!

2010-04-26T22:03:00.000+01:00

last semester

2010-04-18T17:46:00.001+01:00

2010-04-18T17:30:00.001+01:00

2010-04-16T17:51:00.001+01:00

penguin design award

2010-04-15T11:07:00.002+01:00

2010-04-05T17:27:00.001+01:00

a map

2010-03-29T12:30:00.000+01:00

same col

2010-03-27T16:38:00.002Z

more watercolours

2010-03-20T15:42:00.002Z

bonne maman, for my granny's birthday

2010-03-18T08:51:00.001Z

trying to get back into watercolours

2010-03-16T19:08:00.002Z

raffle

2010-03-15T17:28:00.002Z

trying to get back into drawing

2010-03-15T17:26:00.002Z

d&ad boards

2010-03-08T16:05:00.002Z

d&ad

2010-03-08T11:48:00.002Z

eight photos of the sky taken in quick succession walking up perth road.

2010-03-02T17:56:00.002Z

a favour

2010-02-10T10:45:00.000Z

National Letter Writing Week 2010

2010-01-21T11:47:00.001Z

postal

2010-01-17T17:16:00.002Z

correction of previous post entitled 'fifty four'

2010-01-12T18:40:00.002Z

the photo of the ashtray was taken by robyn hamilton.

house boat

2010-01-12T17:55:00.002Z

warsaw poster biennale

2010-01-12T17:10:00.002Z

Some interesting past winning entries.

fifty four

2010-01-12T16:25:00.005Z

Some books, an ashtray, a digital clock time.

I'm feeling guilty about having not done a post since the nineteenth of November. Fifty-four days!

The festive season has been a nice rest. Much snow occurred. Ate much nice food and drank much nice wine. Excess of police-murder-investigation television dramas watched by the fire. This left little time for illustration. To be honest I have never felt less motivated to make art in all my life. The combination of a loss of self-confidence, lack of ideas and a bad grade at the end of last term has left me feeling like I really never want to pick up a pencil again. I have no work to show, I have done nothing since our exhibition and our print sale in December (both of which were very successful, I should have done a post about these long ago). So instead of any work: here are some photos of snowy scenes: the Beauly Firth and Culbin Forest.

sketchbook odds and ends

2009-11-19T11:46:00.002Z

DAAD book

2009-11-19T11:41:00.003Z

poster post

2009-11-12T19:18:00.004Z

all hallows eve

2009-10-30T13:20:00.002Z

These are so much more difficult to make than anticipated. I'm going as a rabbit thats been mauled by a fox. Basically I wanted an excuse to make some ears like the Louis Vuitton ones. Photos to follow after halloween!

spring forward, fall back

2009-10-25T11:23:00.003Z

It's been over a week since my last post - bad! Whether or not anybody actually reads my blog I'm not sure, but I'd like to think someone reads each post. Even if not, it's nice to write.

So the clocks went back last night, which meant a lovely extra hour in bed. I had such a good sleep last night - interrupted only by some strange dreams about getting ready for school, and road signs, giving instructions on directions to go in life (as opposed to on roads!)

It has been a really frustrating week in Uni. Although it's been reading week I've been in every day, either trying to find a distraction free place to do dissertation, or trying to finish this damn German Embassy brief. Basically the whole experience has really put me off lithography! Some of the mistakes have been my own fault (not very accurate measuring) but the whole process has been far more time consuming and frustrating than it should have been. The printmaking department is suffering from losing Ailsa in my opinion - Mark and Pete are always having to deal with screenprinting dilemmas aswell as etching and litho problems. In reality this means they are always trying to be in two places at once, and teach at least two people at once.

On a lighter note, the clock change has been accompanied by some Proper Autumn Weather. It's been really windy and rainy, I haven't left the flat all weekend. It's nice to listen to the weather battering the windows when you are cosied up in bed. And when I do venture out later today (to buy milk, and hopefully go and see Fantastic Mr Fox at the DCA!) I intend to get all wrapped up. This is the time of year for mittens and hats and soup and hot chocolate and kicking leaves and seeing your breath and rosy cheeks.

Oh, and with Halloween fast approaching, it's time to get costume making!!!

B E R L I N

2009-10-17T13:53:00.008+01:00

I returned last night from a spectacular 48 hours in Berlin with Sian. We stayed in The Michelberger Hotel, which both of us would highly, highly recommend. Newly opened, run by a bunch of young, creative folks - a boutique style interior in an old factory with beautiful high ceilings, and tiled walls. In the past the building was used for underground parties apparently, but now Vice Magazine use it regularly for events in Berlin. We stayed in a cosy little room on the third floor, beautifully fitted out with a modern shower room, flatscreen TV (German Come Dine With Me anyone?) and very comfortable bed. Little finishing touches like some old photos pinned to the wall, the thick yellow (U-Bahn yellow) curtain, a 'Michelberger' illustrated wallpaper, and the pile of second-hand European books made it extra special.

The bar / cafe / library area is fitted out with huge big sofa / bed type things for lounging, an old piano, oversized lampshades made out of books, and more books and magazines than you could ever read. Huge walls made of books in a wire frame. Also some nice cuckoo clocks telling the time across the globe, some nice pot plants, and a friendly labrador made the place feel very homely. In the breakfasting room, tables were laid out in lines, with vases of flowers and lace doilies. The chairs are all different - all having been reclaimed from a recycling yard and given a lick of fresh white paint. Each morning we were greeted by the dulcet tones of Tom Jones crooning to us over the best breakfast spread I think either of us have ever sampled... smoked salmon, hot croissants, seeded rolls, lots of salami and cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, muesli, lots of lovely juices and fresh coffee, fresh fruits and yoghurts. YUM!

All this came in at a very very reasonable €162 for the two of us (2 nights, breakfast for 2 each morning). Completely worth it! The only thing we found to complain about was that the cocktails were too strong (this is not something I'd usually complain about - these were un-drinkable!)

We spent wednesday afternoon walking around Hackesher Markt vintage shopping and people-spotting. Also a super sweet coffee and waffle in a Balzac Coffee gave us the energy to go and admire the big 'olive on a stick' TV tower against the clear wintery sky, and walk round the building site that is Museumsinsel and fend off beggars in Lustgarten. Wednesday evening we went back to the ever-lovely VietBowl in Friedrichshain for some noodles and wine, then attempted to go to a gig at the Bang Bang Club - but realised how expensive it was to get in and decided bed seemed more appealing!

Thursday - after a relatively long lie and a hearty breakfast we headed to Prenzlauer Berg for a stroll about. It was horrible weather - so cold and wet, so we spent a lot of the time hiding in shops and reading magazines in coffeeshops to keep warm. We went to the amazing bookshop with every art book you could think of in that we found before, just beside Museum island, where about an hour was spent poring over hefty volumes and shiny magazines.

Thursday evening - the Grand Opening!! For those who haven't heard me gassing on about this for the last month or so, this was the opening of Illustrative 09, a yearly international illustration festival, showing young and established illustrator's work. I got invited because I entered the offshoot competition, The Swatch Young Illustrator's Award (needless to say I was not nominated - when I saw what I was up against it came as no surprise!). The opening event was held in an old church, Elisabethkirche, on Invalidenstraße. We arrived maybe 45 minutes after the opening time, and joined a very long queue to get in. When we eventually were stamped in as certified guests, we were faced with a cavernous building filled with smoke and projected images, some really good music, and lots of very stylish people. Unfortunately I did not have a working camera to capture all this - but this guy seems to have done a good job:

iHeartBerlin.de - Illustrative Grand Opening

The exhibition was held next door in a gallery type builing, which looked as if it may have once been a school. Work by people such as Luke Best, Yokoland, Pixelgarten, Martin Haake, Eva Han, Erik Sandberg, Dan McPharlin and Skinner festooned the walls, artists mingled and exchanged contacts. Having very minimal German language skills, I did a bit of 'guerilla' business card placement - placing my business cards with those of the artists whose work was being shown. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who did so! I did see my (very hastily knocked up - all handwritten!) business cards being examined and pocketed though - even if just one more person checks out my blog I consider it a success! We had a chat with the guys from NoBrow (the folks who published Nick White's book - see previous post about Nick's work and the talk he gave), mainly about Nick White's beard, and about how it's rubbish when you graduate.

Yesterday we made the depressing journey home - I swear flying RyanAir saps something out of your soul - and got a bit confused with the time change. A lot of time spent sitting reading in various parks and sleeping on buses.

On a positive note - leaving Berlin I knew I'd be back pretty soon, and for longer next time!

Oh, pictures to follow, from Sian's camera.

Nick White / Run Wrake

2009-10-05T15:57:00.006+01:00

Today we had a visiting illustrator in the department, doing a talk. his name is Nick White. he came round and chatted to us fourth years about our work, and he suggested this short film by Run Wrake as being of interest to me for my personal study, relating to the visual language of children's spelling / alphabet books. The images are from Enid Blyton books (a childhood favourite of mine).

Also today myself and Sian have decided to go to Berlin

for the Illustrative festival grand opening night, on the 15th

of this month. I am extremely excited to go back to berlin,

i have fallen in love with the place i think. I am thinking of

maybe trying to arrange a visit to Weißensee, where i am

thinking i might like to do a Masters.

We are maybe going to stay in a hotel called Michelberger,

run by a bunch of creative types, for creative types.

http://www.michelbergerhotel.com/

The website is brilliant, really really worth a look (with the

volume turned up!)

oh, here is some of Nick White's work too. ps. He has quite an impressive beard.

http://www.thisisnickwhite.com/

work in progress

2009-09-28T20:18:00.004+01:00

oh, and

2009-09-21T22:02:00.001+01:00

and

"So I went out on a limb

Thinking maybe we could swim

Into the river of light

Into the ocean of pain

Where angels get their wings

Where babies get their names

I wonder if you were aware

How much

You rock my boat"

we had a summer holiday

2009-09-17T10:21:00.001+01:00

sound....affects.....brain

2009-09-14T20:33:00.004+01:00

there is a car alarm going off on windsor street, it's been going about twenty minutes, its making me go little mental.... i guess thats the idea of alarms??? that you can't stand the noise so you have to do something about it, either fix it or run away.

this has got me thinking about alarms.

our fire alarm in our kitchen is positioned right above the oven - it goes off every time anyone cooks anything. pretty annoying.

today an alarm started going off when we were having a talk thing in our studio. it was very un-alarming though, not loud enough to actually cause 'alarm', presumably far enough away for us to subconciously know there is no immediate danger. i didn't feel alarmed, nobody really batted an eyelid.

my alarm on my phone that wakes me in the morning begins quietly, but gets louder with each ring, which makes the whole experience slightly more bearable. this morning i fell back asleep, i think with one eye still open, strangely. i don't think this is something i normally do?! i'm not even sure how i know, i was just aware of it.

my favourite alarm was one that lived in the living room of our old flat on shaftesbury road. joanne's brother brought it back from iraq i think, and it had pride of place on top of the telly. if you have never experienced the wonderous sound of one of these going off , you are missing out. its extremely loud, visually and in the noise way, and so brash and offensive but wonderful. this brilliant video demonstrates only the first verse of prayer, but you get the idea...

the car alarm has finally gone off, it was making me feel really on edge and angry, if it had gone on any longer, i may have done something un wise.

i doubt anyone wants to know my thoughts on alarms. but if you have read this far you must have some alarm stories to tell? or thoughts?

telefon tel aviv / illustrative 09

2009-08-13T18:09:00.002+01:00

have decided to enter the young illustrators award thing. it would be amazing to be nominated (doubtful, but worth a try!) and be part of illustrative 09 exhibition. a great excuse for another berlin trip!

just discovered telefon tel aviv, i don't know why i havn't before now. a really great album cover...

stefan sagmeister.

2009-05-30T00:43:00.002+01:00

it took me a while to actually get around to buying this, but boy am i glad i did. it is reasonably priced on amazon at the moment by the way.

BUY. NOW.

a design god among men.

a wonderful discovery!

2009-04-24T01:45:00.003+01:00

"The Modernist Editions"

http://sleevage.com/the-modernist-editions/#more-1610

a new favourite.

2009-04-18T00:12:00.004+01:00

i have just discovered this album and how completely GREAT it is.

go listen.

oh, and here is the final book cover design i did for the Penguin Design Award. never actually got submitted though - glandular fever being the main reason... but also a slight lack of sketchbook work to accompany it...

initial ideas for A Copenhagen Hope artwork.

2009-03-29T23:37:00.002+01:00

a fox yawning, a fox on a head, a badger on jamie bell's head.

2009-03-29T23:30:00.002+01:00

snaps of my work in the exhibition.

2009-03-23T23:37:00.001Z

watercolour & pencil drawings.

2009-03-18T23:36:00.000Z

artist statement project.

2009-02-26T17:04:00.001Z

life size book.

2009-02-17T00:16:00.001Z

a valentine.

2009-02-16T11:42:00.001Z

the new aidan moffat & the best ofs album came out out valentines day. what better way to celebrate everybody's favourite day?

i can hear your heart is nice too.

happy valentines day folks. well its past now. but i couldn't remember my password for a few days. whoops.

just some sketchbook pages.

2009-02-04T00:14:00.004Z

currently confused by:

2009-01-26T23:32:00.002Z

has anyone read it? does it get less confusing?

berlin times.

2009-01-26T22:01:00.000Z

mini versions of my friends and i, planning adventures in berlin last week.

2009-01-26T22:00:00.000Z

hello! how does this work then...?