One of My Kind

 

A while back I was asked by the lovely girls who produce the magazine OOMK (one of my kind) if I would submit some images and an interview with them. I happily said yes as I love what they stand for and the message they promote. It's a great publication and I highly advise you to get your hands on a copy if you can. I'm looking forward to reading the next issue already! In their own words:

"One of My Kind is a highly visual, handcrafted small-press publication. Our content largely pivots upon the imaginations, creativity and spirituality of women."

Issue one is out now and you can find out all about them on their site including stockist information.                                      www.oomk.net

Hibernation

Hello All. I have been in hibernation for a while but I am now ready to show you this piece I had been working on for my submission for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. I won't find out the outcome for a while yet so fingers crossed it meets the approval of the judges and hanging committee. It was quite a big undertaking and I was worried I wouldn't complete  it in time for the deadline but alas I did and I'm glad! I took these photos in a hurry and they don't really do it enough justice, the overall size is 46cm².

Mess Around

Last night I was having a bit of a play around with some Sennelier oil pastels. I bought two colours on the weekend to get a feel for them to prevent myself from indulging in purchasing a box that I don't need! They were just as nice as I remembered. They have a smooth and creamy consistency which is what I love about them and makes blending with fingers  really easy. The pigments are strong and vibrant - as you would expect with a product that was made especially for Picasso. As far as I can recollect I've only ever produced a 'proper' image in oil pastels once so my experience and skill with the medium is very limited. I'm fairly pleased with the outcome considering that I wasn't intending on doing anything noteworthy. You can probably tell that I made a couple of a mistakes so if anyone knows how to 'erase' mistakes please let me know and any advice/techniques on rendering fine detail would be fab.

A Dying Art?

It's always rather satisfying when a doodle turns into something substantial. I started off drawing the seal (top left) on a discarded piece of paper and it turned in to a design for letter writing paper. If I had more time I'd like to scan it and experiment with colour. Writing letters feels like a dying form of communication these days, even though everyone loves receiving them. Perhaps people should remember how nice it is to receive handwritten mail and take the time to write to a friend - who knows you might receive one back!

Seasons Greetings

Hello all.

I hope everyone is enjoying the festive season whatever that might mean to each you.

The Big Draw

This post is uber late I know - two months to be exact. I wrote it the day of the event but never got around to uploading the photo. So here it is finally...

This afternoon I popped down to the V&A for The Big Draw. It's an annual month long celebration of drawing and all things artsy aimed at encouraging people of all ages to pick up a pencil and make their own mark. There were lots of workshops to get involved in, but unfortunately for myself and anyone older than the age of 10 or so it was near impossible to take part in because the whole place was reverberating with children. On the plus side however, a life long dream of mine was fulfilled today and that was to meet Quentin Blake - albeit very briefly, and get him to sign something. Fantastic.

Then to top it off the following week I had a brief chit chat with a very good friend of Quentin's who is in his book Angel Pavement I believe. She said she is always surprised when people of my age who come off as 'cool' fall to pieces when we meet him or talk about him. Insightful and amusing!

Recycled Paper Jewellery

Under the instruction of contemporary jewellery designer Clara Breen I made some paper brooches using a technique she regularly employs in her own work somewhat reminiscent of quilling. Her original idea behind them was to create something to wear out of paper you would normally throw away but might be reluctant to, because they hold fond memories e.g. cinema and concert tickets. This way you can carry them with you always but they have an elevated aesthetic purpose. I particularly like her ring designs where the paper is built up in layers and looks a bit like rock strata. The brooches I made are created out of old V&A exhibition flyers.