feature

Just a quick hello to say thankyou to They Draw and Cook for featuring my recipe on today's blog :) you can see my recipe for mince pies here. Merry Christmas to everyone, have a wonderful day :)

crafty

Let it Snow

Well, if you are living in Britain and are not living under a rock, you may have noticed that it's snowing. A lot. And when it snows in Britain, everything has to stop - trains, planes, roads, deliveries, the works. Which means I have plenty of time to go taking pictures of the snow and getting on with lots of crafty projects to keep me occupied! The bulk of the white stuff came on Saturday, which is when I took the previous picture. It's a photo of our front path covered in its blanket of ice white snow, which looks rather festive. Lovely to look at, not so lovely to go walking in.. might be time to invest in some new wellies I think.

My mother has been as crafty as me of late, and she has delightfully fashioned a heart-shaped Christmas wreath for our front door which is entwined with Christmas berries, spices and fairy lights.

Mum's festive door wreath

I have also been making gift bags this week - I got hold of some cheap brown paper bags from home bargains and decorated them with illustrations of Christmassy characters such as snowmen and reindeer, and added some shiny curly ribbons and luggage tags. These are for the children of family friends, and will be filled with luscious Gingerbread and chocolate goodies (when I have finished making them!) I also made one or two for my best friends to hold their Christmas presents, I think these bags would be just as fun for adults as they are for children.

Selection of festive characters - Reindeer, Snowmen, Gingerbread men, Robins and Christmas Trees.

All personalised with each child's name on a label, which says Merry Christmas on the reverse

Festive Snowman

Yesterday I had a go at some little chocolatey fairy cakes to match the gift bags. Each one is a simple chocolate fudge cupcake, decorated with snowmen and crisp sugar on some melted milk chocolate. I had great fun picking the decorations and the cases from our collection of pretty treats!

Sweet chocolatey treats

So it really has been a crafty few days. I ventured out into the winter wonderland and picked up some materials to make my boyfriend a birthday present (birthdays in January, the present buying doesn't stop!) and so that will be under construction in the next few days. Soon it'll be Christmas day, and I intend to sit back, perhaps with my Nightmare Before Christmas DVD on (how traditional) and maybe eat many Mince Pies. I am still waiting to see if my recipe for mince pies gets featured on the They Draw and Cook blog, fingers crossed it gets on there soon!

New Design

Just a quick post to say that my blog has a new design, and I would love any feedback or comments if anyone has any ideas about it. I adore hand rendered type and I hope to continue using it in my work, so I felt that it would be appropriate for me to use it in my banner. I also hope to put up some more drawing over the holidays if I get any time.

I am going home tomorrow for Christmas (yay!) which means my daily chalk will most likely become a daily drawing every day, bit of a change! I'm looking forward to having some amazing Christmas cheer and get some last minute presents bought when I go shopping with my mum. I also look forward to family time and some lovely gravy :D post when I get home!

catch-up

Recently for some reason I've been unable to upload photos so I haven't done a post in a little while, so here's a little selection of stuff.

I finished my first term of third year on Friday, the last winter term I will ever do in education, unless I do an MA of course. Pretty scary stuff! Have been working on a project based on the subject of burlesque and I have been painting, may put up a little thumbnail from that. And I also recently photographed a painting of Dolly Parton that I did in the first year of uni that I just never got around to blogging about. That painting is based on a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo, we had to do a sort of mimicking transcription of a painting for that lesson, so it was Dolly with Kittens rather than Frida with Monkeys.

A thumbnail from the burlesque piece

"Self-Portrait with Cats" Dolly Parton painting

Yesterday was our little uni Christmas dinner, and me and my flatmate cooked up a lovely meal. It was a momentous occasion for me as it was the first time I truly mastered how to prepare proper gravy to my mom's recipe - really thick, gorgeously gloopy leek gravy. It made me so happy, I was very proud of myself! The lunch tasted amazing and we had a brilliant day. My Christmas presents included some amazing blingtastic earrings, a Katy Perry poster (I love her) and the amazing game Jet Set Radio Future that I used to play as a kid with my brother, brought back many memories. I also got an amazing fisheye filter for my nikon D40 from my amazing boyfriend Chris :) here's a few photos I got with it yesterday. (they showcase our deliciously tacky christmas decs quite nicely!)

Our Christmas lunch table, complete with mini Gingerbread Albert cottage and decorative centrepiece that resembles a unicorn horn

Bustylicious tree ornaments

Will probably be posting again soon as I have now got nothing much to do until I go home on Saturday, many random fisheye photos may follow.

crackle

Also forgot to mention the amaazing thing I got from Superdrug in Falmouth today! I saw this nail polish in what I think was Look magazine a few weeks ago, and it's a black nail polish that cracks into a pattern when you paint it over the colour underneath. It's by my all time favourite nail polish guru Barry M, and you can have a closer look at the product info here.

christmas

the tree

lovely busty ladies from TK Maxx

A view of Hedwig and the tree

Fiona the fairy and Philip the horse

beautiful glittery candles from Trago Mills

As you can probably tell, it's christmas at my house! There's never been a more creep-chic tree as ours. We have been making a small collection of decorations for the past three years, since we came to uni. The first was Fiona (the fairy on top of the tree), which I made out of felt and tissue paper in the first year of uni.

The second year brought with it the neon blue lights (seriously not fetching but they are bright and fun) and the lovely being that is philip. The horrid christmas pony courtesy of Millie Delacoe (whose amazing journalism/lifestyle blog you can view here, which will probably include more pics of the tree) and his name is Philip. We tried putting him near the door but the boys wouldn't let us, so with Fiona he now rides.

This year, we went a little overboard with ornaments. The busty christmas ladies are from a lovely amazing shop known as TK Maxx and the candles, golden swan and creepy christmas hat stars are all from the most amazing christmas heaven in all of Falmouth, Trago Mills.

Very excited to get to christmas now - I entered the They Draw and Cook holiday recipe contest last week with a recipe for mince pies (aha! which is why I cooked them last week...) and I can't wait to see if they put my recipe on their website. very exciting!

Angel

So this week, on top of all the other work I am trying to do, I have squeezed in a few hours to create an artwork to contribute to an art auction that is happening at my university. Because of the recent government spending cuts, our tutors are concerned that we won't be able to get enough funding to create out yearly 'Quotes' book, a promotional anthology of the class's work. So we are putting on an auction of student and tutor work to try to raise money for it in the event that funding gets cut completely. So you'll be pleased to know there's some artwork here! Yay! I don't see why I can't show it before the auction, hell, if you really like it come to Falmouth and bid for it!

This blog post is for my good friend Miss G who really ought to get on with signing up to twitter. :) and maybe blogger too. I hope this colours your day of dissertation work! Now to get on with my own...

festive

I realise it's still a good few weeks 'til Christmas... but I have been practising a few recipes to get myself in the little festive mood :) I hope to perfect this recipe by the time we go home. Today, I learnt how to make shortcrust pastry. To many people that may seem like a silly thing to declare as most people probably know how to, I simply haven't made it before so it was a first attempt. It really was amazingly easy, I'll never know why my mom has always said it's difficult. My flatmate Millie and I invested in some gorgeous little alphabet cookie cutters from Aldi last week in the hope that it will make some great concoctions, and I decided to use them to create some themed pastry tops for my mince pies. Got some good little photos of these bad boys - I see a ready-made Christmas card on the horizon!

Been attempting to get to grips with my dissertation this week, I have actually started putting finger to key and writing something down! I hope to have a good quality first draft to get feedback on, and eventually I will get quotes and some good references in there. It's getting tricky to juggle stuff around! As a result some of my studio work has been suffering a little (hence the lack of evidence of drawing on this blog) but I hope the photos of the pies is enough visual stimulation for now. I hope to get some awesome stuff on the go as sooon as possible - it may be all quiet on the western front for some time.

Titanic

I was looking through my pictures and I realised I haven't yet blogged about a particular experience I had over summer.

In a town close to my home, Netherton, an iconic piece of engineering was built 100 years ago, the anchor for RMS Titanic. If you haven't been living under a rock, you will have seen the recent tv series on Channel 4, Titanic: The Mission. A team of engineers made it their mission to remake parts of the Titanic, and bring home the memories of 100 years ago, of the time when Britain really did rule the world in making things. For the programme about Netherton's anchor, the team recast the gigantic structure and brought it home to the people of Netherton. I went along that day to see the 20 shire horses proudly pull it to its new home, right in the middle of the town. It was so wonderful to see so many people celebrating their heritage, I always think it's a shame that we just don't make many things in Britain relative to 100 years ago. I managed to get a few pictures of the anchor, as well as the 20 horses (which in the end had to be replaced with a tractor to pull the 15 tonne anchor - hot day in august plus roundabouts in Dudley equals bad planning!)

Luke Perry, one of the four presenters from the series.

I think the anchor is currently at the Black Country Living Museum, but will soon be rehomed in Netherton, back where it all began. To read a bit more about it, the BBC published a short note about it here.

In other news (!) I hope to get some proper drawing up here again soon, I am embarking on several projects at once so it's all very much in the early stages. Watch this space for some Nigella loving and maybe some Christmas related fittle!

Super 8

I really do love charity shops. I just wandered through town today, browsing for nothing in particular, when I came across a Halina Super 8mm film camera. I honestly have no idea how to use it, where I will get a cartridge from or even if you can still process the film.. but it was so cheap that I thought I needed to get it just so I could have a closer look without standing in the shop for hours! I also got myself a little Christmas cook book as ebay so kindly informed me that it's only 51 days away. Pretty scary stuff. Going to post up some of the pictures from that book soon probably, there's some amazingly disgusting things in there. Gotta love st.michael's in the 80s!

Freud

Hallowe'en has been and gone for another year, and this year I decided it was geeky reference time - Harry Potter style. So, for a lack of a ginger wig and quidditch robes I opted for the amazing Bellatrix LeStrange. I found an image of a dark mark tattoo and copied it onto my arm with a fineliner (don't try this at home!) and it looked kind of cool. Shame it's still there slightly!

Along with this on my left arm I had my friend Hannah (hi Hannah, I know you're stalking my blog, get one!) write "I heart Voldemort" on my arm just to make it clear what I was from. Lots of people said our costumes were pretty convincing although the only other accessories I had were a 75p vampire cape from Asda which broke as the night went on and a rather large branch from my back yard, whittled nicely into a wand. All in all a fairly successful costume.

I've been getting into reading for my dissertation this week, mostly centred around Freud and psychoanalysis. It's been pretty heavy reading entire chapters on the Oedipus complex, but it will all be worth it in the end, even though right now it seems kind of irrelevant.

The Daily Chalk is also going steady, it has been rather difficult getting camera settings right now that it's getting so dark so early. Darkness will be a benefit tonight though as there is a fireworks display down at the beach so maybe that slight pyrotechnical interlude will brighten up my week! Back to the sketchbook tomorrow though and maybe a bit of real inspiration..

geek

Just a brief one today. It is my brother's birthday tomorrow and over the weekend I designed him a card, which he received in the post today so I can put it on here without ruining the surprise! The style I have used on this card isn't one I use in my studio practise. I wish I could because it is so much fun but I just think I would get laughed right out of the course, and I would probably be pressured to digitally colour it or something. Eugh, not my strong point. Anyway, the subject is a little geeky I'm afraid, so here's a brief explanation (if you care!) - Mohinder Suresh is a scientist in the tv show Heroes, which we (my brother and I) have been catching up on over summer. His name fits rather well into a certain summer smash hit by one Katy Perry... (lyrics provided by my lovely brother...)

Speaking of Katy Perry, I was over the moon on Saturday morning when my flatmate managed to secure us two tickets to her show in Birmingham! Some musical and candyland delights to look forward to. Which puts it into perspective that before then I will have one completed dissertation under my belt. It's gonna be a tough few months of brain exercise.

progression

So it's been two weeks since I officially became a third year. Scary stuff. It's started quite well, I've already completed a project and I am embarking on research for my big dissertation that will become 20% of my final grade. I have included a few things from my sketchbook from this first project I did, an example of some typography that I designed and a sketch of a cemetery angel that I did in preparation for an idea which in the end I didn't go through with, but I enjoyed the sketching nevertheless.

I am getting excited about some new project ideas and some potential collaboration with my flatmate who does journalism, so hopefully there will be some good stuff on the go, watch this space! I also designed a birthday card for my brother yesterday, which I will be putting up on Tuesday so that he gets to see it before anyone else! I'm surprisingly proud of it and I wish I could get away with drawing like that for uni, I just doubt anyone would take me seriously if I did. The card involves a certain character from a tv show that my brother and I have recently gotten back into watching, and it's a shame that its run finally came to and end recently. Amazing writing.

My Daily Chalk blog has been going quite well for the last two weeks, luckily it hasn't become a chore yet and I am still enjoying coming up with a new thing to draw every morning, though one night I did nearly forget and had to rush to get a picture of it before it got wiped off the board!

Had my second anniversary with Chris too last weekend, I remember writing on here about the same thing last year which is quite scary. It's quite amazing to think that I have managed to keep this blog going for a whole year despite it's trivial nature, but I kind of feel it has helped me get myself a little more organised.

Look out for the birthday card in the next post - and maybe even some spelling mistakes... (maybe I should change my blog title..)

beginnings

It's the final day of my summer, and oh what a long, long summer it has been. 16 weeks of healing, being at home, relaxing with my family and not being at all as productive as was necessary. It's now time to get going - I have to have a dissertation synopsis for the 22nd october and I also have to have some serious work on the go too. It's time to re-evaluate, and hopefully get something good going.

As it is the end of summer, my favourite time is coming - a/w 2010 on the high street! I have never really talked about fashion in this blog before, but I guess my blog is becoming a lot more general recently because I haven't had many drawings or spelling mistakes to report.. might be time for a new blog title soon perhaps. Anyway, about the season. I have been feasting my eyes on fur-lined boots, thick tights, plaid shorts, fur coats (which luckily my style-conscious mother kept for me from their first appearance in the 80s) and many other autumnal lovelies. Of course, my eye is as far as these beauties reach thanks to my shameful bank balance, but there is a certain festival beginning with C and ending in hristmas coming up so maybe I will get lucky.

In actual drawing related news, I have a new blog - yippee! It's called the Daily Chalk, and the idea is simple - a new drawing on our lovely kitchen chalk board every day. Nothing fancy, nothing that aims for artistic merit to rival Rembrandt or anything like that, just some simple fun drawings to keep myself going. I've been having a few problems with editing the layout at the moment but it's looking presentable, and it's only meant to be a bit of fun anyway. I hope to be able to update it every day, if not to put on each drawing at the end of the week or something. I will hopefully have some new stuff to show you on here soon too, but for now enjoy some random drawings and visions of cosy fashion.

birthday

So here I am back in Falmouth. Time for a new term, some new work (hopefully a feast for your eyes too!) and my final year of being a student. Hopefully it will be a good one!

Before I left home, it was my friend Amber's 17th birthday, and as a birthday treat I decided that in the tradition of now two years I would make her a birthday cake. This was my first time decorating a cake using rolled icing, so it was an interesting task but I think I pulled it off. It really did taste like a proper child's birthday cake, the exact effect I wanted! I had decided to decorate it with piped decorations and to add a personal touch I made alphabet biscuits spelling out her name and age, a recipe I got from Nigella Lawson's book, How To Be A Domestic Goddess. I finished it off with Dolly Mixtures, Marshmallows and of course Seventeen Candles. Here she is with the candles lit...

And the finished product!

On actual drawing terms, I had an idea today. In our new kitchen in our new house, we have a chalkboard on our door. I have started drawing random things on it, and so I may start a blog of chalkboard drawings. Nothing serious and particularly taxing in terms of drawing excellence, but I thought it might be kind of fun. Watch this space!

words

I have no new pictures again today. Sad times. But I just wanted to post something, so maybe I will find some kind of visual compliment to my post.

I have realised it is time to get serious. I need to sort out my stupid projects and my stupid dissertation and everything else stupid in my life - it's the doing it that will be tricky. But I have at least come to a decision about what to do on my first project, which is lucky cos I need to post it off tomorrow! I also need to find out what my true style is, and try in some way to stick to it, because otherwise my portfolio is going to be a total mess this time next year. That's if I want it. It's gonna be a big year. Back in Falmouth in less than two weeks now, back on the student bandwagon ready for some library and studio fun!

I think I will fish out more of my work from that same project I mentioned in the last post, as I have a small idea brewing it might become a little relevant soon. :)

food

I need to stop my pre-occupation with taking pictures of sweet things I think. At least, I need to for now, because I should be thinking of a project to kick off my final year in Falmouth! I'm thinking I need something short, quick turnover to get me in the drawing mood again. So, I have nothing new to show you for the moment, the main reason being I have been holding my camera instead of a pencil. Another slight issue is that my printer/scanner is in Falmouth too, so even if I drew something I wouldn't be able to show a good copy. For now, here is a little snippet from one of my projects I did in second year, all about... you guessed it, food! It was a few speculative artworks/page layouts for a book that would be a recipe book and a book about the history of baking. This image is from a page about Queen Victoria, and her namesake the Victoria Sponge.

creepy

I love creepy things. Saw this at an amusement arcade in Clevedon, Devon, and had to take a picture.

more

I have changed my mind. I want to be a food photographer. At least I do for now after making these little fellows...

I got the recipe for these from the Hummingbird Bakery book. They were the spiciest gingerbread men I had ever made, but their dark colour made for a brilliant contrast with the bright white icing (which was very hard to pipe, hence their slightly manic expressions). They were a lot of fun to make but even more fun to photograph, so here's a selection of images from the process -

Lots of flour everywhere

gingerbread

I think this poor fellow's expression speaks for itself. My icing is not great, I did hope for some celebrity gingerbread but this pretty much sums up how much harder icing with a piping bag is than it looks.

I need to do some work. Sigh.

shakespeare

Another example of some work I did for uni. These images are intended for two book covers for the plays Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. A different approach for me, I printed colours onto paper and cut them into these scenes. I then lit them and took photographs of them for the final product. I have barely picked up a pencil this summer and really need to get it into my head that I'm going into my final year of uni soon!

quilt

Today, after many days of not doing a lot, I decided to do something a little creative. There was a bag of scrap bits of fabric lurking under my desk, so now they are all happily sewn together in the form a lovely patchwork quilt. :) I have never done this before, and so far I only have the front, but once I have some stuffing and a backpiece it will all be finished in a wonderful feast for the eyes!

I put my hairbrush there in the corner so you can see how big it is, it's about 120cm square (ish!)

After my slightly wonky sewing I think I have a good little quilt. It's a bit skewiff in places but it's going to look fab in my room in Falmouth once it's finished :)