Skejbook

As i said in one of my older posts, i started a personal sketchbook for proper about a month or so ago. I was pretty avid for the first week doing a double page drawing every day but they were a bit uneconomical time-wise mainly because i spent a long time thinking what to draw. But i felt i really needed to draw and it was nice practice in committing to something and actually doing it.

I did some drawings at the huntarian last wednesday before meeting a friend (avec the decapitated foot) and have since started a project drawing people i like and a quote they said. I'm aware they're all men for now, but i have some lady treats up my sleeve. Just you wait.

Stephen Fry

Wonderful man. Im in the process of drawing him. Just for fun.

Technology. Fail.

I just sent some stuff off to the V&A for an image competition for their website... literally everything that could go wrong did (no internet, broken scanner, mac going mental with the scanner and refusing to work) and i've ended up sending the stuff 40 minutes late and massive sizes.

could i possibly make a worse impression?

Tico Tico

Legends on BBC 4 had an episode on the Andrews Sisters this week (it's still on i-player so WATCH IT). I've liked them from a long long time but had no idea how influential they were, enlightening stuff people. Plus there's this amazing bit at the end where they have a friendly sing-off with The Supremes on The Sammy Davis Jr. Show.

Carl Kleiner's...

...photos are so beautiful. The top few are from his diary, but his main page is equally delightful showcasing pictures like the bottom one. Ethereal and dreamily surreal. Lovely. Plus I really really really want my whole house to be covered in colour co-ordinated bookcases.

http://www.carlkleiner.com

Tube or False

Dream campaigns; i saw them yesterday on the tube and think they are the loveliest things. They're like fabric throws, all woven and type and pattern and HERITAGE. The patterns are seat cover designs used on the circle, northern, piccadilly, jubilee and metropolitan lines from the 1039's to present.

No surprises, but they're all true but i guess the slogan tube or false sets up the idea that they seem unbelievable but aren't and that just how exciting and interesting the underground is.

I just need to find out who did it now...

(pictures courtesy of the tfl website)

I wish i was her friend.

I discovered Donna Wilson on my first year of a level and her makings literally made my life and influenced so much of my work, explicitly at first and now subtly inching its way in. I found her when i was doing a project entitled freedom and armed with a matchbox of buttons i could make anything. i decided upon these fabric creatures that were my favourite things for a while, until they were dubbed 'silly little creatures' by a teacher and i got a bit put off. They probably are a bit, but now i don't see that as such a bad thing.

I feel it's mainly the core idea of making and crafting that has developed in my practice for the past 5 or so years. With her work i found that whimsy and charm that imperfections have and embracing that rather than forcing my hand to do something that generic and perfect.

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/toys-kids/donna-wilson-creatures-063732

______________________________

Unrelated but my friend Dulcie told me about the Dum Dum Girls and i've pretty much been listening to them on repeat.

62.

I've been reading John Betjeman a lot recently.

61.

i haven't put any of my own work up for AGES so i thought i'd ease into it again with these scrawls (one of those drawing exercises that i LOVE where you draw continuous line without looking at the page). I am very fond of them, especially the hands... there were more but my mac doesn't like my scanner and keeps going wrong. poppycock! I think i'll start putting scans of my sketchbook on here once it (hopefully) starts working again.

I feel a bit sick with nerves with this whole work experience business. Procrastination seems to be key in this debacle so, as of last weekend, i have started a personal sketchbook for proper. A nice little one that has been lying in my room for about a year waiting to be filled. I now just need to remember to do a little and often. And to stop telling people my ideas so they steal them. And to stop being a doormat.

What would Rod Stewart do...?

http://penguinsland.blogspot.com/2008/09/rod-stewart-at-seaworld.html

Old Friends

IDOLS

"Rose & Meta Rothery , farm managers near Cowra. Rose (on right) paints finely detailed imagery upon river rocks . Amongst my collection Cathy Freeman is my favourite. A portrait of Elvis Presley won a commendable mention at the Carcoar Show."

Karl Schwerdtfeger photo and description from his website: www.karlphotographer.com/

Huntarian

from a while ago...february or so. The pictures i tok on a disposable were really underexposed but i kind of like that. There was a no photography sign, so it probably just serves me right.

Mulling over

the most depressing tutorial yesterday where i nodded and agreed to being told i'm not really a very good designer...on a design course.

Bit spooky though, reading neil's horoscope as it sort of covers this. Whatever happened to a plain old 'happy birthday'?

sad dogs from http://www.gemmacorrell.com/

Gemma Correll

makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

http://www.gemmacorrell.com/

and her diary's are INCREDIBLE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gemmacorrell/4009450113/in/set-72157622179415234/

Michel Gondry

love love love love. I watched Science of Sleep today for the first time in agessss and really want to start making something/anything. He is a genius. For something completely different though...

Bit of a fail

but i tried! And made whole £3. Although with the sickening deadline the day before, I was happy that i generated anything for the London Zine Symposium (Sat 29th)

With my penchant for bad taste, i made a mini collection of... bad taste things. they were all unintentionally animal related (a carmen miranda duck, dog costumes, glass bird ornaments) just done in continuous line. Here are some pictures that i lifted from the Nest facebook group, complete with some unimpressed looks. Maybe £1.50 was too steep? [mine's the 'good taste bad taste one in the bottom left]

Diana

some ones from a trip to the huntarian with dulcie in february and reena's birthday when i used DirtyDiana. there was one of my dad eating cake really exaggerating- like but it seems to have mysteriously disappeared... It was using 200 film, but i got some 400 colour a while back which needs loading. Ill whip that puppy in and take some nice sun pictures tomorrow i think.

disposable

I have a flickr which i don't actually use since most of my pictures are pretty bad but after not having gone on for a while i think there are some quite nice ones from hackney city farm when the disposable was at the end of it's tether and made some rather lovely marks on the film.

The top one was from the end of a horrible day, pouring with rain all day where our group traipsed around east london moaning. The one under that was from just before the friday crit at cafe otto in dalston and i love how saturated it looks in comparison.

sneaky

not really sure how i came about it, but i ended up on sennep's flickr and found this sneaky picture of me and sarah?! It was at the beginning of the year when Sennep, among many others, came to talk about their work and set us an interactive brief for the afternoon. I look like a fool and a potential puppet. i forgot about that jumper...

It did also remind me how beautiful their work is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sennep/4445001887/in/set-72157623522356695/