Then.again Sometimes I Feel A Bit At A Loss At What To Draw So, Last Year, I Started Drawing My Instagram

lately

man, i am no good at updating my blog these days. i think it's partially to do with the move to tumblr - i can't quite put my finger on what i mean by that, but i think other platforms are probably much better suited to the way i like to use my blog. however, i'm going to stick it out. also, that aside, i've just been too busy: living in two places, making lots of new items to sell & day-to-day life haven't left much time for blogging. hopefully, once life's kinks have been ironed out, i can fit in a bit more writing.

work-wise, i gave my website a long overdue update today; take a peek. all jobs i've worked on over the past few months are now out in the world, so i've finally got them all online. i might go into a little more detail about individual jobs on here in future, but i probably shouldn't make any promises!

trying to worry less about looking like i'm being productive/what others think/money. focussing on enjoying experimenting/making a mess/taking my time. that said, you can generally find evidence of said mess making here & some suggestion of messes made here.

peek

one of the pages from my sleeping on the sleeper zine. finally managed to finish it, now to print, photocopy & bind.

botanic

after a slight break from drawing, i started inking this morning with a bit of a shaky hand. turns out this was in my favour however, & i took the opportunity to loosen up a bit. we visited glasgow's botanic gardens yesterday & now i just want to draw a whole lot of plants.

in other news, my website got a bit of an update last week. there are a couple of new things still to be added already, but this'll do for now.

in wild waters

my boyfriend recently opened an online shop to sell his prints. all bias aside, i recommend you take a look at his work (including the above print, in wild waters). he's had a few sales already, but he's still offering a free mini-print with the next seven orders. go!

sometimes things don't turn out like you planned, but they're not so bad.

TO/NY + others in between

we just returned from what ended up being the best trip i've ever taken. a week in toronto & a week in new york, which also included visits to haliburton, new haven, salem & boston. despite a bout of jet-lag that feels more like a two day hangover, i'm going to attempt to summarise the trip before my terrible memory forgets some of the things that i want to remember.

TO: pre-travel nerves & crappy BA service at edinburgh airport · good films & no sleep thanks to a group of brummies on the flight from london to toronto · meeting our wonderful transatlantic friend at pearson · fighting 22 hours of no sleep/humidity & still triumphing (with beginners luck) at blokus · witnessing alan drive an automatic car on the other side of the road, both for the first time · heading north in a fiat 500 to "halibut town" according to alan's auto correct · CORN (it's awesome) · WE SAW A BEAR · ian's lovely family, a gang of dogs & late evening lake swims · beers & chat around the fire · bugs like biting alan, apparently · canoeing up kennisis river · more swims, grilled corn & beer · paddling back to the cabin down the river & across the lake · jalapeño poppers with fake bacon · beers & board games · back to toronto with naomi behind the wheel · a slow wander around kensington market, with stops at wanda's pie in the sky, last temptation & good egg · ICED CAPP · baseball, soccer baseball & beers in the park · home for some drinks on the deck until the small hours · a caesar = gross, sorry ian · inferior frisbee syndrome (ours didn't light up) · beers, illustration chat & alan falling asleep in the park · delicious french toast for breakfast at the rustic owl · hanlan's point is a nudist beach you guys · spot the scottish person in the sun *wilt* · ferry to toronto island · frisbee & swimming in lake ontario · visiting the church of hockey or something? · a pitcher too many with alan, ian & john · an early morning & a hangover · one last visit to tim hortons · bye TO, hi NY

NY: tiniest plane · OH GOD WHY IS IT SO HOT · finally finding our cute little airbnb apartment in park slope, brooklyn · accidentally trying to get into the upstairs neighbour's place · sampling poutine at last · beer & board-games at skylark · a much needed lie-in · wander through prospect park to get to the brooklyn museum · hanging out with leah, dylan & baby moses · too many beers. just too many · filming alan asleep on the subway & not remembering much of the journey home · hungover. the worst · practically crawling to grand central to get the train to new haven · hello conneticut · hanging with tuesday, yelena, pete & lil' mischka in their beautiful new apartment · first night with no beers, thank goodness · mischka stealing pillow space & kneading alan's face in the night · road trip to massachusetts! · bunghole liquors. oh yes · meeting the lovely elise (& yoshimi the bunny) · life alive & its semi-erotic dish names (anyone for a hot & healthy bachelor?) · train to boston · boston is rainy · seeeeals · elise & tuesday's floating heads · finding out salem has not one but two bunghole liquors · impromptu sleepover at the snow residence · driving back to new haven accompanied by 90's pop music · time to return to ny · checking into our cute little hotel, offloading the bags & heading out into the city · visiting the 9/11 memorial site, which has changed so much throughout all my visits to ny · early night, long sleep · delicious brunch at good enough to eat · wandering around the museum of natural history, learning about forests · oh hey they have tim hortons here too · shopping for comics & graphic novels at jim hanley's universe (have done so on every visit) · vegan korean food at franchia · rooftop bar beers · last minute city wandering on our final day · quick walk across central park in the ridiculous heat · home time. sad face.

so that was pretty long. i'm not expecting anyone to spend their time deciphering the details, but i do want to highlight the people who made our trip way better than we could have by ourselves: ian turner (i love & miss toronto way more than i thought i could thanks to this guy); leah goren & dylan ousley (super talented & lovely people who i'm so happy we got to meet); tuesday bassen, yelena bryksenkova & pete gamlen (new haven got lucky with this bunch); & elise towle snow (rad lady who i've wanted to hang out with for so long! yes!).

i'm picking up a few rolls of film from our trip tomorrow & will share more once i've got them uploaded.

perpetual bicycle

my best friend asked if i'd create a cycling certificate for her. i came up with this perpetual bike design, which i then made it into a tiled pattern. you can use it, if you'd like. (for personal use only, please. remember to download rather than hotlink.)