Something New

hands up if you like free stuff! it's been three whole years since i've had a giveaway, so i thought i'd have a shot at doing one on this here blog. to be in with a chance of winning the little package of goods above (a giclée print, lino print & badge), just leave a comment on this post saying hello plus a way for me to get in touch (twitter/email etc) if you win. i know tumblr as a rule is pretty into its re-blogging & likes, but i miss the good ol' days when blogs were for commenting on (y'know, like in 2010) . i'll pick a winner at random on sun 6 october. good luck! EDIT: giveaway closed! thanks for all the entries. will be in touch with the winner soon.

i've been doing a ceramics class since the start of the year & it is so good. as someone who has always found working on things that aren't two dimensional quite daunting, i've wanted to try ceramics for a little while; being able to add & remove clay at will is a reassuring process. i've found that i sometimes spend less time on individual pieces when it comes to drawing - partially due to practice & intention, but at times as a result of impatience. i wanted to approach working with clay with more willingness to deliberate over what i'm doing, to not rushing things & to embrace spending time on a piece (as well as embracing mistakes - i consciously do this with drawing, & things that have obviously been made by hand are the best). perhaps i'll even transfer this process back to illustration. anyway, for now, here are a few pieces made with some techniques i've learned. it's been fun to focus on the methods & on learning something, as well as making tangible objects (& a mess at times). i'm excited to see what comes next.

new cards in the shop

got a whole bunch of new cards in the shop today. subjects covered include birthdays, babies & bikes. it's been a while since i've made any cards but i wanted to illustrate a range of occasions with more than just the usual text approach i take. i'm pretty happy with how they turned out & hope you like them too.

i've barely seen my favourite person over the last week or so & i miss him, so i guess i'll just look at this mediocre portrait of him instead.

teapots & paper

today was spent cleaning out my old flat; mainly our spare room, the studio. after two trips to the recycling centre to offload paper that i've had for at least four years, my paper-hoarding problem was finally brought to light. i found scraps of paper that "might come in handy", & paper that i've used for uni projects but then kept the remnants because i didn't want to bin them. at least my younger self saw this coming; i found a folder of paper titled nice paper to keep even though i'll probably never use it. & what do you know - i found it under a pile of paper that i haven't touched in about two years.

i was justly rewarded for my ruthlessness today. along with the recycling, i took several bags of clothing, kitchenware & art materials to a charity shop, where i found this beautiful teapot. clear-out-karma. joy.

knitting

sometimes it's nice to be given a simple topic to draw something for, rather than thinking of one yourself. a friend needed an editorial illustration for a publication she was producing in the final year of her master's degree, & asked if i'd illustrate a piece on knitting.

this may not be new to you if you follow me on flickr. a good place to catch up on bits & pieces whilst i find things to fill up this space.

did not realise how grumpy & disdainful lynxes look until i drew some. just look at this guy.

have decided to take part in fun a day dundee this year - i'm going to draw a girl throwing shapes every day in january. here are the first three.

sleeping pattern

new year

a slightly belated happy new year! this little blog has lacked updates over the past few weeks for various reasons (working, living in two places, festivities, getting tinnitus) but i feel it in my bones that this is the year for getting back on track, blog-wise & otherwise.

there have been a couple of big changes that have been stewing for months. firstly, i'm finally living in glasgow. whilst quite a bit of my stuff is still residing on the east coast (including the contents of my desk), i'm now in this city full-time. our new flat is lovely, quiet, bigger, better. we live close to big parks, transport to the city centre, a greengrocers & lots of good places to eat. i'm very excited to be somewhere new.

secondly, something that isn't full-time anymore is my day-job. i'm really happy i can still work part-time (it's a bit of a commute away) but i'm also really happy that there's more time than ever before to spend drawing, making, printing. this is something i've been dreaming about for years, & now it's time to get to work.

2012, i have high hopes for you.