Little Doodles

Colour inspiration for Tuesday.
Both found at Anthropologie

I've been having a think about recurring themes in my work and realised I often use imagery from the home in my drawings...teacups, teapots, old furniture etc. Maybe it's a manifestation of things I want to buy? Hmm...I'll keep an eye on this one!

Continuing my on going quest for inspiration for my project I made a visit to Kew Gardens this morning. I've got to say the tropical area was fab but it did feel a bit like I was in Lost...

I thought maybe I should explain a bit about myself and my current lack of inspiration. For the last year I've been suffering from something called ME or CFS (or yuppie flu for those who can remember it's first appearence, unfortunately I'm neither rich let alone working enough to be called a yuppie). This means I've had a day to day struggle with energy levels which are pretty low at the moment. Not only does this take a toll physically but also mentally, meaning a lot of the time I just don't have the energy to do the things I love. This seems to have hit me really hard when it comes to my artwork, beacuse out of everything that's what I always turned to when I wanted to relax or take some time out. Now, it can feel more like a chore when thats absolutely the last thing I want it to feel like. When you have a passion for something but not the energy to engage in it it becomes very draining which is all a bit sad really. But on the bright side, I have a new project to involve myself in but I'm a bit stuck. My mind is so muddles these days that I'm finding it tricky to get work done and find inspiration and ideas to get me going. I'm about to start my final year of my degree (Illustration) and have my major project to tackle. Now it can be absolutely anything at all...literally. We have to write our own brief, which on the one hand is good because there's so much potential but on the other hand it is sooo open that I'm scared of making the wrong choice. I'd love to make some kind of book, maybe an illsutrated catalogue for somehwre like Liberty or even a fashion shop like Topshop...maybe making it like a story book for adults? I loved the post Abigail made about Mina Perhonen's catalogue and the scans of it on flickr. What does everyone think? Any inspiratonal links would be much appreciated!!!

I just spent the last couple of days up in Leeds for a break and a hope of getting some inspiration. First stop was the Salt Mill which holds a collection of David Hockney's art (and quite possibly the best shop I have ever been to...more on that later). I spent a good couple of hours walking around taking in all of the beautiful paintings and etchings, which completely made me want to find out how to create them. Is there a simple way of creating prints and etchings from home? And the abundance of colours was everywhere...absolutely gorgeous! Now back to the shop...not only did they sell all of the expected Hockney relate merch but also a huuuuge collection of art books, literary books even lovely cookbooks plus a great selection of art materials and a wonderful shop dedicated to homewares.




Not only that but they were also holding a small exhibition of 1950s ceramics which were so retro, the patterns were fab!

Plus the shopping was great, made even better by the atmosphere of the arcades.

I've never been to Borough Market (for those who don't know, a huge food market held in South London) before but it was absolutely stunning. The whole market was buzzing with people (including an operatic stall holder who sold his wares through song...it was a sight!) everyone tasting food, comparing purchases and like me, many had cameras with them to save every minute in photographs.

Millions of dots and a cross eyed Kate later and here are some more experimentations. Any opinions?

Beautiful beautiful beautiful!
By Afroditi

Just an update on my previous post, a bit more searching resulted in some beautiful finds by sculptor Cal Lane.



I love the idea of these metal doilies, such a delciate object made out of a rough material. They make rust look beautiful!

What beautiful spades... By Cal Lane, found at the Foley Gallery

Well I promised some new work and here it is. It's all a bit random to be honest and I can't say they're my favourite pieces of work but they're something new and that's a start!

So, I realised I haven't really lived up to the name of my blog. When I started I had the intention of sharing my illustrations with everyone, excitedly scanning in my work and posting it for everyone to see. As you can see, I've been a bit of a disappointment on the sharing front, actually on the whole drawing front. I've been waiting for my last uni project to finish(and what a relief it was when I handed that in) but now I have the free time I don't seem to be making the best of it. Do you ever get that restless feeling, when you finally get around to doing something you've been waiting ages to do and then when it comes down to it all you seem to want to do is something else? Hmm, so I'm going to work on my sketchbooks for a bit, look around me for inspiration and hopefully have a wealth of doodles for everyone. My fingers are crossed!

I'm addicted to Flickr, I love the way you can share your photos and experiences with anyone around the world. Much like blogging, it gives an insight into others lives...I love the way I can search for something as random as eggs and come up with a photo as beautiful as this one by zanypurr.


I know it's only a bowl of eggs but a lot of the photos I love on Flickr have a sense of emotion to them. Sometimes I can't place it but I think it's the sense of sharing something personal that gets me. So here are a few more faves...


Lovely colours by photo bird


A lovely sense of nostalgia from bigbrownhouse


Beautiful illustrations by Nebo Peklo

I really want to get into print making but I have no idea where to start...is there an easy way to screen print on a small scale at home? A lot of this new found love of print seems to come via Print & Pattern, where beautiful images are posted daily. I've especially been liking the work of Pink Bathtub

who uses a beautiful colour scheme to produce some wonderful and quirky block prints. Hmm, I think some online scouring for supplies is called for.

Is it crazy that I want to live in a dolls house? If it looks like this one, I think not.



Found here

I really want one of these cute little envelope punches but it makes me feel a bit lazy seeing as I could probably whip up a few with a craft knife and a ruler.

Found at Impress

So here is my first illustration post. I think I've been skirting around it up to now but I've taken the plunge. To be honest I'm at a stage where I'm still trying to find my style...you know when you've seen your own work for so long that you start getting a bit disheartened about it? So I've been trying some new techniques, whether they work or not I'm not sure but it's nice to try something different. Some of my older work can be seen on my Flickr account

I always come across lovely bits and pieces for the home with the thought "ooh, that would make a lovey gift for..." only to forget within the next hour where (and most of the time what) I even saw them. I blame the internet for my short mindspan. Having said that, I guess having a blog will let me keep track of all the nice goodies I spot!




All found at http://www.pure-deco.com

I tried to steer myself away from posting about jewellery again but I couldn't help it...here are some lovely finds for today

Ring by Stephanie Jendis

Ring by Detlef Thomas

Ring by Karl Fritsch

All found at Galerie Slavik

I was re-reading my posts yesterday and now I'm stuck with the thought, do you have to be a good writer to have a good blog? Logically the answer must be yes, seeing as writing is central to blogging. This makes me think my writing isn't all it should be. Im sure I'll fall into the swing of this eventually but having been a student on an illustration degree for the past two years my actual skill of writing has gone out of the window. It's a shame really because I actually love to write, especially by hand with a good heavy foundtain pen but that too has been a bit sparse lately. So is there anyone with any tips for improving writing out there? In the mean time I'm going to find some new words to use...expaaaand that vocabulary!

While I was at the exhibition I also had the pleasure of meeting the wonderful Abigail Percy, whose blog also joins the long list of my bloggy addictions. Her jewellery is absolutely gorgeous, it looks lovely in photographs but up close it is even better!

Geranium cluster earrings

Sweet horse chestnut brooch

Not only is her jewellery beautiful but so are the paintings she does to accompany them, Abigail you have a big fan!

I took a wander down to the New Designers exhibition in Islington the other day and oh what a joy it was! Packed to the brim with beautiful textiles, cermics, glass and jewellery I could have stayed there all day but it was so swelteringly hot in there I evetually had to escape for some fresh air. I picked up a stack of postcards which I'll eventually get around to scanning in but for now here are some highlights

Graphic textile design by Amy Bakewell

Textile print by Heulwen Lewis

Animal carnival dress by Mary Katrantzou

Glass vessel by Emmy Palmer

Jewellery by Rosie Buck