Butterflies


New obsession alert: I've moved from  cabbages to cabbage-whites. Bring on the butterflies and moths!

Chapter 3

Oh dear, it's the final chapter of the novel. Our lives will be so empty without it. But we might as well enjoy what we still have. Let me tell you, this one is a scorcher:

Chapter 3

I am going to get some food at the shop called the Gold Food.

This is a picture of the shop called the Gold Food.

I know you're probably feeling pretty low now that it is all over. But don't worry, because coming shortly is a tale about Poppy, the bunny rabbit; a poodle and a policeman.

But, you're going to have to wait, because I'm afraid I won't be here for the next two weeks! 

I saw the Olympic torch being taken down the Thames today. It put me in a sporty mood, so I'm going swimming. If you're not really feeling it, and even if you are, take a look at this great video (especially the first half).

Chapter 2

I know you've all been waiting for it, so here it is: Chapter 2 of my firstA novel.

Chapter2

It is because I'm at 

the desert. It does not rain very often in the desert.

The desert is hot

The end.

Don't worry though, this is isn't actually the end, there's one more chapter of breathtaking action before this story draws to a close. 

So, you know I love a good roof garden. And hurrah! I've found an another one. This is on top of Selfridges, and its is pretty lovely. I just went up there and looked, which was free, but you can buy a £6 ticket to play Crazy-Golf. And this is Crazy Golf on another level. There is an architectural / cake theme, courtesy of Bompas and Parr. And a cafe. And deck-chairs. And views of London. And so on. It's top.

'Chapter 1 is about a ship'


So here's Chapter 1 in full. Just in case you can't understand it, I've also typed it out below:

Chapter 1 is about a ship.
How can I get there?
I know I'll use this map.
I'm on the ship.
I'm over the sea.
Now I'm on the desert.
Very very hot.
Yes it is.
No it isn't.
It is.

My first novel

Here's a little teaser, Chapter 1 of my first novel. I hope you can control your excitement

Moon

What with tomorrow being the anniversary of Neil Armstrong's moon landings, I was in a moonish sort of mood, and thougt you might enjoy this video. It's strange, and sweet, to see people's anticipation of moon-landings, something that is now taken for granted.

Red shift

I took this photo, and wanted to show you how good a grey day can be. It serves as the perfect backdrop for the striking red in these this image. I hope you like the photo.

Something that I made

This is a little strange, but I found this little something, which I made about 5 years ago. When you wind the handle, the blanket goes up and down, as if the man is breathing. Strange.

Arrow

Remember that post I did about signposts? Well, I followed it up with a little drawing, which I thought I might show you.

More Vegetables

Wanting to shake the last few drops of my newly found vegetable obsession out - that sounds rather disgusting - I decided to do some more stylised designs. The first was of an orange, the second of an onion. I used white ink on black card, which was rather fun. I think that they were pretty successful, and so decided to share. You can probably tell that I was subconsciously influenced by my love of Lucienne Day, whose textile designs are a dream.  

Image courtesy of http://watermadeitwet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/desiree-lucienne-day-1917-2010-british.html

Garlic

Still feeling a little vegetabley, I decided to do a drawing of a garlic, ta-da.   

Palmistry

Finding this page in Foulshams Fortune Tellers rekindled my interest in the hand, and particularly in the art of palmistry. According to it, I am both timid and tyrannical. Hurrah!

Gustav Klimt

It's Klimt's 150th birthday today. And so, to honour the golden Gustav, I did a quick collage based on his 'Mother and Child'. Happy Birthday!

Wax Pictures

I used to do this all the time at nursery, it is easy and fun. You use wax crayons, paper and a cocktail stick (or a blunt pencil). And this is how you do it.

1. Colour the page with the lighter coloured crayon.

2. Colour on top witha darker crayon.

3. Scratch your image using a cocktail stick.

I said that it was simple. I decided to share my results. I was in a vegetabley mood, and so I drew a cabbage, a lettuce leaf, and a brussel sprout. (I may write more later on the beauty of the brussel sprout)

Adinkra Symbols

I mentioned Adinkra Symbols in a post a little while ago, and was reminded of them when I found this piece of work from 2010. I used bleach on tissue paper - which is lovely technique to use  - and incorporated a number of traditional Adinkra symbols into the piece, especially on the borders. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you.

Crucifix?

I was toying with some design ideas for t-shirts ( I've bought some t-shirt transfer sheets) yesterday evening. I tried some phrases, names, and collages, and was trying to make quite bold images. Of course I tried love-hearts and stars, but then I tried a crucifix made of satsumas. I was perhaps influenced by the increasing ubiquitousness of the crucifix as a clothing or jewellery design. For example, this tank top relies on the distinctive cross-shape.

But this set me thinking, I don't know how comfortable I am about wearing such a potent symbol on my tummy. The crucifix has strong Christian connotations. It is also a method of execution, and I definitely wouldn't wear an electric chair on my t-shirt. I came across this article, which goes into the issue in more depth, and left me very unsure about my satsuma-cross. 

So, is it acceptable to wear the crucifix in the same way that one wears the love-heart? I suppose the heart, too, is an incredibly powerful symbol. As indeed are any such simple graphic shapes, the McDonald's golden arches, African Adinkra symbols, even the smily face. 

But does this ubiquity lead to a loss of meaning? I suppose it must do, to some extent. But perhaps strong, simple shapes can only result from a distillation, or simplification of big ideas. And so this logo has both symbolism, and graphic simplicity. And this suggests that use of the crucifix as a graphic design is justifiable. 

But I don't think I'll be printing my satsuma t-shirt.

Signposts

These two signposts give such beautiful directions. Whist the first one is so complicated, with the signpost echoing the pointed heads of the arrows; the second signpost is wittily simple. It's carved into a cactus.

More people

Walking around London once again, I was touched by these two women. They seemed so calm, and so united, that I had to photograph them.

                    

Decorating
                                                                                                                                                              I bought a pink dress for 50p at the charity shop. I mostly bought it because it was 50p, and it fitted me. But when I brought it home, I realised that it was just too much pink for me. I was overwhelmed. So I began to draw on it, just doodling whilst I listened to the radio. And it turned out pretty well.

Dancing shoes


I had some grubby pumps from Primark, with huge black bows on them. When I bought them, a year ago, I thought they were very 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. But they got mucky and frayed, and they looked silly. So I yanked off the bows, and I drew on them with permanent marker. I'm pretty happy with the end result, so here you are.

Hampton Court Palace


I found some photographs, which I took two summers ago, of the resplendent Hampton Court Palace. I think they do it some justice. These reminded me of a poem I've studied, a mock-epic by Alexander Pope, called 'The Rape of the Lock', in which the Palace is described:

'Close by those meads, for ever crown'd with flow'rs,

Where Thames with pride surveys his rising tow'rs,

There stands a structure of majestic frame,

Which from the neighb'ring Hampton takes its name.

Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom

Of foreign tyrants and of nymphs at home;

Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,

Dost sometimes counsel take—and sometimes tea.'

I am, of course, eating strawberries today. And I've had the scoring system explained to me, because it's the Wimbledon finals. And so, I have a tennis-themed post. It's a piece of
archive footage, showing the tennis fashions of 1968. It's incredible, and very endearing, to see what was - in 1968 - the most up-to-date, man-made equipment. And the narration is also funny to listen to.

Painting

I did a painting last weekend, and thought I'd share. At first I was inspired by Picasso's 'Woman in a Chemise', which is a very lovely image. And then I was looking at old family photographs, and decided to paint this. And, by the way, the little girl is holding a handbag around her neck.

Hands

Now that I've done my palm portraits post I have a new obsession: hands. Above is a little sketch that I did of my own hand. But far more scintillating than my scribbles is this film clip. I'd never really thought about hand puppetry, I can do the dinosaur-y swan thing that everybody can do (beak made of the thumb and forefinger, eye made of the other fingers curled over), but that's it. Whereas Edward Victor, who features in the clip, is mesmerising.

People watching

Whilst mooching around London on a rainy day, with a camera, I took some photographs that I think are sweet enough to share. Walking in cities is way of feeding my visual greed, there are extraordinary things. And there is also beauty in the mundane.

Palm Portraits

Much inspired by the beautiful work of Meridith Mcneal, a a little bit obsessed with the relationship between clothing and identity, I decided to make a 'palm portrait'.

 Mcneal uses vintage gloves of sheer fabric, and uses embroidery and beading to make copy the palm lines of her friends (a 'palm portrait' as she calls it). I found some old gloves in my dressing up box and traced the lines on my palm onto the glove, before embroidering - a little messily- my palm lines. The end result is actually pretty cool, and makes a witty addition to the otherwise princessy evening glove. I'm totally going to wear these to my first ball. 

Top image courtesy of: http://humantextilewellness.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/gloves1231.jpg