I'm on Lilla's Blog!

I am so excited today.  My work is pictured on the amazing Lilla Rogers Studio blog!!  A lovely big picture of the design I did for the Make Art That Sells Children's Book assignment 'The Language of the Birds' and the plate design I did for the Home Decor assignment.....are there....on Lilla's blog....all by themselves!!! Check them out here at www.lillarogers.com/blog

They are part of a feature on the brand new Make Art That Sells Assignment Bootcamp which I'm signed up for and can't wait to start on Monday!!   I'll be posting all the (hopefully lovely) work I do throughout bootcamp over the next six months.  (For full details of what promises to be an amazing course...if MATS is anything to go by....click on the link above).

Collage Cat

I love cats.  I love collage.  I love cards.   So today I did a picture with all three of my favourite things.  A collaged cat (wearing a crown...I like those too)  holding a card.  Just needs some chocolate (one of my other favourite things) and it would be perfect!

One of my aims this year is to get some of my own greetings cards published.  I'm quite liking the idea of this little collaged cat as a card, just need to do some other animals to keep her company now.

Happy New Year

I'm a bit late with this......but.......Happy New Year!!!  

My New Years Resolution for 2014 is to make more art. (I always make resolutions and never keep them, but I've high hopes for this one!)  So, to start off the New Year, here's a little picture I did over the Christmas holidays of The Owl and the Pussycat. What a romantic pair!

Happy Place

Things have been a bit quiet here on my blog, mainly because 'life' just seems to get in the way of me making any art at the moment. In an ideal world I would have eight hours (at least) every day to draw, paint and collage.  It really is my happy place.  However, there always seems to be something else that NEEDS to be done before I can get started.

Well not today.  All my duties and jobs have been pushed aside. I have avoided doing anything that didn't involve a paintbrush or glue. Everything has been put on hold so I can paint and collage to my hearts content, and here is the result....Rudolph and Santa out flying, and a very contented me.

 I have had a very lovely day in my happy place. Now, off to iron the school uniforms.

MATS Blog Tour

Today kicks off a Make Art That Sells blog tour.  I'm one of the first (eek!) along with two other lovely students. The idea is we talk a little bit about our time on Lillas' wonderful course, and link to some of our fellow MATS students' blogs.  It's our little way of helping and promoting each other.  An amazing part of this course is the support and encouragement you get from your fellow students.  They're like a big team.....full of praise, advice, constructive criticism and 'likes', cheering each other on, 24 hours a day (great for us lonely designers who work on our own at home, and stay up working way past our bedtime). So this blog tour is our little way of continuing that support.

Well, first up here are my thoughts about MATS.  I LOVED it, every second of it, every late night and exhausted morning.  I didn't watch ANY telly for 5 weeks I was so into it.  All the beautiful inspiration which I LOVED, interviews,  Lillas' words of advice (especially if I was feeling a bit stuck....Lillas' "get cracking" always did the trick and has now become my mantra). Lilla's teaching is fantastic and inspiring.  You know the saying....A mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. (William Arthur Ward) Well, Lilla is definitely a great teacher.  I loved the mini exercises given on a Monday in preparation for the main assignments Wednesday,  I loved the weekly review. I loved everything!!  Most importantly, I learnt a LOT, which I can't wait to put into my new work.

If you want to read more about my time on MATS, please have a look at my previous blog posts. 

If you're in a rush, here is a little montage of the five weekly pieces I created while on MATS. Top left: Home Decor, bromeliad inspired plates.  Bottom left: Gift market, zipper pouch based on our collections. Middle: Children's Books, Russian folk tale 'The Language of the Birds'.  Top right: Bolt Fabric, Berries and Pyrex.  Bottom right: Wall Art.

Now back to my fellow students, please head on over to www.aishaandherwork.blogspot.com and www.jillbyers.blogspot.com who are both blogging today about their MATS experiences.  Tomorrow it will be the turn of www.melissadoran.com, www.goradiate.ie, www.ma-len.blogspot.com and www.sarahgager.com so be sure to check them all out.

My little Santa

Out shopping today I popped into WHSmiths and spotted a card I did for Abacus.

Hold on tight Santa!

Make Art that Sells Week 5

Well, it was the final week of Make Art that Sells last week.  So sad it's finishing.  I'm really gonna miss the daily posts....assignments....my lovely, supportive, talented classmates....and Lilla, our wonderful teacher.  This has been my absolute favourite ever course and I would definitely recommend it.

This week the brief was to design a hyper lush zipper pouch based on our 'collections'.

My first problem was I don't actually collect anything.  My classmates were starting to show their amazing collections of vintage ceramics, jewellery, gorgeous inspiring objects and ephemera and I was starting to get a bit worried.

I looked around my house, on a treasure hunt, and the only thing I found I collect is......kids stuff!! I collect kids stuff!!  My children's toys, books, dolls, drawings and paintings....I have a collection!!!

So I painted, drew, scanned and collaged away, using my kids' drawings, hand prints and paintings, alongside my own, and here's what I came up with.

I was quite pleased with this, mainly because it's so different for me, and it was really fun to do in Photoshop. Definitely going to work in this way again, get loads of bits and pieces of imagery, throw them all in, mix them up and see what comes out.