December Update

Hi! How have you been? Hopefully you have come here from my FACEBOOK PAGE (click the highlighted writing) and have seen that I am illustrating for Standard Issue UK regularly. It's a fab online site, written by clever funny women and about the issues we all think about but rarely talk about. You MUST check out the hilarious horoscopes, and the arts section is top notch. Everyones super lovely and I am continually astounded they let me anywhere near it with my drawings. Follow this LINK if you want to check it out for yourself.
The degree is going well, with me getting 72/100 for first project, which is enough for a first if I keep it up. Only 11 more assignments to go to test that theory. I do love it. The venue exasperates me sometimes, and getting used to new tutors is hard, but I'm absolutely happy to be there.
Lets have a picture catch up

My tools

Labrinth at Vevo Halloween

Collection of Manchester Staffordshire Pottery (john Rylands)

Darlington Station

Miniature Slum House in Library

Atmospheric Town Hall

Central Library

moths in my sketchbook

Contemporary Art Practice Degree Live Drawing

Ruby came in again and this time I was much bolder with my marks. We used ink (my favourite) but were only permitted to use sticks and wire and sponges and water. We wrecked the place.

Contemporary Art Practice Degree Live Drawing

Throwing us in at the deep end, we had the privilege of a real live model in the studio on Tuesday. I have never done live drawing before and had to struggle not to put stuff there that wasn't there. We of course had criteria. One sheet with 3 or 4 drawings on, then 2 felt tips, then 3, then we could choose a body part and use water with felt tip. Challenging but as always, enlightening 

Here's the best bits

Contemporary Art Practice Degree Assignment Research

Or, a pleasant walk through my local park.
Here I photographed things that I could use to inspire sketches and work for our first assignment
I'm pleased with how they turned out. I took longer than normal and really thought about composition and narration. I didn't want to be invasive to my surroundings, they were beautiful enough

Paper Cutting From Start To Finish

Getting There, Slowly

What a mad week last week was. Blogged about, and then followed by the Rock Star of paper cutting on Instagram. For all the damn hard work I'd been putting into Facebook networking, it was Instagram and Twitter, the 2 least labour intensive sites I am on that tipped me nearer towards that elusive non friend sale. Not that I mind selling to friends, but they do rather not expect to have to pay. This is the life I have chosen, after living the life given to me all these years and I will not give up trying to make a go of it. I've been cutting paper like a maniac, setting myself little goals. At the moment I am trying to list one new product a day on my Etsy store so I show up better on their search engine. Today I am having a crack at some label style cuts I sketched last night. Its a good job I love it.

Schools Out For Summer

Wow, what a year that was. We had tears of joy and sadness, panic, despair, moments of beauty and terror and in the end a small handful of us remained. I got a distinction star and am going on to do the Contemporary Art Practice Degree in September. You got to have a degree innit. End of year sale went really well with lots of sales and positive comments and now its all over and what didn't sell is arranged in my living room, I can't help but feel a bit deflated. I'm still working out what is sellable and what isn't. Do I just keep making more of what did sell Is that how it works? No matter. Here's some pics

It's Almost Over

Arts and Crafts Workbook. 2013

Taste Workbook 2013

Trends Workbook 2014

Looking back on a year at college. Wish I could do it all again really, without some of the disruptions and dramas, but none of us knew what was ahead of us.

We lost 20 class members, one member of staff and 2 months proper teaching time.

I missed a train to London, fell in love with William Morris and canteen food and worked with some of the craziest, loveliest people you could ever hope to meet.

 All that's left to do is a presentation, end of year show and our goodbyes. I've applied for 3 jobs already but have a very real fear that I'll never pick up a pencil again. 

 Best of luck class of 2014 'Remade In Manchester'

Cometh The Hour

College is a whirlagig of activity. Students are frazzled and industrious and its very exciting. I'm just sitting drinking coffee and cutting paper. I feel as if I'm getting the hang of it all now, this paper cutting lark. I'm finding my style and that means I can work on refining my cutting. I've yet to find my Holy Grail paper. Copier paper, though a brave idea, is unreliable and prone to softening up on a rainy day. Watercolour paper is consistent but tough to cut and if the blade is the slightest bit dull won't give you the definition you need.

Business plans have been completed and my presentation is writing itself. I'm almost too calm. This generally means I've forgotten something absolutely vital.

My mannequin for a full length paper wedding gown has been acquired so all that is left to do for End Of Year Show is to actually frame and make stuff now. Wish me luck.

My red vintage style town bike sits in piece in the lounge ready to be assembled and used when we get a dry spell.

Sadly I'm cutting through tears at the news of Rik Mayalls death this week. It's too grim for words. I relished anything with him in it like a chocolate bar and cannot imagine how distraught and confused his family and friends must be. Since I was a teenager I've loved his out there comedy and physical humour and just cannot believe he is gone for good.

But cut I must and its onwards and upwards...away away

Coffee and Chocolate Brioche

Aldi is a soul destroying place to be. It is badly laid out, the special offers are depressingly irrelevant and the staff are disinterested. BUT it does a smashing line in chocolate brioche which I am going to chomp on with coffee soon.

My fingers are numb at the ends from turning and cutting paper and the floor is covered in a thousand shreds of soft grey cartridge paper. As college comes to a close, with Final Project and End Of Year Show to come, I can look back and say I came a long way, but my journey with Art further education is done. I was accepted on a 2 year degree of Contemporary Art Practice but can't really afford to do it. Materials and trip are expensive and the chaos that comes with finishing projects (morning til night making things and glued to canvases and clay and paper) is not conducive to a healthy me. But I have set my shop up and will make papercuts for the love of doing it and pushing the medium, and get a sensible day job while doing a barbers course at night.

I'm halfway through cutting this delightful little wedding piece, gone through 15 blades and far too much chocolate. Hoping to finish today. Its the biggest most deatiled piece yet and I love working out the architecture of it. The wrong cut can make the whole thing fall apart.

Its a dance between scalpel and negative space.