3 and 2

Crap, a short month worth of no bloggagery. Not much of the illustration sort of thing has gone on in the past few weeks... went to Paris, which was... ok, not so great. I think going there 3 times in 4 years is stretching it a bit. Of course there were definately good bits, but somewhere new would be good. I think when I next go back (give it 20 years, maybe?) I'll eventually get to going UP Notre Dame to talk to the gargoyles; this time we couldn't because "slippery". Still need to properly think of my Paris project too, AND GET ON WITH IT. Eep.We went to an antiques market... it was very interesting in part, but we had to go through a highly ganster area to get there. Not held on to my bag quite so tightly in a looong while...Old glass slides (antiques area still). I liked the look of the mountain against the structure of the ceiling.My (lovely) travelling companions. Silje & Vera. TOURIST TIIIIME. The sun was catching through the stained glass in Notre Dame. Not many people / no one else seemed to notice this. Catkins over ran it. GO CATKINS, GO!Finally managed to visit the Catacombs. The walk through the passages before the actual mass skeleton orgy was the freakiest bit, getting to the actual dead stuff was fine.More dead stuff. Street side shop, there was a lovely display of crabs, too.Dead Oscar Wilde. The amount of lipstick kisses on his grave was, eh, certainly impressive! I wonder who ran off with the statues cock... (1 track mind? Well, it WAS missing... and he certainly was a loved man).Flan. The god of France.Found an illustrator / graphic novel maker called "Toppi" (Sergio Toppi). Pen & ink. Delicious. Near the Louvre. A rainbow! Most excellent.

Dammit, procrastination, you're hitting me HARD. Mostly in the shape of watching old Monarch of the Glen (I found out that there is about 7 series'....... and I'm only about half way through!). The last week has been mostly devoted to essay, which I handed in today (who knows what the ACTUAL theme of it was about... I'm not overly sure if it made sense in the end). Thankfully a lovely someone gave me a little (well...) help with it. Got given a new essay to do (3,000 words this time...) but thats not due in til May, so thats alright. Got talked to by the 3rd years, they were showing us their work as we've just got into the make up your own brief" zone. SCARY. I really really really need my track back, please. On saturday, we (the Falmouth Fish) had a gig at Miss Peapods in Penryn. I think it went quite well in the end, at the start I was a little worried as there really weren't many people there at all... but it filled out. Squelchy has told me I have to stop looking so bored on stage. I don't mean to! Because I'm not bored! I... pleh. Excuses excuses. I got a typewriter written letter from Sophie/Pamela! (http://sophieperry.wordpress.com/). Highly exciting stuff. I must reply, it is on my list of things to do (and letters to write... eek... one MUST go to meine grandmutter, or else she shall grump). I like that the blog is called "milkblog" since milk IS the godly nom nom nom liquid of joy. Hmm... so thats the past week covered, and the week before that was Paris... the week before that.... OH! I went on a picnic over at Flushing. Nom nom nom. Chilly, but laaaavly view and company, can't wait for the weather to warm up some more. These past 2 days when in the sunshine it's great, but still not warm enough for beach bonfires. Soon. SOON. Right. No more of this drivvel, I have a Paris project to attack. Here, have some stuff. It's all very greeeeeeeen today.Is it a photo, is it a very realistic painting? Pretty sure it's a photo, but I like the mood. All I could find out was that it was maybe by someone called (ivan) Simple pimple, but the bit I thought woz all good like, was that the pattern was contained in a shape. Andy J. Miller.Amy Talluto. A bit too Autumn for my current Spring grinnery, and reminds me a bit of "paint by numbers" (I think it's the stump) but it's a yes. The orange to yellow tree strip at the back of the lake is tasty.Åshild Kanstad Johnsen... the use of shapes is a nod in the right direction. Shapes & organic pattern.Acorn buttons by boosterseat on Etsy (she sells the material for these, too... think she makes it herself? The pattern, that is). Fiona Ackerman with a collagey style. The red inked fish scale bit was the bit which attracted me.Didn't notice that I saved all 3 images in 1, but that doesn't worry me in the slightest since Lizzy Stewart's work is raaather yummy! Lance Letscher (lets - cher.... haha). Cut out bits of paper on top of random papery stuff. I like.With the structure of my life I plan (trains.....). With my work, I wing it. I think thats a vaguely acceptable way to live. All I could find was "Hello Jenuine".Are they mountains? Romia Pelagetti. Would like to see them a LITTLE bit bolder, but with this I shan't complain.Clare Owen makes me see that not all "scribble colouring in" is bad. Short and snappy.Finishing with some fluffy fluff fluff cats also by Clare Own. FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF!

Here is the only work I have to show for the past little while (excluding location drawing and the tiniest bit of Paris sketchbook work).Poster for our gig last Saturday. No where near as good as Zef's posters (but then, this was all drawn by hand and I didn't think about the design at all... just DID IT).

Websites, anyone? I don't have many of 'em today.
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/fish-and-seafood/haddock/buttery-kedgeree.html
Nom. Make me it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1zYXooGWr4
Dan sent me that link. I love that song. Ignore any godly bits... just remember it from Primary school, and skipping along on some walk with my family when I was young singing it loudly.

Thuherty wun.

Mmmm hello finished work... I'm not overly proud of this project, am vaguely interested in what mark I'll get... no doubt I'll find out on Wednesday 10th at 10:20ish-am. I got fed up with it, I think that possibly shows that THIS is why I don't usually rush projects at the last minute (when I went to bed on Monday, I suddenly thought "SHIT! Friday deadline!"... usually I have projects finished a few days in advance). BUT ANYWAY! It's over. And at 4pm I shall hand it in, and then we'll talk about the Paris trip (15th - 19th Feb) and then I'll go home as I have a date with a shower. Greasy gonzales. And then Jacobs Ladder for a couple of Old Rosie's.

Great, I just tore my bottom lip open again. Well, the past week and a bit has been quite strange... some very good* and nice* bits, and some bits which weren't very nice at all... but I hope everything will go smoother from now on. Need to eat properly again, literally everything has gone bottoms up from this deadline - loads of cinnamon and raisin bread wot I made, blasted for 30 seconds in the microwave and then buttered up. Nom. Whoops, just got caught not working by Mark. Hum di dum. I like pinching the end of my nose recently. A snooze later, maybe. The weather is starting to get better again, this morning it really felt like spring - birds tweeting and warm sunshine and such... I was only wearing a jumper & vest with a scarf!

Looked at my poor little yard plants earlier, Clive the chive is rejuvinating himself (thankfully, he sure has been through a lot!) Old Rosie the rosemary seems happy enough, sage (still unnamed) is holey... damn those caterpillars... but in the land of the living. Minski the mint is also a bit holey but she has new shoots come up. The 2 strawberry plants although brown leafed and dead for part of them also have new shoots... daisy stuff seems ok? Though half of it DID die away (maybe it'll come back). Unfortunately Biscuit the hibiscus and Bob Marley the... dreadlock plant? Both seem terribly worse for wear; I'm REALLY hoping that they come alive again with the warmer weather, but am not being too hopeful. Umut still seems happy enough on the kitchen window sill, Detective Basil is, of course, is still well and truely dead. We got 3 new plant additions to our family though - 2 palmy leafy vaguely bambooish?! plants (living room and Silje's room - Silje's is called Watson) and I got me a succulent which looks like little green pipes, so it's called Sherlock. Plant update OVER.

On the mention of Sherlock & Watson, a (slightly dubious) fanfic is being written! It'll be a crossover with Jack Sparrow & Will Turner too. Just for fun. So far it's me and Dan who have written it so far, maybe Silhe will write some? And last night at Shanty practise down at Shipwrights Martin seemed interested in writing some too. Fun fun fun.

Am quite looking forwards to the Paris trip... even though this will be my 3rd / 4th trip and I've seen most of / all the big sites. I have to go to the catacombs, and I suppose that going back to the big sites will give me a new chance to draw them / the people in them as I've seen them all before (and accidently fallen asleep and dribbled on a pew inside Notre Dame... maybe I'll go up Notre Dame this time).

Does anyone remember "Monarch of the Glen"? I've been watching old episodes of it on YouTube. So good. In my books.

The Falmouth Fish have a gig at Peapods on the 27th Feb, I need to make posters! Dan needs to send me specifics. It was postponed, as we need to find our feet again... does seem rather wobbly at the moment, but I think it'll be better once Lisa gets back. Leading female species yaaay. Sounds like she is having great fun over in Canada/America. Maggots (and men) and all. Tim is leaving on Saturday. Very very VERY sad! Dan's brother Ant is down at the moment, he joined us for practise yesturday. Friendly chap... and he even sung in the end! Dick should NOT sing Bonny Ship The Diamond. Especially not in a fake Scottish Accent. That was certainly a killer. This room smells of spraymount. Silje used to call it the smell of panic. I still stay away from the stuff as when it gets on my hands... *shudder*. Roll on tonight, it'll be happy making. So now for some stuff.

MY STUFF: One of the spreads for this info illustration project on smoke signals. It reminds me a bit of a print in my Reigate home of somewhere in the Lake District... I think it looks a bit like a mole. OTHER PEOPLES STUFF: Random found sinking sailor... the sea looks like one of those "butterfly print" things you do in playgroup.Inga Birgisdottir. Quite scruffy, perhaps not the best drawing skillz evarrrr but it works. Scott Hansen. Triangles! Makes me want to cut up some of MY photos and do this. But then I'd be copying. Poop.Jared Andrew Schorr. Going back to simple stuff. I would like to own a mountain too.You Byun. Pretty pretty.Will Scobie. Whales, big beasts.
Holy crap I'm tired.

I want to see this movie:And want to sit on this rug made from pompoms:(Or maybe sleep on it, since there *is* a fire to sleep in front of...)
And these things I found on a site I nabbed from Vera's blog are cute.What a good idea! Lets punch holes things and wear them round our necks! Speaking of things round necks, I got a vaaary noice new feather necklace yesturday. Hand bashed copper & all! It has joined the ranks of stuff holding my neck down. I really want to find the website for these tights... they're AMAZING! If anyone knows where I could find them, let me know?

And now some websites.

http://morigirls.tumblr.com/
I found this website (via Verarrrr) right after I posted my last blog. Even though I'm not a great fan of frills & lace & all things cutesy, there really are a LOT of squee-able things on there!

http://loveforlife.com.au/content/08/11/14/low-impact-woodland-home-built-wales-simon-dale-includes-1-minute-42-second-video/
I posted a picture of part of this house in the last blog, then found all of it. After reading all about it I think it's even more amazing! Would love to live there (preferably by the sea).

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/eighteenth-century-creamed-apple-flan.html
CORRR! I've been watching Delia Smith stuff on BBCiplayer and this was one of the recipes shown, I want to make it a lot.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/olive-oil-crackers-recipe.html
These look very tasty too... especially since I have to find a use for my semolina flour. Anyone know where I can find plain old semolina? Not semolina flour, not semolina pudding... just semolina.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ogApu4-gk
Clever video.

http://www.thetintedmint.com/
I would love to own all the tape on here. And some of the other little things. But mostly the tape.

End. Time for me to try stop killing my lip and grinding my teeth.

*Good? Nice? What dull words... lovely, delicious, happy, grinnable... etc.

.ytrihT

Yum, procrastination.
Currently on the list of things I'm meant to be doing are:
-Make more cat ears (I got rather attached to the ones I made for Dan, and want some leopard & tweed ones for me!).(above = me, scowling and wearing the cat ears - they have little pink heart / flower shaped buttons on the ends)
-Make a logo for a band called "Drama King".
-Vera and Faye still need x-mas/birthday presents... whoops...
-DAMN theres HAC's presentation & essay work to be done. Not even started! *ignores*.
-Should make a poster for the Falmouth Fish gig on Thursday... but it's a Jacob's Ladder one! Surely there will be people there ANYWAY...
-Do some clothes washing. The pillow case of smelly doom is getting fatter.
-Write letters to Nina and Red and such.
Etc etc etc...
But instead, I shall write this.

Just finished the long weekend of partying and drinking and madness, MUST get back into the swing of illustration, this past week I've done bugger all. This morning I had my group crit for my "Fish of the world" project, feedback was far better than I expected! People seemed to like the colours and mood of the pieces, now I just have to wait for Mark's thoughts. Eeeep.
But yes, partying and such.
On Thursday it was the first Falmouth Fish practise of the year - change of date and location! 7:30pm Thursdays at Shipwrights bar. It was pretty good, quite odd being in a place where you couldn't see your breath whilst singing and could sit on chairs / stools in the break instead of a very dusty floor! Chain Locker (the pub to which Shipwrights is owned) doesn't have Old Rosie cider though. Pah to them. And of course most people were a bit rusty with their songs, it's a bit sad that it was the last practise with Chris (the captain). Then there was a very strange (rather sad, and from what I can tell from the rest of the crew - awkward) moment with one of the songs due to the lyric change from Molly Budd to Mary Doyle buuuuut I'll just have to get over that.
After practise we went over to The 'front to sing in the open mic night, free pints all round!

Falmouth Fish Sea Shanty Collective from Kristian Butler on Vimeo.

(above = new boy Kristian's video snippet of us singing "Little Eyes" [lead by Foy - he's the chap in the stripey jumper] I look a bit like I have a large metal rod up my... joys.)
Then of course after Thursday comes Friday... going into uni? Fail. Sleeeeeep time. And in the eve, Lisa birthday time! A fantastic array of musical stuff, can't wait for the next similar thing to that! Yummy food as well, and then walking home in pissing rain and wind (which was actually really quite nice).

Saturday was an early wake up, Silje and I went off with BTCV to Gweek to a farm/centre for adults with learning disabilities. Good to get some dirt under my nails weeding flower and vegetable / herb beds. And of course the lunch time pasty... nom. Saturday eve was Silje & Faye's joint birthday party - cross dressing theme - which turned out to be really fun, though about 2 thirds of the way through I decided that no more alcohol was wanted and so turned to the water... OLD AGE ALREADY?! Most of the outfits were brilliant, everyone seemed rather in awe at Dani (and... her? boobs) and if Marcel had had less upper lip / chin stubble going on, then he would have passed as quite a normal girl (in a black sequined skirt). Silje's kept up her pipe smoking, big moustached "Geoffrey" act all night and it was fabulous, Vrarr as a chap was quite... creepy? Heh heh, and Faye easily passed as a rather obnoxious adolescent boy. I'd compliment everyone, but that could take time. We DID get a couple of free onions from Mike though... his boobs dropped out.

Sunday.... hangover day tidying the house. Joys.
Anyhoo, less of that...
And less of drinking?! Maybe? It COULD be useful...?

Hmm... whats happened since last post...
I re-applied to the YHA, and am now meant to go to an open day sort of thing at Bristol YHA RIIIIGHT before I go to Paris, it's gonna be a tight squeeze! But... hopefully I'll get a job...? (Damn them for changing it from Golant to Bristol...). Anyone fancy coming with me for company / amusement?

Done in life drawing. We were told to do an hour long portrait of the model (she stays still, and has a fun face to draw, but her poses aren't overly interesting).

Hm, I can't think of anything interesting to say now.
But I really thought these 2 dresses (below) from "allencompanyinc" on Etsy were rather noice:
And these tree houses at Treehouse point in Seattle look sooooo noice! Theres a whole little community of them, I don't think anyone lives there permanently though...Then on the mention of treeees we have these two pieces...Simply done, but detailedish and effective? Hmm. Not so fond of ze child, but it works. Conor Keller.And some very simple trees from Yellow Owl workshop.

Siteage:
http://foxbunting.blogspot.com/
Some of the things on there are rather cute... it makes me think "I could SO make that and make money" but will I ever?

http://www.piewacketblog.com/journal/2009/12/31/moms-fried-mac-cheese.html
I was craving macaroni cheese BIG TIME last week. I miss the proper stuff. Haven't had it in soooo long.... eep.

And on the mention of food...
http://www.aplusrstore.com/product.php?id=512
I thought THAT looked genius!!! MAX raised an eyebrow at me, but I was very excited about it. GENIUS.

Thats all...


EDITO:
Forgot to throw up these pages from my location drawing book yesturday:
Silje doing the washing up. Piles of it.The backs of peoples heads in Mike's lectures.Miss Molly molesting a newspaper at Shanty house.From Lisa's party on Friday.

29.

More snow? Blimey, it actually IS Winter for once... I hope the plane from Norway can get here tomorrow (delivering Silje and Vera ). And then I hope that the trains from here to Fal on Saturday behave themselves! I have a date with Old Rosie on Saturday eve... perhaps I should round up the troops?
But yes, more snow. Went on a little walk with Elk (my sisterly sort) yesturday, noice. Never seen Reigate so white before.
The past week or so has been pretty alright, that is, when I've actually managed to climb out of my nest... seen some of the old friendly sorts and had a good (though pretty damned lazy) time.
Got up to some good old doooodlage with Ninoid & Emilarrrgh (just some making up strange characters, either on our ownsomes or collabs), and played Twister / Squeak Piggy Squeak and such at Pippa's.
Also went on a lovely frosty walk to Tanzee's through the countryside, I feel sorry for anyone I disturbed whilst singing to myself.
Now I've started to do some research (FINALLY!) for the x-mas project, I'd decided to do it on "Smoke Signals" of the Native American sort. No imagery done so far, but I'll start on that soon... otherwise Mark may raise his eyebrows again.
So yes, things have been pretty good apart from a few little things which have bugged me a bit (I was so sure I was getting the summer job at YHA Coverack, living in a tent and all... but it then got taken by a previous worker. Bugger... work search starts again).
Before I throw down some links and imagery which I like the look of, have a look at this by the lovely Faygel! At first I didn't recognise the folks on there, but now I see that it is indeed me, Silje, and Vrarr... genius. I look like a nutter (nothing new, then?).And now heres the stolen stuff...Andrew Bannecker.Shaun Tan (I think)Andy Kehoe.Possibly by Tony Fitz Patrick...Some lovely (and also very expensive) rings from Touch The Dutch's Etsy shop. Also seem some in wood someplace...Rugs / throws and such from Pendelton Woolen mills. Ohhhh yummy. So very nice.They look very friendly... who ever made this.

LINKS:
If anyone fancies buying me anything from these 2 Etsy shops, then you shall be forever loved. More so the first link, but there are some VERY cute things on the second...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/anotherfeather
http://www.etsy.com/shop/verabel

Some lovely clothes & such on here, I ordered a catalogue - just for the pictures.
http://www.toast.co.uk/