At this time of year I would usually be pimping my awesome handmade Alternative Valentines cards but I've got too much of that life stuff going on to make any this year (boooooooo)

If you are sensible though, you will get this mini zine I made of the best bits. You can use it as a valentines gift, or to cheer yourself up cos your a loser loner.

What did I learn at the Amelia's Compendium of Fasion Illustration launch?

if people with actual good cameras and photography nous/talent take photos of you, you come out looking much more hot. see below.


painty painty sketchy sketchy, the second photo is taken by Joana Faria (also a super awesome illustrator who I shared a table with in our sketchings) and i think the first one might be too but I'm not sure.

also, chunky knits in nuetral colours are still quite in. Sadly my paper white complection probably couldn't pull them off, even with a posh camera flash effect of not bleaching me whiter than white. I rock a slate pallete tho. obviously.

But enough about me, more about my drawings. Or, no, well, lets talk about the party first because I have to say it was super ace, or, amazeballs as I believe is the parlance. Of all the launch parties I have been to, and I have been to several, it was by far the best. Amelia and co really do know what they are doing with this stuff. I was cream crackered after the last week at my first PGCE placement (I had to mark a lot of sketchbooks - bless their little pencils!) but the adrenaline of doing my favouritest thing (well, you know, ONE of them) of drawing live things kept me on point till about midnight when this pumpkin caught the bus back home.

If I'd stayed a bit later I might have managed to meet more illustrators and fashion peeps which would have been even more balls of amazing, but as it was I was still joyous and enchanted to meet such geniuses as June Chanpoomidole (I love her self portrait in the book so much, she is still the network queen - i think she met everyone at the party), Zarina Liew (long legs ink wizard), Jo Cheung (birds and diamonds joy) (I met them already but it was still nice to see them) and Lesley Barnes (she is little and layers transparent things, I think I love her), Abby Wright (charming, I may have been rude to her, I forget), Natsuki Otani (you know she's a genius of colour, I want to be her when I grow up), Antonia Parker (epic hair, epic outfit, sparkleyest smile in tunny wells), Joana Faria (brilliant and beautiful, we are going to get drunk in Lisbon, maybe), Andrea Peterson (too talented to be allowed, and lovely, but i suppose she did fly a long way), Michelle Urvall Nyren (stunning, truly, i kept wanting to draw her instead of the fashionistas, and lovely brushwork), Naomi Law (I think we assembled bags together - awesome work, awesome girl), Gareth A Hopkins (taller than most of the other illustrators, due to being male, and comical), Rachel de Ste. Croix aka Precious Little. (lovely like her drawings), and also Erica Sharp (a total collage genius, sadly I only met her briefly)

I think I also met some of the other illustrators after I had had a few vodka O and ginger beers, but I wouldn't want to sweat in a court of law. Also I met Lu Flux (I was very excited) and lots of awesome fashion and arty people.

this just in, I'm not going to post any drawings now, I am going to wait till they have all been posted by the people I did them for or it's like they didn't get an exclusive. OK I might post a couple.

Danielle Brown of Poppy Cleopatra

Laura Snoad from Design Week

quick sketch of Amelia being interviewed by Alex Cox from Don't Panic (I drew him properly looking less round headed also - watch the space that is here.

Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration

So, Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration (featuring the very best in ethical fashion design).
I has a copy, you should get one too.


It is a very special book, not least because the concept behind it is so exciting and unique - showcasing illustrative talent and also at the the same time showcasing ethical fashion designers.

This is important. We need more people to know that the alternative is out there and sweatshops are not the only answer. As well as the wealth of pictures there's also interviews with all those included which adds a whole other dimension. I can't comment much on these not having yet had time to read them but I've heard good things.

I made these pictures of SOME (note - really, only some, there are loads more) of the best bits.

A lot of the work is stunning, it's a treasure trove of illustrative and design talent.
In places, a part of me (the minimalist junkie part) feels less would have been more, but the overwhelming feel is one of brimming with content - like opening a jewelery box full of beautiful bling, and the effect is gorgeous, more than worth the price tag.

I remember when I was what? 16? when Fashion Illustration Now came out and there was a copy in our local library. between myself and my friend Ellie Cryer (the genius illustrator), we must have had it out in shifts all year. Now there's a lot of fashion illustration books available, there may have been then, I don't know. Small village, 16 year old lack of knowledge. Believe me, I teach them now, don't see the nose on their face ;). But I never find them as exciting as that book was back then, it seemed like a window of possibility, the sheer variety of approaches (and I don't say I liked them all) and freshness of the work was like a revelation to me at the time.

more highlights.

Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration is like that. It is full of possibility and promise and hope. I love it. But enough of words, I'm sure you want to see some pictures. Trying to choose my favourites is impossible - we'd be here all night as theres so much awesomeness. But here are some of the pictures what are in it.
haha, this one is by me.
This one is by Jennifer Costello

this one is by Lesley Barnes


This one is by Yelena Bryksenkova
This one is by Zarina Liew

OK no I am going to stop now, although I am already feeling about how much stuff I am not including, talking about how much I love Junesees' self portrait in the book - it's so her, and Lisa Stannard's creepy eyes and all Erica Sharp's beautiful collages, and Jo Cheung's printy patterns and Natsuki Otani's colours (always), Bex Glover's amazing natural poses, Katie Harnett's smouldering elegant charecters and Emma Block's super charming painted papercuts. I could go on.

nothing for it kids, you just have to check out the book yourself.

(I am in it too, did I mention that)

This post is brought to you by the letter C, and the number 59.

fall off a log kids! it's the end of the Cs in my project of drawing all of my facebook friends in alphabetical order.

last time this happened I did a little meaningless stats round up so lets do that again.

Claire

so so far, I have drawn 59 people out of a potential total of 341.
It may not have felt like it when I was drawing 8 people called Chris, but the girls have it with 34 to 25.

Friends from Sunny Sussex (by the sea), land of my birth and youth, are just in the lead with 22 friends, narrowly beating friends I met in Southampton at 19. In the last 2+ years i've lived in the shining capital of grande brittainia (London) I've made 9 friends beginning with the letters A-C. Not bad going I think you'll agree. I have also drawn so far 4 friends I met whilst traveling the world and also 4 friends (6.8%) who I have classified as OTHER. Make of that what you will.
Craig

8 friends were drawn primarily in pencil, 11 in pen, 13 in paint or ink and 10 were coloured on the computer.

17 friends will be entered into the category of MIXED MEDIA. like all the best things.

13 friends so far could be categorized in their drawing as being in fancy dress. (22%)
Cynthia.

These stats may not actually add up, i'm not counting again tho! like i don't have better things to avoid doing.

Maybe when I've finished the Ds I'll be so desperate to procrastinate that I'll do some cool info-graphics. That would be sweet.

Maybe I could make more interesting stats if I actually knew more information about my friends, can't do a graph about guessed sexuality or forgotten ethnic origin and career status. I am a bad person (at small talk, and remembering things). Or, actually, I am an awesome person who does not judge people by such things and so does not think to find them out by devious gossiping and boring conversation. Yes.


Hooray for Friends.


For extra joy, here is a collage I made out of things I did during the Holiday Season as
an example for one of my Year 8 classes who are doing collage.

It is supposed to tell the story of my holiday so you can see that I had beer, and a cold, and chocolate and got some pyjamas. Also there are some goodies on there from the Super Christmas Market at Somerset House, which I have to say was a fairly mental event.

HAPPY NEW EAR!

hello. i wanted to do a new years post last night and still havn't so here is a quick one.

fireworks and irish jigs and joy to you all in 2011.

here is a nice gingerbread picture i did for the excellent they draw and cook.

i like drawing. and cooking.

my new years resolutions are, um, to be better. at stuff. like being more productive. and more organised.

Hiya, I watched quite a lot of X-factor (for me) this year, it's a bit mental isn't it. The Sunday shows make me pretty angry so i try and just watch the Saturday ones, although sometimes it's easier to just watch it. Television is my friend.

Also, I actually voted for rebecca in the final because matt cardigan has a boring voice and didn't deserve to win. but tch Politics what can you do. First time i put money into reality TV since i voted for Jade Goody the first time round. And I love big brother. Anyway I'm only talking about it because I wanted to show you this drawing I did about how Louis is a loser, it is here with some other X-themed illos on Amelia's

School is nearly over for Christmas (joys) so I may have time to procrastinate some next week and bring you more art gifts. The exhaustion of confussion at being a student and a teacher at the same time has been keeping me busy in the manner of several bees, possibly a whole hive. As a generally softcore person it has mostly made me softer than softcore. je suis le pathetic. but is all good.

The facebook project has been progressing a little in betweentimes, I drew a picture of my friend Cleveland (that's him above) and he drew me back! (i was ver touched) here it is.

this is like a snapshot of my life 3 years ago when I worked with him in the cinema, and used to chill out and doodle on receipts a lot when it was quiet, and go dancing on weeknights like a student. *sigh* simpler times. It is super awesome tho and I defintely encourage other drawees to redraw.

competition winner and more gift ideas

To select the winner of the christmas card competition I used the entirely non-scientific method of alocating the enterers numbers and asking my boyfriend to pick one of them.

the winner is Abby Wright! she does drawings to, check them out.

congratulations.

I very enjoyed the answers everyone gave, mostly concerning lovingly handmade personalised gifts, and much big up of the hand-made in general. What this says about my er, online networking demographic, is that they are awesome obviously. but also arty. And there were some purchasing suggestions for the less endowed with craftiness or time.

this man shaped sleeping bag snug item is a joyfull pick, altho on the pricey lovers and very close relitives side of the spectrum.

Clare Bear cannily suggested her own handmade jewelery which is of course allways to be encouraged. The amount of awesome handmade accessories now available on the net ought to be able to fulfil any rellies tastes.
Illustrated calendars is another brilliant way to support your creatives in a christmas gift mode, this example is a delight suggested by it's maker Obara
I also wanted to post this although it is not for sale which Alice used as her example of personal handmade gift, it is a papercut based on a postcard i think, super beautiful. she should really be encouraged to make more things given how speedily her lovely fox purses sold.

(it's the most wonderful time of the year)