art equals happy.

hi.

i'm going to be honest.

so. things are a little rough over here at the moment.

i'll be okay. don't worry too much. [:

i'm keeping my secrets and dreams over here for now.

i'm making art like a stupid person whose heart bleeds paint,

but i'm not at the point where i can share any.

i'm going to london for two weeks for a short course.

this will hopefully make my blogging itch come back, and produce two big projects.

i leave on saturday.

i have a new paperline and a kit that just needs finalizing (they look beautiful)!

expect that in August!

my class went extremely well.

i'm debating whether or not to run another one. i really enjoyed it.

but i don't know if i can juggle it into my schedule.

this is a list of musical artists i highly recommend if your heart and eyes and head and soul are a little bruised;

lisa hannigan, first aid kit (above), regina spektor, she and him, tanya davis, low anthem, fleet foxes, kimya dawson. 

i've seen so many spiders these last few days. big ones. i don't know how i'm going to cope on my own.

have you had a cup of tea today? it's been raining here and that always comforts me.

i hope you're having a good week wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

take a picture.

love youkxo

i am having an affair.

with mixing paint.

and my sewing machine.

am neglecting my computer and inbox.

i am neglecting my daily art journal.

i am neglecting my camera.

i am neglecting the buttons and ribbons that look at me.

they know.

they know that they are being cheated on.

but i can't stop.

it is a beautiful time.

that magic. love is stirring. unsettled. annoying.

fighting with my emotions and health.

laughing with my tissue boxes and fine liners.

it is beautiful.

it hurts a lot

but it's the beginning of something that i've never felt before.

there are no rules.

no sizes.

no projects.

no deadline.

just messes and music and a cup full of dirty water and brushes.

*note- yes. the idea for keeping my own mixed colours in bottles is from Elsie. she's a genius. i've been putting off doing it for a long time, because i try to distance myself a little from artists i admire. but. it's just stuck with me, so i gave in.*

ok, well i'm back!

glastonbury was fantastic, there is so much to say, but right now i need sleep.

my travel journal class starts tomorrow, you can still SIGN UP!

seriously- you don't want to miss out, it will be full of ideas, tips, exclusive pages and lots of fun from me!

smell ya later lovelies!

little calm friday!

well, this is the last day i get all to myself in my studio before Glastonbury (i'll be away the 24th-28th)! so much planning and organizing to do. oh my! this weekend i have plans to make a dress with my friend- we will see how that goes! HA!

i wanted to post a few things before i disappear, so...

i listed my book online today!

it's handmade/bound/produced by me, and i'm really excited about it!

there were only 12 first print copies- and i don't know if i'll be making another self-published edition. so grab 'em while they're hot!

there's more info about the book & peeks inside on the etsy page, here are a few of my favourite spreads;

hope you like it- it's got over 25 prints of original illustrations/collages in it!

also listed a set of 4 postcards. check it.

yup- WWED themed!

in other news- a friend of mine held a small exhibition for some of his college work, in a little shop/gallery in bristol...

haha, his little brother took this for me! more here.

sooooo. it's friday. and that means Work-Your-Soul time!

Jen turned out an amazing post based on album covers. i'm so inspired by this!!!

i got a letter today from my Uni about the short courses i'm taking in july- i'm considering making my sketchbook out of oldold record covers now...

it was also my turn to post a little something on SPARK.

sigh. i love pubs with good light and nice wallpaper.

i also love seeing friends again! YAY for everyone finishing exams!!!

how great are those picture frames? the whole pub was lined with them.

another sigh. so beautiful.

i will try and post before i leave, but there are about a million things i need to do! ahhhh!!!

(like make trail mix with marshmallows!!!)

hope your weekend is wonderful!

dreaming up...

my perfect studio right now.

[a rather ramble-ly part first. just warning]

mmm. one big white wall to put up my current ideas, with a table facing it, connecting to the table in an 'L' will be the table with my computer and sewing machine and typewriter & some shelves. this will be wallpapered (also maybe a window) a brown/orange/yellow/cream pattern. the other two walls will be solid brown and orange, with a big white stripe going through the brown one  that curves at the end and goes into the ground. this will hold picture frames and a small old bookcase in that stripe. the orange wall will have the door and storage space with supplies on it.

the desk will be wooden, old, beautiful. the chair will be an armchair with wheels, super comfy. there may be a small couch under the white stripe on the brown wall. and there would always be a quilt made by my mum in there.

i've been looking through this group again.

i love dreaming about these things.

i watched 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' tonight. 

i'm not a massive Brad Pitt fan, and old southern accents aren't my favourite, but for some reason, this film intoxicated me. 

probably the story- i loved the idea of him being born an old man and growing younger.

and i love a girl with red hair.

my dad said it reminded him of Forest Gump, but it made me want to go read Time Traveler's Wife again and again and again.

my favourite part was when they 'lived on that mattress' in their little 70's duplex...

it reminded me of pictures of my mum&dad when they were newly weds. starting a new life with just a mattress and a lot of love and big dreams. 

it's so magical. 

i get so excited about life sometimes. every stage. 

i definitely have a few chapters before this. but maybe one day.

right now i am enjoying this strange transition period where nothing is solid and everything is going from old to new and it's slightly scary but very exciting. sometimes it feels so slow! when will i finally leave!?! and other times it goes so fast. so i'm trying to remind myself that "the present now will later be past" (Bob Dylan) and that little impatient girl inside of me needs to take a breath of that sweet summer air, and relax a little bit. these moments are precious. and there is a time for everything.

i think i'm going to beg my dad to teach me Tai Chi.

[ramble over. :D]

the last few days i've been sitting in my exhibition space (when i say 'my' exhibition space, i mean 'my spot' in the sixth form exhibition at school), and talking to people and selling some of my books!

i plan to take some more (better!) photos tomorrow, but here is a peek;

i'm planning another etsy update for this weekend sometime, and some of those books will be going up.

i'm really pleased with how they turned out (all handmade&bound!), and i got some great feedback this week on them. 

there are still plenty of spots on my Online Class available. (remember, even if you're not going to be here for that week, the tutorials and tips will be e-mailed to you in a document- and you can always ask me questions via e-mail)

what are your dreams about life changes? are you where you dreamed you would be? 

and how has your monday&tuesday been?

love kxo

i do solemnly swear.

this is the book i've been making alongside Rachel's lovely class called;

i used her tutorials & pages as inspiration more than layouts for my pages, and i also looked through her other classes- so you might see some elements from them pop up in here ('cause i never got around to finishing all of them, haha).

i've tried to show some 'close-ups' as well, because i know it's hard to read. a lot of the journalling is quite personal, just a warning.

you can see i wasn't bothered about page size either. so free!

and it's still in progress...

haha. this cutie took the photos for me yesterday, when she came over to play :D

haha. Jess is "SO CUTEEEE!" 

:] big smiles for this quiet sunday.

today, i've slept in and ate porridge. now i'm going to bind some books and then start making a dress!

My Exhibition tomorrow! SERIOUSLY excited!

kxo

we're gonna swing!

and now, what you've all been waiting for (haha!)

You can NOW purchase a spot on this class on my etsy.

July 1st-8th 2009

$20.50

Details;

This class is about Travel Journals,
and by the end of this week, you will have all the know-how and inspiration to take your creating on-the-go, no problem! 

This class will run from July 1st- 8th 2009 on a private blog, but the tutorials will stay up for the rest of the summer, and you'll get a file with all of the info at the end of the week.

Included in this class;
-->a tutorial (or two!) on how to make a book with stuff you already have, 
-->how to make sure you get the most out of it (for any size holiday!)
-->a fool-proof kit list to make sure you have everything you need, without weighing your bag down too much, 
-->tips and tricks for on the road, 
-->two live video chats with Q&A's. 
AND
-->exclusive looks into some of my previous & upcoming travel journals!
+more!

I'm really excited to share this with everyone! Art journals are one of my absolutely favourite things to make. ever. And I've gotten really good at taking inspiration from what is going on around me, incorporating journals into life and finding the time to 'keep up'- I can't wait to share what I've learnt- to hopefully make the process easier for you. 

You can see some of my past journals here. but here are a few of my favourites;

shoot me any questions in the comments or e-mail (kim@smithdata.com)

love you and thank you for being patient with me!

kimxo

Classes...

my scanner isn't working and it's superlate- 

i've had such a manic day.

i will post more info tomorrow. i promise- i'm SO EXCITED about them.

love youuuuukxo

a little list...

of things that are happening with me this summer!

-Classes. I will be announcing more about those tomorrow! (July/Aug)

-Photoshoots. see the post below, and e-mail me if you're interested. (Now-Sep)

-Etsy Shop! including Art Prints from my A-level projects, an illustrated Children's Book, and a new paperline and kit. (Updates from Monday onwards)

here is a little peek at my book;

you will able to buy one from my etsy shop on Monday the 15th!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I have been really busy these last few days setting up for my exhibition! If you can come, I would really love to see you, there is some amazing stuff up from my year- I'm so proud of them. And my little spot is pretty cozy- I've got a bookshelf and you can sit and look through all my journals that I've made this year!

I've also been doing some work experience with Rosie Parsons. [: I'm enjoying it, she's super helpful and puts up with all my questions! So i got pretty inspired last weekend and took some photos of jon&me but... haha. self timers and remotes are such a pain- plus we chose a realllllyyyy awkward time of day so the light was rubbish. still cute though.

anyway. at the moment i am busy making stuff, but i'll leave you with a song from my all-time favourite movie from when i was little... it always makes me smile;

(i was pretty much exactly like Rosie when i was two. overalls all the way!)

love you and see you tomorrow!

kxo

bring back the shoots!

i'm going to spend a lot of the weekend working on the classes, and i will announce dates&costs on Thursday at the latest, but in the meantime, i've been getting a lot of requests for PHOTOSHOOTS to come back. so- yup, that's right....

and the return of the myspace shoot;

okay. you heard it here first!

my calendar is filling up pretty fast already, so if you are thinking of getting one, e-mail me soon, as i will be opening it up to the rest of my internet world next week sometime. and this could be the last chance, as I'm moving to London in September (and I've kept the prices super low)!

click here to see my online gallery at the moment, but a few of my favourites...

thanks for being so supportive everyone.

i can't wait to shoot you!

kimxo