art equals happy.

Dear my 'Foundation' self. :: Camberwell & Life.

So- it's coming up to Fresher's Week here at UAL and my dear friend Kara wrote a similar post about being a freshman. I thought I'd do the same- maybe it might be helpful to someone out there? Maybe not. But here is what I may have said to myself 2 years ago if time travel was possible...
- - -This is pretty much everything you’ve always been dreaming of. You’re in London- you’re going to your first choice university and you are ready.

Don’t be afraid to be the ‘geek’. Ask questions, talk to the tutors, read and re-read the briefs, do as much work as you can, pay attention, go to the lectures. These things will really make the difference. You’ve always been a little ‘keen’ on school. Don’t let that change just because you’re now a ‘big kid’. There are a lot of intimidating people with amazing style. Don't let that stop you. You deserve to be here.

Peter will be, basically, a guardian angel for you this year. The rest of your flatmates, not so much. Don’t let them get to you- go and cook food in your pajamas even if there are loads of people in the kitchen. You know your place. Talk to Peter about art. Listen to him. Watch movies that you may not think are good on first impression and make time to go explore London.

Go to every single Cinema Club. It will be your favourite thing. Don’t eat so many crisps. Hug your mum and dad when you see them. Go back to Bristol on the bus occasionally, but not right before a deadline. Rest up when you can. Get involved with Jumble sales and the Fairs at college- by the time you’re a 2^nd year- they’ll be e-mailing you! Take pictures and decorate your room (no one is going to check).

Look around your class and make friends with the people who are sitting alone & the really nice girls from your halls. You don’t need to go to the pub every time- but once in a while is good for you. Talk to your tutors when you get the chance. They’ll be like friends, I promise. Don’t be too scared about drawing. You’re not a ‘Graphic Designer’, it’s okay. Illustration is cool. Inquire about using the Darkroom, they might make an exception. Spend the time on the bus dreaming about your projects and what you’re going to have for dinner. Don’t stress about relationships back in Bristol. Have people to stay. Visitors are awesome & you can fit 2 more people in that teeny tiny room of yours. When you move out of halls- invite people over, you might be surprised who visits you! Keep working on your  blog and your shop. It's important to you.

Meet London Bloggers. They are nice. [: When you’re making your portfolio… GO WITH YOUR GUT! There will be a lot of talks about how to make it ‘just right’- but work hard and do it the way you feel is right, because the interview will go awesome, because you know who you are and what you do (even if it feels like you’re drowning sometimes). Explore the handmade world- there are amazing people to meet out there. Go to the Library and read. Look at the books. There are some gems waiting to be found. In your 1^st year on BA, you’ll be confused a lot of the time. You’ll feel like an imposter (‘I can’t draw!’). It’s going to be hard to find your footing (I still haven’t) but I know it’s there. Follow your heart. Do a lot of thinking and knitting in the evenings. It will pay off.

FOLLOW THE BRIEFS! I know this is hard. The briefs are meant to challenge you and stretch you. I know you thought the stretching was over. It’s not. Go to the museums and do 50 drawings in 3 hours. It will be hard and most of them will be rubbish, but it’s a learning thing.

Oh. And you’re ill. It’s sucks. It’s going to make your life a little bit miserable and awkward at times. That’s ok. Don’t be ashamed or guilty to get a Taxi if you feel faint. Plan your journeys before you leave the house. Learn the bus routes. Get a stool when you are drawing in galleries (most places have them for free. Tell them you’re disabled). Get a bus, even if it’s just a few stops and your friends are walking. It will keep your mind clear and your feet a little lighter. Talk to your tutors (all of them!) about it. Understanding is easy if you help them to understand.There are a million other little things I could tell you (and I’ve already rambled enough). Basically just follow your heart and be a geek (proudly!) and be nice to people and work hard. You’ll be fine.
- - -
(Black and white photo by Anna. Drawing by me in 2009) 

i love camberwell.

These are some film photos I took last year in the print room, and I thought today might be a good day to share them with you. They are of me and some classmates doing screen printing for our final project. A bit grainy and dark, but still magical, i think.Today was the first day of my BA course at Camberwell. The first couple of weeks are always bogged down with inductions and talks and a lot of information being thrown at you, while you attempt to learn the new rules and your way around the school. Luckily, I already have a good idea of what it's like at there, having done my Foundation last year. I've always been rather a geek at school- listening hard to the teachers, soaking in the information, thinking about all the possibilities and wanted to get as much out of my time there as possible. Today was no different and after such a huge summer break- that geek inside, swelled up and was ready for another year (I'm am SUCH a Hermione Granger, it's ridiculous!). I have such a fondness for Camberwell in particular, and I'm more than proud to go there. I'm excited for a challenging, experimental and rewarding three years to start- my course is perfectly suited to what I want to learn about and the resources are incredible. I can't wait to get started for reals.I have some photos of the first day, but it's nearly my bedtime so I should really go and relax a little. Love you bloggers. 

the Robin Hood project.

So- I know a lot of you were probably like 'whhattt?' when I listed these postcards a while ago. Like- where did THAT come from? I wanted to wait and show you a bit more about it until I did the portfolio post- cause this is one of the sketchbooks I put in alongside the actually pages. (there are a still obviously all the test prints and things which aren't shown)I took a 1 week summer course last summer (July 2009) at Camberwell in Printmaking and it was incredible. My first time using a real print studio and learning all the techniques. We had to choose a word to work with while we were experimenting with the different processes and make a little project around it.

I ended up going for a process where I physically made the plates out of card and fabric to represent an 'artifact' that could have been related to Robin Hood and his time. I was kind of poking fun at what people consider to be an 'antique' and what's just old (or even fake!). And this is kind of where I realized that it's the store behind things that really interests me. [: They ended up being kind of iconic and it took me a long time to make each print, so turning them into postcards seems like a good idea. They are up in my shop here, if you want your own set of my 4 favourite ones. I kind of think they'd make cool 'congrats' cards or 'hey what's up' kind of notes. Anyway, I'll stop chatting now. Thanks for letting me share!

some portfolio pages:

Back in February my life was consumed with getting this bad boy together. I know I promised to share some of the pages with you, and so- here is a little peek into it. I had a lot of 'extra' stuff like sketchbooks and boxes full of work and a few big worksheets- but anyway, here are SOME of the pages:(I like to draw a diagram of my experiences and things at the front to give an overview of how dedicated I am.)All of this work was completed in my Foundation Year- because they like to see your current work. Some of this stuff you may have seen, some of it it brand new to the internet.I've kept some photos out of here because I'm going to do a special post about it later. And also this can get really boring to anyone who hasn't attended art school or is thinking of attending. Each course and each level are looking for DIFFERENT things. Mine was also a lot different to other students, even though we were taking work from similar projects. If you are thinking of applying to any Art course that requires a portfolio- it's vital that you check with them to see what they want. My flatmate is doing Painting and we mounted our portfolios on the same day, it's different. It's HUGELY different. His was all about getting things perfectly centered on crisp white pages and letting the paintings speak for themselves while showing a particular point of interest, whereas mine was about Communication and showing the range of work I could produce as well as making sure that the viewer could navigate it easily and understand what the briefs were for each project, and also to feel comfortable with it (a lot of my work is about being 'real' and so although I stayed with a traditional 'book' format- I added things that made it personal and...) I'm rambling a bit now anyway-  This portfolio got me into my BA Illustration Course at Camberwell, which I start in October.

July 11th, Save Our Souls.

It will be held at: NICHOLLS AND CLARKE BUILDING 3-10 SHOREDITCH HIGH STREET! Sunday 11th of July. 

I will have a stall there, and I highly recommend pretty much everyone on that list, so it should be an incredible day! I'm really honoured to be involved! 
**this is will stay at the top next week***

Private View (&workspace wednesday!)

I know I'm late with my Workspace Wednesday post. I'm sorry! This week has been kind of ridiculous with getting everything ready for the private view at camberwell and also getting things sorted for my new house. I am picking up my keys today, and I'm really excited! But, I'll share more about that later (today, hopefully!).The Private View was so busy! Way more busy than I thought it was going to be, and I sold a ton of these lion broaches:(those are two of my tutors!) It was very encouraging. One of my close friends sold his work, my awesome graphic designer cousin came, people were smiling and talking about their work- it was a great atmosphere. I snapped this before it started, so you could see the view from my 'pop up shop'. This is just one of the Foundation rooms (illustration). I will be listing some lion broaches in my etsy shop this weekend, so you can snag yourself one too. [: (by the end of the night, there were only 3 left so I've been making some more just for you!)I hope you've had an awesome week, I've got to go get packing!!! Love you! kxo

today:

It's showtime ladies and gentlemen! Maybe see some of you there. kxo

ain't no lie(on)

so, i ain't lying, today i spent all day putting up lions for my final show (these are older photos). I'm pretty stoked that it's all up and running. on my to-do list before the show is:
-make more badges.
-make poster for Pop Up Shop.
-make lionel a girlfriend and maybe some friends.
-more postcards.

that's not too bad, right? i'm taking tonight off, though, cause my bones are aching from standing all day- i'm heading over to this pretty lady's house for some harry potter and girltalk. :D 
yay! today has been really good. I'm got a great Workspace Wednesday post for you tomorrow! I can't wait!
here is something pretty from a sketchbook, just to make you smile.love you kxo

instax results.

This post is really late today because Peter (above) and I were having a fierce card game this evening. :]
I got my results for my Foundation Final Major Project (A Ghostly Illness) and I did really well. I don't want to brag, but I'm really proud that I got the highest mark you can get. Just goes to show what hard work, determination and vision can do. So yay! Here are some little instax photos. [:See you tomorrow. [: kxo

Workspace Wednesday no.7

This week's Workspace Wednesday is a-la kara's post about 'keeping it real'. I took some photos of my room in the middle of the panic that was my Final Major Project. (Who says everything has to be tidy to be beautiful?)yes- that is my 'side table' haha. got to love Ritz, iced tea and granny squares. [:I took these while I was taking a (much needed) break and watching When Harry Met Sally. [: I freaking love that film. Anyway- this is what my 'studio' at halls looks like. messy, full of random inspiration and a lot of stuff stuck to the wall without much 'design' intended at all. kind of college-dorm-chic? or just messy? you decide.

I've been giving a lot of thought to what I want to blog about, how I want to blog and in the last month or so, I've decided that this blog is 'real'. I'm not going to censor out the bad stuff too much. In fact, that's what a lot of my work is about, so why should my blog be any different? It won't change from what it has been, I just wanted to publicly announce that I support real people and real emotions and real struggle and people who find real comfort and joy in life, even if it's not perfect. (I updated my sidebar). If you're new here- HELLO! Everything on this blog is made by me, unless noted (if you want more things by other people that i like- visit my tumblr).I love all of you. kxo