Ollerina

Upcoming craft fair and exhibition

I am somewhat busy at the moment with my first Craft fair in a couple of weeks and an exhibition to hang. It is all part of The Chorlton Arts Festival, Manchester.

It's also time for submissions for UNDISCOVERED VOICES 2010 a competition run by The Society of Children's writers and Illustrators for unpublished aspiring authors, so double cramming!

I have loads of photos to blog because Ian was having a black and white photography day Sun but more of that later. For now I'll post my exhibition poster!

And here's one I made earlier! I have repainted this sketch digitally. It's called The Owl Encounter. I'll be adding it to my Etsy shop later this month.

Doh!

My daft doing for the day! (well yesterday actually)

When the PS3 controller went flat yesterday I decided to ignore Ollie's cries of 'phone Daddy' and change the batteries myself. I quickly realized my error when the buttons started falling off it! Daddy got a call after all. Luckily I fixed it and I now know that time has moved on and you can charge stuff with USB cables, who knew! opps!

I've been doing a bit of recycling with my work. I quite liked my Christmas fairies picture and thought it a shame for them to be stuck in a festive setting. So I have reworked them digitally and taken them to a warmer climate.

I was having a bit off trouble with them looking too wispy when printed off so I dug out my Arthur Rackham books for some line inspiration from a master.

And while looking for an image to post (feeling too lazy to scan in my books) I came across this site packed with info on old illustrators.

 Art Passions a wonderful site if you love vintage illustration from the early twentieth century

 

Twilight Gods by Arthur Rackham

And here's the finished result.

CGTextures.com

Ian has got me into CGtextures.com and I've been busy making brushes from it. This is the result, Autumn Red.

 

The Chorlton arts festival

I am super busy doing new work and crafting away for an upcoming exhibition and craft market as part of The Chorlton arts festival in Chorlton, Manchester.

The Chorlton arts festival is on from the 15 May - 30 June. My exhibition 'Twilight Twinkle and Fairy Fun' is at The Pottery Corner on Beech Road in Chorlton. Open Tue-Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5.
On display there will be my original paintings, drawings and prints, all with a fairy theme. There will also be cards, badges and magnets on sale with free colouring pictures for the kids to take away.
The 2009 Chorlton Arts Festival Craft Market takes place at St Clements Church 11am - 4pm, entry is free. On my stall I will be selling prints, cards, badges, magnets and bookmarks featuring my original fairy artwork. I will be happy to sign my work.

A brilliant find

Me and Ollie happened upon this book, Owl at home, by Arnold Lobel, at a charity book sale while doing our weekly shop.

It is genius! The stories are so simple wise and funny.

 

Tear Water Tea

In this story owl thinks of many sad things. Like pencils that are too short to use, mornings nobody saw because everyone was sleeping, etc. He makes himself cry so he can fill the kettle and make tear water tea, which is a bit salty, but always very good.

Strange Bumps

In this story owl can't sleep because he is afraid of the strange bumps in his bed, (his knees.)

The Guest

In this story owl thinks winter is knocking so he invites it in. You can guess the rest. I'm not allowed to read this one to Ollie, He's a bit scared of it?

Upstairs and Downstairs

There is also a story where owl runs up and down stairs trying to be in both places at once. He gets upstairs and calls, "Owl are you downstairs, no because I am upstairs." He runs up and down faster and faster etc. Oh it's so good!

These stories always have Ollie in stitches. Much respect to the writer, it's brilliant!

bits and bobs

I think I have a large amount of time lately learning about money. About time really but the current crisis has given me incentive to get clued up. It's also been eating into my art time, too busy checking Pestons picks everyday.

I have found an amazing photographer on flickr Radonich Aleksandra. Everything about her photographs including the way she describes them is so beautiful, soft and magical I am truly in awe.

I am going to redesign my Ollerina characters soon, this time more grown up and traditional. I came across this book The firemakers daughter by philip pullman, illustated byNick Harris. I love these illustrations and want to try something like this.

I've also been reading The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. I know I am extreamly behind the rest of the world with this realisation but the man's a genius. Little things like a withch called Miss Tick make me chuckle, much fun.

bad blogger

I am being a really lazy blogger. I am so into writing at the moment, I've gone to ground.

I think I may have found the dullest use ever for a PS3. I am bloging while watching working lunch on BBC
i player, I didn't think I'd find a use for Ian's new Christmas present but I have.

Ollie has had a new scooter from Father Christmas but he seems to think it's a Segway and mommy it the power supply, this was not the plan.

Me and Ollie are really sad Woolworths are no more, I am sure we are not alone. We have been popping in ours local one every other day since Ollie was tiny. Playing with the toys, buy chocolate or comics or Postman Pat DVDs. (very excited abut the all new Postman Pat!) The staff in ours were so lovely, they were on first name terms with Ollie. Probably because they used to say here comes that child that take the shop apart. I hope they all get new jobs quickly. We would happily give back our closing down sale bargains to have our shop back.
At least woolies will be forever remembered in T.S. Eliots poem Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer

'Or after supper one of the girls
Suddenly missed her Woolworth pearls:
Then the family would say: 'It's that horrible cat!
It was Mungojerrie - or Rumpelteaser!' - And most of the time they left it at that. (Me and Ollie love reading this it's great.)

I can't believe Wedgewood are in administartion too. My character Clarence's cuss word in my story is "Oh Wedgewood." He is very polite and passionate about china! Maybe this means if I ever get published there will be no one to clear it with? Everthings changing, I think I must be getting old.

Enough rambling time for a picture. I have been doing a web page banner design for

corinnes creative kitchen

No pictures today

That half an hour writing a night has turned into 3-4 hours for about a week. This means I have no pretty art pictures to post. I could be posting Christmas pictures but I've ran out of time! A time monster must be gobbling it all up! I'll just have to get festive with pictures of my Christmas tree in January.
In the last two days me and Ollie have made  mincemeat, enough Christmas pudding mixture to make about four of the things(a labor of love for my man, I don't even like them.) Several batches of pastry, a chocolate cake and iced and made a Christmas cake,! I don't like cooking that much but I have an aversion to additives! So suppose it's my own fault.
I had better go and do some writing now or I'll cry when we get descended on by festive visors. I can get to be rude to people I love for having the cheek to take up some of my precious free evening time! (Bah humbug!)

I'm doing a bit of wrriting at the moment. I've decided to write everynight even if it's only for half an hour. That way the charactes are running around in my head during the day and they start to write themselves. I can return from playgroup or the park etc with lots of scrappy bits of paper full my characters dialouge. My story will be finished in no time! Well that's the plan!