Spring has arrived in the UK at last...

This last week has seen spring finally descend on the UK ...only a month and a half late! Down my allotment in Norwich (Lakenham Baths) there is such little growth that I took to drawing some veg' instead...! With my thoughts filled with sowing onion seeds and shallot sets, my hands turned to drawing alliums of various kinds. Here are the stages I went through to make the 'allium garland' for my best friend's hen do last week (it was a funny surprise!):

New Greetings Cards

I have been busy getting some new greetings cards designed and printed. So pleased with the quality of the ones I got printed by Moo  - such lovely thick quality card and envelopes!

The range is called 'Le Coq Gaulois' which means 'Gallic Rooster' - the unofficial bird of France. My partner Manu is French - so I was partly inspired by him. I tried to be playful - using just the rooster's body language to express the meaning of the words ... with dada inspired surrealism! The colours are meant to represent those of the French flag.

With Valentine's fast approaching, I have also had printed a card with some Northern Cardinals. These really are such stunning red birds. I also hope the body language of these two males (a bit of a nod to the campaign here in the UK to legalise gay marriage) ... is suitably romantic!? Before I started illustrating the card, I did a bit of my usual research ... and I found out that cardinals or 'redbirds' as they are also know, are amazing songbirds. Both males and females sing (very unusual) and they have up to 24 songs in their repertoire - impressive!

'Snowfest' and new specs

In case you haven't heard the UK is one big snowfest right now! So last week the news on the street was that the streets aren't safe - to walk on that is! In the UK when it snows the pavements become near impassable (Here's some funny Norwich evidence to prove it: http://youtu.be/aQ99VULQRI4) and the whole country seems to just want to hunker down. Hibernating instincts aside (I definitely have them at this time of year) I decided to avoid the skiddy pavements and tentatively tread a different path - Lakenham Way (with my daughter bumping along in the pram) and we were rewarded with some lovely scenes.

It was totally inspiring to make this little discovery along the way: someone's wonderful guerilla bird feeding attempt by a lamp post, happily being enjoyed by a robin - ahhh!

Back at home, Manu took this arty dramatic one of our garden:

...where I set to work putting some of this lot out ('Project Feed/ Water the Birds' is in full swing!) - I might have got a bit carried away, but I have been literally been losing sleep over whether the birds are going to be alright with what's turning into quite a cold snap. I have been checking out the neighbours gardens and it's looking rather barren on the bird food front so it was definitely time to step up the feeding!

In other news this past week saw me get some new specs - in preparation for going back to work after being on maternity leave. Not quite as effective at disguising the ongoing sleep deprivation as I might have hoped - check out those bags!

Speaking of sleep deprivation I had a grand total of 6 hours last night (bisected mind!) and got up at 6am to get ready to travel to the Sixth Form College where I work. Another 5cm of snow had fallen overnight and it was such an adventure walking down the crazy-steep gradient that is Mariners Lane. I was almost skipping but snow boots held up nicely. Just as I was getting to the train station, I saw some trees lit with Christmas lights - had I entered a time warp - surely it wasn't Christmas again already?! I make no apologies for loving trees and decided that anything that celebrates or attracts attention to them is alright by me - a sweet start to the week!

Two of my favourite things

... in one poem! I illustrated this with the January blues in mind ... these are my two favourite antidotes. A bit of poetry comes a close third remedy. There is something very innocent and endearing about this poem and the line 'I thought she was afeared till she stroked my beard' did make me giggle!

I'm Boxing Day Sandwich Designer of the Year 2012!

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you would see that I have been getting a bit excited this week about a competition I won ... for something I drew - a sandwich I made over Christmas! It was Miriam Nice's competition and was sponsored by Total Yoghurt. Here was my entry:

As well as the lashings of Total greek yoghurt (a month's supply no less!) that arrived yesterday, I also won Miriam Nice's "Ultimate Sandwich Making Kit' - isn't that dinosaur sandwich bag just great?!:

As if that wasn't enough, I had the honour of having my 'Merry Mushroom Melty' being made by none other food extraordinare herself Ms Nice - as you can see from the stunning photo she took below:

You can see the other entries (there were some very inspiring + delicious looking ones too) as well as more lovely food shots like this one that Miriam Nice's took on her facebook page. Also check out her blog as Miriam is always posting exciting (not to mention inventive) yummy things on there - she really does come up with some seriously tasty treats!

The wanderer returns!

Well now ... what do you know? I've returned! Just as I am sure you were about to give up hope of ever hearing from me in on here again!

Must apologise for the prolonged disappearance act. It's been quite a hiatus I know, but I have been dabbling with Tumblr and Wordpress in my absence. Decided to come back to Blogger as it is so much easier to use on my mobile. I also have another reason for being away for a time ...

Before...

After...

And 9 months later (this Christmas)

So as you can see, quite a bit has changed in my life since I last posted. Flobear (her nickname!) was born on 13th of March 2012. It was a rough old road in the early days, but we were also as equally unprepared for how fun a baby could be! My partner Manu (pictured) has made this new chapter a whole lot less less rocky than it could have been. He is really enjoying being a Dad, as you might be able to tell?

It's certainly not all roses of course - it is utterly exhausting and F can easily consume my every waking minute, if I allow it! I have fought to keep a semblance of my previous identity, mainly by keeping my interests alive. I have had to become much more disciplined and have become something of a night worker - NOT in the lady of the night way (!) ...that is to say I do most of my drawing at night now. Sadly the crafting that I also used to write about on this blog has taken a major hit, but I still sometimes manage a wee bit of knitting in the early eves.

Being a Mum definitely forces you to focus your efforts. It also makes you more determined to enjoy the little time you do have, as there's nothing like a baby to make you realise that time really is so fleeting. So for me I hope to make 2013 all about getting my illustration out there - it is after all the thing I love and am officially qualified to do!^^

This Christmas, some of my work was published in the Annual Edition of 'The Lady' magazine. Here's the illustrations I produced for the Victoria Hislop short story (extract):

Joe (Betty) Carstairs

When I heard that Marlene Dietrich had nicknamed Carstairs "the Pirate" my ears pricked up. Back in 2008, I had a real thing for dressing up in Pirate garb! A very good friend even created a treasure hunt around Norwich for me to follow!

I'm definitely intrigued by Carstairs...she was doing androgeny back in the 1920s - long before Bowie became Ziggy Stardust. She led an extremely bohemian life in London and Paris, before escaping to Whale Cay in the Bahamas.

In 1934 "Joe" Carstairs became the fastest female speedboat racer in the world. After that, the publicity she got was more to do with her being a cross-dresser who favoured women. After an affair with Dolly Wilde - the niece of Oscar - she dallied with a string of actresses, Tallulah Bankhead among them.

But the love of her life was a rare thing indeed - a leather man-doll, about a foot high that she was given as a gift. His name was Lord Tod Wadley. Wadley was a boy who would never grow up. Carstairs had dozens of studio portraits made of her doll: one shows him alone with his reflection in a mirror and is labelled "Narcissus". Wadley was everything to Carstairs: companion, protector, alter ego. She showered him with gifts: suits from Savile Row, shoes from Italy, golf clubs, cowboy outfits, sailor's suits, a wristwatch that ticked. Poems were written and sculptures made in his honour. "We're like one," she said. "He's me and I'm him. It's a marvellous thing. If everybody had a Wadley there'd be less sadness in the world." What I particularly admire about this is her refusal to live a conventional life and her reluctance to grow old gracefully ... it seems like her childlike wonder and restlessness was ever present. And there's a lot to be said for only needing a doll to make you happy!

Sources: http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/sepoct/lsjournal/book_review/book_review_1.html
http://www.richmondreview.co.uk/features/summer01.html

Studio spruce up

I've been having a bit of a spruce up in my studio - in preparation for my Imac arriving! Made some curtains to celebrate and now it's framed by them, as if on a stage! Had resisted the lure of getting a Mac for some years and but I've finally bit the bullet. No regrets at all..it is beautiful and just so responsive *sigh*. Below are some pics - the last one I took just now: