Last month I was working on a commission, recreating the front cover of Elastica's debut album in felt....
I really enjoyed doing it, trying to capture Elastica's moody and sullen looks! I also repeatedly listened to the album whilst I made it, sometimes I forget how good that album is. I also discovered a video for Car Song that I had never seen before, it's a bit crazy....
NEW STOCK IN THE SHOP!!!
So I decided to get some postcards and badges made, mostly because I love badges and postcards, but also for people to make my art accessible to everyone by making pieces affordable.
From singular badges to postcards packs, here is what available.....
All now for sale in my web shop HERE!!!!!
This triptych is what I have been working on the past month.
It came about when I was making the friendship book zine. I was trying to include characters of colour in the zine.
I was already more than aware that the pop culture I love, from music to books to film is heavily white and features little if any characters/people of colour.
The only one I could come up with was Dionne from Clueless and what makes this character extra special is she isn't black for a reason, she JUST IS.
Whenever I do come across POC in films/books?TV that I really like, they are so often black for a reason, it forms part of a story.
So in short I wonder what would happen if some of my favourite fictional characters just happened to be black, like for no reason whatsoever, it didn't add anything to the story, that's just what they were!
This is 'What, is she black now?'
This could easily just be seen is me making felt images of myself dressing up as these characters (I have dressed as all three)
PS more exciting things coming soon!!
So I had (what I thought at the time)this amazing idea a couple of weeks back. then with the realisation that July was fast upon us and July is International zine month I put that idea into fruition.
I made a mini zine that is a 'fake' friendship book!*
It has 12 fictional characters from popular culture in the just under A6 colour pages, from Dawn Weiner to Marshall Teller.
You can get a copy HERE
*Friendship books were how people pre internet days connected. One person would write their likes and interests and their address, then mail it on to a friend who would add to the book and mail that on. A bit like adverts for penpals!
the original term for FB!!
I have made a new zine!!
I have been making Sugar Paper zine for the past few months and it felt like it was taking ages! So I wanted to make a quick zine and thought who doesn't want to know about the crushes I had as a child!
So I made this...
Featuring The marvellous acting talents of Leonardo Dicaprio, Paul rudd- the Rom com king, The Boys of Empire records and I always wanted to be a secret goth. With some illustrations, collage and clippings from issues of J17 circa 1998!
Available to buy HERE!!
The sun is shining and to celebrate that fact I am having a sale on my art pieces available on my online shop!
For the months of June and July all pieces will have 15% off!!!
So go on treat yourself!!! SHOP SHOP SHOP
(All pieces will only be available online for a limited time)
Yiiikes! is a brand new art collective I started with my two friends Alison and Kandy.
We are going to make stuff to look at, stuff to listen to and stuff to do!!
Check us out HERE
The last post I did was saying my exhibition was now up at Turnpike gallery in Leigh, this week the exhibition is coming down, it's been received really well.
But what have I been up to since then?
Mostly zine related business!!
My friend Em and I finally collected together some awesome stories from working class folk around the subject of work and put them together in Poor Lass zine. The reaction to the zine has been great and we're currently working collecting more pieces for issue two, get more info on our Facebook page.
I met with some uni students who are making a body image zine with highschool students in East Manchester and chatted to those guys about making a zine and how is nothing to be afraid of!
I got commissioned to make a zine for a brilliant pilot scheme based in Manchester called The National Ugly Mugs Scheme. A scheme that aims to make sex workers safer. More information on the scheme is on their website. I really enjoyed making this zine and I hope the scheme manages to carry on.
I had a (far too rare) trip across the Pennines for Sheffield Zine fest. It was loads of fun, gotta to see lots of my favourite trans pennine faces, sell some bits, chat to new people AND go down a helter skelter slide!!!
More fun was had when Kandy and I fulfilled a lifelong (teenage!) dream of dressing up as Cher and Dionne from Clueless! Here's how we did it!
I'm, as always, working on Sugar Paper with Kandy, we're on #11!! who would have thought! This issue has a loose circus/seaside theme. Hopefully be out late spring (you now when it's actually stopped snowing!)
Also working with Kandy and our pal Alison on something super exciting that should materialise late spring, watch this space!
This weekend was meant to be spent working on those two projects, but yesterday it was announced that one of my favourite bands (and biggest inspirations) are to be no more. If you have seen my work, you know that My Chemical Romance feature heavily in a lot of it.
I won't go on about it here, my friend Holly wrote a blog post that sums up how I feel about the whole thing.
So yesterday was mainly spent feeling a bit blergh and so I went and got a new tattoo. I will miss them, but have to remember the good times and remember this....
My exhibition at the Turnpike gallery in Leigh went up last week and is up until March 28th.
It was really exciting seeing my work all up together and then seeing the looks on friends and family's faces as they saw it too.
Here are a few pictures....
More details on my exhibition and the one it accompanies HERE!
I will be exhibiting my Make a Cup of Tea, Put a Record on collection at The Turnpike gallery in Leigh.
I will also have two other collections in the showcase cabinets at the gallery. More information can be found HERE!
