BACK IN BLOG

Return of the Blog. The Blog Awakens. The Empire Strikes Blog.

However you want to brand it... it’s me. I’m BACK.

Earlier this year, I conducted an experiment. I deleted Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and a whole host of messaging apps off my phone. Just… to get some peace. It was weird at first. Then it was OK. Then it was hard. Then it was OK again.

I’m now using social media once or twice a day, but it was great to break the spell of hyper-connectivity. Some time to reflect on technology and my life.

I remember when THE INTERNET arrived at our house. Excitedly my family gathered around an awkward laptop to marvel at this invention, the height of human technology. What did we watch? We watched the hampster dance. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the hampster dance but it’s a bunch of GIF hamsters spinning around in circles, set against a white background with a catchy little ditty. This, my stepfather proudly told us, is it. This is what it’s all about.

We cranked the Logitech speakers until the dial-up dropped out.

And swiftly into the web we fall. Scattered over the internet you will find various stages of my development. Little parts of me in unanswered Yahoo emails, abandoned Neopets, frozen Bebo profiles, comments on Weebl and Bob. Somewhere along the line Blogging was a thing, and then it wasn’t. Somewhere ELSE along the line, we decided we were OK with our data being sold to shady third parties. We decided we’re OK with every second post a sponsored ad. We decided it’s OK our lives are an endless stream of notifications. We decided we’re OK with fake news, fake butts, fake connections.

I mean it makes sense. All those amazing services were never going to be free, duh. But I’m wondering how much value they add. Is my schoolmate’s dad’s dodgy opinion really worth those relentless baby monitor ads? Is my brother’s 90^th meme for the day worth the sale of my personal data? Do I need a reminder of my ex-boyfriend’s birthday? For every friend I keep in touch with, I have to suffer twenty impossible models I’ve never heard of, selling me a lifestyle I don’t even want.

I dunno, maybe we’ve reached a point where we could just…  talk to each other. Without all the BS.

In saying that though, I like to share art and see what others create. The internet is awesome for birthing ideas – both good and bad. So, I’ve decided to breathe life back into the old blog. I’ve poked around and it’s working OK, bit dusty but she’ll be right. In social media terms, think of it as the quiet bookshop next to the rowdy nightclub. It’s not quite the Hampster dance but it will be fun. I promise.

For posterity's sake. The closest I could find to the Hampster dance.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

For my recent poster design I created a repeat pattern of artist's tools:

And then (just for kicks) also made an illustrator pattern:

Weee!

Weee!

Weeeeee!

TOO. MUCH. FUN.

AN ILLUSTRATOR'S HOUR

MAY DAY MAY DAY

Dancing around a giant pencil.

Say Cheese!

My first A0 poster!

My Eyes.... I'm Blind!!

So this is my submission for the 'This Is Something Up In The Air' brief. I wanted to carry on with the intricate pattern work I've been developing lately. The image is designed to be an A2 poster so it won't be so mind bogglingly busy when up on the wall. It's an illustration of the quote 'Aim for the moon... Even if you miss, you may hit a star'.

I never want to see a target or star again.

Merry Christmas Your Arse!

Christmas 2010 has descended with all the usual bells and whistles. I've been pretty much snowed under (ha ha) with uni work, but managed to whip up a few cheery cards to sell at the AUCB Christmas Silent Auction. I made the less-than-jolly cards as a bit of a joke, but they turned into somewhat of a success- I guess everyone knows someone who doesn't really embrace the yuletide spirit! I like to think of it as the 'Humbug' market.





My personal favourite was "Ho Fucking Ho!" but I neglected to take a photo of it. I'm interested in hearing if anyone received it in their Christmas post!




One card also contained this delightful insert. God bless Shane McGowan, and his nightmare-inducing incisors. (Or lack of)




Merry Bloody Christmas.

Ray Day! Ray Day!

Things to do on a Saturday: make a manta ray costume.




I'm no costume designer and I certainly don't possess any particular skill for sewing, but I do have a certain adeptness at dissertation avoidance.




This is me, as a manta ray, curiously swimming up to an unsuspecting diver.



The problem is, now that I've started drawing rays, I can't stop.



It's going to be one of those weeks.

Things That I Have Learned

That Sundays are for: mooching in your pyjamas, stuffing yourself with carbohydrates, finding out who has been voted out of The X Factor, maybe having a bath, on suitable days walking across the last of the British countryside, on unsuitable days playing Scrabble, phoning mum, musing on the balcony and napping inconsistently.



That Sundays are not for: doing everything that needs to be done for Monday that you put off during the week; including creating a portfolio on the kitchen floor from three year's worth of sketchbooks, going into technological battle with a stubborn scanner and shouting at Adobe Illustrator (both versions 3 and 5) whilst everyone tries to civilly watch Downton Abbey.