(almost) a month on...

First off, some thanks are in order:
Mel, Sharmaigne and Gill... thank you so much for your inspiring comments on my last post. Shame on me for only just seeing them (that's a big hint I need to update this blog more often!) but they were so insightful, inspiring and motivating! Thank you so much, I am truly grateful so have such wonderful arty people in my life and I will always look up to you all as some of my biggest inspirations. Thank you, thank you and thank you again.

Now, I've stupidly left it almost a whole month without posting anything and for that I am kicking myself. I guess I've kind of let the lost feeling overwhelm me and take my motivation away, even after telling myself I won't. Anyway, big changes to my attitude and no more feeling lost! I've had my little mourning period, now it's time to move on and get working on some stuff.

Results! Results are in and I've passed my degree. Much dancing and screaming down the phone to uni-friends occurred and seeing my mum so proud was really heart warming.
It's been a very tough three years for me throughout this degree, without going into detail, but to have gotten where I am without dropping out (as I planned to on many occasion) makes me feel so on top of the world.
There were a few times where my passing was seriously questioned but I somehow managed to turn it around and prove those who needed proving very wrong.
There are a few people who I owe so much to during this course, and I will never be able to make it up to them, but they know who they are and I really wouldn't have done this without them. Thank you, guys <3

This is my happy face.

Arty-type stuff now... Paid a visit to the Swindon Artist's Forum the other day with a friend with the mindset of hopefully in the near future exhibiting some stuff. Pleasantly surprised to be recognised by one of the artists minding the shop by my work! The woman and her daughter were at my Final Show and the daughter apparently loved my work, took my business card, so on and so fourth and the woman I was speaking to seemed excited to have met me! I was in complete shock, stupidly asked the woman if she was sure it was me she was on about, and delightfully it was. She said she was going to tell her daughter she'd met me and seemed really eager to get me to join and put up some work when space is free. Which I am really keen to do (confidence doesn't have a choice in this matter!) and I came out of there on one of the biggest highs in a while! If either of you are reading this (mother or daughter) hello and thank you! :) It really made my day to be recognised and gave my confidence and motivation a good little boost.

Also met up with Gill (Enoki) today for a coffee and some sunny drawing adventures. It was really nice to sit and chat with her (I think that's the first time we've actually done that!) and talk all sorts of arty stuff without the pressure of uni behind it all. So great to hear her plans and all the interest she's been attracting and today was a generally inspiring day! I know I told her this earlier and I don't think she believed me but I've always looked up to her as an artist and envied her work and I felt honoured to be able to sit and talk with her about future plans, each others work and inspirations.

Well, I think that's enough for one blog post.
I know there has been a distinct lack of work posted, I don't have a scanner of any sort, so please forgive me for future posts... they will be mobile phone pictures. I do apologise, a scanner is in the 'to purchase' list.
So onwards and upwards! No more sitting around, there are people to draw. Watch out Swindon, I'm gonna be creepin' (again).

The beginning of the end, or something along those lines.

Hi guys!

I apologise now for the lack of updating, the past few weeks have been so hectic and blogger doesn't let me post from my phone (if anyone knows a good iPhone app that lets me, please share!) so I'll tell you all... grab a coffee and sit down, it's a long one.

These past two weeks have been the run up to my final exhibition for my degree so everyone (not just me, I promise) has been running round getting things printed, ordered and delivered, put up, mounted, measured, cut and everything else. Hardly had time to breathe let alone sleep! Surprisingly enough, everyone in my class remained pretty laid back considering how much pressure we were under and the teachers were panicking that we weren't panicking... yes, you read that right... so it was a lovely atmosphere to be in at such an important time.
Anyway, during this time all my work finally came together and I produced my business packages! I have some pictures of them for you.

First of all, my business cards and stickers came in the post and it felt like Christmas! Luckily I was in both times the packages were delivered so I could open them as soon as they arrived and I did squeal like a little girl. It's the little things, right?

Don't they look awesome?! 

After my cards and stickers arrived, it was all action stations to get my business packages sorted! My business package idea was to make a coffee cup with all my illustrations on, have the business card inside the cup and the sticker on the cup, so it was like two business cards in one; one to catch the attention of people and make them want to pick it up and look, and the other so people have my details. Also putting the business card inside the cup is like a little surprise present, and they're always good.

I spent around two days surrounded by coffee cups, covered in glue and cut up hands from a scalpel, but making coffee cup towers and taking over the main table in my class kept me entertained. I screen printed the blog address on the coffee cup holders so people would (hopefully!) check it out if they liked the cup designs. I know the holder takes up most of the cup but they're removable for a reason and people would be inclined to see whats underneath, am I right? Curiosity killed the cat after all.

Here's the finished product!

 I'm very proud of how these turned out and I was very very reluctant to let them go, but if they bring interest, all the better! Everyone in my class and the lecturers complimented me on the cups and all thought they were a brilliant idea.

My main project for the exhibition was of course, my coffee shop drawings. I wanted to produce a book that captured the hectic atmosphere that would be found in a coffee shop,  but also narrated by my thoughts when I'm sat in a coffee shop with my sketchbook.

Concertina layout printed and ready to be made

As soon as the book was cut up and stuck together, the hectic feel I wanted was instantly there. 

Made and ready to be bound

I screen printed a coffee cup with my usual order and name on it (hinthint), can you guess where I like to go for coffee?
It's not hard, really.

After everything had come together it was time to put up the work for the show.

I'm not very good with measurements so this was a challenge for me, but I did it all (apart from putting a shelf up, I wouldn't trust myself with a drill either...) and it only took around 4 hours to put the whole thing up! I whacked my music on, stuck my headphones in and just went to work. The feeling I had afterwards was such a brilliant feeling, I felt so proud and that was something I hadn't felt about my work in a long time.

And that's my little set-up for my exhibition!

We had the private viewing for the graduate show last night and it was such a wonderful event. The turn out was brilliant and lots of people came to support me and my work. I'm not very good with compliments so there was lots of awkward giggling and the stupid red cheek syndrome going on, but all in all my work got a lot more attention than  I would ever have expected.

My classmates all produced absolutely amazing work and together we created an amazing exhibit for our course. I'm so proud of everyone and I wish it wasn't over so quickly. I love everyone on my course so much, and I'm so grateful I could share this experience with an amazing group of artists, but more importantly friends.

There were countless times I thought I'd never get to this point, I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the amount of times I wanted to throw in the towel and just quit and there were doubts I'd make it to the final show, but I proved everyone and more importantly myself wrong.

I will never get over how good that feeling is.