Thought Bubble 2012!

 Hello for the first time in a while. I'm still not used to new Blogger..! I can only apologise for my blogging laziness.

In more productive news, this weekend just past I exhibited at my first ever Thought Bubble festival. :) I'd never been, not even as a visitor, but I'd been told that I should go so I leapt at the opportunity to get a table this year. I had a really great time! The work being exhibited was a wonderfully varied and diverse lot - there seemed to be something for everybody - and I got to chat to some really cool people too! One highlight was meeting the fantastic Kate Beaton and Scott C. in person. Was slightly starstruck but hopefully managed to seem at least a little bit not-deranged when I spoke to KB. :) I was lucky to get in early though, the queue after the signing really started was crazy. She really does seem to have a ton of fans.

Anyway, on a much smaller scale (!) , my humble tableful of wares seemed to do alright too - I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had a really good fair. For anyone visiting who came back to my stall to get some Owl and Pussycat pins but found I'd sold out, keep an eye on this blog or on my twitter - I won't be able to make any more for a little while as I'm moving house, but I'll get some more shapes ordered and pins made ASAP, and I'll post as soon as I do. :)

My table - these pics was taken on Sunday, so it's looking a little sparse!

I also stocked a few pieces by MC2 and the wonderful Louise Crowhurst. :)

Here's a bonus (slightly dark) pic from Birmingham Zine Fest back in October.. it was also a lovely and productive day. So much work goes into these events - thanks so much to all the organisers of both TBF and BZF, so many people had a great time.

I need to buy more business cards... I've only got 1 left now...

Oh yeah, I also learned with these couple of events that I'm a wimp when it comes to after-parties at the moment. Maybe it's the fact that it feels like I've barely stopped moving lately, but I just keep chickening out of going to them even though I know they'll be enjoyable. Next time, I promise!

Speaking of next time, I should blog about some of my recent work in more depth, but I don't want to lump everything into one post. In the meantime, if you like you can go to Folksy to check out the current bits on offer. :)

Oh yeah, and if you're reading this because we chatted at TBF and/or you picked up one of my business cards, thanks so much for looking me up! Hope to speak to you soon.

xx

Fishes

Here are some developmental drawings for a commission I'm working on; the finished artwork will be a largish drawing featuring different sorts of fishes.

The finished piece will be in colour, but I thought I'd play with some indian ink and a black watercolour pencil and experiment a bit as I familiarised myself with the shapes of some different varieties of fishy creature. I rather like the drawings in their own right. :)

 

Star cards

More greetings cards! This time I had fun with coloured cards and Letraset. :)

Birthday Ducks

Been working on a few new card designs, including this one; I just love anything with lovable ducks on. They've featured on my cards before - this time I decided to design one with a more specific message. :)

The Devil & Mr. Punch

The other day I did an illustration for Amelia's Magazine; the subject was a delightfully creepy puppet show called The Devil and Mr. Punch. It harks back to various sorts of traditional theatre, not least the often terrifying Punch and Judy shows of old. I haven't had a chance to see the show (currently showing at the Barbican) but I watched the trailer and was entranced!

You can read Amelia's review of the show here.

More mermaid

Here's another mermaid drawing. I'm determined to make a lovely book out of all this; been enjoying adapting the story in my own words, too. I get the feeling that with other stuff going on all over the place it might take me a while to complete a whole book of fairytales, but I'm excited about it. :)