snap happy

guess who's back! even the guy in jessops could tell how excited i was, due to my quiet squealing & flapping.

i had a good tuesday, complete with pancakes, chat, chopsticks, friends, wine, & a new read in friends like these by danny wallace, a gift from my best chum. i've been waiting for it to come out for over a year, so i was super happy to finally have it in my hands. night time brought a small illustration get together (sad that not everyone could make it). it sounds like some more of my class are considering getting blogs! this excites me, i can always use another excuse to procrastinate. for my current procrastination techniques (aka current classmate blogs) are as follows:

alan birch (my boy who just began blogging, but this has been intermitted whilst he travels around morocco), ali hardy (a blog on windsurfing, which he is currently neglecting due to... windsurfing), cat jeans (this blog is about her final year project, hence why it's ended), sanna dyker (finally! a blog that is being updated, frequently! my flat-mates adventures & escapades of art & life & such), & tracey smith (who has also just started hers up, so hopefully she'll continue).

i realise that three out of five blog writers are currently on leave, but to tide you over, here are links to everyone else in my class' websites (or the closest they have to one):

nicola boon, alasdair boyce, jordan butler, abby chow, alex gilbert, stewart mair, julie-ann murray, rachel speedie, mandy tait, & daniella wood.

d&ad

i'm finally back & settled at home. d&ad was an interesting experience, & i'm glad i went. the day of set-up was very nearly a disaster: paper & photo-mount do funny things. but calamity was averted, & the rest of the day went smoothly. tracey & i were to man the stand on the first night, the preview for those in the business, & it was interesting having a look at what sort of work other institutions were producing. apart from wandering & answering any queries, we got tipsy on unbelievably expensive wine, then met everyone else later at the pub.

on tuesday it was alan & i who were invigilating. an uneventful morning, as no-one really came to see the show until noon, which was when alan & i's shift finished. afterwards we had a look around the show: i don't even know if i got halfway through, there was so much to see. we also went to the victoria & albert museum to see the blood on paper exhibition. then later on, dinner at wagamama. i had the yummy saien soba dish. thinking about it makes me hungry.

on wednesday some of us went to the royal college graduate show. some of the work was great, & the production & finished pieces were so precise. i liked iro tsavalas books & illustration, & enjoyed seeing the work of ali hodgson, a duncan of jordanstone graduate. afterwards the new blood show had to be dismantled. i think i was glad: by the end of the three days it felt a bit too much like a popularity contest, with people being given marks for getting the most interest & jobs.

i also had a nosey to see which other entires had beat mine for the photography yellow pencil. i later found out the entry with a similar idea to mine won! i can't wait to see the book when it comes out. much congratulations to my friends jo & paul for clinching a yellow pencil!

now i'd better go get some food. it's back to work tonight: i haven't been in almost three weeks, so i imagine it'll be a bit of a shock to the system.

neutral milk hotel - two headed boy

english travels

well! graduation was brilliant! i was a tad nervous, but needn't have been. the ceremony wasn't nearly as long as i'd expected, & as a result really nice. since those receiving BA's in art & design took up half the hall, i recognised a lot of people crossing the stage. it was lovely cheering on fellow illustrators & my closest friends, & although i apparently looked less than willing before my name was called out, i couldn't help smiling hearing a little collective cheer as i went to get hit on the head. it was bizarre passing vivienne westwood on stage too. the garden party was fun also, scouting around for people to get photos taken with: hard when everyone looks exactly the same! we managed to get nine out of sixteen of my lovely class for a group photo. it really makes me thankful that i had to share my studying with such a great bunch of people, even more so after hearing about some other departments. after a lovely meal with my family some of us headed out for a few drinks. i had a graduation hangover the day after, but it was well worth it.

alan & i went to brought ferry yesterday as it was his last full day in dundee before he moves out. we had a lovely wee day, visiting the castle & taking a long walk along the beach. he'll be back in perth in august, but it won't be the same as ten minutes down the road.

right now i'm in the middle of packing for london! i'm not looking forward to the megabus journey one bit, but hopefully new blood will make up for that. i'm going to liverpool/wallasey for a few days after for alans birthday party, before coming back to... nothing! from july onwards, it's time to start anew.

the decemberists - shiny

hello badge-maker

i got my new badge-maker on monday. cure excitement & a quick churn out of some "hello" badges. as i've no fear of a mass influx of e-mails, if you'd like one, comment or e-mail me. there are four variations of a theme, have a peek.

i went to see the edinburgh illustration degree show on tuesday with alan & my friend loren. i preferred this years to last, with a couple of strong favourites being sophie elm & emily sutton. for the first, i can't resist tea-themed work, & the second, who can resist birds, let alone an illustrator? there's a huge incursion of bird-related work in design & illustration, but it never gets dull seeing it done well. on a negative, i always seem to feel let down by typography when i visit work by other courses; i feel critical, but when someone doesn't have a grasp of type placement & fonts etc, it really affects the whole piece. it makes me appreciate the specific tutors we had for more design-based things. it's not all across the board of course, but when it's there, it stands out for me. enough complaining anyway, i enjoyed the show on a whole, & am very glad i went.

so, tomorrow brings graduation! i'm somewhat excited, but am looking forward more to sunday & the following week by far! london & newblood & liverpool!

they might be giants - new york city

other planets cannot be as beautiful as this one

a pretty screen-print by rob ryan. most famous for his 'paper cuts', i admire the man's patience & how precise he is! i was sad to read that he's opening a shop in london soon: sad because it's two days after i leave! but i guess this only entices a future visit.

a quiet yet productive day. some of the d&ad lot were in uni, so we organised our boards. mine is to be printed out tomorrow. i have so much to do before we leave still, i feel a list coming on. which is fine, because i do enjoy a good list.

i probably won't post for a couple of days as i'm going home for my mums birthday. i'm heading home a night early so that i can take a trip to edinburgh on friday; i haven't been since christmas eve & i'm looking forward to it! i'm going to pay the grassmarket a long overdue visit, fortunately friday is also payday. also on friday is my sisters college class exhibition. finding art wherever you go is exciting.

the faint - paranoiattack

badges forever

i just bought this contraption; a 1" button maker, graphic punch, & 1500 button parts. so, in roughly two weeks, i can make badges like a mother bitch.

we'll be leaving for london in just over three weeks. i've decided to display two of my D&AD photos on my piece of board, & have the rest of my work in my portfolio, which needs cleaning up. plus i'm going to take my remaining tea monsters down for display. after discussion & pulling names out of a hat, i'm going to be at the new blood opening night, along with our tutors & tracey. i also have a place for the portfolio surgery, which i'm pretty sure will scare me shitless beforehand. but as i'm not that happy with my portfolio, i reckon it can only help (hopefully). i've got to order some more moo cards before we go too. so much to do, so much more money to spend, so little time.

band of horses - the first song

busy

hectic crazy week! it began with results day which, i can't lie, wasn't much for fun for me. i was pretty disappointed with my grade, but i suppose the bigger picture is that i passed, as did everyone in my class, & i was happy for everyone as a group because we've done swell. cue two more days of degree show preparation, & we were sorted. everyone looked beautiful, & it was a good night, lots of congratulations, drink, hugs, jazz.

i finally managed to get my website online too: hellojenuine.com is where to go.

the past few days have been spent invigilating, which is made exciting with gaps of events including the birlinn book awards being given out (which illustration won four out of a possible four awards, seeing as no-one opted to do one of the three books), going to see the rest of the show, & selling pieces of work. my sold work to date includes: two tea monsters sets (earl grey & english breakfast, who is my favourite, i'll miss him!), 36 packs of badges, two framed drawings, one small painting, & a book of sketches. amazing!

there's three more days of the show left, so if you haven't had a chance to visit yet, make sure you do. & there's still plenty more to purchase in the illustration shop too, a wise investment.

tv on the radio - staring at the sun

d&ad

what an exciting little day. there's a buzz in class, with only three days until degree show, & the external assessor for illustration, andrzej klimowski, paying a visit. & on top of that, nicola in my class - after checking her e-mail - found out she's to be in the 2008 d&ad student awards book! so well done to her. i then checked my own e-mail a little while later... & so is my work! how exciting is that? i'm really happy about the news, even more so because i was really proud of my outcomes (two of which can be viewed here). also exciting is that - as far as i'm aware - nicola & i are the first illustration students from doj to appear in the book after about four years of entering. i loved alot of the entries from my classmates, so i'm glad that some of our work was recognised by d&ad.

oh, & tomorrow is results day for the mai department. i've got no idea what to expect. good luck all round.

band of horses - wicked gil

illustration 08

ta-da! here it is, the illustration 08 degree show website, with some images & explanations from all sixteen illustrators. i did the index page, while the student content - html, images, thumbnails - were the hard work of ali hardy. i'm rather happy with it, & am super proud of everyones hard work this year. with only five days until the big day, i half can't wait & am half dreading it. anyways, here's the link: http://imaging.dundee.ac.uk/illustration

on the subject of pride & school & such, those who were behind the fundraiser 'fancy pants' - animation, illustration & time based art - found out they were nominated for a prize from the dundee union students association for 'best student organised night' or something. & we won! such a random thing, but alan, cat, ali, jules, gemma & i graciously gave up our time for free drink, free food, & a dashing piece of broken window. hooray for mai!

oh boy

where did the time go?!

bloc party - waiting for the 7.18

badge button pin

it's currently all go at school: fourteen days until hand-in! but (& i hope i don't jinx myself) things are going rather smoothly. boxes are 85% finished, tea bags are 100% finished, tea monsters are probably 75% finished, my cups actually worked & are complete, & other random bits & bobs are getting there too. everything will be okay. i'm very excited to see everyones work finished & hung, my friends in other classes ventures as well as those in my own. my mind isn't going to be stretching beyond the 5th of may until everything is complete.

the mountain goats - get lonely

hula hooping

the shit oh so very nearly hit the fan today. it didn't, but it may do so tomorrow. fingers crossed that it won't. in the meantime, here's a joyful photo by morgan roberts. the guy in it is often found on the corner of a street in brisbane, hula hooping for money to establish a church. he's seventy-two years old.

the promise ring - stop playing guitar

paparazzo

to the right you'll find one of many photos from last saturday, the day that myself & others (ali, rachel & craig to name a few) were hired to be the paparazzi. it was a fun & unusual night, filled with flashes, elvis, the most awesome buffet ever, & a certain yoga instructor. ali had the most impressive get-up i feel, so i snapped a shot of it.

after my post last saturday, it's a little sad to have to say i'm in uni today! my saturdays henceforth shall more likely be spent in the illustration sauna, aka our studio. hopefully today i'll get a few things crossed off of my to-do list. the postman woke me up this morning with the delivery of my several packets of milliput, so there's no excuse for not working. instead, tomorrow will be my day of rest (as sundays should be) as uni isn't open & my flat needs a clean.

i've got an insanely busy week ahead of me, but after my shift at work tonight & tomorrow night, i'm free from cleaning up popcorn for a glorious eleven days. so maybe a day trip out of dundee can be arranged as a reward. i just want a day of sunshine, ice lollies, & sand & sea already!

biffy clyro - the weapons are concealed

moo

i chuffing love moo

zero 7 - in the waiting line

sat-ur-day

i am ever-so-fond of saturdays (especially when i'm not working). even in this stress-filled degree show period, i don't seem to do much on saturdays (although that'll change in the next few weeks). a slight lie-in, getting lost online, staying in my pj's & copious amounts of tea. often cleaning is involved, but that'll be tomorrow's job.

so far today i've also ordered some business cards from my favourite printing company moo. i can't wait until they come in the post. after this i'm looking into buttons, & i'll need to be spending more pennies this week on other degree show goods. thank god for the last hardship fund installment on monday.

our class's website is looking brilliant with 99.9% thanks to ali hardy (o.1% effort on me saying "i think you might need to do blahblahblah there" *points at screen*). i can't wait to see it go live.

later on tonight i'm pretending to be paparazzi. more on that another day perhaps.

mirah - lift me up

masking take

last night was fourth year graphics design's fundraiser, "masked". good tunes, good chat, & good facial disguises. apparently i was a cross between the lone ranger, tonto, & silver (neck scarf, native american headwear, & silver). not my astute observation sadly.

good news on the ceramics front; kiln-usage has been confirmed! so that's a load of my back. after a stroke of genius from miss boon, i got in touch with my high school art teacher, & have the kind permission to use my old schools kiln two weeks from now. now i just have to sort everything else out...

hot hot heat - bandages

monstercolours

monstercolours have a swell selection of coloured spray paint, & it's taken me until today find out. i'm tempted to buy more than i need just because some colours are so pleasing to the eye, but with heaps of card & milliput still to be purchased for projects i'll have to restrain myself. a £10+ postage fee (from within the uk) is pretty steep too. oh well, needs must!

iron & wine - sodom, south georgia

notes of interest

• i am twenty-two!
  
• it seems my goal of displaying work in three different places will happen quicker than i imagined! one, in my degree show. two, concept work i did for an animation team last year is to be shown in aberdeen. & three, down at the new blood convention/show down in london in june.
  
• which leads me to, i'm going to london in june! i'm rather excited & nervous.
  
• it's four/five weeks until my hand-in. i'm just nervous. so much to do in so very, very little time.
  
• i have knitted two scarves since my resolution, & have started another today.
  
• i'm starting to stretch my first lobe piercing on my left ear! slow & steady, although i do feel impatient.

sigur rós - untitled six

luck

we get some visiting artists & illustrators at uni to talk to our class & others. while they're interesting, one thing they all seem to have in common bothers me; they're all very lucky. at a sculptors talk today, i lost count of the number of times he used the phrase "& i was lucky enough..", followed by "to get a commission/to work for/to be asked to/to get this scholarship". brilliant for him of course, but he's not the first to describe his artistic journey as a lucky one.

one bright spot is that alot of illustrators seem to get by on drawing things that they like for the pure love of it. for example, jon burgerman told us "i just like doodling & lunch". nigel peake informed us that he draws three things: "sheds. maps. & things". hopefully i'll get by on patterns, scribbles, & tea.

cat power - fool