a jaundiced lamb?

Well, as promised here's my prototype lamb. I would say she's the most 'proper' toy I've made yet, because she's actually based on the skeletal configuration of a real sheep and doesn't have silly eyes like most of my toys have had so far. I'm not so sure that she's particularly 'me' if that makes sense - I think maybe she should have the silly eyes and that would make her a Karen Cheung toy. Or something else - she's sweet, but probably not mad enough for me. And she's yellow because that's the fabric I have in the largest quantity and that I'm not likely to use other than for making smiley lemons :-) I'll work on it...

Alas, I've run out of stuffing, so friend-making will be put aside for a few days. Plus I got an animation job! I'm struggling horribly with ideas for that at the moment - you know, how clients so often want something so different from what I'd like to do, and usually something so CHEESY that I want to weep into my sketchbook. I digress. More on that project another time.

fun at the auction!

I had my eye on this plan chest and these chemist's chests of drawers at Willingham Auctions since they appeared on the catalogue a week or more ago. I love items like this - furniture that once had a different function but is now offered up as something for your home or office. I'd use the plan chest for all the papers I've got piled underneath our bed, and the drawers would be great for storing all the small bits of junk that I use for sewing and painting. I had no intention of buying them, given their estimates and our lack of house room, but we went out to the auction on Saturday so that I could drool/weep over them for a couple of hours before they were sold.


Now, the auction house's estimates are often bang-on, and I expected these to sell for at least their top estimates. But my goodness were we in for a surprise. The plan chest sold within estimate for £240, but the most expensive chest of chemist's drawers (estimate £400-600) sold for a whopping £1850 plus commission! Wow. I was strangely happy about how much they sold for, as if their high price reflected some sort of good taste in myself :-) Mark thought I was mad.

I did, however, manage to come away from the auction with a random collection of silver/white metal charms on a bracelet, which I'm hoping to re-invent as necklace charms. I'll take some pics to put up here later this week. All in all (including a magnificent bacon roll and tea) it was a very good day out.

retro photography

Just been noseying about the internet and came across these Lomo Diana cameras. How much do I want one?! I like the idea of photography - I have a delusion that just because I'm an artist I should, for some reason, be good at photography. This is not the case.

These cameras really make me want to have a go though. I like the idea of messed up colours and weird quirks - maybe they will somehow make the shots that I take more interesting? Or maybe not? If I ever get one, maybe I'll take some shots and put them up here.

I especially like the 'Hong Meow' (Chinese for 'panda') Hong Kong version with its lovely green detailing - much cuter than my digital camera!


They are a bit cheaper on eBay, so maybe I'll treat myself one of these days...

I've also finished a new friend. I'll photograph her later and post up a pic!

naughty me...

Here's the latest little thing from my sketchbook. Now, I hesitated to put it up because it includes a gratuitous amount of swearing. Is this funny? Or just childish? I'm never quite sure... And should it be put up on this blog? I wonder if this kind of thing makes my work less saleable because it isn't the pretty, fluffy kind of thing that people tend to like to put up on their walls. My art teacher did say recently that in my work the swearing is 'nice' swearing, if such a thing exists. I guess it's benign in its own way - I don't mean to offend.

new website

deary me. I've been a bad girl not keeping up with this blogging thing.

The reason is this: I've just (almost) completed my shiny new website. I'm not too sure whether I like it, but it'll do for now. I have certainly learnt a load of new stuff, mostly about Flash and actionscript, which must be one of the most pernickety, fussy, temperamental things I've ever had to code with. Jeez...

well. It's not quite finished, and there's no animation page yet, but there it is. Now I suppose I'd better get on with doing some proper work. Hey, maybe I'll even get round to doing some of those drawings I've been meaning to do (cough) 'twice a week'! (eek! I haven't even managed one yet).

two new friends

I've been away for a few days. Not been up to much except seeing family up in Birmingham, where my sister and I went to the market and bought lots of very cheap but lovely fabric from which I've made two new friends. The first one is a cat for Jelly's stand at the Creative Review Portfolio Exhibition in June. I'm going to make him a little Jelly sweater to wear. He likes to eat Oriental instant noodles with fried egg like me, only they won't give him heart disease... I haven't given him a name yet. Maybe the folks at Jelly will christen him in June.

The second little fella is a glove puppet I made at the weekend. He is a sports-mad gym bunny and likes to do sit-ups. I haven't quite perfected the art of making puppets that fit properly yet, but I can just about get my hand into him for some good sit-up action.

1950s matchbox labels

I came across these whilst ferretting around in my hard drive for stuff to put on my website. I bought them from some bloke on Ebay when I was a student in Bristol. The colours are so beautiful and the block colour look is something I adore. The typefaces too are wonderfully retro. I believe most of them are Czech, but it looks like there are some Dutch ones in the second image.



It's a mighty shame that I have absolutely no idea where I've put the damn things, huh? So for the moment I have to content myself with the scanned images. I think these would look fabulous in a frame...