Artsprojekt interview

There's an online interview with me on the Artsprojekt blog. I always find answering interview questions really tough! Guess that's why I'm a visual person and not a writer. You can read it here.

Desktop

 

Some exciting news! While I was on holidays, I found out that my Saint Billie Joe illo had been shortlisted in the illustration category of the 2011 Qantm Create Design Awards. It's also featured in the current May edition of Desktop Magazine. Blink and you'll miss it!

The Handmade Marketplace (part 1)

I recently read the book The Handmade Marketplace by Kari Chapin. Since the explosion in popularity of handmade goods and Etsy, more and more people have been selling their creative goods online and in markets around the world. This book is a guide to how to set yourself up as a crafty entrepreneur. There are some good pieces of advice in the book, and reading about how other people quit their day jobs to do what they love is quite inspiring.

I just want to share some advice I read in the book from Diane Gilleland, I can really relate to her advice of 'putting yourself out there'...

If there's something you dream about doing for a living, find a way to do it right now. Seek out some small way to engage in it without pay or for minimal pay - and not as a job working for someone else but as your own effort.
I wanted to be in business for myself as a crafter for years, but nothing happened until I started putting myself out there via my blog and podcast. Those led to more opportunities and, more importantly, got me to begin embracing the role of entrepreneur.

There's another piece of advice that I wrote down from the book, but that post will be part 2!

Voiceworks

Voiceworks: the best in fiction and musings by young Australians

 

My Death Duel illo published in sexy monochrome blue

Earlier this year, I sent my Death Duel illustration to Voiceworks magazine and I have finally received the Autumn 2011 issue in the mail! For those who don't know, Voiceworks is a quarterly literary magazine that publishes new fiction, poetry and opinions by young Australians. The theme for this issue was 'Pulp' which was a good fit for my cowboy-themed illustration I did a while back.

I usually read more image-heavy magazines, but I really enjoyed reading through the short stories and articles in Voiceworks. Maybe I'm just tired of reading magazines about trends and superficial things, but I'm going to check out Borders for some more literary mags.

The original illustration in colour

Elephant dung paper

Elephant poo after red dye has been added

While I was in Thailand, I noticed a lot of things that were recycled and reused (even the glass Coke bottles have rust around the top as they have been washed out and filled up again). But hands down, my favourite eco-friendly thing I saw was at an elephant conservation park where they make paper from elephant dung!

First the poo is washed and boiled to kill and bacteria (apparently this is not as bad as it sounds as I was told that elephant poo doesn't smell). A mild environmentally-friendly bleach is added, then the dung is spun for three hours to cut the fibers. Colour is added, then it's spread out over a frame to dry in the sun. But the best part about this process is that the paper is made into products that are sold and the profits are returned to the elephant conservation where they can buy food and medicine.

Some examples of the final product

I would have loved to buy some paper, but I couldn't because of Australia's strict quarantine laws about bringing animal and plant products into the country. I did end up buying a painting by an elephant, which I was super-duper happy about. You can read more info about elephant dung paper here.

I'm back, baby!

Colourful cats in Bangkok

Back home in Australia after an amazing holiday in Thailand! It was so great not to even look at a computer screen for two whole weeks, it definitely gave me the break I needed. I have a few things that I'm excited to post about in the next few days, but for now I'm still plowing through my stack of old emails. xo