July shop update + Free Buttons!

Hello everyone! Just thought I should let you know that the drawing above, along with many others are now listed on my etsy shop. They are all one - off original drawings that I created for this zine. I thought they should all go to nice beautiful homes, instead of just sitting together nicely in a waterproof bag, along with my other original drawings. So yes, they're mostly all $18 USD each, some $20, some $22. I think that's a nice price for some original art! On top of that, if you spend above $18, you get to receive some free sewing buttons! I've got lots of sunshine yellow, white, purple, blue, minty green, pink and even fluro orange buttons, so just thought I should share some!

Oh and if you spend above $40 from my shop, not only will you get free buttons, you get a free print of my choice too. And maybe something extra. Well, you'll see : )

PS: Free buttons and print only applies for the month of July!

What I miss

I used to teach kids all day long. We built spaceships, grew paper flowers, turned our hands black with charcoal drawings, became all oily with oil paints, read funny stories together, printed hand prints on my apron, cut out ferocious lions, drew sweet princesses, and told each other lame jokes. Some of the kids even taught me Japanese and French. Haha. The kids used to laugh so hard just because they found it funny that I allowed them to call me 'Teacher Dawn-key/Donkey', Teacher koko krunch, Miss Sunshine. I found it funny too. And I was glad I was in a way their friend. Of course, teaching wasn't always easy, I've had to work 9 hour shifts. Teaching young kids, covered in paint, glue in your hair, talking non-stop for 9 hours. Not sure if you've tried that before. But every time I went home, I wouldn't want to talk anymore simply because my mouth was too tired. I've had kids who cried the entire 1 1/2 hours, kids who hid in closets, who were so rude and rolled their eyes at you and say mean things, kids who decided art was boring and would spend the entire class playing catch, kids who would pick fights with the day-dreamy kids. But all in all, I still love these kids. They are special in their own ways. And I think teaching wouldn't be fun without all these funny incidents. It's been about 2 years since I last taught these kids. I sometimes wonder if they still remember me and the things I thought them. I wonder where they are now.

One day soon, I hope to teach little kids art again. I hope to open a little studio and be able to share with them my passion and my love for art. In the meantime, I should really look for places who need children art teachers, volunteers. If you do know of any, let me know. Thanks!

Frankie Feature

And so here it is! As promised, my drawing which was featured in the newest issue of Frankie Magazine. You can read the interview bit here. Thanks Darren for helping with the scanning bit. I hope all of you will enjoy reading it! Once again, thank you for being so supportive and encouraging! Have a great weekend! I'll be back on Monday to show you another Marshmallow Bag picture which I took but forgot to upload.

See you soon!
xx!

Post Assessment picnic party

So first up on the list was a little picnic party yesterday. The sun shone brightly throughout the day and it wasn't too cold. Lots of wine, crackers, chips and dips. My friend made a beautiful cake too. Oh and call me a little slow but I've only just discovered the beauty of Brie cheese. Thank you Sophia and Cheralyn for bringing that block of yummy goodness! My fridge needs some Brie and water thin Honey and Oatmeal crackers now.

My studio space

Yesterday marked the end of another semester in art school for me and a lot of my third year painting friends. So just thought I'd celebrate my completion of yet another wee milestone in art school, by posting some photos of my studio spaces over the past couple of semesters. It's been my little tradition to take a photo at the end of each semester. So just thought it will be nice to share.

Looking back, I can't believe how much I've learnt! Just look at the first image of my first year studio. My art totally sucked! Haha. Can't believe I actually took the picture thinking I've done some nice paintings. Haha. Oh my. My art has changed so much!

Over the next couple of days, I'll be showing you some of my friend's amazing studios and of course, I'll try to scan the Frankie feature so you can read it. And take a proper photo of the Harvest Magazine cover. Thank you so much for all the wonderful congratulatory messages. And the photography offers too! All of your lovely comments made my heart melt! I've been so busy the past couple of days, with the build up to assessment, and fell sick again ( woes of glandular fever! My immune system is horrible! ) so I'm ignoring my inbox a little bit and will get back to it once I get enough rest! So if I haven't emailed you back, do be patient. Thank you!

Off to get some cranberry juice! Ta!

Good news and Giveaway winner!

Thank you so much for all the comments on my Marshmallow bag! I'm glad it made you smile! Today, I have something else to share. I found out last night when Pip posted this video, that the new issue of Frankie Magazine is out! I was all snuggled and bundled nicely in bed, just about to go to sleep. But when I saw the video, I let out a little scream. Yes, sometime around 11.40pm I screamed and probably woke my housemate up a little. But that's how excited I was! You see, I've been dying to share the good news with all of you but decided to keep it a little secret first until the issue was out. But yes, you might have already guessed it, I am the featured artist of this issue! When I was first asked by founder and creative director Lara, I almost fell off my chair. I wanted so much to share the awesome news with all you lovely readers, but I decided I had to wait, as with all magazine features.

Anyway, to cut the long story short, I had to see it to believe it. So I took a nice walk this morning and went to Magnation just so I can check out my little artist feature spread in the flesh. I went alone and almost had a heart attack right there and then. I left the store feeling a little lost and ended up walking aimlessly around the city, taking some photos while still trying to let everything sink in. I think I'm still in shock to be honest. Haha. I mean I've been buying Frankie since I was a teen! I always thought, and still think it is the craftiest and prettiest magazine around, given it's nana crafty nature and yummy recipes. So yes, this feature is indeed making me all dizzy and giggly, just like a kid in a huge ice cream store.

I'll post pictures of the feature and artwork soon! Thank you so so much Lara and Frankie!

PS: The giveaway winners are Emm, Sarah by Sunshine, and Christine! Thanks everyone for participating! I am indeed making a macaroon! More on my macaroon sewing adventures soon! Ah, so much to show all of you. But I'm really busy. Last two days before my end of semester assessment/review! I'm still cutting up fabrics as I speak!

See you and have a nice night!

Marshmallow Lollie

Finally finished sewing my marshmallow bag soft sculpture today. I wore it around and took some photos, on self timer. Not sure why but the photos came out looking way too saturated, not what I wanted. But they're still fun to show you anyway. Hopping around to and fro marked spots and the camera stand is no easy feat. Especially when I'm kind of stuffed in a Marshmallow bag. I had to wriggle my way around! I think I looked like a total nut and made lots of strangers laugh. Haha. Looking at these photos now, I think I need to sew 60 more marshmallows to fill up the bag. Oh my. Those marshmallows take forever to sew!

I would really love to have proper outdoor shots done by a photographer. But I have no money to hire one. I know I might be asking a little too much, but any professional or fine art photography students out there looking at some sort of collaboration? I can be your Marshmallow Bag model. And you can use those images for your portfolio. If you know of anyone interested, please let me know and point them my way. Thank you!

Oh and in case you're wondering, I'm looking at having shots done in this sort of style. Nice and airy sort of feel to it.

Weekend business

Some photos from two amazing weekends in a row. Weekends are always so fun, I don't ever want them to end. Thing is, I never ever do work on weekends. Well, I used to work 9 hours on Saturdays, teaching little kids art. And in my first year of university, I was always camping at my desk on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, studying boring art history bits. It's nice to be a geek or a workaholic sometimes but then again, I think over the years, my perspective on life has changed a little.

So about a year ago, I decided weekends should be totally stress-free and fun. So yes, weekends are generally no-work days for me. I avoid work and inboxes at all cost! I believe in playing hard and working hard at the same time. I think my time management's pretty good when it comes to balancing the two. A usual weekday involves art making from 9am to about 6.30pm. And on weekends, I make sure I have lots of fun, sleep, and not make any art. So far I think by having my entire week go according to such a plan has been a good idea. Even though 75% of me is not willing to part with my weekend, I always find myself rather excited first thing Monday morning. The thought of making art again after a good rest never fails to make my Monday morning a little bit less gloomy.

But yes, a three day weekend would still be nice, wouldn't it?

PS: It's been fun reading all your guesses on my little giveaway post! Keep those guesses coming!

Oh yum + Giveaway!

There's just something about Sarah's pictures and adventures on cooking, that makes me want to visit her blog everyday. They make me smile, that's for sure. And I'm pretty sure the food tastes as good as they look! Oh and just thought I'd let you in on a little secret. Sarah and I are working on something together. More details on that in the coming months!

I came home last night to this cute picture in my inbox.

Sarah, you really know how to make me hungry at 12 midnight! Haha.

In other news, I sat in front of my sewing machine all day yesterday and after much thinking and mucking around, I made a mini plushie! It's actually a little sweet snack. But I haven't got around to taking a photo of the completed plushie. So yes, I'm doing a little giveaway! Amongst those who guess correctly what this odd (supposedly circle and stacked together) thing is, 3 lucky ones will each win a little prize!

I'm thinking of giving away a print or two from my shop! Not sure yet, but yup, keep those guesses coming! I'll announce the winner on Tuesday!

Have a great weekend!

Hello

Wore my new Hunter boots today. There was some serious downpour happening in the morning, so I jumped at the chance of being able to put on my new wellies. The rain didn't last long though. In the end, it got a little too warm for boots, I ended up working barefooted in my studio. I love being barefooted, so I didn't mind it one bit. It was nice though, to be able to sit by the window and watch the rain stop. Some sweet cranberries made it even better.

What have you been up to lately? Anything interesting to share? : )

Cutest sandwich around!

I have a friend, of whom you might know too. She creates the cutest of things that makes one smile and my heart swell. She has the loveliest clothes and takes beautiful pictures, and as if that's not all, best of all, she's such a sweet, funny girl, totally not hard to be friends with! Hmm... Now now, can you guess who she is yet?

Yes yes! It's Miss Ebony of Hello Sandwich!

Just look at her art. Aren't they beautiful? I especially love the way she's drawn the Big Sandwich box. Oh and the plaid mountain just makes my heart skip a beat!

If you follow Ebony's blog, you'll know that she's moving to Tokyo super soon. In just 8 days, to be exact! Have you seen her Tokyo Zine? It's been making several blog rounds now, I'm a little slow, but yes, Miss Ebony sent me a copy, with my name stamped on the cover! It is so good, even better than those boring touristy guide books. I reckon everyone should get a copy! For just $18, it's simply too cute to miss!

Flipping through her Tokyo zine, I'm actually kind of excited to know that Ebony will be in a whole new land that makes her smile. I'm really excited to see and hear bits from her new Tokyo life, which I'm sure she'll be blogging about! Miss Ebony, I'm sure great things will happen! So good luck and all the best! Do provide me with your address and we'll be keeping in touch! Lots of nice Melbourne goodies will be making it's way to you, I'm sure!

PS: Just like me, Ebony loves food too. Look at her cute bag! A pity you can't find one in Melbourne!