Thinking Outside the Sketchbook
Let’s talk about finding inspiration to create. It can come from unlikely places and it can be difficult to find at all. Sometimes it’s easier to not go looking for it.
Teaching
Wondering how to get started with drawing?
Drawing exercises can be a great way to get started with drawing. Sometimes the ideas that come from fun and doodling can be surprising.
I Love My ‘day’ Job
Decades ago I trained as a teacher. Before I’d had a chance to work out what I really wanted to do. Does anyone know what they want to do at 18, or what they’re good at? I did a pretty good job at pretending to be a primary school teacher for a while. But it …
Boys Can’t Sew
It happened again! At the market last weekend someone approached my stall and showed an interest in my Sew Together Dolls. They appreciated the concept, the design of the animals and multicultural people. They loved the step-by-step visual instructions to encourage children to be involved. And then she said ‘But I only have boys’. Seriously? …
Market Time!
I’m having a mild panic putting together my first market stall. Fortunately the market is set a truely gorgeous place and I’ll be surrounded by other lovely creative types. Check out The Emu Plains Market in Balnarring, it’s very beautiful. I’ll have my Sew Together Kits, artist print, t-towels and cards available. Markets have been …
You Can’t Get It Right
At the start of an art class, particularly with children, I often say ‘You can’t get it right and you can’t get it wrong. Art is an individual thing and no one does the same work. It’s an attempt to put the learners and ease and reduce comparisons and harsh judgments. Creativity is easier when …
Wrap It Up
Time to wrap up 2021 and wish it a fond farewell! But first a little bit of reflection. It hasn’t all been easy but I can look back on this year and safely say I enjoyed creating a bunch of stuff, I made some good progress and faced some really unexpected hurdles. I use a …
How Important is Imaginative Play?
Let’s escape all this. What’s better than sitting down to a good movie or reading a book? Escaping into another world and forgetting all your concerns. We just sink into it and enjoy it and don’t think about what we’re learning. This is similar to children engaged in imaginative play. They are so absorbed that …
Let’s Sew Together!
Creating sewing kits Over the past couple of months I’ve been working on creating two collections of sewing kits. Now they’re finally ready to put in the shop! The idea came from watching my teenage kids getting into sewing during lockdown (and again in the next lockdown and the next. We’re in lock down 5 …
It’s all new
New Year The start of a new year immediately makes you look at the past one. It’s not very pretty this year though is it? Personally it was ok for us. Australia hasn’t been hard it by Covid 19 like other countries. But then we were in lockdown for what seemed like an eternity, so …
Well here it is…
Happy Holidays From where I’m sitting on the south coast of Australia, I’m very aware of how incredibly fortunate I am. After many months of severe lockdown – no schools, shops or public places open apart from the grocery stores – we no longer have active cases of Covid19 in the community here. It’s pretty …
Next Phase
A brief update of what I’ve been up to for the past three months. I’m very happy to be getting back to illustrating.