Childrens Book illustration Girls and goats

This is an illustration I drew to go in my Granny's children's book, to be republished. The publisher died so it is waiting for a new publisher. It's been waiting 7 years to be published. The book is full of adventure and fun.

Let there be light.

I asked Robert what he wanted for Christmas and he said Miffy. So one night when he was out playing chess, I made him Miffy. It cost me zero, one old orange ceramic discarded lamp stand filled with nuts and bolts to weigh it down. Some discarded wrapping tissue paper. One discarded cane blind. Years of making lanterns at festivals and bamboo training from a bamboo master. If you do make a lampshade your self do it at your own risk. Make sure the top of the shade has a big hole in it, to let out hot air.

If you would like me to show you how to make a lampshade or festival lanterns, just get in contact.

If you need to make your Christmas not cost anything at all for presents. I can show you how to make any bit of rubbish into a family members dream come true.

If you got a festival or group of friends or club just get in contact.

One persons rubbish is another community's festival,l if reused in the right ways.

More value then diamonds

This is a chandelier I made for my living/work space. The chandelier is made up of rejected plastic packaging. The one most valued part of the planet the pockets of oil below the surface, the oil that took millions of years to grow. This beautiful part of the planet the part that lubricates the planets core and keeps the internal fire core fire going.

So why on earth are we humans using up this oil at such fast rate that were going to kill off the planet. I cannot buy anything apart from my vegetables that isn't in oil based packaging. I cannot buy anything that hasn't got any plastic on it. It is everywhere, even on our roads, carpets are made from plastic. Shoes, clothes, Tupperware, kettles, the list goes on till I have covered everything, even apples have plastic stickers.

When I lived up in Bradford years ago near an Indian vegetable shop, they got things delivered sometimes in beautiful hand woven baskets that were made from long leafs.

Leafs are great they grow back you don't have to wait a million years and you can plant more of them. Weaving now that's great too its fun and easy to do. Everyone naturally weaves grasses together when there young or lying in the countryside in the sunshine.

A few years ago I did a weaving workshop with my friend Claire, at a big green festival in London. There were hundreds of children and some adults we taught to weave and the finished sculpture went in the nature garden part of the park, next to an amazing arch another willow weaver made with everyone.

Record of nuts.

Being an artist is enough to drive me nuts. A whole life skilling up getting better and better talented by repeatedly drawing, painting things, constantly having to think of new ideas about 200 per second, then having to work those ideas out so they will work. Working while asleep to think of ideas. Working for days with no sleep to get something finished to a deadline. All the time trying to get new jobs by networking. Getting paid peanuts when there is some work or having to send lots of letters to get paid. Its like being in a deep sea and running aground. Drowning in a sea of people, who laugh and walk on, occasionally the tide will take me to the right people.
All the time having to keep a hard labour job to pay for me to have the time to do art and to make it. Having to spend every moment in my studio with only time out to cook or go veg shopping. The only way to make friends is on the computer. The only way to keep old ones is to phone them every now and again. It is time to have an exhibition and hang my art on the walls of a real gallery. Where do people want my art? Who would want to come and see it on exhibition?
Is there a gallery out there that thinks they can sell my art?

Art Doctor.

Tonight I was up at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital to meet some artists and the hospital arts coordinator Emma Jarvis for a meeting to look around the whole children's area of the hospital for it to be beautified by us as a team. I had to rush there as I was coming from my cleaning job and was already late. With my camera bag and A1 drawings paper in a big plastic bag because it had been raining today and I didn't want to end up with a soggy mess of paper. I was waiting for a bus and saw a taxi, so I knocked on the window and he pulled the window down and asked where I was going? I said, I needed to be at the hospital. He said, Get in promptly, he might of been thinking I was about to have a baby or something. As we drove into static traffic as you ya do in rush hour, he asked me. What I was doing up there tonight. I told him I was designing art and furniture to go in the children's wards and play area and I am getting the prisoners to build it all from my designs. His spirits lifted and he promptly told me he use to be an undercover cop in the 70's in another part of the country. His work buddy use to carve wood and he is still friends with his buddy still today. He said he admired my confidence, that I could show people my art and it being made into the real thing. He also added that what I was doing was the best thing he had heard in his entire life.
That is making the kids ward look great for the poorly kids and getting the prisoners to do something great for the community. I thought he was nearly going to cry. He must of spent the best part of his life trying to cut down on crime. Nipping it in the bud, before they only got themselves into more trouble. Wishing that they would all do something for the community, instead of destroying it, for everyone else.
Well that made me feel a lot better about my first proper job in 7 years.
I speed walked through the West atrium past the shop and down the static electricity stairs, that I must not touch the stair well, metal hand rail on my way down. I rush through the canteen to look for the new arts team and out to reception and ask where Emma Jarvis is? The lady pointed to a girl sitting in the waiting area all alone. I went over to her she had a calm, cosy appearance we got acquainted. Kate she paints sea life scenes and is an illustrator she is going to do see through images on all the windows that have frosted glass or that look out on to the mortuary or just glass petitions that have to let in light but not be seen through. Kate is usually a children's book illustrator.
Then Lisa turned up. I didn't recognize Lisa, her hair was different in long plaits. I had vaguely met her at a green energy day at the hospital, when I was showing my work and Robert was telling people about stop junk mail. It was a great day a bus turned that gave out advise and free energy saving light bulbs, and the carbon trust had pencils made of paper and were making a documentary about a lady who was bought in to reduce carbon impact at the hospital.
Lisa's husband Steve Little is in the green party as a councilor.
The next artist Hannah Giffard, turned up she did beautiful beach paintings that were already at the hospital.
Emma quickly gave us a very fast run down about the project all the the different rooms and wards and corridors that will need covering with art, we went in to the first room with rows of beds and grey walls and all the other hospitable things that were in there, the walls needed painting and the kids need nice art to look at while lying down or across the room. Then was rows and rows of consultation rooms that need art in. Then play areas and reception where receptionists would normally be looking at a hearing aid coloured long wall with nothing on it.
The room that would be most frightening for a child would be the forensic room, that needed art on the walls. Then we got to the room I would be working with the children's waiting room plus play area a reception area. I was left there for a while to measure up the room for a table that would wrap around a pillar for the computer games to go on. something for the toys to go in, and toys and tables for the younger kids and something for the books. Making it a more fun environment for kids that might be in extreme agony. The toys and furniture have to have 18,000 children a year play with it for over twenty years, its got be sprayable, wipeable, durable, its got to be passed by health and safety and the technicians, carpenters, joiners, hospital staff, parents and the ultimate test the children have to like it.
The hospital arts project is a charity run project that relies on donations and if you would like to make a financial contribution to go towards the cost of the materials for the children's area project, do not hesitate to ask the Emma Jarvis, who is fundraising for the project. The artwork we are making has to be all in very soon, so were working to a very tight timescale and budget.
I have complete faith in this project and I am already looking forward to seeing the joy children's faces when they see it all finished and looking amazing and amusing.
Some children spend more time then other children at the hospital for what ever reason, so its important to give the kids something to do or look at, which will speed up there good health.
I remember when I was four years old, waking up in hospital. With a man and woman in white. A stainless steal dark big room with nobody I knew. I thought, I had been abducted by aliens. I hadn't been abducted. I was having a split open chin sewn up. I had cut it open while skipping across the road with my first boyfriend Christopher from two doors down. Our parents were chatting on the street and we both tripped up and hit the road. I think it was my new patent tight leather shiny shoes and being the first skip with my legs I had ever done. When I was first dating Robert, he did the same thing when we were running together and I had to take him up the hospital on a Saturday night and look at a piece of art for hours that was in front of the of the pews of seats in front of a wall. Amidst all the people in agony in the waiting area I could have a little giggle to myself at the art on the wall it was Emma Jarvis's boss Simon posing in a 1950s style information picture.
Now enough blogging I have to get my designing, maths and imagination head screwed on. I will be back with the next up date on this wonderful project.