A bit blowy

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Hannah

Here is a pic of my stall at the village shopping night last night. The hall looked great decked out in all its Christmas finery. We had Christmas songs playing and mulled wine. There was a good turn out and I sold lots of the hall Christmas cards so I was pleased with that. My friend Karen also had a stall and I must just give her a little plug here because her baby blankets were a real hit last night. Take a look at her site here.

Little Owl’s eyes are still pretty gunky and I had a big final crit this afternoon at college so we called on the wonder that is Big Dreamer’s mum. She blew in on a storm like Mary Poppins. Unfortunately the storm decided to hang around and have a waltz on Scotland for today so college was closed in the end. I made it half way there before being told to turn back. Seagulls and crows wheeled and dived in the deepening gloom. I could hardly stand up on the Tesco forecourt getting petrol. I asked the ladies in the kiosk if they’d be going home soon. “Ach no,” they replied, “This is Tesco. The store’ll have to blow away before we get to go home.”

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Gooey Eyes

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Hannah

Here is my latest sewing project…another quilt! This one is for Big Dreamer and myself and I’ve finished in time for the snow. I will have to think of new sewing projects next year as every room in the house now has it’s own quilt.

Yesterday morning Little Owl woke up looking like she’d just done ten rounds in a boxing ring. It’s conjunctivitis so no nursery for a few days. There was more snow in the night so we have been watching the birds from the window. Today has been golden sunshine but bitter outside. Our next door neighbour doubles in size at this time of year as she piles on the layers for working in the fields. Little Owl and I wrap up warm too and follow animal and bird tracks in the snow across the garden.

Big Dreamer and I were laughing last night as we remembered some of our snow antics last winter. We had worked out that if we drove into the village and turned round again we could get a better run at the farm track providing no one was coming in the opposite direction. On one occasion we were within spitting distance of the farm yard when the wheels started to spin. I gripped the sides of the car…like that’s going to help! Back we slid, straight into an enormous snow drift. Little Owl and I made a swift exit to the house leaving Big Dreamer to face up to the folks on the farm who wordlessly hitched him up to the tractor with wry looks on their faces. I couldn’t work out if Big Dreamer’s red cheeks were from the cold or embarrassment.

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Ceilidh

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Hannah

Here’s Big Dreamer and I strutting our stuff at a ceilidh last night. Parents of a small child out in the evening…after dark…drinking beer…dancing. We shocked ourselves! I wore my obligatory kilt but realised it was a little short for the Cumberland Basket too late. Brilliant fun!

On our way home the snow started and when we woke this morning there was a thin skin of white over everything. The sun has come out today so some of it has melted but not much. Here we go folks…the snow has begun.

I’d also like to say how much I’m loving the Military Wives Choir and their entry for Christmas Number 1. Come on ladies, you can do it!

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Advent

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Hannah

Just before we went to bed last night, Big Dreamer and I laid out the nativity set on the landing sideboard. We draped it with fairy lights and hung Little Owl’s advent calendar behind it. When she woke up this morning she couldn’t believe the magic that had appeared in the night. I wasn’t sure if she would remember about advent calendars from last year but she certainly did! “Choc-at, mummy!” she said gleefully, pointing at the calendar. The advent calendar chocolate will add itself to a strict diet that Little Owl has put herself on. She appears to be mainly living on peas and ketchup at the moment. I don’t know if she really likes the ketchup or whether it just serves the practical purpose of gluing the peas to her fork. I’m reassuring myself with something I once read by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s mum. Apparently he went through a phase of only eating cake and we all know he certainly eats a variety of things now!

You will probably have heard of the wild storms over Scotland at the moment. The burns are pouring down off the hills and our main road through the valley is a torrent. The icy rain has a suspiciously fuzzy appearance, definitely bordering on snow. I looked out of the kitchen window this morning to see that the whole entire top of the bird feeder was missing. We found it in the garden but two of the seed holders were smashed and had to be sacrificed.

I’ve put up an illustration I’ve produced for one of my final projects this term. I based this image on a line from a Wilfred Owen poem called Anthem for Doomed Youth. The quote reads “And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.”

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Garlic

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Hannah

Big Dreamer was given some garlic to plant in the garden by a friend at work, so we put it in the veg patch yesterday afternoon. The wind had died down a bit and the sun had come out but there was still ice in the air. We made Little Owl carry heavy things so she wouldn’t blow away. I’ve drawn some of the garlic we planted here for you.

Everything is dying back in the garden now. The cold winter last year claimed several casualties so I have hatched a plan this year. I had quite a bit of Texel fleece left from FibreFest and have twisted it round the base of my more delicate specimens. I’m hoping it’ll let light in, keep the roots warm and not rot. It’s got to be worth a try hasn’t it?! It was actually a nice job to do. I felt like I was tucking them all up for the winter.

By the way, don’t try the cinder toffee beer recipe I posted about on 7th Nov. It was really, really bad.

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Eggs

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Hannah

I flew back to Scotland on Friday evening. As soon as we crossed the border the turbulence started. We bounced and bumped our way onto the runway. I stepped off the aeroplane and as I inhaled I could taste the frost. This was after a week of walking round Bristol with no coat on. Funnily enough it just made me feel fond of Auld Reekie and glad to be home.

It was lovely to wake up yesterday morning to the sounds of the farm. Tractors chugging off up the lane and dogs barking. Scotland has been hit by gale force winds this weekend and they howled round our house. We stoked up the stove and Big Dreamer requested an egg-themed lunch. Here is a sketch of Little Owl’s boiled egg being kept warm by an egg cosy knitted for her by her Great Grandma. We followed this up with egg                                                                              custard tarts. Not bad!

 

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Origami Bombing

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Hannah

Just recently it feels like I’ve done a lot of putting me and my illustrations out there into the big wide world. I’m not precious about my work. I think it stands on its own two feet. Illustration is all about communicating after all. Mostly I love meeting people and chatting with them about my illustrations. I approach each interaction with enthusiasm and excitement. I really enjoy hearing people’s stories and all about the creative exploits folks get up to. So I find it heartbreaking when people treat me as some hard-hitting salesperson, out to fleece (excuse the pun) them of all their hard-earned cash with my dodgy products. Everything I produce is carefully and thoughtfully put together with my own two hands. Most things will be of limited edition. There will be no more sheep books once this print-run has sold out so the last thing I want is for my precious little books to go to a home that doesn’t want them. I want to sell my work to people who will love and cherish it as much as I have.

So, it was wonderful to come down to Bristol and meet a brilliant young lady called Jo, who is definitely not a hard-seller. Jo believes in beauty, friendship and fun. She has a great little website called The Love of It, which is all about promoting “good wholesome fun”. I don’t think she’d mind if you read into that words like simplicity and community too. I’ve posted a short video here of one of the activities she has on her website in which she helped her friend with some Origami Bombing.

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Night terrors

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Hannah

Last night I had a terrible dream in which some unknown authority decided I wasn’t allowed to be an illustrator because I hadn’t put in enough hours of Life Drawing. Clearly I have guilt issues about going to Bristol and missing my classes! However, my night terrors soon cleared as we drove early this morning over to Haddington for the Marie Curie Craft Fair. The sky was all pale blue, pinks and shimmering golds. The trees and hedgerows were wonderful hues of copper and ochre. It was a fine scottish morning. We had a good day at the fair but now it’s time to relax in front of the stove with my little family before heading back down south again tomorrow.

 

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A southerly sojourn

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Hannah

Greetings from Bristol! It’s the end of my second day with Country File magazine and I have been made so welcome. I wish my old brain would catch on a bit quicker but I’m having a fantastic experience. There is so much to learn and the more I find out about the world the more there seems to be.

Bristol itself has been glorious. I strolled around the quay area in beautiful sunshine on Sunday. Through the wonders of skype I’ve been keeping in contact with Big Dreamer and Little Owl. I’ve left them with a well-stocked freezer so they shouldn’t starve.

Here is a second editorial illustration I did for Edinburgh University’s Insight magazine. This one is about the privatisation of water.

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A quick wander round the garden this morning revealed that the first frost of this winter had wiped out the hydrangea, the nasturtiums and the sweet peas. Goodbye to them for another year.

Here are some editorial illustrations I did this week for Edinburgh University’s  Insight Magazine.

Editorial illustrations usually accompany articles in newspapers and magazines. The idea is to communicate an essential element(s) of the article. It’s great to get the opportunity to practice this kind of illustration work within the student press. These illustrations will be accompanying articles on the theme of ‘Union’.

Tomorrow I travel down to Bristol to start a two-week internship with the BBC’s CountryFile magazine. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be doing this placement but, of course, the big thing for me is leaving my little family for this time. I will be popping back next weekend however for the Marie Curie fundraising Christmas Fair in Haddington Corn Exchange. It starts at 10am so do pop along and say hello if you’re in the area.

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Hannah | 2 Comments