Showing posts with label girl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label girl. Show all posts
Friday, July 7, 2017
Book Girl
Book Girl
The urge to paint has been flickering and growing inside me over the last few weeks. So, this week, I got to it!
I wanted to try something new and different. I love to read, and I love the idea of repurposing old books and making them into art.
So, heres how I created my painting. I am crap at remembering to take pics at the appropriate points, so I hope you get the idea anyway!
I started by finding an old book. It mattered to me that it was a book I felt something for. I found an old copy of The Rose under my house that was without a cover, and so well loved it was falling apart. Perfect! The Rose was one of my favourite films when I was younger- starring Bette Midler, based on the life of Janis Joplin- how much more could I love it?? Well, it may be responsible for the lame-o rose tattoo I have on my chest... Oh, the humanity! Yes, I am a walking advertisement for why 17 year olds SHOULD NOT be allowed to get tattoos... unless they pick something NOT lame. I knew a girl with the Guns and Roses logo on her torso, so I guess things could be worse.
OK, so I glued the pages onto a 24 x 20" canvas. I love the aged quality of the paper. My sisters and I used to spend ages with coffee and matches* trying to get this effect on our treasure maps... We did a lot of treasure hunts and put waaaaayyy to much effort into them!
*Ahh.. the late seventies/ early eighties. When kids could play with matches, and then toodle off to the corner shop to buy their Nanna her Blue Ardath ciggies, and no-one would bat an eyelid. Good times.
Next, I needed to decide what I was going to paint onto my gorgeous book page canvas. A blank Canvas is a lot of pressure, and so is a beautifully prepared book page canvas!! I didn;t want to screw it up! I chose to use a digital drawing I did ages ago. I printed her out, stuck her together and traced her onto the canvas... Very LOW TECH! Ordinarily, I would trace the image onto a transperancy and then use my projector, but its under the house and I am lazy. Whatevs.
So then, It was time to paint. And what better time than during the State of Origin??
I did look up every now and then to shout, "Go yourself, MAL!!" Just for my dad. He used to shout that at the TV ALL THE TIME. I used to think Mal meant mate and he was cheering on all different players. But it meant Mal Meninga... so it doesnt really make sense when he is not playing... But I think its funny and my dad is in the UK and missed the game the other night. Although, he does have jedi-like football finding skill, so he probably tracked down a TV playing it. In Ireland.
Painting for me can be extremely therapeutic and cathartic. I have little rules that I paint by... Everything has 3 colours... You should always start and finish a line.... All work should have a little bit of red in it. These rules are comforting and automatic now... I also like it when I mess up and have to problem solve. How am I gonna fix this? Usually that leads to something waaaay better.
Usually, things that are glaringly wrong will jump out at me at this point. The text was one. Her hairline was another- the fringe just didnt sit well. Too dark. So I cut up some more pages of The Rose and gave her a forehead. I think this opened her up heaps and works much better. I also used extra pages to create the new text style. Much better!
Next I just added a few little paper embellishments, so more shading and she is done.
So, I am imagining all sorts of projects involving book pages! And I am super chuffed with how this lady turned out. Not sure if I want to list her in my Etsy store, or keep her for our lounge room.
What do u think?
Available link for download
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Blue Dress for a Blue Girl
Blue Dress for a Blue Girl
Are you familiar with the song "Feeling Good?" Surely everybody has heard it, no? There are countless renditions but nobody-- even the ultimate cool Canadian dad (Mr. Bublé)-- nailed it like Nina Simone. Even through the triumphant tone of the music, her vocals are jarring. This woman has been through some turmoil and its clear. Shes out of the woods but shes shaken. Its in this that I find solace. Just because youre broken doesnt mean you cant make something hauntingly beautiful. On the contrary: sometimes its just a necessity.
What a difference a week can make. My outlook is a lot better than it was in my last blog post. The difficult life circumstances have not budged one bit but Im adjusting. Using my time wisely as a means of keeping myself busy with the right amount of productive distractions. And to those who have reached out to let me know Im not alone, you mean the world to me.Black is often regarded as the saddest color on the spectrum. I dont doubt that it is, especially since its attached to the act of mourning. However, I find blue to be the most sorrowful hue of all. Maggie Nelsons Bluets says it better than I can:
157. The part I do remember: that the blue of the sky depends on the darkness of empty space behind it. As one optics journal puts it, "The color of any planetary atmosphere viewed against the black of space and illuminated by a sunlike star will also be blue." In which case blue is something of an ecstatic accident produced by void and fire.
Thats just one small section: you should really read the entire essay. Brilliant. All that to say, this is why Im wearing a blue dress. Im feeling better but Im still sad. And I think thats okay.
Aside from being an okay indication of my inner struggles, this dress also happens to be very pretty. Give me all of the bell sleeves, forever. And the back? YES.
xo,
e.m.
dress/ Free People (on sale!), shoes/ ASOS, clutch/ ASOS (old, similar), necklace/ vintage (similar), choker/ DIY
***Photos by Brenden Shaver
Available link for download
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Book Review Geek Girl Model Misfit
Book Review Geek Girl Model Misfit
I love to read, and it’s something I’ve very much began to look forward to after a long day. I usually like to run a bath and totally relax, and starting a new book always makes this little ritual that bit more fun!
I recently got the chance to read and review Model Misfit, the second in Holly Smale’s series of Geek Girl Books. It’s a story about Harriet Manners, a some what ‘geeky’ girl with a good heart. Harriet know a lot of facts, which are quite frequently mentioned in the book, she’s also bullied and feels quite alone at times (we can all relate to that right?). But when she’s spotted by a modelling scout at the Clothes Show Live, Birmingham, the story really begins!
I don’t want to give too much away and ruin the story for you, But this would have definitely been one of those teen fiction books that I would have quickly grabbed of the shelf a fews years back. as it’s got that sort of Cinderella story feeling (with plenty of bumps along the way). I’m so glad I read this book as it’s made me realise, you’re never too old to read the sort of books you loved as a child or teenager, you can still come back to them years later and be totally absorbed in the story.
If you’d like to be in with a chance to WIN a copy of Model Misfit, then simply comment in the box below with your favourite book of all time, (don’t forget to include an email address), and the winner will be contacted on 8th October!
I’m off to read Geek Girl 1 now, (wrong way around I know!)
Lots of love
Kate x
Geek Girl will be available from Amazon from 26th September.
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Available link for download
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