New Beginnings.

I'm a graduate!  Yes, just over a month ago I donned the very fetching cap and gown and I graduated from the Norwich University College of the Arts.  It feels great to finally finish and I'm proud to have earned a degree from one of the best art schools in the country.We had an amazing degree show and it looked fantastic with so much great work.  We even had Creative Review take a look and we made it onto their blog with some awesome feedback.  Give it a look! (Scroll down to find the illustration review).

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2011/june/norwich


So it's now a fresh start for me.  I'll be honest, it's a pretty daunting place to be in right now but also exciting.  I think I've lost count at how many times people have asked me, 'so what next?'  Ideally I want to make a living as an illustrator but that's going to take some time.  I'm on the hunt for a job, preferably something creative and I'm also looking for internships to gain some experience.  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.  Fingers crossed something turns up soon.

On the illustration front I have a lot of work to do!  My studio has recently been a storage room for almost everything which meant I didn't have access to my materials.  But I have it back to it's glorious self so I intend to get back in there and start making work I can sell.  I've found a few competitions to enter and there is a potential commission, so plenty to keep me busy.

On this thread of new beginnings I learnt a new skill.  I taught myself to knit.  Doesn't sound terribly cool, but I knitted a soft toy Hippo and I'm pretty impressed with myself.  Considering when I bought the book back in January I was completely baffled.  It's called 'Knitted Wild Animals' but Sarah Keen and it's full of cute and fun animals to make.  I personally love the moose.  They're patterns but to me it looks like a bunch of code and I was simply clueless.  But thanks to you tube I made some sense of it.  I found a girl online who made it in about 7 hours...it took me around a month.  I obviously don't have the lightening quick knitting stitch down yet!

The reason for the hippo?  I have a brand new nephew who was born earlier this week and he is absolutely gorgeous.  I'm smitten.

I hope Elliott and the hippo will be great friends.

Knitted Wild Animals by Sarah Keen - good little book but a tad tough for beginners like me.  Using it alongside you tube makes life less frustrating.  Knit stitch, purl stitch, cast on, cast off, make a new stitch, decrease a stitch, this was all gobbledygook to me, thank you you tube.

The hippo stuffed and in bits.

Hello hippo!

Elliott's new friend.

Finally, ever so fetching...

Sian (on the right) and I enjoying graduation day.