Tea Towels for Georgia Doherty

Sydney Reminiscing

So here I am at Singapore airport with a vodka and tonic to my right and far too much hand luggage to possibly equate to the 7kg allowance each person is allocated. In a vacuum of sadness and excitement for the future I find myself relating all to much and more than ever to articles and music and films I have fueled my brain with for the last eight hours. Hot Chip - No Fit State, a Frankie article about capturing happiness and then a rather extraordinary documentary on family with a sweet soundtrack by Ziggy Marley, his mum and his sister.

All I can do when leaving is look back and smile upon the amazing times I've had and hope that like every year I can keep learning and keep experiencing change in myself and in the things that I do and achieve. I feel pride, which is a feeling in between excitement and confidence....pride with lashings of satisfaction and a cemented belief that I will continue to have a jolly old time. This is a notion, mind, that has not always swarmed my heart. That all too familiar feeling of dread and fear is now only a fragrance to the former feeling.

I think I might have left my heart in Sydney but hope that I will build a new one for London and home. Home has always been a huge paradox to me as it's essentially the place I long for but also a place that defines me without me really being there at all. To return to it will in itself bring a joy of its own as I now have stories and tales and songs and pictures to illustrate the almost perfect year that I have had.

Top 10 moments (in no particular order)

1. Climbing the walls at Laneway Festival, getting stuck on the roof and arrested.

2. 80's skate night in Melbourne Town - and my sweet skating tattoo transfer prize.

3. Dancing to the whistle song and singing Miley Cyrus with Mills.

4. Absynth and karaoke.

5. Tiny Stadiums Festival and that crazy walking tour where you clap skip and jump.

6. Frasier Island the five minutes with manta rays, sharks and whales

7. Semi Permanant and not going to the gym with Jonald and Cat

8. Wrong prom - all the boys in all my dresses

9. Orbital and Polyphonic spree at Playground Weekender

10. Daniel Johnston at the metro after watching his DVD.

Kathy McGee | Goats and Coats

In early 2009 I completed an internship at Christopher Raeburns studios in Hackney ... "studios" being an old peanut factory. Rad. Raeburns work is constructed predominantly from old army parachutes layered and tailored into beautiful translucent style coats and macs. My pattern cutting buddy was my dear friend Kathy. We became friends and spent hours leaning over scissors and chalk discussing our dreams of one day having a goat farm where we would live off the land. We also planned a little collaboration for a print ....the idea was based around designing little motifs for things that we find wholly satisfying such as popping bubble wrap and using scissors that slide accross wrapping paper in a fell swoop. The now infamous Slippery Cut. Kath was in her second year at LCF and up until now I'd never seen any of her work. Today is the day and bloody hell Kath.....you surpassed yourself. Elaborate tailoring with soft feminine shapes bubbled and layered like soft playdough sculptures. Whimsical wonders. High five Kath!

Friday. Hello.

Friday was gradient day. And with this came a tribute to that huge frickin volcanoe as well as my ongoing and markedly growing obsession with stuffed animals. And that does not refer to animals after greedily eating...the real deal.....Its got to the stage where Im watching instructional videos on youtube. "How to stuff and mount a duck" -taking away the sexual connatations, a most inviting "How" for me at the moment.

MTV is a dream. It's all ideas, laughter and sweet computer skills....I have remained a timid version of myself but also remain inspired to the max. Its ideas central up in the office, young minds and crazy ideas bounce off the walls on an hourly basis and I'm literally the sterotypical "This is a bloody dream" kid ........So....I'm back there next week and long may it last. Big up to Sven and Marina....oh and Jess for her sweet tablet skills.

Thought of the day: Roller Derby beckons, last night rain plus roller skates and a shopping trolley = roller derby practice and water fountain dancing.

Pandora

Another little project for China Gorilla who are launching a new night called Pandora. I started with boxes of hope, boxes and boxes all in crazy perspective but then I sort of changed tack and decided to pair a traditional but sort of odd drawing of pandora with an acrylic box behind some groovy type that I drew with pen and then pentooled.

So here we have the hairy boxed naked Pandora twins........I think its kinda groovy but maybe its a tad rustic for a bassy club night.....hmmm....I ponder.....ooh and maybe the little typography horns are too supositary like...ouch?

Monday : A gig at MTV and the drawing of drug drealers

So after returning from Melbourne last night I pootled off to my interview this morning at MTV to try and fuse my on going obsessive nature surrounding sound and images and it went swimmingly, like tadpoles it was a joy. Awesome open plan work spaces with kooky hanging objects and a mahoosive spongebob square pants...Next week I start! super! There was a mention of group brainstorming which had me grasping at the bit.....

On return A story landed on my doorstep from SomethinkBlue and my task was to depict a blue and a yellow drugdealer......so here's mr blue........which coincides with any "Monday Blues" people may be having.... oh and with the super blue dress I'm wearing courtesy of Caterpillar Quinn.

PS. Melbourne/Underwater photos coming soon.....

PPS. Bought a lomo/Gotta learn how to use it cos I'm a lamo with my lomo....

PPS..........Dennis Hopper is todays hotness.

Wed_ nes_fun

Done and Done

So it started at one and it ended at six five hours and five different layers of colour later and Im now a fireball orange.......wow....I feel like some superhero, maybe my name will be "Rangattack". Superpower: pending...

The experience was almost joyous, me and Rob of Surry Cutters drank half a bottle of wine and had quite the fun time as we turned me from black to white to gold to orange. Off to Melbourne tomorrow which'll be a hoot, gonna paint the town red with the brush strokes of my head......

Dream Analysis Anyone?

Last night I was in a gallery space which ran through potting sheds and igloos and then into tool shops. Me and a spectacled fellow raced on bikes through this winding space before we came to a camera shop. It was in a wooden ikea style put me up shed and we spent hours gazing at the goblin looking cameras, all stacked on shelves of ply wood. The girls ones in cmyk and the boys in rgb..... and at only 5 dollars a pop we filled our pockets and bags with the ever shriking cameras but found that we were too weighty and we did not win the tour de France......thats what the race was....apparantly. But we were together and that was all that mattered.

Suddenly Drop shadows aren't so Bad.

I went to Semi Permanent this weeekend and heard a young New Yorker talk about her passion for typography and Illustraion. Jessica Hische uses shadows to create depth and warmth in her friendly looking illustrations. This is the first time I've ever emulated somone else in creating an image...on purpose I mean.....and ooh I think its just delightful. Cut outs are my cryptonite so creating them without slicing my fingertips off with razord blades is a high five absolutely. Drop shadows are normally a no no in most aspects of what I try to do but today..I feel reborn....

So Im off to Glastonbury when I get home with a troop of funsters to go and jolly up a region of the magic...and we will be called The Villagers.....this is my first go at creating a logo that says youth joy and play.....It defo needs refining....ie all the lines are so jaggedy jack.

Over and Out.

Check out Jessica Hisch : www.jessicahische.com

post script. Jessica has a tattoo of cmyk and her web designer boyfriend has rgb...both in the coloured cirles......arrrggghhh....I nearly orgasmed......

Beautiful People Doing Beautiful Things

I'm writing an article for SomeThinkBlue Magazine and as well as writing about my thoughts on the beauty of our youth I've chosen a few people to interview who have done something on their own and in mine eyes are heros...so as well as the words I thought I'd do a little illustrataion of each person...Heres four of them.

Top: Callum Crawford- Fine Artist, St Martins

Second : Tatty Vaughan - shit hot stylist

Middle: Stevie Thomas - China Gorilla
Bottom: Elky and Digby - Gottwood Festival

....2 more to come....

LipSync

Just mad. Super. Plus a super tshirt.

Youth : The Adventure Playground

Never have I felt more aware of the power of my youth. Today, and for a while, the thrill of the future and its possibilities consumes me. I'm young and brave and I can do anything.....I think....Thats not to say I'll achieve anything measureable...such as a super salary, or a man who loves me or even a gorgeously deep tan. But suddenly the things that I've always wanted, those tangeable things, seem like accessories to the greater picture. The picture of life, experience, adventure and independence.

I may be spntaneous and make rash decisions fuelled by misjudgement and riddled with chaos but For the moment I think thats ok. I'd rather be bold, be wild and make the mistakes I know that I'll learn from. I believe in escaping the norm in order to learn how ones norm in the future will be. Today I feel like a crusader, an explorer and a soldier.

I went to see Alice in Wonderland last night.........I think I've been laterally inspired.

I love dungares, always have always will.

"You're bonkers! But do you know what? All the best people in the world are."

-Alice in Wonderland

TriangleGrab

On applying to illustrative agencies in London Town I thought now than ever its time to choose my style and bish bash bosh lots of images yumyum...right im off to bathe in rum...yep...rum bath......good for party not for washy.

Chuck Anderson

So I dont really suffer from jealousy, but when it comes to drawing, typography or general creation of images I am a green eyed monster sponge.

Last night I was shown a book by the young legend: Chuck Anderson. born in 1985.....yes he's twenty frickin four! His psychadelic trippy images use patterns, silhouettes and heavily hand drawn illustrations are saturated in colour and vibrance. He combines his abilty to draw on paper beautifully with his abilities on the computer. His compositional skills are immacualte and his abilty to balance the numerous componants that make up his work.

He's done alot of work for brands and bands such as Lupe Fiasco, Mountain Dew, Nike and Adidas. You Chuck, have made me see that I need to get an agent! So when I get home I'm going agent shopping..........FUCK ...24......better get my ass in gear.....

Check his stuff out here / http://www.nopattern.com/nopattern/info_press.asp

Ginger Love

Ask anyone in my family I am obsessed with the colour naturelle of the orangutang. Oh yes. And how much do I dig ginger in the nodule herby form? (Pickled ginger to be precise) A heck of a lot!

My names is Ocki and I'm a gingerholic.

So this Saturday If I finally bite the bullet I'm going orange. Orange like Florence, orange like the rip off phone company. The history of my hair colour is brief, I was born brown. Had a terrible Sun-In-run-in at ten and went orange like straw, orange like sahara and then later on that year I decided pillar box red was the thing. So with a blue bottle of home product hair dye....I remember the smell of it exactly....I went red...well marroon.

Since then Ive gone from brown through to dark brown/black, yep it darkens every year and " No people! I'm not a goth, I did not dye it darker ". So....

"On Saturday Mathew, I'm going to be a Ginger nut"

Picture : Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine

Todays Nostalgia

One song makes it come rushing back. One song can make your body flood with clarity. You'd forgotten about the castle in the woods but now its clear as day. The water, the softness of the ground and the way we walked in silence for hours upon the path. I never wanted to say anything, I always say I was silent but silence seems involuntary. I was quiet because nothing needed to be said. This morning I was worrying about the red stains on my new dress from the water bottle I spilt in my handbag but now I just remember.

I dont remember the happiness you talk of now, you never said anything. You thought I was odd but it didnt matter we sat for hours anyway, thats what I remember. We were stoned for those memories. Thats definately true. Stoned and silent which makes me wonder whether it was real. It seemed perfect. Perfect on that hill, perfect by the docks, perfect in the awnings of that tent and perfect in diagonal under the beams. I dont think I've ever had a friend like you.

You're a dear dear friend and today I miss you, I'll be home soon.

Kria Brekken / Ravine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qul-IWzomI

House Party

The Pitt Street Parlour welcomes you....here's the after and before of a quick illustration I did for the old facebook event invite ting. So if you're reading this and you're in the southern hemisphere get you tail wiggling down to party with meat and rum punch...yes rum punch in a barrel.....oh and Cat will do her paedophile act for you...if youre lucky enough..and/or young enough...

Friday 12th March, 8PM.

Eko_Time

Me and Dads joint venture into eco friendly plastic is an ongoing design dilemma. How to brand an eco product for adults but with a friendly childlike approach similar to that of Innocent Smoothies. We decided we wanted language to be aprt of the illustrations but here are two contrasting ideas that I thought might offer good but different personalities to the product.

Watch out for EKO...comign soon eco warriors! prepare you plate shields and fork guns.

Cover Up 4 Cancer

Me and Mr Harrison are working on some simple but effective logos for a new campaign to target skin protection in the UK......today I got a bit crazy with it and decided to add a bit of jazz and grapefruit to our concoction of black and alignment.