Not long now

I screen-printed these Christmas cards at the Thames Barrier Print Studio, it's freezing down by the river but they get the best views. 

Have a good Christmas everyone.

         

   

Visual Minutes in Portsmouth

Last week I was with Catch 22's Apprenticeship and Employability department. Their away day concentrated on their staff and the two pillars of self development: taking responsibility and the importance of healthy self-esteem. They worked with Philip Collett from the organization 'goals UK'.

This image was drawn by myself and Kirsti Davies and took a day to produce.

The ship metaphor worked well, as the day progressed the drowning people to the left were passed life rings to help them float, then they learned to swim, and eventually they were sailing their own boat - in charge of their own destiny.

The Flower bed

A riff on the meaning of the word as well as a wedding present for a lovely couple who got married in September.

Congratulations Harriet and Andy !

Fern Woman

Another plant-based image. These are varieties of ferns wafting above her head. Might keep her cool in the summer. 

Catch 22

Last Thursday evening I was helping Asi Panditharatna to celebrate the first birthday of Catch 22's department of Apprenticeship and Employability. Catch 22 is a social business and already a lead provider of apprenticeships and other employability services.

Read more about their inspiring work here: 

http://www.catch-22.org.uk/

Free floating

A new 3 colour screen print exploring the wonderful world of vegetables. I love butternut squash but this year mine turned out a bit wee. 

You'd never guess though from the size they are in this image..hey ho, at least they inspired a print !

Busy week

This week I worked for Merton C.I.L. a charity enabling disabled people to have more autonomy in their lives, drawings for a multinational consumer goods company (I know, mysterious!) and for Catch 22, a fabulous social business promoting apprenticeships. More work for them coming up next month.

Consumer goods company first - this was a super-fast brain-storming exercise to create a metaphor that could be communicated through the layers of staff within the company:

And work for Merton Centre for Independent Living here - this was a consultation day for disabled people in Merton to voice their concerns, these were then addressed to local councillors who arrived for questions later in the afternoon:

Visual Minutes in Surrey

Last week I was helping to capture a morning listening to young people's thoughts and needs, addressing different issues from drugs to online safety. They were a bit shy to start with, but loved having their portraits on the wall !

New Prints

I've started printing at the Thames Barrier Print Studio again, in the wilds of Woolwich. Here are two new ones.

Wine-tinted Glasses

The Sprout

Visual Minutes in Birmingham

I was working for More Then Minutes for a charity called UnLtd. This is a charity that supports Social Entrepreneurs with funding and advice - they are very inspiring people, and they help other inspiring people who want to help their local community grow. 

The minutes were done over the course of the day (this is one of two images produced). We responded to the dialogue, workshops and speakers. I worked alongside Marcel O'Leary. We filled about 4 metres of wall space - it was a tiring but worthwhile day !

How to Sound Really Clever - Book launch!

Last night I was in the hallowed corridors of Bloomsbury publishing with Hubert van den Bergh the author, to celebrate the publication of his book that I've illustrated.

It's in the shops now - the perfect Christmas present for anyone who wants to augment their vocabulary or just learn more about the English language.

 Here is the cover, and below are 3 images illustrating different words within the book:

Wiseacre

Pleonastic

Doggerel

The Eden Project

This week I have been doing something called 'Visual Minutes' which is a way of recording what happens at meetings, in an inspiring and memorable way.

I was working for: http://morethanminutes.blogspot.co.uk/

It is performed 'live' so it gives people something entertaining to watch if their mind wanders or if they want immediate recall of what's been going on.

These were done on a 3 day conference at the Eden Project down in Cornwall, I worked alongside Marcel O'Leary.

We had a lot of fun recording and talking to all the people who had come from all over the country to develop community projects linked to The Big Lunch.

The Big Lunch is an annual event to encourage neighbours to have lunch together on one day in June.

The gathering encouraged innovation and different ways of coming up with ideas, as well as using the 'open space' forum to explore people's interests.
These people had crept under the table to have a conversation !

One of the speakers who really stood out was Chris Hines from 'Surfers Against Sewage'. He really inspired people by saying that what individuals do really CAN make a difference, but it's important to collaborate and get the right support. As a result our coasts are that much cleaner now!

Incredible Edible Table at Kew Gardens

My drawings are on display in Kew Gardens !

Many thanks to Kirsti Davies for getting me involved in this wonderful project. For more info please check out the table's story here:

http://www.incredibleteaparty.co.uk/the_story.html

And if you have a chance before it comes down in the Autumn, the table is on display in the Rose Garden. It's massive, you can't miss it !