My second craft fair will be at the Canal side Food and Craft Market 2009, it's on the 20th and the 21st of June but I will only be there with all my art on Sunday the 21st 11am-4pm Town Wharf, Trent & Mersey Canal, Middlewich.
I've never been before but it's part of the Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival 2009 which a friend of mine sometimes clog dances at with her mom, small world!
These are some pictures of my stall at my first craft fair, at The Chorlton Arts Festival craft market.
It was a fabulous craft fair with loads of great stalls. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to look around as it got quite busy. Ollie got to see Wallace and Gromit The Curse of the Were-rabbit in the scout hut with daddy, he came back really excited because the curtain fell down half way through, how exciting.
Monday the 18th May saw the book launch of The Jewel Keepers in Chorlton.
The Jewel Keepers Book One: Albion by E.J.Bousfield is a fantasy fiction trilogy.
Elaine is a lovely member of the SCBWI book group I attend. This is her first book to be published, I've got my copy for my summer read if you want yours it's published by Kings Hart Books
ISBN-10: 1906154147
ISBN-13: 978-1906154141
The Jewel Keepers is a magical fantasy that centers around two girls, separated by centuries of time, but united by a mysterious Jewel. The novel is set in Katie’s world, the modern world of Britain but we are also taken to Mortunda’s world – the Celtic past of Britain when people lived in tribes and believed that the world around them was alive and magical. Mortunda’s tribe is the Brigante and it was one of the largest tribes in pre-roman Britain.
I have drawn on lots of historical research to paint Mortunda’s world and although Mortunda herself is not an historical figure, there are people in the novel who are (especially in book two). The trilogy is set at the time when Albion was on the brink of being taken into the Roman Empire and explores what that might have been like for the different tribes, as well as following the story of the Jewel Keeper.
The Jewel Keepers is a tale of power, religion, war, belief and friendship.
This is very exciting. I haven't really seen all my work in one place since my college shows. I have to say I've impressed myself I think it looks really good. I hadn't realised I had been so busy drawing and painting.
My exhibition Twilight Twinkle and Fairy Fun is at The Pottery Corner, Until the middle of July as part of the Chorlton Arts Festival.
34 Beech Road
Chorlton
Manchester
M21 9EL
I really should have put some make-up on for this one.
My first craft fair... These are a selection of pictures of the chaos in our house when I was making stock for my first ever craft fair. There were a few issues like when Ollie broke my badge machine trying to make himself a blue bunny badge but all in all I quite enjoyed myself. Although Ollie's first words to me the morning after the fair were...
"Mommy why do you do all the boring stuff and not play?"
Keep cutting, should have brought a cutter!
Framing prints.This is the Virgo in me, I can't bear to tape the back of my prints so I had to cut out hundreds of little triangles to hold them in place.
Right it's blogging time. I've been pretty busy lately but I've done and dusted a few deadlines so it's time to clear my head of all the things I want to blog.
The last SCBWI North West regional event for 2009 took place on the 2nd May in Manchester.
It was a talk by the author Philip Carvey, the writer of the Sebastian Darke novels. I arrived feeling a bit poor but 2 minutes into the talk I had to get myself one of those books. Philip Carvey was a great speaker telling the story of how he came to write for children, which he did initially for his daughter who wanted to read one of his books, his adult stories were highly unsuitable. When he told of how at the beginning of his writing career he was so slow it took him a year to write a novel I nearly choked, I've been writing mine for about four years. I think it takes him about three months now, I can only dream. I love these events it's great to meet other creative people and learn from them. He's from Manchester too, we have loads of cool people here!
The next event is on the 7th November 2009 "The things I know now that I wish I'd known then." A Talk By Steve Hartley
Steve was at the first writers group I ever went to and gave me some invaluable advice. He was one of the winners of the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices 2008 and has signed an eight-story, four -book deal with Macmillan to publish Danny Baker, Record Breaker. Danny Baker was Steve's entry to the 2008 Undiscovered Voices anthology competition.
Tickets are £5 to book email Stephanie at lilyghost147@yahoo.co.uk
I am somewhat busy at the moment with my first Craft fair in a couple of weeks and an exhibition to hang. It is all part of The Chorlton Arts Festival, Manchester.
It's also time for submissions for UNDISCOVERED VOICES 2010 a competition run by The Society of Children's writers and Illustrators for unpublished aspiring authors, so double cramming!
I have loads of photos to blog because Ian was having a black and white photography day Sun but more of that later. For now I'll post my exhibition poster!
And here's one I made earlier! I have repainted this sketch digitally. It's called The Owl Encounter. I'll be adding it to my Etsy shop later this month.
My daft doing for the day! (well yesterday actually)
When the PS3 controller went flat yesterday I decided to ignore Ollie's cries of 'phone Daddy' and change the batteries myself. I quickly realized my error when the buttons started falling off it! Daddy got a call after all. Luckily I fixed it and I now know that time has moved on and you can charge stuff with USB cables, who knew! opps!
I've been doing a bit of recycling with my work. I quite liked my Christmas fairies picture and thought it a shame for them to be stuck in a festive setting. So I have reworked them digitally and taken them to a warmer climate.
I was having a bit off trouble with them looking too wispy when printed off so I dug out my Arthur Rackham books for some line inspiration from a master.
And while looking for an image to post (feeling too lazy to scan in my books) I came across this site packed with info on old illustrators.
Art Passions a wonderful site if you love vintage illustration from the early twentieth century
Twilight Gods by Arthur Rackham
And here's the finished result.
Ian has got me into CGtextures.com and I've been busy making brushes from it. This is the result, Autumn Red.
I am super busy doing new work and crafting away for an upcoming exhibition and craft market as part of The Chorlton arts festival in Chorlton, Manchester.
The Chorlton arts festival is on from the 15 May - 30 June. My
exhibition 'Twilight Twinkle and Fairy Fun' is at The Pottery Corner on
Beech Road in Chorlton. Open Tue-Sat 10-6, Sun 11-5.
On display there will be my original paintings, drawings and prints, all
with a fairy theme. There will also be cards, badges and magnets on sale
with free colouring pictures for the kids to take away.
The 2009 Chorlton Arts Festival Craft Market takes place at St Clements
Church 11am - 4pm, entry is free. On my stall I will be selling prints,
cards, badges, magnets and bookmarks featuring my original fairy
artwork. I will be happy to sign my work.
