Time may change me but I can't trace time

I originally wanted to make a little 'photo a day' type post as they're something I really love looking back on, but then some days I kept forgetting to take pictures and other days I took too many, so I guess this turned into more of a 'random things I got up to last week' kind of post.

I've really gotten into Lego, but I'm trying to hold off of building my kits because of plans. But I figured two little flowers couldn't hurt, and I had a lot of fun putting them together. I really love a lot of the botanicals range Lego has been releasing, and as someone who really sucks at looking after plants they feel like a fun alternative. I also love how well these fit in with my decor, sunflowers are my favorite flower as you may be able to tell.

After I spent a few days with my sewing machine my room was covered in scraps of fabric and bits of thread as I'm always in such rush to hurry through it as quickly as possible because it takes over my entire workspace which is stressful. So giving my room a deep clean afterwards is one of the best feelings in the world, and I just love how cozy my space looks when everything is in its place.

After the machine sewing was done I had some final hand sewing to finish things up nicely, such as the buttons. So I spent an evening clearing some movies from my watchlist while I got it all done before I had a chance to procrastinate it forever. 

Hans arrived! Prince Hans in his coronation suit was the only doll I was missing from my Frozen collection, and because he's less popular and kids don't have taste enough to want him he's really rare which means expensive. I've had it on my eBay alerts for years so saw him as soon as he was listed. He was the cheapest I've ever seen, and described as "well played with" with grainy photos so honestly I was expecting the worst, but he's literally perfect and I couldn't be happier to finally welcome him. 

I saw Elvis at the cinema, and omg. I only really went for Baz Luhrmann as he's one of my favorite directors so I didn't know much about Elvis before going in, and learning about some of the history behind his career was quite shocking. I had no idea he was taken advantage of so much by his manager, and it was so sad seeing him be so emotionally manipulated and exploited. Elvis is such a legendary figure that it feels weird to say that he was held back, but he really was and I can't help but wonder what kind of status he might now hold if he'd had the freedom in his career that he so wanted. For example it absolutely boggles my mind to learn that he never even performed outside of the US - ever. So many times throughout this movie I was mentally begging Elvis to lawyer up, but then I had to remind myself that it was a completely different, more naive time and celebrity of Elvis's status was literally brand new and no one knew what they were doing. Although I've always liked old music and was aware of Elvis on a cultural level, I've never really taken any notice of him either and like a lot of younger generations tend to just associate him with bad impersonators and the tackiness of Vegas. Add to that how much he gets clowned in popular media and he never really felt like anything to take seriously so it was difficult to understand his impact. This movie is far from perfect, but it's made me really interested in the real Elvis, and I love that it showed the human side to him to introduce a whole new generation to his work. Plus I've discovered that his elder fans are some of the most patient and welcoming I've ever met, which is a lot more than I can say about fans of other classic rock bands honestly.

Anyway, I guess I get to have an Elvis phase now as he's occupied about 80% of my brain since seeing the movie. Stay tuned to watch a hyperfocus play out in real time!

I got a half year planner to start a draw everyday challenge. I felt inspired by a video where an artist used a planner and you could see where she'd skipped days because the page was blank which felt like a good way to keep myself accountable. I'm using the Hobonichi Techo Avec as it's small enough to carry round with me everywhere and nothing bleeds through the thin paper, not even watercolor. I'm trying not to be too fussy about what I put in it so long as I draw something, even if it's ugly. I've been in a real bad art block for over a year now, and I remember back when I did the whole of Inktober in 2019 it really opened the creative floodgates so I'm hoping this will have a similar effect.

I also had to break out and sharpen a brand new col-erase, which may not look like much but these pencils are really hard to get hold of in Europe so I bought a handful of them when I went to New York so they feel special and have a romantic attachment to that trip for me. And after 2+ years of a pandemic that romantic attachment has only grown stronger and made me even more determined to get back there someday.

Project 365: III

15/365 - Sunday 15 September: I got my signed Playbill from Moulin Rouge! professionally framed ♥♥♥ The frame was custom made as Playbills are awkward dimensions, and it's all sealed up at the back so it's safe and sound. I'm just so, so happy with it as it's so important to me as it represents so much and was signed by one of my favorite actors, and now I can display it with pride on my shelf and take it traveling with me and know it won't ever get damaged. You can see my little New York snow globe in front of it too!

Project 365: II

10/365 - Sunday 8 September: All of the animals were out in the lane. Autumn is the time of year I'm most grateful to live in the countryside.

Project 365

I've been messing around with my domain name, I hope everything's working OK! Anyway, I've wanted to try my hand at doing a 365 project for years, and have dabbled with smaller term photo a days now and then but have never been able to commit to a full 365 as a full year has always felt too much commitment. But after coming back from New York I felt really inspired to give it a go, and I know it's not the typical time to start something like this but I also think surely there's no wrong time either? You just gotta do it when you feel like it or you never will.

I guess part of why I felt inspired to start this after coming home from New York is obviously I was documenting a lot when I was there, so it already started a bit of that habit in me. Also I feel like this is a year I'm going to want to remember, and I've learnt from looking back on the photo a day posts I have done that it's my favorite way of documenting because they're full of the smaller day to day memories, so are special as they're more personal. Also I simply want to get used to using my camera more, to get more comfortable carrying it everywhere and taking photos in public, and to also get used to taking photos on manual. I've had a DSLR for about 10 years, and I'm ashamed to say I've only ever used it on auto and still don't understand all of the different settings, so I figure it's a great chance to learn all of that. Especially as I find myself relying on my point and shoot camera more and more as that's how I use my DSLR anyway, and I'm often unimpressed with the colors and so feel a need to cover them in filters. And I just really love seeing other peoples 365s so why not do my own!


001: Friday 30 August - Sorting through my New York memories, and creating a sketchbook spread of my tickets in my sketchbook.


002: Saturday 31 August - Mum got me a bunch of my favorite flowers as I've been really ill the past few weeks. You don't often see sunflowers with the reddish purple in the middle, they were so pretty.




003: Sunday 1 September - Went out looking for conkers as they've been a few big spiders around the house and I am not about that. Conkers do genuinely work, it's not just an old wives tale.




004: Monday 2 September - My new stickers arrived for my keyboard. I've had Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night on my laptop for about 3 years, and it was getting to a point where stickers were flying off when I typed as they were losing their tack. I used the same company again as they'd lasted so long, but this time went for something a little more muted that I think suits my silver laptop well. I'm also impressed as they've upgraded the stickers slightly, and they now have little holes to make room for the bits on the keys that stick up and the for the lights on some keys. They're by Keyshorts, and I like them as they'll create stickers for any laptop and aren't exclusive to Apple like so many.


005: Tuesday 3 September - Still ill, and getting through a lot of ginger tea with honey.


006: Wednesday 4 September - Joining in an illustration hashtag prompt for this month. I'm actually thinking of doing Inktober for the first time ever, I'm usually put off as so many cheat and work on it throughout September instead of each day through October, or use it purely for marketing and it's become a great example of how capitalist systems ruin everything nice and caused it leave a bad taste in my mouth. But I'm actually quite inspired by the prompt list this year, and I intend to do it properly each day, and not get too caught up in making every prompt perfect but just do it on my own terms for my own enjoyment. It's sad that doing things for yourself seems to be a revolutionary concept nowadays, but there you go.


007: Thursday 5 September - I stopped off in Oslo on my way back from New York, and I've been finishing off the things I bought.


008: Friday 6 September - I saw It: Chapter Two! The first screening they showed as I was so excited and so determined not to have it spoiled for me. I never noticed before I took this photo that the funky carpet at the cinema is reels of film, that's pretty cool.




009: Saturday 7 September - I finished my illustration for the prompt, I'm not thrilled with how it came out but considering how ill I've been I did the best I could. And I made a tomato and mushroom pizza completely from scratch, including the base, which isn't super photogenic but I was pleased with nonetheless. It was my first time ever making pizza from scratch, and now I've done it I can't fathom why anyone spends £20 on Domino's.

A little over a week just because I started at an uneven time, but hopefully I can get these up every Saturday from now on!