Thank you everyone for your incredibly kind response to my last post. I'm so happy because she arrived to her destination and her owner is happy! The perfect end.

I am beginning work on a new theatre over the christmas holidays, it's always the perfect time to make something new. And i'm still wondering what to do with the other paper forest theatre. It's a prototype so it's kind of fiddly and I feel unsure about selling it because of that. I have made prints of the doll that you can assemble for yourself however they're not in the Etsy shop just yet - i'm only selling at markets. But they will probably go up there soon along with the Mystical Cowboy!

In other news i've got a stinker of a cold and am laptop blogging from a cocoon of blankets, tea and shredded tissues. I hate colds but they are really good ways of actually stopping for 5 minutes.

Also, some christmas cards in the shop - they're simple but eh, magical :)

You know sometimes you get asked to do a piece and it's like a dream come true? Well, I just finished one for a fabulous lady who wanted something similar to the paper forest piece. It's based on an old photograph of her grandma sitting on a paper moon. Now, the funny thing is, I was heading in that direction with the paper stuff anyway - moon, clouds, stars etc - it's an obvious step given the classic films and theatre sets which include them. So when she asked I was completely overjoyed.


A still from the classic Voyage dans la lune. And of course there's the Smashing Pumpkins homage to it. I messed around with a few compositions and then made the final sketch:

The idea was to have a wooden backdrop, a circular surround of decotrative wood and 2 layers of cut paper. The moon and grandma hang on a seperate layer. There are also some small accessories like the star and the sun (Who is sleeping in the final one!). I don't have any in-progress photos i'm afraid. I was off work at the time and went into a frenzy of cutting and painting, and emerged without any photos at all. So it's straight to the finished piece:








It was a dream to make it, and now I just have to make sure I wrap it up right and get it there intact!

I am currently at a Flash Conference in Brighton (I work as a Flash developer/Designer by day) and was priveleged to be able to see Jared Tarbell give an inspirational talk. Jared is actually one of (if not *the*) founder of Etsy and also a brilliant producer of generative art. At the conference he also showed (and gave away) some of his beautiful prints (of generative art) and also laser cut wood ...sculptures? I'm not sure of the correct term but they are structures arising, I believe, from his generative stuff.


It was for me the perfect mixture of those 2 worlds. I love generative art and I love well crafted physical things. It never occured to me to mix the 2, but he's done so in a brilliant way. Apparently he may be opening an Etsy shop in the future and he has sold prints on this website previously.

Thursday night's Glasgow Craft Mafia Party was great. Lots of good things to see and people to talk to. Unfortunately the Paper Forest did get a bit battered after two young men messing around nearby knocked it over ... twice! Fortunately it's fixable. Since then i've been finishing something off for someone and doing some beards...I just couldn't stop myself. One is just literaly a painting of a face with a beard...the, core principle as it were. I haven't scanned that yet but will soon. The other is an art doll of a Mystical Cowboy. He has a beard obviously. He's also vaguely camp looking, which is all to the good. Here's him scanned.




Haven't cut him out yet but will be doing soon and will post photos then. He's going to have a young girl companion, in the fine tradition of Leon.

Today I managed to produce a few more accssories. A balloon and a mask. I also set up the tripod and took some non-shakey photos. I still feel the pictures are lacking the right atmosphere. I am just not a photographer - I really whish I was. If anyone's got any handy tips for a luddite on a camera, please let me know! Anyway, here's some combinations:



It is basically finished, I listed it for sale last night and then took it down. I think I should really get better photos and anyway, I *may* make more accessories if i'm feeling like it...It just demands more. I listed it in part just to stop doing things..I could probably make this thing forever and I have other things to do. Anyway, I will probably do a paper doll print with some of the accessories. I would love to have the nouse to make a printable paper theatre - the whole thing, but I didn't make it with that plan in mind so it would be very difficult to recreate it.

Please excuse the dodgy photos. I had a quick moment before the batteries died out and it's just the usual shakey-hand, badl-lighting shot i've become accustomed to taking :) Once it's fully completed i'll definately set up a tripod and do the lighting properly...i'm sure I will!

So, as well as a tree paper inset, we now have flowers/grass surround. Both of these can be removed.



Now, there's also the first accessory! A bird cage, which I really enjoyed making! Sorry about the rubbish quality of the photos....it gives an idea though. I'll promise better photos very soon!

Last week I was made Featured Seller on Etsy! And a kind of amazing chaos ensued! It was mainly me panicking in my studio at midnight covered in stickers saying '99p' (The cost of the mailing envelopes I used). Turning up to work in the morning late (post office strikes etc) and being, to be honest, amazed at the response.

I have never really gone down the print route, but I had to do it or i'd have had nothing but the Devillish Cake Maker in the shop (old faithful!)..It's been a bit of a revelation in terms of actually funding my own art-making addiction. I could never really do it by making originals..I would manage to service a few bits of paper or wood, but nothing substantial. And also, the first thing I did with the money, the very first thing, was to get my hands on other people's art/creations...It was really weird to realise that I am basically making art so I can own more art.

The forest/paper/girl continues swiftly now that I have 2 glorious weeks off work! I aim to have her, and a special commision finished within the next 2 weeks. There is also the Glasgow Craft Mafia launch on 25th October which i'll be going to. Hopefully i'll be able to display the Devillish cakes and the paper forest and let people mess around with them a bit. That's sort of the whole point isn't it?

Sorry no pictures this time...but soon!

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