A little while ago I met a couple of lovely ladies from a band called Charlie Mayfair and they asked me to draw some things for their debut EP and a poster for the launch. It was really cool working with them. I’ve never had a client who actually let me indulge so deeply in my illustrative design style, and to find them a unique visual voice was a distinct pleasure.

You should go and listen to them here and if you’re in south east Queensland do catch one of their gigs too. I’m pretty chuffed that I got to design stuff for a band whose music I really like, and to me they have a real Brisbane sort of sound which I find hard to describe. Some time ago I was a big fan of another Brisbane band, george, and their music reminds me a lot of those days! If you like gentle folky pop with harmonies, you’ll probably like Charlie Mayfair a lot too.

If you’d like to see a few more photos of the poster and CD you can take a gander at my portfolio.

Making a living as an artist
Marcus Westbury writes about how artists are representing and marketing themselves online, and it’s something I’ve noticed Hazel Dooney talking about as well. Often I feel self conscious and a little embarrassed about promoting myself so much but then I realise it’s what I must do as an artist these days! I can’t lounge around until I’m discovered, I’ve got to be proactive.

What it feels like to hate feeling famous
I adore Sia, and I think it’s so awful that people feel like they can intrude on her life in such a persistent and damaging way. While I get that it’s thrilling to meet someone whose work you’re really into, when’s the point where you leave that person alone to enjoy a quiet moment? They could be having a coffee catchup with a friend, or a special night with someone they really like! Lots of people claim that celebrities are to blame for being hounded to hell, but I think that’s a pile of crap most of the time. If you really admire someone’s talent, don’t pester them. (Can you tell I’m a RAGING introvert yet?)

Body Image is a Furphy
Last week was Body Image Fail week, and I’m not sure if a lot of international size activists caught the story, but it centred around blogger and spokesperson for body image in Australia, Mia Freedman, and language she used in a blog post that mocked and humiliated fat people (since edited, re-edited and then edited to death to remove most of the negative tone). Jackie rightly points out that in discussions about body image in Australia, and by the highest authority, healthy body image is denied to fat people. And that’s, pardon me, fucked up.

What If Black Women Were White Women?
This article is nearly a year old but it’s new to me, and hugely MASSIVELY powerful. Alienati0n challenges the power skew that favours white women, and flips the power balance so that black women are favoured and protected. This article blew my mind and unpacked a lot of the privilege that I as a white woman have, even after reading Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack a few times!

And Another Thing… The Black Dog
Much much love for Jordan, who discusses mental health issues (and being an artist!) on this post. I really think we all suffer for not talking about mental health more. This quote from panicattacks.com.au really speaks to me:

As children many people learnt from a very early age that they needed to become, ‘a good nice person’. To become the ‘good nice person’ they needed to stop the development of who they could be, and became who they thought they should be.

The end result of this is low self esteem, fear of being abandoned/rejected, that people won’t love or like us, and feelings of intense loneliness and helplessness. Being who we think we should be, creates enormous personal stress as we try to be perfect in every area of our life, including our inability to say ‘no’ even when we want and need to. Over time ‘something’ has to give and the development of an anxiety disorder begins.

As Fat As I Wanna Be
Tasha Fierce writes so many amazing posts, you should probably subscribe to her blog already. This was republished on Jezebel, but read the piece on her blog because the comments on Jez will make you want to facedesk enthusiastically. If people REALLY cared about a fat person’s health they would quit haranguing them about their weight.

Sleep Talkin’ Man
My sister used to talk in her sleep a little and it fascinated me, so when I came across this blog I was instantly hooked. I didn’t realise how funny this guy’s sleep talking would be! My favourite:

Jellyfish are attacking. Everybody grab your ice cream guns. Let’s get those little things!

Julie Ruin T-shirt Design Contest
Kathleen Hanna is running a contest to find a t-shirt design for Julie Ruin, the only one of her projects that hasn’t had a t-shirt! The competition closes on June 1st, so start drawing.

Sassyfrass Circus has a word on ableism.

The Young and The Feckless: Gen Y’s Biological Clock Talk Taboo
J Maureen Henderson asks why women can’t be vocal about advocating for their fertility future. As a woman who has never particularly wanted kids I felt a little like a stranger looking in, but there are a few truths here that I’d never even considered. Why is it so that many women who want kids usually tip toe around the matter with male partners?

Fatcast Episode 4: Fatshion! Part 1 (i.e., Turn to the left.)
Lesley and Marianne talk about fatshion being political, a topic I’m all over. When I put on clothes, I don’t just put on clothes, there’s a story behind what I wear because I don’t have easy access to fashion and because I am invested in my visibility. I recommend listening to this episode of Fatcast because it touches on so many things that I think about, not just academically, but in my everyday life.

I wasn’t going to set one of those facebook pages up because I was worried about what people would think of me but I asked people if they’d be my fan this morning and at least 10 people said they would so I thought that was a respectable amount of people to warrant being a facebook Celebrity/ Public Figure. (lolololololol!)

Be my fan!

Sup guys! I thought I’d remind you that you can buy a print of one my illustrations over at RedBubble, including a new series of girly girls in various states of undress (mostly undressed if your computering environment isn’t conducive to naked illustrated chicks). I’m kind of oblivious to nudity in art or design, but I guess some people might like to stay “work safe” as a general rule, so that’s why I posted this image here!

It’s high time for me to get some kind of portfolio up on this website, but I’m having a hard time figuring out which CMS to use. I need something that allows me to post images in a gallery format, as well as post entries to a blog. Hey there’s a hole in the market someone can fill! Quick! Though, if someone’s already come up with a solution to this problem – please let me know!

I hope everyone has had a safe long weekend thus far. There’s one more day left, so don’t go doing anything silly!

Tonight I came home from a friend’s place and decided to see how my little patterns were doing. To my surprise I saw that scoring had ended, so I zoomed around comparing my scores with the others in this batch… and I think my pattern “tuesday, florence” has come in the top five! Apparently the top five designs get printed on wallpaper or fabric, and sold on the site!

Of course, I could be jumping the gun here, but here’s to hoping!

Click to go to a bigger view, and then view full screen. Trippy!