What makes you happy? – shot on 5DMKII from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

@thedesignfiles posted a link to one of Jon Rawlinson’s short films, Kuroshio Sea (which is also awesome, check it out) and being the curious cat that I am I clicked onto the next video which posed the question, “What makes you happy?”

A few years ago now, I used to have a VW Beetle, and I would ponder the question of happiness a lot as I drove late at night. Back then, my list of things that made me happy included:

• A full tank of petrol
• A full packet of ciggies (sigh, oh the past!)
• Driving home after a lovely night with my friends
• Singing songs really loud (my Beetle didn’t have a radio!)
• Driving the bug

Right now, I have a very bland sort of car and while it’s very reliable and doesn’t strand me on scary motorways in the middle of the night (with no mobile phone credit, I had to flag down a stranger!) it doesn’t really give me any happiness. I absolutely hated breaking down all the time in Poberty Jane (my bug) but driving it was thrilling and engaging. In a new car there doesn’t seem to be any kind of engagement or thrill (unless you buy something really fast, fancy and expensive!)

So, the things that make me happy must surely have shifted. I met and married Nick since those times, and I have embarked on a career as a graphic artist and designer. So let’s revisit the happy list, yeah?

Things that make me happy, 2009

• Solving a design problem
• Laughing with my family and friends
• Emptying my pencil sharpener
• Absent-minded doodling
• Stimulating conversation
• Seeing new places and exploring them by foot (like waterfalls!)
• Writing something that reflects how I feel as accurately and succinctly as possible
• Learning new things
• Collaborating with people
• Making beautiful food
• Expressing myself through personal styling (I hate to use the term “fashion” since styling one’s identity extends beyond that!)
• Meeting people I connect with
• Cracking jokes that people laugh at

I guess I could go on and on… and I feel pretty grateful for that! What makes you happy?

A line is all I need from Natalie Perkins on Vimeo.

I decided I’d better start submitting drawings to things because I really ought to be promoting myself, and one of the first zines I wanted to submit to was the Underground Art School. The theme for the next issue is Simplicity/ Back to Basics, and after thinking for about thirty seconds I realised that if I get back to basics, all I really need is a line. All any drawing is built on is lines; and actually, everything is built on lines isn’t it? A few months ago I was really keen on physics and learning about String Theory and I watched a few rad videos that explained dimensions in quite simple terms and how there are LOTS of dimensions and possibly even lots of universes. At the crux of it all, dots and lines build everything (in my overly-romanticised view of it all!) I have seen people look at my drawings and talk about how complicated and intricate they are, but to me, they’re just a mass of lines and everyone’s just over-complicating things.

You can see a bit of me drawing the piece in the above video.

Et Voila!

strawberry and lime from Natalie Perkins on Vimeo.