merry christmas

a fish with a see-thru head!

this is a post i might regret in the morning, but i like to live dangerously..
so ive stayed up, intending to pull an all-nighter (im a late starter when it comes to getting down to work, but once i start its difficult to stop as i fear ill revert back to being all "non-chalent but actually really stressed")
what have i been doing? (for the few out there who might care..) well... ive been gathering lots of loose ends from various projects and trying to make them look presentable:

i plan on binding all these pieces into some sort of book to make it easier to plough through.. though the thought of bringing it in makes my back ache.

im at home in wilt-shire atm and the whole family is here .. which is both lovely and sort-of-not-so cos for some reason, although the festive season brings the family together, and kind-of makes it ok to greet strangers, (peck-em: not so much) i find that all that merry-ment, iceland prawn platters and whincy weather; the repetitive scarving and de-scarving and the cracked lips you force into some sort of smile actually induces prickliness in some people. i say some.

but before u label me a grump, note that aside from this i actually really quite like christmas, and all its sellotaped, tied and festooned twinkliness...

its a frugal christmas this year, but that's ok. actually, i'd much rather have one thoughtful present than several not so thoughtful ones.

anyways i saw a fish with a see-thru head! not in the flesh obviously (or scales or wateva) but on "decade of discovery" on the bbc (i think u can still catch it on i-player)

and what look like the eyes are actually its nostrils ...

there was also a hot pink millipede, and a stick insect longer than my arm.. yeah, interesting... who needs aliens?

bored?

http://www.stories-in-my-pocket.blogspot.com/

other blog

collections project continued ...

did i mention that we're designing a catalogue for a museum? choosing items from the exhibits and working with type and image to create a catalogue? i chose the natural history and the v&a museum of childhood.. but as it stands ive been focusing all my efforts on the nat.history one..
actually i finished it today (finally, and just on time as its due in tomorrow..) here are some photographs, the logo and then the actual pages:

i printed it on a white paper that has a slight shine to it.. nothing overly exciting, no frills.. i wanted it really clean, delicate and simple, so that the drawn elements are allowed to speak for themselves, and to be honest because i've been liking plain and simple atm...
so yeah, overall im quite pleased with the outcome, there are definite changes/alterations i would make (layout, little tweaks, paper experimentation, content etc) but generally im liking the overall look and feel of this little pamphlet in my hands... we'll see what happens..

night.

collections project

i'm just in the middle of typing up my notes from the museums ready for tomorrow's typography workshop and been working on adding type to various images.
i visited the natural history first as its quite a nostalgic place for me, and for some reason was drawn to the taxidermy animals (next to the blue whale) with horns and antlers and spikes and stuff..
i decided not to use photography in the this catalogue because a. i don't have a very good camera and b. a photograph of a dead animal posed as if alive is all you need, so why go see it? its not like an antique gold vase that needs close inspection to get a real sense of it. Yes to get an idea of scale and splendor its best to see these animals close up, but there is possibly less wonder or intrigue, no price tag or makers stamp.
so i just drew, something im enjoying at the moment..just quick doodles and sketches which ive just been adding text to and experimenting with..

the actual text isn't always relevant to the image or makes sense as i was just getting a feel for how type would look next to my images and experimenting with compositon.. it was a case of cut and paste job and a photocopier, with the acception of a few..

anyways need to get back to work..