A belated welcome...

to the year Twenty Thirteen: Year of the Snake

cute calendar by one of my favourite designers,  Misako Mimoko

Ah,  it has been a rather busy year already, many a change is a foot.

At home, in the studio, in the garden. No time to dilly-dally. Onward

and upward and forward and in fact that's my new year's resolution. 

To  keep moving  forward. 

To stop looking backward. 

Like everyone, there are aspects of my life that I wish I could change, 

decisions I wish I could reverse, opportunities I wish I hadn't forgone... 

I spend a lot of time in this country of the past. It's a land of memories, 

but not all those memories are correct.  Over time our re-collection can 

become distorted by our emotions and by our present-day experiences. 

Looking back can be more of a visit to the imagination, than a trip back 

in time and it can hinder our journey forward if we choose to spend too

much time looking back. Wise words? They are words of Walt Disney.

"Around here,  however,  we 

don't look back for very long.

We keep moving forward,  opening new doors,
and doing new things,  because we're curious
and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

One of our favourite movies of recent times is 'Meet the Robinsons'.

Based on the book 'A Day with Wilbur Robinson' by William Joyce.

It tells us the sweet story of Lewis, an orphan, who dreams of seeing his

mother again... if only once. Subsequently, he is taken on a wild ride to 

the future, where he encounters a world beyond his wildest imaginings

and in the end he realises- all he has to do to bring that world to life is  

'keep moving forward'

... classic Disney stuff, but the message never grows old for me 

or for Ari, and whenever we watch it it brings tears to our eyes. 

xox

Art School

On another note, I will be returning to study next year....

I've found the most wonderful creative development course

and am thoroughly looking forward to further honing my skills.

It's project based, so I will be able to work on my own designs...
toys, clothing, illustration and a secret project or two, inline with
the further development of the Raised by the Wolves label.

I look forward to sharing my developments here with you.

It's an awfully long time since I was a student, studying at 

Art School. These works were some of my final year pieces

when I undertook my Diploma of Visual Arts at Swinburne. 

I'm still terribly fond of them, fifteen years on. I've been busy

working on a new series of images along these lines recently

 and am hoping to exhibit them someplace in the next year.

This week, my days have been filled with costume making.

For Ari's school play once more. Just a handful of elves to go

and some polkadot pyjamas for my little man and it's done.

Better get to it I guess!

You can view my art portfolio here, if you fancy. x

the new look

Here's a peek at Ari's new do thanks to Captains of Industry.

Sam the Barber definitely worked some magic on those

tired old locks. I was prepared for tears. But Ari loved getting

 it cut and he loves his new look. And so do I.  It reminds me of the 

children in those old 1930s, 40s and 50s readers, that I'm so fond 

of referencing in my art and illustrations.  So gorgeous!

The shape of me and other stuff...

Strangely enough, we didn't have a copy of this amazing book 

until I ventured into our favourite secondhand bookshop the

other week and spied it in amongst their wonderful collection.

We are huge Dr Seuss fans round here. But then... who isn't?

Ari can read books like this by himself now. How the years fly!

Pop Pop Portraits

A lovely little letter arrived in the mail for me this week and

it was written on the back of these super sweet illustrations...

The work of the very talented Helena Randall.

I have known Helena for many, many years and have watched her 

work develop and change, as she has explored different styles and 

mediums. Her art has a wonderful sense of fun and whimsy about it

and her colour choice and line work are just exquisite.

With Pop Pop Portraits Helena has given the art of portraiture a
new and contemporary twist, creating custom portraits of clients 

(and often their pets or kids) in her own unique style of illustration.

Her work was recently featured in Frankie Magazine.  So exciting!

But, as far as creative talents go, portraiture is just the tip of the iceberg

for this clever lady!  I can't wait to see what future projects lie ahead...

You can visit her blog/s here or take a peek at her shop here.

xoxox

Jess Quinn

A rather lovely new watercolour by Jess Quinn.

I do so love her work and blog.

read a little about my winter days here