BABE - Bristol Artist Book Event 2013

BABE - The Bristol Artists' Book Event - happens every two years and I am so pleased to be a part of it!  It's always a great weekend full of inspiring people and work.  It's a great excuse to meet up with friends in the area as well as catching up with book art people from around the country!

My next door neighbour at BABE for the weekend was the lovely Kate Bufton of 'Book Transformations'.  Her table was a wonderland of books, folds, little stories, and great pieces.

This amazingly bright and cheery table is Karoline Rerrie's.  It was lovely seeing some of her new pieces up close after having seen them online.  And of course having a good chat!

My neighbour from the last book fair in Manchester last year (read about here) is the awesome Sarah Bryant of 'Big Jump Press'.  Back in October Sarah had gorgeous books and prints on display.  This year, she's added to it with awesome postcards and notebooks...of which I picked up a couple - great for little gifts or having in your hand bag for that 'note to self'!

Coffee Club Collective is a great group of illustrators who have just published their first litho printed 1000 books full of illustrations to do with the circus.  I got my copy and I love it!

Were you there too?  Get in touch and maybe we'll be neighbours at the next BABE!

March : Beginning

February, March, January

This months subject of choice is 'Beginning' and was chosen by the lovely Alex.  What a challenge!  The subjects you've seen for January and February were quite open not too vague - whereas this is both!  So much scope for directions and ideas, it was tricky to know where to start.

I put my head down and worked hard on this.  I haven't done that much botanical work and certainly not in screen printing, so I was keen to play on the 'beginning' of Spring.  The plan was to make use of Spring buds, but as my idea formed I could only see it as more of a 'frame' than an actual image.  I then had a good ol' chat to my sister and she suggested the New Zealand fern!  Brilliant.  I then check out my paper and decided I could brave a two colour job that wouldn't jump around as much as previously, and developed the illustration for print from there.

The fern represents new beginnings, new life.  But more than that as I went travelling in New Zealand in 2010, such a gorgeous country, loads of wildlife and stunning scenery.  When you're travelling, there are constantly new beginnings - friendships, trips, experiences - the list goes on.  So this print is to remind us that there is always a new beginning where ever we go.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this piece and the project so far, so spare a moment and leave a comment - thank you!

Morning Mr Magpie

A gorgeous shop in Faringdon, Oxfordshire has just opened and the lovely Rachel has asked if she can stock my handmade cards, illustrated pocket mirrors and even a few copies of my 'Amazing Folding Book'.

 My little pocket mirrors and cards out on display in the shop!

I've been to Oxford numerous times and always enjoy the drive there, through gorgeous English countryside.  So having to venture past Oxford was a definite plus - more adventures!  I drove through and past so many quirkily named towns and roads, picturesque scenery and plenty of animals too.  Faringdon itself looks like a great place, lovely buildings and small streets.  A great place to visit for a day out - nice drive there, walk around, stop for tea and cake or a spot of lunch and then tell all of your friends about it by sending a card from 'Morning Mr Magpie'.

If this is near you and you get a chance to visit, leave me a comment and let me know!  I'd love to hear what you thought of the place too.

Illustrated Homes Part 2

You can find 'Part 1' here.  This is the second commission I got from the April House Coffee Morning last October, which you can read about here.

This is such a gorgeous house, it really was a pleasure to illustrate.  If you follow my Untapped Cities illustrations, you will of seen my love of bricks shining though!  My use of perspective was really put to the test, which was good - it needed it.

Illustrated Homes Part 1

Back in October I had a table at the April House Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan and Renaissance charities.  I took details down from two lovely ladies both interested in having their homes illustrated by me.  I absolutely love being asked to illustrate peoples homes - there is something very individual and personal about them.

Due to Christmas coming towards me very fast we scheduled in that I would begin work on these pieces in February, and to be finished by the end of March.  Perfect customers!  Any other time of year I'm able to be much more flexible, but coming up to Christmas it was just too much work to juggle.

This first piece I'm sharing with you was to be a birthday surprise for the lady's husband - lovely!  With a view in mind to have some greetings cards printed with the illustration on them as well in the near future.

If you'd like your home illustrated then please get in touch.  You can leave a message under this post or send me an email to : charlotte_vallance (at) hotmail.com

Old Amersham Museum

I was contacted over Christmas by Emily at Amersham Museum, and after a meeting in January we'd organised that I would do an illustration of the Museum for use on promotional/informational flyers and possibly online.

Due to time restraints I had to keep the illustration quite small, but I don't think it hindered the overall image at all.  The museum is in a lovely building in Old Amersham and has some great original features - it was interesting to draw, and to have a look around the inside too!

I definitely recommend a trip to Amersham Museum if you're in the area.  It costs only £2 and has some great old photos from the town over the years as well as a cute garden out the back.  You can see original features in the building as well as toys and other bits and pieces from the history of Amersham.  It is quite petite, so you won't need long to get a good look around, and once you're done Seasons Cafe Deli is an excellent place to stop for a bite of lunch or a spot of tea and cake.

Old Amersham also boasts a fair few independent retail shops so there is plenty to look at if you're up for a wander down the high street.

February : Food

The second instalment of the 12 month collaboration with You, Deer.  Have a look on Alex's blog to see where she's up to with her side.  It's so exciting to see how each of us interprets the theme of the month.  We live in very different places (different time zones and everything) so we really don't swap ideas or take a peak over the others shoulder.  Each piece is completed independently from the other.  This is half the excitement with a project like this.

I really don't do much cooking - it's generally baking for special occasions or helping others cook meals.  The recipe that I have illustrated for February is one that I have done the past two Christmases and it has been such a hit!  If you get a chance to try out this recipe then let me know :-)

I have again used gorgeous handmade paper.  It's heavily textured and in fact has a natural wave the crinkles the edges in a lovely manner.  A little note to self : if printing on similar paper in the future, make it a one colour print!  It was a little hard to interpret where the screen would move the paper to - as it caught when going under the screen.  The result of this is a lovely off bonk print on most of the 10 prints I did.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to see me illustrate?  Leave a comment and let me know :-)

This print is now available in my Etsy shop : www.charlottevallance.etsy.com

Spring feeling

There's something about Valentine's and Mother's Day (with Easter close behind!) that makes me think of Spring, days getting lighter and general good feelings!  With this present in my mind I've introduced a set of four 'Heart of Flowers' greeting cards to my Etsy shop.  Each is hand painted by me on a lovely, thick, textured watercolour paper and come with brown envelopes.  This little set saves you a couple of pounds than if you were to buy four individual hand painted cards.  If there is a different design in my shop you had your eye on for a set, then just send me a message and I can work out a special listing for your order.


Etsy shop - www.charlottevallance.etsy.com

Come and say hello on Twitter - @charlsvallance

Travel Bunnies

I had the absolute pleasure of painting this commission for a gift from a friend to her sister as a little gift to wish her well on her travels round Thailand.  When younger, the sister had a toy bunny and upon seeing my bunny doodles for the Brown Paper Bunny (aka Jessica Mack) she was inspired to ask me to do a special one.

Are you off on travels?  Or have you been to Thailand?  Share a little story in the comments!

I went to Thailand for a month in 2009.  I had intended on seeing a temple made of beer bottles - recycling to the extreme!  Only I never quite found it, no one knew what I was talking about.  Next time I shall do more research before I go :-) I enjoyed a very relaxed lifestyle and enjoyed the Thai food, even did a cookery lesson.

January : A Positive Quote

'If you can dream it, you can do it' - Walt Disney

You may of heard me talking on Twitter about a collaborative project with my friend Alex Stokes from You, Deer.  In fact I needed some help getting her attention, which you can read about here!  Well, we're now (well) into February and so far so good.  I have my January designs and my February one is taking shape - really happy with them so far.

For Christmas I was lucky enough to get some lovely handmade papers in all different sizes.  I'm using these for each design.  So January's screen print has only 4 of each design as thats all the sheets I had in that size!

I couldn't decide on which design to do so I did both.  I thought that January was a good month for the topic 'Quotes'.  It sort of links in with New Year resolutions but in perhaps a more supportive way.  The ink is a very dark creamy purple in colour.

Both designs are available to buy in my shop and Alex's will soon be up in hers too.  This collaborative project will be running for 12 months, so that's 12 prints I'll be illustrating and printing.  Every month there will be a chance to win one of them through various social media so sign up for updates or keep your eyes peeled!

These first prints can be found in my Etsy shop now and are just £5.00.  They measure 8.5" x 6" and will look great framed or unframed as the paper is a textured thick stock with it's natural edges.  The paper did jump around a little so your print may not be central on the page - it's all in the fun of screen printing!  Each print will come signed and dated by me and cellophane wrapped, posted with a hard back envelope for protection in the post.  Postage costs £1.50 in the UK £2.50 everywhere else.

Be sure to check out Alex's blog to see her design and you'll be able to get them in her Etsy shop if you'd like to buy one of hers.