Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

It never ceases to amaze me how quick the smear test is. Even though I’m not usually nervous about it, there’s always a small part of me that thinks it’s going to be worse than it is. My most recent was last year and the actual test only took a couple of minutes. Around that time, it was in the news that numbers of women going for their screenings had dropped to their lowest in 20 years. 

A survey by Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust revealed that almost 1 in 3 women aged 25-64 had never had never been for a smear test and 81% said they felt embarrassed about it. Please don’t let that feeling stop you going for your screening. When I’m going for my test, I always remind myself that the doctors or nurses who perform the screenings see intimate body parts all day long. They’re not judging you. It’s no big deal to them. Yours could be the 23rd they’ve seen that day, or the 200th they’ve seen that month. 

This week is Cervical Cancer Prevention week, so I thought I’d share this today. I’m so grateful that I live in a country where it’s free to get tested and the NHS will remind me when my test due. Please don’t let fear stop you… it’s 5 minutes every 3-5 years that could save your life ❤️

Sketchbook Diary 2019 #4

Sketchbook Diary 2019 #4
Click on the images for a closer look

Hello there!

What a mad few weeks it has been... it has felt like Christmas levels of busy lately, but I'm very grateful! I've been working on a really fun mix of projects and not a lot of them I can share yet... but one big project is near completion and I'll be very excited to share that. It is a mural... and it's big! I'll explain the rest when it is out in the world soon...

So here's my latest installment of my sketchbook diary. I'm sorry I actually completed it a couple of weeks ago and am only just putting it here. Some of the things in this spread (the 18th March to 24th April) feel like ages ago now. I got a three month guest stockist spot in the lovely Sheffield Makers Winter Gardens shop - woo hoo! It has been going really well and it's such a good feeling to have my products in a great city centre spot, where people can easily buy them, while I'm working away in my studio.

But, even more importantly... something pretty major happened on the 25th of March. Some birds were eating a WAFFLE in my garden! It was a truly entertaining watch, as they worked their way through the whole thing. I couldn't work out from my viewpoint whether it was Belgian or potato though... and it will remain a mystery to me forever.

Back to work things, The Mummy Lessons got published! You can read all about it on the last blog post. My samples arrived and they look gorgeous, with lovely shiny spot UV finish on my hand lettering and icons. Lee and I went to see the amazing Phlegm exhibition - a little land of giants, asleep in a warehouse in Sheffield.

The spread finishes with that crazy hot weather we had, so a barbecue and paddling in a stream! I'm looking forward to more fun sun times ahead.

Not a bad few weeks really... 'till next time!

Thanks for reading!

Sketchbook Diary 2019 #3

My sketchbook diary - see below for a closer view!

Pancake Day - one of my most favourite days of the year!

Hello there!

Here's a new instalment of my sketchbook diary. It's been an exciting month! It was my birthday right in the middle of London Book Fair, so in between my days of meetings, we went to see the Lion King at The Lyceum. It was amazing! I continued to spread out the birthday vibes after coming home, with a quiet relaxing weekend and a big roast dinner.

I really enjoyed the book fair. It was great to chat to lots of publishers about my work as well as have my illustrations on display in the gallery. Unfortunately, my visit did confirm that I am doomed to get headaches at conference centre events, but that I can keep them at bay if I constantly snack! I had this nailed by day three - so that is my number one tip for anyone visiting the fair. I went along to some of the talks and panel discussions too. It was a delight to listen to David McKee talk about his career as an illustrator/storyteller and it was lovely to meet Ren Renwick and Lou Bones from the Association of Illustrators, having been a member for a few years now.

Me with my book illustrations in the Illustrator's Gallery at London Book Fair

I've also been drawing some fun patterns in my sketchbook lately, which I will share soon - I'm looking forward to sitting and colouring them all. So as for the rest of the diary, it was some nice food, cosy times with netflix and the sofa, a little trip to Oxford and some rather elegant looking yoga moves (they totally looked this good in person. I swear).

Click to enlarge!

Sketchbook Diary 2019 #2

Hello!

I'm back with another instalment of my 2019 sketchbook diary.

My sketchbook diary spread for the second half of January... (click to enlarge!)

I've been enjoying the quiet spell after the madness of late last year and taking advantage of the chance to work on some portfolio pieces. I did have my tax return to complete though... and my display board designs for London Book Fair. 

My work will be on display at the LBF Illustrator's Gallery from the 12th-14th March. I am feeling really giddy because I've just found out that the illustrator of the fair will be David McKee - the artist behind Elmer, Not Now Bernard and MR BENN! Someone told me once that my work reminded them of Mr Benn and I can see the similarities too, especially in the detail of the houses and the black outlines. I'm excited to hear him talk about his career and to go to the other seminars going on while I'm there. I will be sure to report back with my illustrator's take on the book fair. It will also be my birthday while I'm there!

So, besides the book fair prep, I also got my hair played with by a cat, took a trip down memory lane with The Babysitter's Club Movie (I loved those books as a kid!), sent a drink flying out of a lady's hand while I imagined I was Penny from Dirty Dancing, and dreamt about spontaneously breaking out into song with all my friends. It's nice to have a record of these nice things when otherwise, I would have probably looked back and thought I'd been cooped up in my studio working on my portfolio for these couple of weeks.

Crab roe broad beans, tax returns and a missing red panda in Belfast!

Drink spillage, korean barbecue and dog farts (gross I know, sorry).

Ways to Spread Love - Valentine's Spot Illustrations

Love is for every day, not just Valentine's! So that's why I think it's ok that I'm posting this after the official day of love. Here are some loved up spot illustrations I made for Valentine's last week. I sent some out to clients and also reformatted for Instagram - to wish everyone a happy V day and hopefully just make them smile.

Sketchbook Diary 2019 #1

As you might have seen in my last post, I decided to have a go at keeping up my sketchbook diary again this year. As much as I have found last year's drawings useful as miniature full pieces, I did find it hard to stick to, as I was a little ambitious in the way I set them out. I have a tendency to be consistent within my projects - thanks to my commercial design background and not something I particularly feel is a weakness. But as I felt I wanted to give each drawing similar time and space, it became difficult at busier times.

So this year, I've set out to simplify. I'm not spending as long on them, but that should make it more achievable to do every day - which was originally the whole point of doing it. They sometimes serve as quick warm ups when I start my day, but as I'm being less precious about it, they've been much easier to fit in whenever I have a spare five minutes.

So here is my first spread of the year! I've not thought so much about how to lay them out, but drawn them closer together this time. It means I can simply take a photo and post it, rather than have to scan in and adjust multiple files ready to post. This way, I hope I can keep on sharing regularly.

Daily Sketchbook Drawings - Click to enlarge

Besides the benefits of daily drawing practice, I also find that from a personal perspective, it's nice to record a snippet of something about each day, just to look back on. I sometimes take my sketchbook in my bag when I visit my Grandma. She is in her nineties and doesn't chat much anymore, so it has made a nice little talking point to show her my sketchbook and say 'look, this is what I've been up to lately' and it makes her smile.

Seeing this visual representation of all the things I've actually done (or eaten) - in what feels like a flash since Christmas - makes me feel better about how fast time goes. January started off with New Year celebrations in Edinburgh. I then laid low while I got over a nasty cold/migraine spell, caught up with my tax return, tried some new recipes and ate lots of cheese.

My next spread for the rest of January and part of February will be complete soon, so until next time... bye bye for now!

2018 Review: A look back at my first year of full time freelance

Hello!

I hope you are having a lovely shiny new year so far. I had a quiet start back after new year - I was under the weather for a few weeks and then had my head down with a big deadline. So it's a little later than I planned, but I felt I should acknowledge that I've just completed my first year of running my business full time - and reflect and share some of what I've learnt.

To fill you in up to the start of 2018, I'd been illustrating and designing greetings cards for almost seven years, the last five of those years was as a permanent employee (I was freelance before that but mostly for cards still). I worked four days a week, which allowed me time to complete my MA and then, eventually, start my own business. It was hard and I'm so grateful I don't have to juggle both any more. I am much more chilled and happy, feeling like my future is in my own hands.

I'm a big believer in simply 'doing things and putting it out there'. Whether I've posted a picture to my Instagram or made a new industry contact, the little things can all lead to something else. So I like to think that every time I put something out there, I am planting seeds. Some could be magic beans and some might never sprout. So you have to plant a lot of them and spread them far and wide! Having lots of little sprouts that you need to nurture might have much more longevity than one magic beanstalk with a pot of gold at the top.

So, on to looking at my previous year. I definitely don't want to sound like I'm boasting about all my achievements but a.) it's good to look back at all the hard work you've done and where it's got you and b.) I'm not sure who actually reads my blog, so I doubt I need to worry. It's good for me to think about what went well and what I'll do differently and I hope it's interesting or helpful to others who are starting out.

Some big things I've done or learnt in 2018...

Exciting Collaborations

Sharing my work, on Instagram especially, has lead to some lovely collaborations and features on blogs and in magazines in the last year. A job I got through using hashtags on Instagram was illustrating The Strong Girls Colouring Book for Scout - the super strong girl behind Barbells Before Boys. Scout is based in Australia and messaged me after spotting me through hashtags I was using while illustrating A Very Sheffield Colouring Book.

So my tip here is: use hashtags to get your work seen further! A long list of tags might look spammy to some people, but maybe those people work for a company where someone else takes care of the marketing. As a freelance artist, it's your job to promote your own work - and getting it seen by more eyes is way more important than looking cool (in my opinion).

Book Illustrations

This year, I worked on two more books (including a cover - yay!) for Hodder & Stoughton and Little, Brown Book Group. I had a good few meetings to show my portfolio and got lots of feedback from publishers I made contact with. One of the jobs came to me three or four months after a meeting, so it was great to see results long after I had worked to get my work noticed.

I find that sending a physical sample in the post and following up with a phone call is much more effective than sending out a PDF/link to lots of publishers and waiting to see who replies. They get LOTS of emails like that and they are very easy to delete! So you really do have to stand out.

A Very Sheffield Colouring Book

After listening to customer requests at markets (one of the benefits of selling at markets!), I illustrated a colouring book that was all about Sheffield. A new thing for me was that I took pre-orders before it was finished, which funded the first print run! It went down really well and I've had a couple more print runs made since.

See more of A Very Sheffield Colouring Book here

It took a while to find a reliable printers to execute it to the standard it deserved after the hours I'd lovingly put in. I recommend not putting all your eggs in one printer's basket! Get samples and test prints, allow time for things to go wrong and when they do, be a moaning minnie and get it put right. In the end, I found a really good printers, but on one print run, they did have a technical issue which resulted in 300 copies not good enough for me to sell. I donated them to Sheffield Children's Hospital at Christmas, so I hope that lots of poorly children got to enjoy my colouring book over the festive season!

Back to Screenprinting

My move to Sheffield from Barnsley meant that getting to West Yorkshire Print Workshop (where I made my screen prints) would take twice as long. Trying out a new place fell down the priority list and before I knew it, it had suddenly been a year since I'd made any screen prints.

I finally joined Sheffield Print Club late last year and got used to working in a different space. I made a new print of my Tower Bridge, London illustration. Maybe it was because of some of the materials were slightly different to those I'd used previously, but my fine line work wasn't coming out as well at first. I had to take some of the detail away and thicken up some bits. It made a healthy change for me to have to adapt the design as I went and it not come out as I'd originally intended. The most creative things happen when you have to relinquish control!

See more of the London Tower Bridge prints here

It was good to get back to screen printing. I don't go very often, but it's therapeutic to do something so tangible and process driven. And finding new places to work and belong make me feel extra settled and part of the wonderful creative community here, in my new home of Sheffield.

New Stockists

Putting a real effort into approaching new stockists is not one of my strengths and something I could do with addressing this year. So I think I did well considering, to get my pieces into a few new places!

I currently have a small selection in The Cooper Gallery, Walkley Press and Stopwatch Gallery. I was delighted to be accepted to show my work in the Millennium Gallery this Christmas, in their Handmade for Christmas shop. I am very proud to have work in these lovely shops and spaces and maybe this year I will extend the list!

Personal Projects

I had gotten sick of hearing myself say 'I need to draw in my sketchbook more', so last year, I decided I would draw something each day in my sketchbook. I always hear how important it is to practice and that all the amazing illustrators draw every day, but drawing every day isn't easy when you also have admin, emails and quotes that eat up your time.

 

Though I didn't succeed in making it a daily thing, so much good came from what I did. Drawing 'off brief' regularly has made a huge difference to my confidence, speed and skill when I'm illustrating for clients. My personal work got referred to, by clients when briefing me, and helped influence the types of work I got asked to do.

If you're an illustrator/designer who doesn't feel like you're getting the type of briefs you want, doing personal work and getting it seen is a great way to gear the right kind of client work towards you. It may sound obvious, but getting 'pigeonholed' for the wrong kind of work can be a common frustration for commercial artists - but something you can equally use to your advantage if you turn it around and keep projecting what you want.

As well as keeping up off brief work, I have set out to have another go at my sketchbook diary this year. I hope to make it easier to achieve by doing the following:

• Give myself less time to decide what to draw and to draw it (more thinking time = more pressure!).
• Think of the multiple drawings as a whole, so I can easily post a photo or scan of the whole page on my blog (rather than having to assemble them digitally from multiple scans, making it a bigger task to make time for).
• Be less precious. Simply reminding myself that it doesn't have to be perfect or consistent. I have got so much better at this over time, but it has taken training. Sounds obvious I know, but practice really is the best way to overcome this!

What's next

The fact that I mostly have no idea is one of my favourite things about my job. I really enjoy that the year ahead is totally flexible and could go in different directions, depending mostly on what I do, with a sprinkle of chance.

Some things I can already predict for 2019 is that I'm showing my work at London Book Fair in March, in their Illustrator's Gallery - which is really exciting! It's my first time and I'm looking forward to meeting lots of publishers there. I have also made a big, bold move and booked my very own pop up shop for a whole week - more info to come later in the year! I am also going to blog more. I've said it before and it's never been my forte, but I have to blog more! So I'm saying it here and I will try my best.

Other than that, just lots more drawing, sharing what I do and seeing what grows!

Thankyou for reading. Happy 2019!

The Tale of the Christmas Log

Hello!

Incase you missed it... here is a little festive tale I shared with my followers on Instagram and Facebook on Christmas Eve. For a while, I've wondered about how I can share some of the funny stories from my childhood - there are so many!

Actually drawing myself and (two of) my siblings was a first step here... the thought of drawing us was intimidating for some reason, but I'm happy with how they came out.

I drew the pictures by hand, in my sketchbook, then added colour on Autodesk Sketchbook on the iPad. It was very fun to illustrate - I hope you enjoy it too!

Drawing Mums - Spot Illustrations for The Mumsition

Hello!

It's been a little while since The Mumsition got published (back in June) and I hadn't yet shared some of my illustrations from it. I thought I'd also show some photos of the finished book and some of my original rough drawings to share some of the process - I always find it interesting to see those on other illustrators' blogs!

The Mumsition is written by Isabel Mohan, Katie Massie-Taylor and Sarah Hesz - the creators of Mush. If you don't know what Mush is, it's an app where mums can meet other mums. Mush also share very amusing content about parenthood on their instagram (@mushmums) too.

Their content is written with a definite sense of humour and the book was too, so I was delighted to be asked to create the spot illustrations, giving my humorous touch to lots of different mums and scenarios. It was published by Piatkus, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group. Search for The Mumsition on your preferred book buying place to get a copy!

There are twenty-one of my drawings in total in the book, so here are just a few...

It has always been a dream for me to illustrate books - and something I'd wanted for a very long time. I'm illustrating another book at the moment, which I'm super-excited about! So I can't wait to show you that, but actually I will, because it's not going to be published until March.

Getting back to my original point... I was therefore a very happy lady when my copies came through the post, so here are some photos of my drawings in their final habitat...

'The first six weeks - When everything is bonkers...'

Mother and Baby Yoga

About to pop!

Taking baby out for dinner

Here are some pictures of my rough drawings both in pencil - and then in ink as I started to draw the final artwork. I think it's nice to see the process sometimes, as it's a reminder of the work that goes into the finished thing before it gets seen. When you're starting out (or even after years of experience), it can be easy to forget about that part when you see lovely finished pieces on Instagram, or in a book or gallery.

Pencil roughs stage

Drawing the final artwork

Thankyou for swinging by my blog! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you might have seen that I've recently been working on a Sheffield colouring book! It officially launched last week, so I will be sharing a post about that soon, again with some photos of the process. In the mean time, you can take a look at it on my Etsy shop.

Bye for now! :)

All the naughty foods!

I thought I would share some food illustration I've been working on recently. As you might already know, I have been drawing what I eat for a while now and I made a cookbook zine last year. I want to illustrate more food commercially, for magazines or publishing, particularly because I am so passionate about the subject. Books and magazines about food are my favourite types to read (yep, I even like to read cook books in bed). I know my black and white food drawings don't look super edible, so I'm taking some time to add more colourful dishes to my portfolio.

I've got lots of ideas for other projects I could do from this... but for now, I'll just keep it simple and say 'so here's a load of dirty food I've eaten lately'! I'll try to make my next food post a healthy one!

My Sketchbook Diary, Week 18 - featuring Peddler Market, Mad Men and a little bit of disco dancing!

Hello!

I'm back with my sketchbook diary, I'm sorry it's been a while! As you know, I'd been renovating my old house and it was taking aaages. It was really hard splitting my time between that and getting newly full time freelancing off the ground, so in the end, I wrote off the month of April to get the house finished once and for all. It was tough, but it was probably good for me to switch off from work things and just focus on that. I'm so glad to be back to my work (full time for real, finally!) but I've got some catching up to do on here!

I've been keeping up with my sketchbook but not the blogging. So I'm going to post last weeks and then backtrack a little at a time. Despite all the grotty cleaning jobs and pain-inducing decorating (yes, really! I'm on Naproxen!) there has been some mega fun times to fill you in on! I had an amazing trip to New York, a fun weekend in Copenhagen and I'm oh so grateful for the sunshine we've had! So watch this space (well, maybe scroll backwards every now and then!) to see what's been keeping me quiet.

Thankyou so much for reading my blog. I know commenting on blogs is a bit old school but I'm an old school person really - I would love to hear what you think!

It was great to get back to a working routine this week and get ready for my first Peddler Market of the year. For anyone who doesn't know, Peddler's takes place in Kelham Island at 92 Burton Road - a big warehouse building with some outdoor bits too. They get different gorgeous food and drink stalls in and several artists/makers each month. It gets super busy and has a great atmosphere!

I was excited to show my new extended collection of Sheffield Mini Prints! Previously, the 'Kelham Collection' featured Alfred Beckett & Sons, The Chimney House, the Kelham Island Tavern and Green Lane Works. I've been working on some new prints to add to the collection, which now also features the Fat Cat Kelham, the Three Tuns, the University Arms and the much loved old Henderson's Relish Factory. You can click on the names to see them in my Etsy shop.

You'll also spot we went to Blue Moon Cafe in Sheffield. I love this down to earth cafe, they serve different vegan and veggie mains with a choice of healthy side salads, a good spot in the city centre for when you're fancying something healthy!

Lastly, we went to a lovely wedding reception where I took a spin around the dance floor with my lovely other half, Lee! He's got some really good moves.
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March Meet the Maker - My Best Bits

Hello!

I'm sorry if you've noticed I'm a little behind with my diary posts, I've had a mad March really. I had a mega-exciting trip to New York, plus my birthday, a weekend in the Lakes and various projects going off.

I did March Meet the Maker over on Instagram this month, a challenge set by Joanne Hawker. I Was surprised what an effect it had on other things sometimes, having that extra job I had to squeeze in every day. It has left me with a few things to catch up on since my holidays, but I am glad I did it! Hopefully if you were following, you feel like you know me a little better now. If not, here are a few of my favourite posts from #marchmeetthemaker...

Day 1 - You 

I'm Josephine, an illustrator from Barnsley, living in Sheffield. My favourite food is Yorkshire puddings, I live with my super cool boyfriend Lee, I'm the youngest of 5. I love cook books, trips to the seaside and the sound of a synthesiser! I love drawing so I made it my job! I have an etsy shop and sell at markets and do different kinds of commissions for people. Nice to meet you!

Day 2 - Where

So here I am in Sheffield, where I moved less than two months ago! I’m from Barnsley, so pretty close anyway and have spent lots of time here over the last few years. I feel very at home here. I love the big creative vibe the city has and the amount of events going on (as well as the myriad of gorgeous places to eat) and I still have lots to explore, it’s all very exciting!

Day 6 - Workspace

It’s my favourite #marchmeetthemaker day - workspaces! I love seeing where other people work. Here are some shots of my new studio! I only moved in a couple of months ago, so there is still mess that needs sorting, which I craftily angled the camera away from! I try to keep my table fairly clear so I can put my drawing board out easily or use it to wrap orders. We replaced the old postage stamp sized window with this big beauty before I moved in and it’s now the best room in the house for light. I love it!

Day 8 - Flatlay

Of course, I’ve taken photos from above for my shop before, but to compose a flatlay just for the fun of it - like the super cool ones on instagram - was a new one for me. I have to confess, my other half Lee helped with the idea to make my Cantastic cookbook zine the star of the show. The Cantastic Cookbook is available on my etsy shop for £3. 

Day 9 - How it's Made

For today's post I shared a multiple of images that show a simple explanation of the screen printing process (and making of the screen). You can take a look at the Instagram post here, or follow this link to read my previous blog article on how a screen print is made. 

Day 10 - Time to Relax

Considering how busy I make myself, I think I’m pretty good at relaxing. I really enjoy most things I do! Here are some of my favourite ways to unwind... 

Food - cooking/eating/going to restaurants. I’m obsessed and 9 times out of 10 I’ll eat every last crumb.

Tea & Netflix - either cuddled up to my boyfriend or wrapped up in my blanket like a walnut whip.

Yoga - my most favourite exercise, I love it and I also love to swim!

Fresh air - I love to go for a walk and shriek with delight every time I see a squirrel or hear a rustle that might be a squirrel. 

Day 13 - Work Clothes

It was my birthday this day, so I was in a great mood. 

What I wore to work in seemed much less important than a smile!

Day 14 - Dreams and Plans

Today’s #marchmeetthemaker is all about ‘Dreams and Plans’ so I chose dreams. My other half tells me I should draw my dreams, maybe he’s trying to detract my attention from me having to tell him them when I wake up (or text him them if he’s not here). Swipe sideways to see what’s going on in the picture... Oh. Wait. Ambitions!! I’ve got a lot of those too! As well as my crazy dreams. But you do feel like you know me better now, don't you?

Day 29 - Community

I think getting involved with your local community is pretty essential when you're learning to run a business. I've learnt such a lot from members of Sheffield Sellers on Etsy and The Crafty Business Network - through meetings, fairs and on the Facebook groups. I'm finding living in Sheffield amazing for community events and opportunities to meet fellow creatives and business owners. I recently joined Sheffield Creative Guild and also discovered Creative Mornings Sheffield and looking forward to going to more! It's also good for me to make sure I'm getting out and chatting to people, now I no longer have colleagues to tell my silly stories to!

Day 30 - Tips and Advice

•Under promise, over deliver is one I've picked up from the Honest Designers podcast and has stayed in my head as a handy reminder when agreeing to work and delivering something delightful!

•'If in doubt, take it out' is something Warren, one of my tutors told me at uni when I was putting my portfolio together. I hear it back in my head often! I particularly like advice that rhymes!

•'It'll all come out in the wash' is something my Dad used to say. He was a pretty laid back dude!! It reminds me not to worry or stress about things that would be forgotten in a few weeks! (Yes, sometimes it takes me that long to do my washing. It's ok, I have lots of clothes).

So that's a wrap for March Meet the Maker. I definitely recommend doing a challenge on Instagram to show your work to more people and give yourself accountability to post every day. I'd like to think I might have time to do Inktober in October... let's wait and see! Here is a link to my Instagram, if you'd like to follow my illustration adventures!