Kids Circus Mural

 It’s been more than five years since I last updated my blog but this project was so much fun that I thought it deserves a post! 

I have been asked to do a circus themed mural for my friend’s kids room. I have been asked to do a mural before for a client but since I had no experience, no space to try it out beforehand, no idea how long it will take and how to go about pricing I had to turn the offer down. 

This time however it felt like a great opportunity to try it all out. I had a free hand and could do whatever I wanted within that ‘circus’ theme. The wall was a generous size (430 x 250 cm) and I didn’t feel the tremendous pressure in case it goes wrong the same way I would feel with a client that was not also a friend.

I think my friend imagined it like I would come one morning, draw something on the wall, stay for a tea and leave. Well… that couldn’t be further from the reality. I am not a great painter and I’m sure that if I painted something directly on the wall it wouldn’t look much different from what she or her kids could paint on the wall themselves. 

I knew I will have to have a design with the proper  layout first. Then I needed to find the way how to transfer all the elements using the right proportions onto the wall. I initially thought I would use a projector and trace it on the wall by hand but for various reasons that didn’t work. So I printed the whole design onto large rolls of paper and traced it onto self adhesive stencils using a big glass table as an improvised ‘light box’. The placement of the stencils took a lot of measuring but it all worked out perfectly. I only encountered one issue and that was that sometimes the stencils would take down a bit of the underlaying paint (in case of those multi-coloured elements) but fortunately it was mostly an easy fix!

It took about two weekends but was worth all the time invested! What do you think?…

The Embroidered Wedding

It might have been a couple of years now when I first stumbled upon this photograph of a gorgeous embroidered dress and I remember saying that if I am ever gonna get married it will only be in this dress. I did realize fairly soon it is a Valentino dress and therefore I am either never gonna get married or I will have to give up on it.

But giving up does not go well with my stubborn self so I decided to set on a battle -

What do you do, when you can't afford to buy an haute cotoure embroidery? You learn it! 

After all having the possibility to decide on a personal motif is always appealing and a bunch of roses  was not of any major importance to me... Instead I wanted a hunting scene that would feature my beloved deerhound bring down a deer.

I knew I wanted to incorporate some applique and beeds in the embroidery but finding the right materials was a nightmare. I have got this vest that I bought couple years back at the Angel's flea market and I treasure it as a museum piece as it's got the most lovely velvety applique that's impossible to find nowadays. I have carried it to every single haberdashery in Brno, Prague AND London but was always told that that kind of fabric is no longer made. However after hours and hours browsing google back and forth I finally found an American supplier who still sells this vintage 'gold in fabric' and once I gathered all I needed I booked myself in an embroidery workshop.

     photo: Couple of Prague

 

Eva from Love Revamp (http://loverevamp.com/) organises these workshops on a regular basis and she taught me everything I needed to know in only two days! She goes through the basics but also gives individual advice if one has a more specific project which embroidering tulle definitely was! 

Throughout the process I realized tulle isn't really a fabric - it's rather just a lot of holes and the holes don't really keep the threads in place as I would have wished. And I did try the dress on a million times (literally after every single flower petal was added) just to be sure the composition is right.

photo: Couple of Prague

photo: Couple of Prague

photo: Couple of Prague

photo: Couple of Prague 

photo: Couple of Prague 

However, thanks to Eva, I did fight through the frustration and completely fell for embroidery. In the end I managed to not only complete the dress but also about 70 rice sockets that served as our wedding invitations and a handfasting ribbon. 

 

photo: Couple of Prague

photo: Couple of Prague

So if you are up to something similar, do not hesitate and get yourself in one of those workshops! 

And if you are a bit lazy and would prefer someone else do it for you, do get in touch! I am happy to help!

And one last shot with my source of inspiration <3

photo: Couple of Prague

Stamps, Stamps, Stamps...

     As you may already know, printmaking is one of my favorite processes when it comes to making illustrations. After all, it was my A0 linocut that made me thinking of changing my 'career path' from social education into arts. And I have been faithful to printmaking (especially relief pr.) ever since. 

     Stamps in particular never fail to disappoint me. Their use is versatile and they are endless fun. However I always found ordinary stamps in shops somehow a bit 'not-enough-creative'. The charecters were always the same shape. And I wanted them to move and do things... 

So I decided to make my own stamp kit - one were characters could move, swing, lie down, dance and so on.

And here it is - The SPECTACLE!

Available to buy through https://www.facebook.com/molesinholes

How I wanted to fly away from my own workshop!

Couple days ago I went back home to have a little bit of fun before the uni starts again. Part of the fun was my dad's last minute wedding which I'm sure you don't want to know about and part of it was my printmaking workshop in PAPELOTE.
Well, I am a person who gets nervous about overboiling potatoes, so it's not hard to imagine that what seemed like a great idea in the beginning got my hair stand up the closer the date was.
Will there be enough kids? Will there be too many? Will I have enough tools and paper for everyone? Will they fit on table? Will the inks dry out before the second session starts? Will it be too difficult or  will the kids get bored? Too many questions were waking me up from my sleep nights beforehand.
I tried to prepare myself for every possible situation and arrived to the beautiful Papelote shop an hour in advance, equipped with 3 suitcases and a dozen of 'plans B', just in case ;). Yet it wasn't enough!
What kind of a child wakes up earlier than they need to on a Sunday morning?!? All my effort to arrive early to allow enough time for preparation got wasted as some early birds obviously made an even bigger effort!
When the workshop was about to start, I got even more nervous. I knew I was never good at maths, but  I was sure there was way more children that there was supposed to be! A little error in the matrix perhaps, I thought. Now worrying about paper was not on the schedule (that came later) - first we had to worry about where to fit these extra chaps around the table... The fact that some of them were nowhere near the required age limits was just an 'icing on the cake'. I wished I could fly away back to my warm bed in the minute.
However, it turned out it wasn't necessary! All my worries flew away with the first birds the children made. It was a delightful treat to see them play with all the weird objects and textures and invent their own tools and methods. And on top of that, the birds looked gorgeous! Hopefully the pictures bellow will give you an idea!

Workshop!

I am excited to invite those of you who have kids to attend my printmaking workshop.

Printmaking is one of my most favorite processes. In fact it was the reason why I decided to study illustration. It gives you restrictions but at the same time it forces you to experiment and be playful. It gives you wings and lets your imagination fly. And that's what we are gonna do!

See you in less than 3 weeks in Papelote (www.papelote.cz)!
Any questions? - email me.

Upupa!

Summer is gone, but my hoopoe postcards can be purchased throughout the hole year! Just visit www.papelote.cz
Hoopoes are too rare to see in nature, but too beautiful to not see at all.

 One day before hand-in, all ready and bound...

My recent project is a 'fill-in-activity' book for babies (originally my little niece-to-be-born), their parents and whole families. The book has got a subtle storyline and once you fill in all the details you've got a lovely narrative to read to your baby when he or she gets a bit older. When they are big enough, they can have their own go as there is plenty of space to collage photos, draw pictures and write your own stories. The whole family can (and should!) engage.
I have also added little pop-up surprises, guessing games etc. to make the book slightly more interactive and fun. Hope the little one likes it.