Illustrated Map of the Water Quarter, Todmorden

Very happy to preeesent!…….

Hello everyone, just like winter is a time for hibernation, I, too, have been spending the winter months in quiet contemplation, holed up in my garret, wearing layers to keep me warm with one solitary heater to keep my layers warm. Hector, our lovely german wire haired pointer cross and Youtube (so addicted, help me!) have been so very kind as to keep me company as I work. What a tough life! :)

What have I been doing all this time? Well, I have had a couple of projects on the go. The first one I’m excited tell you about now and you can see it above, it’s an Illustrated Map of the Water Quarter in Todmorden.

By now, you may have heard me relentlessly talk (or rather illustrate) about post industrial Todmorden and the breathtaking landscape. I have illustrated the buildings, the doors and mills, the woolly sheep (a common sight is seeing them on the street as they go awol), the dry stone walls and my very own Tod Map, which has proven to be a bestseller on account of the fact that Tod holds a special place in the heart of many people.

Which is why I was thrilled when I was asked to create a map for the Water Quarter Collective of the Water Quarter in Todmorden. The ‘hood is a popular and busy location in the centre of the town, intersected by the Rochdale Canal. This Water Quarter is close to the train station (Manchester is only 25 minutes away), bus routes and plenty of (free) parking. Here, you will find a vibrant, diverse, children and dog friendly community with cafés, music venues, street food, art galleries, workshops, gift shops, well-being and plenty of more besides,

And it is not just this area that will benefit. We will be starting on the reverse side of the map shortly, which will embrace the larger area, including useful information, places of interest and more info on the local business. This is also a very useful aid for when you come and visit! Please feel free to share this post or print out the map in preparation for the day you do come and visit. Come and support our local community, which has so much to offer and for everyone! Looking forward to seeing you!!

Happy 2019!!: Time to reflect

Hello everyone, happy 2019! May the new year bring health, happiness and abundance in bucket loads to you!

So, it’s resolution time and I’ve been over eating recently and am starting to cultivate a splendid double chin, so the New Year’s Res is to eat less and to eat healthy and don’t give in to my tummy that reckons it’s hungry every time it gurgles. There is enough weight on my chin to last for days without truly experiencing hunger.

My second resolution is to try my best to continue to cultivate the practice of ‘Kindness’, which the community of Todmorden has in spades (in many ways, such as the recent acquisition of kindness boxes for the homeless, where all the stuff you don’t need can be distributed to these boxes to someone who would appreciate them, this is a fantastic idea). I love this philosphy, that kindness is about being less greedy (like my food habits) and sharing around our abundance, because we all struggle and it helps to help one another.

Art wise, January is downtime as I catch up on art working and start preparing for new and exciting projects, which I will reveal in due course. The RARE exhibition at Water Street Gallery, Todmorden, continues until 27th January, so, please go and visit if you have time, there is some excellent art on display. I also need to totally rejuvenate my art room (a huge job, because I want to decorate it too), which is looking somewhat of a bomb site after the Christmas rush. Even Hector, the dog, has a hard time trying to find a spot to sit down.

I want to say a big thank you to all my customers who bought art work from me over said Christmas period when I was out and about doing the art markets. It was an absolute pleasure to meet all of you, make new connections, hear your views and news and learn and grow as I was hopping along.

Oh yes, and lastly to say that art prints of the Old Co-op, Todmorden (see pic) are now on sale at the Old Co-op for £20 each. If you are interested in a print, give me a holler or pop in there during Yakumama’s opening hours. Yakumamas, based at the Old Co-op, is a fine new restaurant selling South American vegan/vegetarian food. You should go. Food is gorgeous! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

TodConnect Art & Craft Fair and Promo Discount!

The next outing my original illustrations and artprints are gearing up to be part of, will be the TodConnect Christmas Art & Craft Fair. This event will take place this Saturday at The Old Co-op in Todmorden and starts at 10am and finishes at 4.30pm. There will be lots of delicious food on sale and fantastic eye candy to buy for all your Christmas needs. Exclusively only to this blog, if you say the promo code ‘The love it promo code’, then you will get 20% discount on all my work for sale. See you there!

Manchester Art Gallery

Our stall was next to the beautiful gift shop

Had a fantastic time at the Manchester Art Gallery Christmas Art Market last night when I was sharing my stall with Phinefibre Art, Josephine Gornall. Despite it lashing outside, we both had a successful evening, met some lovely fellow artworkers/designers and sold a lot of work! A huge thank you to the organisers and to those of you who bought our work.

If you would like to hear more about the event, please click on the link: http://manchesterartgallery.org/exhibitions-and-events/event/first-wednesday-2/

Looking forward to next year’s event already!

Horse & Bamboo Theatre, Art Market

Horse & Bamboo Theatre Company, Waterfoot, Lancashire

Why not come down to the Horse & Bamboo Theatre Company in Waterfoot, this weekend? Why, ah yes, because there is going to be a fantastic Christmas Art Market and I hear, by all accounts, this is a fun and popular venue. I also hear there will be mulled wine on tap and mince pies, yum yum (oohhh I’m so getting into the Christmas spirit!!). What’s not to love! Get on down!!

I shall be there, selling my work alongside loads of other art and craftists, so come and say hello! I look forward to mooching around and seeing what’s on sale. Got several presents to buy and if something catches the eye, I shall be buying it!

Anyway, the times and dates are above. Hopefully see you there!

ART! (That's short for Amazing Rare Things)

Invitation to ART at Water Street Gallery, Todmorden

Hello art lovers! This blog comes as an invitation to you, dear reader, and I will tell you about it in a moment. But first, I want to tell you about this beautiful gallery/shop in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, called Water Street Gallery. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it because, well, it is well stocked with truly exquisite art, cards, jewellery, ceramics and a cornucopia of fabulous goodies. Beautiful things to lose yourself into and feast the eyes upon! Ever since, I have been coming here to buy gifts and cards, oh, and to look for inspiration!

So, I am very pleased to announce that, along with some wonderful artists, I will be showing several of my works as part of their annual Christmas exhibition, ‘Amazing Rare Things (ART for short!). The exhibition starts this Thursday on November 8th and will continue until January 27th.

And now for the invitation part. There will be a private view this Thursday between 6 to 8 pm. Alcohol will be served. Conversation aplenty. A great opportunity to meet the artists and get to know what makes them tick and why they do what they do and perhaps, talk about your own art practices, if you are an artist…. I always love to hear about people’s art journeys.

See you there.