just forget the parts you'll never need

So...it's been a long time since I sat down and actually wrote something properly for this blog...this summer has been manic to say the least, and although I'm paying for it now with the struggle of catching up with missed emails and posts and work, I think the break was very much needed. This blog is nearly three years old, and I don't often have such long breaks from posting, but I feel that taking some time to get my head out of the internet-bubble really helps to give me more inspiration and the ability to try and put more into what I post, instead of just churning out repetitive paragraphs and similar photos twice a week (which I have been known to be prone to sometimes in the past). I'm doing the same with my journal at the moment too - keeping it every day whilst away this summer, drawing everything that moves and everything that doesn't, so it felt kind of appropriate to detox from the obsessive documenting so that when I resume I will be more inspired and motivated to keep it instead of seeing it as a task or something that I have to do.
As you know, I've been away to Indonesia for two weeks on a school trip, and after about a week recuperating at home I was off on another plane to Barcelona with 14 girl pals, which was all kinds of incredible and coming-of-age and requires a whole separate post to even begin explaining. I then had two days to get my AS level results, before going away for a week on a family holiday. I never really travel, so to barely be at home has been nothing less than bizarre, and has seriously left me wondering where all my lazy summer days have gone?
Anyway these photos are from way back before Indonesia; I went on an art trip with school and a few exhibition dates with pals before I left, and this post is a sort of accumulation of all of the things I saw.

I wore a top and shorts from Beyond Retro. I am quite certain these prints weren't exactly designed to go together but they were next to each other in my wardrobe and I kind of thought why not? There's such a lovely sense of comfort you get from wearing culotte-like shorts - all the freedom of trousers or tighter shorts (you can cartwheel to your hearts content without fear) but they are as floaty as a skirt. Best invention ever and I could easily spend my entire summer in them.
We went to a degree show in the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, which was fascinating as degree work can be so diverse and so you're bound to see at least one thing that's relevant to your work.

On the same day we saw the Making Traces exhibition at the Tate, which was of course abstract and impressive and made me want to make crazy layered pieces too. Abstract work is so hard when you are purposely trying to make it 'abstract'...after trying myself I gained a whole new level of respect for abstract artists. I also went to a design exhibition with my friend on another day, followed by obligatory record shopping and antique shop explorations.

Apologies for the sporadic posting / poor writing / everything, I will sort my scheduling out over the next weeks and get back into a proper routine soon !!