but I know it's only dust

I start uni on Monday and it feels super weird that this summer is ending. Half of May, then all of June, July and August and half of September spent in London and a little bit in Wales, just enjoying being free of work and Foundation stress. I kind of forgot that I was starting a new course; I'm staying at the same uni but starting degree and it's going to be weird carrying on there without all of the people I associate with it. Fortunately most are staying in London or at least England, and we also have an art collective, De Wallen, which will definitely keep me in touch with my foundation friends.

I felt like sharing a lil summary / timeline of Foundation just as I haven't really accepted that it's over! And it really was so damn good.  

From the start through rotation to my first fashion project ^

Drawing trip, halloween and my birthday ^

 

Japan and the Easter holidays ^

Final show and final major project ^

I think the intensity of knowing it only lasted a year almost made the course better as you knew you had to enjoy it while it lasted. I feel a bit underwhelmed at the thought of degree as I can't imagine it really matching up but I'm hoping to be proven wrong.

 

I also have some new work up on De Wallen Collective - "work on the theme of memory, exploring the way we build layers and layers of experience and memories over time, often attaching them to certain places or objects. Collage on card and photo transfer and embroidery on a bed sheet and a shirt."

Have a good week!

learn your fate !

I only have one week left of summer and I'm feeling all those pre-unknown sort of nerves about starting uni. I've realised it's not just me - everyone seems to be having stressful dreams and troubled sleep recently; I hope it's something that will go as we get more settled. So much is changing right now.

These photos were taken, once again, in wales; I found a collection of vintage fairground pieces and couldn't help but get involved as I adore the circus and fairground atmosphere and aesthetic. Also, I bloody love my horoscope and having my future told and so any chance of a fortune reading (not like Zoltar from the film Big, though, maybe) and I'm there.

The patchwork jacket is from Beyond Retro, and is one of those pieces I just couldn't resist. It's one of the rare pieces that's sort of grown with me and I just have to have, no matter how my style evolves. The shoes are my big knee high Demonia platforms. There is also a variety of lace and silk slips and tops involved.

I also have some  new work up on De Wallen collective. They are two soft sculptures bringing my recent research drawings into the physical world. Machine embroidery depicts abstracted images from my research into tinnitus and hearing, with the fabric then distorted by strong elastic and the pieces then suspended, disjointed from one another and bold against the pale background. They represent the discordant sounds of experiencing tinnitus, the feeling of being separate and standing out, and the discomforting presence of the hearing disorder as something bold and hard to escape or see past. See more work from myself and De Wallen's artist's here.

In other news - I got my first tattoo yesterday! I had been wanting it forever, and managed to convince Alexi and Ellen to come with me (Ellen ended up getting one as well). I got a scorpion as I love my star sign and feel it sort of marks me becoming a fully grown Scorpio woman. We went to Brighton for the day to get it and had such a chill day of vegan pizzas, buckfast on the beach and antiques browsing. I did take proper film photos of the day but haven't got them developed yet.

Have a lovely weekend!

you want a new world too

Keeping this blog properly again is so weird given the way blog-reading and people's media habits have changed since I started. 2013/14 saw such a surge in the whole, "teen blogger" trend and it seemed like everyone and their dog had a few blogs they loyally read every time they posted. I remember checking back almost daily to see whether some of my favourites had uploaded something new. 

It seems the rise of things like instagram have really stripped this excitement away...the latest post is instantly on your feed, you can flick through a few photos of their latest outfit immediately, and suddenly you have lost interest in sitting down to see the whole post on their website. It's a weird shift but I think it replicates that of the shift in magazine reading...if you can pick and choose what articles to read as they pop up daily on your twitter feed, why would you spend money to buy a print issue?

That being said, it's nice to see people are still keeping blogs running. It's so sad seeing just how many people have dropped off the radar, even those who were extremely successful a few years back. As hard as it was to update regularly during my foundation course, to give up completely on this site (which I've been working on for literally 6 years) just seems so sad. I don't like abandoning things. 

These photos were taken whilst on a sort of recovery summer holiday in Wales...London got a bit too much and after a minor stress-out, wandering along the seafront was really needed. It was nice getting back to spending ages getting ready and taking photos again; I forgot how much I actually enjoy producing content for this page (and having creative control). Also wales is beautiful.

I also have some new work up on XXY Magazine - a portrait series called "The Reality of London," where myself and Heather Glazzard aimed to capture the real people who walk the city's streets. Below are some published shots as well as some archive portraits along the same theme.

You can see the full piece on XXY Magazine here. I adore taking portraits so for me it was literally the dream assignment. I also have more of my photography work (my entire portfolio if you will) on my website here.

Have a lovely weekend!