I have been so busy lately that I haven’t really felt inspired to do anything creative. I succumbed to the malaise that humid weather brings. Once it had been a couple of months, I felt depressed and knew I needed to start something again. So finally, I sat down at my desk and decided to draw some girls.
2011 has been my busiest year yet and so much has happened. Christmas has come and gone in a flurry of family, food and presents. I am so grateful for everything that has happened this year, the good and bad because without both, I wouldn’t have changed or grown or learnt in the way I have.
I am thankful for having great friends and a great job, and of course a great boyfriend who is currently helping me redesign grafikheart.com. Keep an eye out for the new site in January 2012.
Have a safe and happy New Year’s Eve!
South Brighton, Christchurch
It’s mid December and as usual, the final weeks of the year are flying by and work is taking over which means very few blog posts and a lacklustre social life. But soon it will be Christmas and New Year which means holidays, lots of food, bach fun times with good friends and the start of a brand new year!
So what have I been doing?
Christchurch Zinefest, where I bought a small pile of zines and met some cool people. It’s awesome to see a venue like the Archive opening near town and hosting creative events like this.
Receiving letters and postcards in the mail from a muchly missed friend who lives overseas.
Finding an awesome silver ring for $2.99!
This arcrylic Command Z necklance arriving in the mail.
Having a plaster cast of my teeth on my desk.
hanging out with two of the bestest friends a girl could ever have.
All the things like zine making, drawing and making various things have been put on hold lately while I hammer on through this brick wall of work that is infront of me. But in my (limited) spare time, I am planning out all kinds of creative projects for the new year, some of which involve a return to using my sewing machine. Plus next week, I’m going to make Hokey Pokey!
So yes, another notebook to add to my collection! We have been looking for a house for so long that things are starting to get a bit dispondant, so in order to stay sane during the search I am collecting images of interior design and putting them in this notebook. The goal is to eventually be able to use it for inspiration when decorating a place of our own. The main things I like to collect are images of other people’s home studios as I will finally be able to have one myself. All the prettiness of the images and how creative people are with their spaces gives me hope that I too will get a chance to make a space my very own.
I was reallty lucky to discover the Auckland Central Library book sale when I did as there were mountains and mountains of interior design magazines for sale. Also the fact they were 4 for a dollar meant 3 separate trips to and from work to carry them all.
I still have heaps of clippings to go through and glue in.
Auckland weather has turned to shit, but I’m still excited about the prospect of summer, beaches and trips away with friends. Here are some other things making me happy this week.
Utilising stickers that I got from Wellington Zinefest
New Moleskine 2012 planner!
the first Fashion Quarterly arriving as part of my free subscription thanks to Flybuys
Ads that have cool typography, and you know the designer is definitely proud of their work 
Getting my hair braided by Bex
The new Vice magazine cover
Also, in 8 days I get to see my bestest friend, Sharnae and go to Christchurch Zinefest!
It’s been about 18 months since I was last in Wellington, and as usual I have come back home exhausted with a sore stomach from laughing too much. I had an awesome time catching up with friends, meeting new people and of course, significantly adding to my zine collection. Here are a few snaps of the last couple of days.
a building across from my friend’s apartment where we stayed.
my stall at Zinefest on saturday.
underneath the giant Mirror ball at Mighty Mighty.
general Zinefest action.
my zinefest stall neighbour, Sarah, who’s postcards and zines are awesome. I was lucky enough to do some swaps.
So after 5 and a half hours at zinefest which included talking, drinking beer, swapping and buying zines, and an eclectic mix of music, I wandered to a beer bar to meet some friends and celebrate a couple of birthdays. The Wellington street art is pretty cool, and really creative. It stands out from all the tagging and makes blank brick walls look like pieces of art. I’m not sure who painted these, but if you know let me know
We caught an afternoon plane home yesterday, and the first thing I did was look at my zine haul. Very cool. I was happy to get a whole bunch of second hand zines, including an old favourite “This is Not a Comic”.I have read a few, but am looking forward to reading them all!
Also, Christchurch Zinefest in just under 2 weeks!
So for Wellington Zinefest, I have a few bits and pieces. I’m not sure how big my stall or part of stall is so am over preparing just in case. It’s always good to have extras as then I can swap them for other people’s zines. I have done a whole lot of free stickers again this time, but still have heaps to do. Tomorrow night will be spent copying, collating, stapling and packing all my stuff.
With creating my friend’s wedding invites, work, house hunting and getting everything ready for Wellington Zinefest, I haven’t had much spare time. So it was nice to have a couple of breaks from assembling invites yesterday, to sit in the garden at Danielle’s in the sun looking at all her pretty flowers.
So next weekend I will be in Wellington at Mighty Mighty with a selection of zines. I love that I get to catch up with friends I have not seen in ages including Jinx and Bex !
With just over 2 weeks to go until Wellington Zinefest, I’ve been busy getting things sorted. I still have a but to do because work has been pretty crazy lately, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get it all finished. I love the poster,which was done by Coco Solid and put together by Claire from Frail Sister Comics. So if you live in Wellington, or just happen to be in Wellingto on November 19th, come to Mighty Mighty between 12 and 5pm and check out all the people and their zines. I think I will know a couple of people who came up from Wellington for Auckland Zinefest last time, but can’t wait to meet more zine makers. This is the 5th year that Wellington Zinefest has been around, and it’s going to be amazing!
Here’s a peek at the cover of the Doll Haus volume 2! In COLOUR! I will have a stack of these to sell and swap so if you want one come to zinefest. After that, I will be selling them some how through something like Etsy maybe, but until then, only available in person.
If you are in Christchurch saying “gee I wish I could go to Zinefest!” now you can cos Christchurch Zinefest is on December 3rd at the Archive! I won’t have a stall, but I will definitely be there with a bag of zines to swap. Stall applications are open now so get involved.
Well, not real aura photography, just a super leaky camera!
