It’s time to say yes, to yes.

I have an all time creative hero, someone who when I saw them recently up front and in person walk past me, I got all nervous, nudged the person next to me and went ‘Oh my God that is Beci Orpin’. Like a nervous school girl, the sort of thing I’d expect a love struck teenager do when they saw Brad Pitt walk past…well maybe that is showing my age, they’re more into One Direction or Zac Effron…the one’s who get all shy and not scream like lunatics.

Beci Orpin is the sort of illustrator, creatively incredible woman who just makes creativity look so simple and cool. Not that I have ever felt that it wasn’t cool, but she really makes it look cool. Beci (I use her first name, with ease, like she’s my mate…I wish) was talking at another incredible wonderful creative woman’s Big Hearted Business ‘un’conference, Clare Bowditch. This ‘un’conference as they call is a two day event open to all creative people, is aimed at bringing creative people from all arrays of talent together to discuss how to do what you love and make money from it. If you’ve not heard of it, have a look, there are great tips and bits to take from her website. Check out the inspiration bombs, you might see my little hands doing a paper cut accompanying a couple of very clever people’s advice.

Anyway, back to Beci. She was talking about making it in the creative world and to seriously badly paraphrase, she said ‘at the beginning, say yes to everything. Do the jobs that might not be that exciting and take advantage of any opportunities that come about’. So, since I heard this, I’ve taken that quite literally and am saying ‘yes’ to ‘yes’. So if I get contacted about a new market, I say yes. This weekend I went to Bendigo, it’s almost a two hour drive away and normally I might say that is a bit far to go and weigh up the pro’s and con’s but I didn’t have to think about it as I’m saying ‘yes to ‘yes. It was worth the drive, such a beautiful creative town, a true indie market and so many people who really appreciated the art of paper cutting. And I don’t mean that this was financially great for me, it was ok but it didn’t matter I got so much more out of it because it was an adventure that I might not have gone on, had I not said yes.

I am pretty excited about where saying yes is going to take me. New adventures hopefully might lead into new opportunities. So here goes. Yes! Yes! Yes!

By the way, I never knew who Zac Effron was or why he was so popular with the younger ladies, until I saw Bad Neighbor recently at the movies. I kind of get it now. And that film isn’t as bad as it sounds, there are some seriously funny moments. Or LOL as my younger counter parts would say…I think.

Getting ready to put on a show.

  

Last Friday night was the art show, my first ever art show. Now I am an organised person, to say the least. To do lists, colour coding, check lists and timing plans all come naturally to me. I have always been that way, it’s my way for creating some sense out of the chaos that is the rest of my world.

So in theory I was ready for Friday a week before the event. I knew what I had to get done on the days leading up and to be honest it wasn’t much but it was all vitally important. Of course none of those things went to plan, my dear friend put some flyers together for me, printing those was one thing after another, in the end I only had 50% of the designs but at least I had some. My specially cut glass arrived six hours before the show, but it arrived. Luckily as my star pieces would’ve just had to have been sticky tapped on.

I spent ages designing my wall, I got some old fence panels from a construction site down the road, my Dad drilled them and made sure I could easily put them up with cable ties, I had some lip frame holders that I was going to then screw in and rest my frames on so I didn’t have to use the hooks for the frames. All good, all sorted. That was until I was setting up during the day and they were testing the music for the show, it was so loud not only did I almost jump out of my skin but my frames fell off the wall! They didn’t break but that was just pure luck. So with three hours to go and absolutely no tools or anyone to help me I had to come up with another plan. Thankfully my 2.5 year old was playing with the drill when my Dad was putting the fence posts together during the week and made a few extra holes. So a few bolt thingy’s and some string my frames where finally up on the wall and reasonably secure. I just went with it and it all paid off. 

So besides things not going fully to plan and the installation next to mine that didn’t work all night but still had two scary men dressed in SWAT gear with guns and masks making me feel a little uncomfortable it was a successful night. I sold the one piece I didn’t want to sell, but that is always the way. And, hey, who can really complain about selling some of your art. It’s always a bonus.

For a few more photo’s instagram or facebook

 

1,001 things to do and sewing sequins on envelopes isn’t one of them…

 

I’ve got a 1,001 things to do at the moment, prepare for an art show which includes actually creating the art, well more art. Enough to fill my little space, build that space and get all my printing etc sorted out. Plus prepare for the lectures I’m about to start giving at a design school and I mean make sure I know what I’m teaching! Eek. Plus my day to day life with two miniature people to entertain, a house to keep as messy as I can possibly get away with and a hubster that needs communicating with now that we’ve finished the final season of Breaking Bad. Which I am mourning a little, seriously, that was the ending?

But I stumbled across a little treasure of indulgent creative fun on Instagram the other day, an envelope decorating competition. In fairness, technically it’s paper still so I’m counting this as a bit of creative therapy to kick me back into reality and to get me drawing and paper cutting quickly and efficiently. Efficiently really means without cutting vital bits of the image off.

Because I do have so so so many things I should actually be doing instead I only allowed myself an evening of indulgence, where I got my paper and needles and thread out and just created. Apparently I was a child who could sew buttons before I could talk properly (that might say something about my mad crazy mother…) so some days sewing paper is just what I need to do. 

So I’ve been a little crafty, made a mess and been a different type of creative for a night. It was fun, I enjoyed it. Now back to reality.

Northside

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of putting up some of my work in the Northcote Town Hall Glass Gallery. It’s a tranquil little space on the second floor. The Northcote Town Hall is a grand old building and no more so than when you walk up the huge stone stair case to get to the second floor. I like to image this as my house, then I think about how long it would take to clean the place and I quickly snap out of my day dream!

This day, it was full of hustle and bustle with the Italian Northcote Pensioners Club lunch. So much noise, when a big group of Italians talk all at once in a place that echoes it’s loud and full of noise! It’s just a great atmosphere.

The glass gallery is this big glass cabinet, so big that you need access at both ends to be able reach. Which is what I didn’t have, one of the doors was broken. I was given a big straw broom to slide my pieces across the glass. It was all going fine until I tried to flip the broom around inside the glass. That sheer moment when you stop still and prepare for disaster. I am most definitely not the most co-ordinate person in life, usually I find it funny when I stack it but this was one time I really wanted to have more skill in this department. Luck and I’m pretty sure it was just damn luck was on my side. I averted disaster on a couple of occasions that morning but I finally got it all in and although it was a little skewed to the left, you wouldn’t know. Well you do now.

I’m excited to have a few pieces on display. It’s nice. Let’s hope I’ve got luck on my side when I take them out next month.

 

It’s RAW

I’m pretty damn excited…

RAW artist

As of late, I’ve been slogging my creative self at a range of markets, I spend a lot of time, and I mean a lot, explaining that each image is illustrated and hand cut with a scalpel, most people think they are prints and not that they are a single sheet of hand cut paper. I’ve got signs but not everyone reads them. Recently, someone asked me if I was a ‘failed surgeon’. Failed. Surgeon. Apparently being good with a scalpel on paper implied that I must be channeling my failed medical degree into art. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but personally, if I had spent seven plus years at uni studying medicine to become a surgeon to bail out, I reckon I’d just become a GP. Surely that would be an easier and more profitable slog.

So to get an email from a group called RAW, natural born artists, asking if I’d like to become part of their community and exhibit at their next Melbourne event was pretty damn bloody exciting! Sometimes when you’re getting tired and in need of something to pick you up a bit, sometimes, just sometimes a little luck comes your way and brightens the day. Just a little bit of inspiration was needed to boost that enthusiasm back to its original level. And it’s back!

So time to get the ideas flowing, artwork to be created, exhibition spaces to be planned and designed and that is just the start of it. Time to get paper cutting then.

This is an event for artists by artists, just a little bit of pressure then…

I’m excited and I can’t wait.

 

 

To market, to market to buy a fat hen.

I recently read, one of the best ways to build your brand and get people to buy your product is to do a ‘market’, however in the same paragraph it also said, it will be one of the hardest days work you’ve ever done. That is no word of a lie.

My first market was a children’s market, I thought that this was a good target audience as I initially intend for my business to have a baby feel to it. First mistake. Children don’t get the beauty of paper cuts, and if we are lucky and their parents do, they don’t want to waste it by putting it in the kids room. Second mistake, unless you are selling cheap, mass produced baby stuff, a baby market is most definitely not the place to test out your first market.  The fee for my first market cost me over ten times what I sold that day. Ten times. No exaggeration.

But sometimes the day pays off. I’ve done one market recently where I walked in the door and thought ‘oh, no this is going to be a really long day’. It was an amazing day, I walked out that afternoon with only two pieces left and a book of orders to cut up that week. It was wonderful, inspiring and so encouraging I can’t tell you. Which is good, because the market I did last weekend, was a flop. Not as bad as the first one I ever did mind you. I did make a profit, sort of, well only really if you don’t take into account the time I spent creating all the beautiful artwork. I say beautiful, because I actually truly believe it is. But you don’t have to like it, that is the beauty of it. It’s personal.

On the upside, a couple of boutique little shops think my work is as beautiful as I do and now have a couple of little pieces in their stores. The Friendship Tree is even doing a window with my work. I can’t wait to see it. I’ll pop it up on my facebook page when I’ve taken my hundred’s of photo’s and my family are sick of being sent all the pictures.

I worked in advertising for years, in theory I know how to build a brand and get it noticed. If you are prepared to spend the money. But for now, I am enjoying doing it from scratch the old fashioned way, it is hard work. But hopefully one day it will pay itself off. But more importantly, more people will enjoy my paper cuts, maybe one day even as much as I do. One can hope.

Paper Chap

Heart of paper…

 

I am probably the least romantic person, ever. I’m not into valentines day, don’t like romantic dinners for two where you’re expected to look each other in the eyes whilst you eat a meal. Just give me the nice meal and the wine, no need for the eyes. Wedding anniversary’s are not celebrated, it’s NYE, which is virtually an impossible day/night to go out without loads of people crashing it. I even asked my hubby to marry me one night after work in the hallway, just so he wouldn’t feel the need to think of something romantic to do. He took three days to think about it, apparently because I was suggesting a four month engagement but that is another story all together.

But I do like cards. Even though I don’t like the whole romantic thing, a card is a beautiful, simple touch that never goes unnoticed in my eyes. That is simply all that I expect as a romantic gesture…sometime flowers are also a nice touch. But not carnations, they smell like cat wee.

Last year, I got given a new baby girl card for our anniversary accidentally as he didn’t open it to see what it said, just chose from the image on the front.  Then a few weeks later I got a birthday card with a pregnant chick on the front. Which when you are almost full term pregnant, didn’t go down that well. But after my hormones calmed down, I realised that cards are a hard choice for the sender to get right. Sometimes a simple and classic image is all that is needed.  I like hearts, they can be a really beautiful image, but more often than not they are too fluffy, pink and lovey dovey for me. So I designed my own heart card, it’s something I like. It’s good for a valentines, weddings, birthdays or just because.

It’s a non traditional, black heart but I think it’s rather nice. I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting it this valentines, but I’ll just be happy if he can find it in the stock room. If you like it, they’re on paperchap.com

Getting my ducks in a row…or pigeons in a line as I used to say.

It was a huge end to 2013 for me, in the last three months, I started my business, went to five markets in three weeks, cut so many paper cuts I got tennis elbow, which by the way is much more painful than it sounds and the only way to fix it is to not use them…because it is soooo easy to just not use your elbows for a few weeks! Seriously, give it a go, much harder than you’d think. As well as managing the normal day to day activities of life.

So I took a couple of weeks off after Christmas to revive myself (and elbows) and have got my ducks finally in a row, or pigeons in a line as I used to say. I embarrassingly once said that in a creative meeting in my old life of advertising only to be laughed at by the copywriters as they said they’d like to see pigeons in a line. I had to ask the hub what they meant about that, only to be laughed at once again. I still don’t know how I get my sayings so wrong, still.

I’m a busy lady again, revived, refreshed and inspired. My Montsalvat inspired paper cuts have been a huge hit so although birds make me slightly uncomfortable and I don’t really need to be too close to them, I’m being inspired again by our feathered friends and I’m loving them in their paper versions. My latest birds will be up on http://www.paperchap.com in coming weeks. 

Speaking of birds, I have had the honour once again of accompanying Brett Oaten’s interview in Big Hearted Business’ Inspiration Bomb this week. In the visual of the video, you can see me paper cutting, one very strong willed Peacock. 

http://bigheartedbusiness.clarebowditch.com/bomb/inspiration-bomb-brett-oaten/?utm_source=Big+Hearted+Business&utm_campaign=c84bb7d699-Inspiration_Bomb_r_Leesa_Ellem&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0999d903fd-c84bb7d699-405614625

I’m looking forward to making it a busy paper filled 2014.