St Jude’s Prints
I am really loving some of the prints on this site, especially Johnny Hannah and this alphabet by James Brown (limited edition + signed by the artist).
Help I can’t focus...
Image from here
We’ve all been here haven’t we, you know what you need to do, and you want to get it done, but you just can’t get in the zone. That fantastical bubble that cuts out all the distractions, and you focus in and bam, things start rolling. I have a few emergency tactics for these days, when I can’t draw/write/think so I thought I’d share...
1. Do five minutes of something. That’s all, just two sentences or a half sketch. Then go and make a drink. When you come back you won’t have a blank page.
2. Music. Hmm this is tricky. I’m very fickle, some days radio, others an audiobook, youtube playlists, but usually it works better if I’ve heard it before... Sometimes I have it on to drown out any other noises that distract me. The key thing is that it’s long... Audiobooks are the best for this because they don’t stop, and then neither do you.
3. Still no good huh, ok put your laptop in the other room, and your phone. Ban yourself for a few hours, and see what happens.
4. Favourite food. Eat, write, eat, draw, eat, write. Treats got me through my mammoth dissertation a million years ago. This helps if you need to work late as it keeps you going.
5. Out of hours. I do my best work and problem solving when I’m not at my desk, or if it’s a weekend and I shouldn’t be there. It’s annoying but I know you have to go with it. I wish I could build myself a train office as something about the motion focuses me.
I’m curious as to anything else that helps get you settled (aside of course from good old-fashioned DEADLINE PANIC).
Original Artwork at a snip...
Look here for some originals I’m selling, all professionally mounted and cello-wrapped. EDIT - More artwork coming soon
Back to it
After some long months of rest and recuperation after being rather poorly, I’m back to work. Very happy to be up and about, and getting on with my books again. I’m moving soon, so will be clearing out a lot of artwork. If you are interested in buying an original or a signed print, do get in touch for more info.
Also, I’m back to doing school events again, so if you’d like to book in a school visit please email katiecleminson@me.com.
K x
Make an Otto Mask
This is a short video showing how to assemble my bear mask design.
To make this mask you need: -Template from my website -A4 white card -Scissors -Glue (Sorry this video is a little fuzzy, I shot it quickly on my iPhone) Music- Comptine d'un autre été - L'après-midi by Yann Tiersen. Copyright Katie Cleminson
Jean-Jacques Sempé
Happy New Year to one and all!
I had a lovely peaceful christmas break, but I'm sorry for the long radio silence. Before the year ended I spent a few weeks in Paris. The trip was very beautiful and full of great discoveries. A good friend came out to visit for the weekend, and we went to the free Sempé exhibition at Hôtel de Ville. It had over 300 original drawings, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it (see a video of the exhibition here).
If you aren't familiar with Sempé I encourage you to look out some of his books. I really enjoyed seeing his covers for The New Yorker, and his more experimental work, the sheer volume of work was astounding. It was also the first exhibition I've been to where the crowd were all smiling broadly, and laughing, as they walked around.
I also wanted to share this excellent clip of the title credits for the Petit Nicolas film they made in 2009. The film is shot in live action, but they used the original Sempé drawings for the credits, in a very inventive way. Take a look!