t'was the week before christmas

So it's that silly time of year again. its been less white and snowy that the last couple of years which is a shame as i love the ice & snow colours, instead we have had a massive deluge of rain the last week which has bought down a rock face on the south side of the loch, this is a fairly regular occurance. enough rambling about the weather!

art and crafts ? I've been frantically making things for presents, which i can't show until after they've been received, here is some tablet ( a traditional Scottish sweet with is 300% sugar ).

This will be a particularly handmade, recycled and second hand christmas. Not only because its the right thing to do, ethically, politically and environmentally. But because its been a particularily austere year, I laughed off the economic crisis thinking people as low down the economic food chain had nothing to loose anyway. But of course that was just my idealistic optimism at play, there just hasn't been enough money to cover everything. But i'm not going to moan and complain as this is the choice i make by being an artist, and living remote rural, if i wanted a decent salary i could stop doing all the community projects, comics projects, published work, exhibitions, educational stuff and get a job at a local fish farm. Its not really a choice is it? So a handmade consumer free Yule it is for us lot.

I didn't really know that i have an obsessive streak, tenacious yes, but I am informed that my paper-chain making is indeed obsessive. Normally all scrap paper gets sorted and reused or recycled, of course. So the stuff that was due to be shredded for the guinea pig bedding turned into a paper-chain, and then every christmas card envelope gets added on ( stamps go to charity of course ) . Its that ethos of using what is to hand with the minimum energy and transportation, it turns out if you cut the envelopes carefully into loops no glue or staples are needed. The chain is now all over the house and spreading down the walls... why do i start these things ??

meanwhile I have a comic strip of Brian Boru to colour

a comic strip for Bayou Arcana,

a book project with Rich to draw,

a comic convention to organise-

Talking of which, Here is the e-card i did for Hi-Ex;

Hi-Ex has a new shiny website designed by Mike at Miniman web design ( my lovely cousin ) & new shiny poster artwork by Tanya Roberts. We got a mention on the BBC news online this week and the Forbidden planet blog.

Then for my own e-card i did something more Vicky/ Balnacra Arts style;

I've got another couple of things in the go and a mountain of introspective wonderings bubbling under in my head about where i'm going art wise after one heck of a weird year. No doubt i'll write some over indulgent navel gazing pontificating over the next week or so. When everything is shut for the festive period its hard for me to continue the usual displacement activities of work work work, and with Richmond away seeing his family & those long dark midwinter nights, I will have to face up to some ART.