Adventures in graphic novels July 2008

I've been talking about writing a graphic novel for ages, ever since I was a newbie mother of Otto, scribbling cartoons into a journal after he went to bed. I documented my domestic days and the brave new world that had opened up to me ever since I started pushing a pram through the streets of Wellington. I'm not working on that anymore, although I may go back to it. Instead I am writing 'Dirty Laundry', a novella loosely based on my time at a dodgy dry cleaning business. If you want a copy, feel free to email me: sarah at poppyshock dot com. I'm half-thinking of posting it online, since it's all scanned and sitting in my computer.

Good intentions July 2008

Still on the topic of illustration, I've been making cards (many of which I have written to people, but still haven't quite found the envelope and stamp to send them. My friend Helen is a super snail-mail star, but I have task-completion issues, often finding half-written letters in the in-tray, obscured by a pelt of dust. The above series are my new fairy tales (spot red riding hood and the princess and the pea) and the ones below are my flaura and fauna series.

School holidays July 2008

I love collaborative art projects -- my sons painted these baked-play-dough creations -- because I don't have to be a perfectionist, disheartened when things don't turn out as I envisaged. They are beyond my control! Also, I like to see what colours they put together. It's easy to become safe in your palette choises. We also made a rocket ship to take us to the moon:

New curtains July 2008

I've been kind of crappy about the whole beautifying the house business. Too busy trying to write the great New Zealand novel, not to mention filling the great, nut-free, perfectly balanced lunch box. But I finally got round to making curtains, because I figured they might keep us warm. I've half-finished a roman blind to match, if only I could get off the internet long enough to sew on those brass rings!