Variety - the spice of life!

The past couple of months I've been working on lots of different things... of course! I have a few bespoke invitations on the go at the moment which I'll be able to show you sometime in the future. I also designed this invitation for an 80th birthday party at a fish and chip restaurant, which was fun!

It's designed in a similar style (but contrasting nutritional value) to this piece of work I created: "5 a day" - (an unsuccessful but enjoyable pitch!)

Also I've been very busy with Leeds Owl Trail, delivering art and heritage workshops in schools, in Leeds City Art Gallery (where there's a fantastic FREE Henry Moore exhibition that really is a must see) and Leeds City Library (you should go and see the Leeds Tapestry there!). I find the Leeds Owl Trail days with the primary school children really is a fab way to spend a day!

I love this grey owl's eyes (by a year 3 student) a tunnel going all the way through. You can see how the gallery collection really does inspire the young artists!



Henry Moore Mask

I've also completed version 5 of the Leeds Owl Trail map, adding the Rose Bowl and other changes to Leeds City Centre, including the eagerly anticipated Trinity Leeds development.

I'm taking part in a Creative Partnerships project and spent my first day with GCSE students, seen here in their beautiful garden space. 

It made me yearn for my sketchbook days! Back to work now, I hope you enjoyed seeing what I've been up to!

Busy Busy

What a busy month March has been.

I've hand painted a headboard for my friend's little princess. It's nice to get the paints out for a change, it happens so rarely and I did enjoy it.

Also, it was MY little princess's 10th birthday (Where does the time go!?) and we made her a Hollywood themed party. She was very clear in what she wanted; I had lists and mood boards presented to me regularly (WHERE does she get that from I wonder!?), with guests, order of the day, cake designs, decor, which family member was doing what etc...

We had a red carpet, tinsel shimmer curtains, paparazzi (courtesy of Auntie #1), cocktails (courtesy of Auntie #2), quiz and karaoke (courtesy of Dad), Hollywood Hills cake (courtesy of Grandma), door staff (Grandpa "if your name's not down...") and we even created her own VIP brand (courtesy of Mum!) to decorate the room, the cocktail menus, thank yous etc.

A successful and tiring afternoon!

Work has been really varied, with logo and branding for new handmade chutney business The Artisan Pantry:

I've designed probably the coolest Bar Mitzvah invitations:

And have done LOTS of Leeds Owl Trail art and heritage workshops in schools, the Leeds City Art Gallery, Museum and Central Library.

I'm also working on version 5 of the Leeds Owl Trail map. I love my work with the Leeds Owl Trail, I wonder how many owls we've made over the last year with children around Leeds? It must be a couple of thousand by now!

Now we're zooming into April, I'm continuing to mix it up with more 'Owl' projects, a couple of bespoke invitations and there's always my ongoing greetings cards and framed baby name pictures. It's certainly never mundane being a freelancer!



Back into the swing of things!

I'm back from my summer hols now, although that's not really an excuse for more than a month's absence from blogging! Before I went away I had so much to fit in coupled with the school hols... something had to give and I'm afraid blogging and tweeting went by the way side. I'm back into the swing of things now though!

One of the projects I was working on this summer was some character design for party and event organisers Les Enfants' new children's parties at London Zoo.

Meet Zak and Zara Zoo Keeper!

There were quite strict guidelines to adhere to regarding London Zoo's uniform and colour palette, but I'm glad we could pass the pink wellies through!

I wish Les Enfants all the best with their new collaboration, I'm sure it'll be a great success.

I've also spent much of my summer making paper-plate owls and packing-peanut owls (easier to make than to say!) at Breeze on Tour for The Leeds Owl Trail. It was so lovely to be outside, being creative with hundreds of Leeds' young people... we made almost 2000 owls over ten individual days!

I'll fill you in with more news soon!

Live Owl and Me!

I got to hold a live Eagle Owl at the Leeds Owl Trail anniversary party yesterday evening... a little nerve wrecking as close up you realise what powerful animals they can be.

She came (with her handler) from the Royal Armouries in Leeds as our guest of honour!

This fella is less intimidating though, a little Leeds Owl Trail mascot with a t-shirt made-to-measure very kindly and expertly by Karen at Blueberry Park then I added my Leeds Owl Trail logo.Looks quite good I think!

We had a great full-page write up in the Yorkshire Evening Post, a smaller version is online here; which was a great follow up to the one on the BBC website.

The article in the paper followed a week of school and Art Gallery workshops devised and delivered by the Owl Team, culminating in an exhibition of little owls placed on the map in Leeds Museum.

(picture of clay owls by Nick Moss Films)

On top of my busy time with the Leeds Owl Trail I'm also working on Christmas greetings designs for 2011 and bespoke Halloween invitations for October.

Variety makes makes my job such fun!

Make an Owl workshop

Last week some of the Owl Trail Team ran a make an owl workshop in Leeds' St John's Shopping Center. We had a very fun, busy, glittery and feathery time! Over 150 owls were made and the kids (and adults!) had a great time!We loved our snazzy t-shirts too!

More Leeds Owls!

I've been really busy with lots of Owl Trail Business this last month. I've been working flat out on the new Leeds Owl Trail A3 map which will feature a trail of 25 owls taking you round Leeds City Center. It's now at the printer and I'm really excited to see the finished product.

There is a fab write up and great pictures on the bbc web site...Some of my favourites...The original A4 version is still on the website available to download for free and once the extended version is launched it will also be online to download along with the chinese version I mentioned back in March.

You must do the trail if you are in the area!

Chinese Owl Maps!

Due to a little disruption from builders this week, I've struggled to keep up with posting, and also with work in general too! I've managed to catch up this weekend, which is good as we're away for a few days next week so I'll be deserting you then too!

I have been transforming the Leeds Owl Trail map into Chinese this week! No, I don't speak a work of Chinese, the lovely Wanlin has done that part; I've just been fitting it all in to the map:

It's great that the Leeds Owl Trail has officially become an international tourist attraction. The map will soon be ready to download from the web site.

I have made wedding stationery before that the bride wanted translated into French and Italian (of course she provided the translated text!).

It's so strange doing something so alien to me that I can't check for mistakes myself.

This says "Leeds Owl Trail logo and leaflet design by Rosalind Wilson". I hope!

Now we are nine

Well, the birthday weekend is over and I think it was a success. We had a swimming party (did you guess that already?). I made the cake. Icing is not a medium I'm totally comfortable with and I don't find it at all relaxing, but I get a request each birthday and I can't refuse a creative challenge! The cake sponge for my daughter is always pink!

The notebook I made Sadie has already started being customised, so I guess she liked it! She also recieved one of these beautiful colour in posters by Scandi from her friend Ruby, which will look great framed on her bedroom wall, I just have to try not to be too precious about letting my nine year old colour it in!

The pens she used to colour in the notebook were another gift; Berol Felt Tips. I love them anyway (school/stationery nostalgia!) but they will now for ever be associated in my mind with John Thorpe MBE (Leeds Civic Architect) and my recent visit to his studio in a Leeds Owl Trail capacity. He colours in his amazing maps with his trusty berol pens, mapping and planning places and spaces in Leeds.