Christmas Cards

I am now on Instagram as polyrillustration! I'm a bit more active on there as well as Facebook, if you haven't already gimme a cheeky follow.

For the second year in a row I'm not doing workplace Christmas cards - our department number is now in the 80s and as I'm still part of the Sports & Social squad I'm chatty with a lot of folks across the business. If I did cards for everybody it would be a very expensive (and time consuming) activity for something that's usually disposed of in January, so instead I'll be making a donation to Mind.

However I do make an exception for some family and friends especially those who I won't see in person this year - and instead of buying, I use up some of my crafting material and enjoy a quiet evening with some tea and paintbrushes.

A Handmade Christmas

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas season.

Polyrhythm xo

Christmas card designs

Finally completed two of my Christmas card designs! Two more to go and I can send these babies off to Moo to get printed up. I can't wait to see what they look like printed.

Of course, I had to do something for the frilly and fabulous. I really like this design, the sheer ridiculousness of it just gets me - the plush reindeer head doubles as a bum bag and its antlers have wire in so you can bend them out of the way or however you like. Your fairy lights on your wings are battery powered but when you're slumped on the sofa in a turkey-coma you can plug them in to charge. You can doze there, all bloated and mildly drunk, and still look pretty. For what is lolita fashion if not practical?

Even Santa and his family like to let their hair down on Christmas.

I can't wait to put up the others - it should help save my sanity during all this dissertation work!

The End of Another Year

HAPPY CHRISTMAS, GUYS

I know I've not been Posty McPostersons this winter, but I shall come in the New Year with many goodies and hopefully, a summary of my assessment.

Right now, however, a summary of Personal Life and Other Good Things in 2010. This is a bit early, but our family are hosting Christmas at our place this year so tomorrow's going to be packed! I'm also spending Christmas this year with the wonderful Smaz, who's come to visit, so this year's festivities are going to be truly awesome. :D

- The sweetshop job ... I spoke too soon. Unfortunately, it didn't work out - I didn't get any shifts after December 2009, and only found out that I wasn't returning when I walked into the shop one March afternoon to find my manager training up someone new (aaaawkward). However, I gained another part-time job in an office, and in doing this I've found that working in an office suits me a lot better than retail ever did.

- I turned 19. The celebration was quite small, with some takeout and a delicious cake, just the way I like it.

- I was offered three places at three universities: two conditional, and one unconditional.

- I've moved out of the family home, and into student accommodation (the kitchen's a joint responsibility with flatmates to keep clean and in order, but I still love taking care of my own little room and bathroom, it's great).

- I gained a Pass in my Foundation Diploma. I loved this course to bits, and don't regret taking it one bit. The knowledge gained there is helping me out a lot with my university work.

- Speaking of university, I'm studying Visual Communication, and loving it!

- I marched with 50,000 other students for the NUS Demo 2010 against the huge increase in tuition fees, and huge cuts in education funding - complete with homemade placard.


I hope, dear watchers, wherever you are, that you have a great holiday - and I'll post again in 2011 (wow, where did the year go? I can't quite believe it's Christmas Eve already!). I'm off to watch the traditional family film - The Muppets' Christmas Carol.

As I rest at the end of a busy day ...

As Christmas here draws to a close (well, our family does have Boxing Day celebrations, too) I decided that I should write a post of this kind. I keep meaning to every year, but I get swept up in all the festive rush and forget. So, here it is: Achievements (or, 'Good Things What Polyrhythm Did') of 2009, both in art and my personal life, in no particular order.

(Wow, this is getting more and more like a personal-life blog every time I post. I do promise to remedy this in the New Year, or at least bury this post in tons of articles penned by me about the wonders of well-mixed Polyfilla and other obscure art materials. But for now ... you know you wanna read this.)


- I gained four A-levels in Psychology, English Literature, Art and General Studies. Three Bs and a C. Earlier this month I went to fetch my certificates, and got to see my old classmates and teachers again. :)

- I had the ninth highest amount of UCAS points in my sixth-form.

- I turned 18. My parents took me out for a surprise outing to my favourite restaurant on my birthday night, and the following weekend my stepbrother and stepsister (and her boyfriend at the time) accompanied us to another restaurant for a second celebration.

- I picked up my recorder again (after 12 years).

- I had a trial shift at said 'another restaurant' a month later for a part-time job, however, it didn't work out.

- I had a trial shift at a local sweetshop this November for a part-time job, and happily, this is working out!

- I gained a place at college to do my Foundation Diploma in Art and Design before I leave for university, and I'm loving every moment of it!

- Said Foundation Diploma - although I'm still heading for Illustration - has completely changed the way I work. And I love it.

- For example, this year I've discovered the delights of toothpicks, Polyfilla, acetate, old wallpaper, wallpaper-scrapers, emulsion paint, A1 paper, masking tape, baby wipes for smudging, and that wonderful sound of a well worked-into sketchbook's page being turned.

- I've met some truly inspirational people, in my online life, in my Foundation course, and elsewhere. I've made some great friends - and lost a few (not so good, that latter bit =/).


Class of 2010. In screenprint.


- It was last year that I got to know Smaz, but early this year he became my wonderful partner.

- I watched quite a lot of One Piece, being at episode 263 right now. (I've been pretty busy with college-work and UCAS forms recently, so it's been at 263 for a while).

- I started working for CMTV, and am extremely proud to do so.

- After a year of interest in the fashion, I now have my first Lolita dress. I also keep up my interest in steampunk, too.


Klimt Lolita! She resides now glued down in my sketchbook, but I've also entered her for EGL's banner art contest.



I have a lot of people to thank for making this year awesome, and those people know who they are. :3 You guys are hecka awesome. Keep being hecka awesome. Thank you.

The CMTV Christmas Carol

It is truly wonderful to see the hard work and enthusiasm everyone at Crash Mania puts into CMTV, and this Christmas special is no exception.

Happy Holidays, readers!

Time is Ticking

That up there is my Christmas present to myself. It wasn't expensive (in fact, if it'd been over £25 I would have torn myself away from it as I really have to watch my spending this season if I want a significant sum left to help for uni costs) but it was beautiful and - being a steampunk fan - I couldn't resist.

I want to get my half of the UCAS application done and sent off before Christmas, so I don't have to worry about it over the holidays (preferably next week, but we'll see) yet I want to make sure everything's accurate. I'll do some editing of my personal statement tomorrow, and then get it checked on Monday.

I also am nursing a crescent-shaped cut on my middle-finger after it had a nasty collision with a lino-cutter. It's not too deep, but it bled a lot for just a cut. x_x It hasn't put me off printing, though. It's funny because I was never crazy about it at GCSE when we did some prints (then again, the piece of lino we had was much larger, so we were gouging out more of it and it was a longer process) but I've really taken to printmaking in Foundation.


(Coincidentally, I'm also listening to 'Almost There' from the new Disney movie, Princess and the Frog which sort of fits. I can't wait to see this film!)


More from Polyrhythm later. This month also looks set to be hecka busy.

Crash Bandicoot says 'Merry Christmas!'

... or rather, Cortex should be saying that. I did this for the folks over at CrashMania. I think I could have done the colouring on the present-sack a little better (as the radiation logo looks a bit odd rippling without any highly-visible folds in the bag) but I'm definitely pleased with the linework.

(I also did this on a big GIMP canvas then I shrunk it to get a little better quality, so my fingers are hurting a fair bit from the outlining and colouring.)



Enjoy, and if I don't post before January again, happy holidays to one and all.