Thursday 7 July 2011

wHOa wHOa wHOa!

It's the start of July and if I'm being realistic, I have to start my Christmas Card designs; don't make that face. You've only read this sentence, I'm the one thinking about it! It helps that it's been raining today as these sorts of things are so difficult to think of when it's blazing sunshine.

There are going to be three styles: Nativity, Winter Wonderland and a third...upon which I haven't yet decided.
The whole point of sketcHiness is to provide the cards that you can't find on the high street; I have a few alternative ones in there at the moment, but you can't stray too far from the trail when it comes to Christmas. So I'm just trying to have a slightly different theme.
It depends largely on the word play, if I think there is something funny enough to make me laugh then I'll carry on down that route; if I can only think of pretty pictures, then the pictures themselves have to be lyrical enough to stand alone with only an interior message.

I will reveal them closer the time, but I have the list of themes hidden behind lists of other things on my project pin board because I am just not ready to contemplate the day to day reminder of Jingle Bells just yet!

Here are a few from last year's free digital advent calendar. A few of these made me laugh a fair bit.









Monday 4 July 2011

Ooh look: some actual work!

So I've told you about my "special" behaviour when it comes to inanimate objects, and I've said things about Peter Falk, but this is my sketcHiness blog, so maybe you would like to see some of the actual work I have done?

You can click on the FaceBook monster to the right to link to all of it, but this is what I've done for the line called "I Tried To Disguise Your Gift..."
It's not rocket surgery, but I think they're rather nice! Make a change to look at what I do rather than to raise an eyebrows and question my sanity doesn't it? Yeah it does.

















Monday 27 June 2011

Bowling For Columbo

Mr John Martz, whom I follow on The Twitter, summed up the social networking take on slabritty deaths:

FACT: the Internet was invented as a means by which to tell the world you are a fan of a recently-deceased celebrity's most obscure work.

Hey! The Twitter! You too, BookFace! It's ok for you to know actors / singers / authors / sports "personalities" for their best known stuff!

If I were a slabritty, I think I would be pretty narked if some hipster greeted me as a fan only to tell me they loved my most obscure work and almost refused to acknowledge my hit films / books etc etc because everyone else likes them.
Or would I? You see, I have a few strains of hipster in me; it's why I won't watch Avatar or eat a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Lots of other people go on and on about how awesome they are!
As for The Inbetweeners, while all "tha kidz" who quote it incessantly now were still watching Tracey Beaker, I was laughing at "Besssssst Fwend, Football Fwend" at stupid o'clock in the morning on BBC Three. Pfft Bus stop wankers. So I liked it less; I still watched it, but with a smattering of resentment that "other people" had cottoned on to it.

Anyway, Mr Martz's tweet came after the recent news of Peter Falk's death; three things were trending on The Twitter at the time: Peter Falk, Princess Bride and, of course, Columbo. Most of the time when significantly linked things like that are trending, you kind of know that it's not going to be good news.
I really like Lt. Columbo, I don't know if I would have liked Peter Falk, but if he had been like his on-screen character, then I think I would have liked him a very lot. The lieutenant used the Marple technique of: "Oh hi criminals, I'm affable and a bit dense! Fear me not" then pow pow pow! Solved and sorted. They're planning to remake Miss Marple with Jennifer Garner as the eponymous female detective; it'll be rubbish. I hope they never ever ever ever try to remake Columbo, as Peter Falk (for me and, I'm sure many others) owns that role.

Here's a link for him at Dean Martin's Slabritty roast for Frank Sinatra.

And here's a sketcHiness pic of him; that's all really, but I was genuinely sad when I heard the news of his death. Thanks for the mainstream awesomeness, Mr Falk.

Friday 24 June 2011

Inanimate Rescue #1

Ok, so I tend to have a bit of a thing for rescuing lost or discarded inanimate objects; this isn't just restricted to reuniting them with their owners or placing them back in their "homes"...sometimes they need to be given a new home: my home.
I get annoyed if people in shops decide they no longer want the item they are carrying (packet of crisps, tin of beans, cuddly toy, facial sauna...no, wait, that's the Generation Game) and just plonk it on the nearest shelf. Not only is it lazy and irritating, but to me that item looks at its new surroundings and feels bullied, as if the cans of sweetcorn are raising an eyebrow at their new resident and saying "Beans, is it? Oh, poor you, drowning in that vile tomato sauce; how do you cope?" (I like to think there is a class system within canned veg and that Baked Beans are more often than not on Veg Jeremy Kyle).

Anyway, back to the point; I, more often than not, put these things back where they should be. I hit stumbling blocks when the things are squooshy and cute; these things don't want to be put back on shelves or in bargain bins, they want to be taken home and loved or utilised, whatever it takes to fulfill their purpose. I remember a Sunday morning waiting for the bus right by College Green when it had been pouring with rain until a couple of hours before. As I was waiting I saw a small wooden bear lying in the road, soaked through. I nipped out of the bus shelter and picked it up, finding that it was a discarded car air freshener; its sad little face broke my heart "Why wasn't I wanted any more? Did I do something wrong?". In my pocket he went and I still have him now; not in my pocket, but sitting on a shelf and he smells lovely! I feel like he makes an extra effort to exude scent in thanks for me rescuing him.

For me, it's about an inanimate object fulfilling its destiny; this includes not throwing away biros if they still have ink in them ("I can still write for you! Please, not the bin, nooooooooooooo") and wearing odd socks so that the one that lost its mate still has a purpose and isn't lonely. I also take the packet off the shelf that doesn't have the "NU SPESHUL OFFUR!" on it. No one will want the one that isn't special, they want the freebies and competition forms; I'll take the other one, thanks.

I have no idea how this started, I think it's borne of a very vivid imagination; it's probably how Nyafanya (my pup) and I have funny conversations, where she tells the jokes and I laugh, although that may be labelled as borderline insanity.

Well this behaviour led to this event: off I toddled to Marks and Sparks to get wrapping paper for grandma's birthday present; I was browsing the lovely TigerPrint bits and bobs when I could feel them watching me. I turned to find the Easter chicks that were left over from the festivites of two weeks earlier, all huddled together: beaky grins and gimpy wings.
Thinking practically I picked up two with the intention of using them as props for when I'm photographing next year's Easter cards, but as I added them to my basket, the rest of them suddenly looked so sad; they had been reduced in price because no one had wanted them. I actually couldn't bring myself to walk away from the yellow cardboard tray with just the two I had picked up; what was the destiny of those which remained?


To come home with this mug!




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