Above, a quote from the host of a burlesque show that I saw last night. It was more to do with the fact that he was a middle aged gentleman in a morning suit, bejeweled statement necklace with a full face of glamorous make up on the stage of Cafe De Paris! Through the crowd of laughter however, I found this resonating with me- We truly are limitless.
I've spent a fair amount of time this week making big plans for myself, Really thinking about the future and what I want from it. Thinking about agencies and collectives, thinking about products and manufacturing costs, thinking about editors and exhibitions. What may seem potentially dull to some is in fact very exciting for me! I mean, think about what you really want from this life. Ok? Now think about how you would go about achieving that, break it down into more manageable chunks for example: want to be a world class editorial illustrator? Jot down three magazines you'd like to work for one day, find the contact page in the publication (Usually near the front) and you'll find all the emails to the people you want to hire you! Send them a message and show them your work and see what you get back! Of course editors are super busy people so you may not hear back but you've opened a door to your future!
And so that's essentially what I'm doing now, opening doors!
Quite soon now I will be producing my first non handmade product! If you're following my instagram (@jemvennillustrates) you'll have seen my mock ups for some nice studio pouches! I've wanted to make them for some time now, something practical (for carrying around your art bits) whilst still being decorative!
I'm still working on my profit margins and delivery costs at the moment so if you're at all interested in getting hold of one of these you'll have to wait a short while longer!
Other than that I'm mainly just trying to push my illustrations and creative thinking while not being at uni for summer. I don't want to develop, as my year 7 english teacher coined, 'A soggy cabbage brain' which tends to occur when you're off for the summer holidays and go from being wonderfully productive to relaxed and idle.
My new sketchbook is slowly filling with ideas for editorials, ads for London Transport and other little works that I'd like to potentially do!
To be completely honest, I just want to start third year now while my mind is booming with ideas but I know I need to take a break. Anyone who knows me in person could tell you that I'm not very good at taking breaks from work. I'm not too sure what it is, perhaps you could call it my constant creative drive but others may call it my lack of anything else to do, Either way when I'm not working I feel pretty weird.
Speaking of work, It's about time now for me to sign off and get ready for a shift at the pub! Stay tuned for more info on when the studio pouches will be available to order and keep an eye out for a little surprise giveaway that I just may have planned!
Jem