Here are some drawings that I am working on:
More edited photos:
More edited photos:Update - 31st October 2010
I haven't done a post in a while so I thought I'd fill you guys in on some stuff I'm working on right now.
Chewed Up - Spat Out
Every autumn I manage a trip or two to Chew Valley Reservoir in Somerset. It's probably fair to say that the pike fishing at Chew is just about the best there is in this country - usually that is. Earlier this year there was a fish-kill at the lake in which it is clear that many very big pike died. Such things are natural phenomena in which the population levels out a little, nothing much to worry about in the long term but annoying at the time.
In the spring of this year Chew was turning up pike to over forty pounds - exceptional fish by anyone's standards but it seems now that the fish are topping out at the low thirties. Now these are stil big pike and well worth fishing for so I was hopeful of something worthwhile during my six days fishing there during October.I had one day in a boat with Denis, two in a boat with Joe, my son, one on the bank with my old friend Paul Brown and two more boat days with my wife. I always catch at least one twenty pounder at Chew - but not this year!
The day with Denis produced lots of fish, but not one over ten pounds in weight. Others found the same on the day, fishing over the vast shoals of prey fish failed to produce big fish, just lots of little ones. It seems the bigger fish weren't hanging around the prey fish shoals but were over in shallower water.
My two days with Joe were little better with just a few double figure fish to thirteen pounds or so and some jacks. It seemed that either your name was on a big fish or it wasn't and while we worked hard lure fishing as well as bait fishing and moving around constantly trying to find the fish, others just sat it out for that one run which inevitably came for some. One friend had a single run in the day but it was a fish of more than thirty pounds. Another had two runs in two days and both were over twenty. Blanks were mounting up for many people and I even had two myself.
The last session, one day on the bank and two in a boat was a mixed bag but it was still hard. The bank session with Paul was a wet and windy day in which most bank anglers were looking for shelter rather than fish. We found a spot where we could get in and where the wind was coming from the side and set up there. I had my first rod in quite quickly as did Paul but as I was setting up my second rod I heard Paul call out "I think I'm in here."
Sure enough a fish had taken his legered sardine on the drop and after a lively scrap he soon had a super 23lb 6oz pike on the bank. I'd like to say it was the beginning of a bumper session but in fact the wind and waves got worse and worse and by ten o'clock the swim was unfishable. As so often happens in a big blow the waves were carrying great clumps of weed which were washing up on our lines and making the fishing quite impossible.
We moved to a different area and Paul had another pike, a small one but soon the weed got the better of us again so we opted to move once more. At this point we realised a boat had become available so we opted to take to the water where at least we could be sure of getting away from the weed. I took a low double figure fish from the boat but all too soon the day was over.
My last two days, out in the boat with Mrs Edwards were very disappointing with only one fish boated, a low double. I should take comfort in the fact that the rain held off and it was relatively mild so she wasn't uncomfortable but I would have liked us to catch more fish.
That's it for Chew for this year, I have the option to fish some more days if I want to but I think I'll move on to other things now. That's six doubles for the season so far, I'm going to try to keep count this season.
The Man with the Golden Arm
Today I was looking through the Art Director's Club Hall of Fame list for some inspiration. The list is long and exceptionally distinguished. (I mean, come on—they don't call it the Hall of Fame for nothing!) Name after name, I recognized so many of my favorite designers. I say this knowing it's nearly impossible to pick a "favorite" from this list because the designers are all so amazing. But one of my particular favorites, inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1977, is Saul Bass. His quote, "Design is thinking made visual," has been the cornerstone of my design philosophy for many years. (Not to mention, it's also the title of this blog!) I remember seeing the opening credits to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM when I was a freshman in design school and being completely blown away. That film was made in 1955 and the design was still just as fresh in 1999 as it was 50 years earlier. So, while reading Saul's bio on the ADC site, I found another quote that I couldn't stop thinking about. He said:
This rings true for me. There aren't many people who can say they love what they do, that they take satisfaction in their work. I realize I probably won't ever receive Hall of Fame recognition, but I know the work I do is good, and honest, and it makes me happy. My challenge isn't to design for fame or money (even though those are very nice!)—it's to design because that's what I love doing and I couldn't live any other way.
Some of Saul's work:
"There is nothing glamorous in what I do. I'm a working man. Perhaps I'm luckier than most in that I receive considerable satisfaction from doing useful work which I, and sometimes others, think is good."
This rings true for me. There aren't many people who can say they love what they do, that they take satisfaction in their work. I realize I probably won't ever receive Hall of Fame recognition, but I know the work I do is good, and honest, and it makes me happy. My challenge isn't to design for fame or money (even though those are very nice!)—it's to design because that's what I love doing and I couldn't live any other way.
Some of Saul's work:
Z is for Zeppe!
)
In the spirit of Ed Fella but with a decidedly crafty twist! Zeppe's collection of art and stationery is perfect for type fiends. Shot with love over the course of many years, each image is a testemant to creator Joanna Ramage's passion for beautiful lettering.Available here
Celebrate October
Pike anglers must be amongst just a handful of people in the country who actually welcome the month of October. For most it heralds the end of summer and the onset of winter, long nights and early frost, the gloomy prelude to months of wind, rain or worse. The piker doesn't think like that, for him, October is EXCITING!
Well I've had more exciting Octobers than the current one but maybe it's starting to take shape a little. To be fair my season always starts slow, mainly because I always try to get out on the rivers early season and fishing the rivers depends so heavily on rainfall. Too much rain and they become raging torrents, too little and the preyfish become concentrated into little pockets, the pike finding their meals too easily.
This year, October's been fairly dry and the rivers I've fished with Denis have been low and clear. Results should have been fairly good but they weren't really. One stretch we fish every year, and which normally produces plenty of pike, proved to be very hard indeed, prompting suspicions about where the fish have gone. This stretch is very easily accessible having a road bridge running across it - have the set lines and barbecues arrived on the Severn now?
We got the boat out on a local river this week, the River "X" (in joke) and had a fun day. The competitive element was there and driving us both as ever, even in the bait catching. We set up to trot maggots under stick floats in a little spot where I know there are plenty of roach and sure enough, the fish were there. We decided a dozen baits would be just enough for the day and started feeding and trotting. First fish came to Denis, a plump eight ounce roach and then he had another. Was I going to lose round one? I needn'y have worried as I soon started to get a bite a cast and we finished that session with me winning eight fish to four.
Bait catching completed we went in search of the pike. This is a tough river but I'm building a mental portfolio of spots that produce and sure enough Denis was soon into the first pike on a lure, only for it to shed the hooks on the way in. He soon made up for it with two more fish on baits before I picked up a small one on a lure.
So the big man started with a bang but could he maintain it? Sadly not, Denis had no more fish on baits or lures through the day while I steadily increased my tally to five including this rather nice 15lb 2oz specimen, a good fish for this river.
Poor Denis, I won the bait catching then I won the pike catching. What's more he lost two lures in trees along with their titanium traces (ouch, expensive that!)
Four doubles for the season for me so far along with lots of jacks. Let's see if we can report a twenty next time!
Well I've had more exciting Octobers than the current one but maybe it's starting to take shape a little. To be fair my season always starts slow, mainly because I always try to get out on the rivers early season and fishing the rivers depends so heavily on rainfall. Too much rain and they become raging torrents, too little and the preyfish become concentrated into little pockets, the pike finding their meals too easily.
This year, October's been fairly dry and the rivers I've fished with Denis have been low and clear. Results should have been fairly good but they weren't really. One stretch we fish every year, and which normally produces plenty of pike, proved to be very hard indeed, prompting suspicions about where the fish have gone. This stretch is very easily accessible having a road bridge running across it - have the set lines and barbecues arrived on the Severn now?
We got the boat out on a local river this week, the River "X" (in joke) and had a fun day. The competitive element was there and driving us both as ever, even in the bait catching. We set up to trot maggots under stick floats in a little spot where I know there are plenty of roach and sure enough, the fish were there. We decided a dozen baits would be just enough for the day and started feeding and trotting. First fish came to Denis, a plump eight ounce roach and then he had another. Was I going to lose round one? I needn'y have worried as I soon started to get a bite a cast and we finished that session with me winning eight fish to four.
Bait catching completed we went in search of the pike. This is a tough river but I'm building a mental portfolio of spots that produce and sure enough Denis was soon into the first pike on a lure, only for it to shed the hooks on the way in. He soon made up for it with two more fish on baits before I picked up a small one on a lure.
So the big man started with a bang but could he maintain it? Sadly not, Denis had no more fish on baits or lures through the day while I steadily increased my tally to five including this rather nice 15lb 2oz specimen, a good fish for this river.
Poor Denis, I won the bait catching then I won the pike catching. What's more he lost two lures in trees along with their titanium traces (ouch, expensive that!)
Four doubles for the season for me so far along with lots of jacks. Let's see if we can report a twenty next time!
Free Giveaway: Two Sushi Teacups with Saucers from Meeralee
Giveaway ends 2nd NovemberWin: Two sushi teacups with saucers
About Meralee: Meeralee is a freelance artist and illustrator from New Jersey. You can view her portfolio here.
For commissioned work, you can contact her at: meera.lee.patel@gmail.com
Links:
shop: www.etsy.com/shop/yaymeeralee
blog: thelittlebrowngirl.tumblr.com
Simply visit Meeralee's Etsy shop and leave a comment on this post stating which item is your favorite and why.Extra Entries
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For an extra entry mention Meeralee's shop & my BLOG somewhere on your blog, twitter, tumblr etc.
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For an extra entry mention Meeralee's shop & my BLOG somewhere on your blog, twitter, tumblr etc.
PLEASE LINK ME TO THE POST IN YOUR COMMENTS
NameThe winner will be contacted by email and mentioned in a post
Janis receives 2nd starred review!
Great Booklist review AND a nod for the design!
"A groovy page design, patterned in shades of purple and acid green; a lively annotated time line; and unforgettable archival images will pull even more attention to this captivating view of a groundbreaking musician rarely spotlighted in books for youth." — Gillian Engberg
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