Tuesday 21 May 2013

Away with the Fairies - An Interview with Suzie Sroka

Since this blog is for arts, crafts, and pretty much anything design related, I decided to do my very first interview. So I sat and thought for a moment who would I love to interview and the answers I came up with were all impossible, most are no longer in the land of the living - Clovis Trouille, Cary Grant, Vincent Price, and Elizabeth Taylor to name just a few, and the others, well, I'm far too unimportant for them to want to talk to little old me. But I did have one woman who is just as fantastical and spiritual as the above mentioned and that's Suzie Sroka, the lovely lady who drew the wonderful images for the Crafting CD-Rom I designed for Creative Crafting World, At the Bottom of the Garden. 

Interview with Suzie Sroka

Suzie Sroka


Q. What are your favourite things to paint?

A. I love painting children and people in general, although I also love to paint the occasional dog or animal, and I really love painting whole scenes with all of the above in them!

Q. Who/what are you inspirations?

A. My childhood is mainly my inspiration. I have many memories of that time, and can remember vividly how I thought and daydreamed. I think because I spent some of my childhood in Nova Scotia in Canada, and the rest in England, I remember it so much more as it was so varied. I just remember the magic of being a trusting, believing child, open to magic. I absolutely adored reading Enid Blyton's 'The Faraway Forest' and 'The Enchanted Tree', I used to want to believe those things could really exist! I also used to love nonsense verse too.

Q. Which of the 12 featured designs is your favourite?

A. Well that is hard to answer! Can I have 3? The sunflower pixie, the sleeping fairy and the kiss, but at a push I would choose the pixie with the sunflower.........or the sleeping fairy!! I used to be indecisive, but now I am not too sure.. ha ha!

Q. How long have you been drawing and painting?

A. As long as I can remember, from the time I could pick up a pencil and scribble it has been there. Years ago I remember a teacher showing my Mum a picture I had done, it was of a ship, it was very detailed with portholes and people looking out of them, deckchairs.. everything, and the teacher said that I was excellent at drawing, but that it was a shame I had to spoil it all by painting it! I never forgot that, and still feel nervous and terribly lacking in confidence whenever I pick up a paintbrush!

Q. Do you remember your first commissioned piece?

A. Yes, I do, I was asked to draw and paint several children wearing billboards. Each bill board was from a deck of cards, it was for a card club. I enjoyed that one!

Q. Crafting CD-Roms are a completely different format to a print of book. How does it see your artwork on cards and boxes, does it have the same impact?

A. Well, it is completely different, but it is still a thrill to see my artwork on anything! I am pondering having a go at writing a children's book myself, and that would be a challenge.. I have a few ideas swimming about in my imagination right now! I also have a little Etsy shop and am working on some digi stamps for that at the moment!

Q. Do you have a studio or a specific place you draw/paint in?

A.Well I have a studio which doubles up as a dining room too when we need it, this is not ideal as I need to tidy everything away when we do! I also love the breakfast room which is just as well, as I was actually stuck in there with four dogs when I was working on the artwork for 'At the Bottom of the Garden', as we had workmen in the rest of the house at the time! Sometimes if it is a really lovely day, the garden is rather appealing too, as I can watch the butterflies dancing and the bees buzzing!

Q. Do you have any guilty pleasures or a routine that you go through before you sit to paint or draw?

A. Not really, but I do love to listen to music when I am drawing or painting, it takes me into another world and affects mood. My guilty pleasure I suppose is that I like the music to be quite loud! I enjoy a varied choice of music, it would be hard to find something which I didn't like to listen to. I also love to eat midget gems and Licorice, I have loved licorice since I was a small child!

Q. I know you have several dogs, do they let you paint in peace?

A. Most of the time .. yes! On occasions no!! Generally they are quite good, and get on well together. It was a bit difficult when I was drawing and painting for this CD-Rom as being locked in the breakfast room with 3 Jack Russells and A large Old English Sheepdog puppy is not ideal, but we all managed!

Q. Most importantly, do you believe in fairies?

A. Ha ha, well of course!!! I used to look for them when I was a child, and was tired out often in the day, as I would lie in bed with my eyes very barely open, trying to fool the fairies into thinking I was asleep, because we all know they won't appear if you are looking for them! I was convinced if I waited long enough I would catch them flying about my bedroom and tiptoeing across my bed!! Nowadays, I believe in most things that should not be there! I have never given up on that childhood magic. In fact as a child I disliked magicians, as I wanted 'real' magic only, I wasn't about to be fooled by someone pulling a rabbit out of a hat! I have a strong spiritual side, and am always open to possibilities, after all just because you can not see something, does not mean it is not there!!

One of Suzie's paintings from At the Bottom of the Garden


Monday 20 May 2013

CHARITY - Sponsored Sew - Fighting Cancer

After what I would have said was a successful Charity Auction of the Monkey Plushes for The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures, I was excited at the prospect of my next Charity venture. Every year I wanted to take part in Race for Life but something always got in the way - unavailable for those dates, pregnant, baby too young - so I came up with another challenge to raise money for a Cancer Charity. Since the Monkeys did well - £59.00 - I thought I'd use my sewing talents to raise money to fight cancer.

WHY CANCER RESEARCH UK - MY STORY: 

My mother-in-law, Irene. This was my late father-in-laws favourite picture of her.


In 2000, before I met my husband, Stephen, my mother-in-law also passed away from Cancer, one of the long drawn out fights that still resulted in her being taken away from her son and husband. Again, she has always been described as a wonderful woman who was perhaps a little too giving and forgiving. She never got to see her son marry in to a very happy partnership or see his son, her grandson. Because I live away from my family I feel as though I've missed out on having a close family here in Norfolk.

SPONSORED SEW:

Several months had passed since thinking about my Cancer Research Charity Auction and then I heard that the first dates for Race for Life had just passed and I knew it was time. The reason the Monkeys brought in £59.00 was because Wild Futures aided the promotion of the auction. However, I realised that many people raise money for Cancer Research UK and it would probably be impossible for them to aid promotion for everybody so I decided to split the fundraising into two parts: A Sponsored Sew and the Charity Auction of the two dolls made from the Sponsored Sew.

On the 8th & 9th of June I will be making two dolls made from a Dolls and Daydream Pattern. These will be made from donated materials from companies listed below.

The Wool Felt Company - Baby pink wool blend felt
An online shop specialising in craft fabrics.
 
Suzie May Ltd - Fabric for the skin, ribbon for the hair and shoes, and satin and organza for the skirts
One of  UK's favourite Haberdashery supplier
 
Groves-Banks - Two bags of toy stuffing
UK’s leading independent distributor of haberdashery, sewing accessories and needlecrafts to the retail trade. 

Binky Roo Designs (me) - Pink Ribbon / Cancer Fabric for the body of the doll.
Specialises in beautiful handcrafted dolls, bags, accessories and much more

CHARITY AUCTION:

After the Sponsored Sew I will have two beautiful dolls, approx 18", one called Irene. They will share the similar theme of pink and represent strength, courage, and the fight against cancer. The two dolls will be up for auction on Ebay starting June 10, 2013 if all goes to plan. Again, they will be sold with 100% going to Cancer Research UK.

WHAT & HOW TO DONATE:

I am using Just Giving for my Sponsored Sew. The minimum donation accepted is £2.00 GBP. That is all I'm asking for. Those who can afford more have been giving more but my ask is £2.00. So please, donate just £2.00 for this worthy cause.

JustGiving - Sponsor me now!

Thank You! 

Friday 17 May 2013

Illustrated Fashion of Eurovision 2013

Since I met my husband, Stephen, we have made Eurovision a family occasion. So far, in 2013, we have had the two semi-finals, the finals hitting us with a mix of dance, power ballads and even a little bit of cheese, tomorrow night live. I decided that, for a change, I would do an illustrated commentary of the female dresses and outfits as the Euro-V fashion is almost as important as the music. This year, the men mostly played it safe with shirts, leather jackets (some a little sparkly, and one with gaffer/duct tape for visual excitement), with a little bit of traditional dress thrown in for added spice. However, it was the men from Romania and Montenagro that added some of the 'fun' into Eurovision this year. Montenagro was a trio, two men dressed as spacemen and a woman (whose outfit you can see below) and Romania cannot be described in a better way than Dracula in a dress. This is the only male outfit I have included in my illustrations.

The theme was not absolutely clear this year. The repeatative logo was a butterfly that flew each of the countries flags, these were pretty and very well done, however, I recall seeing only one butterfly on the hand of the Ukraine. In the first semi final, the competition seemed to be ruled largely by female singers in white - representing their innocence and purity obviously! The second semi final brought forth the men, and fewer women in white.

Below are the female contestants (including Cezar from Romania because I could not include all the dresses without his monstrous skirt). The contestants of the top six are not included due to not being absolutely certain of their outfits, I will illustrate their outfits after the final. Neither have I included some of the females that were included in a group. Finally, I missed out Austria because I just plain felt they didn't try hard enough with the outfit. The song, Shine, was neither brilliant or terrible.

So here we go.


The first white dress goes to Estonia
Birgit sang Et Uus Saaks Alguse for Estonia. A ballad sang sweetly, and a little Disneyesque (the first of several). Her dress completely white, representative of bedsheets. I'd like to give her a break as she is five months pregnant but I still think the dress was wrong. Had the dress have had a underbust line and allowed to flow from that point rather than from her armpits, it would have had a better reception.

Leather Feathered Birds Should be put on the Endangered Creature List
Hannah sang Straight into Love for Slovenia. Now, I've seen this song sung with either auto-tune or something because on the night I wanted to put earplugs in, in fear of blood dripping from my ears. Don't get me wrong, Hannah could sing the lower notes but those top ones, alas, she fell off key a few too many times. Her outfit consisted of a leather fitted top and leather or leather - look leggings. The first leather outfit of the semi's but certainly not the last. Unfortunately the leaf shaped leather detail made her look like a leather clad bird. Remove those and it would have been a good outfit. I'm not sure it was a good Eurovision outfit, but it wouldn't be the first time bird have featured in the Eurovision.

Peasant Girl Invades Eurovision
It is said that Emmelie de Forest's Only Teardrops is a favourite to win. Her peasant style dress in an off white, egg shell perhaps, was simple and suited her voice. The song felt to be simple and a little Celtic. It was those penny whistles. A conversation developed between Stephen and I, after a drink, as to what the song would sound like if you took out the whistle and replaced it with another instrument, such as a trumpet.

A bit Prom for Russia, where were the Russian Grannies?
Dina Garipova sang What If and my response would be What if you chose a different colour for your dress. This dress felt a bit prom dress for a 16 year old in a colour a bride would choose for her bridesmaids so they didn't show her up. Her lace shawl was pretty and suited Dina, but the pale peach/salmon dress was a bit sickly. The song was a step down from the Grannies from last years Eurovision, some may say stepping up their game as it was a serious ballad sang with conviction. Again, nothing spectacular, though she certainly belted out the last note.

Beauty and the Beast crossed with Jack and the Beanstalk
Zlata Ognevich certainly shocked us all with her entrance with a seven foot giant for her song Gravity. Sadly for the wonderful giant, it has caused a few trolls to attack him which I'm sure he was not expecting, and therefore I am announcing my support for the joyful giant. Zlata's dress was another white dress, much like a simple wedding dress that, to me, looked like it had been made for another model as it seemed a bit roomy on the bust and a bit tight on the hips. Otherwise, this dress fitted this pop ballad well. Though I wonder whether something a little more like Cyprus or San Marino would have been better.

Go in my wardrobe and you will find...
Apparently Anouk is somewhat a big star in The Netherlands, and I'm sure her song Birds is a hit over there, but like Austria, I nearly didn't include this outfit. This is the kind of attire I have in my wardrobe and leave the house in on a daily basis. She obviously thought she was too big to try. This is supposedly another favourite, for me, it reminds me of the feeding the birds song from Mary Poppins. Maybe Anouk will try harder for the finals -Nah!

Spacemen and a Borg Chick! What more could you ask for?
Who See brought us back to the 90s with Igranka. Oh was I disappointed that this didn't make it to the final. This was fun and energetic just like the outfit. Two spacemen and a borg chick in leather with translucent wings of some kind. Need I say more? After multiple pop and power ballads this was refreshing and brought the party back to the Eurovision.

The 60s have returned!
Shake those tassels, baby! Alyona Lanskaya entertained us by coming out of a giant sci-fi egg in a 60s tassel dress for her song Solayoh - a song that wouldn't feel out of place on holiday in the Spanish isles or another European sun spot. The silver dress was playful like the song.

Lava Lamp Science Fiction Convention here we come
I never envisaged a projection of galaxies and lightening ever to be projected onto a growing skirt/dress. What are they suggesting, that Aliona Moon (apt name) has a universe between her legs? What a fantastic dress - white again, though I say she can be forgiven for that since they projected a range of images on to her and let her grow at least three foot right in front of your eyes. Did the outfit fit O Mie? Not particularly, though it wasn't sang in English, so perhaps the lyrics has significance, but the feel of the song was more power ballad than sci-fi techno which is what was needed to pull off this spectacle.

Classy and Elegant - Black Floral Lace
In terms of serious dress Despina Olympiou's elegant black floral lace dress was my favourite. An Me Thimasai, however, was less impressive, something of a 90s pop ballad - have the 90s come back around as the Top 40 charts have been taken over by 90s samples, revivals, and down right pastiche? The song is elegantly sung so is fitting to the dress, it wasn't terrible.

Lesbians meet Cupcake meet Alice in Wonderland
If you hadn't laughed at any of the acts up to this point, Moje 3 had it all. If it wasn't for the presenters pointing out that the song was in fact about a boy I'd have guessed it was about a lesbian love triangle. Only does the former make sense if you see a previous performance where two of the girls are dressed up as a devil and an angel. Instead, it comes across as a lesbian trio that have fallen down the rabbit hole and landed in a cupcake wonderland. Now that's surrealism. Another pop Euro song that leads us down the wrong rabbit hole with the wrong outfits,  but at least they brought the cheese back to the Eurovision this year.

Red over red, minus one red, equals red
The return of the Facebook / Social Network girl who suddenly looks ten years older. Valentina Monetta doesn't look older or younger than her years, but from last years entry she has dyed her hair and is wearing clothing that suits a woman in her 30s. This caused me some confusion as last year she looked more like she was in her 20s. How very strange. Crisalide (Vola) was equally mature. This dress and translucent long shawl began as a deep red (perhaps burgundy) which was stripped off to reveal a more letter box red with abstract beaded detail. All a bit to mature for my liking. Classic though.

Jolly Gypsy in Red
Now this was a sight to be seen. Esma and Lozano were a male / female duet but may as well have been just Esma as she stole the show. Lozano a pleasant singer wearing a suit, taped together from the look of it, was blown straight off the stage as Esma almost glided on in a larger than life, over the top, red dress and shawl. The dress having gold floral detail. The song, like the pair, was calm and cool when Lozano sang and over the top and magnificent when Esma sang. Traditional beauty.

I don't think I'd want to marry her either
For me this felt like Kay Perry's I Kissed a Girl and Hot n Cold all wrapped into one and the official video backs this up. Krista Siegfrids most certainly performed one hell of a fun song with Marry Me, with fun props, and an 80s style retro white wedding dress and florescent pink accessories. Her song, catchy and querky, and fitting to her outfit. I think that Eurovision producers should have perhaps mixed up the fun a little bit more as the second semi's seem to get most of the fun. 

Super Nanny Librarian with a bulging cleavage
Moran Mazor made everyone's head turn as she stood on stage and performed Rak Bishvilo. I have no idea what it means or what it even sounded like as I was distracted by Moran's voluptuous body, bulging cleavage, and librarian look with those huge black framed glasses. I wonder what kind of books she keeps? Someone on the night tweeted that she looked like Super Nanny and that was it, there was no justification left.

Return to Space - Another white dress with Bling
The beautiful Margaret Berger delivered a compelling performance of I Feed you My Love. Dance, Techno, Sci-Fi awesomeness. The outfit screamed the same lyrics. She even moved. Most women in the tight, figure hugging dresses, didn't move but a few steps across the stage. Margaret gives us some tremendous wiggles, which I believe are the cause of the split up the front (in one of her performances the split is in the back). Hehe!

Anyone for another Wedding?
Another white wedding dress! Sophie Gelovani, one half of another Disneyesque performance, Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani, wore this elegant, dress that was beautiful, a touch Roman, and fanciful, perhaps suiting the sickeningly romantic song, Waterfall. This dress, however, just added to the feeling of being at some kind of wedding show.

And finally, without further-a-do, the only male dress of the evening, Romania.

Dracula in a growing dress of bling
The second semi finals ended in gothic theatrical heaven. Why hasn't anyone made Dracula the Musical yet? Should it occur to someone to make this I think Cezar should play Dracula. His black jacket with huge collars was blinging all over the place, and similarly to Moldova he grew and grew and grew. He was operatic, entertaining, theatrical, and perfect for closing Eurovision 2013 and I will be voting for him to win with his song It's my Life. For me it was like returning to the 90 dance scene that had been taken over by an opera singer.

So, although, slightly out of line from my usual blog posts, I hope you enjoyed this illustrated commentary of the semi final of Eurovision 2013. To close I am sharing Eurovision's video of Cezar performing It's my Life.

 



Thursday 9 May 2013

Fairies, Pixies and Bat Wings

All you need is trust and a little bit of Pixie Dust! 
~ J.M. Barrie 

What a hectic month it's been. I've been locked away in my studio (the Kitchen) for two to three weeks putting together the most beautiful paper crafting CD-Rom for Creative Crafting World. It's called At the Bottom of the Garden and features 12 original paintings by the incredibly talented Suzie Sroka - The Cock-eyed Arty Miss.

Cupcake Fairy - Original Painting by Suzie Sroka
This is the first time that I have worked with proper art, rather than digital art, and in the process I have met and developed a very wonderful friendship with Suzie. As the developing/designer of a CD-Rom I get to make the decision as to whether I want to work with a particular artists' work (whether original or digital). As soon as I saw Suzie's paintings I was immersed into a whole different world that reminded me of when I first saw a copy of Peter Pan and Wendy illustrated by Anne Grahame Johnstone - magical. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to work with Suzie and her paintings.

Lynda Chapman and the team at Creative Crafting World managed to get a 'four day deal' on Create and Craft TV starting on May 13, 2013 and wham! bam! alakazam! the pressure was on! On this super fantastic CD-Rom you will find 12 design sets - eight fairies and four pixies. It's packed with toppers, backing papers, embellishments, inserts, plate cards, gift boxes, and much more. There are digi-stamps for those who love to colour with pens like Letraset Promarkers or Copics, and Elaine Wheeler has done some lovely colouring tutorials for each set. Adding to the already jam sandwich, Paula Wade has done some amazing cutting files. I'll be making some of the cards and boxes you can do from this CD-Rom so I'll upload a gallery soon!

Screenshots from At the Bottom of the Garden CD-Rom
And just on the note of wings: we took our son, Vincent to Castle Acre/ Priory in Norfolk on bank holiday Monday and let him run around with his new reigns. They certainly are super fantastic - maybe I should consider something similar for the Binky Roo Store?

Vincent at Castle Acre / Priory with his bat Wings