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Behind the Scenes with I Used To… Draw

Today I wanted to give you a behind the scenes look, from a shoot that Stacy Moore and I recently had a lot of fun with. Stacy is an educational psychologist and the founder of I used to…. We’re working together on a series of art workshops, I used to… draw, the first of which will take place at my studio, this Sunday 26th of July.

You don't have to be an artist to join us. In fact, the sessions are especially for those of us who've put aside that younger creative self. Here's a chance for that self to come out and play again!

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Plant Something Daily – June Favourites

Another month of my #plantsomethingdaily challenge has gone by and today, I will cross the halfway mark!

It’s been a great exercise in discipline, stretching my creativity and not getting hung up on trying to achieve perfection. It’s also been quite satisfying – just doodling without much restriction.

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Buy African Directory

Buy African – build Africa!

Products, service providers, spaces and places I recommend.

Contribute to this ongoing project by sharing your recommendations in the comments.

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Plant Something Daily – May Favourites

My #plantsomethingdaily art challenge continues. At this point, as much as there are days where I feel like I just don’t want to do it (usually because I’ve left it very late and all I want to do is sleep), I’m way too committed to listen to the deviant voices in my head. And of course, all of you who’ve been following the journey on Facebook and Instagram keep me accountable so, thank you!

Here are some of my favourites from May.

The pair above are actually part of a series of 3. I drew and then experimented on the computer.

Fruits and vegetables featured a few times.

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How to: screenprint, with Creativity and Noise

I have a confession to make: despite how much I enjoyed screenprinting in university, living with a screenprinter has made me lazy. Why bother when I can ask/beg Lusungu to print something for me? :). However, the more and more I witness the joys of printing, the more and more I want to try my rusty hands at it again.

Lucky for me, and you, Lusungu’s Creativity and Noise screenprinting workshops are finally here! He’s been planning them for a while and he’s finally got some dates booked.

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Reconnect with your creative self

Over the past 9 months or so, I’ve been reconnecting with something that I used to do – making art! Not for work but, just for fun – just for me. It’s been the best thing I decided to do.

My friend, Stacy Moore – a chartered psychologist – came up with a wonderful idea. She used to love making art too and has been longing to experience again, the joy which she used to derive from it. In her words:

“It seems ludicrous to me that there are activities we put a lot of time and energy into when we were young, developed talents and a love for them, and then let them all go in preference for “a proper job”.

So she’s decided to do something about it and I’m so glad to be on board.

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Creative experiments: plant collage

Soon after I moved to the UK, around 10 years ago, I bought my first house plant. It has been with me through moving house, several times (including moving city – twice!), and through all kinds of neglect (I know, shame on me). The poor thing got bent out of shape – literally.

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The Afri-love List: 4 (East) African Photographers to Follow on Instagram

This is the first of many lists as I’m constantly discovering amazing African photographers (and other creatives), through Instagram. The four featured here all hail from my part of the continent – the east. This is just a slice of their repertoire so be sure to check them out their Instagram feeds. In alphabetical order …

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Plant Something Daily – April Favourites

A third of the year has already gone by! Doing my #plantsomethingdaily drawings has been an interesting way of tracking the progress of time. Here are a few favourites from April…

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Plant Something Daily – March Favourites

My daily art challenge continues and I reached the 100 milestone last week. Here are some of my favourites from March. As you can see I had quite a bit of fun with filters (my photo editing app of choice is still VSCO Cam).

Below is a special drawing inspired by a woman I met while vending at the Southbank Centre's Women of the World festival. Her last name is stone and she had such a beautiful spirit!

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