Thursday 20 December 2012

Hello Rob!



Mum and I travelled to London for the day to finish our Christmas shopping, meet Rob Ryan and collect the prize for winning the Christmas Competition.




Naturally, it was incredible to see behind the scenes and meet an artist whose work I've been admiring for years. Rob Ryan, and all the people in his studio, are as lovely as you would expect them to be for being behind such beautiful work. He showed us around his pad, including his yummy studio and cute bedroom. My camera couldn't capture everything with enough quality, but I can confirm his studio looks like this:



There was an enormous, intricate paper cut work in progress…



As Rob showed us around his (occasional) living space, I got a lovely photo of his finished rest room with their (own made) periodic table tiles, which I read about on his blog post a few months ago…


On the train home, mum and I had so much fun looking through all the glorious prizes I'd been presented with! Here are a few…

Desk Calendar
Cushion Cover
Money Box
Note Book
2013 wall calendar
Limited Edition Laser Cut
Limited Edition Screen Print
Signed Book
Tea Towel
Tea Towel
Tea Towel
Book
Ceramic Tile
Ceramic Tile
Tape
Christmas Tape
And lots more!

Aside from all these beautiful items, by far the best part of winning this prize was meeting Rob and his team, seeing his studios, being invited to do work experience, and getting a massive hug accompanied by a mouthful of fluffy hair. I do hope we meet again.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Fish book – first glimpse!

Our fish books have been printed! I'm very excited by the overall effect of the tile design for the cover and end papers. I haven't seen the real thing yet, but I've been told they are lovely! 




Tuesday 18 December 2012

2013 Paper Cut Calendar Success

In November I ran a trial of a project I was going to launch on my DaWanda shop the following month.
(Read about the project here)
Kim, a friend of a friend, volunteered to try out the project. A few weeks later she sent me some pictures of her results. To my surprise and delight, she explained how she had developed the initial concept to add a personal touch! She placed family photos behind the cut out letters so every month holds a lovely memory as well as the elegant paper-cut letter. 
This is going to make such a lovely Christmas gift for her parents – so much care and thought has gone into it. I am so impressed!

"Yes, it took a while - I hadn't done card cutting before, and found the curved bits quite frustrating. However, I think it will do the job!"
Kim



The template for this calendar is available from my DaWanda store in English or German. 

Saturday 15 December 2012

Congrats to Cheryl…

I want to congratulate Cheryl – she is a runner up in the Rob Ryan Christmas Competition.
She has an interesting blog, sells lovely cards, and I love her cute film…

Friday 14 December 2012

Rob Ryan Christmas Competition 2012

Henning and I entered the Rob Ryan Christmas Competition – AND WE WON!
We spent a whole weekend getting this prepared. We had a few hairy moments, but what a success! 

Here is our winning entry:

…what it takes to decide from Charlotte Vogel on Vimeo.

Friday 30 November 2012

Fish tiles

I'm working on a book which will be published in Jan 2013.
It's an index of seafood in seven languages. 
I've been working on a pattern design for the endpapers. It's taken me two days to draw.
Inspired by Portuguese ceramic tiles, combined with the theme of sea & fishes, here is my vector-drawn tile design…

© Charlotte Vogel 2013

Sunday 25 November 2012

2013 Paper-cut calendar project


I'm so pleased that several people have already tried out the paper-cut calendar project. I've received some lovely pictures and feedback! 

My friend Nat:
"It's rather addictive, and rather beautiful!"



My Mum:



"After a few wobbles I got into the swing of it and got more confident and quicker. It took me a good couple of hours to finish. The cutting tip was very useful. The hole punch would not take all the sheets so I had to divide it into 3 sections – it lines up near enough! I'm very happy with my first attempt. It was addictive – I didn't want to stop until I had finished!"

This template is available in my DaWanda shop in English and German.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Call for volunteers!



I have put together a template & instruction document so that you can make my A5 cut out calendar at home…

If you are able to cut out shapes with a scalpel, then you will be able to make this.
The design is graphic and geometric, using overlapping lettering to create a random and interesting composition each month. 
This is a rewarding project which can be completed in under 2 hours. Cutting out can be very relaxing – put some music on, get a warm drink and let your mind wander as you slice along the lines and create an impressive piece of work which will be admired all year! 
The finished item would make a lovely handmade gift for Christmas or New Year. You choose the colours, so you can make it fit with any colour scheme.

The PDF contains instructions, tips, and layouts to make an A5 wall calendar.
In addition to the document, you will need:
• 7 sheets of A4 paper in any contrasting colours of your choice, 100–200 gms.
• A4 printer with black ink
• Scalpel with a fresh blade
• Metal ruler
• Cutting mat
• Strong hole punch
• 20cm of string or ribbon

It’s available in English or German. 
You can print as many as you like, but please note, this is for personal use only and not for commercial use. Because this is a PDF you will need Adobe Reader to view the file. You can download it for free at www.adobe.com

This item will be on sale in my 
 DaWanda shop 

Saturday 17 November 2012

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Some amazing things from Manchester

I can't post all the amazing things I saw in Manchester because there were just too many. These are the main highlights:

Manchester Art Gallery: First Cut Exhibition
Rob Ryan's sensational paper cut – one of many stunning pieces. Click images to enlarge.

David Shrigley: HOW ARE YOU FEELING?


Fifty Years Of A Clockwork Orange