Review: All Lovely Things

A few weeks ago I received an email asking me if I would like to review Lea Redmond's new book "All Lovely Things - A Field Journal for the Objects That Define Us" that is being released today (March 3rd, 2015)! I obviously jumped on the offer (hence this post and review) and am beyond impressed with how well suited this book is for me. I am always interested in books and journals that help me stretch my creative muscles and this one is the perfect resource to prompt all sorts of meaningful and reflective drawings.  It's a wonderful illustrated guide that helps you better understand yourself through the items and objects that fill in the background of the story of your life.  Before I go much further, I'd like to say that this is by no means a paid promotion - I just really, really ended up loving this publication.  Let's take a look:

The first thirteen pages or so of the book outline how to use this journal to document meaningful objects in your life.  Lea takes you through a series of experiments to get your creative juices flowing and to help you connect with special items and important people in your life.  To help you understand the concept of the proposed project even further, she has filled out a few pages of her own to demonstrate ways to use this book to its full potential.  I was particularly drawn to two of the people she chose as I have a certain admiration for them as well.  The first being that all too amazing mid-century modern icon Charles (and Ray) Eames:

and the second being the king of natural selection himself - Charles Darwin:

I'm pretty sure I am not quite as knowledgable on the life and inspiration of either Eames or Darwin but enjoyed peeking into the inspiration they have given Lea to grow into the person she is today. There is even a section later on in the book that lets you reflect on specific objects you've drawn so you can describe how they have contributed to your life.

This book is like a guided tour of your inner thoughts and memories and really helps you identify key items in your life and celebrate them without necessarily having loads of physical "stuff" that clogs up our homes.  It is like a lovely spring cleaning for your soul (and house in many cases) as it lets you connect by sketching, collaging, or describing memorable objects from your life and may help you let go of some items that you don't necessarily want around but still want to preserve the memory of in a special way! The majority of the book is a blank canvas where you can draw portraits of yourself, or people you know, admire, or imagine and connect specific objects to those important people in your life.  I love that there are different words as well as blank spots on the journal pages to help you stretch your creativity and perhaps think about someone or something in a slightly different way. Here's a sample blank page:

Now when I went on to start drawing in my own pages I quickly realized just how personal and emotional you can make the journal and enjoyed a look back on some fond memories of my Grandma:

I then decided to take a step back from the serious and dedicate the next drawing to Humphrey (the stuffed unicorn car pillow Fraser and I make stories up about).  I was shocked at how quickly I had filled up the two pages:

Oh my that unicorn is a character.  I really love how I can draw a little doodle of something that may seem super random but actually tells a whole story about a memory (or in Humphrey's case an imaginary memory) based on the person it is drawn next to. I had an amazing time doing up quick sketches in this journal and will certainly continue to fill it out over time.  I'm thinking  the next entry I will do is drawings of myself at different ages and all the things I loved during those years.  OoO! What fun! 

I'm quite obviously a big supporter of this book and highly recommend picking it up for anyone who enjoys journaling, doodling, or wants to reflect creatively on their life.  Just think how cool it would be to show to your kids one day and tell them all the stories about how Humphrey secretly makes campfires to keep warm in the wintertime (despite his weak ankles)! Hooray! 

one sketch a day

I've been seeing lots of other bloggers out there share their sketchbooks and I figured I would join in on the fun! Fraser and I bought "one sketch a day" journals back in May and decided to draw together each night as a fun couples project:


The drawing "together" part didn't turn out exactly as we had hoped (since we both have very different schedules) but we are managing to keep up with our books! So far I've been using mine as an outlet for new craft ideas (I'm sure you'll recognize a few of my craft projects on some of the pages) and also as a place to experiment with cute stuff! Let's take a peek at a few of my pages so far:


Lots of the pages I showed have the new button set design ideas I'm working on and the sketchbook has been a great place to brainstorm! What do you think? Which scribbles would you like to see developed into 1" pinback button form? How about any other inspiring themes I should sketch? I've got a good 316 days left in my sketchbook to fill up...

it was a record year for rainfall - part III

Hello! Time for me to share the final pages of my sketchbook project. I hope you've enjoyed parts I and II! Let's start off part III with the very worst thing about rain - wet jeans:


This next page was inspired by that time my sister and I did a guided low tide tour at jungle beach (on haida gwaii). It was raining so hard we were both drenched (under our rain gear and everything)! Ick!



My dad's favourite page:


Return of the little orange kitty!



I thought I was being so smart by lining up the water level with the sea water. Apparently I am very easily amused.



I did the "rain all day/rain all night" pages solely so I could include the owl and the pussycat (in their pea green boat). That nonsense poem is much more nonsensical than I remember...


Oo! That rain level is sure getting high! Looks like quite the flood!


Yay! More bull kelp!


Jim said this next page was a terrible morbid way to end the book...but that orange kitty is so cute! Even when he's drowning! That takes talent!


Nope. Can't leave it like that. Time to turn the story around at the last minute! Quick! Pull the plug!


*Whew* Water levels back to normal! And the book is finished! Oh except for that last page where I just put some contact info on there in case someone feels inspired to offer me a publishing deal or something (seriously - wouldn't that be cool?) or maybe just check out my blog or etsy shop (also quite cool).


Tada! Part III complete! So now that you've seen the whole thing what's your verdict? I'd love to hear what you think!

it was a record year for rainfall - part II

In case you're just tuning in - I've been talking about the book I did for The Art House Co-op's sketchbook project. Yesterday I revealed pages 1-13 and today we continue...with a map of british columbia!


OoOo that rain gauge (aka the line on the back side of the pages) is starting to get up there! More rain on the coast! I really like this next page:


I wish all drains had eyes on them...


This next one is my mom's favourite. Leslie told me that I ripped this image off of someone (which I certainly didn't do intentionally - no photo reference for me!) but I'm fairly sure wellies and rain puddles are pretty common images...


And the rain keeps on falling! After all, it was supposed to be a record year for rainfall...



This next one is probably my favourite page of the entire book (also marking the half way point which I was super stoked about). Plus it lets me tie in more science! and bull kelp!



Behold a slight return of the b.c. map. Apparently I like to tie a little geography into my sketches.



I tried to do a few "real life" type drawings as well - but those expressive and cute rain clouds just keep popping in!


And the rain level just keeps rising!



Oh what a great page to leave the second installment on! I love that one! Tune in tomorrow for the final pages - same bat time, same bat channel (well...not really...but my life needs more batman references...)

it was a record year for rainfall - part I

I've decided to be proactive this week and instead of procrastinating and giving you a week of internet finds and random crap I think up late minute, I got off my bum and prepared posts revealing my sketchbook project! Hooray! As I explained on saturday, I was full of nothing but good intentions for this book and after a busy summer/fall/holiday I found myself doing a last minute scramble to get it ready on time! The Art House Co-op ended up changing the deadline from the 15th to the 18th but I decided to stick to the 15th (well 14th actually since the post office isn't open on weekends) to keep with my personal "get this blasted book done" goal. So even though my actual sketchbook has started it's journey across the united states I managed to take some pictures of it to share with all of you in case you can't make it to one of the sketchbook project gallery exhibitions. Let's take a look at part I (of III) of my sketchbook (with a little running commentary):

When I got the book in the mail my first reaction was "what kind of moleskine is this? It's thin, flimsy, and the pages are super see through! Ack!" so to help make my book a little more substantial (and make it stand out a smidge) fraser helped me mount some matte board on the cover. I figure the little rain cloud (inked and coloured in pencil crayon) sets the stage for my entire sketchbook and encourages anyone interested in super cute wide set eye smiles to pick it up and take a gander!


What fun! Onto the first page:


I thought I'd introduce myself a little further to let any sketchbook viewers get an idea of what they've got themselves into...


My solution to the awful see through pages? Use the back of the pages as a water gauge:


So sneaky! It also meant that I only had to draw things on 40 of the 80 pages (super sneaky) which turned out to be a fantastic idea since I was putting it all together a week before it was due! It also helped me develop the theme of my book. I started off with a low water level (and low water level drawings/story) which transitioned into wetter and rainier drawings as the book progressed. You will now see how my "sketchbook" turned into more of a "semi educational children's book" (but a cute one though):


A sneak peek at 78 year old kate - grey, walker, saggy, and fantastic bold accessories. I also enjoy little orange kitties!



Whee! Science is fun!


Kittens are fun too!


and robots and snails!





I really liked how the wet cat turned out (so much that I took a close up):




Go rain go! So what do you think so far? What's your favourite page? Do you think I could cut it as a children's book author (haha)? Stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment of pages...