Reflecting on 2010

Gosh, has it really been 2 months since I posted last? I don't know how many of you are going to be reading this - you must all be bored of my absence by now and given up coming here. But I thought it would be good for me to explain my absence, and also do a bit of reflecting as we head into 2011...

I knew 2010 was going to be a tough year. It started off with us handing in all that we'd been up to in the first semester of my final year studying illustration. I'd worked really hard and was determined to concentrate wholly on my degree and nothing else this year. Unfortunately I wasn't really happy with the feedback I got from the tutors. I felt I hadn't quite achieved what I had wanted to and that made me quite sad. But I thought I still have another (my final) semester and I was going to pull myself up through it all.

I worked really hard that last semester - but it always felt a bit unsatisfactory. My coursemates were all jumping over personal hurdles, and I just felt stuck. I worked so hard I exhausted myself. Eventually, during Easter break, Sunshine took me away to Milan for a few days. We were one of the last planes out before all the airports were shut down due to the Icelandic volcano eruption. So although Milan was great, it took us three extra days to get back to the UK travelling over land and sea. Somehow I felt I never quite managed to catch up with work after that.

I wasn't particularly happy with my graduation grade; but I was too tired to care. We also had a really strong year so no matter how good you were, most people were ignored and the same handful of about 5 people kept getting all the interest from commisioners. Now don't get me worng - I'm not bitter ... those few people DID deserve to get all that interest. But having gone round lots of other shows I realised that most of our even mid-range students were more talented and creative than some of the best in the other colleges. Anyways, lots of other little things happened within college those last couple of months that left me quite disheartened by it all, and I didn't end my degree in a particularly happy place.

Summer I was determined to get my life back and reconnect with my Darling Sunshine who'd pretty much just seen the back of my head in front of a screen for the last year. It was a good summer. We didn't really go away anywhere, but bought a tandem and spent lots of time just cycling around and having quality time together. It was a wonderful few months.

As the new academic year 2010/2011 started in September/October; and Sunshine had to get back to his university lecturing job; I thought I'd take the time from then till the end of the year to re-do my portfolio and have a re-think about what actually I wanted to do with this illustration degree. I definitly wanted (and still do) want to become a freelance illustrator - but I needed to work out within what specialisms and whether I wanted to do stuff for myself (designer-maker) or commissions, or some combination of the two.

Then at the beginning of October we got the awful news about the death of our very good friend (and wedding photographer) Burning Dan. Within a day I also received some upsetting news about a family crisis too (which is still unresolved). I spend days crying as one thing would remind me of the other and it just spiralled. I tried to distract myself with illustrating - but was having real self-confidance issues and just couldn't bring myself to produce anything decent.

So there I am trying to keep it together, when we find out that I'm expecting! (bravo to you those that have read this far and managed to get the news!). We had been trying, but with all the rubbish news, it still took us a bit by surprise ... The hormonal imbalances meant that I lost all creativity and was just feeling tired all the time. Then at about 8 weeks the symptoms really hit and December was pretty much a washout with me having all-day sickness; Sunshine catching the flu; me catching it off him... etc etc. No cards or greetings for anyone.

We had the dating scan just before Christmas and got to see Little Wind for the first time. He/she seems to be doing well (despite momma being so ill). Started telling family over Christmas and friends just after that. Happy news all round.

Sunshine and I spend New Year's Eve at a dear friend's who looked after us very well and we vowed that 2011 was going to be a much better year than 2010. And with that thought we went to bed. On New Year's morning, just as we were getting up and having breakfast, I got a phone call from my Dad. "Happy New Year dad!".. "Mithi, are you alright?", "Yeeessss ....?", "You sure you're alright? I have some bad news ..." Oh dear! For a second there I thought it was to do with that unresolved family crisis from October ... but it turned out to be that one of my dear cousins, only 27, had died tragically in an accident the night before. I put the phone down and cried on Sunshine for a while. Is this how 2011 was going to start?

So, I have't been really 'here' physically or mentally. I've been meaning to blog since Christmas ... but its been one thing after another ... I haven't given up on PlanetMithi, but it will still be a bit quiet here for a while. I'm getting much better but the pregnancy symptoms seem to attack quite randomly at times so I'm not quite there yet. I'd love to start crafting for the baby and showing you all what I'm doing here - but I've been mostly just curled up in bed fighting fatigue and nausea and sadness. Writing this post has been my achievement for the day.

Thank you for reading this far - may you all have a Fabulous and crisis-free 2011!

Love
Mithi

Reposted from Planetmithi

Lucky Win! Roddy cushion!

Quiet times at PlanetMithi ... we've been busy living life and enjoying the company of friends but somehow keep forgetting to take the camera with us - like our tandem trip last week to Bath to make samosas (yum!) with the lovely KimStar.

Anyways, one other lovely thing that happened this last week was that I entered a competition over at Roddy and Ginger to win one of her cushions ... really didn't espect to win - but Virginia's stuff is SO lovely and I've just been waiting to have our own house (and Ercol Studio bed/sofa) before I blew the budget on a bunch of Roddy and Ginger originals; so I thought I'd just try my luck ...

My lovely win came in the post over the weekend - doesn't Roddy look smashing on our Ercol Windsor chair (inherited from the sister-in-law) on some Dandelion Clock by Sanderson seating?
It took us a year to get round to getting the seat cushion cut for that chair; another year to source a fabric we liked; and another further year to actually get round to cutting the fabric; plus a few months on top of that to finally sew the seat up (thank you mum for that!). Now its all done and has its own Roddy cushion too ... Happy Mithi!

Lucky Finds - Nymolle Hoyrup Art Faience Dish and Cup

Some of my favourite finds - a vintage limited edition Nymolle of Denmark little dish and matching little cup (slightly larger than a shot glass size) designed by Paul Hoyrup illustrating a lovely little scandinavian habour sceen ... I've not found out much about Hoyrup but all the stuff he did for Nymolle is Adorable!

Lucky Find books - "What Makes an Orchestra" by Jan Balet

A quite recent find and in really good condition ... This is fairly simple (illustration that is) - and absolutely adorable in its simplicity. Although if you Google image search Jan Balet, you'll find a plethora of other work, including this lovely multicoloured version of this same book. The drawings (although I seem to have not included the best of them) are quite entertating too - you can see what I mean from the mother and crying child. The text is great as well - and its really nice to find an illustrator/writer combo in one person like that.

Lucky Finds - Chance Glass trays by Kenneth Townsend

Two of my more recent finds - a couple of small trays or pin dishes by Chance Glass with illustrations by great British illustrator Kenneth Townsend. I think I have a thing for 'London' based paraphenalia :)

The bright colours and simple shapes make me go "Yay!" ... what I wouldn't do for a Chelsea pensioner.

The front garden ... part one

And I don't actually know if ever there will be a part two - but we had to start somewhere!

Before:

We live in a rental property so haven't really paid much attention to the front garden. Its also not a place to "hang out" in (that's what the back "yarden" is for!). In the last three years its slightly taken on a life of its own. So we thought its time we had a bit of a re-structuring. And for that, in comes, Miss Leela S, fellow dancer and friend, and horticulturist :) ... its amazing what you find out about your dance friends when you actually bother to ask what they do when they're not dancing ...

Anyways, yesterday Leela came round with her tools, and I joined in (mostly assisting rather than doing much ...). A whole day of cutting, chopping, digging, pulling and clearing.

During:

And ....... the-morning-After:

So this is it this morning - its bizzare - feels like we've gained an extra room! The big lump is a gorgeous purple clematis. We've also left some of the roses, and moved one bush. Have left a pink fushia although that might need moving. Apart from clearing out those bags full of shruberry and dealing with clearing the 'bathtub' (on the right), its like a blank slate ... part two will hopefully be the filling of that slate ... (when we get round to it!)

Brambling along - Chew Valley Lake & Stanton Drew

Those of you who know us will know about our obsession with our lovely Thorn Explorer tandem aptly named "Bramble" (Thorn? Explorer? Geddit?). We've already done well over 200 miles - our longest being to Stratford-upon-Avon and back (54 miles). Yesterday we went for a shorter ride - but my was it against gravity! North Somerset is sooooooo hilly ...

First - plan the route. The Sustrans cycle maps are great (have a look at how close together the contour lines are ... told you we were fighting gravity!

Eventually made it to Chew Valley Lake.

On the way back we had to stop at Stanton Drew. Sunshine had told me about this stone circle and the story is that they were dancers at a wedding that got turned to stone by the Devil because they kept dancing into the Sabbath ... so obviously we had to take a photo of us as petrified dancers ;)

Ah yes ... my Stanton Drew Stone Cirle...

Didn't take nearly as many photos as I would have liked - too busy enjoying the ride I guess ... Thank you for a lovely day out Sunshine :)

Lucky Find books - "Happy Owls" by Celestino Piatti

I first came across Celestino Piatti back in April whilst looking for Italian illustrators that I could look up on our trip to Milan for the design festival. Piatti is infact Swiss, but it didn't stop me squeeling with delight when I came across his work - wish I could draw like that... and squeeling even more when I finally got my hands on a copy of "The Happy Owls" ...

Its the story of two little owls who are asked by the local barnyard fowl why they never quarrel. And so they proceed to tell the barnyard birds all about the things that make them happy with the changing seasons ... oh my God SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Can I just say - that is pretty much Sunshine and I ... we ARE the happy owls. And you can often find me reading this to myself and hugging the book whenever I need a little cheering up.

Squeeeee :)

Happy 1st Birthday Sophs...

Happy birthday to our favourite niece, Sophie ... photos from her joyfully pink birthday party a couple of weekends ago (its her birthday today - but her parents decided to have an early celebration so we could fit all the family in). All the lovely decor by her smashingly talented mum, my sister-in-law Lucy.

Lucky Finds - Carlton Ware guards money boxes

I can't remember where I first came across these, but my heart was immediately smitten. A year of hunting has resulted in two of these gorgeous vintage Carlton Ware ceramic money boxes - a Cold Stream Guard and a Beefeater. I would love to find the other two - a policeman (Bobby) and a Scots Guardsman - am still on the lookout for them. Wouldn't they look fab in a kids' room? They currently sit on the window sill behind my desk, protecting my unruly pile of stationary. One day they will have pride of place on their own shelves.