/karen/

What a good idea!

Hey, lets visit the Guylian Belgian Chocolate Café before we see Katie Noonan

We signed it a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for the tip, Jan! Ooh, more things to knit ...

Hi Karen,
Almost totally off topic, but here’s a blink back at you!  Hippocampus mittens.

http://www.theinsideloop.com/Issue4/Patterns/hippocampus.html

I like some of the other patterns there too.  I’ve made a couple of things from their summer edition and they turned out well.  This is a UK production.

Any word on the contract?

Bravo Karen. Superb writing and illustration (especially the high contrast frames).

And yes I noticed the transformers poster on the last page! Nice

Thanks Bec!

Good job, all of you!  It looks fantastic!

Heheheh ... Hello Kitty is my muse!

See! I told you they were cute stick-figures - especially when they’re angry!

Kawaiiiiii!

Heheheh ... H, it’s never going to happen! Carpe diem!

Kere: Yes, I own all three of Scott McCloud’s books on comics, but I’ve found Making Comics hard to get through—I guess because, as you say, his primary target audience is artists. But it’s very interesting and helpful all the same.

Very nice

I’ll put this, too, on my list of things to do when I have more time…

Any discussion of the purpose of art is going to huge and unwieldy. And in the end, I suppose, my question would be whether or not it truly matters or if it can be defined in a way that truly encompasses, rather than limiting, the possibilities of art and the roles of the artist. In the end, I don’t have to write (there is no compulsion) but nor do I write for any end purpose (which to me would still involve some form of compulsion). I write because it’s part of who I am, because I love it and would rather do it than not. The process is enough for me, is the enjoyment. It’s not the story or the characters or the theme or message - all of that is about the end product - but the work itself, the way it happens, the word choice and the way its chosen, the way each part works together and how I’m making that happen. It’s said that a work of art is never completed only abandoned and I think that’s true and that this is why: art is about the creation, not about the product.

But that’s just my point-of-view - it’s the importance of art for me - and there are no ends of artists and critics who would disagree with me and do so strenuously. And I don’t know that there is a right or wrong here. For me the end product is… very nice and I’m happy to do something with it. I’d like to think it can express something important to other people and that that message should be to God’s greater glory. Which, as you’ve pointed out, it cannot help but be. But for me it’s about the process which is, to some extent, a view of art for art’s sake.

Well, that was convoluted. I’m planning a wedding! I have an excuse! ;p Hope that made some sense. ^-^

Hihi. The book Jon recommended to me when I started my graphic novel is Scott McCloud’s ‘Making Comics’. I found it quite useful, though a lot of the stuff it says are things you would think of yourself given the moment to do so and he’s very much coming from an artist’s point-of-view and seems to assume that the drawing comes before the writing. Still, he had some interesting things to say and in an interesting manner.

I’m very glad you’ve done some drawing for this. I found it interesting to think in the right way for this kind of static visual form, unlike a form like film which is… *tries to find the word* based in action rather than having all the action happening between images. (Why sue one word when ten will do?! ;p ) It takes some getting used to, though I’ve been doing layouts as I write which helped no end.

Anyway, this is alll shiny. ^-^

Good discussion and reminder, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of this series

It’s something I think about from time to time, and should probably devote a bit more thought to, although I’m approaching art from the point of view of a profession/vocation more than as a vital form of self-expression. But I will often be among people who do, so shouldn’t ignore that aspect.

I wonder if there’s a name for that kind of creative/artistic circularity ...

George, one day I will come and borrow your collection ... once I get through my unread pile!

Kathleen: no, not yet. It’s sitting pristine in a ziplock bag ;P

Hee hee, yes I did! And today I found some blue pencils so I’m going to have a go at using them.

We will have to collaborate some time in the future ... I will keep thinking up more ideas for four-page comics ...

And that Copper tutorial was great - informative and funny. Did you hold the pencil the right way?

So glad you went for it! I was going through my notebook the other night and found my sketches and thought, I wish I had had time

It’s so lovely, like something made out of spiderweb! My “string” illustration was based on a sketch I made of you knitting it (although I didn’t know it at the time).

By the way, I have every Georgette Heyer book (all the romance ones). She’s one of my favourite authors.

That was such a funny, enjoyable read especially the thing about the knitting needles.  Funny stuff and sad but true
I love going to Brizzy.  I like how laid back the city is, there’s little aggro, and I love the weatherboard architecture.  I have a friend who lives near St Lucia (actually Kenmore) and I always love going there… Ah!  I miss it.

Yes, but there’s a difference between following the rules and trying to convince people they are reasonable

It was a very excellent chair, Karen - and your photos all turned out really well. I’ve got some sketches up on Flickr (but they don’t look like you!).

Used the sketchbook yet?

About the bamboo knitting needles, they follow rules as a requirement of their job. As with most people, keeping their job is most important so regardless of how silly the rules are, they must be followed as she would be well conditioned to do so.

http://boingboing.net/2008/10/07/us-customs-sketching.html

http://www.xtcian.com/arch/001602.php

Tea Inn! And freezer section of Asian supermarket.

Thank you again - it’s lovely!

the last spray bottle I got I got from woolies (in australia). I would be suprised if they have stopped selling them. Maybe you should try looking in the gardening bit? I can’t remember where it was.

you have inspired me to get a wii fit too! I am rubbish at the soccer heading game. but I like the ski jump!

alison 8-)

Ooh, where do you get dessert dumplings? Hang on, I think I might have had them in some Chinese restaurant. Not with the soup though.

1. Dessert dumplings!! Have you ever had them? White on the outside, filled with peanut sauce or black sesame on the inside. You have it with a sweet watery soup. Also, you can get ice-cream type dumplings (if that’s stretching the definition of dumpling a bit far )

2. Duck gyoza?? Yum! Wanna try that!!

Wow! That is amazing!!

Sorry about that! My blog must be rather hungry, eating comments like that ...

So glad you’re still reading Been praying for you.

Hi! *I’m* still reading your blog!
sounds like you had a nice time!

the last comment I left got eaten (i.e. never appeared) so better luck this time??

Alison P.

Thanks for this. I have it all sorted! I wonder why all that other html stuff comes up whenever I look at other rss feeds, when it’s that simple ...

Regarding Google Reader:

Click on “Add subscription” (LHS menu).

Copy and paste the relevant feed URL. My blog is complicated because there are four:

• If you want full posts, use http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rssfulltext/
• If you want full posts and my del.icio.us links, use http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rssfulldelicious/ (at the moment, however, the del.icio.us feed isn’t quite working because there’s this one thing I don’t know how to do).
• If you prefer just reading headlines and excerpts, and then clicking through to the full post if it’s interesting, use http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rssexcerpt/
• And I also have a feed for all the comments that get submitted to my site: http://hippocampusextensions.com/karen/rsscomments/

Click “Add” and you’re done!

This has nothing to do with your post, but I am clueless as to what to do with your feed things on here up there in the corner, and can no longer get this blog in google reader. So, can you enlighten me as to what I might do with that html stuff up there?

Everyone automatically gets copyright on work they produce and publish. You don’t need to (C) 2008 the work, its automatic law.

You can release that work under a license otherwise it defaults to the normal copyright law. A license can give certain permissions and apply certain restrictions in the use of the work.
Often people release works under more than one license, for say a commercial license and a free license where free may have some restrictions such as preventing re-sale of the item.

Patent law only applies if you obtained a patent, which only applies to inventions which are new and original. Unfortuantly people can patent too many things these days such as DNA and thereby own living organisms.

*struggles to express thought coherently* What Kathleen said. ;p If your enjoyment of the activity is suffering because of the pressure other people’s suggestions place on it, then perhaps you should cut back on accepting those suggestions. I now have a default response of “no” to most suggestions that I offer the things I do to relax or for my own enjoyment in the service of something or someone else. Not that this stops me offering to do things but I know it’s easy to feel like you should do something because people have suggested that it might help.