I just wrote a big old post but lost it. Something is wrong with my access to this site. Anyway, a big Hi to Hannah Curio – I miss you so so much, but I am so excited for you, out there exploring the US, being so involved in writing and making. It is just delicious and perfect. Keep us posted.

I have been stuck in a rut when it comes to making, I have not been able to create any art, except for my weekly comic MeaCulpa at cityoflostsouls.co.uk which does not really push the boat out.

What should I do? Any tips to get me putting pencil to paper again?

Another thing that has kept me away from the call of the canvas is that work has taken up a large part of my time. This is necessary sometimes, and right now it is good for me. One benefit is that the logo (bit of calligraphy) I made for the Year of Creative Scotland 2012, is now on national TV and on billboards in airports in Scotland China and India, which is really fabulous. Be better if I could get my actual art out there, or even, start making some art again!

Another benefit of the job is that I get access to some excellent creative minds, one of them is Plum, a music artist who made this wonderful track and music video with our company:


http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=36976674&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

Plum – The Seed (Official Music Video) from Greg Hoyna / Pencil Rebel on Vimeo.

Enjoy everyone, and I will be in touch again.

Big love,

Tammy Curio

little birdy footsteps in the sand – delightful!

Hannah Curio x

by Hannah Longmuir

by Hannah Longmuir

all images copyright belongs to the artist

Beauman was an absolute delight to draw.

Hannah Curio x

Stories are alive.  They are moving and repeating and seeking out variations.  I like to think of stories as the pulse that unifies the people of this world – and have done so throughout history.  And that’s one reason why I like a room full of books.  Each storybook represents an opportunity to read a tale that might give me a chance to listen to the heartbeat of humanity: that’s what a really good book can do.

Gianni Botsford's bookcase - picture borrowed from Bookiliciousblog.com

and libraries!! Libraries are portals with the potential to take you on a tour of all the stories and all the people of the world.

8 x 12 print by Joel Zimmer Photography on Etsy

What have you been reading recently?  I’ve just finished The Atmospheric Railway, by Sheena Mackay, and Mr Norrel and Jonathan Strange by Susanna Clarke – and I’d highly recommend both.  I read them on my new kindle, which doesn’t have the aesthetic beauty of the bookshelf, but is perfect for travels and handbags.

Hannah Curio x

Protesters outside the White House in Washington DC last weekend.

And right beside them – literally yards away – some boys playing hockey:

We also saw a heavily-policed eviction of the Occupy campers from Macpherson Square.  There’s an account of it on the Occupy DC website – see here - which is most interesting if you read the debate in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

also have a read of the Apocalypse Baker’s blog post responding to ‘how we treat out female role models’ that I posted earlier this week – she talks about fictional role models and why they work for her.

Hannah Curio x

textile necklaces by Mandy Besek

pom pom necklace by Mandy Besek

textile necklace by Mandy Besek

textile necklace by Mandy Besek

coral lace necklace by Mandy Besek

tassel necklace by Mandy Besek

You can read more about Mandy’s work on her wordpress blog here or see her work in her Etsy shop.

Awesome, no?

Hannah Curio x

PS this is our 100th post!!!

Gillies’ paintings are full of love for and intimate knowledge of the landscape.  He is rooted in his environment. 

Path By A Pond

If I’m not mistaken you can see some of his paintings and drawings at the Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh at the moment.

Trees Near Temple

Hannah Curio x

Happy Valentines Day dear readers! 

I’m in Roxboro, North Carolina, for three weeks – living in a hotel near the new factory Tom is commissioning.  I draw and sew during the day while he’s at work, which suits me just fine.  I’ve got a coffee maker, a pad of paper and my pencils so I’m a happy bear.

There’s a sign outside a florists here which says “Valentines Special: Steak and Roses. Ask inside for details.”  I have no idea what this might mean.

wishing you all a love-filled day

Hannah Curio x

The idea for role models week arose while watching E4’s Sorority Girls.  One of the girls was asked by a panel who her female role models are, and she struggled to think of a single one.  It set me thinking about why we have role models and what functions they perform, and whether we’ve outgrown the need for them.

I thought I’d kick of the week by doing a little celebrating, a little brainstorming, and posing some questions. 

So let’s start by celebrating. 

In a grateful nod to the suffragettes, who embroidered the names of their female role models onto their banners, I decided to do some not-very-scientific research and collect names of women – famous, fictional and familial – that my peers (both male and female) call their role models for one reason or another.  I’ve embroidered these onto a panel as my way of celebrating inspiring women. 

While researching my collection of names for the embroidery, I was also able to form a gallery of words – some complementary, some contradictory – which might give us clues as to what a role model is.  The dictionary definition is ‘any person who serves as an example , whose behaviour is emulated by others’, or anyone who occupies the social role to which the individual aspires.

This collection of words is my no means definitive or complete.  I’d be interested in which words ring true and which words you’d add to the collage.   I’d also be interested in whether you think gender is important?

Studies have found that there is a correlation between role models and higher levels of civic engagement in young people.  Positive role models are also linked to self-efficacy, the ability to believe in ourselves.  A role model is not necessarily the person you’d like to be, but an example of a person who has a clear sense of what is important, lives their values in the world, and shows how success is possible.  [see the Changing People blog for more info]

I also wanted to do this as a way of reclaiming the term ‘role model’ for women as a liberating & celebratory term, rather than a shackle of responsibility or a matronly cloak.   I’ve read several articles recently questioning the suitability of certain women to be role models for young girls.  There are many things young women in the media spotlight can do to invite criticism of their suitability: too skinny, too sexual, not wearing pants, drunken behaviour.  I also saw Beyonce criticized for wanting babies as well as a career (and therefore being labelled as a ‘faux feminist’) [see here].  In one article (I think November’s Vogue) Rihanna complained that she had never asked for the role model label, and did not wish to live her life as one : has the term ‘role model’ become one more way for society to judge the behaviour of young women in the media spotlight?

I definitely find value in recognising the role of the women we encounter – in ordinary life or through the media – in forming our worldview, values and aspirations.  And there is also value in asking questions about how famous women will influence young girls.  But I wonder if the term ‘role model’ has become a little musty and dusty and dull.  How can we brighten it up a little bit?

 Some links: an article about why we need female role models in the run up to the Olympics

A blog post about whether gender is important

an article about Rihanna’s crotch-grabbing

an article about whether young female pop stars have a responsibility to their audience

Beyonce: villain or role model?

www.pinkstinks.org.uk – the Campaign for Real Role Models

I love going to Natural History Museums, and at the moment I’m particularly interested in insects – they form a large part of the work I’m doing for my upcoming exhibition in Hawick Museum in April and May.  I like thinking about the earth as a vast, moving, pulsing, wriggling mass, with each surface and texture hosting a wonderful variety of living things.  Beyond what is visible in plain sight there is a fascinating and peculiar world, moving and eating and killing and jumping and flying and burrowing.  There are more than 1 million known insect species, and millions more are uncollected and undescribed. Every year new insect species, features, life histories, distributional patterns and lifestyles are discovered. 

My giant grasshopper friend needs to eat for 18 hours a day.   His body is too heavy for him to do much in the way of hopping and leaping.  He mainly just pottered around my hand a bit with his little sticky feet. 

I’d like to note that I refused to hold the Giant Hissing Cockroach, but kudos to it for being the only insect to give birth to living youngsters.

You can’t see our grasshopper friend too well in the photo above so here’s a photo (courtesy of google images, gracias!) of another hopper of the same species:

Hannah Curio x