Action!

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't just ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you."
(Thomas Jefferson)

Tick Tock Tick Tock.... Time to ACT!

This kickstarter campaign needs your help! The eBook I illustrated “The Day Jake Logan Robertson Ran out of Hugs” by A.Nicky Hjort and published by Jetblack Publishing is hoping to become a printed book along with another four beautiful children’s books! Printed books will go to schools, libraries, childcare facilities and galleries. Printed copies will also be donated to the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF is the first independent charity in Australia dedicated to raising national language, literacy and numeracy standards, especially in remote and marginalised communities.)
But time is running out to raise the necessary $9000 to achieve this awesome goal. 

We have only til the 12th of September to raise the funds. So please, PLEASE consider pledging whatever you can to make this dream come true!

With this deadline in mind I have sprung into action. I have been actively talking to whoever will listen. Shouting it out on my facebook, through emails, through instragram and phone calls.... whatever mode I can activate to communicate!

I also made this little video:

I have been reading a lot about crowd funding recently and truly believe it is the way of the future for artists to get their work off the ground by those who care about what they do. 

If you can please make a pledge!

PLEDGE HERE YOU AWESOME PERSON YOU! (and thank you!)

Graciously thanking you in advance,

Lou xo

Gracious Acceptance (and I need your help please!)

“Gracious acceptance is an art - an art which most never bother to cultivate. We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving.... Accepting another person's gift is allowing him to express his feelings for you.” (Alexander McCall Smith)

I love to give. I grew up in a big family and sharing what we had was part of the culture of who we were as a unit. It's stuck with me through the years. I've always preferred to give presents than to receive them. I get all excited and find it hard to keep a gift a secret! "I have a gift for you!" "I know it's not til next month but I just got you the best birthday present!" "Ahhhh!!! Open it already!" My whole body literally tremors with excitement when I think about someone receiving something from me that will bring them joy. I have fed friends over the years making meals magically stretch out so that they wouldn't go without (I have a lot of artist friends who need decent meals!) I have given time, money, energy to those around me to invest in those I care about. Sometimes I have given it to those I don't necessarily care about just because giving is ingrained in my training as a human being (thanks Mum!)

Give. Give. Give.

Giving is good.

But so is receiving. In fact, if you have one without the other then you can get all lopsided and your personal spiritual bank account can go into the red.

Before receiving you really have to put what you need out there into the world. 

This requires asking.

Strangely enough this is not easy for me. Giving - piece of cake. But asking? And asking to receive something?  What I have to actually ASK someone for... gulp... help? 

I need help with asking for help! 

I have been doing a lot of self work recently which naturally is flowing into my life in all kinds of ways. First up is the practice of valuing myself and honouring who I am and my purpose on this planet. To do this I am realising I have to first give love to myself. In giving love to myself and truly valuing my souls journey I realise this has opened up the passage to asking for help. "Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help! You know I need someone! Help" (Thank you to The Beatles for this lil mantra). 

First up I am asking myself to help myself.

(And I am writing this blog entry to help myself learn about helping myself - yes, we are falling down the rabbit hole here...) 

Second I am asking the universe in help with helping myself.

And thirdly I am being brave enough to ask and to ACCEPT the help offered.

So.. What am I asking help for?

Jetblack Publishing (the company who published my first ever illustrated book The Day Jake Logan Robertson Ran Out of Hugs) has started a crowd funding campaign through Kickstarter to turn this and another four books into printed copies. 50 % of the printed books will go to the generous people that pledge over $50. The other 50% will go to schools, libraries, childcare facilities, galleries etc. Some will go to the authors and illustrators too :-)

Jumping on this help wagon is easier than I thought - because I believe in sharing stories with children. I love picture books. I love reading. I love children. And I love illustrating for them! So the thought of holding an actual physical copy of a book I illustrated with much love and care truly fills my heart with unspeakable joy.

I love the idea of crowd funding. I have often gotten behind others to support their dreams using crowd funding. I have helped launch theatre shows and films, sent people to school to train in the arts, helped artists tour the world. The idea of having a reward alongside your pledge is a fantastic motivator for both the pledger and those who set up the crowdfunding. 

If you pledge over $50 your reward can include a copy of one of the five books. 

I just pledged this morning and requested a copy of my own book.

But there is a LONG WAY to go to reach target.

And only eighteen days!!! 

But with your help I know we can do it.

So...

Here I go:

(Please and thank you in advance!)

CLICK HERE to help: You are awesome at helping!!

With much gratitude

Lou xo

Puntastic!

"Puns are the highest form of literature"
(Alfred Hitchcock)

Ok, so who am I to argue with Alfred Hitchcock?
Not that I would argue.
I am a fan of the pun. In fact I have said many a time that I should be put in a punitentiary. 
Pun ALWAYS intended is my motto.

Perhaps because I have worked with kids for many many a season, puns and lame jokes are one of my ways to engage kids in my classes - "edu-tainment" my partner calls it. Rope 'em in with a laugh then see what they can learn. With kids - engagement is the first and hardest obstacle to overcome. I get to test my pun and lame jokes out on the little people - and I admit I also get some of my material from them! 

Speaking of which, last Saturday as part of a weekly drawing challenge via twitter I set about thinking what I could illustrate under the theme of "food". As I teach drama to kids all day Saturday I thought I would ask them. "Draw your favourite food!" was the first response. Which had us all talking about our favourite foods. Being a vegetarian I said that my favourite food would have to be vegetables. So that started a conversation on what I could illustrate that involved veggies. There was talk of giving them faces, making them dance, putting them in shoes or clothes and putting them with their "best vegetable friends". There was even the suggestion of "put them inside your digestive system!" Which got me laughing. One little girl with big eyes just said "Make the vegetables really funny!"

So I went with that.
And for me punny is funny.

I remembered years and years ago walking through a fruit and veggie shop with my partner. We were just friends at the time and we would always try and make each other laugh.  My partner is probably the funniest guy I know. And together we laugh til our eyes leak, our cheeks hurt and our hearts are full. As we walked through the veggie shop all those years ago we kept picking up items and making puns. A tomato was picked up "Hey! You used tomato to me!" A bag of nuts picked up "You. You're completely nuts". A celery bunch in hand waved above heads "You're my best worker. I'm raising your celery!"

You get the picture.
Groans a plenty.
We even wrote a lame rap around veggies (which I won't go into here as we have a plan to one day release it under a pseudonym complete with animated film clip - so it will go viral and we will make gazillions. You know - real dreams).

So I decided to use my love of veggies and puns as stimulus for an illustration. But I got carried away and drew three. I will bring them of course to my class next week and ask the kids if they approve.

Endings and Beginnings

"For last year's words belong to last year's language.

And next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning."

(TS Eliot)

IN A NUTSHELL
Well it's been quite a while since I sat here and wrote. Around 26 days ago I finally came to the end of my journey as a student of design and illustration. I think that the first week after finishing was one big let go as I allowed myself time to rest and regain my strength for the journey ahead. The next week became a planning week - figuring out what my next step was. I decided on the following things:

1. Illustration is my passion, my focus, my growing skill and my dream. I will pursue this until I can make a living off it (and then keep going).
2. See number one.

But to work as an illustrator full-time is a tricky business (see any three of my interviews with Melbourne illustrators at the end of last year for insight into this!) 
Interview with Andrea Innocent 
Interview with Laura Wood 
Interview with Elise Hurst


TRYING TO FIND AN AGENT - Staying patient!
A week before the end of completing my studies I sent off my portfolio to a selection of illustration agents. I have been continuing to send off folios to agents every week since then. Most of these agencies suggest that the volume of portfolios they receive every month is more than plenty. Due to the high numbers of hopefuls they suggest not to expect any feedback or even to hear from them unless they wish to represent you. This kind of hopeful waiting is comparable to my former career as an actor. After going to a casting/audition there's a window of time where I used to be hovering around my phone waiting. After many years of working (and not working) in that industry I became more relaxed about it with the notion of "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be". This action of letting go was not an easy one. But at least it's prepared me for this silence and reminded me to stay patient. 

REDBUBBLE - T-shirts and more!
In the meantime I have decided to just keep working on my craft. Gathering my supplies, making networks and creating my own opportunities. I figure the more seeds I throw into the soil the more chance of a harvest (and being able to pay my rent!) I opened a Red Bubble online shop so that my work might be available on t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases, cards and stickers. At this point I have three designs available on the Red Bubble. Check them out here: Lou Endicott - Red Bubble shop

FREELANCE - Wearing shoes at home!
Last week I decided to really go full time with this freelance life. So every day I have been waking up and getting dressed (including putting on shoes) and going to my home office. I have been making lists every day and ticking them off as I go. I have been lucky enough to drum up a few clients - through online channels and word of mouth. I am working on a logo/branding design for a corporate consultant who works to help people find presence and confidence in the workplace. I have also created a logo and business collateral for a young Mum up in Qld who is launching a kids lunchbox business. I also volunteered to design a poster for a charity fair to raise funds to build schools in Africa. And I am donating prints to this fair to be sold to help raise funds. 

Here's a snap shot of my "boss" - my cat Ruby.

MAKING A PICTURE BOOK - I do!
And I'm illustrating my first book! Well, it's not really a "book deal" as such. It's a one off piece in the style of a children's picture book that a client is going to present to his girlfriend when he proposes to her in a few months time. The book contains stories of their journey together. And I get to illustrate them. It's a small business deal but the stakes are high!  It's also a great tester to see how I work with a writer and their ideas. To be given the precious contents of a person's story with their soul mate is an absolute privilege. To be entrusted to create the visuals is a lot of fun - but big responsibility!! Let's just hope his girlfriend likes the book and she says yes! Here's a rough thumbnail of one of the illustrations:

APPROACHING PUBLISHERS - Crossing fingers!
Last week I was given a hot tip that the publishing house Scholastic were looking for manuscripts for children's picture books and also for illustrators! This of course had me LEAPING to the computer to redo my illustration portfolio and rework my illustrations to show just what I could do if I was commissioned to make a picture book for children. All my fingers were crossed when I sent that email out into the ether I can tell you! 

A little under a week after sending out the portfolio to Scholastic I decided to send a manuscript in as well. Three years ago I had a dream of illustrating children's books. I wrote my own book and even did a little mock up with illustrations.  I sent it off to friends and family for feedback. I wrote and rewrote the story over and over. I then enrolled in a short course to learn about illustrating books for kids. And three times the course was cancelled due to lack of numbers. I shelved the book and went back to my life before at the end of 2012 making the decision to study design formally. So last week I dusted off my manuscript and wrote and rewrote it again until I was happy with it. Then I sent it off for consideration. I have a feeling that manuscripts take even LONGER to be considered than illustrations. The illustration on the right I drew in 2011 - feels like an age ago! But the dream is still there….


This process reminded me how much I love to write. I write regularly for a music blog and review music, interview people and generally promote new artists. (if you are interested see here: It's My Kind of Scene - music blog)
I have been writing for this particular blog for the last year (as a love job - not a paid job). So I guess that writing has become a part of my life almost without me being aware of it. 

SUPERGRAPH - Prints still for sale!

On Valentine's Day weekend earlier this month I had my first professional art fair showing. I had three illustrations up on the 
walls at Supergraph Contemporary Art Fair. And those three designs were available for sale in A4 print form. It was so amazing to be there on opening night walking around the Royal Exhibition Building here in Melbourne and feeling like I was a part of the industry. My favourite part of the night was walking past my work and then seeing a couple pick up the little slip of paper and pencil in front of it and write down it's details - that's one sale there!

 There are still prints available on the Supergraph website. Check it out and share it around! Prints for sale - Supergraph website

DRAWING - everyday!

Of course with all of these opportunities and little bits of joy and lots of handwork I have been drawing every day!
I think though, I have written enough here for today.
So with this new beginning I am ending this post for today!

With much creativity and heart.
Lou