Taxes

I just realised last night while I was perusing various websites by various creative individuals, that I very rarely make art or design something for the pure pleasure of it anymore. That I use photoshop and illustrator as tools only for doing work for other people, not for doing work for myself, not for playing.

"Well, that sucks and I'm a sucker" I declared. "From now on, I shall endeavor to do one arty designy thing a week for fun."

I started last night by making this poster of a taxman as I imagine them in my head. I have a great fear of taxes, and the tax system as a whole. It seems so incomprehensible to me. Just thinking about having to do a tax return gives me the willies. It's not a maths thing either - I was really good at maths at school, it's more-so to do with the fact that I've never had to deal with taxes personally, and accounting and economics are like a foreign language to me.

I'll have to learn to speak this whack language of tax one day, in the mean time, woe unto those who refuse to acknowledge the might and smoting powers of the taxman!

Sacha

This is a photo I took the weekend that we spent with the twins for their birthday in Wanaka. They're six now. SIX! Holy jesus.

Anywho, I thought this was a pretty cute photo, she looks so thoughtful in it. I recommend clicking the image and seeing it big, cos it's much nicer big than it is small.

Walking into work today

The Joys of Photos(hop)

I love how photoshop makes pictures pop when you know how to play around with curves and levels and all that jazz.
Here are some photos I took of Dunedintown and the golden weather we're having this afternoon. You can click on them for lovely big juicy sizes.

Dunedin Circle Jerk

This is a poster I've just finished. It's for a Circle Jerk show where a number of local bands play covers of local music. Sahweet! Covers are one of my favourite things! It should be a rocking night so if you're in town on Friday the 24th of October, pencil this puppy into your diary as it should make for an entertaining evening.

I've been fairly stoked to make a decent number of posters this year. I love the format and like seeing what I can do. Sometimes I want to make things smaller and more subtle, but generally the feedback I receive is to "make it bigger" so I almost automatically do so these days.

One day... one day I'll make posters that have the details small, as an almost afterthought and it'll be the image and the headlining band that'll take up the majority of space. The way things ought to be.

Vege Garden

DJ and I enlisted the help of my dear mother and her partner Paul quite a few weeks ago to help us build a couple of no dig vegetable garden beds. I'm fairly excited about the progress of the plants so far. In the past week or so, the lettuce seeds have all turned into seedlings - ditto with the radishes AND the potatoes have started putting their little sprouts up! So green and tasty looking! I often find myself standing next to the gardens with my hands on my hips, a sprig of parsley in my mouth, ginning, and nodding to myself.

It's a good life.

This is one of the broccoli plants - we have six of them and they've been the biggest growers so far. Exciting!

Here' some celery. I want the celery to grow faster! It was planted at the same time as the broccoli but just isn't taking off as much as I want them too!

Chives!

One of two newly planted courgette plants. Delicious!

Here we have two varieties of parsley - fancy/curly and italian. I like chewing their leaves. Num num num...


MINT! So lush. Apparently I need to put it in a bucket so it can't escape and wreak havoc all over the garden.

Pizza Thyme - the first wee plant died from neglect because I bought it well before we had a garden to put it into... and so I had to get a new one.

Baby Radishes! Cute! They've doubled their leaves since I took these in the weekend!

Rhubarb. I think our second plant may have died. Sigh.

Zoe's Birthday Present

This is the diamond dog I made for Zoe for her birthday!

Unbeknownst to me when I sat down to make it, the inside of her van is actually covered in the same coloured material! When I gave it to her, I was saying something and she turned to me with this glazed look of delight and shock and said "I'm sorry, I didn't catch any of it... he's just so loud!"

Awesome.