ALERT: super indulgent writing ahead It’s no secret that I have no love for turning 40 this year. I had been dreading the ageing for a couple of years but compiled with anxiety, depression, struggling with family life (and loving it too – don’t you love a contradiction), and desperately wanting my dream creative life but not quite ever getting there – I felt like even if all these struggles were finally finished with me it would be too late after 40. So I planned to make my

It's that time again when I write about how I'm feeling in the hopes of helping myself out of a slump. There's quite a lot of discussion about depression and anxiety out there but there's always room for more normalising I say. Every now and again I find myself falling back into a place of doom and gloom and stress and tension and it's happened again. These days it normally takes a few days of me taking time to realise what's going on and I can stop it in it's tracks. Let'

1. FINDING THE RIGHT WORKSHOP FOR YOU OR YOUR CHILD What are your interests? What skills to do you want to learn and try? What date and time suits you? The Workshop Details page on the paperscissorsrock.net website gives all the up to date information on current workshops. There's also an article here about the Paper Art (5-8 yrs) workshop in particular. What's the workshop leader like? The workshops are run by me, Sam Hickman, an artist who primarily works with cut paper.

Fed up of the same boring and insipid Valentine's Day cards? Here's a handy guide to some refreshing, illustrated options for you. I've been having a mooch around the internet to find some beautiful, funny or geeky illustrated Valentine's Day cards from some independent UK artists. While searching for cards for a science nerd, I came across one by Protease Prints who does some marvellous anatomical drawings. If travel is your thing then Helena Carrington's city illustrations

I've been designing some LOVEly things!! It all started last year when I made this papercut called All The Love. I then made a wedding card for a friend and played around with some other things and came up with these... They will hopefully be available to buy as Valentine's Day cards at the the beginning of February. Watch out for more info... #love #valentine #valentinesday #card #greetingscard #Paperart #papercut #allthelove #papercut #design #artwork #art #illustration

I've been looking to do an illustration course for a while but I specifically wanted to find one online which would teach me how to use and market the skills I've already got. I have dreams, you see, of becoming an actual paid illustrator with an agent and everything. I don't know how to get there. I found the Make Art That Sells website a couple of years ago but I was worried that it was aimed at a US audience. Since then I've seen a few of their videos and content from i

I would like, if you’ll indulge me, to tell you about someone a very bit special. I’ve just decorated the living room for Hallowe’en and I've been thinking. I always think of one of my most inspiring people today as it would have been her birthday. This is my Little Nanna. She didn't like seeing pictures of herself older and this is my favourite. We used to walk round to her house every Hallowe’en and trick or treat her (she always dressed in a black shawl and pointy hat – s

Here’s a little bit about what I’ve been up to this last year… A friend of mine, Sass (Sass Harding Photography) and I had spoken about working together a couple of years ago. Combining her photography and my paper art in some way seemed a pleasing idea. So when the opportunity for a project celebrating our village came about we decided that was the project for us. The village was to turn 50 in 2017 and being a uniquely designed place, architecturally and socially, it was

...or the beginning at the end. Depnding on how you look at it. Inktober has ended and it really was a learning curve for me. I set out to try lots of things and I certainly did. It was nice to have a go at drawing landscapes and portraits from life but I'm definitely drawn to more abstract ideas. Saying that though, I doubted if I actually could do it anymore and now I know I can. They're vital basic skills to have if I want to see myself as an artist. I don't feel qu

New Comic Day - a couple of days late..or maybe early... Inspiration for this one: my son has a habit of inviting his friends to do things and THEN asking me. Also, I think other parents (and introverts) can relate to that feeling of, quite frankly, inconvenience and panic. #papercutcomic #papercut #papercutting #silhouette #spyclub #introvert #parenting #kids #guyman #starfunke #clu #comic #comicstrip #art #inspiredby