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Going green – one envelope at a time

Eco=friendly Mandarin Duck design cut from offcut of paperAs a papercut artist it might not surprise you that I’m not really a believer in a paperless society. But using a product that results in millions of trees being chopped down each year doesn’t exactly scream environmentally friendly does it? So how do I justify my obsession with paper?

 

Don’t stop using paper – use it better!

 

 

Earlier this year we committed to making Rosie and the Boys as eco-friendly as we could without giving up on using paper (you can read about it here).  So here are the some of the ways we are trying to put our new maxim into practice:

Reduce how much we use

Sounds a bit obvious doesn’t it? But this isn’t just about no printing things when we don’t really need to, it’s about getting the most out of each piece of paper.

  • Similar to the concept of no-wastage pattern cutting I try hard to position cutting templates to make the most effective use of a piece of art paper.  High quality art papers are now the only paper resource we use that are allowed to hold single use status.
  • Challenging myself to reduce how much art paper I use has also meant I now actively look try to create designs to utilise the larger offcuts from commission pieces.
  • And what about the teeny tiny scraps of paper? Well I’ve even come up with a use for those!( Find out more in the next blog post.)

Reuse what we have

  • Reusing envelopes and scrap paper to write lists and practice designsI find myself writing endless lists; jobs to do, people to contact, which photos I’m going to use.
  • A sheet of blank paper can be daunting, somehow using the blank side of an envelope or scrap piece of paper takes away some of the pressure and you can get straight down to sketching.
  • Even though I use Illustrator to create a lot of my commission work it helps to block out a draft design on paper first.  Drawing takes practice, practice, practice. Not all the designs I come up with are “keepers”, sometimes I’ll redraw something over and over to get it right. Sometimes I walk away from an idea. By using scrap paper to practice first, I make better use of “The Sketchbook” or Illustrator to develop promising ideas.

Recycle what we can’t reuse

And what happens to all those to-do lists once they’ve been completed and the practice designs drawn on the back of envelopes?  What about the teeny tiny offcuts from papercuts that are so tiny they can’t be used? Well, this cardboard box now has pride of place under my desk ready to catch even the tiniest scrap allowing it to be recycled.

Ensuring we recycle every last scrap of paper at Rosie and the Boys

So here’s to changing the world: one envelope at a time!

If you’ve got any suggestions for how we could use paper even more efficiently then we’d love to hear them. Just add a comment below.

 

Contemporary Craft Not Digital Doping

As the world focuses it’s attention on France for the 100th edition of the Tour de France for the next three weeks, some people are bound to question whether a cyclist’s performance is due to his hard work and skill or to more dubious means.

Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill

Cycling Art Print – Tour de France Cyclist – Coppi: Cycling Quotes
Image: The Handmade Cyclist

In the world of art and design people sometimes pose similar questions claiming that drawing on a computer is cheating and isn’t REAL art.

This year I started using Adobe Illustrator to create and edit designs on my computer. I can honestly say it has transformed the way I work.  As I started climbing a very steep learning curve (no pun intended) getting to grips with the strange new world of path tools and clipping masks; Neil Wyatt (otherwise known as The Handmade Cyclist) offered me a helping hand.

Neil has created a range of stunning work celebrating the stories and scenery of the cycling world, which you can see scattered throughout this post.

He’s very kindly agreed to answer some questions about how he uses uses Illustrator in his work.

So if you’ve ever wondered what you can achieve with Photoshop (other than making models look perfect) or still think that using a computer to create art is cheating read on to find out more…

Does Illustrator really feature significantly in your creative process?

It’s really central to it. It’s just a really fast way of working through ideas. I’ll often use pen and paper to quickly sketch out compositions and then use basic shapes in Illustrator to get a feel for how they will work. You can change shapes, reposition, work through colour schemes, and generally play around until you are happy the image will work. My Flanders poster is a good example – I must have come up with 15 different layouts of the shapes making the landscape before I was happy. Then it’s down to adding the details.

Tour of Flanders Print

Cycling Art Print – Tour of Flanders Image: The Handmade Cyclist

Once the design is complete in Illustrator I will then paste it in layers into Photoshop to add textures and depth – this is vital to give the image that something extra. Vector shapes created in Illustrator can sometimes feel a little flat, so the final steps are important.

 Some people feel that using a computer is cheating – do you agree?

No, not at all, its really a case of horses for courses. I love hand-drawn art, collage, paper cut – but I know I wouldn’t be able to get the precision I want using those techniques. When I was learning to draw I really loved technical drawing – in the days of using pencil, protractor etc – and I really loved creating precise exploded diagrams and the like. So I’ve always been drawn to creating sharp, graphic images. Using the computer helps me achieve the finish I want – that’s why I use them. Maybe in the future I’ll experiment a little with other media, but for me it’s about getting the right end result.

Graphic print of Italian landscape

Cycling Art print – Milan-San Remo

 What are the advantages and disadvantages of creating designs digitally?

The advantages are the speed and flexibility. You can change composition, colour really quickly. You can experiment. Sometimes things happen by accident and you really like the result. You have complete control when you need it.

The disadvantages are just like any art – sometimes it’s still hard to get the vision in your head onto the screen or paper in the right way. Sometimes I can still sketch an idea on paper better than I can get it to look on screen. It’s frustrating when that’s the case. You learn how to do things better every day – I’ve not even scratched the surface of what’s possible yet.

 

 A lot of people would say that craft implies handmade. In my own experience as a designer I would claim that craft refers to an understanding of processes and materials and how to use them skillfully, and so using a program like Illustrator to create designs is also using craft. Would you agree?

Yes, for me Illustrator or Photoshop are just another tool to make things look better. I could do all my posters in pen and ink but would people like them as much? I’m not so sure. I do take great effort to make sure the whole process is done with love – I took time to find a great printer, who cares as much about my work as I do and produces beautiful prints. I might not hack the finished products out of a lump of tree with my bare hands, but the process is done with love, attention and craft.

Cycling Art Print – Tour de France Cyclist – Kuiper: Cycling Quotes 4 Image: The Handmade Cyclist
Galibier, Aubisque, Marie-Blanc, Puy-de-Dome, L'Alpe D'Huez, Croix de Fer, Tourmalet

Bike Art Print – Tour De France Climbs
Image: The Handmade Cyclist

 

Just as the shape of a piece of wood might dictate the design a woodcarver can create, does creating art digitally dictate the outcome of your work?

If anything I would say that using digital techniques makes the outcome more open. The possibilities are endless. And developments like 3D printing will really open things up – imagine the possibilities!

Sometimes the open possibilities can be a bit daunting – having some restrictions and discipline can really help the creative process. With digital art it’s tempting sometimes to chase perfection, and that can be quite a negative thing to do – you’ll never achieve it and rough edges give character.

I want to do more screen printed posters, there’s a purity there in the restrictiveness of the process, and some of my favourite artists like Army of Cats use screen-printing exclusively. But a lot of my prints are better suited to Giclee printing due to the textures and number of colours used – so again its horses for courses. Digital doesn’t mean bad – it’s just a means to an end.

If you missed our in depth interview with Neil you can read it here  and if you want to find out more or purchase a beautiful print here’s how:

etsy.com/shop/TheHandmadeCyclist
Blog: thehandmadecyclist.tumblr.com
Twitter: @handmadecyclist

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Rosie and the Boys is a creative family team with a love of colour and soft spot for parties. Our products are handcrafted with attention to detail, quality materials and a smile on our face! Inspired by Nature and designed with the latest trends in mind, we provide a range of party decorations and greetings cards with a contemporary twist.

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