4th April

I really struggled with this envelope because I was down with a stinking cold at the time and felt totally uninspired so I reverted to the familiar territory of repetitive patterns.

Posted: 11.30pm on 4.4.07
Returned: 7.4.07

3rd April

I am madly in love with this drawing. I like the simplicity of the shape and the subtle grey pencil inside the ink lines.

Posted: 10.55pm on 3.4.07
Returned: 7.4.07

2nd April

I was thinking of diagrams, maps and archaeological plans when I drew this.

Posted: 8.39pm on 2.4.07
Returned: 5.4.07

1st April

I was aiming to work to a slightly bigger scale on this envelope because I was trying to get away from my familiar drawing habits. Going over lines is always a bit of a risk because the drawing can sometimes look indecisive but I like how it works here.

Posted: 10.20pm on 1.4.07
Returned: 4.4.07

31st March

I deliberately chose to use squares inside these shapes instead of the small circles that would be my natural inclination.

I was surprised when I realised that this envelope meant that I was a quarter of the way through the project already. Although I've had days that have been difficult, usually when I've been ill, I'm not sick of it yet.

Posted: 8.42pm on 31.3.07
Returned: 4.4.07

30th March

I doodle a lot. These images started life on a piece of notepaper whilst I was talking to someone on the phone.

Posted: 11.31pm on 30.3.07
Returned: 2.4.07

29th March

Most of the envelopes have come back in surprisingly good condition, this one is the most badly torn yet.

Posted: 5.15pm on 29.3.07
Returned: 31.3.07

28th March

This looks abstract but it was actually drawn from life. It's taken from one of the unfinished thread drawings that are sitting in my study. I work on them whilst listening to podcasts or music.

Posted: 11.08pm on 28.3.07
Returned: 31.3.07

27th March

This struck me at the time as being a little bit 60's, with its mushroom shapes.

Posted: 11.40pm on 27.3.07
Returned: 30.3.07

26th March

Back in Bristol after my long weekend in Scotland: this was drawn on the plane home but posted from Bristol city centre because I forgot to post it at Bristol airport as I'd meant to.

Posted: 3.40pm on 26.3.07
Returned: 27.3.07

25th March

Drawn and posted from my parent's small village just south of Edinburgh.

Posted: 11.40pm on 25.3.07
Returned: 28.3.07

24th March

This envelope gets the prize for being the stupidest posting experience yet. It was posted in Stirling, while I was at my aunt's wedding. I'd had a couple of drinks and a meal at the reception before deciding that I really should go and post my envelope before I forgot.

So I set off, whilst slightly drunk, to find a post box in a place that I don't know - not sure that I recommend this! It took me about half an hour to find one and I spent most of the time talking to my partner on my mobile phone, making him laugh with my indignant drunken observations, which mostly concerned the dire lack of post boxes in Stirling. I did eventually make it back to the wedding but it was definitely the most entertaining posting experience so far.

Posted: 10.27pm on 24.3.07
Returned: 28.3.07

23rd March

Drawn and posted in one of my favourite places in the world - the National Museum of Scotland in Chamber Street, Edinburgh. I've been visiting the museum since I was a toddler and every time I visit my parents, I spend some time there.

Posted: 3pm on 23.3.07
Returned: 27.3.07

22nd March

I finally found a use for my lifelong fascination with bubble bath!

This was drawn on an aeroplane rather than in the bath and it's also the first envelope to be posted outside Bristol (Edinburgh airport, if you're interested).

Posted: 8.25pm pn 22.3.07
Returned:27.3.07

21st March

There are only so many shapes in the world, but these are definitely some of mine. This is pretty typical of the sort of drawing that I tend to reset to and not automatically resetting can be quite a challenge for me. Part of the reason I started this project was so that I would push my drawing, but I've also realised that it's completely OK to have days where I stay with what feels comfortable.

Posted: 11.42pm on 21.3.07
Returned: 24.3.07

20th March

In retrospect I think this should have had a bit of colour but it's too late to change it now.

Posted: 9.10pm on 20.3.07
Returned: 23.3.07

19th March

I was thinking of both ferns and frost patterns when I drew this.

Posted: 9.45pm on 19.3.07
Returned: 22.3.07

18th March

Back to stark black and white. I like this drawing a lot, the shapes remind me of the throwing jacks we used to play with as kids.

Posted: 11.56pm on 18.3.07
Returned: 21.3.07

17th March

Another image that relates to the knotted threads that I've been working with in my sculpture over the last few years. It was interesting to use the brown ink pen instead of my usual black one, I enjoyed the softer, more subtle line and I'm considering getting some even lighter pens so that I can make drawings that are almost invisible.

Posted: 11.40pm on 17.3.07
Returned: 20.3.07

16th March

I have problems with decorative art. On one hand I am really drawn to it, patterns have always strongly appealed to me - my earliest art memories are about tracing, copying and inventing patterns. However, another part of me is quite turned off by it. I notice this attraction/repulsion most especially with baroque art but any obviously decorative art will trigger that 'push/pull' feeling. I get that feeling from this envelope and nearly rejected it for that reason but decided to push my comfort levels a little and let it in the project.

I know this reaction partly comes from the disdain in which the decorative is held in the fine art world. If someone calls your work 'decorative' in a contemporary fine art setting then they're usually being insulting. I trained in sculpture and feel that my work belongs in the contemporary fine art world so inevitably I've absorbed some of those biases, even though I am naturally aligned with pattern-making. It's odd that I can admire decorative qualities in other people's art yet feel so uncomfortable with it in my own work. Still, I can't completely avoid 'the d word' because my work so often deals with both pattern and domesticity, which have traditionally strong associations with the decorative. It's an ongoing issue that I struggle with, maybe I'll crack it one day or maybe that discomfort actually fuels my art and I should just accept and use it.

Posted: 11.28pm on 16.3.07
Returned: 19.3.07

15th March

I think this is my favourite drawing so far - the combination of colour and line just really do it for me.

Posted: 9.55pm on 15.3.07
Returned: 19.3.07

14th March

I am gradually becoming more confident and relaxed about using colour in my drawings. While it won't rescue a bad drawing I have found that if a drawing feels a bit lacking then adding colour will often lift it and give it the zing it needs. And if it doesn't, well then I bin it and start over!

Posted: 9.37pm on 14.3.07
Returned: 17.3.07