Doodles

Hello, long time no speak eh? Just thought we'd drop in and let you see some of the doodles from the last Drink 'n' Draw at The Surrey Vaults! It was a packed out night, and thanks to all of you who came! Distribution day is looming round the corner, news on that at a later date.

Hellohellohello! We have news coming out of our ears lately! In a quick turn of events we're back at the Edwardian Cloakrooms this weekend to exhibit the artwork sent to us from Papergirl Calgary! If you want to come and say hello we should be in the space this Saturday and Sunday between roughly 1pm and 5pm. If you want to come and use the space as somewhere to create art then please feel free!
Here's te Facebook event to shae around:

https://www.facebook.com/events/798487010249901/

See you there!

We've also recently released our first Papergirl Bristol Interview with Benoit Bennett on our Vimeo page, so give it a look if you've got a spare 10 minutes:

Benoit Bennett Papergirl Bristol interview from Papergirl Bristol on Vimeo.

The last day

Hey everyone, Sophie here. Just a quick note to say today is the last day to catch our little exhibition *sad face* so if you haven't already, please come and say hi! We're open from 2pm until 8pm, but we may close early to take it all down ready for handing the space back tomorrow, so sooner is probably better than later.
We've been working hard to get some footage of the place this week and we've run some artist interviews for you guys to have a gander at. We're also working on a zine that will hopefully coincide with Bristol's Comic and Zine fair! More on that later.
Unfortunately the package of artwork from Calgary never arrived in time for us to exhibit it, but hopefully we'll get it in time to add the work to the zine and the bundles when we release them by bicycle in the near future, more on that later too.
For now, here's a lovely pic of James sat down with Lorna Leigh Harrington.

Papergirl Bristol Artists List 2015

Here it is, the final list of participants in this year's Papergirl Bristol. Let us know if you want us to add any other websites or if we've accidentally missed you off (we're only human!)

We're well on our way

Good evening! We've been beavering away nicely collecting up the last pieces sent to us for our Papergirl Swap with Papergirl Calgary, and now they're all merrily on their way across the pond. If you're reading this from Canada, or there abouts, keep an eye out for the exhibition happening in Calgary on the 4th of July!
In the meantime we're preparing for our exhibition over here in lovely Bristol, and would like your help! If you're free between the 31st of July and the 6th of August please get in touch for volunteering opportunities (always good for the ol' CV!) as we'll be needing exhibition invigilators and general helper-outers whilst we're over at the Edwardian Cloakroom on Park Row. As of yet we haven't finalised opening hours of the space, but of course we'll keep you all in the loop. We're also hoping to do a free Life Drawing class at some point during the week, and another Drink and Draw whilst we're there for good measure!
If you have any ideas about activities we could do during our time at the Edwardian Cloakroom, revolving around all things Papergirl Bristol, then please do let us know :)

For now, we bid you adieu!

Just over two weeks to go...

Hello everyone! Are you all well? We hope so because the deadline for Papergirl Bristol is looming rather closely now, so get your creativity flowing and your fingers typing over to papergirlbristol@gmail.com!

This month we've been catching up with a few artists in person at our Drink & Draw and with Artist in Residence Rosie Faragher at the RWA for the Drawn 2015 exhibition- be sure to check it out! She'll be holding a workshop this Saturday 11:00 - 13:00, so if you're stuck for ideas and want to be surrounded by like minded individuals, we suggest you tag along and see what comes out of it.

Our next Drink & Draw is on the 6th of June at our usual place in Roll for the Soul but during the day this time at 15:00 - 18:00. More details can be found on our Facebook event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/872722642796929/

You can also spot it on the Bristol Cycle Festival programme which our friend Zoe Power illustrated!

Tonight we're attending the private view of Max Naylor at Howard Hocking gallery in Clifton. Max has already submitted some drawings at an impromptu Drink & Draw round at Papergirl Bristol HQ, but we're hoping he's going to give us a bit more because we love his stuff.

If you've got any exciting artistic news then please do get in touch, we love meeting you face to face as well as in the virtual world of the internet.

Interview: Lily Reilly

Hello Papergirlers! We've got a treat for you this Sunday; we've asked our very first participant in Papergirl Bristol 2015 to answer a few questions about her professional practice as an artist. So without further ado, we give you Lily Reilly from Cork, Ireland. Check out her blog here: petaltopetal.blogspot.co.uk

Why do you do what you do?

When I finished school I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I took a year out- which turned into two years out. I have always been creative but during that time I started drawing and developing my own style in my free time and just loved it. I then met my husband and we both applied to study design together. We both got in and when we graduated he became a graphic designer and I went on to train as a teacher. At this point I was doing my own artwork in my spare time and was getting commissions. Shops were starting to stock my greeting cards and I thought that it was such an interesting area to work in, why not give it a go and see if I can survive! We moved to Berlin for two years and I worked at a fantastic stationery store which just made me realize what area I wanted to work in even more. When we moved back home to Ireland last year I set up a studio in our home and I run my little business from there. I come across different challenges almost every day and it isn't easy- if not working from home and for yourself can be harder sometimes as you have to be very self motivated and push yourself. Some of my friends don't understand why I don't just pick a 9-5 job and leave my work at the door when I get home (I can work until 10pm at night and almost always work 7 days a week so it's not very sociable!) but I don't do this for money, I do this because I love it!  There is something fantastic about working towards my own dream and not somebody else's. I have made much more money working for other people in the past, but at the end of the day happiness and a higher quality of living are more important to me. 

What’s your creative background?

I studied Design Communication and then trained as an Art and Design teacher at Crawford College of Art and Design in Cork City. People often see that I studied at the Crawford and start talking to me about illustration courses but in relation to what I do with my own artwork I am self-taught. When it comes to the application part of my designs, photography, branding and those aspects of the business I learnt that when studying design. 

What's been your most influential experience?

Probably going to Rob Ryan's shop 'Ryantown' in Shoreditch and seeing all the wonderful ways that he has applied his designs to different products. The ceramic tile murals of his papercut designs in the shop are amazing! 

What art do you most identify with?

I love detailed work. As my own work is so time consuming I really appreciate the work that is skillfull and detailed and that a lot of effort has gone into. I also love work from the Arts and Craft Movement, and the whole ethos behind it- although it isn't always attainable, I feel that it is right. 

What’s your favourite piece of art?

That's an almost impossible question as I have so many! My husband and I have a lot of art in our home and one of our favourite pieces was a wedding gift from my Mother in Law (who is a traditional artist that trained at the Crawford College). It's an original chalk pastel piece of one of the Skellig Islands off Co. Kerry and it's so photo- realistic. People often think it is a photograph until they get up close and are blown away. 

What kind of research do you do for your work?

I work on every part of the business myself so sometimes I can spend a lot of time researching. I need to find out things like the best companies to order prints and supplies from. Some shops here will only stock work that is printed in Ireland and that can be quite a challenge as quality and cost are both important factors. A lot of people don't realise that each order costs a lot of money and is a big investment so I have to do a lot of planning before I get any new products made. 

What is your dream project?

I have a weakness for stationery so I would love to collaborate with a greeting cards company on a range of notelets or something like that. I would also love to collaborate with a clothing or accessories company. My list of dream projects is endless!

Professionally, what’s your goal?

I would love to collaborate with a company like Wild & Wolf, where the standard of quality is very high and designers can be part of the process. I have licensed my designs to different companies in the past and have been horrified by the experience so I decided to never license again unless it is with a very established company that creates very high quality products. Choosing to be an artist can often mean that you have a lot less money and feel pressured into making money from all the companies that contact you with blanket emails looking to license your designs. However, designers seem to forget that the products that these companies are making are representing them as artists. Why be associated with something poorly executed and low quality when you could have your work printed on beautiful high quality products? I'm not against mass production, collaborations just need to be done the right way and when they are they can really open doors for independent designers. I hope to always stay true to what I believe in as I have seen some brilliant designers really sell out. They end up with a lot of money in the bank but the products that are out there with their name on are misprinted and faulty and I don't think that is a great legacy to leave behind. Everything is online now and in the future, when I am old and can't pick up a pen to draw, my children (and hopefully Grandchildren!) will be able to look back at my life and what I have achieved, how I answered questions in interviews and what I believed in. I hope that they will be proud of me. 

Look out for more interviews with our artists in the future. If you feel like you really want to be interviewed, or want to send your work to be included in the project then please get in touch: papergirlbristol@gmail.com

Hey everyone! Long time no speak we know- sorry about that! We're back this month with a few new bits and pieces to get your creative juices flowing again. We're teaming up with Papergirl Calgary to swap artwork from Bristol with Canada for another Open Call for art! So if you missed the last deadline you've got another chance to submit it this time round, or if you want more of your stuff to get out there to the people across the pond then get submitting! This is open to absolutely everyone as always, so please spread the word around :)

Here's the new poster (created by Mark W Smith) and don't forget we're having a Drink & Draw at Roll for the Soul on the 17th! See you there :)

2 weeks to go!

Heyhey! We can't believe the time is almost here to draw a close to the first stage of this years Papergirl Bristol! Today mark's two weeks until April 1st- the end of our first open call. It's been such a blast so far and we've talked to so many lovely people through the project, thank you to everyone who has supported us so far :)

So, we're now thinking about another stage to our submission process which will be a collaboration with Papergirl Calgary. Basically anything that we have submitted after our submission deadline of April 1st will be sent all the way over to lovely Canada to be exhibited and distributed there! You could potentially be an international artist, quite a boost for anyone's CV we would say. Look out for more information about the next deadline and our new poster for it in the near future!

To kick things off we're hosting another Drink and Draw on April 17th to get the ball rolling and to chat more about the next stage with anyone who's curious. The event is open to anyone, so if you've already submitted and want to put a name to a face please come along and say hi! And like before, please spread the word about as we can't invite people that we're not friends with on Facebook because of their new restrictive rules *sad face* here's the link:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1596360203944682/

Go forth good people!

Drink and Draw

Hullo there bloggers!

We're just dropping you a quick scribble to let you know we're organising a drink and draw get together on March 8th! To get an idea of numbers please go to the facebook page or let us know you're coming by dropping us a line at papergirlbristol@gmail.com! We're still unsure about the location so if you have any suggestions for a meet up space with room for drawing please do get in touch. 

Here it is:

https://www.facebook.com/events/359246980928797

Share it about!

Getting social

Hey guys, we're getting more savvy with our social media lately and have got ourselves an instagram!
Just incase you weren't already aware we also have a Facebook page and a Twitter- click the links, go check 'em out and be friends with us :)
There's word on the street that we have our first submission floating around the royal mail service as we type! Can't wait!

Want a copy of the poster to print out and spread about? Give us a shout at papergirlbristol@gmail.com

Hullo!

Hi there, it's Sophie here from the shiny new Papergirl team! I thought I'd just give you guys a quick post on what me and James are about and share the new poster with you!
I'm a photographer from the South coast of England who loves cats. I also dabble in craft and textiles when the mood takes me and occasionally I hold workshops in what I do. I've wanted to be a part of Papergirl since 2010, but living in a smaller community meant that it wasn't received in the way I'd hoped.
James loves drawing and being generally creative. He's come to Bristol from the South too, not too far away from me and we met through one of my workshops in Lomography at the Try This... festival in Dorchester. Last year he helped Try This... by getting more involved in the organising of the event, and we're still both in touch with the team there.

SO, on to the exciting bit! Here's the new poster; look out for it around Bristol soon and get in touch if you want to submit- papergirlbristol@gmail.com