Evie Grace Illustration & Design

#StandwithUkraine

Hi everyone. I’ve had requests to use my ‘Stand with Ukraine’ illustration in peaceful protests and as a statement of peace and support in windows etc. I have made it available to download through the links below. (Personal use only, thank you)

Download through my website here - https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c4fa0a69f87704df81f2282/t/621f95bc0df3724965da2f4c/1646237596569/Stand+with+Ukraine+downloadable+Illustration+-+Personal+use+only.+?fbclid=IwAR0CFxSfGs6ojduJiGacthNnhDLGun6eZ_eYQrtIgIJ0ouqrFrZ8_q1j-y4

Download through dropbox here - https://www.dropbox.com/home/Stand%20with%20Ukraine%20-%20Download/Stand%20with%20Ukraine%20-%20Download%20Image%20here.

I urge you to donate when you use this image, to a charity of your choice to support those experiencing the horrors going on right now. (If you are in a position to do so)

Sending love and solidarity. x

“The rise in disposable face masks & gloves being used to prevent the spread of Coronavirus is adding to the glut of plastic pollution threatening the health of oceans & marine life, environmentalists warn.”

As of today, wearing masks in shops & on public transport is compulsory in Scotland & in many places around the world - wearing a mask is incredibly important (!!) so please where possible, purchase reusable masks.

Before you bulk buy single use medical masks, take a moment to consider the impact that decision will have. There are so many environmentally friendly options for masks, there are even hundreds of funky patterns & organisations that’ll donate to charity. Buying reusable masks instead of single-use will also be more cost effective in the long run.

We have all seen photos of bright white & blue masks disposed of into the outdoors, littering streets, green spaces & beaches, most of which contain materials that are not biodegradable & cannot be recycled. Not only do they add to the plastic pollution & harm land & marine life but they are also a potential health threat to the public & those who have to clean them up.

An illustration that came to my mind after watching the new series of Frozen Planet. Extreme weather, raging fires, melting ice caps, all at the hands of the human-driven climate crisis. ⠀

“The animals that inhabit our frozen lands and seas need one thing more than any other, and that is for the planet to stop warming. It is now up to us to make that happen.” - Sir David Attenborough.⠀

In the embarrassing chaos that is the UK Government, Liz Truss may have left but her new oil and gas licensing round has not. On top of this, there are 30 new oil & gas projects that already have licenses - such as Rosebank - the largest new oil field in the UK that would produce the same amount of CO2 as 700 million people in the Global South do a year. I do not want to live in a world where these “people in power” destroy the planet in the name of money, oil, gas and greed. ⠀

If you haven’t already, I urge you to follow https://www.stopcambo.org.uk & their campaign to #stopRoseBank - they have so much information, and resources on what you can do to stop these new oil fields.⠀

‘The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade’

I have no words to add to what has already been said. My heart is broken & I am truly devastated for everyone in the USA & around the world who have had the right to access safe abortions ripped away from them, my heart is broken for everything this means.

“𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.” - 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲.⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Every minute the equivalent of one bin lorry of plastic enters into the sea. - I’m often overwhelmed when reading the news or researching information for my illustrations, I often experience guilt as I don’t feel like I play a big enough part in being a positive change towards certain subjects such as plastic pollution etc in order to be campaigning for change. After explaining this to my Dad (a climate change warrior & day-to-day hero) he told me that we have to start looking at what we can do in order to help instead of closing ourselves off to the facts because they are overwhelming...if all of us went into panic mode, nothing would be done. If all of us stopped campaigning because we don’t feel like we do enough, or we bought a can of Coke & are feeling guilty about it .... nothing would be done. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

There is hope, if we start by making simple changes in our day to day lives - By reducing the use of plastic & single use disposable products, by continuing to recycle, by leaving the rolls of plastic bags in the supermarket alone, by signing the petitions & continuing to discuss...we can start to change the system that so desperately needs changed. Here’s to the future & to being the change we all need to see.

Because we’re all missing someone right now.

To our family & friends, our sisters, our partners, our lovers, mothers, brothers, fathers, sons & daughters, grandparents, to our community, our baristas, our bartenders, our less-than-2-metres-away conversations in the street....to anyone you might be missing right now. #Covid19

An email sent to Nicola Sturgeon asking her to oppose the Cambo Oil field plans.

Nicola Sturgeon has asked Boris Johnson to reassess the new oil field situation but has not publicly opposed it & all new oil exploration. It is not enough.

What is Cambo Oil Field?

The UK government is getting ready to approve a new oil & gas project called the Cambo field, in the sea West of Shetland months before Cop26. This blatantly ignores the IEA's warning that we must have no new oil & gas investments to stay to stay below 1.5°C. Its climate impact is equal to annual pollution from 18 coal-fired power stations.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CStx-E2ofxD/

A subject that’s been highlighted more & more over the past couple of years, and a subject that’s still being shoved to the side. The general idea of the pill is fabulous, but the side effects can be not so fabulous, I don’t know a single woman who’s had a completely smooth sailing experience with birth control pills.

The thing that BAFFLES me - is you can go to the doctor & be prescribed a type of birth control pill and there will be no/very limited discussion about your mental health, or the risk factors there are. You’ll get a leaflet with a list of a few side effects where ‘depression’ & ‘suicidal thoughts’ are shoved aside with ‘headaches’ & ‘stomach pains’ .

Us, as the women who are taking it/have taken it, are also guilty of putting it to the side and pinning the crazy mood swings, painful depressive episodes, panic attacks & low moods which started (or got worse) when you started taking the pill, on other things, like our jobs, living situation, dating life etc. The reality is - putting a whole load of hormones into your body is most likely affecting & worsening your mental health. If it doesn’t work for you - There are other options out there - look after yourselves.

All of my illustrations are created with love, but these ones are places very, very close to my heart. Little pieces of my favourite places & love of the mountains - a love I know I share with a lot of people. I hope these will give you a little bit of adventure, especially now while we can’t travel to our favourite places.

🏔: Tantalus Range, British Columbia.

🏔: Buachaille Etive Mòr, Scotland.

🏔: The Remarkables, New Zealand.

A love letter to British Columbia,

I miss those mountains, the magic & my Canadian home.

I picked up a pencil & started sketching this a few nights ago after an overwhelming feeling of missing the BC mountains hit me. It turns out that on this day a year ago my good friend & I were hiking our way to the most incredible glacier lake I’ve ever seen.

We cooked pasta, drank wine & picked our favourite stars, because we knew it was the last big BC hike for me (for a while) - if you look very closely we are there, clambering up the snow.

Fast Fashion & Greenwashing ♻️

We’ve all seen the big fast fashion brands launching their own ‘sustainable’ ranges, ‘conscious point systems’, ‘we care about the planet’ campaigns in the midst of the climate crisis. It’s becoming more and more clear that fast fashion brands throwing around these words are empty marketing strategies. Fast Fashion is exactly what it says in the title, an industry that creates garments as *fast* as possible for the lowest cost, exploiting both people and the planet…but it’s okay right because the label says *eco-friendly*???……no, it’s not.

In the words of @remakeourworld - “Let’s be clear, *fast* fashion can never be sustainable or ethical - Fast fashion as a business model cannot survive without unacceptable sacrifices to people & the planet.”

It is the unfortunate reality that buying sustainably isn’t feasible for so many. Properly sustainable clothing companies are always more expensive than fast fashion companies like Primark etc. We have to channel our energy into putting the pressure onto the companies at fault and the governments that let the exploitation of the planet and people happen. With that being said, we should all be doing what we can to reduce our impact on the planet, I’ve collected some tips below on how we can make our attitudes to & relationships with fashion more sustainable (And not just greenwashed).

• Buy & Sell second hand, Depop is wonderful & there are so many other second hand apps like it.

• Donate clothes you don’t wear anymore to clothing banks, charity shops & shelters etc.

• Don’t fall for the fast fashion brand greenwashing techniques - Do the research on whether a fashion brand is actually environmentally friendly … or if it’s just sticking the buzzwords on the label. (!!!!)

• Thrifting (When it’s safe to do so)

• Clothes Swaps with friends !!

• Look after your wardrobe, stop viewing your clothes as disposable.

The future of our planet lies in our hands. 🐟 👎

We’re in the grip of a global pandemic where we are relying on PPE to save lives. The priority is to recover and keep the planet’s population safe and well, but what happens next? The discussion around single use plastic has been been pushed to one side while the majority of PPE such as gloves are made of plastic.

We should not see a world where there is more plastic than fish in the ocean. We should not see a world where sea turtles mistake discarded gloves for food and where 100,000 marine mammals and turtles are killed by plastic pollution every year. We must make changes.

We must keep the discussion going to fuel the positive change & the recovery of the planet.

‘Coronavirus could well become a catalyst, because people may realise that by degrading our environment, we could find that we are getting more and more of these types of diseases’ - Sonia Roschnik

“We fear a littering epidemic as lockdown eases” - warns the environmental charity @keepbritaintidy . ‼️

As we start to come out of lockdown, the outdoors is not only our safety net & our peaceful place, but it is our playground, our pub, our dinner spot, our coffee shop. The interest & the use of the outdoors has increased, understandably.

The outdoors is not our bin.

We continue to face the issue that adds to this of single use plastics & disposable items. An issue that has possibly been pushed to the bottom of the pile among the chaos of the pandemic.

The outdoors is not our bin.

When you’re embracing the great outdoors as your place of sanctuary, of fun, of a bit of normality - please, please take away what you bring, invest in that reusable water bottle, RECYCLE, look after nature as it looks after you. We need it. It is so
Important.

The outdoors is not our bin.

“At least litter is one thing we can all do something about.” - Stephen Palmer

An illustration inspired by an adventure with my love to the Lost Valley of Glencoe.

The Kitchen Range 1/3

It’s the start of a new year & once again we are inundated with diet plan adverts, influencers promoting laxatives disguised as diet teas, pressure for a ‘new year new me’ attitude ... it’s pretty hard to escape this if you’re on social media. These are created to cancel out all of the noise above and instead celebrate ourselves and our favourite foods.

* I’ve designed this cheese board so you can picture your own dietary preferences, whether that be vegan cheese or locally sourced products*

The Kitchen Range 2/3

It’s the start of a new year & once again we are inundated with diet plan adverts, influencers promoting laxatives disguised as diet teas, pressure for a ‘new year new me’ attitude ... it’s pretty hard to escape this if you’re on social media. These are created to cancel out all of the noise above and instead celebrate ourselves and our favourite foods.

*I’ve designed this banana bread so you can picture your own dietary preferences

The Kitchen Range 3/3

It’s the start of a new year & once again we are inundated with diet plan adverts, influencers promoting laxatives disguised as diet teas, pressure for a ‘new year new me’ attitude ... it’s pretty hard to escape this if you’re on social media. These are created to cancel out all of the noise above and instead celebrate ourselves and our favourite foods.

*I’ve designed this banana bread so you can picture your own dietary preferences

A simple illustration for a Monday morning - I feel that for so many of us, hope has been pretty hard to come by this last year. We are all tired and longing for our lives back, or longing for the life we planned to have.

Although this is the case, I’ve seen so many people finding a glimmer of hope in the first signs of spring. Especially with the snowdrops. Seeing snowdrops shows that the days are starting to get lighter, the weather is getting brighter & we’re on our way out of this dark winter. It’s not sustainable or really very possible to feel positive during this time, but a small feeling of hope (I hope) will get us through.

...& I hope you’re all doing okay out there 🌱

Filling our homes, our hearts, our secret hipsters sides & longing to be responsible for something other than ourselves with house plants.

“76% of suicides are committed by men. Suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 35 in the UK.”

There is still a massive stigma involved in the discussion of mental health especially among men. With gender norms and expectations in society, men are still viewed as having to be ‘tough’ and ‘strong’ while mental illness is viewed as weakness.

This is one of the factors that adds up to the suffer-in-silence response, with men being a lot less likely to access psychological therapies than women. Only 36% of referrals in the UK are men.

We have to start teaching our kids from a young age about mental health & coping mechanisms. We have to cut ties with the idea that asking for help, or discussing your own mental health is a sign of weakness, it is pure strength. And finally, we have to drop the gendered stigma & the ‘man up & get on with it’ response.

Inspired by a recent trip to Tofino, one of my favourite places in the world.

My heart is with Australia, all my Australian loved ones & everyone affected by the bush fires.

A big part of my work is tackling serious social & environmental issues. Myself & an Edinburgh based Australian woman named Holly teamed up in order to raise money for the fire fighters & those affected by the Australian fires, both human & animal. Please read Holly’s words below:

“As most of you know I have been based in the UK for the past year, it has been an overwhelming shock to see Australia in the current state it is in. It is almost hard to even comprehend what so many are going through and I have never felt so far away.

Instead of donating directly to the Australian charities, I have instead teamed up with an extremely talented local Scottish illustrator Evie Caldwell. Her work tells incredible stories through illustrations. So I asked her to illustrate Australia’s. Together we have worked to create an eco-friendly tote bag with the image on it to sell internationally. We have a small Etsy shop ‘LandOfAustralia’ where we are selling these tote bags.

Australia is doing so much locally to support their own… we are asking the rest of the world to please help. So to those of you abroad who don't know how to help or donate… please buy a bag and share our message. 100% of profits will be donated to the Australian Charities helping the firefighters keep fighting, helping rebuild what so many have lost and helping the animal hospitals cure the surviving.

It Doesn't Matter Where You Are In The World, There Is Always A Way To Help.

If you are interested in buying a bag please visit our Etsy website or for larger orders email me directly at hollyclarematson@gmail.com. If you are AUSTRALIAN and you would like a bag - don't buy through the website please email me directly with your address and quantity, my beautiful mum is going to send them from Australia to limit the shipping costs for you.

Please get behind me, our cause and campaign - but more importantly Australia, because we need your help.”

#nevertoofaraway

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/AustralianBush?ele=shop_open

We have let you down. We have acted out of selfishness and greed, we have pushed the planet we share to it’s breaking point and for what? For money, for oil, for a private jet flight out to brunch (no fingers pointed)?⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

We say that we are the most intelligent species to walk on planet earth. We view ourselves this way because of our endless gadgets and big fancy cars. Maybe, we are just starting to realise that no intelligent, superior species would be stupid enough to destroy their own home and with it, destroy yours. ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

With regret, realization and a promise to change.⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Yours, “The Superior Species.”⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

This illustration represents the suffering animals are experiencing due to our actions.

But it also represents that we all must continue to work together in order to stop the suffering.

“𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄”⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Watching and reading the news breaks my heart, the feeling of helplessness is unbearable. The statistics are almost too much to handle, but it is our reality - and as the saying goes - the genie is truly out of the bottle & climate change is very, very real. My heart is with Australia, my Australian friends & all those affected by the fires. ⠀

We watch Love Island religiously, we shamefully watch Geordie shore & Ex on the Beach then we scroll through the instagrams of these tv personalities as they turn into social media ‘influencers’ while promoting products to make us look good - teeth whitening charcoal, hair growing gummy bears & ....over priced coffee diets.

*This post is not slating plastic surgery, for many reasons I’m not against safe plastic surgery. I am however against the promotion of plastic surgery - and claiming unsafe diets are responsible for a surgically modified body.*

We see so many ‘influencers’ posting photos on their instagrams of their ‘Kim K’ inspired bodies, cheese grater abs with ‘perfect’ boobs and tiny waists holding packets of ‘coffee’ & telling us all if we drink the artificially, overpriced coffee for a week, it’ll make us look like them. The reality is, these women do not look the way they do by living off coffee for a week. They look the way they do because they paid a surgeon crazy amounts of money.

Dear social media influencers,
Promoting products like this is destructive & potentially dangerous. You are telling people, the majority being young women to spend their money on unsafe ways of dieting under the false illusion they will end up looking the way you do. These adverts may be easy money for you - but you could your ‘influence’ for good - teeth whitening charcoal is one thing...but please stop telling us to drink nothing but a whole load of coffee.

The past few weeks have been spent taking a little bit of time for myself & work-wise, creating illustrations for lovely people.

During this time I’ve found a great level of creative block when it came to personal illustrating, my aim is to create images that tell a story, promote discussing, often surrounding tough subjects. It is my passion. Recently however, my constant checking of the news and researching took a little too much of a toll & had a backwards effect on my creating.

Most mornings I walk through the woods & pass a giant mushroom, which gives me a moment of childhood imagination filled with fairies & a tiny world. The other day I let myself draw what my imagination was seeing, no meaning, no message, just a moment of magic away from my news app.

The world needs our help, and we must show up for it. But give yourself a break, don’t check the news as soon as you wake up & allow yourself a moment to try & find the light 💡 , even if it’s just a toadstool in the woods - your well-being & your fight to help the planet will benefit from this.

Inspired by the poem written by Brian Bilston.

“WEATHER

The hottest day

Since Records began

And the dinosaurs thought

How lucky I am”

- Last week it was 20C in parts of the UK. Among the excitement surrounding some unexpected beer garden weather there’s one big & incredibly scary underlying issue. It should not be beer garden weather in the middle of winter. In the UK, the 20 hottest years have happened within the last 22 years. While other parts of the world sees deadly forest fires & earthquakes & destruction beyond belief.

So are we going to continue to bask in the sunshine & label the unseasonal weather ‘glorious’ as a planet we have made our home fries under our feet? Or are we going to get up out of our beer garden chairs in the middle of February and make the changes we so desperately need to make.

A look into my (and according to the YouTube comments, many others) attempt to keep up with the Covid19 isolation home workout trend.

Another day, another home isolation workout. ✔️ (ish)

Lockdown day …. what day is it again?

Tried yoga - Feeling Zen.

I’m not a doctor but…YOU SHOULD NOT INGEST, INJECT, DRINK, CONSUME, PUT DISINFECTANT ANYWHERE NEAR, ON OR IN YOUR BODY.

From,

All of us who watch your constant stupidity, lack of compassion and irresponsible and dangerous words continuously put lives at risk.

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS 2020 style. 🍋 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
It’s difficult to make lemonade out of the lemons we have been given right now - so I illustrated a few stages of a locked down life (according to me & Instagram) ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
1. “When life give you lemons” - 2020 style
2. Daily harassment by social media/news
3. Taking up home workouts because everyone else is
4. 🍸🍷🍺 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
5. Learning how to cook when you really should’ve learned 10 years ago
6. Impending doom ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

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I Hope this brings a little humour to your lockdown - these lemons are not permanent & this will get better - Take care.

Bringing back the visual representations of my attempts at home isolation workouts.

We are human, we are not our phones. 📱 .

We’re no strangers to the fact that social media (this is not aimed completely at TikTok) plays a huge part in self esteem & body image issues. We have it all at our fingertips. We’re addicted.

“But you can choose what you see on these apps” ... It takes 2 scrolls on tiktok to come across someone using a filter to completely change their face. From changing your eye colour & making your skin smooth to changing your entire face shape. It takes 2 scrolls to come across a ‘what I eat in a day’ diet video made up of 2 lettuce leaves & 8 glasses of water. 2 scrolls to get to 10000 comments telling someone they’re ‘ugly without makeup’. We have a constant stream of workout videos, teeth whitening ads, lip filler ads, coffee diet ads, ‘this is how you look to other people’ face manipulation filters right at our finger tips. It is so easy to get sucked in.

Right now we’re using our social media more than ever, tiktok has blown up. I can’t imagine tackling teenage years especially, surrounded by all of this. If you’re reading this & you need to hear it today, there is so, so much more to all of us than the way we look. We are so much more than an app-manipulated face....We are our characters, our laugher, our interests & our opinions. We are human, we are our filter-less faces makeup or no makeup, we’re not these apps, we are not our phones.

One for my fellow morning (day & night) coffee addicts.

.

.

.

House Plant 🏠🌱

A look into a dream home. Did you know that having plants helps to improve your well-being both mentally and physically?

A comic of suffering & healing in honour of the UK’s Mental Health Awareness Week.

For many, asking for help can be one of the most difficult parts of the journey to recovery, coping and for a better quality of life. There is help out there, so much of it - there are ears waiting to listen & there are coping mechanisms waiting to be taught. Asking for help, or discussing your own struggles is not a sign of weakness. Acknowledging how you are feeling & taking actions to help yourself is not weakness, it is the highest form of bravery.

Look after yourselves - if you’re suffering, please reach out for help - if you think someone is suffering, reach out to them.

We will grow from this ... & this too shall pass. 🌱 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
Life will be different for a while. We are scared, we are human & we don’t like uncertainty. We’re worried about the ones we love, we’re worried about those who are vulnerable. But this too shall pass. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

We will grow from this...and we will learn from this, we must keep our hope and our love & our laughter. Be kind to each other. It’s no time for selfishness. Support each other, talk to each other, phone the person you’ve been meaning to call for ages, stay home, up your dose of Vitamin c, read the book you’ve been wanting to read, build your website, start writing the novel you have been thinking of writing, take up drawing...rest, life is busy, take this time to give yourself the rest you need - the earth has asked us for the same - if you can, go on a walk, feel some fresh air on your face, practice the things that make you feel calm. It is okay to feel worried & it’s okay to feel scared, but we must keep our hope.⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
Sending my love & that bit of positivity to everyone that little bit more than usual. ❤️

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This is a time of heightened anxiety for everyone - it’s a time for us all to put into practice some things that’ll help keep a bit of peace in our busy minds. I’ve written out some things that I have been doing while staying home in order to keep some calm, in the hope that it might help anyone feeling overwhelmed. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
Switch up your looking at social media/the news as soon as you wake up and replace it with things like meditation/breathing exercises etc. I have been using ‘tapping’ (type in tapping for anxiety into google & try it - it works to physically alter your brain, energy system and body all at once into calmness) & progressive muscle relaxation which are both very easy & very beneficial. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
Get showered, dressed and ready like a normal day. It’ll keep a bit of normality and you’ll be more productive. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
Do some writing of goals/affirmations etc instead of reading the news over your morning coffee. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀
If you can - go on a walk. If you can’t - open a window & get some fresh air circulating & some sun (or rain) on your face. ⠀ ⠀

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Talk to your friends about happy stuff too - keep the playfulness & send the memes. Talk about your future plans. ⠀ ⠀

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Add vitamin c & a glass of water into your morning tea/coffee routine to keep your immune system healthy. ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

& obviously...keep washing your hands.

“I’ll keep my distance now, so I can embrace you later.”

“Embracing Your Power” - One for last night’s extra powerful full moon. 14/09/19

*While I have your attention from whales riding skateboard*

Have you ever seen a whale in real life? It’s the most incredible thing, they are so powerful yet so peaceful. Imagine if your children fantasised about whales the same way we talk about dinosaurs?

Climate change & rising sea surface temperatures, whaling, oil spills, irresponsible fishing, ocean pollution are all making sure that this will be a reality. Stop using plastic straws & plastic bags, start recycling properly, if you eat seafood - buy sustainably. They are so powerful yet so peaceful, and the world would be a better place if humans learned from them.

….Stay home.

For my beautiful Mum, who loves gin & loves chameleons.

“Over 70% of girls aged 15 to 17 avoid normal daily activities, such as attending school, when they feel bad about their looks.” - Dove

“After ten years at war, my body and I have finally reached a cease fire.

For years it was my belief that my body had failed me. I could walk, talk, run, function fully but my body had failed me because it wouldn’t look good draped over a Porsche or help sell underwear to the insecure. To put it simple, I took up too much space. I’d carved an entire personality out of being outspoken, precocious and vibrant but god forbid, god forbid my body also attempted to hog some of the limelight. I couldn’t keep my tits at home whenever I was trying to prove a point. I couldn’t silence my curves from screaming above my intelligence. I was trapped in my own womanhood and yet felt so disconnected and undefined by it. This body was not doing me justice.

And then it dawned on me. This body would never do me justice. No body can ever do anyone justice. It’s a meat skeleton where you keep your personality, if you’re fortunate it’ll let you do some yoga or some lunges but ultimately it’s a home for your thoughts, your aspirations, your kindness and your dysfunctions. - Anonymous, The Women Project.

Women across the world suffer everyday at the expense of laws like the Alabama abortion law.

To the 25 men who made the unforgivable decision which will affect thousands of women - we won’t be silenced, our bodies are our own.

The instagram ‘influencer’ promotion of unsafe weight loss methods & diets. A topic I have drawn & written about before, and a topic that continues to catch my attention and spark a burning rage inside of me.⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 

Jameela Jamil recently confronted the Kardashian’s about their influence in diet culture & promotion of unsafe & (completely ridiculous) weight loss methods. “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬.”- Jameela Jamil. Both Khloe & Kim have responded, with comments highlighting the financial side of these promoted instagram posts & a ‘I don’t care’ attitude. Basically saying, as long as they are making money, who cares how it affects others. “𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, “𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲.” - Jameela Jamil. ⠀

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Personally I have unfollowed anyone who is associated with any form of this kind of ‘influencing’ and somehow, I still see these posts, by reality tv personalities, instagram models & of course the famous-and-oh-so-wise Kardashians. There is no surprise that we live in a world with ever-growing numbers of cripplingly self conscious young people, with sky high numbers of eating disorders & deteriorating mental health as we are constantly being told how to make ourselves ‘more beautiful’, ‘sexier’, ‘more desirable’ by drinking-to put it bluntly - laxatives in a pretty box.

Dedicated to my peace lily, Lilian.

“Real Bodies” are curvy, they are naturally thin or they’re slave-away-in-the-gym athletic bodies; they’re rib cages showing & they’re extra skin in weird & wonderful places; they’re broad shoulders & big-boobed or barely-there AA’s; they’re stretch marks & bumps & scars & marks & proof of survival; they’re pregnant stomachs & they’re wrinkles; they’re deep rich skin & they’re see-through, blue veined porcelain, They are “Real Bodies”.

Waving the white flag at the end of a battle with your own body - because you look great.

Your body is your home, its purpose is to keep you alive. It is your friend. Would you look at your friend and criticize them the way you do yourself?

Recently I asked a woman I’d served what her plans were for the rest of the day. She replied with “face appointment after face appointment. Because there is no limit to how much you can improve yourself.” - To me she was beautiful & I couldn’t find the words to respond because - what could she possibly want to do to her face? I thought about that comment for weeks & started to question what I could do to my face to ‘improve’ to - after all, we influence each other.

Then I realised that when I look at other people I see only the good. I admire my friends, my family, strangers for their character & their internal beauty alongside their outer beauty. Yet I will insult myself & let my own brain tell my own body that is does not look good enough and therefor, it is not good enough.

The realization that came from this was that I HAVE to stop talking about the things I’d change about my appearance. I write & draw & truly believe in body confidence, but I would write & draw about it while outwardly saying things like “When I have enough money I’ll get a boob job” and “I have to start going to the gym so I can get a nice bum” etc etc. Yet when I hear my friends saying similar comments, I can never comprehend it and get angry about it. Because to me, they don’t need to change a thing about themselves.

We live in a world of social media influencers & people telling us we need whatever to look good, to improve our outer selves, the part that actually does not matter at all. We influence each other - if you say you want to change something, it could be the fuel for the next person to think that they have to change that too.

So if you change one thing this week - change the way to you talk about yourself, change the way you talk about the changes you’d make to your body. Start treating it as it should be treated, like a friend & like your home.

One for the introverts, the lone wolves & the guarded souls.

At some point(s) the majority of us will have experienced what it feels like to have our happiness temporarily taken away by another human - once the initial “I hate men/women/humans” passes, there is suddenly comfort in being completely on your own. Dating becomes terrifying, feelings are terrifying, the idea of dating someone new is terrifying and to meet someone feels like the wquivilant of handing over your happiness to another person in the hope that they’re nice to you. It’s cool to be on your own, in fact it’s amazing to be on your own - but we must not lose ourselves to the idea that opening up to another human is the most terrifying thing in the world - when it could be wonderful.

“I like being alone. I have control over my own space. Therefore in order to win me over, your presence has to be better than my solitude. You’re not competing with another person, you are competing with my comfort zone.” - Horacio Jones.

Spring brings cherry blossoms, long nights & the lingering feeling of dread as bikini season rapidly approaches.

* Spring brings cherry blossoms, long nights & the lingering feeling of peace as bikini season rapidly approaches.

Because I am forever thankful for the incredible women I have in my life and those I continue to meet dotted around the world.

A ‘Bad Prawn’ is slang for a hangover in my family. When I was 14 we had an after gig party, I accidentally drank way, way too much wine & experienced my very first hangover. The next day after finally hanging to get out of bed at 5pm I went to tell my mum that I’d eaten a bad prawn. I don’t think we’d even had prawns, and I don’t think my excuse was very believable. Almost 10 years on & it’s still stuck.

An illustration inspired by the Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse.

“This weekends full moon lunar eclipse will help you break free from the past. Cycles that are long overdue for change are being transformed at an energetic level. This is why so many of us are experiencing exhaustion, uncertainty and anxiety about the future.”

It is sometimes comforting to know there may be a reason for feeling the way you are feeling (like that time mercury was in retrograde & everything went crazy). Whether it’s an uncertainty about where you’re heading in life or just feeling generally emotionally exhausted. (sometimes it’s nice to be able to blame the moon).

I’m starting my new week after the eclipse with this in mine over breakfast - being thankful for the past, accepting things I can’t change and being excited for the future all while embracing the “where is my life going?.”

A short & sweet love story.

“Life is too short to drink cheap coffee and cry about people who don’t care.”

I 100% created this while drinking £1.50 instant coffee & reading sickeningly inspirational quotes.

“I’ll have an extra hot, triple shot, 3cm of foam, soy, pumpkin spiced latte with 2 sugars & have a better taste in men to go please.”

An open letter to a single 20-something-year-old:

“She’s your lobster. It’s a known fact that lobsters fall in love & mate for life. You can actually see old lobster couples, walking around their tank, you know, holding claws…See? He’s her lobster!” - Phoebe Buffay.

“You’ll find your lobster” - A sentence any single, Friend’s loving person has heard atleast once in their life (usually following a “I’m going to be eternally single” rant to their Mum).

We are all in this bubble of adulthood swiping through tinder & obsessing over whether we are going to die alone. You’ll probably meet 1 or 2 or 10 people who you think could be your lobster … but they are not. They will most likely break your heart but you’ll get over it. You’ll meet your wrong-place-wrong-time lobster & then instagram will tell you a year down the line that they’ve met their lobster, who’s not you. You’ll most likely meet some very fleeting I-HOPE-THEY-ARE-MY-LOBSTER in a night club & they’ll probably not text you back. You’ll meet people who are so far from being your lobster that you wonder why you agreed to go for a beer with them in the first place.

And after all that - it turns out that the purpose of your 20’s is not to meet the man/woman/person of your dreams (AKA your lobster) - We all have to stop stressing about finding love & (in the least I-want-to-throw-up way possible) learn to love ourselves first. Then your lobster will appear out of nowhere & you’ll wonder why you worried in the first place.

(Say lobster one more time)

Christmas is meant to be a cheery time of year filled with love - but we must remember those who will be spending Christmas on the streets. The homeless population is at record breaking numbers while so many of that population have medical conditions, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and/or are tackling addiction while living on the street.

These people are PEOPLE. The next time you cross the street to avoid eye contact or look down at your phone to avoid passing a few coins to someone, remind yourself of that. Offer to buy someone a coffee or a sandwich, smile & say hello or stop & have conversation like you would with any other person. We can’t fix it alone, but one small act of kindness could change someone’s day/week/Christmas/life.

After working a very long shift, I had an overwhelming craving for a subway (no judgement here).

The man serving me was an all round sweet human. We got chatting about life as he put together my sandwich with the most care and precision I’ve ever seen anyone make a sandwich with. He lined up every layer so perfectly.

He then said: “You know, Ive always hated working & I’ve had many jobs in my life - but this is my favourite.”

I asked him why.

And he responded with: “Because I am good at it & I enjoy it. I’ve never found a job I truly care about, and now I’m in my 50’s I’ve just taken the decision to enjoy this, even if it’s just making sandwiches. It’s taken me this long to learn - You can’t be good at something you hate.”

A sentence to consider with all the ‘start of a new year’ talk about the future, career worries & lack of direction in life - so this one is for you Mr Subway man.

A reminder of how important your mind is - and how important it is to look after it. One in four people in the world are affected by mental health or neurological disorders at some stage in their lives.

It is so important to remember that people all around you suffer & live with mental health conditions, whether it is yourself, your friend or family member, your tinder date, the waiter you shouted at because your food was cold, the barista who served you your morning coffee - it’s yet another reason to always act with kindness & understanding. If you’re suffering - seek help, talk about it with someone you trust,

“Dear brain, I guess we’re stuck together. Now I know I need to take better care of you. I know you’re suffering too. I promise to listen to your needs better, and have a little more compassion towards you.” - Anonymous, The Women Project.

"Accept yourself as you were designed." - Rupi Kaur

Character Design.