Another to add to the gig list...

Ben Howard - Keep your head up.

My brother has informed me that he has gotten me a ticket to go and see Ben Howard with him in Bristol Next February as a Christmas present! I cannot wait, but just hope that uni commitments don't get in the way further down the line... Fingers crossed that I'm going to be free, Ben Howard's music is beautiful and for anyone who likes music from artists such as Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling then give Ben Howard a listen, I'm sure you'll grow to love him as much as I do! Enjoy (:

Jodie x

Panda doodle. (Pandoodle)

As you probably know by now, I like to doodle/draw as well as write. This past week has been very image related due to visual research for a current uni project so as I've been researching I've found images that have inspired a doodle or two. This image is actually one that I saw on a t-shirt somewhere during my internet browsing and I decided to replicate it in my sketchbook as there was something about it that I really liked. Just thought I'd share it with you (:

Jodie x

A typical Halloween related post.

Due to an ever building mountain of university work and a week of illness, I've gotten a little behind on my blog posts (as you may have noticed) but, I'm healthy and (touch wood) on top of uni work now so my blog posts are decidedly worthy of my full attention again.

The weekend allowed me to bring out my creative and somewhat slightly skeletal side in the form of Halloween Makeup for our suitably themed Halloween House Party. Everyone who knows me will know that I am by no means a fan of dressing up for events such as Halloween, I somehow manage to always look awkward, even in a room full of similarly dressed people. So this year I decided to stay within my comfort zone and create the key feature of my outfit with makeup (:
A practice run on Thursday evening took me 3 hours, but successfully got me motivated to compile the remaining parts of my costume.

Practice 

The practice turned out better than originally expected so I kept the basic design for the actual costume attempt the following Saturday. With makeup extended into the hair, down to the neck and chest, the costume simply consisted of a black long sleeved top and black leggings on which a dismantled Skeleton Halloween decoration was carefully stuck with double sided tape. There is literally nothing that double sided tape cannot do! The lighting isn't the best in the following image, but you get the general idea (:

Final Design

Complete Outfit

And of course, it isn't ever Halloween without a Pumpkin or two. I have to admit that I got very frustrated with my Pumpkin, purely down to the fact that I tried to do a fairly intricate design on a very small pumpkin, but after a few minor mistakes (the loss of a pumpkin tooth or two) the overall outcome wasn't too bad, just a little rough around the edges/(eyebrows)...

Happy Halloween! (:

Jodie x

One down.

I successfully completed my first week for third year. We haven't actually started anything yet as it was more of an introduction week but, an achievement none the less. The structure plan for the year is terrifying and left me wanting to run out of the lecture room screaming without a second thought or glance back, but I'm sure I'll get through it all somehow. Hopefully...
The work load will be huge this year as we're being pushed beyond our comfort zones in order to achieve higher as professionals as opposed to students. It will all be worth it and providing I keep on top of things it should be achievable.

On another note, in order to balance out the stress of my not so stressful introductory week, I had a little shopping trip to HMV. Never a good idea when trying to save money, but I did well with limiting my spending and only bought 3 albums and a poster for my room...

This is the poster that now fills the once bare wall in my room. I chose it because I love how simple it is, yet there is so much to look at at the same time, the contrast between the black and white background image and the array of rainbow coloured telephone boxes brings a creative but quite tranquil feel to the image at the same time.
The albums I bought were;

Ed Sheeran + Deluxe Edition

Ed Sheeran is one of my favourite artists for a number of reasons varying from his undeniably beautiful voice both recorded and live. The personal meaning behind his songs and every single lyric and his non celebrity approach to his music. This album is one of my favourite of the year so far, each song brings a different mood and emotion and the album as a whole completely captivates you. I had high hopes for this album after seeing him in June this summer and wasn't disappointed. Although interestingly, I dislike the album version of 'The City' in comparison to his acoustic version. The album version is a little too edited and some of the pureness is lost.

Laura Marling - A Creature I don't know.

I absolutely love Laura Marling, I often find myself being the only one in a group of friends who does, for reasons that I can never quite understand. My iTunes describes her music in the genre of rock, I however would place it in a genre more along the lines of acoustic/folk. This album again, was not disappointing in anyway, her hauntingly beautiful voice shines through in each song bringing deeper meaning to the obviously personal lyrics. Her recent live acoustic set on Radio 1 with Zane Lowe was what made me more determined to purchase this album. The album artwork I feel, reflects her music somewhat, simple on the surface but in actuality, complex and beautiful. Despite it taking me 20 minutes to remove the CD from the cardboard sleeve that it comes in opposed to plastic casing, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Laura Marling or similar artists such as Mumford and sons, Ben Howard and Lucy Rose.

Foster the People - Torches

This was my third and final purchase. I love Foster the People, however I haven't heard much of their music other than the released tracks. I posted one of them on here a couple of weeks ago now - Helena Beat. I don't usually buy music unless I'm sure it's something I will enjoy thoroughly however, I had a feeling this wasn't going to disappoint me and took a chance with buying it. It is definitely one of my favourite albums of this year. There isn't a bad track, the entire album is consistently upbeat and provides endless tracks of 'feel good' music. There are many elements to Foster the People's music that makes me want to listen to them continuously, the building instrumental that can be heard between the heavier beats, the almost choral sound to their vocals at times and also their story like lyrics. I would definitely recommend this album, whether this is usually your type of music or not, there is something about it that you may find appealing.

Waste is one of my favourite tracks from the album, enjoy!

Jodie x

So. So. Early.

Good morning!
I'd forgotten how much I dislike early mornings! (I'm aware that 8am is probably not early for most).. Seriously struggled to wake up this morning but am surprisingly awake now, I'm putting it down to the caffeine intake and sunshine. I wasn't looking forward to starting back at uni today, however, I  have plans to catch up with friends for lunch after and I'm quite liking the idea of falling back into routine as the last 5 months have been a little all over the place. I'm hoping a constant routine will provide some motivation and a little pressure to push forward a little more on the work front!
Not sure my eyes will be awake enough to cope with a 2 hour IT lesson in a minute but here goes the start of my final year!

Jodie x

Third and final year approaches..

Tomorrow is the first day of my final year of University, I have mixed emotions about going back but I won't get into that now. My timetable is pretty much non existent, meaning I'm paying over £3500 a year to be taught for 8 hours a week..

Seeing as it's my last day off and I still have work to finish up, I should have really been dedicating my day to finishing off my projects (that was my intention), however it didn't really quite turn out that way... Instead I sat in the park in the sun and had lunch with a friend and spent the rest of my day drawing/doodling.. Not very productive but satisfying all the same. I'll attach my drawings, just so I have something to show for my day of failed uni work.

Batman (Obviously)

Paramore - Let the flames begin lyrics

Scrabble...

In case you couldn't guess.. Spiderman.

Jodie x