2018 has been a really productive year for my art and I’m proud as punch to see how far I’ve come in these past 10 years. That’s right, back in 2008 I had my first exhibition and started sharing my work under the studio name ‘B.Inspired’. Now I run an online shop, sell at markets and instore in both Victoria and Queensland.
This year I entered the world of craft markets. It started off with a bang when I threw myself into the Mythical Markets, totally undrestimating the scale and popularity that the event would be. An overwhelming but exciting experience all the same, I’m very much looking forward to the next one happening later this month on January 26th. (And a wee bit more prepared this time around!) Check it out here for more details.
I had another two stalls at the Hills Art Market in Emerald (unfortunately no longer running) and one more recently at the Frankston Makers Market where I experienced a thunderstorm just after setting up. It was insane. Luckily for me though, anything that did get water damage was purposely aged anyway, so the water only added to the aesthetic. How’s that for a twist of fate?
I managed to paint this many paintings:
Including 30+ hand painted tags. Most of the paintings are quite small, the biggest one being around 40 x 30cm for my cousin’s baby boy. The little painting of Totoro is for my new niece who was born early in the year, so it’s been very exciting times with fresh new babes for me to smell 🙂
I made lots of interesting things from butterfly wing jewellery to artifacts to preserved faery skelletons and other odd things in between. A fascinating collection of curiosities if I do say so myself:
I did some design work over the year, a few logos and digital images which is always fun. I can’t share them all but here but there was one job in particular that was pretty amaze. And that is the logo and shop sign for the magical nook that is Minni & Rose in Clontarf, QLD.
Lower Image of work by Natural Magical Creative.
In August I was absolutely stoked to win a logo competition. It was for a political group known as the Smashed Avocado Movement. I love what they stand for and being able to design their logo was really exciting. It followed onto some further work and even today I’m still designing for them, so that was a big highlight!
Another highlight worth mentioning is the popularity with a tshirt design I created back in 2014 (I think..) for a Dark Crystal related competition I didn’t win. I uploaded the design to Redbubble and it recently started to sell. I’m not quite financially ready to buy a double story tree house in the forest, but I can probably afford to buy a few of these tees for myself. Happy as pie to know that there are people around the world actually wearing my design!*
*The design itself is part of the time symbol from the Dark Crystal, origionally designed by Brian Froud. This is my interpretation of it in the form of fan art
To finish off a great year I once again launched my Karma Star Christmas campaign where I make and sell stars for charity. I raised a total of $257 making lots of personalised stars this time which was really enjoyable. Even when it was midnight and I was working away on batches of stars to make sure they were ready to post the following day! Loved every moment.
This is the third year running and all funds raised are donated directly to the Cambodian Buddhism Association for Vulnerable Children.
I had one very personal star request in memory of a family member who had passed just before Christmas. It was very humbling to create something so personal to someone. I knew the people recieving these stars would be having a difficult Christmas and it bought tears to my eyes just thinking of them. An unforgettable moment, although sad, it was another highlight in my creative ventures.
So that’s a wrap 2018! It has been a whole lotta late nights and crafting fun, designing, creating and never ending sketches on scrap paper. I intend to continue on this journey in 2019 with 2 markets already booked and a secret project I’ve been working on behind the scenes that I hope to launch real soon..
Hope you all have a fantastic year!
Becky Bee of B.Inspired xx
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