Life is experienced in moments. Some of these moments hold more weight. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can feel the weight of some moments. There are certain moments in my life that I knew while they were happening that they would change everything.

Bookcast Series

This is the first episode in my Bookcast series. Bookcast is a group of podcast episodes dedicated to sharing the behind-the-scenes of writing my first art book. In the series, you’ll find tips for writing your own book, and insight into the messy middle of book writing.

Podcast Show Notes

Life is experienced in moments. Some of these moments hold more weight. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I can feel the weight of some moments. There are certain moments in my life that I knew while they were happening that they would change everything.

Folding paper flowers with a group of women that fate (and definitely not ourselves) decided to bond as friends.

Sitting in the car with my dad waiting for my mom to finish at her hairdresser. Telling him about my new friend that I was going to marry.

That friend on the sleeper couch in my tiny lounge, announcing that (even though I had spent a year getting over him) he was in love with me.

The German Consulate in South Africa. The police stations. Home affairs and sleeping in spare bedrooms. A book of certification and documentation. The giant giraffe in the airport, a talisman I left half of my heart in.

The rudeness of Elliot being placed on my chest, interrupting a conversation with T.

Crying due to the sheer amount of circumstances that brought me to stand inside a Michael’s for the first time.

Casually signing the paperwork to create an LLC.

Very un-casually signing the paperwork to create a German company.

Now I don’t mean to be dramatic, but now there is a new one.

Receiving an email from the publishing house that has created some of my favourite art books. The creation of my very own fairy godmother.

It’s been over a YEAR of keeping this secret. I am excited, proud, nervous, scared, proud, petrified, and so dang proud to show you the cover of my book.

MY BOOK.

Life goal stuff happening right here.

Naturally, I couldn’t create this without other people. When my fairy bookmother asked me how I’d like to do things there wasn’t a doubt in my head that I’d invite guest artists. I am a human mosaic of everyone who has impacted my heart and my art. ​

In exactly 3 months, this book will be released – 30 November 2021. ​It’s now available for pre-order.

I just know that seeing this book in a home that is not mine will be one of those Moments every single time.

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My partner, T, and I are books people.
Our interior design style is books and plants. And not the pretty kind of books either – they’re kind of a disaster. T likes sci-fi and fantasy, so his stupid, stupid books are all black or grey or white. I’m partial to light fiction, and non-fiction, and so while my books are beautiful, I also enjoy referring back to them so they travel between shelves.

Part of the reason I like journaling so much is because they are essentially books you’ve created yourself. When I started journaling in 2014, on one of my first pages, I wrote “my dream is to fill an entire library with books I have created myself”. I have that mini library now. I’ve made over 300 books. I’ve purged most of them recently, but there is a solid bookshelf of books I’ve made myself.

And now I’m adding another. A different kind though. One that combines all my favourite things into one.

In November 2021, my non-fiction book about the little books I make, will be published by Quarto. Get Messy Art – The No-Rules, No-Judgement, and No-Pressure Approach to Making Art.

Here’s the official synopsis:
Getting messy is the best part of creating! Get Messy Art gives you the freedom, inspiration, and ideas to experiment and play with art techniques and projects to create perfectly imperfect art.

We’re always told that play and experimentation is the foundation of growing as an artist.

But where do you start?

Where to find new techniques to try?

How do you bring them all together?

Get Messy Art has all the guidance, instruction, and inspiration you need.

Based on the popular online class and community website Get Messy Art, this book brings together tons of creative art techniques and projects, including painting with watercolor and acrylic, mark making, drawing with markers and pen and ink, sketching faces, and much more.

The fun doesn’t stop there. You’ll also learn how to make your own art journals and trendy junk journals—easy handmade books to work in that are personalized and one of a kind.

In Get Messy Art you’ll discover:

A welcoming environment that encourages play and experimentation, to help you become the artist you always wanted to be.
How to use no-rules, no-stress art techniques as a creative outlet to express feelings.
Actionable inspiration that will keep you going, even when motivation is scarce.
Fresh techniques that will show you innovative ways to use low-cost supplies such as paint and mediums, stencils, pens, and paper.
Easy background techniques that will get you started and banish fear of the blank page.
The satisfaction of making your own unique journals using simple methods.
Ultimately, art is all about creating for the sake of creating. It’s powerful, it’s cathartic, it’s messy—and it’s all yours. It’s time to get messy

–

I’ve always wanted to write a book. When I was creating my intentions for 2020, I put a really big one out in the universe:

I was going to write a book.

When I put it out there, my idea was that it would be self-published. I’m pretty handy with a computer, and was excited to learn a new skill.

And then in March, Jeannine emailed me.

Who is Jeannine? Jeannine is MY fairy godmother. Jeannine is an acquisitions editor from Quarto, who swished her magic wand and made all my dreams come true in just one email.

I’ll tell you about that in the next episode. I knew that when I wrote a book, I wanted to share as much as I could about the process so that more people could write books.

I couldn’t share this secret for an entire year, and so I’ll be dedicating the very first Get Messy podcast series to this.

We don’t have enough books in the world (I know, I know). I don’t think anyone has applied too much of a good thing to art books.