Kittys Drawings

I really really do!

I was soooooo nervous! Though that is normal for me…I get pretty spacko when in social situations that I did not instigate. If you get what I mean? Like, I’m okay meeting new people if it’s a ‘level playing field’ but things like interviews, public speaking or even some parties where I don’t know a lot of people I get really really nervous. And this especially, because there is so much to gain from doing well.

I hope I stressed my versatility enough. As you know, it was the Lithographic Institute of Australia, and the only place I have learnt about litho is through school and my small dealings with getting business cards done for my parents. At work we print flexography and rotogravure. Two quite different methods of printing with each their own special considerations to do with the material you are printing on and the inks etc.

They asked me a lot of technical questions about file formats, resolution and screen angles. Some of the hairy questions which I don’t know if I answered in the best way were about whether the printing terminology is adaptable across the formats. I also not sure I answered what my job description is very accurately. Of course, I know all the answers to these questions! Just the situation you see. Doh! There was discussion about what I’d do with the money and the state of letterpress at the moment. They were of the impression that I might be taking on too much too fast but I’m pretty confident in my ability to figure stuff out – which I am not sure I stressed enough.

When I get nervous, I find it very difficult to keep a train of thought going as my mind gets blank and I forget what I was meant to be saying. I hope they could see through my nerves and I hope I haven’t let myself down. I’m pretty sure I came across more as an artist because that is really my intent with the letterpress stuff. I do love the printing industry in all its forms and while letterpress is not a competitive part of it any longer, it still holds its value as an artform. It’s up to the judges to decide whether they want to support me starting a business in such an antiquated part of the industry. It’s very much alive today but not in the way that litho is.

And I hope I’m not coming off too negative – more I am thinking of the things I could have said better. Don’t we all do that?  The positive notes – I think I past the technical stuff with flying colours. Work is not a problem for me and I can make decisions about what I think will print well. They were also very encouraging of me finding suppliers for the letterpress stuff. One of the judges suggested I look into intaglio printing as he knows someone who is doing it on the same scale as letterpress. Intaglio is similar to gravure in that the plate is etched with the image and then filled with ink, with the excess ink being wiped off the plate. Then the paper is pressed against the plate with pressure from a roller, which transfers the ink to paper with a slightly raised, tactile effect. Pretty much the inverse of letterpress actually, where the plate pushes into the paper.

There will be a dinner next month to announce the winner which should be fun. Now that the interview is over with, and while I would LOVE to win more than anything…I certainly won’t be a sooky sore loser if I don’t get it It’s not going to halt my career that’s for sure. Hehe.

Please excuse the poor quality photos! This is my complete portfolio – ready for my interview tomorrow. The red is such a nice colour – and I don’t know if you can see the grain of the fabric. Feels nice that

You’ve all seen most of the stuff that’s in there – I don’t particularly like much of my older stuff. And when I put it all together, its only about 14 things I’m really happy with that I’ll be showing. Though it’s all very diverse, which I am not sure if it is a good thing or not but I like to try my hand at lots of things!
There’s the Cult-of-Pop design, my vector kitty, the St Imre stuff, the latest drawing of the blonde girl, some magazine projects I did at school and the 3D renders. And what you can see here is my go at photography! Heh! Well, it’s not very clear. But I took these on a trip to a Yarra Glen classic car show. There were such great shapes and colours! Shiny!

ALSO – I had an idea today. For my next drawing. Which is wonderful when a creative moment strikes. Except I have so many other things to finish off (like that second model drawing which I HAVEN’T forgotten about!)….but the ‘vision’ struck me quite strong and I had to sketch immediately to get the feeling down and the shapes. So now it’s quite firm in my mind and I just have to refine it. I won’t tell you all what it is yet as I’ve got too much of a backlog of other stuff that you need to see the end of. Heh.
Well – til tomorrow, when I will have news of the interview…Ciao!