E

ISSU
13

thePast&
Presentissue
 f f e ea at ut r ue dr designer:

cw
oe
nl tc eo nmt se
e d artist:
Welcome
So this is officially Blankets 2nd
Birthday issue! In December 2006,
Tanya and I, published our very first
Blanket issue. It was a mixture of
naivety and passion for art, design and
photography that fuelled our desire to
start the magazine. And although we
had absolutely no idea what we were
doing we knew we wanted to create
something that would inspire us - and
hopefully others as well!

It was a tough decision to give up full

time work to concentrate on something
that you never really know if it will ever
be a success - but I’ve never been one
to take the safe route in life. I’ve learnt
a lot of lessons along the way and
I’m sure there will be many more as
Blanket and I grow together.

I would like to thank everyone who

has been involved with helping to keep
Blanket running for this long - and
cheers to another 2 years! (hopefully!)

If you have downloaded this

magazine and are enjoying its
FREE content then please support
us by donating! There is now a
DONATE button on the Blanket
website. thanks!

An image taken from The Reanimation Library... the inspiration behind this issue of Blanket! Bec
uncovering your creativity
What could be a more suitable story for this issue than a library that re-uses old images from the editor@blanketmagazine.com
Past and gives them a new lease of life in the Present! Read about this inspiring Library, and the
man behind it (Andrew Beccone) in our article on the Reanimation Library (page 21)

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blanket magazine
Bec Reanimation
The Brown

Cover image: Stefan Vanbroek

(check out our Transfer Interview with Stefan on pg 43)
Library
 f f e ea at ut r ue dr designer:

c
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Contents
1-2 Welcome 3-4 Contents 5-6
Contributors 7-8 What’s New? Products,
Websites, Blogs and more... 9-12 Make-
Your-Own Match Book! Crafty goodness
with Jek! 13-20 Here’s my work... I hope
you like it Our readers show us their work
21-26 Transfer: The Reanimation Library
27-42 Re_action: PAST & PRESENT See
how our readers reacted to our theme!
44-48 Transfer: Stefan Vanbroek Our
cover artist shows us his work 49-50
Transfer: Aaron Ruff Jeweller from Digby
& Iona 51-56 Here’s my work... I hope
you like it Our readers show us their
work 57-62 Transfer: Bec Winnel The
illustrator behind My Charlie Girl 63-72
The Past & Present Project We challenge
four writers and four artists on our theme
73-80 Here’s my work... I hope you
like it Our readers show us their work
81-84 Transfer: Good Wives & Warriors
AaBbCcDdEe 85- 90 Childhood Drawings... Where
it all began for our artists 91- 96 Here’s
Ff G g H h I i J j K k my work... I hope you like it Our readers
show us their work 97- 100 Craft-E Who
LlMmNnOoPp MADEIT.com? 101-104 Web_sight We
look at steampunk websites 105-106
Q q R r S s Tt U u Our Wallpaper winners! Check out their
hot spots! 107-108 Blanket Classified
V v W w X x Yy Z z Ads Now clickable! 109-110 Next issue
Find out how you can contribute to our
1 2 3 4 5 6 78 9 0 next issue. The theme: BLUE 111-112
Thankyou A list of all who made this
Blanket Font for this issue: issue possible
‘Kawoszeh’ by Gluk.
Find it here: www.dafont.com/
kawoszeh.font
Do you have a font you have made
and would like it considered for the
next Blanket issue?
Send a PDF example to:
editor@blanketmagazine.com
3 4
blanket magazine
Sudeep
Niko Vartiainen
Lingamneni

Re_action feature artist: Niko Vartiainen


CAITLIN GAHAN
Assistant Editor
Caitlin Gahan is a Graphic
Designer and Writer who
never learnt to ride a bike or do
maths of any kind. She loves
being a Graphic Designer for
two reasons:
1. She can Photoshop photos
of herself and
2. She gets to be involved
in Blanket and remain in a
constant state of schoolgirl
awe of the talent of the artists
and designers she interviews.
When she is not near her
beloved Mac called “Velvet”,
she likes to read every book
and magazine in sight.
Then, her fingers get too itchy
and she has to get back to
her desk.
DAVID SELF
Writer
Selfy is a guy who knows a
little bit about pretty much
everything. Ask people what
he does, and they would
call him a Graphic Designer,
Photographer, Musician or
Writer. In truth he is only one
of these things, but we’re not
quite sure which.
A self-confessed “Internaut”,
he revels in the geeky and
is most comfortable when
there’s a Firefox window open
in front of him. If you feel like
forwarding him a funny email
that’s going around, chances
are he saw it before you were
born. Why not ask him about
web comics instead?
JESSICA WILSON
Craft Writer
Jessica Wilson is the Crafty-
mad Scientist behind jek in
the box, scrumdillydilly and
scrumdilly-do! She lives a short
hop away from Hollywood with
her sock crafty husbandman,
their evil kitty and a mob of
sock monkeys. She favours
stripey socks and never leaves
home without her camera.
www.scrumdillydilly.
blogspot.com
www.jekbot.etsy.com
www.flickr.com/photos/
jek-a-go-go/
c c oo nn t t r r i ibb uut tors
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t r i b u t ors
ors
JONATHAN HULME MELISSA GARDNER
Writer Designer
Jonathan Hulme is a In her spare time, Mel likes
Sociologist, Writer and all to paint ‘Nushka Dolls’, look
round Righteous Dude. He at pretty pictures in design
is particularly interested in books, go to nice places for
popular culture and despite coffee with her boy, dabble on
being a terrible music snob, the guitar, laugh loudly, collect
will argue that Destiny’s Child Moleskin journals (and dream
are better than Sonic Youth of one day writing in them
to anyone who will listen. without ruining them!) and
Fortunately, no one listens. she loves finding new artists
to inspire her. Check out Mel’s
cute hand-painted nushka dolls:
www.nushkadolls.com
www.nushkadolls.etsy.com
or have a look at her illustration
& photography:
www.flickr.com/photos/
rememberthislink
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MELINDA WOLEDGE
Writer
Melinda Woledge is a writer,
editor and multi-tasker
extraordinaire. Her days consist
of juggling short-story writing,
food blogging and editing
around baking, coffee at her
local cafe and chasing after her
toddler son.
If you want to see more of
her writing or to just want
some fabulous recipes you
can find them on her food
blog Melbourne Larder.
www.melbournelarder.
blogspot.com
Contributors
JOHN FRY
Designer
When John was a young
lad all he ever wanted to do
was drive a ‘bulldozo’. On
realising ‘bulldozers’ were spelt
differently he took his crushed
little dreams and turned to
design instead. He still feels a
sharp tug on the heart strings
whenever he see’s yellow and
black together.
John has a few web sites and
a blog but spends so little time
updating them that we’re not
going to bother putting them
in here.
DREW FELLOWS
Designer
Drew was recently diagnosed
by a doctor as being a creative
compulsive. Medical tests
showed that if Drew was to
go a day without creating
something new or working on
an ongoing project, the results
could be fatal. Under doctors
recommendations, Drew now
fills his days with photography,
graphic design, drawing in
moleskins, making badges,
music production, performing,
a hint of creative writing and
countless blogs, websites and
online communities.
http://flickr.com/photos/
drewfellows/
www.26theband.com
 What’s New?

c
h wa ht s’a tN’s enew

o
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THE LATEST PRODUCTS, MAGAZINES, BLOGS AND WEBSITES WE’VE FOUND.

w ??
PIKALAND - AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE!
According to Amy Ng the name Pikaland
represents ‘the land of bright, lovely, happy
things’ and she couldn’t be more right! Amy’s
blog is dedicated to living the illustrated life so if
it’s inspiration you’re after then look no further!
Go here quickly: www.pikaland.com

MANKIND MAG - BY ERIN FROM DESIGN FOR MANKIND

Erin has recently released the 5th Issue of Mankind Mag. It is produced by the lady herself, in between
of course running her award winning blog Design for Mankind. The mag features lots of talented artists,
designers and photographers - not to mention the cutest themes as well! Erin was also our very first
Blanket Guest Blogger so if you want to read what inspires her you can check it out on the Blanket Blog.
www.designformankind.com NEW FONT BY ERIC Wiryanata!
Introducing -Banhart- a fabulous new font by one
of Blanket’s favourite typographers Eric Wiryanata!
BRAND NEW WORK BY BEASTMAN! The inspiration and the name was taken from
Check out the new body of work by artist Beastman Davendra Banhart a folk singer song-writer.
following his recent solo exhibition ‘Beastman Begins’. There are 12 variations of this font so you can
I’m loving the new colour palette! There is still some use a different one every month!
artwork available and if you’re lucky (and quick) enough Support Eric here: www.thunderpanda.com
you can have your very own original piece!
Check his flickr page for AVAILABLE artwork:
www.flickr.com/photos/bradeastman
www.beastman.com.au

WORLDWIDER PROJECT - ART SPEAKS ANY LANGUAGE

SHINY SQUIRREL
The Worldwider Project is an exciting new collaborative Art Looking for an original place to buy artwork fo your loved one
project, featuring some of the world’s most talented up and this Christmas? Well look no further than Shiny Squirrel! And
coming artists. Set to explore people’s cultures, views and with many brand new artists and designers involved there is
opinions through various forms of art. Furthermore it explores even more choice now!
how art is transformed through travel, breaking down barriers
such as distance and language. Go here: www.theshinysquirrel.com
artist: Shira Sela
Artists from over 30 different nationalities will work together,
creating different pieces, through different mediums and
on different political and social topics. Promoting issues of
International awareness and cultural understanding. BLANKET BLOG!
Eventually they will hold a series of exhibitions and create a Now you don’t have to wait for out ‘What’s New’ section
publication documenting their progress and achievements. 7 8 between issues - you can just go straight to our Blanket
For more information see: http://worldwider.wordpress.com Blog! It will be your little insight into what goes on behind the
magazine
BLOG!!
blanket magazine
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scenes and what inspires us!

Here’s the link: blanketmagazine.blogspot.com
h a t s’
N e w?
 craft with Jek!
N

H
When I was told that the topic of this issue that surrounded me. There is a lot of stuff in

W
was Past to Present, truthfully my mind drew the tiny casa. A lot of good stuff, if I do say so
a blank. Unfortunately all I could think of myself. Good, old, vintage, mothball scented

- O
was Back to the Future and sure enough, my stuff. I wanted to break it down to what that

C
brain was taken over by the less than dulcet one vintage item was that everyone had

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tunes of Huey Lewis and the News. After I access to. Something small, easy to find and

U
succumbed and went through the next few relatively cheap, maybe even something you

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weeks wishing I had a flux capacitor I broke could find for free.

O
down and rented the darn movie. While I will
After mulling through what we could make

A OK
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always love this film, somehow embracing it
new from the old I tossed several ideas out

-
and it’s soundtrack did not help exorcise mister
the window. Neckties? Been there, done that.
Lewis from my mind. I decided to throw

E
Costume jewelry? Too girlie. Books? Too many
myself into the past. What era should I take
options. Photos? Oooh, that’s a good one but

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upon? What could I do to create something
what if we do a photo issue? Hmmmm… and

!
nifty from something old? What could I make
then, it hit me. Matchbooks! I have a giant tin
K

MO
that wasn’t too complicated or too girlie?

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full of matchbooks that I don’t use because I

J
M
Never one from being a simple thinker, I went don’t smoke but I can’t throw away because

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into overthinking overdrive, which, if you knew they are old, old in a good way of course.

IT
me, is not much unlike owning a flux capacitor. I used to have a habit of picking them up

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I sat in the tiny casa I call home and stared and from eateries and clubs even though I didn’t

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stared at the overflowing shelves and piles smoke though there was once an unfortunate

B
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D N
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G
T Y
AF
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Craft with Jek!

incident that involved a convertible Suzuki Samurai,
a very cold night, a traffic jam and some menthol
Marlboros but we won’t get into that. Not only
did I have the habit, but I assume it was inherited
because I found the mother-lode of matchbooks in
a tin from my Granny’s stuff. Now I have just the
thing to do with them… or rather, a couple of things.
Matchbooks, not matchboxes, that would involve
a completely different craft, are a perfect medium
for making. Other than the obvious collecting and
using of said matchbooks, one could repurpose a
matchbook into a shrine, a collage or a keepsake.
I’m going to show you how to turn them into
something useful, something giftie and something
ridiculously easy to make. Notebooks!
Super easy, I pinkie promise you. All you need is
a matchbook, scrap paper, scissors or cutting edge,
a stapler and a few moments of your time.
You can even do this while watching The Office
(either version).
If your matchbook is empty, you are good to go, if
not, you will need to remove the tiny staple using
the tip of a small flat knife or sewing needle.
Toss the staple and remove your matches. Stick
them in your junk drawer for later use, or not.
craft with Jek!
Gather up some scrap paper and cut it so that is
measures the width of your matchbook and twice
the length. In a pinch, you can simply use small
sticky notes trimmed to size. Fold the paper in half
and crease the fold.
Insert paper, fold side down so that it rests inside
the matchbook. Fold up the small flap of the
matchbook and staple on the previous staple marks.
Open up your matchbook and fold down each
sheet of paper towards you creating a tight crease.
This will make it easier to tear a sheet off of your
notebook. That’s it, your finished! Whoo-hoo!
Tuck the notebook into your pocket or purse and jot
down notes and reminders to yourself. Fill your book
out with your email address and all you have to do
is tear a sheet off to give to that person you’ve been
ogling. Turn it into an autograph book. Make up a few
and give them as gifts, Punch a hole in the cover of
one and use it as a gift tag. There are oodles of ways
to enhance this idea, I know you can do it!
Have fun!
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Craft with Jek!
 Ben Perkins

blanket magazine
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Here’s my work...
h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Alec Strang
 blanket magazine
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Here’s my work...
h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Belinda Chen
 Eric Rosner
blanket magazine
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Here’s my work...
h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Faaiza Munif
 Sarah Cunningham

blanket magazine
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Here’s my work...
h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Lindsay Blamey
 t
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Every year, thousands of books slip from circulation
either through neglect, being out of date or going out Were you surprised that there information! That’s a pretty large from artists in Brooklyn and
of print. This literary detritus ends up gathering dust in was such great and immediate task and one that is practically beyond, I would hesitate to call it
thrift stores, garage sales and the like, forgotten and response to the idea of fusing impossible to accomplish, a distinctive art scene. The library
discarded. However, these discards form the basis of the libraries and art? so it leaves a lot of space for remains pretty far underground,
Reanimation Library, a collection of books collected I was surprised in some ways, artistic responses. which at this point is just fine
solely as a resource for re-use in artistic forms. although from my perspective with me. I am the librarian at
At the local level, I was
the generative potential of the Marian Goodman Gallery
Founded by Andrew Beccone in completely surprised by the
libraries and archives is so great where I work regular hours
2005 and located in Brooklyn, the number of people that I met
that they seem like an obvious Monday through Friday, so at this
library has steadily grown over in Brooklyn who were already
place for artistic engagement. point I am only able to dedicate
the last few years. Andrew first seriously engaged in projects
Artists have, in fact, been Saturdays to being at the library.
dabbled in art when playing in that dealt specifically and deeply
bringing these somewhat I have always conceived of the
bands in the 80s doing flyers for with the question of libraries.
disparate realms together for a library as a long-term project,
shows which he later developed In fact two of them - Shelley
long time; there is a rich history so I’m not in a huge rush to turn
into his own art. After buying Jackson and Jeffrey Schiff - have
of artistic engagement with it into something larger than
William M. Smith’s The Behavior studios in the same building that
archives that developed during I can handle, and at this point
of Man: An Introduction to houses the Reanimation Library.
the advent of conceptual art in I’m pretty happy with both its
Psychology for $1.37 in 2001, Apparently there is something in
the 1960s. I am drawn to much manageability and the level of
Andrew was struck by the richness the Gowanus Canal that makes
of this work, but as a librarian, attention that it is receiving.
of the images in the book and the artists think about libraries.
I am also aware of the significant Additionally, my relationship
profusion of similar beautiful out
differences that exist between with Proteus Gowanus (www. Can you give some examples
of print books slowly gathering the of your favourite art works
libraries and archives, and I am proteusgowanus.com) started
dust in goodwill stores. It soon which have used library
specifically interested in the because its founder, Sasha
became his ambition to collect resources as their basis?
interactions of artists with Chavchavadze, was intrigued by
these books as a basis of I really like group projects that
the former. the idea of libraries and invited
a stockpile of images. work with constraints, two of
There is a related history of me to co-curate a yearlong show
Backed by a newly acquired on that theme. Judging from the which have happened in the
artists using museums as last year. The first one, entitled
degree in librarianship and a DIY number of people who made
a medium. I think that the “Dewey’s Nightmare,” was
work ethic forged in the fertile work for that show, and from
authoritative and institutional organized by a playwright named
Minneapolis band scene, Andrew the enthusiastic response that it
nature of libraries, archives and Eric Sanders. He brought 7
worked towards the foundation received, we clearly hit a nerve.
museums exerts a certain pull playwrights to the library, each
of the library as a resource for
on artists who are interested of whom was led blindfolded to
artists to use the found images in
in questioning the origins of At a local level, do you think a
the books. However, the library’s distinctive art scene has arisen the stacks where they picked
authority and investigating how out a book at random. They were
appeal went beyond visual artists from the library’s existence?
those institutions came about. then given a week to write a
as playwrights, writers, teachers
At a fundamental level, libraries While there is certainly an
and fashion designers seized the 10-minute short play for two
are charged with creating increasing amount of interest in
rich resource. Blanket Magazine actors. The actors and directors
a taxonomy of the world’s and activity around the library
spoke to Andrew about the past
and future of the library.
WORDS: JONATHAN HULME
DESIGN: JOHN FRY & BEC BROWN

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The Reanimation Library

(who were also paired at random)
were given the script for one day
to memorize their lines.
The following day the actors and
director were brought together to
rehearse for one hour, after which
all of them were performed to
a sold out crowd at the Gene
Frankel Theatre in Manhattan.
I liked this project for a number
of reasons. I loved that it was a
writing-based project and that it
was theatre. I never anticipated
that playwrights would use the
library, so it was exciting to see
that happen and to see how
good the writing and the
performances were.
This past spring, a good friend of
mine named Laurel Sparks, who
is a painter and teacher living in
Boston, used the library’s online
image archive as the basis for
an assignment on appropriation.
She had each of the students in
her sophomore studio class at
the Massachusetts College of Art
pick a selection of images from
the archive and create work from
them. I then selected the best
of these to show in the library’s
modest gallery space.
Has any of the art produced
surprised you in the way it has
used the library materials?
The biggest surprise for me
has been the level of interest
that the library has seen from
writers. At this point it has
become somewhat more
commonplace, but when I first
arrived in Brooklyn in 2003, I
wasn’t expecting that at all. I
was so drawn to the images in
the books, that I hadn’t really
considered the possibility that
writers might be drawn to the
text, which is often as strange
as (and in certain cases much
stranger than) the images
themselves. In my head, the
collection was geared towards
visual artists, and because of
that I had neglected to consider
an entire range of potential
creative production that could
be generated by the library. For
instance, in 2006, my friend Jen
Bervin, who is an artist, poet,
and teacher based in Brooklyn,
selected a few dozen pages of
text from the library to give to
her advanced poetry class at
NYU. The class used this material
to make erasures, which are
poems created by removing
words from preexisting texts.
This struck me as an innovative
use of the library and one that I
simply had not anticipated.
Ditto with clothing design:
Candice Thompson, a dancer and
clothing designer in Brooklyn,
created a corset based on star
maps that she found in a 1968
t
r
a
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book entitled Planets, Stars and
Galaxies. Again, I think that this is
an exciting use of the library and
one that I hadn’t foreseen when
I first started building it. One
of the things that continues to
excite me about the library is its
capacity to surprise me.
Are there any books you
found in your search that
you are particularly happy
about having or are a
personal favourite?
That’s a difficult question to
answer because there are so
many books that I am happy to
have in the library that it’s hard
to list a favourite, but a few
titles come to mind. There’s an
amazing psychology textbook
called Inkblot Perception and
Personality: Holtzman Inkblot
Technique that’s filled with
images of inkblot tests side by
side with snippets of patient’s
responses to them. It ends
up reading like some kind of
bizarre surrealist poem. I also
love a book called Inside Wood,
which contains lots of incredible
microscopy of cellular wood
structures. It’s astonishingly
beautiful. There is a great U.S.
Government Document from
1958 entitled Estimating the
Amount of Crop Residue on a
Field. I mean, you can’t imagine
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The Reanimation Library
t
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a more boring title, but the black
and white images are sublime.
In your search for new
materials, is there any books
you find over and over again in
thrift stores, garage sales etc...?
This is one that I acquired early
on and that I keep coming across:
Piloting, Seamanship and Small
Boat Handling (Publisher: The
Hearst Corporation; New York,
NY, 1972). I also see Tom Wolfe’s
A Man in Full constantly. It’s
Everywhere. Not that I’d ever add
it to the collection, but it’s just
something that I see all the time.
You mention on the
Reanimation website first
dabbling in art making flyers
when playing in bands in
Minneapolis in the late eighties.
Given the DIY nature of most
local band scenes (and the rich
history of punk coming from
Minneapolis in that decade
- birthplace of bands such as
Hüsker Dü, the Replacements
and Soul Asylum), do you
think music or the music scene
influenced the formation of
the library?
Definitely. All of the years that
I spent playing in bands had a
huge influence in my decision
to start the library, especially for
the reasons that you identify.
Minneapolis has had (and
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The Reanimation Library
continues to have) a thriving DIY In addition, I have been playing
music scene. Every band that I music again for the past couple
played in during the time that I of years, which has been really,
lived there was self-propelled; really fun. I stopped playing
if we wanted to record, we around 2003 and started back up
recorded with friends; if we again in 2006. It took a little
wanted to tour, we booked the while to get back into it, but
tour ourselves. This method of right now I am finding it
operation was certainly effective immensely enjoyabl.
in the music scene and I realized
www.reanimationlibrary.org
that it could also be applied to
other areas of my life. I would
also add that my first experience
of the Museum of Jurassic
Technology in Los Angeles
(coincidentally while on tour
with a band) had a profound
effect on me, and my decision
to start the library.
Given the upkeep of the
library must be immensely
time consuming, do you still
produce art?
In many ways, the library has
filled the same creative space
that I used to dedicate to
producing art, so while I haven’t
made any visual art in quite
a long time, I am receiving
much of the same satisfaction
from working on the library.
In some ways this project is
even more gratifying because
it is community-based and it
really allows for many different
people to engage with it in many
different ways.
 _
Re action
From Left to Right: Arianna Vairo, Niko Vartiainen

Past&Present
See how our Blanket readers reacted to our theme for this issue!
27 28
re_action: past
re_action:

blanket magazine
CONFESSION
& present
From Left to Right: Alvaro Sánchez, Catherine Denver ‘Once upon a time’, Julie Avisar.

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re_action: past
re_action:

blanket magazine
CONFESSION
& present
 blanket magazine
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re_action: past
re_action: CONFESSION
& present
From Left to Right: Darrin Hanley, Kelvin Osorio.
 blanket magazine
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re_action: past
re_action: CONFESSION
& present
From Left to Right: Leandro Demetrius, Elena Curotto.
From Left to Right: Tim Swan, Alyson Pearson, Anna Anjos.

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re_action: past
re_action:

blanket magazine
CONFESSION
& present
From Left to Right: Djordje Joksimovic, Hare Lanz ‘Old games’, Sanuri Zulkefli.

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re_action: past
re_action:

blanket magazine
CONFESSION
& present
From Left to Right: Ikhsan Jauhari (image 1 & 2), Natalia Valle.

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re_action: past
re_action:

blanket magazine
CONFESSION
& present
From Left to Right: David Self ‘Gnome’, Sarah Cunningham, Corrado Dalco, Elisabeth Fabienne.

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re_action: past
re_action:

blanket magazine
CONFESSION
& present
DESIGN: BEC BROWN
t
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What was your inspiration
behind Blankets cover
illustration?
Well I made the illustration with a
nostalgic feeling of my childhood.
When I was a young boy I drew
the encounters I had with nature,
and the theatre. Themes that still
inspire me now.
Were you creative as a child?
Yes I think I have always been
creative in some way. My
parents told me that when I
was a very small child I took
my tool travelling box with me
everywhere. Also when I was
Stefan
a little bit older (let`s say 13/14)
I was always drawing, I was
especially interested in people
and animals. My mother is a
sculpture from Poland and we
Venbroek
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Stefan Vanbroek
would work together in her
workspace. Although I am not a
sculpture I was always trying to
make some constructions with
metal objects that I found on the
street or junkyard. My mother
had a lot of book`s from famous
artists like Durer, Rembrandt,
Toulouse Lautrec but also she
took art books from Poland. I
think this is where it all started.
How has your illustration style
changed over the years?
I think my style did not change
that much but the quality of my
drawings is getting better over the
years. When I began illustrating I
was making quick drawings, more
like sketching. With the illustration
style is a lot more detailed now
so it takes a lot more time. I still
experiment with other styles and
Alternative colour choice for our Blanket cover!
techniques but I am happy with
my illustration style now.
What themes inspire your
illustrations?
Well a lot of things inspire me. I
get a lot of inspiration from my
surroundings. For example people
that I see on the street or in the
tram, and my friends and family.
So basically I am fascinated my
humans and anatomy of humans
and animals. Like any other artist
I also get a lot of inspirations from
other artists. My favourites are:
David Hockney, Holbein, Toulouse
Lautrec, Yoshitaka Amano ect.
Other themes that inspire me
are fairy tales, sci-fi movies,
travelling, flowers/nature and
machines. I just love machines
and mechanical objects.

How long would you spend
working on a drawing?
In one illustration I always use a
lot of drawings, graphic elements
and photographs. I think it takes
up to 3 hours to make one detailed
drawing. Sometimes I use more
then 10 drawings in an illustration.
You mix graphic elements with
photographs - what do you like
about this creative process?
Although I am not really a
photographer I take my camera
everywhere I go. My photographs
are the base for my work. Also for
my drawings I use photographs as
a reference. I really like to make
collages, it`s great to paint on
photographs, cut them in pieces
and later animate them or make an
illustration out of them.
You also animate your
illustrations. How does this
change the way you work?
My animations are mostly based
on my illustrations but it`s much
more time consuming to make
an animation movie. When I start
with an illustration I make drawings
and other collage elements and
then bring them together on the
computer, and that`s basically it.
My animations are based on my
illustrations, so I always start with
illustrations. Then I need to think
how to animate the elements in
the illustration. Most of the time
I make a small storyboards or I
animate a rough version of the
animation. This way I can see how
the camera moves and what the
timing is of the animation. Finally
I have to keep on adding detail
to the animation until it looks
good. In the animation movie
`Futurecentre’ that I made for the
Dutch tax organisation last year I
used live-action video of people the
I filmed in a green screen studio.
It’s amazing to see the end result
when all the elements are brought
together on the computer.
Our theme for Blanket is on
‘Past and Present’ - how has your
past influenced your present?
Well if I didn’t have such an artistic
family (my uncle is an artist as
well) I think I wouldn`t have been
t
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an artist now. My parents really
motivated me to keep on going
with what I am doing. So that`s
really great.
And what about your future?
What’s next for you?
For two months I have had an
agency in Berlin and Lisabon so
I hope this way I will get more
interesting, international jobs. I
want to experiment more with
colour in my work. Until now most
of the time I make my drawings
in black and white. In the past I
was using pastels a lot and I want
to experiment more with this
technique. When it`s comes to
animations I want to use more stop
motion in my animation work. It
would also be great to expose
my work more in galleries or on
the internet
www.stefanvenbroek.com
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Stefan Vanbroek
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olde world Words: Caitlin Gahan Design: Drew Fellows

He’s the furniture designer-turned-

jeweller who makes quirky, beautiful
pieces that embrace the adventure,
magic and memories of the past!
Blanket delves into the mind and the
studio of Aaron Ruff, from Digby & Iona.

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Digby & Iona

Aaron Ruff says that he creates
jewellery with “the mentality
of a wood maker: giant tools and
little patience”.
“It definitely manifests itself
in work methods that would
probably turn a true jewellers
stomach,” he says. “I still use a
lot of inappropriately proportioned
tools from my old wood shop like
a giant belt sander to work on
very small and delicate pieces and
an oversized acetylene torch that
belonged to my father in
high school.”
So how did a furniture maker,
who was untrained in jewellery
making ,learn the delicate art?
“To learn how to use tools like
the torch, Foredom or Dremel
and polishing wheel it was mainly
trial and error. But I was also
lucky enough to be let into a lot
of professional jewellery studios
around the city and picked up
things from watching other
people work.”
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Aaron lives and works in
New York, in a workshop that
he has created specifically to
connect himself with the past
that so influences his work.
“I’m a firm believer in immersion,
so I tried to model the studio after
a sort of 18th century parlour or
ship’s cabin, the ideal place to
design jewellery coming from that
era. I really wanted to create the
illusion that the space had been “I wanted to capture the spirit
there for a couple of hundred
years, not since last spring.” of this time of transition in this
And when it came to designing
line and give to people a little
and creating his pieces, the
principles of furniture design
mystery and adventure.”
still played an important part
in his creations.
“An old habit I have from being a It’s a goal that shines through
furniture maker is that I really want in his collections, including his
as much of the jewellery to be latest “Wanderer in a Sea of Fog.”
able to stand-alone as a functional “The name comes from the
and beautiful object as well as a Romanticism movement painting Phileas Fogg moustaches proudly
wearable accessory.” of the same name,” Aaron explains. perch upon delicate sterling silver
“It was a response to the growing chains. (You can also choose an
industrial revolution. A lot of Inspector Clouseau mo if you
mystery and adventure was being feel more of an affinity with the
taken out of the world in this bumbling detective than the
period; most of the earth had been gentleman adventurer).
explored and people transitioning Tiny spyglasses, working antique
their explanation of the world from brass compasses and movable
philosophical to scientific.” miniature pistols can also be
The collection is an incredible found in the collection - each piece
and story-filled mix of the standing alone as an artistic and
adventurous, the practical, often useable piece of jewellery
the quirky and the magical. that truly sets their wearer apart.
www.digbyandiona.com
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Digby & Iona
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h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Stephanie Haslberger
 Mike Mauri

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h e r e ’s m y w o rk Here’s my work...

Wheat Wurtzburger
 Luciano Civettini

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h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Dan Haskett
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Bec Winnel
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What is your background/training?
I graduated from high school in ‘95, unsure of what
to do. Something creative would have been ideal, but
living in country NSW, and being too scared to move
to the city, meant finding another option. I studied and
worked in a few different areas including business
administration, web development and had my own
boutique nail salon for a few years.
Finally in 2006, there was a graphic art course in a
near by town. It meant driving a total of 240kms a
day. For the next year of the course, I decided it was
time to face my fear of the ‘big city’ and move to
Melbourne where my sister was already living. Last
year I graduated and started working full time for a
design and advertising studio in Melbourne.
You have a beautiful and very recognisable style.
When did you start to develop this?
Thank you! In 2007, during the graphic art course.
For one of the subjects, we had to produce an A1
poster for the end of year exhibition. Drawing was
more appealing to me than creating vector art, and
when deciding on subject, I was drawn to the female
form. Females have beautiful faces and amazing
eyes. A gaze from a female can say so much and
make you feel a particular way that you can’t describe
with words, only feel emotionally. Living with my
sister at the time was great. She motivated me to
keep drawing more girls. She encouraged me and
essentially pushed me when I needed a push!
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Bec Winnel
What inspires you as an artist and a designer?
Hmmm... I love things from the past, things that
have become old and broken and forgotten about,
like photographs, clothes, memories, books, dinner
sets, family heirlooms, family stories. I guess I’m
sentimental. It’s nice bringing a new life to these
things. Fashion, beauty, the female form, nature
and all things pretty inspire me too.
When you sit down to create a new piece,
where do you start?
Searching for what feels like a gazillion images of
women in magazines, or the internet, or my friends
photography stashes until that one special image
stops me in my tracks.
Usually it’s something in the subject’s eyes or a certain
feeling they radiate. They are not women I know, but
women I admire for one reason or another.
You said you’ve been doing a lot of work lately
with coloured pencil. What’s your favourite
medium to work with?
Definitely pencil, both graphite and coloured. Pencil is
easy to control and build up layers and tone with. It’s
nice watching the image begin to ‘appear’ gradually on
the paper. Pastel, graphite, and water colour are fun,
they take on a life of their own when they are on paper.
Oils are too hard to control, they want to do their own
thing! I am totally in awe of people who can paint.
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What does your workspace look like?
My workspace is in my bedroom. It’s my little haven.
In one corner, under a round leadlight window, are my
two desks, joined together in an L shape. One is an
old, wooden sewing table, with two draws either side.
I picked it up at a garage sale for $40, total bargain!
The other is a ‘cheapo’, black top, black legs! The
scanner, printer and cutting matt are on that desk.
On the wooden desk is a lamp and laptop. My pencils,
paints, glues, etc live in the draws of the sewing
table desk. Above the desks is a corkboard with little
momentos that inspire me or are from artists I admire.
When I’m working, Audrey, my cat, usually snoozes on
the desk under my lamp, and my little dog Charlie curls
up under my chair.
What is your favourite time of the day to create?
My brain decides that it wants to get creative around
11pm. It’s a good time (when I don’t have to work
early the next day!) because everyone is asleep.
It’s quiet, my phone isn’t likely to ring, the pets are
sleeping, there is nothing that really has to be done...
I can escape and get lost in my own little world.
Sometimes it feels like I’m the only one awake in
the whole world!
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Bec Winnel
How do you know when a piece is finished?
This is really hard to tell sometimes. I tend to have a
habit of over-working a piece, wishing I had of finished
just those few ‘strokes’ ago. I guess it’s when the girl
staring back at me has taken on her own personality.
Sometimes I show my sister, brother or my boy and
they’ll either say it looks good, or it’s still missing
something.
This theme’s issue is “Past and Present”.
How do you think that your past has influenced
who you are as an artist?
Having grown up in an ‘economically average’ family,
in the country, having little exposure to art and culture
makes me appreciate living every day in Melbourne.
Being able to attend art events and exhibitions
weekly, meeting other artists, even admiring
street art, all motivates me to want to create every
breathing minute!
Sometimes it feels like there is just not enough time
to draw and create all that I would like to. Fingers
crossed I live a long life!
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 p a s t & p r esent p ro ject
THE
PAST &
PRESENT
PROJECT WE CHALLENGE
FOUR WRITERS &
FOUR ARTISTS ON
THIS ISSUES THEME
PAST & PRESENT

63 64
The Past & Present Project

blanket magazine

I’M BREAKING UP WITH YOU!
WORDS: DAVID SHARPE
How long were we together?
Years, ages. Y’know what really
gets me? It’s all that time I wasted
on you. All those long hours.
You were such terrible company.
We never had any fun. Fun – you
remember fun, don’t you?
You brought me down. I was
always so miserable. I didn’t realize
it for so long. That’s the problem
you see. You walk around being
constantly sad, and then one day
you realize that’s not how everyone
else feels. That’s not the human
race’s default setting. That’s the
wrong way to feel.
Man, the day I worked that out I
cried and cried. This was nothing
new, I’d been starting every day
with a good old sobfest. But this
time, I cried with a little bit of
joy, because at last a tiny bit of
confusion was gone.
And I realized – it was all your fault!
You never made an effort. You
never did anything new. There used
to be things you liked doing, but
you’d stopped doing them. You
couldn’t extract any enjoyment out
of anything, even when you were
surrounded by all your friends.
ARTWORK: ALLAN DEAS
People stared. They could tell
something was wrong.
Churchill called it the black dog.
But Churchill was full of shit. Let
me tell you why:
1. He was a drunken, drug-addled
old egomaniac. And then he
abandoned us all to the mercy of
the Japanese. So, yeah, let’s listen
to what he has to say!
2. What’s wrong with dogs
anyway? Dogs are nice, Winston!
I’d be very pleased to have a happy
little black puppy trotting along
behind me, wagging its tail, all
furry and slobbery.
So I think we can safely discard
Winston’s views on the matter.
No, it’s more like an overcoat. One
of those big heavy mothers that
you can feel pushing down on you,
pulling you down, so hard you can
hardly walk. But you know what?
You can take a coat off. Just shrug
it off your shoulders, just like that.
I got rid of your coat, by the way,
your literal coat. That old grey
thing you’d been dragging round
for years. I used it to wrap up a
few other things of yours I didn’t
like. That old Iron Maiden t-shirt
p a s t & p r esent p ro ject
www.allandeas.com
of yours. That book about the
vampires. Your Radiohead CDs
(they’re not geniuses, they’re just
dull. Dull, you hear?!) and your
cigarettes. I wrapped them all up
in your coat and I threw the whole
sorry bundle in the river. Brilliant!
I cut all your hair. It looks much
better, all short and blonde and
spiky. It feels great. And I got rid
of that stupid job of yours, with all
those irritating people. Urgh, that
was tedious! I’m glad that’s over!
In short, I’ve got rid of you.
So it’s over! For once, I’m the
one doing the breaking up and it
feels great.
I’m breaking up with you, Old Me.
I’m breaking up with myself. You
might even say, it’s not me, it’s me.
Later skater,
Me.
PS You should come over and visit
sometime, y’know, just to hang
out. Maybe stay the night?
If you want.
Just for old time’s sake.
OK?
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The Past & Present Project
 a s t & p r esent p ro ject
LOVE CHUB: A REFLECTION
ON WEIGHTY ISSUES
WORDS: LINDSAY GREEN ARTWORK: IGOR MILANOVIC

I can’t pretend that I was ever
an ethereal waif-like creature,
all long limbs and awkward
elegance. Through my childhood,
adolescence and early twenties,
however, I was always reasonably
fit and healthy; an appropriate
weight for my height and build.
So you can imagine my horror
when, one day at 24, after two
years of being blissfully in love, I
discovered I was a good 25 kilos
overweight and that my whole
wardrobe was peeling from me like
the skin of a micro-waved cheerio.
How did this happen, I gasped?
up with forever. What I had also 3. Just because you cannot
found, unfortunately, was that my remember eating McDonalds at
abnormally lean boyfriend shared 3 am last Saturday doesn’t mean it
my love of cheese, wine and all didn’t happen.
things cocoa bean, yet was also so
4. Drinking a whole bottle of
ridiculously wonderful that he never
champagne to celebrate a day of
mentioned my weight gain because
perfect eating kind of negates the
it “didn’t bother” him. Pardon?!
hard work that you’ve done.
With a balanced diet and exercise,
5. Most of the time, people with
I gradually lost the weight and now
nice bodies work for them. They
have more energy, am healthier
do some exercise and refrain from
and look better in “short shorts”
eating four pieces of cookies and
than I have for a good ten years.
cream cheesecake in a row.
I am still with my partner and
6. Don’t embrace paradigms
realise how lucky I am to have
of thought purely for your
someone who loves me regardless

A REFLECTION
How did I, former child swimmer, convenience. If you can’t walk to
of the size on the back of my jeans.
netballer, ballerina, tennis player the corner store without puffing,
I don’t believe in the unrealistic

ON
and athlete (thanks to overly our “media-saturated society which
standards of beauty that our
enthusiastic parents who dedicated subjugates women” probably isn’t
culture promotes. I do, however,

WEIGHTY
their lives to the art of chauffeuring)
morph into this and why on earth
hadn’t I seen it coming? I mean 25
ISSUES kilos doesn’t just pop on over night,
does it?
Then, it hit me. I had become
victim to the phenomenon I now
refer to as “love chub,” where
whippet-like single girls, who would
never even consider eating a piece
of Dairy Milk, suddenly find that
they’re “Chubby and the Chocolate
Factory.” For the first time in my
life I was in a relationship that was
compassionate and respectful. I
knew I’d found a true connection
and the man I wanted to wake
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The Past & Present Project
believe in a healthy dose of self
deprecation, so I hope you’ll enjoy
the following list of what
I discovered on this journey.
1. Don’t assume that food eaten
from someone else’s plate is “fat
free.” Ordering a salad with no
dressing and then eating half of
your boyfriend’s chips is not only
cheating, it’ll probably piss him off.
2. Buying reduced fat products
does not mean that it is then
appropriate to eat your own body
weight in them. This particularly
applies to soft cheese.
your biggest problem.
7. If you’re avoiding reflective
surfaces like the plague, including
alfoil, you may want to delve into
the reasons behind this.
8. If the itchy sensation in your bed
is actually fragments of Doritos,
this is bad.
9. Likewise, if you find any sort of
food residing in your belly button,
be concerned.
10. Above all, some men are
amazing and should be held onto
at any cost.

i’m turning into my
parents...
WORDS: MELINDA WOLEDGE
I’m turning into my mother. Or, to
be more precise, I’m turning into
my parents.
Phrases from my past, such as
“There’s no such word as can’t”,
which used to drive me crazy as
a child, now flow from my lips as
easily as if I’d invented them.
Is there a “parent section” hard-
wired into our brains that gets
switched on once we become
parents? Why do we find ourselves
repeating the phrases we hated
as children to our own children? Is
it because all those homilies and
phrases suddenly seem to make
sense and have more validity once
you’re a parent yourself?
Sometimes I catch myself saying
these phrases from my parents,
even the ridiculous ones like “Eat
your crusts or you’ll get hairs
on your chest” or “Don’t eat
watermelon pips or watermelons
will grow out of your ears”. Of
course they’re not true (I hope!) but
I’m sure there was a message in
there somewhere.
Even my normally fastidious
husband can’t resist sticking out his
finger to our son and saying “Pull
p a s t & p r esent p ro ject
ARTWORK: GEMMA CORRELL www.gemmacorrell.com
my finger” every time he needs to as they could to give you a decent
fart or burp – just like my dad did to upbringing and to pass on some
us, and his dad did to him. good values and messages for life’s
journey. No matter how much you
But there are the more serious
try and run away, you can’t escape
sayings that actually contain a
your past, as it’s helped mould you
message that can be thought
into the person you are today. What
provoking. A common whine in
you can change is your present and
our house was about wanting to
your future but you need to learn
do things just because our friends
and absorb the lessons from your
were doing it. To which our mother
past in order to do that.
always replied “If everyone else
was jumping off Sydney Harbour
Bridge, would you jump off it
too?” I’m sure the saying changes
depending on the location you live.
The bridge is probably different if
you lived in the US or the UK but
the message is still the same.
And the only answer to it is a sullen
“Yes”, which you know sounds
stupid but, let’s face it, if our
parents have a role to play, then
we do also.
“I’m turning into my mother” is a
phrase that people always seem to
utter with fear or disdain, as if it’s
a terrible thing to admit to. Maybe
I’m just lucky to have a good
relationship with my mother, but I
don’t think it’s a bad thing. Rather, I
think it’s an acknowledgment as an
adult that your parents tried as hard
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The Past & Present Project
p a s t & p r esent p ro ject
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The Past & Present Project
THE PAST AND PRESENT
WORDS: Vanessa Letts ARTWORK: JESSE HORA
Emma sits at the desk in the
crowded hall. People all around
her, frantically writing as much as
possible in the time they have.
She stares down at the paper, the
words swirling in front of her eyes.
She tries to focus on the words
but her eyes won’t cooperate. The
noise in the room gets louder with
every second that goes by. The
clock ticking on the wall seems so
far away, but the ticking sounds
like a drum, beating inside her
head. Someone starts clicking a
pen, another starts coughing, and
another starts chewing on their
pen lid. Every tiny noise multiplying
itself in her head.
She looks to the person sitting
on her left, a blonde girl who is
twirling her ring whilst she writes.
Emma can hear the scratching of
the pen to the paper. She glances
around quickly, as not to draw
attention to herself. The examiner
walks closer to her desk. Footsteps
echoing throughout the hall. She
looks at her watch, realising that it
has already been half an hour since
the exam started, and she hasn’t
written a single word. She looks
back at the paper, trying to make
out the words in a sea of black
and white. The examiner stops
at the desk in front of hers. She
feels his eyes burning through her
skin, penetrating and seeing her
innermost thoughts. She picks up
her pen and feels the cool plastic
against her fingers. Flicking off the
lid, she opens her exam book and
72 starts to write. Nonsense words fill
her mind. She writes and writes,
blanket magazine
not stopping to think about what
is going onto the paper. The black
lines of the paper go in different
directions, each trying to escape
into a different part of the room.
Trying to run off and become part
of the nothingness that exists
beyond the page.
She looks at her watch. The
second hand seems to be moving
backwards, sending her back in
time to when she was a young girl,
without a care in the world. Emma
closes her eyes. She is standing at
the top of a slide. It is a beautiful
day and it seems that nothing can
go wrong. Emma stands, staring
into nothing. Salty tears rolling
out of her blue eyes, making their
way down her slender face before
falling onto her dress. They crash
onto her dress and create a dark
stain on the pale blue material.
She lifts her hand, brushing away
the tears that keep falling.
From a distance, she looks like
any young girl, carefree and
innocent, and enjoying a beautiful
day playing in a park. Yet up close
she is a young girl who is being
forced into the future before she
is ready. A young girl who does not
yet realise that today is the end of
her childhood.
Emma opens her eyes. Again,
she stares at the page and tries
to make sense of what is written.
She puts her pen to the page and
continues writing. The scratching of
the pen to the paper sends shivers
down her spine, yet she continues
to write. The words seem to be
merging into one, each stroke
adding to the growing swirl of blue
and white.
www.jessehora.com
A bell sounds and Emma drops
her pen. Two hours of writing,
and not a single word remembered.
She hands in her paper and leaves
the hall, the sunlight causing her
to squint as she tries to make out
the path to her car. She walks along
a path and finds a patch of freshly
mown grass. It feels soft against
her bare legs. She lies down and
stares into the tree above her,
again closing her eyes and drifting
away to a time far away.
She sits at the top of the slide.
Tears have stopped falling down
her face. She stares up at the
sky, hoping that she too can be
taken away. She doesn’t want to
live without him. She wants to
be able to come home every day
and run into his open arms, which
embrace her and provide her
with the security she wants. She
wants to be able to see his smiling
face when she wakes up every
morning, and every night before
she goes to sleep. She wants to
touch his face, and feel the stubble
that used to tickle her when he
went to give her a kiss. She closes
her eyes tightly thinking that she
can turn back time and bring him
back. When she opens them, she is
still in that blue dress, on the slide,
on the worst day of her life.
“Emma!”
Emma opens her eyes to see
her best friend walking towards
her. She fights back the tears and
smiles. Back in the present, she
gathers her things and walks into
her future.
 Stew Deane

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Silvijo Selman
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h e r e ’s m y w o rk

Maria Alliaud
 Richard Grainger (Foe Design)

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Ben Perkins
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cock rocket
Good
Wives
Warriors
Two sassy lassies,
some wide-open
wall space and…
an enormous
As if fabulous fashion sense and amazing art wasn’t eventually we were far more excited by the wall
purple penis
enough, Louise Chappell and Becky Bolton also painting than the bags.
happen to have the coolest name in history for their
Words: Lindsay Green “It made sense to carry on and develop our wall
creative partnership. The literal translation of the
paintings and stop making bags! We realised that we
Design: Caitlin Gahan name comes from Rebecca meaning ‘Good Wife’ and
were much more interested in making images than
Louise meaning ‘Warrior’.
objects, and so established Good Wives and Warriors,
According to Becky, “We love the apparent creating wall paintings, drawings and illustrations,”
contradiction, the implied passive/aggressive, but I says Becky.
suppose it is also about being supportive of each other
The sprawling large-scale nature of wall paintings,
and staying determined to keep creating together.”
combined with the freedom of creating something
The adventures of these talented ladies began at temporary appeals to both artists. They believe “a wall
the Glasgow School of Art, where both studied painting engages with the people who happen to see
painting, graduating in 2005. During this time, Becky it for a limited time before it is painted over.”
and Louise started working together, collaborating
Inspired largely by scientific imagery and complex
on a painting in their final year and making handbags
natural structures (not to mention Google image
in their spare time.
search), the work of Good Wives and Warriors creates
“When we were selling bags in shops, we always a balance between “decorative eye candy and
tried to make a wall painting as a backdrop, but challenging, edgy imagery.”

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Good Wives & Warriors

lunita boogie boogie
While Becky is fascinated by grotesque and sexual
scenes, Louise has an affinity with nature and apocalyptic
imagery. The culmination of these concepts results in
weird and wonderful paintings such as “Cock-Rocket”,
“Mountain Punk with Spiritual Gang Bang” and “Giant
Squids Attacking the Earth.”
Their unique and entertaining style has seen GWAW
curate and participate in exhibitions around the world.
A memorable experience was their first outdoor wall
painting in Cusco, Peru, where Becky recalls being
“constantly surrounded by dogs and children.”
An all-night painting show in Buenos Aires guaranteed
them lots of attention, in addition to some free cocktails
to aid the creative process.
The pair have just returned from Zurich, where they were
t
r
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giant squids attaching the earth
“a wall painting engages with the
people who happen to see it for a
limited time before it’s painted over.”
GWAW
nominated for a Young Illustrators Award. The show
was an exciting opportunity to create a painting in a
respected exhibition and to meet like-minded artists.
It was also a welcome chance for the wife and the
warrior to reunite, as with Becky’s recent move to
Melbourne, collaborations had been taking place over
email and Skype.
Now back in their respective home towns, Good Wives
and Warriors plan to “carry on doing wall paintings
wherever we can; to work on our illustrations and to
continue our collaborative projects, which are just
getting bigger and better each time! We are finding
working together more relaxed, productive and fun
as time goes on and we are really looking forward to
seeing where it will take us next!”
goodwivesandwarriors.co.uk
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Good Wives & Warriors
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“For some reason I talked about being poor in my stories a lot, even the bunnies
were poor. My family did fine, we had food to eat and a nice house, maybe I felt
bad for the animals that had to sleep outside­. I was an interesting kid.”

Hannah Stouffer, age 5.

85 86 www.grandarray.com
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Childhood drawings...
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“This was for a school project about foods you
liked. I had a fascination with drawing girls in
profile (there are hundreds of studies like these
in a notebook I found)... you can see the same
profile in some of my works now.”

Andrea Innocent, age 6.

www.otoshimono.org

“This one is one of my favourites “I was desperate for a dog when I was growing and I remember
I don’t know where I was learning about I used to make up stories with dogs all the time, I’d make up names and stories
the history of torture, but that’s what it’s about them and then leave the pictures around the house where I know my
about. Kind of intense with all the blood parents would see them. I got a dog when I was 9, so it must have worked!”
running down his back...”
Andrea Innocent, age 6.
Hannah Stouffer, age 5.
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www.otoshimono.org
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Childhood drawings...

www.grandarray.com
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“My own comment on the drawing back then was recorded:
A boy and a girl. The boy has teeth. And the girl looks
like a monkey. They are walking in the grass like crazy.”

Jurate Gacionyte, age 4.

www.amazingtreehouse.net

“I was thinking (of course) that

89 90 pirates must be amazing surfers!”

Bard Hole Standard, age 5.

blanket magazine
Childhood drawings...

www.madebybard.com
 Joel Lambeth

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Here’s my work...
h e r e ’s m y w o rk

Adam Chronister
 Caroline Deroyer

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Here’s my work...
h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Anna Manolatos
 blanket magazine
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Here’s my work...
h e r e ’s m y w o rk
Richard Hill
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matou en peluche
her name is...samantha battersby
she makes...pretty, dainty, historical,
quirky charcoal and pastel drawing

craft-e
How long have you been selling on the site?
I’ve been on the site for about seven months.

What was the first thing you sold?

A print of an Art Deco Darling in a red/brown dress.
...our spot to introduce you to some of the talented people
What inspires you as an artist and a designer?
behind the web stores you know and love.
Trawling through illustrated history books and old magazines
like “Life” magazine and old “National Geographic”
magazines. Wandering through art galleries can be mighty
Of course, it’s lovely to sit at your computer and inspiring too.
buy beautiful things from all around the world.
How long does it take for you to create a piece?
But sometimes, it’s great to go shopping in your own backyard, Gosh! Sometimes I have an idea and sit down to draw it and
which is exactly where madeit.com.au comes in. out it pops! Just like that fully formed! When that happens
I’d say half an hour to an hour. However, this is not always
It’s made by Aussies, for Aussie designers and it aims to create the case - some drawings have been known to take days!!
a friendly, inspiring environment for buyers and sellers.
It’s affordable, it’s local and it’s packed to the brim with goodness! What does your workspace look like?
It’s a square wooden table which has semi-organised
Let’s meet 3 of the down under sellers... sections devoted to collections of pastel chalks, sharpeners,
lead pencils and charcoal stubs! I try and sweep off all the
charcoal and pastel dust at regular intervals!
(p.s. lovely international readers, do not despair;
you can buy from madeit.com.au too!) Do you have a “day job”?
I teach English as a second language at a college in the city.

What do you currently have on madeit that our readers

could have for their very own?
I have a couple full length Art Deco Darlings, some very
fetching profiles of pretty girls and a sweet swinging 60s girl
called Silvia.

www.matouenpeluche.com
matouenpeluche.typepad.com/my_weblog/

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mulberry muse still life with
her name is...wendy patterson
she makes...feminine, French, vintage,
wallpaper
genteel cards, gift tags and collage prints. her name is...mandy horne
she makes...bold, retro, useable, funky
What inspires you as an artist and a designer? prints, t-shirt transfers, calendars.
I love paper products and cannot resist shops that sell
beautiful stationary. Books, wallpapers, vintage packaging,
the vast array of talent seen on design blogs and websites, How long have you been selling on the site?
vintage illustrations, beautiful architecture, ornate ironwork, Since late September. I bought a great print on Madeit, and
shabby chic style furniture, France, Marie Antoinette, master then thought I might put some of my own work on the site.
painters, my list could go on for some time!
What was the first thing you sold?
How long does it take for you to create a piece? A “TV with Wallpaper” iron-on transfer. It’s one of
Sometimes I design a piece in my mind before it is my favourites.
committed to paper, other times the piece just grows as
it is worked on. I often think of ideas late at night and have How long does it take you to create a piece?
to scribble the idea down before it disappears. There are That varies greatly. An idea can start years before a piece
times when I have so many ideas it’s difficult to make is finally created. I try to write things down and draw in
them all happen. journals so I don’t lose potentially good ideas. Or sometimes
it all comes together really quickly - like a day or two. I like it
What does your workspace look like? when that happens.
My studio is a little space under the attic stairs. It is filled with
inspirational pieces that I collect. Lots of packaging, books, What does your workspace look like?
old clocks, I love old clocks. I have a desk and try to be neat and organised, but it never
stays that way. I seem to need lots of space to be messy and
Do you have a “day job”? spread out, so that’s where the rest of the house comes in
My day job is as a designer and illustrator. I work part time handy. I work on every available surface. I also have stacks
for a greeting card company in Sydney. But Mulberry Muse of old work and art supplies that fill every spare space under
has begun to demand a lot of my time and energy and I am beds and on top of wardrobes. It seems chaotic, but I know
hoping to develop it more! where everything is... mostly.

What do you currently have on madeit that our readers What do you currently have on madeit that our readers
could have for their very own? could have for their very own?
I have a choice of cards and collage prints, there will be more My 2009 calendar makes a good gift at this time of the year
to come as I build up my shop. My work is also available on (or you could keep it for yourself) and it’s a design I came up
etsy and from my own web site with to make it light and easy to post. They are completely
made by hand and come in red or green.

www.mulberry-muse.com
www.mulberry-muse.etsy.com www.withwallpaper.blogspot.com

www.CafeBaudelaire.etsy.com
www.pattaprints.etsy.com 99 100
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blanket magazine
Web_sight
by david self

For this Past and

Present themed issue
of Blanket, I decided to
build the web reviews
around Steampunk .
Imagine if electricity
was never harnessed,
but man’s endless
reach for innovation
continued unabated.
This is Steampunk . It is an
eclectic world of cogs
and rivets. It is airships,
goggles and boilers. It is
travelling on clouds and
diving beneath rugged www.datamancer.net www.abneypark.com

waves. It is adventure.
Probably one of the best known Steampunk modders on the internet, Datamancer
specializes in transforming run-of-the-mill computer equipment into captivating
masterpieces of brass and leather. Check out his custom keyboards, complete
with brass frame, typewriter keys and jewel lighting, then move onto the more
interesting stuff, like The Opti-Transcripticon, a flatbed scanner reborn as an old,
leather bound tome. And last but not least, The Magical-Movable-Type Pixello-
Dynamotronic Computational Engine. A fully operational PC, plucked from the
17th century.
The great thing about steampunk is that it’s moved past being a style or a genre
and become a movement. If you so choose, you can fill your entire life with only
steampunk friendly components. Wear the clothes, eat the food, and listen to the
music. While there’s still some debate over what steampunk should really sound
like, bands like Abney Park aren’t worried about waiting. As much a dramatic
performance as a band, they perform in full regalia, each member with a rich
backstory, and their website is pretty awesome too.

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www.drgrordborts.com www.edisondowntown.com www.crabfu.com/steamtoys

Dr Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators are fabulously intricate ray guns designed
and crafted by Weta Workshop, the prop masters behind the Lord of the Rings
trilogy. Whether you want the reliability of the F.M.O.M. Industries Wave Disrupter
Gun, the brute stopping power of Lord Cockswain’s Ray Blunderbuss (nicknamed
“The Unnatural Selector”), or the concealability of The Victorious Mongoose, which,
despite its size is purported to “project a conical emission up to seventeen yards,
which will obliterate four pounds of Budgerigars in three fascinating seconds.”
Prices start at around US$500 but they are all limited editions - true collectables.
If you want to buy me one you go ahead and email me.
The Edison is a restaurant and bar built into Downtown Los Angeles’ first private
power plant. With its lavish classical design, exposed remnants of the buildings
former life, and dedicated staff and menu, this full immersion experience is at
the heart of the steampunk movement. Patrons are invited to reserve entire
themed rooms like the Lab, the Tesla Lounge and the Generator lounge and
sink into the environment. Go to the site and take the virtual tours. It really is
an impressive venue.
It’s all very cool to make your ipod look like it’s made of brass or your guitar look
like it’s filled with clockwork, but when someone can build actual robots and
working vehicles that run on steam, that’s worth a look. Crabfu is an animator and
concept artist working in the games industry, who spends his spare time gutting
remote controlled cars, rebuilding them from the ground up, installing a furnace
and boiler and somehow making them drive around powered by water vapor. Eat
your heart out, Tesla.

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 WON!
Last issue we ran a competition to find out from out Blanket
Readers some of their favourite Hot Spots in their City.
Here is a selection of our winning lists!
Marcus Fowler,
Sydney, Australia
1. Andrew (Boy) Charlton Pool,
The Domain
Breakfast with a swim if you’re
feeling virtuous.
2. Yullis, on Crown Street, Surry Hills
Long necks at a new favourite bar .
3. College of Fine Arts, Darlinghurst
Wandering the quiet, car-less
laneways around the area.
4. Museum of Contemporary Art,
Circular Quay
10am, crowdless entry!
5. Cockatoo Island
For startling new sights of Sydney.
Simon McKenzie
London, United Kingdom
1. Neal’s Yard Dairy, Cheese Shop
Brough Market
2. Monmouth Coffee House
Monmouth Street,
Covent Garden
3. Endurance, Berwick Street
Great drinking hole.
4. Borough Market, London Bridge
5. Tate Modern, Bankside
Simone Clews,
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
1. Cambridge Hotel
The place to be if you’re into
alternative music and meeting
some awesome people.
2. Civic Park
Great place for laying down and
watching the clouds float by.
3. King Edward Park
Picnic Central!
4. Shepards Hill
Explore the underground cement
tunnels.
5. Silver Dolphin
All-you-can-eat!!
Nicola Rowlands
Manchester, United Kingdom
1. The Music Scene
With venues such as Mint
Lounge, The Appollo and
Academy and up and coming
cool bars like the Deaf Institute
supporting events like Hot Club
Manchester is definitely the place
to be if you’re not deaf.
2. Olive, on Portland Street
It resembles a cross between
a New York deli and a European
supermarket. Enjoy a huge
sandwiches on rustic fresh
bread and pick up a pack of
Mike ‘n’ Ike for later.
3. Pi in Chorlton
With a blackboard menu of 4 pies
and 3 different sides, this place
makes choosing your lunch easy
as pie. However the list of foreign
imported beers and nonalcoholic
bottles as long as your mom’s arm
may distract you!
4. Cornerhouse on Oxford Road
There’s a great variety of foreign
and arthouse films, and a great
magazine and card shop to boot.
5. The Buses!
If you, like me, come from a tiny
village where the bus timetable
holds no significance then get
yourself to Oxford Road and you’ll
have your tired tooshie on a loser
cruiser to town faster than you can
find 70p. Manchester has Europe’s
busiest bus route, which is great.
Katie Flaxman,
New York, New York, USA
1. The Beauty Bar, East Village
Awesome little bar that not only
has an excellent cocktail list but the
decor is all 1950s vintage beauty
salon. The bar itself is from a
milkbar (“drugstore” in the states)
and behind you the wall is lined
with chairs under hairdryers.
There is even a beautician on-site
who offers manicures while you sip
your mojito.
2. Cafe Gitane, Nolita
This is a step back into 1960s Paris.
Gorgeous little cafe/bar/restaurant
nestled on a corner block north
of Soho. French menu and total
nouveau vague decor, complete
with cute waitresses donning Jean
Seberg pixie cuts. Especially cute
was the paw-print made out of
chocolate sprinkles on top of the
hot chocolates.
3. Sympathy for the Kettle,
East Village
Nestled just below street-level is
this cute little tea house. Every type
of tea conceivable, pink tables and
decor out of a toy playhouse. Only
four tables and so cosy.
Perfect for a rainy afternoon.
4. Spoonbill and Sugartown
Bookstore in Williamsburg,
Brooklyn
The tagline on the website is
“Come for the books, stay for the
synth music”. Awesome collection
of art, design, film and architecture
books and journals. But also great
fiction. It’s only small but had
the exact novel I was looking for.
I could have spent hundreds of
dollars in this place.Obviously
run by cool people who know
their stuff.
5. The Pod Hotel
Really cute hotel. Marketed to
the “stylish yet budget-conscious
traveller’ but their concept of
“budget” is a little higher than
mine! Rooms are small but with
funky decor and creative use of
furniture and storage. All mod-cons
eg. i-pod docks. Little cubicle
bathrooms feel like you’re on an
airplane but this place has really
made an effort style-wise. And
it’s smack in midtown so close
to everything.
Proudly brought to you by:
 magazine.com
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sweet hand-painted gifts
www.nushkadolls.com Have you checked out the NEW Blanket Blog yet?
Here’s a sneak peek!

exclusive
Blanket Guest 1. Libraries 4. I.D. Magazine

limited Blogger: Erin from
edition and Design for Mankind
one OF a kind We were delighted to have the
pieces FROM lovely Miss Erin from Design
EMERGING
For Mankind to be our very first
ARTISTS AND Blanket guest Blogger. With so
DESIGNERS. much inspiration surrounding her
everyday we asked Erin what
spend over $20 inspires her?
and receive a Erin: Gracious. This is one of
free gift! the hardest questions for me to
answer, because I feel so inspired
by so many different things!
But, if I had to choose, here are
my top five inspirations, along
with a few reasons why I think
they’re totally awesome:
I love the smell of old books, new
books and well, books in general.
Although I have to admit, art/
design books smell the best.
2. Rain
I love to write during a
thunderstorm. Although I don’t
have a tin roof like in the movies, I
still feel like I’m a bit of a star.
3. Portland
As in Portland, Oregon. OK, I’ve
never been there. But because
of aforementioned #2 and the
bustling art community, I feel like
I would love it. I often close my
eyes and pretend like I live in a tiny
bungalow there. Portlanders- do
they even HAVE bungalows in OR?
I get so excited when this goodie
arrives in my mailbox every two
months that I have my own night
dedicated to the action. I call my
husband, scream “It’s I.D. Day!”
and he brings home Chinese food
as I devour every inch of those
beautifully laid out margins. It’s
quite possibly my favorite day of
the bi-month!
5. Photography
When I’m feeling low on
inspiration, I browse Flickr and
choose some favorites depending
on my mood. It’s a fun game for
me to play, and sometimes
I have to ‘unfavourite’ my picks and
wonder what exact state of mind
I was in when I chose that, but
most of the time, I love my
favorites forever.

CREATIVE
www.designformankind.com

NOOK. blanketmagazine.blogspot.com

Everyone has their own space.107

Come and share yours.
www.creativenook.blogspot.com

How to Contribute
There are many ways for you to
become a part of Blanket, read
below to find out how...
Re_action
Next theme is“BLUE”
Each issue we give you a specific theme and we
want you to submit a piece of original work that
reacts to this theme! Use your creative skills and
your imagination!
When emailing your work please
include the following details:
Full Name, Country, Title of piece (if any)
Filenames: firstname_lastname.jpg
All images to be RGB - PDF or JPG
Landscape
1020 x 624 pixels OR 360 x 220mm @ 72dpi
ISSUE Portrait
Next Issue
Here’s my work, I hope you like it:
General gallery of work
Each issue we show off emerging creatives and
we want you! Send in your original artwork, design
or photograph. There are no constraints so send in
your work and let us show it off.
Include in your emails your image/s of work,
full name and country of residence.
Filenames: firstname_lastname.jpg
All images to be RGB - PDF or JPG
Landscape
1020 x 624 pixels OR 360 x 220mm @ 72dpi
Portrait
510 x 624 pixels OR 180 x 220mm @ 72dpi

14
510 x 624 pixels OR 180 x 220mm @ 72dpi Email: inspire [at] blanketmagazine.com

the
Email: re_action [at] blanketmagazine.com See the Blanket website for more info
www.blanketmagazine.com

Please note: By sending in a submission you are allowing

Blanket magazine to reproduce this image/s for the particular
section it has been submitted for. Unfortunately not all work
can be guaranteed a place in the magazine due to high

BLUE
demand, time and space issues. All copyright belongs solely
to the artists and no images from this magazine are to be
used without the artists prior permission. Blanket accepts no
responsibility for the copyright of artworks used.

All submissions due: 15th JANUARY 2009

ISSUE 109 110

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And finally those who have been uncovered...
A big thanks to everyone who has contributed to issue 13 of Blanket! Thankyou
Disclaimer: Please note no
THE BLANKET TEAM CONTRIBUTORS Re_action Here’s my work... part of Blanket magazine can
Arianna Vairo I hope you like it: be re-produced without first
Blanket contributing A big thanks to all our Alec Strang seeking the permission from the
designers interviewees: Niko Vartiainen
publishers. All submissions to
Ben Perkins
Bec Brown Andrew Beccone Alvaro Sánchez Blanket magazine are protected
Belinda Chen by copyright which belongs
Caitlin Gahan Stefan Vanbroek Catherine Denver
Faaiza Munif solely to the artist. No images
Melissa Gardner Bec Winnel Julie Avisar from this magazine are to be
Eric Rosner used without the artists prior
Drew Fellows Becky Bolton Darrin Hanley
Lindsay Blamey permission. Blanket accepts no
John Fry Aaron Ruff Kelvin Osorio responsibility for the copyright of
Sarah Cunningham
Louise Chappell Leandro Demetrius artworks used.
Blanket contributing Stephanie Haslberger
writers Samantha Battersby Elena Curotto
Mike Mauri
Caitlin Gahan Wendy Patterson Tim Swan
Wheat Wurtzburger
Jessica Wilson Mandy Horne Alyson Pearson
Luciano Civettini
Jonathan Hulme Anna Anjos
The Past & Present Dan Haskett
David Self Project Djordje Joksimovic
Stew Deane
Melinda Woledge Jesse Hora Hare Lanz
Silvijo Selman
Lindsay Green Gemma Correll Sanuri Zulkefli
Maria Alliaud
Vanessa Letts Igor MilanovicI Ikhsan Jauhari
Richard Grainger (Foe Design)
Bec Brown Allan Deas Natalia Valle
Adam Chronister
David Self
Blanket Cover Image Joel Lambeth
Sarah Cunningham
Stefan Venbroek
Anna Manolatos
Corrado Dalco
Caroline Deroyer
Elisabeth Fabienne
Richard Hill

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