5 things I don't hate yet

The artist's curse is such that you tend to approach past work with a super critical eye and pull it apart. I take this to extremes, ecstatic when I finish something only to turn my nose up at it two hours later.

And yet, there are some creations that - no matter how much time passes - still give me warm fuzzy feels. Maybe 'cause I learned something new, was granted a light bulb moment or they just look cool. In keeping with the month of Amore, I wanted to lovingly look back at my most meaningful makes. So without further ado, here are my favourite art offspring.

Precious Thing Jacket

Different to anything I had done at the time; bold; graphic... a little explicit (teehee). It's punk (or about as punk as I get) and it's red. Which I love. Add those splashes of salmon-y pink? Yasss. Inspired by the song 'Precious Thing' by Tori it features the title on the front and a chosen lyric on the back. I like the juxtaposition of the cute lace effect heart with the harsh sentiment on the reverse. The design is loosely based on a photo of Amos playing live but it's so abstract as to not be obvious. I love that it's a little easter egg for folks that get the reference. It's still available - currently in both my Depop and Etsy stores - and I will be sad to bid it farewell when the time comes.

Piece of Shit Bag

I was similarly very sad to say goodbye to my favourite bag so far! The piece of shit bag started out as this gorgeous cream vintage piece that could be used as either a clutch or shoulder bag. I brightened it up so it was stark white and adorned it with flies. I originally wanted to draw turds on the inside, ah haha, but didn't actually go that far... Or rather, on the black paint of the interior, I used a black sharpie to sign the bag and draw a wee shit. You'll only spot it if the light catches it just so... but it's there. It's pretty simple in terms of design and premise but I just think it looks so fucking cool... I definitely wanna do more bags, hit me up if you have a killer idea for my next favourite bag design.

Badges

So this isn't specific to any particular badge design (although I love the trash duo personally) but just the ease at which badges let me try out new ideas. They come together so quickly. In the two weeks after I got my badge maker, I created over 40 designs - admittedly some more successful than others- and was obsessed at how easily they transform things. I've made some using mementos like tickets and drawings as well as crafted a bunch on illustrator. See anything you fancy? Find it in my Etsy store.

NightWitches Jacket

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So here it is, my final piece for @girlgangartshow featuring my show stopper patch dedicated to the Night Witches. The 588th Night Bomber Regiment or 48th ‘Taman’ Guards Night Bomber Aviation Unit... an all female unit of pilots flying planes knocked together from plywood and canvas. The would fly up high and cut their engines to swoop silently down and drop their payload. The Germans dubbed them the Night Witches because the ‘whoosh’ of their planes gliding by was like a witch passing on a broomstick. My favourite quotes from the documentary perfectly encompasses the bravery and uniqueness of this unit “Parachutes were too heavy, so we left them out, instead of parachutes we took extra bombs” And “Girls are girls, they took kittens with them in the aircraft” One of their regiment mottos was ‘be proud you’re a woman’ and even if my womb and love of cats are the only thing I share in common with them - fuck it - I’m still pretty proud. #diy #handpaintedjacket #artfashion #wearartnotjunk #nightwitches #nightwitch #ww2 #history #tribute #girlgangbristol #girlgangartshow #ootd #fblog #fblogger #freelancegraphicdesigner #freelanceillustrator #theraggedpriest #wia #discountuniverse #yru #japanesetattoo #japanstyle #tokyofashion #artistforhire #illustratorforhire #irezumicollective #irezumi_sketches #angelusdirect

A post shared by Tiffany (@eyeseaewe) on May 25, 2018 at 5:53am PDT

While I still look at this jacket with a critical eye and can see plenty to be improved, I remain pleased with the individual patches and how it all came together. It's less about how it looks - annoyingly, it already feels a little juvenile to me - and more about how ideas were abstracted from historical figures/occurrences and quotes. I think it really helped me hone my design thinking. Plus I had so much fun researching all the incredible figures represented, I'm a proper history nerd when it comes down to it. If you have a patch idea you'd like me to bring to life, fosho gimme a shout, I love these kinds of projects!

Honourable mention - Doughnuts

I have to admit, all the doughnut designs look really awesome and I love the end products. However. Making them is hellish. Doing symmetry by hand on things that are not actually symmetrical? BARREL OF LAUGHS. Honestly. I really love how they look but am never doing them again... Unless you ask very nicely and pay me handsomely of course.

So there we are. All my loves out on the table. Anything catch your eye? Maybe head over to Instagram where there are a few things in the works I love dearly but want to keep for myself... for now.

Tiffany xox