Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

After the storm that was the month of September, I was looking forward to keep my mind off of things. Luckily October was going to be a doozy as it was chockful of events, market prep and new creative endeavors.

MCM Comic Con London was coming up at the end of the month, which meant one thing: market prep. Even though I thought I had 24 days left to prepare, (I later found out I had about 14) I already felt the pressure. Prep for markets always ends up being very intense as I have so many plates to spin and there is such little time to finish it all. As a result the prep usually ends up being more intense than attending the actual market.

When I have a fair coming up I try my best to be as prolific as possible. I bring new stuff to each market I go to, ensuring that reoccurring customers have something new to look at and potentially buy. This means two things: I end up crunching way too hard but I also have to make quick decisions to finish in time. Those moments are the hardest for my physically, as I forget to eat, sleep and exercise when having good workflow but they end up being my most productive moments. Usually when there is no external pressure I hum and haw on minute details that shouldn't be an issue to begin with, but when I have these deadlines there is no time to faff about. In reality no one puts all these expectations on me other than myself. Although the crunch can be tough and definitely not healthy, I have learned to appreciate those moments for what they are and what they bring.

Painting many pins in preparation for MCM

This time around, this was especially true, since I was going to be out of office for a whole week prior to MCM, so I could go to Inmotion. This made me lose prep time but I did not regret that in the slightest. Inmotion, for those who don't know, is the London equivalent to The Art Department in Eindhoven. It is an industry event for animation with talks, demo's, an industry garden, meet-and-greets, etc. It's literally a celebration of all things animation and even though I am not an animator, it has taught me so much and is by far one of my favourite events to attend. I will gladly keep going back to the event every year, for years to come. Those who have been following me for a while, know that I was fortunate enough to be invited to The Art Department as a part of their art market this year. This time around with Inmotion, I went as a visitor and I was truly lost for words after the event as it changed me as an artist.

What I saw in those two days gave me such a creative boost that now, as I am writing this post weeks after the event took place, I am still buzzing with inspiration. This event nearly doesn't get as much credit as it deserves as it can be life changing for young creatives, opening doors to the industry, on top of it's affordability to attend which is not always true for industry events. Seeing what is possible out there, what people can create and how fearless artists can be, freed me for sure.

Since I started as a freelancer, in the era of social media, I felt tied to expectations of what is appropriate or what is considered beautiful. I pushed myself into a mold, conforming myself to standards I never wanted. I am an artist with way too many creative interests at times and in the past I was made to believe that this was a bad thing. I had been told I needed to pick a lane, a niche, so clients would know what they can be expected of me. For years I would struggle with what I wanted to try and fitting in the mold that I trapped myself in. In the end I would never really succeed in squashing my curiousness about new materials and media, but there was always that self-doubt telling me I was wasting my time and that I would end up as a jack of all trades but a master of none.

And then I saw Margherita Premuroso's talk at Inmotion, and I felt seen. For once there was an artist who said I should do and try as many different things as much as possible. It was like I had finally been given permission to stop feeling bad about my inability to “pick a lane”. I was and still am excited about all the new possibilities this creates for my career.

Amongst so many inspirating talks of Alex Hirsch, James Baxter, Nina Gantz, etc. I also saw the talks of Becky & Joe and David Wilson. I have to admit that, until Inmotion, I shamingly had never heard of these last 3 creators. They did however leave a lasting impression. Here are 3 artists that colour so far outside the lines that you can't even see the line to begin with. Their presentations where absolutely mad and so fun. It felt freeing. Seeing those people on stage made me realize that it doesn't matter what you make, there will always be people that get it and will love it as long as the artist believes in it. I can say now I want to try so much more. For example I've been wanting to try to animate more, and get into stop motion. I want to make weird hand puppets and get into knitting funky jumpers. The list goes on and on really.

I feel like I just want to make weird stuff that's sometimes ugly and sometimes cute, stuff that makes me laugh and cry and feel all the emotions in between. So I'm finally embracing my eclectic nature as artist and feel proud at my range and versatility. Seeing those talks at Inmotion definitely came at the right time for me.

After the event I was back at the grind for one last push before MCM. In that last week I managed to make 70 new pins, as well as trying my hand at Riso printing for the first time. I'm so glad I got to make 6 new prints with a riso printer, but I feel like I barely scratched the surface with that media. I will definitely come back to it soon! I feel a more in depth conversation about the riso printer might be a good subject for a blog post in the future.

After all of this, October slowly came to a close as MCM rolled around. As always I had a great time at MCM and yet hardly saw anything of the event myself, haha. For a second time I never really managed to leave my own booth at MCM apart from a quick run to the loo or grabbing a coffee. I feel like I even got to see less of it now in October compared to last May as I had my nose pressed up to a several pieces of paper, drawing cute little cat portraits for so many lovely people. I got to reconnect with some friends along the way and it was very busy, I can tell you that much for sure. As an artist participating at MCM, what more can you ask for really than just that. I went home with an exhausted, yet full heart and a less full backpack. So to all of the lovely people I got to meet and who supported me, thank you so much. I hope to see all of you soon again.

Hope you are having a wonderful Halloween,

C.

A lesson learned I wish someone would have taught me sooner.

Getting back into making zines

September sadness