Owl post

Since my lazy bitch of an owl refuses to work before the number on the clock is double-digit, I put on my best dress to bring some colorful mail to the post office myself.



I love this dress. And I wish I had a proper mirror (preferably one of those really trashy old-looking ones). Or a tripod which I've been wanting to get for ages anyway. I think that's what I'm gonna treat myself to as soon as I'll have a few bucks left.

PS: I met my favorite postman downstairs and he almost didn't recognize me, being all accurately dressed and stuff (at least that's what he said).
PPS: I also bought a scratch ticket but, much to my great disbelief and disappointment, I didn't win.

Raven's Journal in print!

I'm excited to announce that I finally managed to make some copies of my fake journal! It's printed in black and white, wrapped in a colored cover (which color you get is a surprise) and stapled.

If you enjoyed Raven's diary and would like to have your very own copy of it (or if you just want to support me and my work), you can get it on my etsy shop.

Since, after her mysterious disappearance, a page was still left blank in Raven's journal, the first one purchasing a copy will get this last original page with a surprise sketch for free!

A little preview:

Where did that day go?

One of the most awkward questions to ask me, especially on the phone, is what I did that day. Even though I always have the impression of being totally busy or even stressed out, when I think about it more closely and try to list everything I did I end up feeling like a boring and/or lazy sucker. I'm already considering that somebody secretly steals my time. Not sure which one is more likely.


Well, what the heck do I do the whole day? For example: Writing about imidazoline nitroxides (awesome shit!) and drawing pugs (ugly little cuties!).
(This list does by no means claim to be exhaustive!)

Queen of random

When I work too much, my brain switches to idle mode for the rest of the day. Which reinforces my tendencies towards randomness in sketches. I guess one can only have so many reasonable thoughts per day. Don't think to much and enjoy:

The internet is a dangerous thing

Or at least it can be. Here is why:


The internet is my best friend and my worst enemy at the same time. On the one hand, it's packed full of incredibly cool stuff and it's definitely a big source of inspiration for me (that is, as soon as I get over the "OMG-I'll-never-be-nearly-as-good" syndrome). On the other hand, I (far too) often completely lose track of time while admiring the wonderful things and thoughts of other people, and I end up wasting several hours and complaining that I never have enough time to materialize all my ideas and pipe dreams. Seriously guys, it's time for more action!

Zebras, socks and underwear

Since my Japanese giraffe huntress was so (surprisingly) well received, take this! (I'm considering making postcards of it for my next travels...)


Another edm challenge (inspired and motivated by the diligent Everyday-in-May'ers): number 253 - your socks.
I drew this one while waiting for a (tardy) friend in my favorite shisha café. You really can't get me bored as long as I've got something to draw on or my feet or preferably both!
(Have you ever tried to do the Vulcan salute with your feet? Go for it, it's quite a challenge.)


(Btw: What I meant by "sleep-provoking" is soporific. Just didn't find the right word in my brain at that moment.)

And yet another edm challenge. It felt kinda weird to draw my own underwear. Come to think of it, though, it would probably be a lot weirder to draw somebody else's. Kitschy print omitted for the sake of sheer laziness.

Woo-hoo: watercolors!

So, I was innocently entering this artist supply shop only with the best intention to get some golden fimo and studs for the earrings I wanted to make for my mom, and suddenly the artistically never-ever-satisfied child in me sees the watercolor shelf and starts arguing, like, of course do I already have acrylics and india ink and felt pens and colored pencils and, and, and... and I love all of them, equally, like my own children, but it's something completely different, right? Haven't I wanted to try this since I saw the first of those beautiful watercolored sketches of all those edm members? Haven't I been so damn painstakingly hard-working on my thesis lately, like, totally deserving a little treat? Yeah, they're expensive, but look! There's a teeny tiny set of just a few half-pans! For heaven's sake, I guess, I mean, if that isn't a hint of fate!

Well, to cut a long story short, I accepted my fate, paid for that adorable little set of Schmincke watercolors and went home thrilled to play around with them. And here are some examples of what I've done with my new toys so far:

(Needless to say my mum's still waiting for her earrings...)

Totally edm # 245 - something "October":
(Hat kinda dedicated to Alex)


It rarely happens, but I really like this one: (I have a thing for pirates and eye patches. And sepia!)


And here I have to admit (be prepared for one of my darkest secrets): I used to be the biggest ever Sailor Moon fan as a kid. And it's ok. I think of it as my gateway drug into anime and manga which I am a huge fan of (fuck yeah, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Jin-Roh, Ghost in the Shell eeeeetc, etc, etc). And for some weird reason I spontaneously felt the strong urge to do a little watercolor fanart... ;)

Dandelions and daffodils

As has been mentioned before, I'm currently working on getting my fake journal into print. It is definitely happening. It might just take me a little longer than I expected. I got up extra-early last Monday to run to the copyshop before work and spent an hour there, printing and having the pages cut... just to eventually find out that the stupid machine had printed the pages so that front and back side didn't match at all and about 150 copies were for the bin. As if this wasn't enough, the clerk cut my expensive cover paper in such an incredibly weird way so that she got only one cover per sheet instead of three. Oh, yeah, and I had to pay for all that. Close to a tantrum, I had to get to work with empty hands. Arrrgh!!
Well, now I'm trying to manipulate my files in a way so that that printer really has no choice but to produce correct copies. I hope I manage sooner than later, but again: I'll keep you posted!
At this point, again: thank you for all your encouragement, dear commenters! And very special thanks to Satia who has been particularly insistent and helpful. :)

After a while of edm challenge idleness, here is my take on #272 - a line from your favorite song. It's not my favorite song, but it has been stuck in my head since my mum sang it last weekend all day long. Thought I might get it out by bringing it to paper. By the way, I know these are dandelions, not daffodils. Although, daffodils won me a coffee from my sister. We both didn't know what kind of flowers they are, but I insisted they sound yellow to me. And I won the bet. Yay!


The following is kind of a request of my sister. She wanted a giraffe, but to be honest, I'm not particularly good at drawing realistic animals without reference. So it ended up being a japanese girl catching a genetically modified giraffe. Oh, and a paper crane. I'm afraid I'll never be able to remember how to fold these.


In the end, another reason to love my tiniest sketchbook:
Tramway travelling for the impatient! To me, it's again and again astonishing how differently one sees everyday objects after drawing them for the first time.

Goodbye Ms Heavensong...

... it's been a lovely time.
So, here are the last pages of Raven's diary. I can't believe April is already over. Fake journaling has become such a nice habit, although it wasn't always easy to find time for it. Those were the times when all the encouragement here and your kind comments helped me keep going.
International Fake Journal Month showed me that I can make time, that I can work on and finish a project if I only focus on it and stick to it. I think the key is dedication and taking my little "artistic" projects seriously. And maybe also not trying to do too much at the same time.

I'm actually thinking about making a few copies (I don't know, would there even be any interest in these?). However, I'm not sure about the issue of copyrights and stuff. Even though there isn't much of the Harry Potter books present in Raven's journal, it's still taking place in the environments of "Hogwarts" which is of course intellectual property of J.K. Rowling. Also, I'll need to find a not too expensive but still qualitatively satisfying solution for printing (I'm thinking maybe something like a neat zine-style thing or so). I'd be most grateful for any hints on both subjects!
I'll definitely keep you posted about this!
But for now, please just enjoy the last journal pages:

THIS is the bike of
my dreams:

A broom could be
no better!

Rita showed me her new pets.
I didn't know
how weird
muggle animals
can get.

She keeps them in
a tiny greyish box
with buttons.

I asked her how she
got all of them into that thing
but she couldn't really
explain it to me.

((Even muggles have cool pets
while I'm still stuck with
Herbert.))

I want this one! ♥ ♥ ♥

This afternoon,
in the forbidden forest,

I got a weird but
nonetheless flattering
sort of proposal.

I hope it wasn't too
rude to say "NO"
right away.

Got myself a Flictoceptor.
Total bargain! It measures
the conflict potential of a room.

I want to pimp it so it is
also sensitive towards
homework and test potential.

So you can play ill even before
the class. Much
less suspicious!

(This is gonna be
Hogwarts' first and best HOMEWORKOceptor!)

Oh, yeah. And the
watch disappeared again.

I don't know. I'm
not that surprised
somehow.

Saw a young robeble today.
They're a known delicacy. However,
how can one eat something
SO CUTE?!?

found it.

This time INSIDE one
of my socks!

This is getting fucking
weird!

I'm tying it
to my
finger
when I go to
bed tonight.

I'm gonna find out
what the heck
is happening with that
watch!

dear Rita,

When you find this I'll already be
gone. Sorry I didn't wait for
you to wake up. It's just too
exciting to wait another second!

You know, that watch I was
telling you about, disappearing all
the time and stuff? Last night
(that is NOW for me, last night
when you'll read this) I saw
its secret! I have to go with
it and find out all the rest!

Maybe, someday, I'll come back
and tell you the whole story.
I'm not sure owls are operating
where we're going.

Please, tell Dad I love him. And
that he shouldn't think I just
ran off because he didn't want
to allow me to become a
watch maker or anything.

Thanks for being, like, kind of
my friend. And for showing me
how to make stuff from pieces
of paper.

I do hope we'll see each other
again. In the meantime, take my
diary as a present and sign of
my love.

Also, say Astatine thanks and
goodbye. She is the loveliest
Slytherin ever, really.

Hope to see you someday.

Yours,
Raven

It was interesting to see how little of the elaborate stories in my head actually made it onto the pages (including the "solution" to the watch so fond of traveling ;) ). But I guess that's just how diaries are kept. They're usually not written for an audience. And it is a nice thought that some things remain a little secret between me and Raven only. Who knows, maybe owls are operating where she is now. And maybe we'll hear from her someday again.