Bilingual by Music

Do you remember the children's song book that I was working on for Bilingual by Music? I am super excited, it should come from the printer any day now! Here's a little sneak peek while waiting, Klappa händerna när du är riktigt glad / If you are happy and you know it and Huvud, axlar, knän och tår / Head, shoulders, knees and toes.

Mint

Mint © Åsa Wikman



Gold © Åsa Wikman


Lately I have been working on a new pattern collection and now I just finished it and is celebrating with a nice cup of tea and thought I'd share a little sneak peek from the new collection with you, so here is two of my new patterns, Mint and Gold, what do you think?

I have always enjoyed working with graphic shapes and photography so this time I thought that I would base the new collection around that and plunge into it, and as a child of the 80's I wanted to go back to the 80's colour palette with pastel pinks and bubblegum colours. I like the contrast between sterile and controlled graphics and black and white photography of real living animals.


PS. There's a short interview with me regarding my latest projects in Lemonade Magazine 04, to read the interview click here

Sunday at the cemetary

I told my boyfriend that I had it with shops, crowds, traffic and pollution and that I am from the north of Sweden and need some damn air to breath, some trees and something a bit spiritual which I do not consider shopping or hanging in cafe's to be. London does that to me sometimes, I get enough, I need space, I need nature, I need to sit by the ocean and read a book, go to a lake for a swim or take the bike through the forest - I sound like a real city girl don't I?

He knows me by now and knows that when I start googling Stockholm flats or life in Costa Rica it is time to drag me to the closest coastal town or forest. This time we went to High gate Cemetery and their east wing, a Victorian cemetery which for many years was abandoned and now is an overgrown jungle of beautifully decayed graves (over 52 000 graves) from a lost time. Karl Marx has his resting place with a lot of celebrities on the west side of the cemetery but we focused on the secluded eat section that you can only get access to via a guided tour. It felt like walking around in a Miyazaki film, very magical.






It was what I needed, now I feel better and get deal with the big town again. Here are some photos from the day, unfortunately the guided tour was on a very strict schedule so it was hard to get a chance to take pictures. I might try and go back in summer time and get lost with my camera...






I took a picture of this grave to remember the destiny of the woman which grave it is, like many women during Victorian times she died as her massive dress caught fire.

Tea and doodle time. Have a nice Sunday everyone.

Giraff-o-mania

I am currently working on a new pattern collection but this time I have left the pencils and instead grabbed my camera and has chosen to work with graphics, shapes and colours. It might be an effect of the depressing grey weather outside but I am very found of bold colours right now.  Here's a little sneak peak of some work in progress.

© Åsa Wikman

PS. To get $5 off any of my products over at Society6, click here: Society6
The offer ends the 11th of November.

Gardening

Working on something new and this little gardening dude might be a part of it.

Wroom wroom

I love doodling, here's a happy little guy on his bike.

I am at home sick - yes, still! I just had a cold and did get better and then BAM, next week - chest infection.

I just realised how many times I have blogged about that I am ill…a bit scary. I have asthma so a normal cold often gives me a chest infection (my neighbours love me and my all night long coughing).

But it makes me think though, how often I am ill here in London.

I was lucky enough to get two holidays this year, a few days in Paris and a week in Spain - and I did not need to use my asthma spray once. So I basically know that living in London is making me ill and the fact they planted like 20 new trees in town is not going to cut it so I know it will not change and that if I want to be healthier I will have to move.

Hmm…not sure where to go though so I will stick with a few chest infections now and then until I have figured it out ;)

Time for tea.

Creativity & Others

Here are two very inspirational talks about creativity and the current school system but also about following your heart and not listening to much to others. Both of these talks ticked my boxes and I am very glad to have found them, hope they inspire you to!