Phew!

I have moved! Welcome to the new space where Have A Go Hannah will be operating from, from now on. I have much more space and I’m scared at how easily I’ve filled it already. Also - it turns out spare rooms are perilous for dumping stuff you can’t be bothered to unpack. I need to work on that.

In other news: I hosted a St. George’s Day party which involved flags, red and green jelly and sword fights in the garden. In the UK poor St George tends to be a bit unsung, probably not helped by the fact he doesn’t have a huge beer company pouring money into his special day. Lots of people apparently write to the Prime Minister every year asking if he’ll think about letting us have the day off. So far no luck.

Next year I may share some St George tutorials with you from stuff I learnt this year - like how making a lance from cardboard seems a great idea in your head but actually all that happens is it ends up a mess of tape and floppy cardboard. We had a lot of fun though.

I’ve also been nominated for a Liebster Award, which I had to google in order to find out what it was (Thanks Sabrina, I promise I haven’t forgotten about it). Which is really lovely, and next post I’ll go along and answer the questions accordingly.  

Have a good rest of the week!

London Town

I LOVE going to London, and I’m lucky to live within a reasonable distance. I’ve just got back from an excellent long weekend, and what a weekend! Three, no, four birthdays were celebrated if you count mine too; I saw a stage show, a film at Leicester square, rode the London Eye, ate out in restaurants, went to a house party, went shopping (oops), drew pictures and of course took lots of photographs. I got a precious day to myself where I just wondered about, drawing, looking up at all the great buildings and taking photos. Very soon I’ll have my own digital SLR, but for now these are all on my iPhone.   

  

It was great getting back into the mindset of a photographer – snapping anything that moved basically. I often put the camera away only to whip it out again as soon as I saw something else that interested me. A lot of these are mediocre but that’s okay, in some of them I was trying to capture a nice composition, in others it was a shot of colour or a small moment that caught my eye. I’m just glad to be practicing again, and things can only get better!

5 Highlights from the weekend in London town:

• Witnessing a marriage proposal at King’s Cross Station in front of Platform 9 ¾ . Four hundred tired people facing long delays breaking into applause – not a moment I’ll forget in a hurry.
• Feeding the tame squirrels in St. James park by hand.
•  Eating sushi for breakfast on Oxford Street as the sun comes up.
•  Closing my eyes during a showing of Les Miserables at Leicester square to hear people crying into handkerchiefs.
•  Dancing to Florence and the Machine in a packed living room at 3 am, whilst eating crisps.

Hello...

Welcome to my new blog, Have a Go, Hannah. In this blog I want to write about all the things I love to do, that don’t fit into my illustration blog.

For most of my life, I have loved to create… stuff. Painting, drawing, knitting, sewing, cooking, writing, restoring, adapting... Along the way I’ve roped in helpers, learned from family members and friends, and made big mistakes which have helped me improve for next time. I also love to dabble and experiment, often flitting from one project to the next. If you’re reading this and share the same haphazard approach to making, you’ll hopefully feel at home.

I’m hoping this blog will be a useful read for people who are up for having a go at something, who like to make presents or want to know how to make a certain occasion just a bit more special.

I'm also hoping to use this blog to learn and improve - improve my art, my writing, my photography, my sense of exploration.

Another thing that interests me is embracing life and opportunities in one’s local area. I’ll be aiming to explore customs, traditions, special days and holidays more closely, and writing about what I find.

It goes without saying I welcome comments and feedback. ;-) Please bear with me whilst I tweak the design and add to the blog over these next few months.

Let’s get on, shall we?