oh mag reader survey – we'd love your help!

Photo by Stephanie Renee Cluff

Photo by Stephanie Renee Cluff

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Tell us what you think about oh for a chance to win the Weleda Skin Food Collection

To enter the draw you need to tell us what you think of oh. We’re a small, independently-owned magazine, and would really appreciate your help in creating the best mag we can. All you have to do is fill in our short online survey – telling us a little about you, what you like about oh mag, and what you’d like to see in the future. As a little sweetener for your precious time (and thanks to our friends, biodynamic pioneers Weleda) you’ll also be in with a chance of winning the full range of our favourite all-natural Weleda Skin Food products – including two creams, a lip balm and body balm – presented in this rather handsome box.

Full Terms & Conditions can be found here

Inclusive Trade Competition

Win products with purpose

You could win £100 to spend on unique ethical fashion and lifestyle products at inclusive trade, each one created to have a positive impact

When you pick something to wear each day, you want it to make you look and feel good! Wouldn’t it be even better if you knew what impact your choices had on the planet and people? What if you could be assured that each product had been ethically sourced and that you knew they were made to support communities and the planet? Founded in 2017, inclusivetrade.com was created to make ethical shopping easy. It was set up to connect artisans and brands who create beautiful products that have a positive impact with consumers who want to make sustainable lifestyle and fashion choices, together making the earth a better place for us all. At inclusivetrade.com you will discover products that are stylish, rare and beautiful, all created to have a positive impact. Its ‘Shop by Impact®’ ethos means being able to make choices about the impact you want your purchase to have on the world. This is guided by four simple principles : environmental, social, gender inclusivity and preservation of craft skills. You can discover more on the website. To introduce you to its fantastic makers and one-of-a-kind products, Inclusive Trade is giving away a £100 voucher to one lucky oh reader. For inspiration, here are a few ideas on how you could spend it: Paradise Fashion hand-weave beautifully soft cotton scarves in Ethiopia, naturally dyed with the likes of turmeric and coffee grounds – ideal for wearing all year round. Or you can take pleasure wearing the delicate jewellery from Eden, comforted by the knowledge that their innovative programme actively rescues, restores and renews the lives of several hundred trafficked women across five countries in Asia”.
Yogacycled produces super-soft, high-performance and uniquely illustrated activewear that’s made from recycled plastics.

In addition to one main winner, two lucky runners up will each receive a block-printed tote bag by Aarohan, hand-made in India.

To see a video of the artisans at work, visit oh mag’s Facebook page.

Terms and conditions: A winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. The voucher is valid for 12 months until 6 May 2021. The voucher applies to products from the following brands only: Seblewongel Gelan, By Karin, Antonio Prahl, Aarohan, B Frog, Eden, Jaspe Maya Moderno, Khit Sun Yin, The Kat & Monocle, Mrs Waller’s Tribe, Muya, Paradise Fashion, Sucremor, Yogacycled. The winner cannot transfer the prize or swap it for cash.

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oh hello issue 53 + WIN Jago Silver cover print

Issue 53 of oh is our beautiful early spring issue and it’s out on February 24th. Wellspring is the theme – and it’s the word that bubbled up into our minds as we began imagining what we wanted to fill these pages with. A wellspring is a naturally replenishing source of pure water, from deep within the earth, a wellspring represents hope. Where there is water there is life… when life begins to feel more bleak than beautiful, and you might find yourself wondering ‘what’s the point?’, take heart from the many stories in this issue, where one person, one decision, one moment in time – one tiny drop in the ocean – results in a ripple effect that touches everything. That’s the magic of everyday life, right there.

You can find oh in lots of independent stores & newsagents, quite a few WH Smith’s and some Sainsbury’s & Waitrose stores nationwide. OR if you’d rather it just landed on your doormat with minimal fuss (who can blame you!), you can pre-order your copy, subscribe, or order back issues at Pics & Ink too.

WIN a one-off print created by artist Jago Silver.

We’re working with artist Jago Silver to create a collection of cover illustrations for the next six issues. Jago, who lives in North Cornwall, creates thoughtful, inspiring and playful work. Our covers will create little images of life, reflecting the mood of the season, the wildness of nature, the easy wonder of taking a moment. You can win a one-off print of the cover which will be posted to you, ready for you to frame and hang on your wall.



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Bittersweet poetry with Beth Calverley

We asked Beth Calverley, chief operator of The Poetry Machine, three questions, about her life, her work, and what led her to leave her job and pursue a full-time career as a poet and workshop leader.

How did the idea for The Poetry Machine first come to you, and how did it evolve into the offering that it is today?

I'll start by describing what it is today! I’m a collaborative poet and creative coach. I specialise in bringing the wellbeing benefits of poetry to people in all kinds of places. As Chief Operator of The Poetry Machine, I co-create poems in the moment with members of the public on my vintage typewriter. The machine is a wheel-along theatrical set, with a bubble engine, bright yellow umbrella and flagpole. I work with charities, companies, hospitals, universities, schools, heritage sites and festivals nationally, helping people to put their thoughts and feelings into words. As well as one-on-one poetry experiences, I also lead group workshops and create poems for video campaigns. Going back to my childhood, I’ve always been interested in people. I began to write and perform poems when I was seven. As a child, I would often ask family members to give me a title for a poem, and then I would find a quiet corner and write a poem on that topic.

At University, I was President of the Spoken Word Society. We were invited to host a stall at a student’s union event. I had a beautiful antique Remington typewriter, so I lugged it onto campus and spent the afternoon creating poems for people based on their favourite words. Students loved the experience so much that I decided to continue testing it out in various other locations after leaving University, until I had pretty solid proof of concept.

Photograph by Amanda Thomas

Photograph by Amanda Thomas

A few years later, I was working at a socially-minded company as a project manager while trying to develop The Poetry Machine in my evenings and weekends. There was something missing in my life. I felt disconnected from my true purpose. My mental health was poor and I was leaning heavily on my Mum and partner. It was obvious to everyone around me that I should take the leap, but I was scared to do so because I still didn’t really believe that I could achieve my childhood dream. One day, I just made the decision to hand in my notice and focus on my poetry full time. I stopped doing what I thought was expected of me, and in doing so gave myself permission to become a professional artist. I’ll always remember the first time somebody asked me what I did for a living and I replied: “I’m a poet!” In the beginning, my set-up was just myself, a table and chair, and my powder-blue Imperial 200 typewriter (a lot more portable than the old Remington!) Although I was gaining momentum, I knew that developing a personal style was important. Inspired by the work of Rowland Emmet and his marvellous machines, I wanted The Poetry Machine to be playful, surprising and to excite people’s curiosity. Within a few months, I unveiled the machine, shortly followed by my Chief Operator costume - a blue satin boiler suit with a tool belt for the bolts, washers and wing-nuts that I use to assemble the machine.

When I launched the machine at an event in Bristol, I remember someone nervously asking me for a poem, with the disclaimer: “I don’t really like poetry, but my curiosity got the better of me.” This was such a wonderful moment as her words spoke directly to the core purpose of my work, which is to help people to express themselves creatively, whether or not they think of themselves as poetry-lovers.

Many elements of my journey have been serendipitous. I certainly did not expect The Poetry Machine to find a place within the health and wellness space so quickly. The gift of listening to people and reflecting their stories back to them through poetry has proven to be a gentle force for good. A growing body of research into the benefits of arts engagement, including this landmark Creative Health Report, will create more opportunities for other artists who want to support the healthcare system and make a difference for people experiencing ill health and their carers. Like most people, I'm indebted to the NHS for supporting me and those I love throughout my life, so it is a great privilege to be working in this sector at a time when it is beginning to gain more momentum.

Being appointed as Poet in Residence at UH Bristol NHS Foundation Trust in March 2019 was a defining moment in developing my practice. Prior to this, I was hosting some group writing sessions with the Teenage Cancer Trust at Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre. Through this work, I was connected to the Trust's Arts Programme Director, Dr Anna Farthing, whose vision has been incredibly important in helping me to recognise the value of my work. She invited me to spend some time co-creating poems with patients, visitors and staff at the Bristol Royal Infirmary. Soon afterwards, thanks to the support and belief of the charity Above and Beyond, I began to visit South Bristol Community Hospital regularly with my typewriter, as well as other hospitals across the Trust. It’s such an amazing feeling to receive feedback from patients, carers, and staff that the poems have helped them to express their truths, recall memories and lift their spirits during a time of change.

Taken from 3 Questions with Beth Calverley, oh mag, issue 52. Beth is available for all kind of events and commissions. www.thepoetrymachine.live

Photograph by Amanda Thomas

Issue 52 of oh is all about bittersweetness…. a nod to life’s light & dark, rough & smooth. We chatted to Beth on the photo shoot for this issue, reflecting on the issue’s chosen theme, and what we were experiencing at the time. Then she sat at her trusty typewriter, and in a few moments, created the poem, Bittersweet, above. It begins, “Now, the mornings snap like dark chocolate saved for later.” Enjoy.

join our book club

Photograph by thought catalog

Photograph by thought catalog

At oh there’s little we cherish more than a good read. Reading a book remains one of the most intrinsically mindful pastimes – the head, simultaneously lost in words, yet wholly pinned to the page. Before bed, in the bath, on the commute, for the span of a rainy afternoon (let’s be honest, any spare moment we have) – a book is the place to be. That’s why we’ve partnered with Molly Masters, founder of Books That Matter, a book subscription service that brings brilliant books by brilliant women to a global audience.

Each issue, we’ll be selecting a cracking read for us all to sink our selves in to. We’ll also be hosting a regular oh x Books That Matter meet up at London wellbeing destination, Gazelli House – think talks on everything from feminist lit crit, creative writing evenings, poetry appreciation workshops & amazing author talks. We’ll publish info for these here on the blog, and in the mag, so keep your eyes peeled!

This month’s oh book club choice: She is Fierce

She is Fierce (Pan Macmillan)

She is Fierce (Pan Macmillan)

Molly has chosen She is Fierce, a poetry anthology, curated by Ana Sampson (Pan Macmillan). “I love the way the collection has been split into themed sections, ranging from love and friendship, to freedom and nature. Anthologies such as these are so needed to honour and celebrate the contributions of women to the publishing world, and give them a space that is uniquely theirs in a world that has put so many barriers in their way,” says Molly. Brimming with 150 pieces of brave, bold and beautiful verse – from Sylvia Plath and Imtiaz Dharker to Maya Angelou and Carol Ann Duffy – it’s a fantastic curation that provides the perfect opportunity to dip into another world, for a few minutes at a time. That’s the uniquely lovely thing about poetry – it provides a neat invitation to step out of the busyness of our minds for just a moment or few, and got lost in another’s. Unlike the ongoing commitment to a novel, poetry has a dip in, dip out quality... but the experience is – intriguingly – even more memorable for it; a flash of feeling that gets under the skin, and often stays there.

To share your thoughts on She is Fierce, email us at [email protected] or comment on the blog, below. We’d love to know which poems resonate, and how they make you feel.


issue 52 bittersweet playlist

image: Taylor Hernandez

image: Taylor Hernandez

In issue 52, we explore bittersweetness. With endings that underscore new beginnings & a bit more sugar to take the edge off life’s frosty bite, it’s all about taking the rough with the smooth. The ‘soundtrack’ for the issue – put together with the help of former Maupa guitarist Patrick McKeown – does just that, too. Our oh bittersweet playlist: sweet tunes with a twist in the tale.

Take a listen here

oh hello issue 52 (+ win a one-off cover print)

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It’s here! Issue 52 of oh mag. Full of the good stuff we knit into our days in the most ordinary ways – the slow-cooked meal made from tasty scraps, a steaming sauna chased with a chilly sea dip to reawaken our humanness, a cure for endless comparison, and gentle rituals for darker days. This bittersweet issue takes the rough with the smooth – we dive into self-care for chronic illness, grief’s transformative journey, and the freedom we find when we break old, unhelpful familiar ties. And, because it’s winter, we consciously set out in search of life’s bubbling warmth too – with myriad wonderful new ways to be, do, play, and live life to the brim. As always, let us know what you think at [email protected] and if you’d like to pre-order your copy before it hits shelves on December 24th, you can do so here.

plus WIN a one-off print created by artist Jago Silver.

We’re working with artist Jago Silver to create a collection of cover illustrations for the next six issues. Jago, who lives in North Cornwall, creates thoughtful, inspiring and playful work. Our covers will create little images of life, reflecting the mood of the season, the wildness of nature, the easy wonder of taking a moment. You can win a one-off print of the cover which will be posted to you, ready for you to frame and hang on your wall.



Terms & conditions:
The competition closes at 11.59pm on 24 February 2020. A winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries after this time and notified shortly after. Full terms and conditions are at
icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Cover art © by Jago 2019

Cover print competition

 
 

WIN a one-off print created by artist Jago Silver.

We’re working with artist Jago Silver to create a collection of cover illustrations for the next six issues. Jago, who lives in North Cornwall, creates thoughtful, inspiring and playful work. Our covers will create little images of life, reflecting the mood of the season, the wildness of nature, the easy wonder of taking a moment. You can win a one-off print of the cover which will be posted to you, ready for you to frame and hang on your wall.

Terms & conditions:
The competition closes at 11.59pm on 24 December 2019. A winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries after this time and notified shortly after. Full terms and conditions are at
icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Cover art © by Jago 2019

Art for art’s sake

Lots of lovely art to see and a pretty stunning new tote bag, too?

We’re listening…

We can’t think of a better way to spend an autumn afternoon than trotting about town with a friend, getting a bit of a weekend art fix and stopping occasionally in a gallery café for a coffee and some highbrow (ahem) chat. There’s a whole world out there of ever-changing exhibitions of new artists to discover and old favourites to get excited about all over again. To help you make the most of all the art there is on offer and ferret out the best exhibitions and events near you, we think you should treat yourself to a National Art Pass. In short, it’s a passport to all the best art in all the best places, which gives you free entry to more than 240 museums, galleries and historic places across the country (including the Tate, the V&A and the Natural History Museum) as well as 50% off entry to all the biggest must-see exhibitions.

Whether you’re Team Ravillious or Team Rembrandt, are a fan of quilts or queer photography, there will be something to catch your eye and capture your heart wherever you are in the UK.

From the British Museum to Brighton Pavilion, Cardiff Castle to Kensington Palace, whether you’re in Perth or Penzance, weekends just got much more exciting. But because it’s all free, you can pop into a venue after work or on a lunchbreak any time you like. And what’s nicer than making an event of a spare 20 minutes?

Bag a beautiful bag, too

Now you’re talking. From 1-14 October this year, new National Art Pass members will also receive a completely FREE tote bag, with a stunning Malika Favre design, whose work you might recognise from The New Yorker and Vogue. Just enter the code MALIKA (what else?) at the checkout when you buy your art pass, and feel very pleased with yourself indeed.

 
 

Our issue 50 karaoke playlist

Image:   natasha smith

We’re 50 this issue – so, in our eyes, that means it’s time for a party. And what would be a party be without a spot of karaoke? In honour of the occasion, we’ve compiled some of our team’s favourite tunes. Whether you’re in public, in a car, or simply in your bedroom with a handy hairbrush/mic in hand, come join us in a good singsong…

Take a listen here.

Misshapes: the making of Tatty Devine

We’re long time Tatty Devine fans and have featured their super fun acrylic jewellery in our fashion shoots and on our pages since we launched. But can you believe it? They are celebrating 20 years of their iconically kitsch jewellery. Founders Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine set up a market stall in Spitalfields Market in the nineties! And now they are a force to be reckoned with and have challenged traditional jewellery conventions, we sat down to have a chat with the pair to find out how it all began...

Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden founders Tatty Devine © .jpg

We love what you do. Did you ever dare to believe that Tatty Devine would be what it is today when you set up your market stall 20 years ago? RW: We were ambitious, but to become artists rather than create an accessories brand. We were very much living in the present, enjoying ourselves, excited by what lay ahead of us, rather than deciding what that might be.

What first inspired you to create your iconic jewellery? And what other styles were around at that time? HV: We were inspired by making things to get dressed up in when we went out, we were avid collectors of 'stuff' but were never content with leaving it at home, so we'd wear it out – whether it was a macramé owl or a collection of key rings! 

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Styles around at the time were very much ’80s throwbacks, the Chloë style aviator glasses and Burberry was pretty hot – I had a bikini and Rosie had a vintage trench, tie and bucket hat!

Do you believe it is important to keep changing and recognising what is going on in the world when creating pieces? RW: Definitely, whatever you create is always a response to the world, whether in a subtle, zeitgeist way or a more overt political one. It can also be quite personal, but we're all affected by what’s going on in the world. Right now we’re working on a campaign for creativity called Make Your Future as craft and making have been affected so much by governmental policy makers in recent years.  Can you believe the number of students studying creative subjects has dropped 35% in the last ten years? Yet last year the creative industries contributed over £100 billion to the British economy, more than ever before.

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What has been your fave TD piece of all time? HV: It’s usually the one I haven't made yet. . . but the Arched Column Necklace from SS15 is a favourite, the pinkness really reminds me of the work I made at college.

RW: I wear the Parakeet Necklace a lot. I love the way it hangs and the array of different colours it comes in. It consistently gets more attention than anything else I'm wearing!

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Tell us more about why you wanted to mark 20 years of Tatty Devine with an exhibition and what can we expect? RW: Curating an exhibition of our work has been an ambition for a long time, if only to try and make sense of what we've done! Twenty years is an in interesting point in time as it's long enough to have witnessed meaningful change both personally and externally. We have witnessed such phenomenal shifts which have both enabled and hindered us as creatives and business owners.


What is your advice for young creatives who would like to launch a business in 2019? HV: Just do it! Start simply, don't feel compelled to have a fully formed and realised business from day one. Don't feel pressurised to come across as a glossy perfect brand. People like a sense of what's real, and it's important you grow with the business.


If you were a piece of jewellery what would you be, and why?
RW: Something red and plastic, like a ’70s bangle.
HV: When I die I want to be compressed into a diamond – so I guess I'd be a piece of diamond jewellery.

Misshapes: The Making of Tatty Devine, at Lethaby Gallery, 1 Granary Square, King's Cross, London N1C 4AA, from 20 July 2019-11 August 2019. Visit craftscouncil.org.uk








Exclusive: Watch Jesca Hoop perform new track Outside of Eden

Acclaimed American singer-songwriter Jesca Hoop releases her new album, Stonechild, on 5 July – and she’s giving Oh Comely readers a sneak preview with an exclusive live recording of her mesmerising track Outside of Eden.

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Featuring Kate Stables from This is the Kit as well as Jesca’s nephew Justis on vocals, the track is the folkiest offering on her forthcoming release – featuring her trademark finger-plucked guitar. 

The song represents one of Jesca’s biggest concerns: the effect of technology on young people and their increasing reliance on electronic devices. On the track, she sings: “Come shut in boys for the girlfriend experience, enter the code and I’ll taste real”.

Watch it here.

Stonechild is Californian-born Jesca’s fifth release and also features the talents of Rozi Plain and Lucius. The album title was inspired by a trip to a Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum, where the Stonechild is a sad display of an unborn foetus carried by a woman for over 30 years. “They become a hard ball of bones, a rock,” Jesca explains. “Phonetically, it's a beautiful sounding word – hard and soft – but also, I am taken by the idea of carrying something for a long time, perhaps in secret and then giving it up. I hope I have made an album of substance.”

Despite living in Manchester for more than a decade, Jesca normally records her music back in the States. This time, however, the recording took place in Bristol alongside renowned producer John Parish – best known for his work with PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding and This is the Kit . “It was time to step out of my comfort zone, my safe place,” she says. 

“Parish was a gentle collaborator – until he killed one of my darlings! I’ve never been so brutally edited, and I wasn’t shy about expressing my discomfort at the sight of my work on the cutting room floor… In some way, I think I actually enjoyed that treatment – being stripped back to the bare basics, albeit painfully.”

Jesca will be playing at a host of festivals in the UK and Europe over the summer, while she’s set to tour the UK in October. You can also read a full interview with her in our late summer issue.

Stonechild is released on Memphis Industries on 5 July. Her UK tour dates are:

01 Oct – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club

02 Oct – Bristol, Fiddlers

03 Oct – Manchester, HOME

04 Oct – London, Barbican

05 Oct – Cambridge, Storey's Field Centre

07 Oct – Gateshead, Sage

08 Oct – Liverpool, Leaf

09 Oct – Dublin, Soundhouse

11 Oct – Glasgow, Oran Mor

12 Oct – Edinburgh, Pleasance Theatre

13 Oct – Birmingham, Hare & Hounds

31 Oct – Oxford, The Bullingdon




Lee Krasner: Living Colour

Victoria Rodrigues O’Donnell visits Lee Krasner: Living Colour at the Barbican in London.

Lee Krasner, Springs NY, 1972 Photograph by Irving Penn The Irving Penn Foundation

Lee Krasner, Springs NY, 1972
Photograph by Irving Penn
The Irving Penn Foundation


The Barbican is currently showing the first European retrospective of Lee Krasner’s work in over half a century. From early self-portraits, to wartime window displays, charcoal life drawings and vast abstract paintings, the exhibition features almost 100 works spanning her lifetime, many of which are being shown in the UK for the first time. Forget the myth-making and violent splashes long-associated with Abstract Expressionism, here is an artist whose Modernist roots led to a career tenaciously experimenting with colour, shape and form.

Lee Krasner was born in 1908 to Russian parents who had emigrated to Brooklyn, New York. Like many other Eastern European immigrants at the turn of the century, Krasner’s family fled anti-Semitic violence and travelled to the United States in the hope of a better life. Although she could not pinpoint the origins of her desire to become an artist, Krasner was determined to forge an independent living from her art and had decided on doing so from a young age. In an interview, she recalled: ‘I made no economic demands on my parents so in turn they let me be… I was not pressured by them, I was free to study art.’


Lee Krasner  Self-Portrait , c. 1928 The Jewish Museum, New York. © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Courtesy the Jewish Museum, New York.

Lee Krasner Self-Portrait, c. 1928 The Jewish Museum, New York.
© The Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Courtesy the Jewish Museum, New York.

Krasner had places at a number of prestigious institutions, including Washington Irving High, the only school in New York at the time to teach art courses for girls, and the National Academy of Design. The development of both her self-portraits and life drawings from this period are one of the most important aspects of the exhibition. Not least because tutors often found her output mediocre or would refuse to believe she could paint something like Self-Portrait (c. 1928) at all. Perhaps the most significant influence on her was studying under Hans Hofmann during the late 1930s. Hofmann was a German artist who had known Picasso, Matisse and Georges Braque while working in Paris. As a result, Krasner was taught a Cubist framework that she both respected and resented, particularly his propensity for making suggestions or corrections directly onto a student’s work.  

The exhibition begins with Krasner’s series of ‘Little Images’, abstract works painted following her move to an area of East Hampton called Springs in 1945. These paintings aren’t quite the spontaneous, sweeping brush strokes associated with Abstract Expressionism. The application of paint feels minute, calculated and precise. The emerging patterns are reminiscent of those that Eduardo Paolozzi and Nigel Henderson would go on to make together ten years later. However, the most fascinating work in this section is Mosaic Table (1947). Consisting of mostly blues, oranges and greens, Krasner constructed the table top using coins, keys, broken glass and costume jewellery. The table sits proudly in the centre of the space – a stark difference to its origins as an old wagon wheel salvaged by Krasner during a bleak winter.

This tendency to collage or rework pre-existing creations runs throughout Krasner’s career and regarding this, she is known to have said: ‘I am not to be trusted around my old work for any length of time.’ When low and frustrated, Krasner had the habit of tearing up works – both old and unfinished – and repurposing them after a few weeks away from her studio. These new pieces, comprising of materials like torn newspaper, shreds of burlap and patches of paint, were shown to critical acclaim in 1955. Krasner would go on to do a similar series of pieces in the 1970s, this time using an old portfolio of life drawings from her time at the Hofmann school. Brightly coloured, large-scale works like Blue Level (1955) and Desert Moon (1955) have evolved into carefully composed shapes that slice across the canvas in a reinterpretation of her Cubist training.


Lee Krasner  Blue Level , 1955 Private Collection. © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Photograph by Diego Flores

Lee Krasner Blue Level, 1955
Private Collection.
© The Pollock-Krasner Foundation.
Photograph by Diego Flores

The rest of the show feels impassioned and urgent, as if an electric current runs through the canvases. Whether it’s the enormity of her ‘Night Journeys’, painted during a bout of insomnia following the death of her husband, or the eruption of colour and gesture in her ‘Primary Series’, Krasner engulfs the viewer. Paintings like Icarus (1964) and Siren (1966) are particularly dazzling once you’ve just been looking at the restrained palette in Polar Stampede (1960).

While visitors walk around the exhibition quietly contemplating the works on display, it’s only in the final section that you begin to hear a chorus of giggles erupt among the audience. They are all sat or stood around watching an archival film montage of interviews with Krasner. At a memorial held for her, the playwright Edward Albee said that Krasner ‘looked you straight in the eye, and you dared not flinch’. Upon seeing how sharp-tongued and direct Krasner is in these film clips, one leaves knowing exactly what Albee meant.

A number of critics have praised this long overdue recognition of Krasner’s place in the art historical canon, and yet in doing so, they have continued to discuss her work in relation to other, particularly male, Abstract Expressionists. Yet, I think the exhibition captures the sheer range and depth of her career in a way that couldn’t make her stand out more from her contemporaries, male or female. Looking back on her career, Krasner summed herself up perfectly: ‘I was a woman, Jewish, a widow, a damn good painter, thank you, and a little too independent…’


Lee Krasner: Living Colour is at the Barbican until 1 September 2019.

A chat with Doon Mackichan

Photo:  lize mccarron

Photo: lize mccarron

words: Holly Williams

A comedian and actor, Doon Mackichan has worked as a stand-up and in influential TV comedies such as The Day Today, Brass Eye and Smack the Pony. More recently, she’s appeared in Toast of London, Two Doors Down and Pure, and has given acclaimed performances on stage in Twelfth Night and Jumpy. She also sings vocals in the jazz quartet Sea Crow (hence the outfit…). Her latest role is in David Mamet’s new play Bitter Wheat, alongside John Malkovich.

What can you tell me about the play?

It’s about a Hollywood mogul – people will recognise Weinstein, but it’s also any controlling, predatory man at the top of his game. It looks at how he operates – and how he falls. I’ve got the difficult task of playing his wing-woman, his PA. I have to find out who I am, to have allowed certain things to slip through the net.

Although I was lucky enough to talk to a woman who had been [Weinstein’s] PA for a few years – and a lot of the women didn’t get involved in the hook-ups. They knew he was a sleazeball, but they say they didn’t really know the extent of his predatory nature.

Do you buy that? Or do you think they were deluding themselves?

I do buy it. They knew he was lecherous, but they never thought it was rape. I have to believe those women, in my heart. They were all very bullied people; not many people stayed a very long time.

Do you think that, with #MeToo, we’re seeing practices changing in what young actresses are expected to do in auditions or on set?

I remember when it broke, feeling a massive relief. There were so many unprotected actresses, I was almost thinking about going into drama schools and saying to girls: look, you do not need to do these nude scenes, you do not need to be standing on a table with your breasts out while 40 crew are walking around.

I think women are going to be able to say ‘I’m not very comfortable’ or ‘I don’t want to do that’ now. It just feels that a door has been opened, to not be seen as the difficult one if you say something. It’s the beginning of a sea change – I hope.

Is it something you’ve had direct experience of yourself?

I’ve always said no to nudity unless it was going to be a radical lesbian feminist film! If I’m working for a kickass woman, I’ll definitely get my tits out – but not for a horrible old sleazeball. I’ve been in quite a few auditions where I’ve said ‘well is this really necessary?’ and then there’s been a rolling of the eyes. I’ve said I wouldn’t be nude and then I get on set and I’m asked to drop a towel… I was pressured, made to feel like a prude.

And I’ve tended to keep away from storylines that involve violence against women unless it’s dealt with in an incredibly careful or different way. We don’t have to keep seeing it – we’ve seen enough! It’s so exhausting, so debilitating, so bad for your self-esteem. If men saw the amount of rape we see, they’d be like ‘oh fuck this, I’m not watching Game of Thrones, I’ve had enough’.

Going back to Bitter Wheat – some people have raised their eyebrows at a #MeToo story being told by a male writer…

I think it’s really important for women to tell their story – they should be commissioned. But Mamet is Mamet and he’s written it very quickly and he’s got a play on. It’s definitely the man’s story – but it looks at why he got away with it, how he operates: buying the critics, treating the writers like shit, bullying all his staff, hitting on young actresses… It’s about control and power.

Yes, it would be great if a woman had written it. But she hasn’t. So until a woman has written a play about it, we need to celebrate that it’s a really important story that needs to be told, now. I hope it gets all the conversations going, and makes people at the top go: ‘Christ, I can’t get away with that.’

What’s the tone of the play – is it a comedy?

I’m glad I’m going to be in the room, they probably hadn’t bargained for me! Because it is all down to tone, isn’t it? There’s humour in it – but it’s humour about a man who is flailing, and losing his grip. And that can be funny. But I know there was some controversy about it being referred to as a farce. There’s nothing farcical about rape. It’s not the subject of farce. That’s not anything I would be involved in, and if I feel uncomfortable with the way the story is being told I will make myself very clear. And if I’m very uncomfortable, I won’t do it.

You auditioned with David Mamet. What is he like?

I really liked him a lot. I thought he was a real powerhouse, he had great humour. I liked his no-nonsense direction – and I thought I would be able to say what I wanted. So fingers crossed it does go down the right road.

Do you think that laughter is a good way of taking on some of the more horrific things in our society?

Well, I’ve done ‘the most offensive television programme ever made’, the [2001] Brass Eye paedophile special! After that I was blanked, I couldn’t go to [collect my children from] school for a while. But when we’re dealing with taboos, it’s all down to the tone. We agreed, Chris Morris and me, that the way paedophilia was sexualised by Fiona Bruce on Crimewatch was just unacceptable: this sexy way of talking about it with a husky voice and a raised eyebrow and lip-gloss. It was really important to skewer it.

And laughter is also a good way of going ‘god almighty, that’s awful’. But it’s a fine line, to not make it just light or ridiculous – or to be at the expense of the female.

Do you feel like the nineties was a particularly important time for comedy?

We just had our 25-year reunion for The Day Today. It made us feel very old – but what a gang. We just a happened to be put in a room and told to start improvising. We did On the Hour for the radio and then that turned into The Day Today and then that turned into Alan Partridge – it was just this ball rolling. It was more open to letting people experiment, and giving people money, then.

Do you think the fact that comedy was seen as a man’s world affected how Smack the Pony was perceived?

We’d all been feeds for male shows for years. It was great to make the straight women the funny women – to turn it on its head, everything we hated about male sketch shows. We just made our own set of rules.

Really French and Saunders were the only other female comics at the time and it was bit like ‘oh well, we won’t get anyone else.’ Same when I was on the [stand-up] circuit – they’d say ‘sorry, we’ve already got Jenny Éclair’. Sadly, it’s still pretty much the same, after 30 years.

Why do you think that is?

I don’t know, it’s terrible. Every woman I know pleads and begs me to bring Smack the Pony back, because there’s not been enough like it, to take its place. It’s still the most ridiculous battle. There are women on the circuit, they’re just not on telly.

Do you get stage fright doing a play – or has stand-up cured you of that?

Stand-up has cauterised every nerve in my body. When you’ve done that in the Tramshed in Woolwich in front of 250 squaddies, nothing will scare you.


Bitter Wheat is at the Garrick Theatre, 7 June till 14 September

Inside the Sarabande Foundation...

Behind the doors of a very nondescript building behind the canals of Haggerston in east London is the Sarabande Foundation. More than 20 years ago, the foundation was set up by famed fashion designer, Lee Alexander McQueen as space for creative minds to work. Named after McQueen’s 2007 Spring/Summer collection, the foundation provides scholarships to students, as well as being a physical space to house artist studios. When you visit, you find McQueen’s personal art collection scattered throughout the building. The foundation also offers its artists mentoring, peer-to-peer support, workshops and a gallery space to show off their work. On a bright spring morning, we sat down with four of the foundation’s brightest creatives to get a glimpse into their working worlds.

You can read about them in our latest issue, and you can meet footwear designer, Kristina Walsh below.

Kristina Walsh. Photo by Kristy Noble

Kristina Walsh. Photo by Kristy Noble

There’s something poetic about shoes and the idea that they walk you through life. They affect how you move in your environment. I trained as a footwear designer and, while studying, I saw an exhibition that featured a prosthetic leg and my mind was blown. I knew that’s what I wanted to work with because essentially it’s a shoe. The way that something looks really affects how people feel about their bodies. It will become a part of her wardrobe and the beauty of the design must be considered. 

There are so many different emotional experiences to losing a limb and when working with an amputee there are a lot of big issues you’re working with. You have to involve the person who you’re designing for because you’re designing a part of their body and life. I am working with a performer named Erin, who is an amputee, and it was so incredible watching her try on my designs for the first time. Emotionally, it was indescribable – it will be part of her. We started with two prototypes carved from wax that she chose from. You have to consider everything from how tall they’ll be to how heavy. Once the final design is chosen, they’ll then be made from carbon fibre. I’m working with other disabled and non-disabled dancers and performers who have adapted their practices to suit new movement. My designs have to be functional, so it’s a really specific way to work when you’re designing for people who have to dance. This practice makes you think about how you use footwear. 

A lot of my work is not just about physically connecting people, but emotionally too. I also design jewellery and even when I design rings I want there to be an element of feeling and touch about them. I learnt how to work with jewellery from my Sarabande neighbour James so being here really helps you work across disciplines.

Meet three other creative women from the foundation in our latest issue

Young, tattooed and black

Here in the Oh Comely office, we have been devouring Candice Carty-Williams’ debut novel, Queenie, darkly comic, we were with Queenie every step of the way. Here author Candice tells us about her first tattoo…

Photo by Lily Richards

Photo by Lily Richards

At 22, I suddenly decided that my life would be better if I got a tattoo. I knew absolutely nothing about them, so popped into the dodgy parlour round the corner from the my house that still exists and, to this day, has never had another customer but me. I walked in, was hit by the smell of weed, neither of the men who ran it looked at me and, after asking if I could have the outline of a heart on my stomach, one of them printed out one of those literal old school Microsoft Word heart templates and buzzed that onto my stomach. Now that I think about it, that parlour was potentially a front for drug dealing but I’m no snitch so refuse to comment further or give away the location.

I had to hide this tattoo from my nan, head matriarch, because I’m the first person in my family to get any tattoos. When she eventually saw it, she kissed her teeth and said, “if you were going to ruin your skin you should have gone bigger than that.” Challenge accepted. Not put off by my terrible first experience but ever-so-slightly wiser, my second tattoo was properly researched, thought about – I had a consultation and everything – and went to a legit parlour on Frith Street.

Two day later I stayed at my nan’s, hiding tattoo number two because I wanted to present it when it was fully healed, but the jig was up. I found this out when I was trying to eat my toast. “Can?” She called from upstairs. “Yes?” I answered, expecting to be asked to do one of a hundred chores she had lined up for me. “What’s this in the bed?” she shouted down. “What?” I asked as I walked up the stairs. “Show me,” she said, not looking at me, but instead looking at the black and red tattoo scabs that had peeled off in the night. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” I asked, holding out an arm. And that’s how we both almost fell down the stairs and broke our necks, as she chased me round the house – an exciting and legendary day in the Williams household.

To celebrate a break-up and my freedom, having heard about an amazing tattoo artist in Shoreditch, I went for a consultation with a picture of a castle that was maybe the size of your average post-it note and, two weeks later, left with one covering my entire thigh. The tattoo artist mentioned that most castles have names, and wondered what I’d call mine – we had a lot of time to talk, as this one took four hours. “What’s your middle name?” I asked her. “Elizabeth,” she said. “And my surname is Taylor.” Thus, all are welcome to visit Elizabeth Taylor Castle on my right thigh.

When I went to LA a few years ago, there was a tattoo parlour near the place I was staying that looked exactly like an LA tattoo parlour should look, so I basically ran inside, lifted up my shirt to show my first tattoo and said, “I think it’s time to cover this up” and, never one to go small (at my nan’s loose suggestion), had a four-hour session with a tattoo artist who also happened to be the lead singer of a rock band. It was the most American experience of my life to date. He would keep saying “tell me when it’s, like, feeling gnarly?” and said “right on” and high-fived me when he asked whose name I’d like in the new sailor banner he’d just inked on my stomach and I said “Candice”.

My current favourite tattoo is my latest one, SOUTH on my left arm. Again, probably too big. So much research went into this one; I asked a friend who knows loads about fonts what the best one to use for this tattoo would be, and he said, instantly, “Uh, how about the one designed specifically for south London street signs?” It doesn’t really get better than that, does it? Especially as I get to explain that fact to every single person who asks what it means, or to every family member who trolls me by hilariously saying “Is that in case you forget where you’re from?” as though they haven’t all heard each other say it before.

I’m planning my next tattoos as I write this. I have no idea what they’ll be yet but I can guarantee they’ll be big, they’ll be meticulously planned, and they’ll either get me chased around a house or targeted for bants in the family group chat.

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Queenie is published by Trapeze and is out now.

Stocksy – curated with love

Stocksy is so much more than an image library. Its website is home to a curated selection of royalty-free photographs, illustrations and videos that have changed our expectations about what stock images can do. They’re also a co-operative believing in creative integrity, fair profit sharing, and co-ownership – every voice is heard.

We'll be meeting some Stocksy artists over the coming months to find out more. Next up is Jessica Woodhouse, who’s based in Portland, Oregon. (You can also meet Liliya Rodnikova here)

What are your favourite colours to work with? I love using warm colours and earth tones because I feature nature in my illustrations. I feel like it gives my work an organic and relaxed feeling. That being said, I’ll use bold colours and pastels when the mood strikes.

What inspires you? So many things bring me inspiration! I have a lot of strong, supportive women in my life who I represent in my work. I love vintage style and try to incorporate vintage fashion and objects into my drawings. Riding my bike around Portland, which connects me to my surroundings in a completely different way, has been a source of endless creativity. Leaving town for a few days of solitude in nature has always been something that gives me clarity and new ideas.

What is the creative scene like in Portland? I moved to Portland about four years ago and it’s been the perfect place for me to focus on growing my business. I’ve found the creative community here to be very supportive of each other, especially women supporting other women. I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for the network of creative friends that helped me get established as an artist.

The laws surrounding cannabis use are very different in Portland to over here in the UK and we’ve noticed you like to feature it in your work… I think the stigma surrounding marijuana is quickly fading away and I want to represent it in my work because I believe it’s important to normalise its use. I live on a street with more cannabis dispensaries than coffee shops. It’s everywhere, it’s commonplace, and that’s great for everyone in the community.

How do you get past the fear of a blank page? Sitting down at a blank page can be so overwhelming! It’s easy for me to brainstorm and develop a sketch when I have to work within certain parameters. When I am starting from scratch I like to pick a narrow topic like riding a bike, traveling, cooking dinner with friends, etc. I’ll sketch out four to five scenes and, inevitably, I’ll see potential in one of them. From that point, I’ll dive into the deeper process of creating a final piece. When I limit the possibilities it’s much easier to focus.

What creative project would you like to work on next? I would love to continue developing my animation skills and eventually work on creating a series of videos with sound effects and music.

And your dream commission? I would love to create more illustrations to accompany stories for newspapers and magazines, especially more animated gifs that can be used within online publications. Most people, including myself, are getting their news and magazines digitally these days and I can imagine there will be loads of opportunities to create animations specifically for an online audience.

What materials do you use in your illustration? My illustrations are created digitally. I use an iPad, Procreate, and Photoshop to create all of my work. It’s so easy to draw anywhere, wherever I'm travelling. If I'm at home and I have only 20 minutes, I can get on the computer and jump into my work right away. That said, I love painting with gouache when I have the time and the space because nothing beats working with physical materials.

Stocksy: stock photography + cinematography, made with love






The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey

In a brief pause on her whistle-stop book-signing tour, our book club editor Terri-Jane Dow caught up with author Samantha Harvey over a cup of tea in a bookshop basement to talk about Samantha’s new novel The Western Wind, covering story structures to how faith and secrets vie for power in the tiny 15th-century parish of Oakham.

Samantha Harvey, photo by Matt Lincoln

Samantha Harvey, photo by Matt Lincoln

The Western Wind, a novel told backwards, looks at faith and power in a tiny 15th-century parish. Oakham’s wealthiest resident, Thomas Newman, is seen floating in the river on Shrove Tuesday, four days after his disappearance. A Lent visit from the Dean means that Oakham’s priest, John Reve, needs to find the murderer, when there perhaps isn’t one, and needs the Dean to leave before he finds anything more disturbing going on. Samantha Harvey’s latest novel is not a who-dunnit, but a why-dunnit and, by moving the focus from what could have been a straight detective novel, the result is something far more absorbing.

Terri-Jane: What drew you to write about this 15th-century village?
Samantha: What came before anything else was an abstract idea about wanting to write about confession. I went for a walk, and the concept, and the character of John Reve, the parish’s priest, came to me, and the idea of the story going backwards. Then I had to find a time and a place for it. I wanted it to be a time where confession was the social norm, and I ended up, really against my better judgement, in the late 15th century. I wanted the village to be somewhere that was on a potential trade and pilgrim route, but couldn’t exploit that because it didn’t have a bridge. So I looked at a map and invented Oakham. I could tell you exactly where on a map it is, but it’s not there.

T: The structure of the novel was so compelling. Why did you tell the story backwards?
S: I hadn’t meant to write a reverse narrative. I felt like it was a bit gimmicky, but it had come to me so solidly that when I tried to do it the other way, it wouldn’t work. I thought that I could take the readers expectations and subvert them, and make them less interested in the what and more in the why. As a reader, I’m not that interested in the gasps or the big reveal, but the workings of the human heart and mind are endlessly complex and endlessly renewing themselves.

T: There’s a sense Oakham is within reach of progress, but just can’t get to it. Reve supports the idea of a bridge, but he still wants to stay at the centre of the village, and he can’t have both.
S: Reve wants Oakham to modernise and thrive and flourish, but not if that threatens his position of power in any way. I wanted him to be a character who behaved as most of us would behave. Medieval priests would have this enormous power and trust from their parishioners, but also have immunities. You can’t go to Hell, you probably aren’t going to even go to Purgatory. Why would you ever want to lose that status? It’s your ultimate insurance against a sorry afterlife.

T: The book describes a ritual where Reve has to stand at one end of a boat and one of his parishioners at the other end, so that he can be weighed against a ‘regular man’. Even though it’s theatre to the extent that the other man has stones in his pockets, there’s a flicker of doubt in him that he’ll pass the test.
S: It must have been a peculiar thing. He will have known, as all priests of course know, that they are just like other men; they’re flesh and blood; they’re not halfway to the angels. At the same time they must really have believed that they were the mouthpiece for God. What a strange paradoxical position to always be in. The idea of the whole thing being a theatre that you have to play along with, but you also have to believe in it as if it weren’t theatre.

T: There’s a running theme through the book of the power that the church has in the village; before Thomas Newman’s death, he’s been away travelling and come back with some strange ideas, like that maybe he doesn’t need a priest.)
S: I wanted to look at that question of grief and loss, but also to look at divine power and how that was rationalised. That entirely Catholic society of the 15th century was very complete. If you would abide by it, the church gave you everything. It was your religion, it was the safety of your soul, or your body, of your afterlife. It was your insurance and your education. If your priest was trustworthy and cared for his parish, it was quite a complete system. But if you wanted to ask questions, or bypass your priest, it didn’t work so well.

T: The visiting Dean brings a much stricter version of that faith with him. He starts out as an unlikeable figure, but by the end, you realise that he just knows about some things that shouldn’t be going on.
S: I never saw the Dean as a nasty character, but I wanted him to come across like that in the beginning. His and Reve’s character arcs form a cross, and the Dean goes up in your estimations as Reve loses some grace. That’s the way we all are: complicated and flawed. Telling the story backwards meant I could tell the story from where they ended up, and then reveal things about them. I wanted to play with the effect that time has on a character. It was also quite fun, for the first time in my writing life, to write a villainous character. All of this is from Reve’s point of view, so of course his interest is in depicting the Dean as an adversary. And then we see that the Dean has more depth to him.

T:  Reve justifies his actions as protecting Oakham, when really he’s just saving himself.
S: There’s the dual side of his character as man versus priest, but he’s also a self-centered individual and a person who has genuine compassion for his parish. Without a strong priest, a parish would be quite vulnerable. He’s caught between those two sides; for himself over a parish which is being corroded by a threat to his status. It’s not just his job; if he’s no longer needed as a priest, then does that mean he’s no longer safeguarded? Everything is at stake for him.

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The Western Wind (Vintage) is out now

Eventually, by Emma Laird

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We worked with model Emma Laird, from Models 1, in our sustainable fashion story for issue 42, take a peek here. We’re thrilled that Emma has just written her first novel: Eventually,. Here’s an extract and interview with Emma about her inspiration.

We ate salt and vinegar crisps here. We talked and laughed with the old locals who had their regular seats around the room. Through the alcove to my left led into a small room taken up by a pool table and rack of old cues of different sizes. There were still holes in the ceiling where I had, on numerous occasions, punctured with my cue in light anger at my defeat, to which the owner had always laughed off while his Jack Russell had run to collect the falling dust with his tongue. 

It felt wrong coming here alone as if the place had turned sad in our absence – or my presence, alone. I finished my drink and left with a goodbye to a girl I did not know behind the bar. I took one last look at the outside, with its beautiful brickwork and arched doorway, and the windows that were so poxy you might question why they were there. So much character deserved to hold such memories. I didn’t think I would ever return here, so I smiled and turned my back on another one of my favourite places. 

If her touch were a sound 
it would be 
the soft crisp crunching of leaves 
amongst the silent of the forest
it would be
the glide of fingers
over the finest of silks
the rustle of sheets 
masking the natter of morning birds
the delicate crackle of a cigarette 
as you inhale its fumes 
and see the red burn dance downwards
chasing your clutched fingers
what if you still crave something more 
if crisp sheets and cigarettes aren't enough
to mask what was before
you might hope her touch 
to be more like
the jab of a needle 
the burn of your throat at the passing of whisky 
the fading pain of a hit to your hip bone
from some hiding furniture
the breeze floating around the wound
 of a scab that you just reopened 
opened 
opening 

-Sacrificial 


Tell us about novel? Who are the main characters? The main character is Kora. It’s the telling of how she meets her boyfriend (Bryce, a musician) during a summer of English music festivals. Then while working in Utah, she falls in love with a woman named Grace and has this seemingly impossible task of deciding what to do – trying to follow her heart and not hurt anyone in the process.

While you might say it’s a romantic novel, it’s better described as a story of self acceptance, of learning to be okay with your own company and your own thoughts. Kora realises you can’t use these exterior things (relationships) as distractions from that. 

The book is written in first person, how did you become the character in your novel when writing it? I find it much easier not to judge the character when I’m writing in first person. It felt really authentic while writing, I found it easy to keep her character traits consistent. Though I must admit, the main character is a lot like me in the way she thinks, not how she is perceived, but definitely how she thinks. The book is almost a vent for my thoughts that maybe I’m a little ashamed of. I shielded myself, I used those thoughts but changed them into Kora’s – I turned them into fiction. It let me offload. I could write almost like I would in a diary. 

So in a way, it’s autobiographical? Definitely. I think why I’m so happy with this book is because I’ll pick it up in five years’ time, read a poem or a chapter and be reminded of a moment in my life. Not a lot of what happens in the book literally happened to me, but it stemmed from something which I used as fuel to evoke the emotions into the plot. It’s very personal while also being hidden behind the story – I love that, the mystery in people still not knowing what bits are from my life, but getting that really raw and personal reading experience. 

Tell us about the process of writing your novel? I’d already written bits of fiction with no real motive. As something to do, usually while travelling – me and a friend would write bits and talk of book plot ideas, send extracts back and forth and have fun with it. I am a model, so I am on my own a lot – that was my go-to boredom killer. With this book, I was thinking a lot about a past relationship, I was yearning this perfect guy in my life and so I created him in this book – with all the best qualities and moments from past experiences with boys. I was releasing that nostalgia of my past relationships and little personal moments that could otherwise be forgotten.

Where do you like to write? I wrote the novel in a coffee shop in Crystal Palace below my apartment. I went almost every day and wrote little bits. In fact, I was writing this book when I shot a story with Oh Comely last year, but at that point I still didn’t know it would be a book.

Top tips for writer's block?

There are three things I’ve found found really help: 

 1. Going for a walk, preferably at night, sometimes with music, sometimes without is good to really address your thoughts and take in your surroundings. That usually leads to some messy writing in my notes page until I get back home to my laptop. 

2. Hanging with close friends. The ones where you have those deep chats about random things like aliens and the future. In January, when the book was pretty much done, I spent time in Devon with my friend shooting a film there and we chatted for a while in the dark of her attic before sleeping. That stuck with me so much that I added that into a scene with Kora and Grace in Utah. My friends should be careful of what they say I guess, it might just end up in a book.. 

3. Reading. The Shining, weirdly, has been a really big help in writing. Stephen King’s similes and metaphors are beautiful, he gives you such a vivid view in your head of the story, and that was something I really wanted to replicate. Reading different authors is important too, to learn their different styles of writing. My NY resolution was to read a book a month.

Did you enjoy writing the book? Was the process as you imagined it would be? I loved it. I really did. It was so therapeutic. This past month was a bit technical and pressured with getting it out there and making sure everything’s perfect. I’m still absolutely petrified for people to read it. But I also know that there are some really beautiful moments in there, I hope people can take something from this book about being content in life, with themselves and their own thoughts for company. 

Would you write another? For sure. I’m excited to really challenge myself with a different genre and style of writing. I want to write third person, outside of the world that I know. I already have so many ideas, I’m at that really exciting stage, anything can happen... 

You can order Emma’s book Eventually, from Amazon.