Mina Braun is an illustrator from Germany who is living and working in Edinburgh. We've been admiring her dream-like work for a while now so we asked her to put her sketchpad aside and pen a few thoughts about what inspires her and makes her tick.

For more of Mina's wonderful art and whimsy, check out her blog or website.

What are your memories of drawing as a child?

Making up characters and inventing exciting stories for them. I remember a princess called Elisabeth, she had an amazing dress on. For a while I used to hide all my drawings under the sofa, but luckily I got rid of that habit.

Where are the spaces you draw most productively?

I like drawing in my studio-space as it is usually quiet there and I can spread myself out. Sometimes I draw from the desk at home or the kitchen table. I also really like going sketching outside, in pubs, cafes or in the streets.

Tell us about your upcoming exhibition at Red Door Gallery.

It is a collection of original screen prints, larger than my usual work and very colourful. For me, all the images are connected by the theme of dream-like states of the mind, hence the title Time to Wonder. I like using repetitive imagery of leaves, trees and birds and to use those as a symbolism for the emotional state of my characters.

What websites do you scroll through to seek inspiration?

I don't research the Internet as much as I probably should do. I mostly use it to look up particular artists I have seen somewhere or blogs people recommend to me. I always receive the updates from Pikaland and I like the work you can find on there.

Tell us something about you that very few people know.

I have a secret dream of being a fantastic violin player and playing in an orchestra. I don't think anybody knows this!

What are your best-loved fairy tales or folk tales?

I recently read the Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and also the Fairy Tales by Hermann Hesse, and absolutely loved both. One of my favourite books is the German novel Krabat, which is based on German folklore and I am a big Tolkien fan. I really like the Scottish tales Tam Lin and Molly Whuppie as well as The 7 Ravens by the brothers Grimm.

How does life in Scotland compare to life in Germany?

There's good and not so good bits about both places. Here in Scotland you have the most amazing and vast landscape right in front of your doorstep, whilst living in Germany it is easier to visit foreign places by car or train. And we do have proper summers there! I love German children's book illustration, whilst here I enjoy how illustration is more respected as an actual art form.

Do you get your inspiration more from old stories and books or online?

More than researching online I like looking out for unusual, contemporary picture books. I absolutely love the work you can see every year at the Bologna Book Fair, as a lot of the work there is very experimental and challenging. I also saw an exhibition of Lithuanian children's book illustration from the last century in Bologna this year and that absolutely blew me away. I am very interested in picture books that don't seem to be solemnly geared at children, but address people any age and I also find books and kids' TV programmes from the 70's hugely inspiring.

You might remember seeing Crista Leonard's photography in issue four of oh comely. She's a portrait and fashion photographer based in Barcelona and London, whose images are frequently set amongst mountains, beaches or cities like Berlin. We caught up with her to ask about life as a photographer.

What is one of the most challenging situations you've experienced as a photographer?

Weather. You can normally make it work in some way, but on a shoot for the cosmetics company Les Ettes on the French coast last June, we had heavy rain and dark clouds all week. We all ended up with cabin fever and our filmer got so depressed that he holed himself up in his room to read poetry. I'd also say that being a photographer is a challenge in itself. You are your own business and you have to be constant, however bleak the situation may seem.

What photographers do you admire?

Old school photographers like William Eggleston, Diane Arbus or Saul Leiter are obvious classics. I like more modern photographers like Larry Clarke, Ryan Mc Ginley, Tim Barber, Yelena Yemchuk. I like a lot of snowboarding and skate photos and blogs have a wealth of photography that just seems to get better and better. My friend Angeles Peña is also incredibly talented, you should check her out.

What's the camera of your dreams?

A large format camera. One day ...

Photo: A image from Crista's shoot for oh comely, issue four

You recently spent some time in Berlin, how did you find the city?

I love Berlin. In fact, I love it so much that I think I'll move there next summer for a couple of months. Berlin summers are electric; the whole city breathes with life, art, music. It's one of the only places left in the world that isn't so structured and as a result it feels free.

What are you reading at the moment?

I was reading Franny and Zooey by J. D Salinger, because The Catcher in the Rye was one of my favourite novels in my teens, but I haven't engaged with it as much. I'm in California right now so I want to get a copy of Jack Kerouac's Big Sur, and then go to Big Sur. What a cliché!

You can see more of Crista's work over at Element Eden, or on her website. 

All images © Crista Leonard

If you're interested in the history of the Middle East, why not take a trip to the Bidoun Library in Hyde Park's Serpentine Gallery.  

It's a curious library-in-a-museum curated by New York based Bidoun Magazine, a fantastic publication which promotes Middle Eastern art and culture. They've installed a library at the Gallery that allows you to explore the Middle East's history of printed matter.

Photo: Bidoun Library, Installation view, Serpentine Gallery, London © 2011 Sebastiano Pellion

There's a real plethora of publications on show from popular fiction, illustrated children's books, 1960's political pamphlets to more recent publications documenting the upheavals of present day.

I particularly enjoyed this variety, finding myself skimming the illustrated pages of a child's book, looking at a radical Marxist publication and then reading a teenage magazine.

The collection has a user-friendly layout that allows you to take your time, browse and absorb a selection of texts. It's an eclectic and visually stimulating show, and together the publications make for a beautiful display in their own right.

Photo: Fantastic Four, Fasaud Marvel Comics 1987

The Bidoun Library is free and open at the Serpentine Gallery until the 17th September.

I went on holiday recently. It was the kind of getaway that was very planned. Actually, it was timetabled on a colour-coded spreadsheet. Which was useful, considering the distances we were traveling, but it also killed the joy of exploring the remotest parts of the UK. 

So when I read about Experimental Tourism in the well-designed zine FAQNP, I was happy to discover a method of travel that didn't depend on a spreadsheet.

Experimental Tourism is a way of traveling where you follow odd-ball rules to plan your journey. The Laboratory of Experimental Travel, or Latourex, is a dictionary of such ideas and rules. They are certain to transform your holiday.

Photo: Lomography's Photohuggers 

An example would be Counter Travel, where you: "Travel with a camera, but don't take pictures of the famous landmarks and tourist attractions. Stand with your back to the sight and snap that view instead."

My particular favourite is Insider Travel: "Explore a place following the suggestions of the locals. Do exactly what they say. Try doing this in your home town, on the pretence that you are a foreigner." Now there's an excellent plan for a mini-holiday.

The wittily entitled exhibition Break a Lead, features the work of recent Illustration graduates from the University of the West of England.

We're excited about the show, because amongst the exhibitors are two of our talented contributors: Jacob Stead and Katie Harnett. 

Photo: Jacob Stead's entry for the 2011 Art of Nuture competition

Photo: Katie Harnett's Valentine's Day illustration

So pop along, dodge the dodgy weather and check out some of the burgeoning talent on the illustration scene. Also, keep a look out for Jacob and Katies' work in the forthcoming issue seven of oh comely. 

Break a Lead takes place at The Gallery in Redchurch Street, Shoreditch in East London and opens tonight at 7pm. 

The oh comely team set off bright and early from London last weekend for the Festival of the Nine Muses. 

We set up an oh comely tea tent, complete with board games, scones and cake. Lots of Teapig's tea was drunk, including their strange but delicate tasting liquorice and peppermint blend. We also had a magazine library, with a selection of indie publications from Stack, such as Inventory and Teller magazines.

The Festival celebrates Greek drama, so there were plenty of classically inspired events throughout the day, and also nine real-life muses who roamed around the Festival wearing togas.

Music came from Johnny Flynn (whose baby son was spotted bobbing up and down in the audience), Marques Toliver, Chicago based Filligar, and the Shtetl Superstars. Poetry readings took place in the intimate Walled Gardens and Theatre Borscht put in an appearance too.

The day was enjoyed by all, bringing sunshine and then sunburn along with it. Later on, we pitched our tents and enjoyed a dance or two.

You can have a look at some more pictures from the weekend over on our Flickr page. 

When I was child, my parents would never let me eat peanut butter and jam in the same sandwich. My mother would say, "When I was a child, we weren't allowed peanut butter and butter in the same sandwich, so you're certainly not allowed peanut butter and jam. How ridiculous to want two fillings at once!" And that was that.

So I still have never tried the PBJ. And this got me thinking: what about all the things other people wished they could do as children, but never had the chance? How would be it to go back and try them now?

So here's your challenge: 

- Think of something you fantasised about doing as a child, but have never done.

- Have a go at it. Not if it was something like having a pet baby tiger, please. But licking out the cake mixture, using fake ID and making mud pies are all fine by us.

- Tell us about it - the text can be as short as you like, as long as you had a go.

We'll feature some of the stories in issue 7 and the rest will be serialised on the blog. If you'd like yours to be considered for issue 7, please email it to me ([email protected]) by Friday 15th.

Photo: Derrick Coetzee.

 

It's no secret we rather love Clare Owen's work. We've posted some of her illustrations previously, and you can see her work in issue six of oh comely.

One reason I admire Clare's illustrations, is that she's always on an adventure with her artistic mediums. It's easy to follow the old mantra of "If it ain't broke don't fix it", particularly when you find one medium or style which works for you. But flicking through the pages of her blog, you'll find images created in pencil, watercolour, collage, brush and ink. Yet each retains her distinctive style and tone. Her illustrations have an air of heady femininity, which references antique stuffed boudoirs, wistful beauties and old French films.

She has recently joined the gang at Snap, a Print Collective based in Bristol. I'm excited to see the outcome of her foray into screenprinting. In the meantime you can find her illustrative prints in her etsy store.