In 2008-2009 during my final year at University, facing the terror of leaving a course into a recession world where we had been told we would never get jobs as illustrators and artists I began to draw an autobiographical comic daily inspired by James Kolchalka’s American Elf. This would culminate at my final show in a Bayeux tapestry inspired vast artwork that told the story of my very difficult first year at University.

The comics varied from small strips to several pages and many of the things I talked about were things I expect many soon to graduate folks, especially those with the looming threat of returning to NE feel or felt in the 00’s. Too poor to stay where I’d built a network, too distant from the sector to make any inroads. Mostly they tell the stories of being a young working class woman, trying to navigate that terrifying cliff edge.

I dabbled with bringing this back, writing occasional strips through the early stages of motherhood and most recently the loss of our beloved Patterdale Terrier as a means to explore my own inner monologue, to tell stories I thought others might need to hear.

I hope to do more when the mood strikes me.

Here’s roughly what I wrote in 2008 when I began:

As an exercise to both try and make me a little less demented and to improve my characterisation and comic booking skills Will suggested I should try making a diary of my days in comic book form. I pointed out the fact that my life was hardly interesting...but I thought what the hell...I can try. This is the blog for that comic.

To begin with they were very rough, though I'm getting better at it now. Trust me I can draw a lot better when I think about the drawings but these are very quick sketches or else I forget the story (this is essentially how I storyboard XD). If I like particular stories I'll likely redraw them!

Anyway...Enjoy!