its so funny that i rarely talk about music on the draw! pilgrim blog, and yet in reality it plays a very big part in my life. since i was about 13 i’ve been quite obsessive about music. expanding my tastes and finding new favorite bands are one of my life’s greatest pleasures. as a teenager i’d spend all my time in my room making mix tapes (when there were tapes) for long suffering friends. curating each playlist, carefully charting the arc of the tape’s mood, hand making covers and cases and most importantly making sure there were no bits of songs cut off at the end of the tape.

i longed for the time when i’d be finished with school for good and could spend the rest of my adult life making mixtapes, i mean, that’s a job right? well, alas, real life intervened with my grand plans for full time professional mixtapery and though i enjoy throwing together a playlist and whipping up a cover in illustrator it just isn’t the same, is it? ten years ago i sent my boyfriend a lovingly minted david bowie mixtape that think i might owe our whole relationship to!

when i’d run out of school friends to make mixes for, i went further afield. i made mixes to post to new found internet friends, friends who lived in exotic and exciting locations like hull, in england (when visiting hull later, i discovered it wasn’t nearly as exotic or exciting as i’d dreamed) and in return i’d get mixes back from them. on the whole it was mostly bands i listened to already, i poured over uk music magazines like they contained hidden clues to the secret of life, so by that point i felt like i’d exhausted the britpop /post punk/etc. just as i was about to move onto avant garde jazz or grindcore metal, my friend dominic sent me a tape. he told me it was made by his flat mate, and he thought i’d like it. it didn’t have a name and it didn’t have a case.

‘like’ is probably the greatest understatement possible. i’m not sure i listened to anything but that tape for at least 6 months. it was like being ushered into a radio station of my favorite music that i’d never heard before. i took it to school and listened to it secretly in class. i slept with it on repeat. the tape got jammed in my player, and so i took it to the audio studio and bribed the technician with custard tarts until he agreed to magically restore its life. this tape was the lynch pin of my adolesence. it was the seed from which all current musical taste has grown. am i making myself clear enough? i really loved the tape!

i can’t send every one of you a mix tape – postage and law suit costs make it kinda prohibitive (remember kids: home taping is killing music!) – but i want to share some of my favorite music with you. so, i guess consider this part one of an (in)frequent mixtape feature. part one, my teenage bedroom top five, part inspired by that precious mix tape. if you’re interested in any of the songs, click the link below the album covers to find out more.

album: london weekend by another sunny day

song: i’m in love with a girl (who doesn’t know i exist)

i hope you enjoy this modern day mix tape. we don’t even have a tape player anymore, except in the car – which i can’t drive, but i still have my precious tape. there’s a jump in the middle of two of the songs where the tape got chewed, then healed by ron-the-magic-technician. the label i put on it has faded to a barely readable pink smudge, and still i love it. adolescence is a miserable, confusing time. there’s crazy hormones and you’re trapped for a while in that lonely chasm between childhood and adulthood, but this tape made it just that bit better. so dom’s flatmate from ten years ago, where ever you are, i owe you one magnificent mix tape.

i wore:

green cardigan – thrifted

blue tee shirt (under cardigan) – american apparel

polka dot scarf – thrifted

toadstool fabric covered button brooch – etsy seller fluffington

toadstool & toad skirt – vintage from frocks & slacks st kilda

red tights – the sock shop

red button shoes – rubi shoes

red apple hair bobbles – kinky gerlinki chapel street

i haven’t spoken much about my personal life on this blog. as selfish as this may sound, this site is my space. just mine. and those of you who are parents will understand how precious having some space of your own is! however to give some background to this post allow me to share: my son is turning 3 on sunday. its been an incredible few years, but its been like having my brain on ‘hold’ for most of that time. at the beginning of this year i vowed to start working towards something and investing more in my interests and mental wellbeing. step one was to start reading again. step two was to try and be more health conscious and step three was to extend myself and edge outside of my comfort zone.

cut to nine months later and i’m just getting around to step three.

a few weeks ago i decided i wanted to do some screen printing, but having only done so a couple of times with lots of help from other people, i wasn’t really comfortable just diving in. so i had a peek at the centre for adult education website and found a 2-day intensive course taught by the excellent nathan gray.

part one of the course was last saturday, and we did some prints using paper stencils, and some using the speedball blockout and resist fluids. pictured above are my stencil prints. i’m really happy with that technique and i feel very inspired by the results. don’t you think they look a bit scandinavian? the blockout and resist fluids gave some people great painterly results but cleaning it off the screen with a high pressure hose makes it something i can’t really do at home. coming next week, the results of our photo emulsion prints!

i really recommend (anyone who as the time) taking a course. it might sound trite, but aside from picking up some new skills i’ve met some great new people and its just so nice to do something different with my weekends. next on my list to learn is proper coptic bookbinding, and letterpress printing.

have you taken any good courses or have something in mind you’d like to learn?