Archive for May 2011

May meeting - CROP

Friday 20 May 2011 § 0

Last night was our general meeting for May. Our monthly meetings give us a chance to have a proper natter and do some crafting, and because numbers aren't limited as in workshops, we can have fun with as many lovely ladies as we want!

We start off by getting drinks from the bar, obviously, and we would usually have lots of cake, but it seems no-one has been baking recently as we were without sweet treats. Or are we on a group diet and no-one told me?!


So we began as usual, with the business - minutes from the last meeting, finance report, news, gossip, scandal, intrigue etc etc. We had lots to talk about which is great as it means Buns & Roses is doing more great stuff. Highlights include: a shared stall at Leeds Kirkgate Market, make and take session at the I Love West Leeds Festival, 1950s and 1980s parties and much, much more.

If you don't know us, left to right is Gloria (Secretary), Zoe (Secetary), Hayley (Treasurer), Georgiana (President), me - Gemma (Vice President).


One important thing all our members had to do last night was vote on the resolutions that are being put forward to the AGM this year. They are regarding mega farms and library closures. I'll be at the AGM next month so I'll report back.


After all the official-ness we had time for another drink and a bit of craft. Here's Helen teaching Tessa how to knit.

Finally, our speaker for the evening was Hilary from the charity CROP - Coalition for the Removal of Pimping.

CROP is the only UK organisation to specialise in working alongside the parents, carers and wider family members of child sexual exploitation victims. Hilary told us about the work of the organisation and what we could do to help.


As part of the talk we had a real-life scenario to consider. Here is Sam reading one of the parts.

It was a very informative talk and certainly opened our eyes to the problem. You can find out more at the CROP website.

We finished off the evening with a bit more crafting and then it was home to bed.

Motorlead - Illustration workshop, May

Friday 13 May 2011 § 0

Our May workshop was Motorlead - illustration with Steve Beaumont.

Steve is a top bloke and a very talented illustrator. He very casually dropped in a chance meeting with The Stranglers, which led to various album artwork pieces, and told us all about his career to-date, which has included projects such as storyboards for video games and cartoons of Alice Cooper for a TV programme.

It was very inspiring to hear how he re-discovered his talent for drawing after being discouraged from following his dream in school, and that he is now a successful self-employed illustrator and very happy in his career.


Here is Steve explaining how to draw a face and get the proportions right.


Some of our Roses hard at work.



Our figures were developed out of basic lines and shapes.


This is Steve's drawing, which we were aiming to recreate in our own ways.


Check out the talent we have at Buns & Roses!

It was a very enjoyable evening and although we were all following the same design and steps, everyone's ladies turned out differently, which just shows how creative we all are, even if we said at the beginning we were rubbish at drawing!

You can find out more about Steve on his websites: Storyboarder and Flame Boy