Lovely Chats with Deb Tribe

Hey guys, this week, as well as my normal blog post (out every Tuesday), there's a little bonus content for your ears!

Last year in November, just after I was awarded the Colin Thiele Scholarship, just after I nervously spoke about my project to a crowd of lovely humans on the beautiful Carclew grounds and had just shook the hands of lots of rad women in arts, I ran off to the 891 ABC radio studios and was interviewed by the super Deb Tribe. Here's that interview!

And then a couple of weeks ago I did another update interview with the ever Lovely Deb Tribe (when she interviews me, I almost forget I have a huge microphone in front of my face) about working on my book and receiving the Colin Thiele Writing Scholarship. I hate listening to my voice but hopefully you don't mind it as much as I do. 

I hope you enjoyed me blathering on about comics. See you next week. xx

In which our hero learns how to market herself

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough be able to attend an Enterprise Bootcamp. It was teaching me all about how to market myself as an artist and how to produce work and be professional at design markets. Interesting stuff and being the nerd I am I kept some notes. I thought that you guys might be interested in reading them. So here they are. 

Please excuse all the spelling mistakes. 

That's it for this week. Short and sweet. Promise to write soon. xx

In which our hero talks about the importance of personal space

My current studio space, filled with all my favourite things: books, comics, art, podcasts, cups of tea and art supplies. 

My current studio space, filled with all my favourite things: books, comics, art, podcasts, cups of tea and art supplies. 

Creating a space is something I do. I think I've always done it and I don't think I could not do it. I love working with everything I love around me and within easy reach. 

When I moved into my current apartment, I was like, 'Now Gina, let's keep these nice, white walls minimal in their decoration. Keep It Simple.' Anyone who knows me realises that this is almost impossible for me. Within a month, every available spot on my bedroom walls was covered in art, anatomy posters and photos of pals. I think I just have to submit to my true nature. 

I have loved building cubbies and pillow/blanket forts since I was little. 

Me and my teddy (Mason) just hanging out with my hoard of safety blankets (I'm hiding them behind me like a dragon hiding treasure).

Me and my teddy (Mason) just hanging out with my hoard of safety blankets (I'm hiding them behind me like a dragon hiding treasure).

I would often work on the floor as a kid/teen and I liked working in circles. I mean, even my business card is an aerial shot of me surrounded by all my favourite things, everything specifically  placed in just the right spot. 

Creating this bubble of things would help me calm down when I got (get) nervous or overstimulated with my surroundings. It happens less these days but usually after a couple of hours of socialising environment I can start getting anxious and usually need some drawing alone time. 

The idea of surrounding myself with things that make me happy and help me feel calm is just something I've naturally gravitated to. I never leave my house without a bag filled with books, paper, pens, pocket knives (and now my laptop) -- anything I would need for any situation. I never like being caught with a great idea or spare time on the bus or train or at a meeting or cafe without my mini studio in a bag. 

Circles. They are the best. 

Circles. They are the best. 

Rob also has the knack for space creating -- surrounding himself with all his favourite things, including (but not limited to): vegemite toast, toys with wheels, coke in a measuring cup, blankets, books with lots of pictures (we both love pictures - we also share the same favourite Beatrix Potter book, The Tailor of Gloucester) and Disney cartoons.

Also in Rob's personal space creating is sound or the lack of other people making it. Rob loves making noise while he's watching his fave shows, he can get real loud, but he doesn't like anyone else to be noisy around him. This often leads to him having one finger in his ear (leaving one hand free for book reading, snack eating etc). Sometimes, wanting to keep that one hand free, he'll try to put his shoulder up to his unblocked ear and still grab for things. He actually makes it work pretty well. 

He also managed to create personal Rob spaces at school as well as home. I remember seeing this photo come home in Rob's school diary and being super jealous that Rob didn't have to sit at a table with lots of other kids. 

Although the caption from this school visual diary entry reads 'Rob at home', Rob is actually at school. 

Although the caption from this school visual diary entry reads 'Rob at home', Rob is actually at school. 

Although there are similarities, personal space for Rob is very different to mine. Rob's space is everywhere and everyone else is just disrupting his space, whereas my space is this protective shield, defending me from everyone else. 

While Rob would often come and stand face-to-face to me, naked, trying to tap my teeth and being darned cheeky, I would lock myself in my room listening to Billie Holiday and rearranging my bookcase in a new order. 

I would eat with my family at dinner time, sitting in the same seat over time, whereas Rob would eat in his room away from everyone else. 

Even though we are both lovers of personal space, I still liked connecting with people (preferably ones I already knew and only for short amounts of time) and Rob preferred being alone. Here's a photo that pretty much sums up me and my brother. 

Home Photos 2.jpg

That's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed it! How do you feel about personal space? Do you create your own little bubbles of calm around you to get you through the day?

Stay excellent and write you soon. xx

Robert Chadderton, master chef.

Rob has always had a love of food and drink. In fact, our whole family has. But no one else was quite as experimental with their eating/drinking habits as Rob. 

The way Rob would drink always amused me. I rarely saw him sip from a regular glass or cup -- and he would always sip, making a very particular sound when he did so. It was a full experience. He would pour out the drink, look at it from different angles, tap the container it was in, look at it some more, yell with delight (sounding kinda like this 'eeeeeEEEEEEEEh!') while waving his hand behind his back and then, maybe, if he was ready, he would take that very particular sip. 

Rob's brain could find a drinking vessel in pretty much anything but a cup. 

Measuring cups were also a big favourite. He would often line a series of them up and woe betide you if you moved one to the wrong spot. 

Measuring cups were also a big favourite. He would often line a series of them up and woe betide you if you moved one to the wrong spot. 

Rob has loved a fair few things in his life, most of which are food/drink related. It sometimes saddens me that, when I go and visit him at his care-house, I take a back seat to vegemite, chocolate, coke, chips and lollies.

As a kid, Rob was dead keen on one colour: pink (more on that later). This meant that all the foods he wanted to eat would be either pink or red (or the packaging would), such as strawberry Quik, Coke, raspberries, strawberry ice cream etc. Unfortunately for me, all my favourite lolly-type treats (I didn't care much for chocolate) were also strawberry/cherry based. There were never really any fights for food treats because usually Rob was too quick for me to even know they were there. 

Rob would also break into the staffroom at his school and pour liquids into the mostly full coffee containers. 

Rob would also break into the staffroom at his school and pour liquids into the mostly full coffee containers. 

One of Rob's favourite foods was vegemite. Not pink but it did get the salty spread tick of approval from Mister Rob. This photo below (from from Rob's Visual School Diary - they took a photo every day!) is of Rob enjoying all his favourite food groups: Vegemite, Coke and strawberry ice cream. He is also using a regular cup (he had less access to his preferred vessels at school) but holding it in that particular way Rob liked to hold, with his pinky finger. 

Rob proving me wrong and using a cup at school. 

Rob proving me wrong and using a cup at school. 

Rob didn't have much change in his diet. But he was quite happy mixing things that he knew were delicious.

It was very hard getting him to eat veggies or fruit. Anything that helped him eat things other than chips or chocolate cake mix was a plus. This is about the time Mum started making homemade pizzas. 

Rob loved these pizzas. A lot. Which was good to start off with as it meant he would eat some sort of veggies. But it soon got to the point that Rob was getting Mum to make 6 or 7 pizzas a day. And when told he had had enough, wasn't too happy. Rob doesn't have an off switch when it comes to eating and Mum received many bites and pinches relating to saying 'No' to making Rob more food. 

I mentioned above that Rob liked to eat chocolate cake mix (I'm also a batter eater - I still eat pancake batter whenever we cook them at home, much to the chagrin of my partner Owen). 

They actually taught him how to make a chocolate cake a school. 

The thought was that teaching Rob cooking skills would help him learn about cooking and eating, which it did. And if he found a mix packet, he HAD to make it. It was lost to you forever. 

However, it also created a new obsession: trying to find cake mix in any building he went into. His first point of call would always be the kitchen. 

But at home Rob could be sneakier. If he did get his hands on a pack o' mix (sometimes it didn't even have to be cake mix: anything brown and/or powdery would be fine), he would sneak it off to his bedroom or playroom and use one of the empty drawers to make 'Rob's Famous Cake Drawer Mix'. 

Rob was pretty good at sneaking ingredients away into his room. This led to a number of strange sticky brown stains, lumps and messes around the house. His pants would also be encrusted with what you hoped was 'Cake Drawer Mix'. 

Okay guys, that's it for this post. Although there are a ton more food stories, these are the essentials. I'd love to hear about what foods you were obsessed with as a kid, or maybe that a sibling of yours loved so much that you ended up hating (I don't mind chocolate cake, but let's just say it's not my favourite). 

Write you soon! xx

The alter egos of Robert Chadderton

Throughout his twenty+ years my brother has managed to gain many a nick name. I thought I'd share a few of them with you. 

ROBERTO the UNCAPABLE CRUSADER (approx. age 7)

My brother Rob is a remarkable human. Despite not being able to talk (he's vocal but not verbal) he has found many a way to communicate with us. If he wants vegemite on toast, you will be given a butter knife, or a jar of vegemite or he would go and tap the toaster. If he wants something, you will know. 

When he was younger, his school tried to get him to use Compics cards (more on those in a later post), by attaching them to a 'utility belt' but he had no interest in them. There are quicker ways to get people to make you vegemite. 

Also on this utility belt was a Chew Tube (on extendable cord) for when he got stressed. When annoyed and unable to explain why to his teachers, he got a little bitey, so the staff tried to get him to bite the Chew Tube instead of himself or other students and teachers. The Chew Tube didn't stick around too long either. 

To top off this superhero outfit, Mum made these special onesies for Rob. They stuck around in his wardrobe for a while. Rob had (has) this habit of not wanting to wear clothes. So mum designed this onesie that Rob couldn't easily take off. 

ROBERTO HOUDINI the GREAT ESCAPOLOGIST (approx. age 10) 

Able to unlock any door that leads to treats! Not stopped by any door or window or fence. Rob was incredibly talented at escaping. When we moved house - this first thing Rob did was figure out every single way he could possibly escape. The first thing my folks did was figure out ways to stop Rob escaping (including, but not limited to: attaching planks of wood to brickwork that could climbed and lead to the roof, locking all doors, windows, gates).

By this time he'd stop always escaping from his clothes (unless they got wet and then they were off in a flash! Although he loved swimming, he hated wet clothes). 

He has never much cared for wearing shoes and by the time he was 10 the souls of his feet were both disgusting, blackened like the darkest night and a solid callous. 

ROBBIE the UNMASKED AVENGER (approx. age 14)

As Rob grew older, the more often he would take off his clothes, earning him his unmasked avenger status. He also continued to never stand still, even when he was watching his Disney videos, he would be constantly moving. This meant that he was just a bundle of muscle ready to spring at you with a pinch or a bite. I got very at deflecting two pinching hands and fending off a naked Rob (kept at a distance with my equally steely grip).

In hindsight, I was lucky to have a brother who was so comfortable with his body, not caring what anyone would think. I sometimes wish I was as brave as Rob.

I was also pretty lucky to have some great friends who were not scared off from hanging out with me by my lil' brother who was quite tall and muscly and would greet them naked at the door when they came to visit. 

Just a short little post today. got lots more coming but it's been pretty hectic this week. 

Talk soon!

Gx

In which our hero talks about childhood, keys & locks

A family living with autism can mean any number of things. Often it means dealing with obsessions. My brother Rob had, has and I'm sure will continue to have an obsession with specific foods. Strewn throughout our house was a variety of hidey holes for all the treats Rob desperately wanted to get his hands on. 

Luckily for us, my mother and father are not only ideas people but also good problem solvers. Mum would figure out what was going to be an issue and possible ways around it, then Dad would figure out and create the perfect locking device to keep Rob out. 

My favourite of the devices was the fridge lock, although I hated having to carry around a magnet on my keys: it constantly got stuck to metal things as I walked by (I lost many a magnet this way) and Rob would always try to steal it as it was slightly easier to grab on a run by than the whole set of keys. A lot of my stories involve Rob breaking into what we all thought were secure locations. He gained the nickname Houdini quite early on in life.

Another aspect of my life I found tedious was having to lock my bedroom door. My friends, who would often be amazed with jealously that I could keep safe all my teenage secrets, couldn't believe that I didn't love the power of a locked bedroom. TBH it's just tiring to have remember to lock your door every time you want to go ANYWHERE in the house -- kitchen, lounge room, bathroom. No matter how short a time you leave that room, you must lock it. 

Worse though was locking your keys in your room or forgetting them or leaving them somewhere to find out Rob snuck them away. OH and it's SO ANNOYING to try to go to the bathroom and it's locked and you left your keys behind in your locked bedroom. 

I was not the best at keeping my door locked or guarding my most holy (to Rob) set of keys. I was often outwitted by Rob, who was a master of unlocking any door with treats behind it. 

This little comic highlights Rob's ability and my ineptitude. It was first published in Issue #99 'Plastic' of Voiceworks Magazine. 

Keep doing what you're doing and see you next week!

Gx

In which our hero talks about her favourite snacks

Snacks have always been v. important to me. I've always been grazing, never eating a full lunch, instead preferring to snack throughout the day. A habit that I somehow managed to get away with for most of my high school life. 

Snacks were also important in my social life. I often don't know what to say to start a conversation, constantly fearing saying something completely boring or the other person not realising I was attempting a joke. BUT, if you have a snack with you, you have something to talk about straight up. Most of my best friends have become so, over the sharing of snacks. 

So I thought I would share with you some of my favourite snacks to nom down on when I'm working in the studio. Do you have favourite snacks for when you are drawing? I'm sure you do!

1. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. (necessary Star Trek Reference). Well, actually any nice hot cup of tea will do and I've always been more partial to jasmine green tea myself. 

This is not technically a snack, I know, but it's a great way to start the day and the perfect accompaniment for many snacks. Most notably: Ginger Nuts, Kingstons, Anzacs, Vegemite Toast. 

2. The humble carrot. This simple vegetable has been a favourite of mine from way back. I used to eat a carrot for a snack just before bed (after I'd brushed my teeth) until my dentist told me to stop eating them (after I'd brush my teeth). Then I just stuck to a glass of water.

The best is when you get a really sweet carrot. You can taste it the moment you bite into and snap off a bit of that crispy orange veggie. I'd got out of the habit of eating them but I'm back on board the carrot train.

3. The salty fiend, the pretzel. This thirst making sucker, always ready to cue a Seinfeld reference, has been in my snack tool belt from a young age. Great for drawing because it gives you the salty hit like a chip or other salty snacks but none of the sticky flavour residue on your fingers. You can switch between eating and drawing with ease and without worry. No need to brush you hands on your jeans with these snack pals by your side. 

4. The galactic Milky Way Bar. I try not to have too much chocolate/candy snacks on me (although it is tempting, that's for sure) but when I do my heart beats for no other than the fun-sized Milky Way. It's soft texture melts in your mouth like sunshine and the fun-size makes you feel slightly less guilty when you eat 10 of them.  

5. Delicious Dried Fruit & Nuts. Perfect for when you need a little boost of energy. I prefer to eat the dried apricots and almonds together, squishing the almond into the flesh of the apricot. Brazil nuts are creamy and flavour-full, needing no other help from outside foods to increase their tastiness. And dried cranberries or Craisins have a great sugar to mass ratio for when you really need to wake up in the arvo. I usually don't go anywhere without my little plastic tub of fruit 'n' nuts.

6. And number one in my snack filled heart is Popcorn. Any type, anywhere, anytime. Popcorn is queen of the snacks.

Although it can get a little messy and leave residue on your fingers (not ideal for drawing) you can easily overcome this hurdle with a shallow cereal bowl and your tongue. Licking at the popcorn one by one, enjoying each melting moment of that glorious corn treat.

Nothing beats popcorn. If you were to play rock paper scissors popcorn - popcorn would always win and it would be a terrible game. This is why it does not appear in the list of possible options. It is above petty games. It is Popcorn. 

 

Well, that's it for this post. I'll see you guys around real soon with more hot tips. 

Until then, may you coffers be filled with tasty treats and delicious beverages.

Gx

He Ain't heavy, he's my brother...

So I've been thinking about the differences between me and my brother. I guess I always just assumed that we could never really be a like at all but tbh, that was very narrow minded of me. 

Rob and I are actually really pretty similar. Not in looks, Rob has gained the Hill (my mum's) side of the family cheeky, cheery face whereas I have inherited the Chadderton (my father's) pointy nose and round-ish jawline (slightly altered since the jaw surgery but you can still see the resemblance). But in likes and personality, we are two peas in a pod. A thought which was confirmed by my mother in one of our 'Rob interviews', "You and your brother are so very alike". 

To make it easier for you, dear readers, I thought I'd draw a diagram of our similarities as I see it. Of course I'm my parents could think of even more (possibly unflattering) things we have in common. 

This ties in with something I remember mum telling me when I was about 12. Rob was being really difficult one day, like really difficult, and I asked her if she wished that she'd never had Rob (something I could never ask now but as a 12 Y-O could)?

Her Answer was simple but blew my little 12 Y-O mind. "No. I just wish he didn't have Autism." 

This was the first time that I thought of Rob, my brother, and Autism, as being separate things. 

This is kinda of hard to describe as I'm still having trouble putting into words what I know about my bro. So I'll have to rain check with you when I'd had some more time to think about. But for now I hope you enjoy the diagram. 

Gxx

In which our hero meets her mentor for the the first time

So when I went over to Melbourne for the Festival of the Photocopier, I also got to squeeze in a visit to Mandy Ord, who is one of mentors for Oh Brother.  As you can tell from the above picture, I was super nervous. 

I met her briefly at the Festival of the Photocopier. I was super nervous and don't remember what I said at all. I was overwhelmed by the hugh amount of people at the FoTP Zine Fair (over 150 stalls). There were so many people that I couldn't focus and it felt like nothing I said had any substance. She gave me a copy of her new comic 'Trains'. Well, actually, she traded it with one of my journal comics. I think I got the better deal tbh but I love trading comics. I feel like a trading card kid (I always wanted to be one but ended up just keeping all the cards because I like the pictures).

Luckily the day after the zine fair, Mandy was free for more chats. So I hopped on a train with my copy of Trains in hand ready for round two where hopefully I'll have more interesting things to say.  It was strange reading Trains (which is about Mandy trips down various Melbourne Train lines, summed up in a neat four panels) as I was travelling on the line that is commonly mentioned in the book. I think it was meta but I'm not quite sure. 

Once I was at Mandy's place, I slowly calmed down and stopped sweating like crazy (I sweat a lot when I'm hot, grumpy, embarrassed, tired, nervous, living). It helped that she had an adorable dog. I've been craving a puppy to dog but apartment living / not being able to give the dog the love time it needs is problem. Until I can have my own, I guess I will just be one of those people that hangs out at dog parks, without a dog of their own.

ANYWAY - we started to talk about comics and Mandy showed me around her studio, telling about her way of working and how it's change and people she's been inspired by.  It was great! I'm so excited that she is going to be my mentor. We will be sending each other post surprises, including a shared sketchbook. I'll draw something in the book and then post it to Mandy, then she will add her entry and post it back to me and so on and so forth. 

Nothing beats face to face time with someone, as much as I love letters/letter writing, and I hope that I can catch up with her soon when I have a script or some thumbnails to work through with her.

This is a super text heavy blog, so I might leave it there for now. 

Have an excellent week.

xx