One project that I completed last year, and am very pleased with, is my set of tarot cards. The project began after my exhibition in 2019, “The Hearltess Hurt Less” – for the advertising imagery I played with layering the drawings of the dead animals with some of the pattern work that I had scattered throughout the exhibit. The response to these digital collages was very positive and made me think about new ways to play with my drawings.
 
I’ve always been intrigued my tarot cards, and the culture that surrounds them. From sincere belief, to props in super cheesey Midsomer Murder type shows with a story line about the occult, to a fashion statement, it seemed to me that there was a lot of room to explore and play within a single deck of cards. The dead animals that I had been studying (and that had made up the bulk of my exhibition) seemed like a really unique but fitting set of images for a set of cards; they are a slightly unusual subject matter but tied in very well to the imagery of the tarot, and I felt I could create a fresh new take on these ancient cards.
 
When creating my set, I began with The Major Arcana – those are the cards that most people think of when tarot is mentioned (The Sun, The Star, Death, The Fool etc) – there are 22 Major Arcana cards in a deck – so I needed 22 different drawings of dead animals. I decided to keep continuity through the 5 suits (Major Arcana, Swords, Pentacles, Wands and Cups) by having the same repeat background pattern for each suit. 
 
I put the backgrounds down in photoshop and then used my drawings to overlay on top; each drawing had to be re-rendered digitally so that it would lay down properly and then I played around for a while with layout and text until I was happy with the basic design of each of the cards.
 
All together it took about a year to draw all the different animals and then create every different card. I used the same drawing for each number across the suits but had a different one for each of the regal cards, so altogether I created 46 separate drawings and 5 individual backgrounds for the full set of 74 cards.
 
Once all of the cards had been digitally created, I started experimenting with the best ways to make them as physical sets. I printed off the designs onto card in various different sizes, which I compared against sets of cards I owned until I found the right size that was large enough to pick up on all of the detail in each design, but that would also be usable and ergonomic. It was also important to me that there was a background pattern, so I saved another pattern piece to print on the back of every card. For the project to work successfully, I felt that a very professional looking finish would be needed, so I purchased a laminator and experimented with both gloss and matte laminating pockets. I was pleased with both results, so both finishes are available to buy from my shop. Once all the cards were laminated, I had to trim them down to size. This is probably the hardest part of the process, as it needs to be very precise and I do it all by hand – whilst I aim to get every card as close to perfect as possible, they are handmade sets and so there may be a small size difference from pack to pack.
 
The last step of making the cards is to trim the corners to round them off and make sure there are no sharp edges. From there, I carefully package up the cards in brown paper and string, for a classic look, slip in a little business card and they’re ready to go!
 
The Tarot sets are on sale here – for £35. I also have some individual prints from the Major Arcana available, and if there is a card that is particularly important to you, please message me and I can make up a custom print. I hope you’re enjoyed reading about the process of making the tarot cards – it’s a project I’m very happy with and want to continue making up these fun sets. Please message me if you have any questions.

Crochet Fruit de Mer Platter 
Lobster, Prawns, Langoustine, Mussels and a Welk... plus some lemon and leaves. 

A few different sized lobsters... think Goldilocks and the 3 Lobsters... I'm definitely keeping the big teal one, not quite sure what I'll do with the other 2...

And a crochet jumper for me! It's the Kay Crochet 'Bobbilicious' pattern from Etsy - it is a tad bit too small and snug, but I'm hoping it will stretch a bit. I think I might remake it in a medium (and a different colour) in the autumn. 

It's been a bit crochet heavy here, but I have managed one drawing since my last post - this beautiful blackbird, who sadly died after flying into my Dad's study window.

And I finished off this French knot stitching, which will form part of a series of 10 hoops...

This week I've got a couple of commissions to get finished, and then hopefully I'll settle back down to a bit more drawing. I've been finding it really hard to focus on drawing and find the right imagery and subject matter at the minute... Hopefully inspiration will hit again before too long.

Quite a few new bits and pieces to post on here, that I've worked on over the last couple of weeks. I played with some old ideas of the 'Mutated Map' patterns that I created a few years ago, adding in a bit of colour and a grid - the design requires a grid, which previously I've always removed after creating the finished image, but with this piece I played with the idea of a different grid round the edges of the main pattern. I was hoping that the colours I chose would create a sense of anatomical growths (think spots, coldsores, cysts etc) but I think it has ended up looking more floral and decorative than that. If I play with the colour again, it will have more dark shades in an attempt to address this...

On the 1st of March I drew a dead hare that someone had found, photographed and kindly let me use. I wanted to created a silly little parenthesis of the month, so finished March which another dead hare drawing. My friend Tom found quite a few dead hares whilst cycling in Norfolk, so I had a bit of a backlog, which is now fully cleared. The use of dead animals in my work is meant to be a bit thought provoking and perhaps slightly somber, but it also isn't meant to take itself too seriously - I think there's room for a certain amount of dark humour, like using 2 dead March hares to bracket the month.

As well as drawing, I've still been loving doing a lot of crochet - I have a fun seafood project I'm creating at the minute, and I've also made a silly moose for my dad's birthday, and then crocheted my gorgeous dog, Lila. I'm really proud of it - she's a 14 year old labradoodle and they look a bit like animated scribbles, so it can be really hard to capture her in photos of drawing, but I think this fun crochet dog is a pretty good representation. She'll live on the end of my bed for years to come!

The final thing I've finished in the last couple of weeks, is a dress. For my birthday my mum bought me a Merchant and Mills pattern and some beautiful orange fabric and together we made up the 'Ellis' dress over the Easter weekend. My mum is very good at following dress making patterns and made a few of my clothes when I was younger. I've followed 2 very, very basic patterns before but this one was quite a leap up. I absolutely could not have done it without a lot of help from my mum, who read the pattern, explained things to me and then pointed out my huge, huge amounts of mistakes... I don't think dressmaking will be my new major passion, but once I've gotten over the trauma of setting sleeves, I'll try and make the pattern again, with a slightly looser bodice and hopefully quite a bit less unpicking... Until then, I'll enjoy wearing this one to the pub, to celebrate the easing of lockdown! 

I have a few big drawings under way and a couple of commissions etc which I can't share here yet, but I have done some textiles work and some fun personal crochet projects over the last couple of weeks.

This first piece is a pixel crochet banner which is a partner piece to a previous yellow banner which read "Stay Soft Hard Lad!!!" which I made for my boyfriend a while back, to remind him that his softness is beautiful. This piece has been planned out for a while, but this last week, with the horrendous Sarah Everard case, and the appalling statistics that have been released about sexual harassment of young women, it seemed to be calling out to me. As women, we employ so many politeness strategies to put men at ease, we make ourselves smaller and softer and shrink ourselves. This piece is a reminder (to myself as much as anyone), that we can be tough. At times, particularly at the moment, we have to be tough. We have to be listened to, and not fear upsetting people or being called a 'bitch' for taking up all the space we deserve. 

I've also enjoyed making some Toft pattern crochet animals - this lobster and tarantula. Toft make fantastic, fun and unusual patterns and I'd really recommend checking out some of their books.

Well, March has rolled back around again... In the words of a book blogger I follow, "We Have Always Lived in the Month of March," by Shirely Jackson. It's been such a very, very difficult and strange year, but I think we all seem to be feeling a bit more hopeful. I have my vaccination on Friday (I'm in the moderate risk group) and my Dad has had his too, so that is a positive for my family, which we're incredibly grateful for. Another positive is I'm borrowing my Dad's old laptop whilst I save up for mine to be fixed! 

The last couple of weeks have been mainly admin focussed (so the laptop has been very much needed) and quite a lot of practical work has taken a back seat. But I do have a few new things to share...

Here's a pile of crochet squares I've been working on. In my final year of art school I made a piece called 'Softer Landings' where I yarn bombed the main staircase of the Ruskin and I want to return to that project and expand it. My current plan is named 'Softening Sheffield' - I've applied for some council funding (please cross your fingers for me), but whether I get it or not, I plan on making a series of pieces over this coming Summer. I need to make a lot more crochet squares - I can do about 50 a day, but it makes my wrist hurt a bit, so I might need to spread my making out a bit more.

Another piece I'm working on is a new textiles banner, in pinks - pink crochet onto pink faux fur fluffy fabric - it will be a sister piece to a honey monster-is yellow banner I made for my boyfriend a couple of years ago. Pixel crochet is one of my favourite ways of making; it's time consuming and a bit fiddly and it's not exactly a 'cool' medium, but I find it a fluent visual language and I like taking time to focus on an unusual textile project. I'd love to get into punching and rug making, but it's expensive to get started and quite a crowded 'market' at the minute, with lots of amazing makers creating incredible and fun pieces. So for the time being I think it's most likely I'll stick to crochet.

My final piece to share is this drawing - I was adamant I wanted to get it done on March 1st, so it can be an official March hare! I have another hare to draw this month, which I think I'll do on the 31st, to bookend the month with hare studies. I really love their long legs - we have quite a lot of wild rabbits in our local parks, but I've never seen a hare in the wild. Will keep my eyes peeled! 

Had a bit of a disaster with my laptop, which, after 10 years of wonderful service has been stood on and I'm currently trying to work round a cracked screen. Less than ideal, and you'll have to forgive any typos because it's very difficult to see what I'm typing. I doubt it's worth replacing the screen on a 10 year old mac book, so I fear I'll have to dig deep and replace it - not great timing, but these things happen - and at least it still works, just hard to see past this giant central blow out and the flickering is quite distracting...

Other than that, it's been quite a productive week - I finished the 2 drawings I was working on. It's a triptych of triptychs - 3 dead hares, 3 dead pigeons and 3 dead squirrels. They've all framed up really nicely but it's very hard to take photos of them - I'm going to put them all up for sale using the Artist Support Pledge on Instagram, but need to get better photos first. They're all done on white A2 paper with 0.05 black pen with some white gel pen detailing.

Think that's all I've got for this week - the screen is really distracting and making it very hard to type. If I don't update any thing next week, that will probably be why! 

It's been a strange and sad couple of weeks, so I'm a little bit behind on making and sharing, but I do have a few things to put up this week. Firstly, though 'The Artist Support Pledge' on instagram (set up by artist Matthew Burrows) I'm selling a few drawings. They're all up on my instagram (@jessicaheywoodart) but I'll post some here as well. All drawings will be flattened, and shipped in protective cardboard - I will cover UK shipping prices. Please drop me a line if you are interested, or have any questions.

'Play with Clay' is still continuing as well - I've ordered more air dry clay (in both white and terracotta) and as soon as I've finished the 2 big drawings that are currently underway, I'll have a bit more messy play. Here is the finished painted maquette I was playing with a few weeks ago, and a silly little clay snake (based on my brother's milk-snake Sally).

Last week I listened to 'The Discomfort of Evening' by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld which was a really fantastic and deeply disturbing book - I use Audible for audio books and would really recommend it - this title is currently only available through that subscription I think, and it's really well read. I found quite a few passages incredibly visceral and difficult to listen to, lots of it made me feel physically sick and really uncomfortable, so it's not an easy listen/read at all, but definitely worth it in my opinion.  It's a semi-autobiographical work about 10 year old Jas whose older brother dies suddenly in a skating accident. Not necessarily one to try out right now if you're struggling with either personal or communal grief due to the current situation, but I found it really interesting to listen to grief through the perspective of a child, and consider the obsessive, concentric rules and rituals we create for ourselves around death. 

Finally, here's a sneak peak of my current drawing - hopefully I'll have this one and it's accompanying piece finished by next Monday...

This week has been one to focus on family and remind myself that life is so much more important than art. I don't have any work to share but have found a great deal of comfort in these 2 poems (posted below this text). If you're also managing grief, I'd also really recommend checking out Nick Cave's 'The Red Hand Files' www.theredhandfiles.com 

​Take good care.

Hello! I'm laid up in bed with a dodgy shoulder (I've dislocated it a few times in the past so need to be extra careful) after going for a bit of an over ambitious yoga move... So I've been advised to take a few days rest, ice it every few hours and take pain killers... no drawing for a little a while. Today I've taken it *super* easy and slow, read a bit of my book, napped and watched some rubbish reality TV. Hoping tomorrow I'll be able to do a bit of light work or at least go for a little walk.

This week I've gotten one drawing done. My parents have a very lovely garden, which I miss since moving out, and every year they get quite a lot of honey fungus around old tree roots etc. I find fungus quite fascinating; it pops up so quickly it seems slightly surreal and magical. Last year I took quite a few photos of the fungus that I found throughout Sheffield and saved them up for drawing. I tried playing with a black graphic shape behind the very soft, detailed drawing - the idea was to experiment with how I use negative space and play with marrying a bit of a matte, basic rectangle. I'm not sure if it has worked particularly well, but I am pleased to push myself into some very, very small experiments!

Another thing I've been absolutely loving is 'The Great Pottery Throwdown'! I enjoy the series every year, but this year I am particularly loving it (mainly because I'm desperate to eek any tiny bit of enjoyment from the day!) Clay, sculpting, modelling and the 3D in general are not my strong points; I feel much more comfortable with flat surfaces or a bit of fabric at a push... But I'd really love to do a ceramics/pottery course after lockdown and try and improve my skills and stretch myself a bit. This week I ordered some air dry clay and just had a bit of a play with an old Pringles tube...

I was in the process of playing with some different paints on it, but have taken a break to rest the old shoulder! Hopefully by next week I can show you the finished experiment.

So, it's Blue Monday! Never an easy day, no matter the year, but obviously it has hit 10 times harder this year. I'm feeling pretty low and under the weather - hasn't been helped by the fact that I've just had to undo 10 inches of crochet after realising I'd followed the pattern totally wrong... If you're feeling a bit rubbish and miserable, stay strong - know that you are not alone and isolation is only physical - reach out and give someone a call!

This week I've had a bit of a play with a new medium - I've never used expanding foam before - in fact, I've really avoided it, because it seems to have become such a cliche in art school. However, I've been seeing lots of expanding foam experiments in a more domestic setting recently (such as mirror frames and vases) rather than the classic art school enormous sculptures. So I ordered some and started playing around. 

I've also done a bit of drawing - I'm quite obsessed with turkeys - my partner described them as looking like their "heads are crocheted out of flesh", which really sums up their weird fleshy faces in a suitably grotesque way. This one lives at our local inner city farm, which I enjoy visiting when it's not lock downed... My 2 favourite pigs live there, they're called Alan and Nigel and they're absolutely huge and hilarious.
I quite like marrying the texture of the turkey's head with the 3d brain-y vibes of the expanding foam and the added texture of the crochet background - it's definitely not a 'finished piece', but I'm quite happy with it as a starting point.

Nothing else I've worked on this week is ready to be put onto the internet just yet, but I have been doing quite a bit of reading. 

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to go to Australia and saw the absolutely incredible Patricia Piccinini show, "Curious Affection," which completely blew my mind - Sam bought me the show catalogue for Christmas and I've delved into that this week. Patricia's sculptures are absolutely bizarre - surreal, tender and challenging; they play with ideas of genetic modification and the possibility of where science could take us in the future. There's a 'Frankenstein'-esque vibe to them, but they all have such exceptionally soft eyes. I also really enjoyed seeing a couple of her drawings in slightly closer detail - they didn't interest me as much as the sculptures when I saw the show, but looking at the catalogue, I was really drawn to the ideas of bodies and birds; it creates a really magical sense of fragility.