Post event update: It was great to meet everyone at Swadlincote Snowsports Centre yesterday. Thank you for such a warm welcome and a lovely sunny day.
Wonderful to see families and youngsters enjoying skiing, tubing, sliding and tobogganing.
Pre-Event Post
I’ll be signing Ski A to Z books at Swadlincote Snowsports Centre on Thursday 23rd February for the school holiday Kids Camp. Come along for signed books, ski art and greeting cards from 12 noon to 1.30pm.
I’ve always enjoyed time at Swadlincote Snowspnorts Centre as a ski race venue as a teenager, and later skiing as a family there. Swadlincote, along with Sheffield Ski Village, was where my stepchildren learned the foundations of their skiing. The snowsports centre includes a toboggan run which we have had fun times on.
Swadlincote is our nearest artificial ski slope, since Sheffield Ski Village sadly closed down. Artificial or dry ski slopes are a great affordable way for people to try, and enjoy skiing.
Artificial slope race day – illustration for Ski A to Z
Fall-Line magazine have created a goggle wipe using my ‘Get The Right Kit’ design.
Following the success of the t-shirt design that I created for the magazine, the publishers have licensed the design for a goggle cloth for skiers and snowboarders.
The cloth has my ‘Get The Right Kit’ ski/snowsports icons design on one side and has a handy check list on the reverse side. The cloth looks and feels great with a slight hombre in the blue fabric. It’s designed for ski and snowsports goggles but I am finding that also works for sunglasses, glasses and even tech screens.
The cloth is going out as a gift to the magazine subscribers with the February magazine, those buying the February magazine will also receive the cloth. To order the magazine head here.
See the goggle cloth in this Tik Tok filmed high up on the glacier in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. See the ice in the background. It was -24 so gloves stayed on!
If you’re in the UK it is also possible to order the goggle wipes in the Fall-Line magazine shop at this link. Those ordering, do let me know how you get on and please share any pics with the tags @inspirebykim and @falllinemag
The wipe is made by Wipeout who also offer ski piste maps on wipes, and even underwear – which could get chilly if you were trying to check a ski route on a cold day!
If you don’t already have the t-shirt, I highly recommend the product, its organic cotton and plastic free packaging, and the service from Teemill is swift, you can order this here in men’s cut, women’s cut in a range of sizes and colours. Ideal for Apres-ski, keeping up the ski vibe, or connecting with other skiers as it’s such a talking point.
Check out my ski wear concepts at these links, these designs are available for licensing at the time of writing.
I’m keen to hear your stories about the people that have made all the difference to your skiing and snowsports. Those gems who took, or take, the time to help you, and have really contributed to your enjoyment of the sport.
I’m hoping to collect stories to inspire a body of work for exhibition later in the year.
This illustration was sketched for a commission that didn’t come off, but it felt important to complete this illustration.
Whether it be an instructor, coach, teacher of relative if you are happy to share your story please either comment, or alternatively email your story to inspirebykim@outlook.com
Thanks for each story, watch this space for how the stories will be illustrated and/ or inform my work.
How The Work Was Made
I’ve been sketching a lot recently so I chose which from the pencil sketches. I picked the star character, which I originally created as a Christmas sketch, whilst trying to get ahead for Christmas 2023.
Once happy with the pencil sketches, characters and proportions I got set up for a painting session.
The painting in progress along with the original sketch and fingers to show the scale of the piece.
The paints and gel pens are the key materials that I used to create the illustrations for Ski A to Z. I’m exploring some of the colours not used for the book art, and am enjoying the different hues whilst still hoping to communicate the joy and emotion of skiing.
Many thanks for your support. Please follow or subscribe to see my work as it is created. If you like Ski A to Z please share a review where you bought it, or review it on Google Books as this helps more people to know about, and be helped by the book.
Thanks in advance for any stories that you are happy to share.
It’s that time of year when gingerbread tastes its best and spending time on a baked creation doesn’t feel indulgent, and there are plenty of visitors to eat it afterwards. Here is the story of my gingerbread work, as seen in Ski A to Z.
My final creation of 2020 was a two-storey chalet with balcony constructed in gingerbread. This was continuing the ski theme which was key for my work in 2020, and with the publishing of my Ski A to Z has continued to be.
The chalet had an overhanging roof, shutters, chimney, a log pile, and sugar windows in warm hues – including a window in the roof. I cut skis, bindings and poles from patterned papers and placed these at the front of the chalet.
I experimented with green screen technology to put the baked chalet into a mountain setting.
The chalet was lit from within its fairy lights added before the roof went on, with access to the switch through a space in the side wall.
I didn’t have chance to paint the chalet as still life before it was eaten, so I painted it from a photograph, with some additional details to the balcony. I added a depth of snow and removed some of the snow icing for the painted version.
The Art Applied
The gingerbread chalet features in Ski A to Z as a painting, and also in photo form.
The chalet features in Ski A to Z as a watercolour painting for ‘A is for Alpine’, the first entry in the book. Image Copyright Kim
A photograph of the chalet is in the map design for ‘M is for Map’, representing a cosy mountain restaurant.
I then placed and warped the map design to demonstrate folds in the piste map, for the spread in Ski A to Z. Pictured here on our mid-century teak table, which is a kind of gingerbread colour itself.
The chalet is also in my ‘Ski Goggle Reflections’ fabric and wallpaper design, in the yellow edge to edge lens. This design is available for print on demand fabrics and wallpapers in my Spoonflower shop. Here is the design mocked up as wallpaper for a ski house or chalet setting along with my favourite G-Plan Astro table. More about the designs here.
The Design and Construction Process
Here’s how I created the gingerbread chalet…
1. I drew the chalet design and then determined the pieces required before cutting card templates for each piece.
2. There were lots of parts to the design as it had a balcony, shutters, chimney and to look like a chalet it needed a considerable overhang on the roof. I find ceramics hand building techniques useful when constructing in gingerbread.
3. Once all the panels and components were baked, and beautifully golden brown, with boiled sweet windows, the construction could begin, with edible glue and royal icing, and some cocktail sticks and kebab skewers to hold in place.
For the following artwork I added a painted mountainscape background with falling snow in Procreate app. I used a might scene to accentuate the interior lighting and inviting atmosphere, a warm shelter after a chilly, but fun, day on the mountain.
Gingerbread construction is a lovely thing to do, Although my family can’t wait to smash my creations and eat the gingerbread. It’s delicious but always a little painful for the work to be undone so quickly, although that’s why it’s nice that this gingerbread chalet is now all around the world in my Ski A to Z book.
I completed the house on New Year’s Eve, and so the year closed. A challenging but creative 2020 ended.
I used the Mary Berry recipe for the dough, I’ve used this before to make two gingerbread houses, and a gingerbread car, each time using my own templates.
Earlier Gingerbread Creations
Gingerbread House 1 – 2013
My first gingerbread house was a three storey townhouse using Mary Berry’s recipe when she did a Christmas cooking programme with Paul Hollywood, during her Great British Bake Off years. Quite ambitious as a first attempt and my own templates, alway taking the easy options, not!
Gingerbread House 2 – 2018
My largest gingerbread creation was this huge house. It stood 13 inches tall. I Intended into have turrets on the corners but I struggled with the bend in the bake. Features I particularly liked were the scalloped roof and large windows.
See the real estate type ‘virtual viewing tour’ video, which was fun to make.
I painted a picture of the house in a simplified way in acrylic paints. painting from something you’ve crated can be a good day to get a fresh looking subject.
The following year I used this for my Christmas card and gift tag design (below). Each of the houses in the picture are the same hous but photographed from different angles. Christmas often feels to me like it comes round again really quickly.
Santa’s Car 2019
My Christmas card design for 2019 (above) then became the theme of my gingerbread bake that Christmas.
gingerbread Gift Box (2021) and Top Tips
This was a cake in a gingerbread box that I made for my husband’s birthday. Ceramic hand building techniques were applied to create this. Making the box was easier for me than decorating the cake.
Gingerbread Tips
Here are my top gingerbread tips.
Draw out your design and think about what parts make up the structure or design.
Bake more than you think you need, it will all get eaten.
Note that gingerbread expands during cooking, so trim with your templates part way through the bake.
As you make your templates for each piece of the bake decide whether your panels will overlap or meet at the corners, as this will affect the dimensions.
If a panel will be load bearing, such as for a wall to hold a roof, adjust the thickness of the gingerbread. Adjust your bake time accordingly.
Crushed boiled sweets work great for windows – Mary Berry is right! But if the windows are too large they will weaken your structure and may not fill the space. The boiled sweets are added mid way through the oven baking time.
It is important to text/ taste the bake 😉
Enjoy, it’s meant to be fun.
This video shows the stages of the the gingerbread house creation.
Now to make this year’s gingerbread Christmas bake. Watch the space. Please subscribe to follow and see updates as they go live.
To Own The Art
To own a piece of my work and support my art practice please visit my shop. Your purchases are greatly appreciated.
For more information and links to buy Ski A to Z head here, The book has info, tips and advice for skiers, with over 100 illustrations. Ski A to Z is published by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK).
I hope you have sweet time this Christmas. If this inspires you I’d love to see what you make.
I’m excited to have a new wall art print available in my shop – Ski Racer Girl features in Ski A to Z and she is now available as a superb quality giclee archival print on 100% cotton paper.
See Ski Racer Girl to the right of this picture taken at The National Snow Show in October.
This is one of the Ski A to Z illustrations that I most relate to, that fun feeling of speed, flight and exhilaration of going full throttle down the mountain.
It was great to see Chemmy Alcott, four times Olympian and presenter of BBC Ski Sunday at The National Snow Show. Chemmy is so vibrant and full of fun.
Chemmy gave a great review of Ski A to Z earlier this year so it was wonderful to be able to show her my latest art print, which I hope will inspire female skiers of all ages.
Thanks to Chemmy for her support and encouragement. We had a great time skiing together in the summer at one of the Ski Club of Great Britain @chillfactore sessions. Chemmy helped me to resolve some issues I’ve had since I had my knee reconstruction.
Ski Racing Girl is one of the many illustrations of strong female skiers in Ski A to Z. Here are some more of the fab women enjoying the snow in Ski A to Z.
Order now to have the print in time for Christmas, an ideal gift. Info, all the range of prints and information on how to order is here.
Head to my Shop to see the range of ski and snowsports themed products and gifts.
The National Snow Show at Birmingham NEC in October 2022 was a wonderful event. It was great to meet so many lovely people, to show them the work, to hear and see their reactions, and to make it possible for them to own, art prints, greeting cards and signed first editions of Ski A to Z.
The National Snow Show was my first event doing every aspect of a show. I’ve worked at exhibition events before but always after the planning and set up. It was a busy time prepping for the show, determine the products, display, pricing and signage, but the long hours before the show were well worth it.
My mini art gallery space displayed high quality art prints, giclée archival inks printed on 100% cotton paper. Printing so good that the have been tested to not fade for 300-400 years! And yes that is possible top test by firing intense UV light in a controlled environment to simulate time passing! The art prints are mounted in conservation grade mount board, in glacier white colour in a range of sizes.
The prints were popular for those buying for themselves, for ski chalets/ themed rooms or gifts for friends who enjoy skiing and snowsports. To see all the range of prints click here.
Brand new for the show, in addition to the art prints were professionally printed greeting cards with ski and snowsport themes. I am offering bundles of these cards in my shop here.
The cards are blank for your message so they can be sent as birthday, Christmas, or notecards. The cards are high quality so they also look lovely framed.
It was magic when people brought their Ski A to Z books with them to be signed, and when one person said they had gone to the show to seek out my work. That means so much.
This was my latest event presence to date for Inspire by Kim, so I’m pleased the products proved popular. Wonderful to see all the work together and hear the reactions of so many lovely people.
“Wow”, “This is great”, “No one else is doing this.” “Amazing’”, just some of the many comments on the Inspire by Kim stand.
Great to see lifetime ski friends there and to also make new friends.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback, and sharing the ski stories. Here’s to growing the awareness of the joy of skiing and snowsports to attract more people to our sports. The slopes await. I was speaking at the show, to make it easier for new skiers to get into the sport. More about this later.
Thanks to the Ski A to Z publisher Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK)Ltdto Inframe Gallery for fine art printing/mounting, Killaprint for brand panel printing, Inframe for fine art printing and Sixprint for greeting card printing.
More about National Snow Show is here. To visit my shop click here.
Had a great time chatting to Tim on the @skirexmedia podcast. All about the upcoming National Snow Show, ski season and fun on the slopes.
Listen 🎧 at this link. It’s a great podcast and it’s fun to follow Tim and his ski experiences.
This was the second time of talking to Tim for the Ski Rex Media podcast, we first spoke in November 2021. When we looked at Dan Egan’s book 30 years In a White Haze and chatted about Ski A to Z.
Tim Meyer and Kim chatting for the Ski Rex podcast in November 2021
We talked about the National Snow Show and that I will be signing Ski A to Z books there and will be selling high quality art prints at my stand D76.
Just a reminder that prints are available for Pre-Order (to avoid disappointment and potential shipping charges when we run out of stock at the event.) See my Shop to Pre-Order (last few days to do this are now!)
I’m looking forward to speaking at the National Snow Show on 15th and 16th October at Birmingham NEC, UK. Come along on Sunday 16th when I’ll be sharing ski tips and advice. Tim Meyer will be at Boston Expo in November.
I also talk about how I will be donating some Ski A to Z book sales proceeds from each day of the show to Snow Camp charity to help youngsters, who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity, to try the sport.
bSkier from Ski A to Z bookSkier from Ski A to Z book.
The National Snow Show is at Birmingham NEC on October 15th/16th 2022. More information here. I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone at the show!
Ski A to Z is published by Meyer & Meyer Sport, more information about the book is here.
Thank you so much Tim, great to talk, and connect for the podcast. It was fun to do the recording and I’ve enjoyed listening again.
This Boot Is Made For… art prints and greeting cards are now available at Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire. Inspired by the Peak District National Park in Derbyshire this artwork is a conceptual illustration using a walking boot as the landscape. #renishaw #art #peakdistrict
I’ll be at Ski Rossendale at The Hill to join the 50 year celebrations on 10th June 2023. I will be signing first editions of Ski A to Z, have art prints, greeting cards and some exciting new products.
Great news! My fabric designs are now available on Polartec® fleece! I have 30+ ski and snowsports themed designs to choose from in my growing Spoonflower shop. These can be printed on demand and shipped direct to you. #ski #snowsport #fabricdesign
Inspire by Kim 