Blog

Hi All,

Thought I would share this post here as I have done on my Facebook Page:

‘This is not an art-related post and I rarely post anything political as that’s not what my page is about. I love sharing with you all my artwork, processes, ideas and inspiration but recently I’m feeling a bit deflated whenever I go on social media. There’s just so much hatred and a lack of love right now, some people like to tear others down when they know so little about a situation. Since it’s Random Act of Kindness Day I just want to spread some positivity in these times of darkness.

Just been hearing about Chinese people being attacked because people are: a. dicks and b. presumptuous about the coronavirus. Can we all show a bit of kindness and compassion (and rational thinking) what with everything that’s happening in the world right now, please? It’s really not too much to ask. I treat others the way I expect to be treated: respect and dignity. I was also asked as well and frankly, well, I was bewildered to be honest. The assumption that I’m Chinese therefore by default I have the coronavirus is just racist and xenophobic. I do feel quite paranoid about it at the moment, I feel strangers eyes boring into me whenever I’m on the tube or in the shops.

Why am I made to feel like the odd one out? Why should I feel like crap when people are only out for themselves? Why am I made to feel like I’m in the wrong whilst others are able to judge me because of the way I look?

Educate yourselves and others. Yes, be up to date with information (I mean reliable sources, always fact-check things and not just share a random post on Facebook), talk about things honestly to your children if it means watching Newsround or doing some research on it.

How do I end this post on a lighter note?

Just look out for one another is all I’m saying. Please be caring, non-judgemental, show some love for one another.’

…. It takes a lot of strength and courage to stand up to small-minded people. But the more you question their views and ways of thinking, the more people open to up to having a dialogue which is a right step in itself even though it could be excruciating.

I don’t know. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. And in this day and age where information is so easily accessible you’d think people would be open to different opinions, thoughts etc. Nope by the sounds of it. People become so ingrained in the way they think, once they have that mindset it spreads to other groups of people- which is all the more worrying when you think about it.

I’m sick and tired of hearing, seeing, experience racial abuse. The way things are going right now it’s a political shit show… and now this is my cue to step back and end my post here.

Thanks for reading as always and take care of yourselves.

By
Miscellaneous

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! So today it’s Chinese New Year or otherwise known as the Lunar New Year. What we usually do when it comes to celebrate this rather important date in the Chinese calendar is that we eat traditional Chinese food with friends and families, exchange and open lei sees (otherwise known as red envelopes) and there are dancing Chinese dragons/lions too. I remember when I was younger we’d used to eat Chinese sweets which came in a rather beautiful containers with divided segments for the individual sweets. We used to spend Chinese New Year in Hong Kong when were we younger, which was all the more a special occasion as we’d only see our families maybe once a year. I remember we would open up or lei sees and light up paper lanterns in the evening, followed by loads of delicious food of course! There’s really no getting away with food.

This year it’s the Year of the Rat so to celebrate this rather special little creature I have made a print which is now available in my Etsy, Folksy and Urban Makers shop.

Well, I’m going to end it here. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and take care.

By
Art

Hello everyone! How’s your week been so far? I’ve added a new piece of work to my Etsy shop titled: ‘What a Time to be Alive’ available in two sizes: A4 and A3 size.

My most recent work has been the influence of self-care, mindfulness and positivity. I’m hoping that my art will spread some joy in these dark times we’re currently living in right now. The world can seem like a very bleak place especially when you’re reading the news and you’re constantly bombarded with sad and awful news.

I’m going to end it here as I’m going to go back to my sketchbook and do some drawings for the rest of the afternoon. Look after yourselves and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

By
Art, Etsy

Hello folks and welcome to 2020, a brand new start to the New Year! I hope you all had a relaxing Christmas and New Year, unfortunately I was struck down with the flu over the Christmas so I was sick for most of it. We went round to my mother-in-law’s neighbours house for a big fat turkey dinner and we were completely stuffed by the end of it. I was still sick up to this point but by the Sunday I had a fever for most of the day and I couldn’t even get out of the bed… flu jab for me this coming Christmas (will be on my to-do list for sure!).

I’ve been meaning to write up a post about 2019 but I didn’t have the time to do it over Christmas or the fact of the matter is that I was so lethargic last week I had absolutely no energy to do anything. I’m now feeling much better so now’s a good time to reflect on the past year. Last year was jam packed with lots of life changing moments i.e. we got married, went to Japan, a friend had a baby, Savina went back to Australia…

I took part in Art at the Deli’s artist exhibition back in late spring and I show cased previous work under the theme ‘animal menagerie’, overall it was a great success as I had lots of people commenting about my work. Plus, it was great to be supporting a local business in Doncaster as well as the creativity within the area.

Me, matching my outfit with my work.

The next big thing that happened last year is that we finally got married! We spent the whole year planning, crying, shouting, raging and more planning (not in that order but you get my drift). I had to keep going back to Doncaster for my dressings but you know what? All those mega stressful moments was totally worth it. Everyone on the day was helping out and things fell into place; folks chipping in with moving tonnes of flower decorations, Savina (the super trooper person that she is) just stepped in and orchestrated people whenever they needed to be shuffled in and out of places. Totally couldn’t have done it without her, she held me and Sam together like cement. We’ve both said we were utterly grateful for her help right from the start. She’s now back in Australia so we were hoping to visit her at some point in the future.

After the wedding, we went out our mini moon to Cornwall for a quick getaway and we really needed that time just to breathe, be away from London for a couple of days and enjoy each others company.

A couple of months later we went away to Japan for our honeymoon and it was such a memorable and fantastic trip I’d love to do it all over again. Japan, you spoilt us and treated us like kings and queens. We ate so well those two weeks I can’t stop harping on about the food. The people are absolutely lovely; really helpful folks wherever we were and everyone went out of their way to help us when there was a language gap. That didn’t stop us from doing and seeing amazing things… a long and dreamy sigh here. Japan is calling me and I plan on going there again in the future and explore more of the islands down south. Sayounara!

Myself and my friend Monica Moro who runs Cook with Amore took part in two craft markets over Christmas. It was great to get back into the swing of things and I’d love to do more craft markets this year.

The London Crafters in West London

Last year I didn’t get the chance to make much artwork, so I’m a bit disappointed by that. Fair enough we had the wedding to plan but even times when I did have the time, let’s just say that I wasn’t super motivated and kept on doubting myself. Over the past month or so my Etsy shop has been really busy, as in, busy with orders for a particular print. Like I’ve said before, I have no idea where the traffic is coming from so I’d like to say thanks to everyone who has purchased it. I feel like the universe is in our hands- no matter how tough things get you have the choice and the power to make those changes. I honestly believe and live by this quote. So this year I’d like to be more focused on my work as well as concentrating on my Etsy shop and make a proper push for it. Let’s see where things go, who knows what’s going to happen in the next couple of months but it’s great to see the momentum gaining slowly but surely.

Readers. I’m going to end it here on a high. Wishing you all good health, luck and all that jazz for the start of the year and the end of the decade. Take care and thanks for reading as always!

By
Miscellaneous

Hey there everyone! Hope you’ve had a lovely week unlike myself; I’ve been really ill all this week so not much fun! I just got over a really bad cold, which lasted for a couple of days, and then the other night I accidentally gave myself food poisoning! I’m sort of over it but it’s completely drained me out and I was suppose to go to Renegade London today but I’m totally zapped out.

On a rather positive note I have two new prints available in my Etsy shop:

‘Do You Dream?’ A4 and A3

‘In This Universe Your Existence is Beautiful’ A4 and A3

My Etsy shop has still been super busy with ‘The Universe is in Your Hands’ print and I can’t fathom where the traffic is coming from, but I just wanted to say a massive thanks to everyone who has purchased from me. You’re supporting small businesses like myself as I’m a one-band woman behind Jo Cheung Illustration: packaging, designing, running to the post office and repeat the process over and over again.

I’ll be following up with a round-up post as always in the next week or so but until then enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

By
Art, Etsy

✳︎✴︎ Copyright 2009-2025 © Jo Cheung Illustration. No reproduction or use of content without expressing permission. ✴︎✳︎