Thereza Rowe

Loving the work of Thereza Rowe at the moment! Her use of shape and colour is very bold. I particularly like her piece 'A Box Of Whispers', there's something naive about it yet it's sophisticated at the same time. 

It's a feast for my eyes looking at her work! It's really inspired me to go and play in my sketchbook which I shall be doing this afternoon whilst sipping on a strong coffee! Here are some more pieces of her delightful work!

Pick Me Up Graphic Arts Fair London

Whilst we were in London 'Pick Me Up' was on! They showcased the best contemporary artist's from the UK and around the world all under one roof, at Somerset House. I really enjoyed looking around, one of my favourites has to be 'Zim and Zou'. They are absolutely amazing! 

Peepshow Collective are one of my favourites, they were exhibiting too. I really loved the prints they had on show.

'Many Hands' were also there, Owen Gildersleeve is part of this collaboration, he creates hand crafted paper creations. I have followed Owen for quite a while, his style really appeals to me!

It really was amazing looking at all the talent that is around and what standards have been set! There was new and fresh idea's everywhere you looked! It's nice to see groups of illustrators that have joined together to make a business, which (with the right people) I think I would quite enjoy! For now it's about pushing my boundaries, making sure my imagery is spot-on and self promotion!

Final Major Project

I have thought a lot about what I am doing for my Final Major Project, and finally I am decided on an idea! 

I have a few books on fairytales which I have been really enjoying reading! I am going to illustrate one of the stories by creating a series of images. I have a book on Russian Fairytales that I found in a second hand book shop, and I also have some old English stories too. Decisions, decisions!

To accompany my images I also want to create a 3D set that will be set up in my space. I am actually really looking forward to starting work and I am brimming with ideas! 

I want to start by practicing drawing again as this is something I haven't done for a while and I need to get back into it. I want to concentrate on the figure and buildings first. I have been looking at a few illustrators for inspiration.

Danijela Dobric

Martin Haake

The Secret Garden

Lately I have been considering going back to collage as my way of working has quite a few constraints. Booking time in the photographic studio can be a pain, and I just want to go back to experimenting and being able to play!

After a trip to Waterstones with my little boy, I was very inspired by 'The Secret Garden' illustrated by Lauren Child. We sat on the floor in the shop and looked through the pages together, I just loved it! It's full of patterns and lovely colours and shapes. I really like the naivety of it, which is something I want to bring back into my own work and be more playful.

PeepShow Collective contact

This week I emailed PeepShow collective to try and arrange a portfolio visit, as I'd love their advice and to see how they work in studio. Unfortunately they advised me that they used to see students but they no longer take part in portfolio viewings, which is a shame. I've been a fan of these guys for ages!

http://www.peepshow.org.uk/

Rob Ryan

I love this new and exciting piece of work by Rob Ryan. He has deigned a window display for Coutts Bank, it is on display right opposite Charing Cross train station in London. 

Rob Ryan is raising money for an organisation called Kids Company. Incorporated into his design are items such as a stuffed elephant, a dolls house and a rocking horse which will be auctioned off to raise money.

I am really growing fond of this large scale work I see becoming more and more popular. It makes it feel more like you are having an experience viewing it, rather than just looking at something on a piece of paper. I would imagine the design has been laser cut which I have experimented with for my Zine Brief, but I would like to expand on this and experiment further. I will be taking part in a workshop in Manchester to learn skills in the very near future!

I am realising that many artists that work with paper as their main medium tend to do installation work, and I am really keen to try this. I take photos of my paper cutouts but you can not quite capture the magic as much in a photo, it is totally different when you are in the studio with the lights off and it's lit up, there's something nice about it, something nostalgic. Having the freedom to move around and view the piece from different angles gives it a whole different aspect.

Visit from Lord Whitney

A few weeks ago we had a visiting lecture from Lord Whitney. 

Lord Whitney are a collaboration between Amy Lord and Rebekah Whitney, They are two university graduates that have set up business together and they do some very exciting work! They are playful and inspired by all things wonderful! They have created work for a wide variety of events from festivals to exhibitions, they enjoy creating magical environments. One particular festival they continue to work on is the 'Just So' festival, it looks wonderful! 

http://www.justsofestival.org.uk/

http://www.lordwhitney.co.uk/

They have so many amazing pieces of work, I have posted a few of my favourites above. I think I can relate to them as I work with cutouts and suspending elements. They tend to work with a 3D aspect and on a much larger scale which I feel is the next progression within my own work. 

They spoke about their journey from being graduates to how they have got where they are now, and reassured us that it can be a struggle but to persevere. There doesn't seem to be any set path but to just try new things and knock on a lot of doors! They advised to begin by doing work for free, this is great exposure, but also warned us not to let people take advantage.

 I asked the girls what  working in a partnership is like, and wondered what would happen if they had different ideas on a project, but they said they seem to cope with this fine and tend to agree on the same things and make decisions together. It made me realise that I would like to work alongside someone but it would have to be someone I fully trust with decision making, and someone who has similar ideas and ways of working as myself.

After the lecture Lord Whitney visited us in our studio and set us a quick brief. The brief was entitled 'Compound Nouns'. We had to mix two words together that wouldn't usually be associated, and then create whatever we wanted to illustrate this.

I worked with Emma Thorpe, we started by writing words on pieces of paper and picked them out of a mug! The compound nouns we had were 'jam river' , 'spoon moustache', 'ribbon tree' and 'cutlery tent'. We decided to create 'cutlery tent'.

We had so much fun on this brief and got stuck in straight away, we had almost completed the brief by that afternoon! We learnt we worked well together and there wasn't so much pressure on yourself when you have two peoples ideas and two peoples input. 

Here are a few pictures of our creation!

       

We would like to continue this brief if we can find the time! It was very enjoyable and I think we could create some great work!

Su Blackwell

An artist I have admired for a long time is Su Blackwell, an artist and art director who works predominantly with paper. Her art works are amazing! Many of them are book sculptures, they are really delicate and whimsical.

I have often wondered if there is a market for handmade art as I work in this way myself, and it is very comforting to see that Su Blackwell has been commissioned for many projects. Here are some below:

Amongst her book sculptures and other paper cuttings, Su Blackwell has also designed installations for prestigious shops such as Harvey Nichols in London.

It is my dream to do this!!

Clearly, Su Blackwell's works are exquisite and I can only aspire to be as good as her!

http://www.sublackwell.co.uk/profile/#

'A Small World' by Lyon Forrest Hill and Jennifer Hill

I have been doing some research for my journal tonight and came across this very inspiring video created by couple Lyon Forrest Hill and Jennifer Hill. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10UvUBGW5sI&feature=related

They've been very creative and used lots of different perspectives, making this piece very dynamic. There was something creepy about it, maybe the music, but I loved it! 

Owen Glidersleeve

Another artist that I found who is into paper cutting is Owen Glidersleeve! Love his use of colour. His work has a simplicity to it, some very nice pieces that are a feast for my eyes! 

The jumper above is made from berries, pine needles and christmas cake!

To see more of his work visit his website http://www.owengildersleeve.com/work_pages/morris.html

Hattie Newman

I came across the work of Hattie Newman today whilst doing some research for my current project; which is to produce my own publication.

I want to produce a little book illustrating lovely outings I share with my little boy. We often take trips to Formby beach where there is sand dunes leading down to a lovely flat, sandy beach. We often go climbing the dunes, and I chase him around! He's always collecting bits and bobs like sticks, leaves, feathers and anything that will fit into his pocket!! He likes feeding the red squirrels there in the forest too, and it's lovely inside, so peaceful and magical, we love it! 

I want to recreate the delightful places we often visit together and make a special little book! I want it to be playful and magical. I am considering materials, I want it to be organic in style and pretty to look at. I still want to continue with my current style but push that a little and progress to the next step, I may do this by introducing a 3D aspect as I usually only work in 2D.

Hattie Newman's work which I discovered today is relevant to my research and very inspiring.

Above is my favourite piece of work. I love the cardboard material used and it has a sense of magic about the piece. It looks festive!

I just love the little houses! There is a real sense of magic captured, quite naive pieces but very sophisticated. Makes me feel like a child at christmas again! I want to capture this feeling in my publication and display the naivety and innocence that my son has, I want to create from his perspective.

I'm really inspired by this artist, I hope you have enjoyed my find!