Speech at Manchester Cathedral

I was very kindly invited to be a guest speaker at Manchester Cathedral tonight, in aid of Henshaws for their annual Carols by Candlelight service. I shared my sight loss journey, my decision to go back into education and get my illustration degree and the seeds planted so far in my practice that will bloom into something bigger in the future. It was nice to be able to take some time to reflect when drafting my speech over these past few weeks on how far I have come, especially in the past 2 academic years at Leeds College of Art, making substantial progress to becoming a much more informed, autonomous, evocative and enquiring illustrator. I feel like I've had a bit of a religious experience with being in such a beautiful and historic building - opening up my heart and sharing my life with a huge audience of hundreds of people; and with God. A lot of good things happen to me, like really amazing opportunities I could never even wished to have asked for, and also a lot of bad things. Many to do with my visual impairment, but others just general real-life crap.

This past year I lost my grandad who was essentially my second father. When I was little, my dad worked a lot to support my mum, brother and I so I didn't get to see him much. My mum was a young mother at the time of the late 80's, being 19, and relied on her parents a lot to take the pressure off of having two children. I grew so close to my Irish nana and grandad and learned so much from them about hard work, grafting and a strong family unit. My nana had a stroke in 1995, when I was 4 years old, and back in those days there wasn't much anyone could do - whereas now the effects can be reversed quite tremendously if it is treated quick enough. My nana was subsequently paralysed and couldn't speak and that is, unfortunately, how I remember her. This happened at the same time it was discovered that I was severely visually impaired, needing to go to London to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital most of the time for operations and it was a lot for my young mother to cope with. My grandad stepped in and was everything to me and my mum.

Losing him in the summer after a terrible series of injuries, eventually succumbing to pneumonia and heart failure, has been incredibly difficult to come to terms with. I've never dealt with death properly as I was shielded from my nana's death and this is my first proper experience. My mum and I wouldn't eat for days and had no desire to do anything from severe grief. The only thing that propelled us forward was the prospect of me going to university and living in a studio flat - where we would go out and buy little things here and there to decorate and make my stay more comfortable. This big loss, and the good and bad things that happen to me every day, have enabled me to find comfort in my faith. I am trying to find hope, support and comfort and feel like these are being slowly addressed in the Word and spending time tonight in the Cathedral has been a turning point.

Life Drawing Classes

• With discovering a newfound joy to observational drawing thanks to the Visual Language sessions, and the ability to unpick visual components each week, I signed up to the life drawing classes here at LCA to employ all of the new things I have been learning!

• One of my transformative moments during this first term has been the session on line quality - and how different tools can produce different variations when speed, pressure and thoughts / emotions come into play to effect the outcome. Using graphite stick and an ink brush pen were my favourite discoveries because of the aesthetic they bring; textured contours and outlines to an illustration that can vary depending on implication and motion. This really allows for light and shadow to be implied in the more inkier or drier areas. I liked using the contrast of the softer graphite with the harsher, more deliberate ink brush pen.

• I struggle with observational drawing because of my severe visual impairment, with only 8% central vision in my left eye - like looking down a tunnel - and only light perception in my right. I was made to feel very welcome at the life drawing sessions, people were very supportive of me and respectful of my Guide Dog, allowing me to get as close as possible to the models so I can see them in my field of useful vision. Photographs aren't allowed, which is completely understandable, so I couldn't use my trusty iPad! Because of how welcoming the sessions were I really began to settle, letting go of my setbacks and hardships and relax when drawing - just like everyone else - producing some work I am very proud of.

• Self-realisation of my own boundaries and limitations, and giving them the finger - giving things a bloody good go - shows my determination to become a better artist, designer, illustrator, practitioner and a better person. I can only compete with myself, attempting to become a better me, and not letting my disability get the better of me, as it has all of my life, has been key to my current happiness and feeling of self-worth.

• Observational drawing is something I really want to continue into the New Year and new term as it is so beneficial to draw, think and look on location - figuring out how an illustration can tell a narrative and what parts to omit or include, telling an interesting story of your individual journey. I have enjoyed the Visual Narratives module because of the observational drawing opportunities; having the ability to sit and draw buttons in Duttons for Buttons, and the people of Ilkley, to convey my trip there instead of just picture-perfect photographs.

Contextual Research: 3D Craft and Lens

Polly Becker

This is so charming! From what I can gather, it shows a family made up of their favourite objects or objects that represent them, along with a photograph of their face giving a realistic and representational grounding face. Cameras, a xylophone and a tiny violin for the children - representing youthful, innocent fun through music and exploration. Coloured thread and a needle for the mother, a quintessential and stereotypical pastime using feminine doll legs in a dainty pose, and the dad with his hammer showing the strength in his arms. Men do DIY and are strong! The simple background against the mountain of objects works particularly well and I like the idea of using found or treasured objects. This could be something to consider in my own 3D illustration in the visual language module? The central composition give an air of simplicity.

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Jean Jullien

I feel that this is so clever - turning 2D illustrations into 3D objects just from cutting and folding a few key body parts! The elongated limbs are quirky and charming, adding a sense of personality to these odd-balls, and their colours are fun and vibrant! Paper cut is such a simple but successful technique in its form and functionality, giving a sense of craftsmanship and the hand-made, and is something I am slowly falling in love with. I'm even considering using it in my Visual Narratives picture book! Again, the simple background gives a stylistic simplicity that marries well with the simple forms and shapes making up the characters. Each has their own facial expression representing them in an effortless approach and the three dimensional aspect gives them a more authentic and genuine connection to the audience.

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Owen Gildersleeve

Paper cut again, this time adding a sense of simple but bold colour, shape and movement. This truly looks like a box of tricks or a present that flourishes when opened! An explosion of fun! The central composition, with the tablet device, turned slightly on its' side adds an element of the off-beat and the unconventional. The choice of bright, saturated colours communicates a genuine and authentic element of pleasure and enjoyment and the warm wooden background provides a more pleasing hue rather than just white.

Visiting Lecturers: DR ME

Official Website | Twitter | Instagram

• DR ME, est. 2010, is duo Ryan Doyle and Mark Edwards. Their name is a fusion of their initials.

• They are based in Manchester and The French Riviera.

• Didn't want to work in-house for a company. Wanted to work for themselves and made a list of university
of the things they want to set out and achieve.

• They were interested in alternative illustration and worked for Mike Perry after completing university. They learned more from Mike and his practice in 2 months than they did at university; even though they folded posters and sent them to clients for the majority of the internship!
• From folding posters and sending to clients, they learned the art and power of self-promotion.
• Their first proper brief was with Dutch Uncle. It allowed them to find their style setting them apart from everyone else.
• Handmade collage, true to form as possible. Handmade is their ethos.
• Social media is a powerful tool is getting potential clients interest in your work. When that connection has been established, keep the relationship going. Let them know you are still there, making work. Collaboration can push that further.
• From having a strong Twitter presence and a self-run website they are able to respond to the work they want to do.
• Go with your gut instinct.
• Don't be afraid to ask and don't be afraid of failure!
• Make good work, constantly be making, collaborate to learn new things and expand your knowledge as a maker.
• See exhibitions, movies, cities, something on a wall or in a book. Don't stay in your studio - experience the world!
• Just be you and enjoy the work you make.
• Keep a sketchbook to test out and collect a plethora of materials, sketches, roughs, collages and notes.
Let it be natural. DR ME are always writing and sketching.
• They put up with each other by not sharing a studio but meeting up frequently in Manchester.

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How is this relevant to my practice?
Having just completed collage in the Visual Language module, I enjoyed the freedom of cutting in various ways (ripping roughly, craft knife for precision, scissors for a loose cut) to give a certain feeling and aesthetic and layering different visual information. I have discovered a new found love for cut paper collage and want to keep pushing and exploring this medium further. DR ME have a very strong work ethic and their 365 days of collage is nothing short of admirable! I want to be able to work as relentlessly and be as experimentation with my own discipline! Their words of wisdom in regards to promotion and making what you love have really stuck with me too.

Synesthesia

In the Visual Skills module, some of my peers worked on the article regarding synesthesia and this made me realise that I have it. I thought it was just having an overactive imagination, but no - it seems to be a thing! Throughout my life, whenever someone says a letter, a word or a number I see a colour. From what I can gather, it seems to be a reaction to my visual impairment where my 'mind's eye' creates responses for me to see beyond the visual. For example:

0 - Grey

1 - Yellow

2 - Green

3 - Blue

4 - Red

5 - Yellow

6 - Purple

7 - Green

8 - Purple

9 - Red

10 - White

Is this something I want to investigate further in future projects? For COP2 perhaps? Could it inspire future projects?

Student of the Year 2016

So tonight I won Student of the Year 2016 in the Specialist Institution Awards at Canal Mills, celebrating the achievements of students from Leeds College of Art, Leeds College of Music and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Am I crying while I write this blog post? Yes, I am!

I was very kindly nominated by former Student President and now SU team member, Emma Cook, and was made aware of my nomination last week. I was very thrilled to have been selected but thought nothing of it. We have so many talented students who excel in their specialisms and I was mostly looking forward to meeting them and finding out more about them as creatives.

However, in a strange turn of events - I seem to have won! Wow! I am just so honoured to have been selected and still can't quite believe I won. Having said that, it is such a symbol of all of the hard work I have put into my personal life over the past 4 years; coming to terms with and accepting my severe visual impairment, teaching myself to read Braille for the first time so I can read my mail, learning to pour liquids, chop vegetables and cook my own food safely, learning how to use a long cane for a better sense of mobility - eventually signing up for, being match to and training with my Guide Dog Tami learning routes around our local area and beyond. Then making the brave decision to go back into education, in a different city, and learn new skills and make friends for life on the Access to HE course. This is all only just a snapshot of the things I have undertaken, alongside creating illustrations for the RNIB as their Young Illustrator for 2014, completing projects for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, UK Scouts magazine, Henshaws Society for Blind People, Action for Blind People, Foster Care Associates and Core Assets, speaking at both UK and European Parliament to help push for equal rights for blind people and volunteer for countless charities.

I'm so proud of everything I have achieved and feel so humbled to have had a wonderful introduction by our very own Principal, Simone, who is just fabulous and so supportive of me and Tami. I'm going to enjoy this moment for a little bit longer before heading to bed and going back to reality tomorrow!

Contextual Research: Collage Illustrators

Sara Finelli

Sara Finelli's work is really whimsical, quirky and full of childlike charm with a scrapbook-ish, lo-fi / DIY approach and aesthetic. There is really a sense of craftsmanship and the hand of the maker in her work. She chooses bright colours, bold patterns and shapes to create quirky characters with odd proportions and references to the past (Pinocchio, Punch and Judy, etc.) The is a mixture of visual devices at play including colour, texture, shape, line quality, collage and mark making - so she is a perfect example of visual language done well with success. I would like to be able to emulate the same enchantment that I experience when looking at her work!

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Luke Best

I discovered Luke for the first time through the collage powerpoint presentation and have fallen in love with his use of pattern, texture, colour and shape. The contrast of light and dark really pull me into his pieces and there is a careful consideration of his paper cut layers. I especially love the big, bold shapes, blocks of colour married with dry brush marks and patches of colour for texture and depth.

Study Task 4: Books

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Fiction
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Illustrated by Minalima

The Jungle Book is one of the most popular children's classics ever and this updated version really amplifies illustration and design as a companion to the story. One of the many successes of this version is the colour palette that reflects the vibrant culture of India; its' heat, spices and people. I also really like the interactive features including postcards, concertinas, spinning dials, fold-out maps and trifold illustrations. It adds participation from the young audience to get involved with the story beyond just reading and to enjoy the illustrations on a deeper, more functional level than just looking at them on a page. The recognisable title and front cover initially drew me to the book but it was the content that made me fall in love with it. For the last brief of the Visual Skills module, I was looking into negative images, limited colours and simplified motifs for my book cover and seeing these elements on a physical published book delighted me!

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Non-Fiction
Drawing The Curtain: The Cold War in Cartoons
by Sergei Khruschev and Timothy S. Benson

This isn't usually the style of illustrated book I would select, as I am not the biggest fan of cartoon-style drawings - especially politically charged caricatures - but I was drawn to the binding of the book, the weight of it and the cotton material the cover is made from. It is really well crafted which makes it technically beautiful, even if the images inside aren't. Juxtaposition! As well as aesthetics, I was intrigued about the content itself and how it may help me in my Context of Practice essays - particular the image analysis piece - as my chosen quote has a political overarching theme. With a historical, societal and political narrative running through the book, it is aimed at a selected audience who are interested in propaganda art, the Cold War or political illustration in general. Soviet works are places alongside Western cartoons to give both sides of the story giving strong similarities and contrasts to perceptions and ideals. Some of the art inside has a shock-factor to it and other times there is a great sense of humour and parody. 

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Picture Book
The River by Alessandro Sanna

The River is a very charming book about the seasons, with a narrative context binding stories and experiences together. Each season has it's own dedicated chapter. I don't think the book is aimed at any particular audience, anyone can enjoy and relate to the simplicity of the theme and the magic of the illustrations. It illustrates the connections between people and places - and the stories we have tied to them. The River portrays the flow of time and the cycle of the year and the chosen media of watercolour gives it a very energetic ebb and flow, capturing the motion of time and how time waits for no one. Colours are vibrant with little detail to characters, but a lot of character given to the skies and natural world. Compositions are akin to graphic novels or comics but sit within loose frames. I was drawn to this book after I heard my peers suggesting it - and I was not disappointed when I had a look myself. Young and old can appreciate this beautiful little book!

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Self-Published

January by Eleni Kalorkoti

January is a pocket-sized zine; just one part of an ambitious project where Kalorkoti produced a small publication each month about her life. After moving to London, living in a new house, meeting new people and have a totally different life Kalorkoti wanted to use her A6 zines as an autobiographical channel for her experiences and thoughts, and functions as a monthly diary of sorts. She uses her preferred technique of hand drawing and then colouring in Photoshop - creating charming vector shapes which lay the foundation to her cutesy character designs - but each zine issue uses different media to experiment and push herself as an illustrator. The successes of January come from the limited colour palette of burnt orange, cream, yellow and black - providing a warmth and hope for the New Year ahead - and simple shapes to form characters, objects and places. Without researching though, I had no idea what this zine was about... is this a possible failure of the work or is the ambiguity intentional? There is no relationship between images and text, due to the lack of text, so I imagine images can be interpreted however they want to be. I was drawn to the repeated motifs on the cover as well as the functional size of the zine.

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Reflection

I found this session really useful and especially well-timed for the Visual Narratives module; where I will be creating a picture book in the near future. It was beneficial to look at different types of books I don't usually look at, from a personal preference stand-point, such as graphic novels as well as printed material I would like to look at, such as zines, but don't have access to as they are only small-scale publications. I was able to take in the breadth of composition, character design, colour palettes, visual language, tone of voice, images working in relation to the text, or not at all and cover designs which will be extremely useful when creating initial sketches for my work.

Contextual Research: Shape and Texture

Rob Hodgson

Rob's 'Funny Buggers' zine is full of basic shapes married with texture to create a set of quirky and endearing characters. Each one has their own personality through variables of facial and body features; altering where the elements are placed will give a different personality. A big nose, big ears or a big smiley mouth present a silly and likeable character. A character with a tiny face and a large body equally has a sense of charm about it! I really like how basic texture, mark making and shape has created a breadth of characters for a zine and I can really get a feel for Rob's tone of voice - experimental, nonsensical at times, delightful, eccentric.

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Eric Carle

Who doesn't love The Very Hungry Caterpillar? It has been one of my favourite children's books for a very long time and has a wonderful sense of nostalgia and sentimentality attached to each page. As I've grown older, I have begun to look at the work differently and appreciate Carle's practice and way of working. His bright saturated paints sing against the white backgrounds he uses, and the slight variations in paint thickness as it has dried gives a sense of light and shadow. This is particularly charming when considering subject matter of delicate petals or butterfly wings where sunlight may be poking through. There is such a crafting with care and labour of love quality to the pictures which really shows in the precision and execution of the pieces.

Study Task 3: Applied Illustation

• Applied illustration - illustration is an applied art.

• What does that mean? I have to look at the contexts of which the illustration exists and speculate new areas where pictures can exist.

• Illustration can be applied to something else; it can be commercial, implemented onto products or clothing items. It isn't art for art's sake - instead, serving a purpose. There is a brief behind the end result.

• It is a bridge between an idea and society / an audience / an individual.

• How does this apply to me? I will be working for / collaborating with people. However, Illustrators are not subservient

to an agent or graphic designer.

• The application defines the illustration. It solves a brief, provides context, sends a message, communicates and functions.

• Process of making pictures, applying them to something, giving that item a function. Illustration used as a tool. Making a point; storytelling, making and giving meaning. Use that tool to connect and communicate content.

• Applied illustration can exist on anything; a mug, storybook, magazines, newspapers, stickers, packaging, prints, posters, towels, stationary, coasters, zines, jewellery, pin badges, tote bags, socks, notebooks, wallpaper, cards, wrapping paper, pencil cases, t-shirts, water bottles, album covers, tattoos, lunch boxes, bedding, murals, social media, websites, advertising, computer games, and so on.

• If illustration can be defined by it's application that it can be applied anywhere.

• What is good application? What has just been slapped onto a product?

• Ethics taken into consideration. Do we create small-scale things or use plastic items that will become landfill?

• Who work I work for? Agents / agencies, communities, curators, promotors, publishers, websites, authors, musicians, graphic designers, film makers and producers, charities.

• Success of work validated by peers and feedback. Maintain network. Functioning not just in a bubble.

Thought Bubble 2016

• So Thought Bubble was amazing

• I had tickets to both days and spent much time and money!

• I finally met Phillippa Rice who was wonderful

• So many talented people who have their own individual tone of voice

• Quality of the work and the products were outstanding

• So many different pieces of ephemera such as zines, prints, tote bags, buttons, magnets, towels, jewellery, books, comics, cards and stickers

• Table set ups really reflected the individual and ranged from professional to more DIY results

• Inspired me to try new things at college and really play and experiment

• Is Thought Bubble something I want to consider being a part of next year?

• What kind of things would I want to sell?

• How would I set up my table?

• It was so fun to connect with people from all walks of life with different interests, influences and illustrative heroes and talk to them about their practice and how they support themselves outside the festival

• I can't wait to go again next year! 

Visting Lecturer: Mike Mignola

Official Website

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"The best horror comic in a generation. This Mignola guy is a wizard." Frank Miller

Mike Mignola visited LCA tonight and - all I can say is - what an awesome guy! I'm not a huge comic book fan, largely due to my visual impairment; meaning I can't read the speech and thought bubbles and follow the narrative, but I admire the skill of the artists and inkers. Mike is renowned though and as a comic book movie fan - thanks to the wonders of audio description - I am well aware of his status in the comics world. One of my friends, currently on Level 6 Illustration, draws and inks his comics and the amount of time, patience and skill required is nothing short of astonishing!

• Reading Dracula as a young kid changed Mike's life and welcomed him to the world of horror.
• Some of his first projects included Rocket Racoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk.
• He worked for Marvel and developed his style - going from a terrible inker to a much better one.
• Mike went on to draw the comic adaptation of the Dracula film in the early 90's.
• He always wanted to draw monsters for a living and finally got to create his own...
• Mike moved to Dark Horse Comics and created Hellboy. There are 13 graphic novel collections, 2 animated movies and 2 live-action movies to date.
• He became a writer to draw what he wanted. When he can't draw something, he omits it from the story!
• He lost his confidence in his work due to having too many ideas and not being able to refine them. Drawing what he wanted to draw enabled him to get back on track and enjoy his practice again.
• His process is organic and he tends to script as he creates thumbnails.
• Mike works 7 days a week in between projects and often stays focused as there is nothing else he would rather be doing.
• He is usually always in his studio with his television keeping him company.

Fantastically, I had the opportunity to ask Mike two questions about his influences and advice for illustrators starting out. I've always wanted to know who he was inspired by, aside from Horror fiction and movies and I'm always happy to hear words of encouragement from seasoned illustrators!

"The easy answer is to say I'm influenced by everything... Early on I wanted to be Frank Frazetta. Every few days I wanted to be a different guy. Mostly I'm influenced by painters. I don't wear my influences on my sleeve. You don't need to find your style... your style needs to find you! You can't manufacture a style because even if you are successful, can you continue that? It's just evolution; good, bad or otherwise."

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How is this relevant to my practice?
I want to be able to graft and generate a body of work in a similar fashion to Mike; his enthusiasm for his practice, his clear hard work and dedication over the decades, and his passion for keeping busy 7 days a week really showed through when he talked about his immense portfolio. I also found a connection when he mentioned that he has too many ideas sometimes and finds it difficult to hone in on what he wants to explore... Drawing for fun solved his writer's block and this is something I want to start experimenting with more as an illustrator. Drawing for my own enjoyment, seeing the results and (hopefully) the passion and crafting showing through, and going with that.

Contextual Research: Visual Skills

• Bill Bragg is an illustrator who has worked a lot with the Folio Society creating simple book covers that pack a big punch. His use of a limited colour palette, basic shape and form and negative space is something I really want to take into consideration when creating my roughs and final book cover. The Metamorphosis cover, especially, is my favourite from his works as the silhouette against a patterned vintage background juxtaposes the creepy and the beautiful. The red and black work really well together and is a colour scheme I am contemplating using.

• Ronald Cala is a graphic designer and illustrator who layers negative and positive imagery together to create multiple meanings that require closer inspection and second viewings. As with Bill Bragg, he uses a very limited palette partnered with simplistic forms and motifs. These are exceptionally clever pictures that I hope to be able to draw inspiration from in my developmental work.

• Louise Lockhart visited my peers and I recently to discuss her practice of making pictures (a more detailed blog post can be found here). I really admire her drive and dedication to trying out new ways and processes of creating illustrations and find her combination of simplistic shapes, forms, colours, compositions and techniques very inspiring. I would like to implement her craftsmanship into my final cook cover - using an amalgamation of paper cut, scanned textures for added visual interest, digital manipulation (Photoshop) and the negative space concepts of Bill Bragg and Ronald Cala.