Children's Books are no longer interesting me

 

I've really grappled with this notion throughout LAUIL504 Applied Illustration... Children' books are no longer interesting or relevant t me.

I chose the Carmelite Prize competition brief to try and rekindle some magic and love for something I was once so passionate about in Access to HE and Level 4. I loved children's books as an educational tool for children, teaching them life morals and / or history, culture, society, technology in a fun and playful visual way that could easily be digested. They were a huge comfort to me and I loved delving into different worlds as a form of escapism with my favourite characters. Children's books felt like one giant hug r a big blanket and the prospect of going into that world as an emerging practitioner excited me to no end. I had a "gentleman's agreement" with Walker Books to work on expanding my Pearly Kings and Queens zine from the visual narratives module in Level 4 into a full-blown children's book; teaching of British heritage, charity, selflessness and compassion for others.

Undertaking this brief, however, has shown me that the magic is no longer there. I have simply changed and grown as a person over these past few years with the trauma I have dealt with, with my health and losing my support system of a family, and my interests have evolved over this period when I needed comfort in other ways. Primarily music and sub-culture. 

Lesson learned: You cannot force yourself to produce work that you don't enjoy and I have learned this the hard way.

Going forward, I would like to develop my professional practice into producing responses to experiential art, being informed by music, using illustration to educate about mental illness. I now have a broader range of options surrounding my practice and I'm no longer limited into one category of illustrating for children. I have a much bigger audience. I would like to become more multidisciplinary. This excites me for Level 6 and the new horizons in my practice as a professional. I want to make illustration relevant and enjoyable for myself first and foremost.