Picture Box

Nicola Slater visit

2012-01-10T04:17:00.001-08:00

We are lucky to be having a visit from Nicola Slater on Friday 27th January. Nicola is a published illustrator of children's books and young adult books. She has been on the judging panel for The McMillan Children's Book competition. She will also be teaching Level 4 students later on this year. Click here to see more of her work.

The Fish Tank

2012-01-06T05:06:00.000-08:00

Keep you eyes peeled on this website, it is the results of a project set by design studio Music. You may recognise some of the work by our students - past and present! The guys at Music also sent us a delicious see-through poster.

Krakow 2011

2011-11-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

A whirl-wind tour, of our enriching, fascinating and action- packed trip to Krakow.

Wednesday 16^th November

We arrived at 12.30pm and after a quick freshen up, navigated ourselves straight into town. First stop was The Jan Fejkiel Gallery. This as full of stunning print work by artists such as Władysław Pluta , Jerzy Panek and Wiesław Skibiński. We just love the polish sensibility and natural graphic aesthetic.

After getting our barings, in the main square, we looked inside the spectacular St. Mary's Basilica. It was so ostentatious on the interior and we just sat and took in the view.

We visited the home of Jan Matejko, a very famous Polish painter. He was a prolific artist and collector of objects. the Academy of Fine Arts in named after him. We then meet other staff to eat and relax, in a bar with swings at the bar and drawings on the wall.

Thursday 17th November

An early start for a meeting with, Professor Adam Wsiołkowski at the The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts. We were taken through to his offices, which were very grande. He welcomed us and gave us some books as a gift for making the effort to visit. We then watched a film about all the courses taught at the Academy. Next we were taken to another building nearby to meet with a professor called Joanna. She showed us around all the facilities for poster design, animation, screen-printing studio and the vast spaces dedicated to lithography, etching, lino – beautiful hand-made techniques that I wish were fully utilised at our college. Lots of skill, time taken to produce work and understand of process was evident.

We hunted down the small but cosy Galeria Plakatu - Poster Gallery, lots of purchases were made as we drooled over the wonderful work.

Friday 18th November

Auschwitz left us all very speechless and emotional. An excellent and moving experience, which is hard to put into words. Best just to show pictures.

Friday 19th November

Hunting Down the Modernism. The Prohibited Arts in the Third Reich at the International Culture Centre. A fitting exhibition following yesterdays trip. This was a rich and wonderful exhibition, showing work by German artists, writers and composers who were persecuted by the Nazi authorities during their time in office from 1933 to 1945. There was a wide range of work includingprints, drawings, sculpture, literary works and musical pieces. Artists work on show included Emil Nolde, Max Ernst, Georg Grosz and Otto Freundlich. It had real impact and power.

A personal favourite museum was the delightful Ethnographic Museum. Set in a former Town Hall there were authentic reproduction of a folk interior from different regions of Poland, stunning folk costumes, an extensive range of implements used by people from Poland's countryside. The objects were displayed really well and it didn't matter that all the information was in Polish. We all nearly had a fit when we saw the Puppet Theater's and costumes for traditional folklore - lots of connections made about the current Year 1 project.

We then took a walk to MOCAK via the Ghetto for Heroes Square. After a look round the gallery, we meet in the cafe with Karol Gadzala and Marta Podkowinska.

They each have developed a distinctive style with their passion for letters and eye catching type illustration. Their work lies somewhere between the collision of Graphic Design, Typography and Illustration. They have both worked with various clients all over Europe and spoke of their experiences of the design industry in Poland. They have both used the Behance network as a platform to showcase their work. They recommended that we contact:

VASAVA.com studio,
Hipopotum Studio,
Istvan Szugicky,
DOMARADZKI,
HYDRO74,
KXX studio,
fontearte,
HOMEWORK - who do very contemporary Polish Posters.
They mentioned STGU.pl as the polish version of D&AD or AIGA.

They were so generous to us with their time, past experiences and advice

to students. We hope that they will come to the UK to do some teaching at

Stockport College!

Book Launch: Christmas in Uganda

2011-11-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

Our very own Dominique Byron sees her work published this week.

Illustration as Writing Symposium

2011-11-10T02:40:00.000-08:00

On 3/11/11, I attended the Illustration as Writing: Visual Language Symposium at MMU. It was the second event held by the Illustration Research Team, led by Desdemona McCannon. They are keen to increase the amount of research being undertaken about illustration, as there is not enough good critical writing on the subject. The event was introduced by Desdemona, Chris Glynn and Amelia Johnstone (UWIC). They read a manifesto against using words alone to communicate idea, “ We dispute the subservience of images to text.” They declared – illustration is a way of writing not pure decoration.

They hope that the papers presented would be submitted to the ‘Journal of Writing for Creative Practice’, and would generate more debate about our discipline.

Chris Glynn asked the audience to not only write during the presentations but be free to doodle any visual images that came to mind. He is compiling a series of ‘Drawings from Meetings’ as John Vernon Lord has done since 1961 as a tutor in Illustration at Brighton. These drawings help his mind to concentrate and make sense of what is being discussed.

1. Image Texts

Dr Sheena Calvert – Materia Prima: Text as Image

As a typographer Sheena has become interested in the relationship between material language (Materia Prima = the primary base of language) and various philosophies of language. She used the example of “This sentence is a lie.” This is a paradox and is both true and false at the same time.

She referenced The Crystal Goblet  by Beatrice Warde who gives a beautiful metaphor of the selection of a perfect wine-glass as having a parallel with typography. Text should invisible to the content. (see Richard Shusterman: Surface and Depth and Giorgio Agamben for further reading). This was illustrated in the examples of Hellenic Pattern Poetry, where the text starts to become image.

Poets such as E.E Cummings use the visual presentation of words to support the text and aid communication. The pauses, punctuation, severe use of serif all help with the viewers understanding. In this sense, the language is performed and the visual display of words is taken advantage of. William Burroughs made inventive poetry for Rhinoceros magazine.

The work One and Three Chairs by Joseph Kosuth can be seen to highlight the relation between language, picture and referent. Artists such as Kurt Schwitters and H.N Werkmann have played with breaking boundaries between image / text and meaning. Werkmann worked directly with letterforms on a press. Text here is used as a carrier of ideas and reveals language in a highly playful way.

The artist Tom Phillips finds new narrative lurking within A Human Document (1892) by W.H. Mallock.

Idris Kahn has overprinted the Holy Quran onto one page. It is not obvious when we first see it but meaning is attached if we look deeper.

Sheena’s own work involves the production of experimental typography and prints made using a traditional letterpress. She loves this medium as the letters can show histories of their past, where there are indentations made in the shapes. The outcomes an also be unpredictable. She has a problem with philosophy about ‘meaning’ as it does not allow for language to be seen as play. Diagrams and logical ways of displaying information are functional but are not experiential. It is said that, Cy Twombly's paintings bear a resemble to writing. According to Sheena they are they aligned with material prima. They hold meaning in the rawness in the use of materials. His words are not readable yet are loaded with meaning.

There is then no such thing as invisible language. Philosopher John Dewey says that alllanguage involves both what is said and how it is said: substance and form.

Desdemona McCannon (MMU)

Illustration and Gnosis (or describing the unknowable).

The term ‘Gnosis’ was explained as relating to, or possessing intellectual or spiritual knowledge.

The presentation began with a quote from Willem de Kooning

“I paint the way I do because I can keep on putting more and more things in…”

The publication of ‘The Red Book’ by Carl Jung, shows a collection of writings and drawings of dreams and the unconscious. Jung began The Red Book after breaking from his work with Freud. It remained unpublished for many years as he thought it would undermine the authority of his academic status. It is a 205-page Medival-style Manuscript. The text is juxtaposed alongside wild drawings. The content is said to be highly personal. Do the images make greater sense of the text? The images offer pauses to the text.

Examples were shown from The Voynich manuscript, described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript," it dates back to the early 15th century. The images, which appear amongst the text, are carriers of meaning, yet the original meaning has vanished. For this reason they are very curious. There are women and plants depicted, but what are they doing? What does it mean? Is it about the really world or purely imaginative? Many people have tried to offer an interpretation of the images but no-one can really decode them without knowing their purpose or context.

In mystical poetry the reader is left disorientated, the foreground and background of the text have merged, obscured or changed. It has become more about the aesthetic. There is an attempt in the illustrations for William Blake’s ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ to try to synthesize text and image.

In Roland Barthes concept of semiotics, he identifies the term ‘anchorage’ - the text somehow "anchors" the meaning of the image. Desdemona thought that somehow we felt compelled to anchor text and meaning in order for it to not drift away. Could be more meditative in our approach?

In these Shaker Gift Drawings, the text and image are not coherent. It flips our modes of thinking. We are left feeling baffled. It is, too secret and removed from ordinary experience. We want to make meaning out of it.

The morning sessions was brought to a close by questions from the audience. The main themes re-visited were that non-verbal thinking should be highly valued. Images such as the ones highlighted are as intelligent as academic writing. We are constantly making meaning and it shifts over time. While semiotics is a useful tool to decode meaning, it is very pinned down and almost like a science. A real weakness of illustration in current practice is that it simply mimics the text. This is because it is commercially led. There is a pressure to illuminate. We should seek to challenge meaning through our image making. The illustrator can live in the interplay between text and image.

2. Authority

Catrin Morgan (RCA) - Phantom Settlements

This is a book created by Catrin Morgan in which she questions issues of truth, deception and authenticity in art. The book is broken into chapters and follows 3 artists: Ryan Gander – an artist who likes to tell tale tales and tracks where his rumours end up, Jamie Shovlin – who created a hoax using drawing of a missing school girl – who later it was found was a anagram of his name and Tom McCarthy a writer and conceptual artist who makes all of his work based on the themes of repetition and duplication.

At first it was unclear whether Catrin is giving genuine facts about the interviews she had with these artists or if she is inventing it all. I realised part way through the conversation that Catrin was repeating what she had previously said but she changes the way in which she says it, some is factual, some vague etc. The linguistic style of the text is echoed by the way the image are rendered and did infact help my mind to make the connection. The first chapter has hand-rendered images made to look like a graphic novel, the same images are shown in chapter two but this time, they are all reversed, then they are faded grainy pictures, then fragments / close-up of details. The final chapter has photo realistic drawings. Catrin enjoys letting her work muddy the water a little. She is interested in that way the image can have the power to on some way alter the perception of the text. Are some of the styles used more authentic than others? Does the audience trust in some more than others? Can the image express something beyond the words? These are the questions that drive her work. She likes to make books as they don’t change, they are an un-altertable object (unlike the internet).

Jonathon Gibb (Edinburgh College of Art)

Visions of the Beast: Animal imagery in Illustration

There has always been writing and drawing about animals. William Blake’s beautiful poem ‘The Tyger’ (1794), conjures up visual images immediately.

In Durer’s drawing ‘The Young Hare’ (1520), the hare is poised yet static, fixed in time yet timeless. This idea is also captured in Emily Sutton’s ( a graduate of his) image of ‘The Domestic Cat’. Jonathon wonders how we are able to see and understand words about these animals and make pictures?

There is an infinite number of images online (especially drawings of animals – he mentioned that if he saw another bear or owl in a portfolio, he will scream!) and they are both useful and useless in developing ones’ own personal visual language.

He encourages his students to not fish from the same pool (online) and follow the trends but to draw, draw, draw. They hone their way of working through primary research in looking, drawing and observing. The cat that Emily Sutton drew was actually a stuffed cat at a museum. She was able to breathe life into it via drawing.

An ex-student Catherine Rayner, wrote and illustrated a book for children called “Augustus and his Smile” – she worked closely with animals at Edinburgh Zoo. Tom Gauld as a student, made lots of drawings at a vetinary school. He really understands form and studied the work of Edward Gorey.

A sensitive understanding between human and animals is made in the pictures by Sara Ogilvie in ‘Rhinos don’t Eat Pancakes’, this has similar feel to the childrens’ classic (and my favourite!) ‘The Tiger Who came to Tea’. The ability to be able to be a both writer and an illustrator is a real skill.

Jez Burrows and Lizzy Stewart have a publication called “We are the Friction”. It’s a series of ten short stories and illustrations. Half of the stories were written by Jez inspired by Lizzy’s artwork and the other half is Lizzy’s artwork inspired by Jez’s stories. This is a lovely idea and features a giant wolf!

Mina Braun is by folk and fairy tales, trees and animals and the relationship between humans and nature. This is a theme for many a picture especially as animals take onhuman characteristics (anthropomorphism). She seems to find animals where ever she goes!

An exhibition running this month in London, entitled The Ghosts of Gone Birds, shows images of 300 extinct birds created by artists including Jamie Hewlett, Ben Newman, Sir Peter Blake, Ralph Steadman, Margaret Atwood, Rob Ryan, Kai & Sunny, Le Gun. I heard Ralph Steadman discussing in on Radio 4 last week. Birds celebrated in the show include the Dodo, the Matinique Amazon Parrot, the Black Mamo and the Great Auk. I think this would be a wonderful project for Year 1 to invent their own extinct birds but it also shows how our love of drawing animals to be used to raise awareness about birds under threat currently.

Lots more to post will write more later!

"But isn't that your job?"

2011-11-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

Thursday 3rd November 10 am 2011

Third years from illustration and Graphics witnessed the force of nature that is Craig Oldham last Thursday, as he came in to talk to students about his experiences of art directing illustrators whilst working at Music design agency in Manchester.

Craig based his presentation "But isn't that your job?" around his experience with illustrators through six projects that Music have commissioned at which illustration has been central to the success of the design.

Firstly Craig introduced the Big Four poster series. A job Music work on with Manchester City Football Club. In this quote Craig explains the raison d'etre behind the choice of imagery and the decision to work with illustrators.

A match isn’t just a match, it’s an event, not to be missed. It’s a unique experience more likened to a gig than game of football that you simply have to be a part of and that gets talked about for weeks—especially the games against the so-called Big Four: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

To celebrate and promote each of the Big Four Events (as in games) Music created gig-esque posters, and had them fly-postered around Manchester, to generate a feeling of excitement and distinction for each individual game that celebrated the players that had distinct and unique relationships with both clubs. Here are the results:

Manchester United illustration: Shepard Fairey

Liverpool illustrator: Todd Slater

Chelsea illustrator: Michael Gillette

Arsenal illustrator:

Craig then went on to talk us through two other recent projects with extensive use of illustration:

Chester Zoo Identity illustrator: Adam Hayes

Identity and way finding for Faith School in Hull

Throughout the examples Craig drew out lessons learnt through the projects not only by himself but also the illustrators involved. Below I’ve tried to capture these as accurately and succinctly as possible:

· Don’t second guess the client: Don’t try to give them what you ‘think’ they want just give them what you do naturally and skillfully.

· Does your work pass the Mum Test, ie if you show the work to your mum will she get it? If not its probably bobbins.

· Passion – Be passionate about what you do –its infectious- it shows in your work and it increases your chances of being commissioned.

· Have an opinion, a voice, something to say. Talk to the client, suggest alternatives don’t be too passive.

· Designers change their minds……..all the time……prepare for change! Try to accommodate it graciously.

· Designers and art directors aren’t the enemy, we are all in this together.

· Designers prefer lots of quick roughs or scamps early on in a project to reassure them your going in the right direction.

· Illustrators need to market themselves better, it’s hard to find them sometimes!

· Often illustrators will be asked to do something similar to a previous job …….’can you do it the same as that one but in blue?’ The choice is yours if the money is good …maybe, but don’t get in a rut.

· Illustrators are harder to work with than photographers, but easier to work with than writers!

· Designers love working with illustrators because it’s more exciting and unpredictable than working with photographers.

2nd International Illustration Symposium. MMU Day Two. 4.11.11

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

I attended the second day of this symposium the overall purpose of which was to explore links between writing, text and illustration.

Jim Walker from Maidstone kicked things off with an exploration of ‘The Autographic Impulse’, using the work of Matthew Richardson, Martin O’Neill and Graham Rawle to explore his theme.

Essentially he was investigating two strands of these artists work; materiality and the urge to collect,

The chosen artists work with very real things and interact with them in differing ways. Walker discussed the idea of palimpsest in collage work, uncovering, stratification, recovering layering obscuring revealing a kind of illustrative archaeology.

He then explored the secondary theme of controlling, sorting, sifting, cataloguing that went on in the artists studio. Artists such as Cornell and Rauschenberg were also referred to. As Walker explored the “archival Impulse” (Hal Foster) he suggested this might be a predominately male preoccupation, though there was some debate about the veracity of that argument later on.

There was a tangential debate about whether Richardson was an artist or an illustrator (that old chestnut) which didn’t really lead anywhere, it’s a debate about semantics and traditions, I don’t think it really matters especially to the creators of the work such as Matthew, some days he’s an artist some days he’s an illustrator, he seems equally at home in each camp, in fact they each in form and enrich each other.

Next up was Clinton Cahill from MMU who talked about this work in response to Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. He made direct links between use of language in the book and the methodology of Joyce with his own abstract illustrative work. There some interesting and unfamiliar reference points here for me, which was exciting. Cahill showed Laszlo Moholy-Nagy's Diagram of Finnegan’s Wake and shown of his own schemas for the story. These almost mind map like diagrams where a really interesting merge of text image and investigation.

He also explore the portmanteau nature of much of the language in the book, again another interesting link was made between the written and visual portmanteau, surreal visual combinations. Cahills reflexive approach to annotating the texts was also inspiring, a real sense of trying to wrestle meaning from the book was established through this process.

Jaleen Grove from Stony Brook University in Canada spoke next. Grove spoke about the views response to both image and text at an almost physiological standpoint. Mirror Neurons providing a sympathetic response in the brain. If the see a picture of someone running our brains on some level respond to this with the feelings and emotion we have when running.

The idea of Logos and Rama. Logos being a diachronic state, stepped, structured hierarchical and linear. Rama being a gush, a gestalt emersion synchronic all at once type of experience. Grove likened the word to Logos and the image to Rama, setting out an argument that the Rama state was a more natural way for us to read and absorb information. Here maybe taking us back to Cahill’s mind maps and schemas as in interesting halfway house.

A call to arms perhaps for the illustrator to embolden themselves and have something to say and to say it in pictures rather than words.

Nannette Hoogslag explored the current role and immanent potential for editorial illustration in shaping new modes of reading and user experience within online news publishing platforms.

Hoogslag explored the issues around digitisation, in conjunction with the rapid emergence of reading devices such as Kindle and the iPad, which has meant that e-publishing has become the fastest growing format for the newspaper industry. In 2010 61 percent of Americans read their news online, surpassing newsprint readership. This change challenges the capacity of illustration to adapt to the characteristics of these fast-evolving media formats. As yet there are no satisfactory online models for integration of text and editorial illustration. Currently it is seldom commissioned for online contexts and this important form of reflective communication is under-used.

This raises questions about cause and implications of the use and possibilities open for editorial illustration in online platforms. As the only alternative information and communication medium operating alongside text and news photography, what is the significance of editorial illustration? And if illustration is to be considered an effective part of the online editorial environment, what aspects of its specific qualities might need to be foregrounded or changed?

Hoogslag was critical of illustrators who seemed to fear or avoid using technology there where references not by Nannette to ‘cup cake’ illustration and knitting. For me this was a really important debate and central to the future of illustration, it had great resonances for me with the work of David Gauntlett in his book Making is Connecting. I agree with Hoogslag its important for illustrators to work with this emerging technology but its also essential that we don’t loose sight of that human/analogue aspect that illustration brings to the table.

Adrian Holme spoke next, he lectures in visual theory and art history on BA Illustration courses at Camberwell College of Art and Design, UAL, and Maidstone, University for the Creative Arts (UCA). With a background in both art and biology, his research interests include the investigation of the division between art and science that opened up during the Renaissance. He is a practising artist working across installation, performance and drawing.

Holme used the work of Marshal McLuhan the Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar to explore what illustrations future may look like. He quoted from McLuhan’s 1967 book “The medium is the massage”

Holme explained how he uses McLuhan’s work to help students understand the impact of technologies on human interaction with information, how our senses speed up to match the technology of the time.

“With the coming of print the eye speeded up and the voice quieted down”.

McLuhan 1962

With electricity came ‘electric speed’ The photograph,the telegraph transatlantic cables all of these and following technologies collapse time. Presenting us with an “All at onceness” an interconnectedness and ultimately and interestingly for the illustrator a move away from specialism.

Again there was referencing the Rama and Logo theory of previous speaker Jaleen Grove, Holme talked about classic type layouts in contrast to concrete poetry and isotypes.

Holme also referenced a Mark Webster Varoom 8 2008 article on moving image (a subject revisited in the latest Varoom 16 2011) Quoting Webster he said illustrators have the ability to make film “unfettered by the dogma of tradition”. Whether this is in a knowing or unknowing way I suppose depends on the work but the end result is the same fresh, challenging work that expands the term illustration.

The keynote speaker was Ewa Satalecka Lecturer of The Academy of Fine arts in Katowice and Polish Japanese IT Institute in Warsaw, and curator of the international conferences in design. Ewa’s encyclopedic experience in Typography and design combined with her clear and succinct delivery made this a compelling presentation. She talked about the lineage of image as type, of images as the precursor to type and encouraged illustrators to take ownership of type, message and (again) technology.

There were so many interconnecting reference points I could only grab a few, below are here a few I remember.

Ewa also showed some of her own kinetic typography experiments and achievements. Of the examples she gave.

Basalt etched pebbles

The symposium was inspiring and intense at times bewilderingly academic but a wholehearted success. The intellectual equivalent to eat seven roast dinners in a row. I now need to take some time to digest it all.

Lord Whitney

2011-11-04T10:00:00.001-07:00

2011-10-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Get down to the Thought Bubble Festival, in Leeds, if you are interested sequential art in all its forms, including everything from superhero comics to independent and small-press artists and writers. Check out their website for details and ticket prices.

Cheltenham Illustration Awards

2011-10-27T12:54:00.001-07:00

On 26^th October, Gary and I attended the Cheltenham Illustration Awards at the Parabola Arts Centre, Cheltenham. This is in its 5^th year and entries came from all over the world. The theme for submitting work was ‘Tree Time Tales’. To accompany the awards ceremony a group of illustrators where invited to speak at the event.

First up where two representatives from Biografiktion, Till Hafenbrak and Paul Paetzel who are part of this collective along with Ana Albero. Their name comes from the merging of the two words – biography and fiction. They explore the boundaries between fiction and truth.

They met while studying at the University of Arts in Berlin. They were taught by Henning Wegenbreth (whose apartment we went to last year in Berlin!).

They recognized similarities in their work and formed a group in 2008, while the were still studying. They saw the benefits of working together as this meant, sharing the workload, sharing costs, having bigger recognition, spending more time with friends and constant motivation and critique from one another.

They produce small print runs of limited edition hand-made books: 32 – 36 pages. They use a combination of screen printing and photocopying. The use limited colour palettes to bring cohesion to their different styles.

They create publications about well-know celebrities and fictional scenarios they encounter. Issues include invented stories about Reinhold Messner, Eddie Murphy and Abba.

They also produce publications of their solo work and spoke of all the considerations they have to make before they start:

1) How will the colour screen prints and black and white pages of the book affect the story?

2) Working out the plot as a diagram

3) Should the panels be classical, free-standing, mirror or round?

4) Does the type in the speech bubble have to be the same for different characters?

5) The format, number of pages and fold out cover.

They then discussed how they go about distributing their work. They have tried a variety of ways, including selling via bookstores but they take approx 40% commission, they turned up at a comic fair without having an exhibitors stand so improvised and made their own.

They have found the most success through attending comic fairs all over the world in Strasbourg Comic Fair, The Tokyo Art Book Fair, The Fumetto International Comic Fair in Lucerne Switzerland, The Angouleme Comic Festival and The Comica Festival in London. This builds interest then they sell via word of mouth and twitter via their online shop. It was very impressive how fairly fresh out of college they are and have been so pro-active.

Next it was the turn of Anne Howeson, artist, illustrator and tutor for many years at the RCA.

She has worked commercially for many years, different types of clients the UK and USA. She is now more focused on her own subject matters and self-initiated drawing projects. She is currently working on drawings about the regeneration of Kings Cross area near to where she lives.

She strongly believes the power that drawing has to unravel ideas. Even though we may not be aware of what out personal obsessions are, if one is to look back over their work from a number of years, themes will be apparent. Her own motivations would be people and landscapes.

Her early work was mostly triggered by remembering, every tiny detail of family life. She feels this work was her way of trying to make sense of herself. She describes herself as a very curious person who notices and questions things. Her advice to students would be that they are not always good at noticing what they do best, either because what they produced they find it too easy or it is not fashionable. She advocates trying not to please the public but to stick to what feels most interesting to you. Through persistence and self-belief something good will come of it.

Her work developed to explore more risqué themes such as prostitution. She observed red light areas in Paris and combined images from memory, imagination, photographs and imagination to make pictures. Starting points for images would be the questions she asked herself: what is going on in the room up there? The answer would lie in the next drawing she did.

She encourages to steal from others’ and not be ashamed to do so as long as you are aware that you are doing it then afterwards move on. She has taken direct inspiration from Balthaus & Edward Hopper.

Her risqué work meant that she became pigeon holed by clients and worked hard to reinvent her work through returning to drawing. Gardens and the outdoors became her next subject, where she explored structure and perspective.

Her move away from commercial work to finding her own subject matters has indeed brought a new interest in her work. She has exhibited the self-initiated work of the King’s Cross drawings in collaboration with the Museum of London. These drawing explore atmosphere, in-between spaces, the past, the present and future of the King Cross landscapes. This project shows how a personal dialogue of a subject can generate interest from others because it is done with passion.

The final speaker was Paul Gravett, comic fanatic, journalist and writer. His new book is out this month and is in the series of 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die. If you are a fan of Graphic Novels, Manga, British Comics, Crime & Horror Comics, then I recommend heading over to Paul’s website. He spoke with such enthusiam about the beginnings, history and current comic scene that I am now a convert. Highlights from his talk where interesting practice emerging from different cultures, women who make comics, censorship in the US post World War 2, strong issues brought to light through comics and graphic novels e.g Maus by Art Spiegelman (a survivors tale of the Holocaust) and the techniques of combining text and image to tell the story.

Manchester and Salford Illustrated

2011-10-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Local artists and illustrators entered a competition, Manchester & Salford Illustrated to raise funds and awareness for Manchester based charity, Wood Street Mission!

The brief was an open invitation to professional illustrators based in the Greater Manchester & Salford area to submit a piece for work based on a thing, person, group of people, place, building or anything else that iconically represents Manchester and/or Salford.

The exhibition will be held at 52 Princess Street, Manchester from October 27th to November 10th. With the talents of Stanley Chow, Barney Ibbotson, Guy McKinley, Si Scott, Chris Madden and Mark Mottershead - spot the graduates!

Limited edition prints will be on sale both at the exhibition and online. All money raised will go directly to help children living in poverty in Manchester & Salford.

A Journey Through Wonderland: Alice in Multimedia

2011-10-17T02:47:00.000-07:00

This a free exhibition at the Portico Library in Manchester. It explores various visual interpretations of Alice in Wonderland works by Peter Blake, Mabel Lucie Atwell and Tove Jansson, as well as images from animated versions. There are also some special lectures. I will attend "Pictures as Parody" on 29th November. Tickets are only £7. See listings here.

Graphic Guru Event

2011-10-09T02:56:00.001-07:00

Graphic Guru will take place this Monday (10th October) The event the mutant off spring of 'Drawn Free' (born last year) will see six ex-Stockport illustration graduates return to the nest to meet with our current 3rd year fledglings.

The event is an opportunity for the 3rd years to talk to the graduates, and seek advice and support.

An added bonus this year will be that our five graduates Rose, Ben, Chris, Nat and Liam and Pete (see links in the Alumni section to the right) have all kindly agreed to act as 'Gurus' for a small group of current third years. This means that through out the year they 3rd years will have a point of contact with someone already doing the job out there in the big wide world. They can call upon them, rather like 'phone a friend' if they need advice on a project, visiting clients, or the direction of their work.

Add into the mix the illustrators friends: tea and cakes and it should be a great couple of hours.

Illustration as Writing Symposium

2011-10-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend this on November 3rd and 4th. I went to the event in Cardiff last year and came away feeling totally inspired and full of ideas. This year it is just down the road at MMU.

This is the 2nd International Illustration Research Symposium which looks to illustration as an expression of the ‘primary language of vision’ and aims to integrate its practices and philosophies, both historical and emerging. The event seeks to expand the theoretical and practical frameworks and nuances of this potent and far-reaching discipline.

Illustration and Writing will look at illustration as visual language, and reflect on the role of the image within, around and in place of writing. We hope to explore the ways that purposeful images can augment, clarify or problematise meaning in relation to text.

Anna Violet Published!

2011-09-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to graduate Anna Violet as a book that she has illustrated is due to be published very very soon. "How Anansi Got His Stories" will be published next month by Oxford University Press, Anansi is a familiar character from many African and Caribbean tales. The book is aimed at children and their parents to introduce them to different cultures, traditions and morals.

Natalie Wood at Eye Candy

2011-09-15T04:35:00.000-07:00

Great news that Natalie Wood who graduated in 2010 has been offered representation by Eye Candy. There is also lots of recently commissioned work on her website.

Chris Howker at MUSIC

2011-09-15T02:38:00.000-07:00

It was the turn of Chris Howker to create a installation for a design agency in Manchester, 'Music'. Chris painted directly onto glass - which is not an easy task.... especially at a large scale and reversed! Chris explains "I had to paint on the inside of the room rather than the outside so that it wasn't scratched easily".

Rose wins GOLD at A.O.I

2011-08-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Rose Lloyd a graduate of the Illustration course from 2009 has won Gold at the Association of Images (AOI) Images 35 Awards. Rose attended the Images 35 Awards evening at the Bankside Gallery. She was awarded the Gold award in the Advertising category for her image "Spring Family Concert" which was commissioned for the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, this job was actually born out of a meeting with an agency from the 'Are we there yet' bus trip that some students were part of to promote their degree show.

'Images' is the UK's leading illustration competition, annual, awards show, and touring exhibition dedicated to showcasing the very best contemporary illustration published in the UK. The work selected to appear in 'Images' is judged by a highly regarded panel of industry experts, spanning multiple categories, and is an annual competition.

This is such wonderful news.

Manchester and Salford Illustrated

2011-08-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

In October 2011 (27th October – 10th November to be precise) the very first Manchester and Salford Illustrated exhibition (#MASI) will be held at 52 Princess Street, Manchester. It will be a showcase of the very best commercial artists and illustrators in the area and has been created to raise funds and awareness for a Manchester based charity. Some of our graduates are involved and students are also invited to submit work.

'Music' Project

2011-07-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

I recently completed an installation for a design agency in Manchester called Music. They were looking for students to create a design to cover a glass room in their studio. The brief was to interpret a song of your choice in the design - my chosen track was 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' by The Beatles. I used Illustrator to produce my design and then vinyl to stick it to the glass. Each shape is a separate piece of vinyl so it was like putting together a huge jigsaw! Anyway, Jo asked me to post some pics of the finished thing, so here they are...

Philippa Lightburn (2nd Year Illustration)

Winner of Folio Society / House of Illustration

2011-07-07T02:17:00.000-07:00

Our friend (and hero!) of the course Matthew Richardson has won the Folio Society / House of Illustration Competition. The prize was a commission to work on "The Outsider" by Albert Camus. Here are a couple of the images from the book. Well done Matthew.

The Drum

2011-06-29T01:28:00.000-07:00

The Drum magazine is a magazine released every fortnight that gathers the latest industry news in creative marketing and media. As part of the promotion for The Unleashed campaign, The Drum have used Janet Kershaw's 'Preservation Bear' as the front cover. This bear has is bring good luck wherever he goes!

Puffin Children's Prize

2011-06-23T01:21:00.000-07:00

The winners have been announced on the penguin website of the Puffin Children's Prize, to competition, to design a book cover for James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl.

Unleashed: The best in the North

2011-06-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Judges Janet Kershaw: Preservation Bear
Jane Richardson: Ralph

This competition ran last year by the infamous Manchester public house, Mr Thomas's Chop House, - follow the link for the Top 25 image gallery and more information about the event. It's designed to create opportunities for the latest talent emerging from the region’s art schools – and to raise much-needed funds for the North West Air Ambulance. It was a roaring success and was repeated this year. As a college we entered 20 pieces. All the work will be shown in an exhibition and an auction and sale of the best student artwork in the North, 2011 will follow. Congratulations to Jane Richardson and Janet Kershaw, from Year 3 whose work has been selected for the Top 25 shortlist of illustration work in the Northwest. From Thursday 23rd June there will be 3 weeks of public display, private viewings, auction previews and creative industry nights. Then on Thursday 14th July an Awards Night, Gala Dinner and Charity Auction – featuring the judges’ top-ranked work.

50 Watts Competition Winner

2011-06-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to ex-student Ben Jones! He has been announced as the winner for the 50 Watts' Polish Book Cover Contest, which asked contestants to design the "Polish edition" of their favorite book. This is such an achievement and had entries from over the world. Ben is passionate about Polish design which I do believe his interest in it began at Stockport College. Ben really deserves this and we are very proud. Well done

Penguin Design Award 2011 Shortlist announced.

2011-05-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Year 2 student Philippa Lightburn, who has made it through to the shortlist of this year's Puffin category to design a book cover for 'James and the Giant Peach' by Quentin Blake. There were a record 1196 entrants this year of which just 10 people were shortlisted. The award ceremony will be held at the Penguin offices in London on the 22nd June, which Philippa is invited to and the winner will be announced a the event.

Polish Book Cover Competition

2011-04-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

A dream competition...... "Design the Polish edition of your favorite book". As you know we are partial to the odd polish design - they always make me feel weak at the knees! Look at this link to see how you could design the cover of your favourite book - you choose the title and do it in the style of this great period of design. Deadline 20th May.

50 Watts

2011-04-04T02:39:00.000-07:00

The new name for the wonderful 'A journey around my skull' blog run by Will Schofield. Bookmark it now!

Dormitorium - an exhibition of sets and films by the Quay Brothers.

2011-03-11T02:20:00.000-08:00

Just to let everyone know about this exciting exhibition coming to Liverpool's Victoria Gallery & Museum on 25 March to 28th May 2011.

Words & Pictures

2011-03-10T01:56:00.000-08:00

The work of Daren Newman (aka me and my pen) is opening tonight Thursday, 10th March at Cord Bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Words & Pictures will feature over 60 illustrations and typographic works, many of them previously unseen, definitely not to be missed.

Check out Daren’s work at meandmypen.com

Event details: Thursday 10th March – 6pm Cord Bar, 8 Dorsey Street (off Tib Street), Manchester

Creative Everyone

2011-02-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

"Never miss a creative event again"

What a great site - keep you finger on the pulse!

Over Them Hills

2011-02-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

An exhibition about a mythical and magical place called Yorkshire, where Dragons nest, monsters roar and giants roam. Featuring some of Leeds finest illustrators , designers and wizards. See here for more. At Common 39 to 41 Edge Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 1HW. Please go and take a look.

Zion Young Curators

2011-02-22T04:59:00.001-08:00

Zion Arts Centre is inviting applications for the Zion Young Curators. This exciting new programme presents young people ages 16-24 who are interested in developing a career in the visual arts and galleries to develop and curate their own exhibitions!

Over the coming months the successful candidates with work with Zion's Gallery Development Team to develop the exhibition programmer for our Gallery Space. The Young Curators will initially work towards our May exhibitions organised as part of our centenary celebrations:

100 Objects of Hulme and 100 Objects of the Future

...with a view to developing their own for our summer programme.

If you are interested in being a part of the Zion Young Curators please contact me as there is an application form.

Deadline for applications: 04/03/11

Queen's Jubliee Emblem

2011-02-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the winner?

Genius... by a 10 year old.

New Newsletter

2011-02-21T10:06:00.001-08:00

I would be interested to hear from any of you who would like to put forward ideas for the new cover of the 'Picturebox' newsletter. It is a great chance to get work printed and put in your portfolio.

The theme should be centered around TRANSFORMATION - as Year 3 are about to transform themselves from students to professionals. The other years also make a transformation when they move up a level and this time of year sees many transformations in nature (spring time is on its' way!)

At this stage we would like to see rough ideas. Using type is completely optional - use it if it is part of your idea / design. We are very open to YOUR submissions. All you have to think about is the fact that it will be used as a POSTER so should be punchy with a clear level of communication.

The size that wold go to print would be A2 (594 x 420 mm). At this stage you can work in any size proportional to this.
Final artwork would be printed in one colour - (tints and shades!!).

You should submit a rough by next Monday 28th Feb by 12.30pm.
A rough should be enough to tell the tale. If you need to develop it further to give us more of an impression of what it would look like then please do so. You can submit as many rough ideas as you like.

Email me if you would like to submit a rough and ask if you need further guidance.

Back to school

2011-02-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

The Year 1 Illustration students were asked to think about and produce work that comes from imagination. This promotes individuality, sense of self and inventiveness in their drawing. It is a challenge for most. To encourage this process and for the students to remember how freely and uninhibited they worked as children, we collaborated with Year 1 and 2 children of St Matthew’s Church of England Primary School.

Lat week, over four afternoon sessions, the students took over the school classroom for a series of drawing workshops aimed at stimulating and exciting the children. There were approx 58 children involved and 19 students who attended the classroom in smaller groups of 6 – 7.

Day one: Looking at pictures that tell stories.
The children were shown Indian Paintings. These were beautifully colourful and visually rich, telling tales of a place unfamiliar to the children. The children copied these pictures using coloured paper, pens and collages materials. They discovered new shapes, figures and spatial relationships.

Day two: Drawing from observation.
The students up a series of still life displays across the tables. These were made up of curious objects and trinkets from the their homes. The children’s drawing from the previous day were integrated amongst the objects. The children drew from the displays, then invented stories about the random collision of objects that appeared on the page.

Day three: Puppet theatres and Puppets
Prior to the visit, the students prepared theatre sets made from cardboard boxes. They also photocopied many of the drawings from the previous visits with a view to making puppets. A group of children made their own theatres sets, using materials to invent curtains and backdrops. Another group of children made paper puppets in sticks, then decorated them using tissue paper and chalk pastels. A group of children made their own storyboards for an Indian folktale. The final group of children played with making their drawings move using split pins. They made a short animation based on an invented story.

Day four: The end
The final session took place in the school hall. The puppet theatres and the hand-made puppets were set out for the children to play freely with. Long rolls of drawing paper were provided for the children to draw from the theatre sets and the stories invented. A shadow puppet theatre was shown to the children from the previous days storyboard and the children copied and embellished this story. To say thankyou the students ‘performed’ a couple of stories of their own for the children.

The workshops were cajoled and initiated by myself as I am under-taking a research project to support my teaching. This is to explore if 'Play' is Valued in the HE Art and Design Curriculum. I am really interested in ways in which children engage with creative activities. I wanted to know if this experience at the school did in anyway help my own students. Whilst at the school, I the students direct the workshops, allowing the students and children to take the tasks off in their own direction.

The event benefitted both the students and the children. Primary school teacher Marjorie Callan said;

"Working with the students generated a lot of excitement amongst our Key Stage 1 & 2 children. The children were keen to experience all the wonderful art activities the students provided. Some excellent art projects were completed and a memorable time was had by all. The children and the staff enjoyed every one of your workshops and we were saying how much literacy work we can do with the puppet theatres next half term. It has been so beneficial - Thanks you once again."

The students were interviewed after the experience to elicit what they took from working alongside the children they said;

“ Children have amazing imagination because nothing is ‘wrong’ in their mind.”

“I loved watching the way in which they made drawings so naturally and very expressive…..I can over labour my drawings.”

“They were in each in their own little world”

“They didn’t worry about making it look exact”.

“There was so much variety and personality in the drawings.”

They weren’t self conscious, they just did it!”

“They were so excited to tell me all about their drawings and show them off. The drawing sparked conversation.”

“They had brilliant imaginative ideas, they asked questions about the pictures / objects they were drawing from”.

We did also find that the children loved praise, liked to have examples to work from when they felt un-confident, looked to each other and their elders for reassurance/ guidance, took time to find their own way to engage with a project, need space to relax in the initial stages and they didn't like tidying up!

A mention for Liam on the YCN site

2011-02-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

Nice to see a mention for the lovely Liam Bardsley on the YCN website. Most of you will have met him at the Drawn Free event that Mr Murray held. Nice to see graduates are getting out and about. Above is in image that was published in Design Week.

Just So Festival

2011-01-25T00:42:00.000-08:00

I am volunteering to work at this years Just So Festival in August (19-21). It is described as "a boutique, weekend-long festival of creativity aimed at children, young people and their families."

I urge any of you interested in story-telling, narratives, making images for children's book or working with children in some form in the future to get in touch with the organisation as this would be great experience. You can do just a day helping out and getting involved. For details about the last years programme see here.

The festival provides a magical experience where art, music and literature are embedded and entwined in a beautiful and wonderous landscape (near Rudyard Lake). There will be a broad range of musical, theatrical, visual and aural performances, workshops and installations within a safe, natural and magical setting. Every clearing and glade holds a new way to unleash creativity.

Contact the 'Just So' team for an application form.

Working Drawings

2011-01-24T05:34:00.000-08:00

Ian, myself and a few students (ok 3!) I attended this conference last week at Sheffield Hallam University (postponed in December due to the snow). Three speakers, illustrators Roderick Mills, Jill Calder and Steve Smith (aka Neasden Control Centre) shared and discussed their working drawings and how they inform their finished work. They all use drawing as a way of 'thinking' and the distinction between their commercial and personal work becomes blurred.

I have seen Roderick Mills speak before and we have invited him to come and doing a project with Year 2 & 3 later this month. Drawing is a process integral to his research 'journey', as well as to generating ideas. He sketches research material continuously and uses drawing as a way of fully understanding his content and what his work is actually about. What really resonates with me is how little Mill's work has changed since he was a child. It is honest and informed by his obsessions / personality (not style) and his experiences. He embraces making mistakes and explores media for its own sake. He thinks it is good to have tension when drawing - you may use media you are uncomfortable with to encourage surprise and danger - remember 'Individulaity of Imagination' and using obstacles against your habitual drawings folks? He encourages to always 'play', to make images, be independent and to make work for yourself, alongside commercial / college work. He never knows when his work is unresolved or 'finished'. He feels that the accessibility of so much illustration makes 'style' too familiar. Students become too aware of illustrators to the extent that they forget their own subject matter and simply reference work that already exists.This leaves no room for it to go further. Just draw ad be yourself. You should strive to find their own interest beyond purely illustration.

Jill Calder, whose work can often be seen in The Guardian believes that as well as being vital to creating a strong end product, drawing is essential to being able to communicate with clients, especially at speed. She talked about her journey into illustration through the magical sketchbooks of Picasso and Robert Crumb. Working mainly with pen and ink, she draws daily, from doodles, visual thinking, to solving problems for clients. She is surprised how little art directors draw. She also has concerns about how the physical activity of drawing is being lost in education. Students forget to pick up a pencil even in Primary Schools 'art' is being created on a computer. She advocates "being playful", open-minded to drawing, avoid getting stuck in a rut by using new materials or paper, working with others and always challenging yourself. Make mistakes, plenty of mistakes! As a lecturer, she hears students obsess over style. She believes that they should go back to basics and that a style will emerge naturally.

For Steven Smith, drawing is both 'a conscious sub-conscious process'. It is a method of looking and seeing, and is a key element of his finished work. It informs everything he does. He draws from life, by that he does not mean life-drawing' but life experiences including, music, films, going-out and conversations. He does not believes in rules or pigeon-holing yourself, both are always set for you by some-one else. He regularly draws without thinking, which he finds an intense process that uses all of your senses. He does not care how a drawing is done as long as it is good. He is interested in the digital world we now live in and the divide between digital versus analogue, this is what the dialogue of much of his work is about. He keeps drawing and feels that there is no end to his work - how do you know if it is a perfect image? He encourages using books for reference as this is such a different experience from looking at information online. While there are links on blogs / website, theses have been created for you. A book allows you to make your own connections.

What are your thoughts on any of this subject?

I would be delighted to hear your comments.

2011-01-19T06:37:00.000-08:00

We Heart It

2011-01-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

So I was doing my christmas brief and came across this site, it's got some really nice stuff on it if you haven't heard of it already :]

http://weheartit.com/

A site for first year collectors...

2010-12-03T02:28:00.000-08:00

I went to see the Mary Greg collection over the summer. It's part of the City Art Gallery and unusual as it is so different from the fine art. It consists of objects of ephemera and as in some of the collections you saw last week, the space it takes up in storage is contentious. However the collection has many beautiful items and has recently inspired an art-based project, "Mary, Mary, quite Contrary". This site (on which you can view many of the items) is worth a look...

World as Words Exhibition

2010-12-01T15:24:00.001-08:00

Another treat in Berlin. So many posters we had only ever seen in books. Scale makes such a difference!

Direktonhaus Berlin

2010-12-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

It was a mission to find this place but what an unbelievable gallery, set in an atmospheric space. We saw an exhibition called 'A Night at the Opium Den'. The exhibits both in terms of content and through the use of materials really intrigued the viewer. Although very quiet when we visited (eerie!) it was a magical entrance into a new world. I see from the opening night of this event on their blog that the gallery was transformed into an almost theatrical space. Lots of ideas about exhibiting illustration work and how anything is possible.
Links to other exciting projects and events were found here.

Berlin

2010-11-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

Following up from Jo's earlier post here are a few more images and observations from other studio visits and exhibitions we were lucky enough to experience whilst in Berlin.
A small group of us trotted off to prostrate ourselves at the pixel based alter of Eboy. Svend Smital was our gracious host (the other two eboyers now living and working in Canada) After navigating a warren of courtyards and stairwells we found Svends studio stacked high with a dizzying array of pixel based madness. Half studio half warehouse as the space is used to create the famous Eboy imagery but also as a base to mail out all of their merchandise. Eboy sneakers, iphone covers, posters, toys, apps, books, stickers, stakeboards, snowboards, toasters (only joking)
The detail of the imagery and the multitudinous contexts was mind blowing, three of them there maybe but they must work 24 hours a day. In this reassuringly cluttered abode Svend generously gave us an hour plus of his time, answering questions from students, flicking though portfolios and revealing the working methodology of the E-boy team. We are sworn to secrecy.

.....................................................................................................................................................

Our next illustrative pilgrimage was to the rather swanky apartment of Mr Henning Wagenbreth. Henning was kind enough to invite us (about 10 plus.....gulp think I said 8 max) to his studio and home, all around were the collections that feed his expressionistic highly coloured imagery, African masks, wooden sculptures, musical instruments, textiles, Japanese prints, all of these items were referenced at some point and fed directly into his work. Living testimony that life and work are often totally intertwined for illustrators.
He showed a range of work from beautifully crafted stamp designs for the German Football League through crazily coloured textiles to huge silk screened posters for a jazz festival. He tackled any project with confidence because he made it his own, found his own way into difficult potentially dull projects and made them come to life with strange stories and facts. A truly inspiring visit.
....................................................................................................................................................

7x7 anthology

2010-11-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

This years collaboration with MMU creative writing students, was more ambitious than ever. Our brief was to produce an illustrated anthology of 7 new stories to be launched at the Manchester Literature Festival 2010. The seven writers were teamed up with 7 pairs of illustrators who in turn worked with teams of Moving Image students to produce 20/30 second intro animations which introduced each author as they read from their text on the night.
The anthology was beautifully designed by two third year graphic design students also from Stockport College. If I said it went smoothly I'd be lying through my teeth, the project was plauged by technical difficulties, and often tempers flared. But this was a sign that all involved wanted it to be a success, from an educationally stand point there was a lot of learning taking place throughout the project, technically, professionally and emotionally we were all tested. But that's what college is for, to create those situations in which real life learning can happen within a safe environment.
The images and the animations worked supremely well and complemented the stories wonderfully. Thanks to all those involved, hopefully we'll be back next year, older and wiser (well one out of two ain't bad)

The future or a fad? iPad picture books

2010-11-29T01:10:00.000-08:00

COMING TO THE APP STORE IN DECEMBER! A remarkable new interactive picture book iPad application like you've never seen before. As illustrators are we scared or very excited?

Comma Film

2010-11-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

I went to an Arts Council Funding meeting last week and though this might seem a strange time to promote looking for public funding after graduating, the good news is that the "Grants for Arts" scheme will not receive a funding cut. Grants for Arts supports and funds proposals from artists and you can find all the information needed, plus examples of successful bids and projects at the Arts Council website. I bumped into a friend there, who has been able to fund his publishing company Comma Press through this scheme for several years. Ra Page (of Comma Press) also runs Comma Films, a springboard site for new graduates to showcase their work. Much of this is animation, all drawn from poetry. He will be holding a screening for Comma Press this Saturday and you're all welcome to attend, here's a link:

http://www.versionfestival.co.uk/
Or follow on facebook ('Vresion Fest' and 'Comma Film')

Do you read me?

2010-11-22T02:35:00.001-08:00

A super find in Berlin, a dream shop called 'Do you read me?'. As you can see I have also greatly added to the list of magazines that we hope you will absorb yourselves in and seek inspiration. Many of them were on sale here and some titles were new to me.

Studio visit to Olaf Hajek and Martin Haake

2010-11-22T01:35:00.000-08:00

We have just returned from a great trip to Berlin - even in the rain! We packed a lot in to the 5 days. First stop was a visit to Olaf Hajek's studio. Olaf was very welcoming and made room for the 12 or so students who appeared on his doorstep. He let his riffle through his book collection, talked about his career, the industry and how he firmly rejects working digitally. He finds that there is so much work being produced digitally, he feels that the work is "too much the tool". He talked to the group about how he has to explain his working process to clients who sometimes don't understand how long it takes to produce his images using traditional techniques. The studio was filled with brushes, inks, paints and reference books. Olaf exhibits his wonderful paintings as well as working as a commercial illustrator. He feels that he has been able to sustain his career as he has stayed true to himself and while at one time thought that his work would be deemed old fashioned as it was not produced using digital media, he now feels this is his strength and one of the reasons why clients like his work.

We learnt that he shared the studio space with Martin Haake (one of my hero's!), who then arrived and I nearly fell over. Martin had just returned doing a talk at a college in the UK, so did not mind casually showing us the presentation that he had put together for this. In contrast Martin had let his work develop naturally with digital processes. He found the advantages were that it made his work more flexible and he could make changes for clients. Thankyou to Olaf and Martin for letting us be so nosey!

House of Illustration and The Folio Society's book illustration competition

2010-11-22T00:48:00.000-08:00

First prize a £4,000 commission from The Folio Society. House of Illustration’s are working with The Folio Society on this competition and have chosen 'The Outsider' by Albert Camus as the book to be illustrated. The judges include Quentin Blake & Laura Carlin. The competition is open to anyone over 18 who is not a Folio Society published illustrator. The deadline is 10 January 2011. This website tells you everything you need to know about how to enter.

The Visual Telling of Stories

2010-11-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

I came across this website by Dr Chris Mullen, a while ago and it has recently been updated. It began as course support for the MA Narrative Illustration/Editorial Design course at the University of Brighton for part-time working illustrators and designers, much of the material can not be found elsewhere on the internet and comes from Chris's own archive. It us unlike most websites I have been on and more like a bizarre delve around an Aladdin's cave. It is a rich resource for any magpie illustrator. Take a look!

Working Drawings: Exhibition and Conference

2010-11-08T07:16:00.000-08:00

A date for you diary: Friday 3rd December

Drawing can be used in a number of ways and settings. From a pictogram that transcends language barriers, a visualisation of topography, an emotional response to words or thoughts and as a formal means of communication - working drawings are the (sometimes instant) solution to many problems.

The exhibition includes drawings by Jill Calder, Roderick Mills, Ken Garland, Ed Fella, Abram Games, Alan Fletcher, Saul Steinberg, Jason Ford, Lee Ford, Frazer Hudson, Lydia Monks and Simon Spillsbury.

Here is the link to book your tickets http://www.shu.ac.uk/ad/workingdrawings/

Guess who's coming to Stockport....

2010-11-01T03:11:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Riitta Ikonen is coming to do a talk for us on Dec 7th. She will share with us her wonderful world. A description of her work explains,

"My work is concerned with the performance of images, through photography and costume design. Certain items, usually small and insignificant, excite me to the point where I have to wear them and then document that process. The super- garments I make open up new experiences. In my costumes tremendous things happen - to me and to the people I work with. Today I exploded an egg in the microwave. Next, I want to make an egg costume."

If you aren't familiar with her work read more here (source of quote).

Competition

2010-10-27T08:27:00.001-07:00

Just wondering if anyone might be interested in this, although the deadline date is 8th November 2010, so not that much time left.

More on Madden

2010-10-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Without this becoming the blog about Chris Madden. We just wanted to show you his page on the Eye Candy Agency website...

and he has also been picked up on by a design blog based in Texas http://www.weare1976.com.
They also sell beautiful design products and may be of interest to all Year 2 students.

Nikki Pinder

2010-09-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Nikki Pinder

Just a nice Illustrator I found online, you guys should check her out.

http://www.nikkipinder.co.uk/

More Madden

2010-08-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Madden News Flash

Chris has just agreed to be represented by Eye Candy agency.

Lets hope he remembers us when he's rich and famous!

It's Madden That

2010-08-12T06:46:00.000-07:00

Recent graduate Chris Madden has his work featured on influential 'It's Nice That' blog this week. Great exposure for someone just out of college.

Best of New Blood

2010-07-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Work by Natalie Wood and Chris Madden was picked out by Creative Review as a highlight of New Blood. In the sea of work that is on show at the exhibition, this is really great that work from our college stands out!

D&AD WINNER!

2010-06-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Chris Howker and Ian Murray attended the prestigious D&AD student award ceremony at Spitalfields Market in London. It was announced that Chris came 1st! He is pictured above with 'the pencil' and alongside with Patrick Burgoyne editor of Creative Review and Phil Nutley from Corridor.

The entrants were asked to create an image on the theme of Resistance, with the winning design printed on 80,000 of the iconic Don’t Panic pack posters.

Phil Nutley from Corridor and one of the deciding judges explained why he felt Chris’ entry deserved the prize, “For me the piece had a strong process of thought and ideas. The final execution was witty, bright and challenged social paradigms.”

For an interview from the man himself click here.

Mr Thomas's Art Fair

2010-06-29T01:21:00.000-07:00

Illustration BA(hons) graduates from this year have found success in a new regional event:

Mr Thomas’s Art Fair at Mr Thomas’s The Chop House 52 Cross St Manchester: 24 June – 1 July

This event is run in conjunction with co-founder and Creative Director of The Chase, Ben Casey. It is an affordable Art Sale & Auction in support of the North West Air Ambulance featuring the best in striking new illustration- shown in Manchester’s oldest and most atmospheric bar. There were over 160 entries of a very high standard submitted from eight northern colleges, which were judged by a panel made up of professional illustrators including Ian Pollock, agents, gallery owners and designers.

Original artwork and limited edition prints will be sold at the week-long event followed by website sales. ALL revenue from the student work is to be split 50/50 between the charity and the student. There will also be cash prizes for the best in show, media exposure and opportunities for networking and placements.

The event culminates in an auction on the 1st July of the shortlisted top twenty pieces, and the invited audience are leading figures from the region’s legal, corporate, property, media and design companies as well as artists’ agents and Art College lecturers.

Carrie-Anne Brown, Chris Madden, Natalie Wood, Libby Vickers & Alan Dalby all submitted work.
Carrie-Anne Brown, Chris Madden & Natalie Wood have all made it to the Top 20. With 2 pieces of work each being selected!
Chris Madden and Natalie Wood have been whittled down to the Top 6! We will find out the winner on 1st July.

Visit www.chophouseart.co.uk for more information.

The Emperor's Castle

2010-06-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

I have just been watching the Culture Show and was completely awe-stuck by this wonderful work of architect Thomas Hiller. He creates these intricate and imaginative origami landscapes inspired by the work of Japanese artist Ando Hiroshige. Look at this site for a deeper understanding of content and see his sketchbooks For more of his work see here. This made me think of the new Year 2 students and the 'Las Meninas' project....

Outdoor Painting anyone?

2010-06-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Just stumbled upon this "competition" through One69A screen printing studio, manchester...

"Our friends over at MadLab on Edge street in the Northern Quarter are running a competition for you to have your very own design on the shutters of their HQ.

If you are interested in designing and painting something please follow the link below..."

information here... http://madlab.org.uk/content/you-could-be-famous-on-google-street-view/

deadline is June 30th

Packing Up Moving On

2010-06-03T05:33:00.001-07:00

We would love to see you all at the Preview Night:
Friday 11th June 6 - 8.30pm

2010-05-21T04:37:00.000-07:00

Tony Brooks and Adrian Shaughnessy: In discussion with Stockport College Students.

Tony Brook and Adrian Shaughnessy’s refreshing perspective on their love for classic format, under-the-radar graphics and their newest endeavour, publishing company Unit Editions.

http://www.dandad.org/2010/05/designers-books-design-studio/

Recent Student Success

2010-05-21T02:54:00.000-07:00

Students from the Design and Visual Arts Degree studying on the illustration pathway have achieved success in international design competions and with commissioned work. Chris Oldland a third year student whose work was last year included in the D&AD (Design and Art Direction) student awards book, has follow up his success by being asked to pitch for and then go on to land a prestigious commission from KPMG.Chris’s designs had caught the judge’s eye in the 2009 D&AD competition when his proposed designs for an installation for the new KPMG flagship offices in London of came in the top four.

One year on Chris was contacted by D&AD and KPMG to see if he would like to pitch designs which had the possibility of being used in the newly completed building. Competition would be keen as students from Chelsea College of Art & Design where also pitching for the job.Chris spent two months this year refining and perfecting his design, which use laser cutting equipment to carve out his designs in translucent acrylic sheets. These would then be fixed to the wall using chromed screws and bars. On the 30th of April Chris pitched his design ideas to to a panel of 5 KMPG executives at their head office. Two days later Chris received the good news that he had been commissioned to produce an installation at the London Offices and would be given a budget of £2000 to execute the design and £2750 as his fee.

In feedback from the presentation the KPMG team said

“We very much like your concept, particularly the elegance of it and how light plays with it and changes the design”

Over the next two months Chris will be working on the full size design and implementing it with a team of technicians from KPMG.Pathway leader for Illustration at Stockport College Ian Murray said 'Chris has worked very hard to land this commission. We were very proud of his success last year in the D&AD competition. Chris’s ability to convert this opportunity into a viable commercial project, particularly against such stiff opposition from some of the countries leading art colleges demonstrates once again that the Design and Visual Arts provision at Stockport is amongst some of the best in the country'

In the same week that Chris Oldand's success was announced, staff from the Design and Visual Arts team were delighted to hear that students Natalie Wood and Chris Howker both students on the illustration pathway had success in the 2010 D&AD competition.Both Natalie and Chris had entered the ‘Don’t Panic’ poster competition via D&AD their submissions respond to the theme ‘Resist’. Natalie’s designs were highly commended and will appear in the 2010 D&AD Students Awards book and Chris’s designs have been nominated for a D&AD student award, which has been likened to the design equivalent of the Oscars.

Fergal Kilroy D&AD Student Awards Manager said

‘I would like to stress how proud all students should feel at being selected for In-Book or receiving a Nomination. This year's juries were very strict. Winning entries were selected on the basis that they demonstrated the student could "cut it" in the real world, making success in 2010 a great achievement for both you and your students.’

Yudu or Gocco?

2010-05-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

Yudu or Gocco?

Wow just discovered these little beauties, if you love screen printing you'll love:

this one or this one

D&AD New Blood + Free Range

2010-05-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Attention all Year 1 & 2 students

D&AD NEW BLOOD: 24th – 29th JUNE
Venue:
The Old Truman Brewery
91 Brick Lane,
London
E1 6QL

This year New Blood has teamed up with the graduate exhibition Free Range, on show will be the best graduates from universities and colleges around the country. It is attended by industry and aims at providing graduates with maximum exposure to kick-start their careers.

This is a major opportunity for you to show support to the Year 3 students and more importantly check out the competition – it could be you there one day!

Jo, Gary & Eleanor are traveling down to the venue on FRI 25th JUNE. We will return on the same day.

A group ticket was mega expensive and single tickets seemed to work out cheaper.

We are going on this train.
OUTBOUND 10.23am (Stockport)
RETURN 21.00 (Euston)

Cost at present: Approx £35 - 40
Book NOW as the prices increase the later you leave it

www.thetrainline.com

Nineteen Seventy Three

2010-04-27T01:03:00.001-07:00

As featured in the May edition of Creative Review, I came across this website that has work produced by some of our favourite illustrators such as Jon Burgerman and Sanna Annukka, their work has been applied to a range of products such as cards, wrapping paper, stationary and limited edition prints. This may give some of you ideas of how your work - with a few tweaks here and there could be given a variety of applications. Have a look.