interview

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Josh Patterson: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Josh_Patterson
Birmingham City University graduate Josh Patterson creates intense fantastical images in a distinctive colour palette that immediately caught my eye at New Designers this year. His artwork for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion was inspired by the super pretty Wilderness Festival, but will surely appeal to festival lovers anywhere. I am also super pleased to announce that Josh is creating the cover for my book… and it’s already looking absolutely fabulous.

Josh_Patterson
You’ve already done exceptionally well for a graduate, how did Birmingham City Uni set you up for your career?
BCU was a great place for me to go to. The course and facilities on campus were top notch; although, I almost wish I had made more use of them during my time there. As I’m sure with most creative courses, the tutors really push you to extend the boundaries of your creative thinking. But what I found really useful about BCU was their focus on preparing us for what the industry would be like. With talks from the AOI, agents and top illustrators, I think the majority of my year left with the necessary knowledge to do well in this competitive industry.

Josh_Patterson
What awards have you won?
I won two awards at the Lara Vis Com Awards ceremony this year. The first was called, ‘The Illustration Award’ and was sponsored by the AOI. I believe this was to go to the most promising new illustrator, so that was very encouraging! The prize for this was a 3-month internship with the AOI. But I’ll talk more about that a bit later. The second award was the ‘Illustration Using Print Award’ – which was sponsored by Nobrow. The prize for this one was a portfolio review with Sam Arthur, the Managing Director and Founder of Nobrow. This was a great opportunity to get some professional advise on my work, and being a huge fan of Nobrow myself, it was great to simply have a one on one chat with him.

Josh_Patterson
How have you found commissions for work to date?
The majority of my commissions at the moment have been from people/companies contacting me via email. Most of them having stumbled across my website or seen my stuff advertised on various social media sites. I’ve actually just been approached by an architectural company in Guatemala, Mexico – about potentially doing some illustrations for an up and coming project they’re working on. I guess that goes to show the power of the Internet and social media in today’s society! However, I do still send out samples to magazines and newspapers – that’s how I got the Computer Arts job.

Josh_Patterson
What inspires your style and colour palette?
Anything and everything really… I try to document the inspirational things I see, whether it’s a quick sketch or taking a photo. Usually the latter if I’m on the move! For example, I was on the train the other day and noticed the colours in the pattern on the floor so I whipped my phone out and started snapping away. I did get a few strange looks mind you… I try to keep up to date with what is current in the industry and see how I can interpret certain aesthetics or concepts in my own way. I’ve always enjoyed drawing people with small heads and elongated figures as I find this almost adds personality to the characters in my drawings yet, allows me to maintain a strange sense of anonymity throughout an illustration.

Josh_Patterson
How do you create your artworks?
I’ll sketch the roughs and scan them into Adobe Illustrator. Once the vector drawing is built up on a grayscale I’ll start to think about a colour scheme for the illustration. I like working in grayscale initially as this allows me to establish the correct tone and shading in an image. It also makes it easier when working with gradients too. After all this I superimpose the textures into the final coloured illustration.

Josh_Patterson
What kind of atmosphere best suits you when working?
At the moment I work in my studio from home. I’m pretty content working by myself as it allows me to get my head down without there being too many distractions. However, I think I’ll be looking to rent a studio space soon, preferably one that is shared with other creatives as I appreciate getting other peoples inputs on my works in progress. I really enjoy freelancing as I can work to my own schedule, which is a real privilege of the job. I also love the fact I get to listen to music all day, as this is another thing I’m immensely passionate about. But, it is probably one of my biggest distractions when trying to work. I find myself forever trawling through the deepest reaches of Spotify discovering new music and making new playlists.

Josh_Patterson
How did you come up with the idea for your colouring book illustration?
My submission was inspired by a recent trip to Wilderness Festival. I was so captivated by the atmosphere there that I was looking for any excuse to illustrate it, so this brief was perfect! I’ve made the illustrations slightly personal by highlighting particular events that my friends and I got up to while we were there… So there may be a few private jokes in there! In an attempt to capture a sense of the chaotic nightlife I’ve experimented with a slightly more vibrant colour palette to what I usually use. I’ve juxtaposed this chaos with the tranquil scenes of boats in the (hot-tub surrounded) lake and people doing yoga: in order to represent a genuine feel for the festival.

Josh_Patterson
What have you been doing at the AOI?
For the past three months as well as working on freelance projects, I’ve also been interning with the AOI and assisting the awards manager in curating the World Illustration Awards exhibition. This has been an amazing and invaluable experience for me – especially at this stage in my career. I’ve met some awesome people, made some great connections and learnt a lot about the industry during this time. They’ve helped me out massively when it comes to accepting commissions and pricing my work as well. I would highly recommend to any illustrator (new or experienced) to consider becoming a member as it will only make you more knowledgeable of the industry, thus making you much more professional as a creative.

Josh_Patterson
I hear you have a few other projects on the go, can you tell us more about them?
I’ve just finished a project for a company called RM2, who specialize in employee share schemes for private companies. They’re in the process of writing a book about their industry and asked me to illustrate the front cover – which unfortunately I can’t share with you as the book hasn’t been published yet! I also produced a series of 4 illustrations to accompany certain headings on their website. I pretty much had free reign when it came to thinking up the concepts behind this project. However, I was restricted with the colour scheme, as they wanted it to more or less match the colours of their logo. I sometimes enjoy working with colour restrictions as it encourages me to focus on other elements of an illustration and I’ll often produce an outcome with a much more interesting composition or perspective.

I’ve also just closed on a deal with a company called Bramwell Brown to produce a series of three different clock designs for them. I’m very excited to get started on this project, as I’ve not done any illustration to this kind of format before. The clocks are really cool as well; they have illustrations that rotate inside them, with a section that shows certain parts of the image relative to what the weather is like that day. They have various other themed ones as well but are interested in me creating a London styled one. And have, again, given me free reign on the concepts for the other two. So I’m very excited to get started on this one!

You can find the stunning work of Josh Patterson in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, available from Kickstarter soon.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday October 14th, 2015 10:32 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adobe Illustrator, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,AOI, ,Birmingham City University, ,Bramwell Brown, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Computer Arts, ,Illustration Using Print Award, ,interview, ,Josh Patterson, ,Kickstarter, ,Lara Vis Com Awards, ,Nobrow, ,RM2, ,The Illustration Award, ,Wilderness Festival, ,World Illustration Awards

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Eleanor Percival: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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eleanor percival atalanta 5
The delicate artwork of Eleanor Percival translates beautifully into her colouring book image of a heavily tattooed lady plucking a pear. Here she talks about her love of fiction, Renaissance paintings and good quality watercolours.

eleanor percival in studio
eleanor percival spread
What would be the story of your tattooed lady?
I think she’s a tattooist herself, but a bit of a psychic too. She can see her clients’ true natures and tattoos them with symbols of their characters, good or bad. She’s covered herself with images that represent who she is (I got very caught up in the meanings of tattoos while I was developing this piece, and even added in a couple that would mean something to me if I ever had the guts to get one). She would probably be very sought after, but would also get into trouble with those who didn’t like her representation of them.

eleanor percival fftmc
Who are your favourite writers and why?
I love strangeness in fiction, the uncanny – Roald Dahl’s short stories for adults seem to be set in the real world, then something knocks the story off-kilter and it feels like another universe. Virginia Woolf is always great but Orlando is, without doubt, my favourite of her books: the way the character moves through history (and genders) is written so cleverly that it barely seems odd at all.

eleanor percival poppies
Where did you do your BA and MA courses and what were the best things you learnt on them?
I did my BA at UCA Maidstone, which sadly has been closed down since. The course had been famously good since the sixties, so attracted wonderful staff. They really taught us to have clear motivations in our work – ‘Why have you used red here?’ ‘What does it symbolise?’ ‘What will viewers associate with it?’ Etc. They were also fantastic at driving home to us the practicalities of being an illustrator – how to promote ourselves, how to approach clients, even how to do our accounts. I loved it. I chose to do an MA at Camberwell because I wanted to free up a little, and to refine my style. I’m no Jackson Pollock, but my work has loosened up so much, and I’m more confident.

eleanor percival atalanta 1
Who is Atalanta and what attracted you to her story? (see also the opening image)
I knew from the beginning of my MA that I wanted to do a project around fairy tales or mythology, but I also wanted to champion a female character who wasn’t a feeble little princess or a conniving vamp. While I was researching endless Greek myths, a woman called Atalanta kept cropping up. She was always described as the strongest fighter and the fastest runner, and was featured in lots of famous stories, but I’d never heard of her before. So I did some more reading and amalgamated all of the bits I could find about her into my own narrative. She and her lover are turned into mountain lions in the end, but I made this into a happy-ever-after for them.

eleanor percival colouring in 1
What kind of references to art history can we expect to see in your art if we look closely?
The strange perspectives and proportions that I love are definitely influenced by Renaissance paintings. They used an obsessive mathematical approach that left a lot of imagery looking quite other-worldly and, though I don’t go anywhere near a ruler when I’m working out a composition, I try to recreate that slightly wonky effect. Indian Miniatures have crept in too – the space is very organised in most of my paintings, details are purposeful and sparse. And my figures often have very gestural poses too.

eleanor percival alicante
How do you arrange your workspace and what does typical work day look like?
My studio is a tiny spare room in the flat I share with my husband in Brixton. It’s absolutely crammed with books, old work and art materials, and my desk takes up about half the room. My working day is usually much the same: I’m at my desk with a cup of tea by nine but rarely start painting immediately; I look at artsy blogs, catch up on my e-mails and make to-do lists until I’m in the right mood. I’ll then work for the rest of the day (though I often find I’ve been staring out the window for ten minutes). At the end of a project I often find I need a day wandering around a museum or gallery to refresh.

eleanor percival atalanta 2
Why is it so important to you to embark on personal projects and what have you been doing most recently in this arena?
Every experienced illustrator I’ve ever met has underlined to me how important it is to do personal projects. It’s inevitable that when working with an art director, you find yourself doing little things that you wouldn’t do if left to your own devices. And that’s an important practice, but it’s also crucial that you do projects that are more essentially yours – things only you would think of doing in that particular way. I’ve been working on my own little colouring-in book recently. I wanted to have a break from working in colour, and also from doing projects with causes! It’s very simple, barely even a narrative, just an introduction to a character who lives in a cottage and loves gardening. I’m also putting together a line of greetings cards to sell in some local independent shops.

eleanor percival thank you card
Where will we be able to buy your greeting cards, and can you share a preview with us?
I’ve got a couple of designs for sale at Green & Stone on the Kings Road already, but I’m going to be approaching shops in Brixton Market.

eleanor percival ice-skaters
What is it that you particularly love about watercolour and where did you learn how to use it properly?
On my BA I didn’t have a clue about materials – I just grabbed whatever was close to hand – but after I graduated I got a part-time job in a beautiful old art supplies shop and learned all about the properties of watercolours, fine brushes and paper. With my discount I could afford to gradually build up a collection of really good quality paints and other materials. I use Schmincke and Daniel Smith paints mostly – they have really intense colours and granulate beautifully. I love that watercolour has a life of its own; you have a certain amount of control before you apply the brush, then the paint does whatever it wants – it just rolls around on the paper. But equally, it’s a lovely medium for creating delicate little details.

eleanor-percival-recipe1
Which cook’s recipes would you most like to illustrate and why?
Definitely my friend Milli Taylor’s, because I know how amazing her cooking is! I love the way she put ingredients together, and the flavours she creates. She’s brilliant at making her dishes look beautiful too – as she says in her book ‘we eat with our eyes’.

eleanor-percival-fruit-salad-recipe
Can you tell us anymore about your own colouring book plans?
I’m going to print a small edition to take to a few children’s book publishers and hopefully find someone who wants to sell it for me! My plan is that, over time, I can build up a series of stories about the same character that are fun to read as well as colour in.

eleanor percival colouring in 2
I love how every illustrator featured in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion creates such different work. Make sure you grab your copy of this limited edition colouring book once the campaign goes online on Kickstarter!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday September 28th, 2015 1:50 pm

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Atalanta, ,Brixton, ,Camberwell College of Art, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Daniel Smith, ,Eleanor Percival, ,Green & Stone, ,interview, ,Milli Taylor, ,Orlando, ,Roald Dahl, ,Schmincke, ,UCA Maidstone

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Kaja Szechowsko: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Kaja Szechowsko
Kaja Szechowsko is a Polish illustrator and jewellery designer who was inspired by her range of necklaces to create a surreal double page for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featuring Siamese twins. She tells us about the woodland of Lodz, aleatory concepts that have inspired a book she is making, and the idea of travelling through life as a hitch-hiker.

Kaja Szechowsko
Why did you decide to study sculpture and how has that informed the way that you design and create art today?
I attended a preparatory course for drawing at my university, and I was rather thinking about choosing graphic arts later. One day I lost a doll that I had pinned to my bag. It was a plush miniature of me that I had sewn and I called it my Voodoo Doll. I was upset and when I went in to my course the next day, I told my friend about the loss. And to my surprise he said: “Really? I saw it sitting on a pedestal in the hall. I thought you had an exhibition.” And there I found her, and so I found my place. I feel that the biggest thing I learned while studing sculpture was a way of thinking, of analysing my work, and making myself question it as if I was somebody else. All the rest is some kind of sensibilty that remains the same, regardless of medium.

Kaja Szechowsko
Where do you go for an injection of inspiration in the city of Lodz?
It’s difficult to say now, it’s somehow the city of my past, and everything reminds me about something that I don’t need anymore. As for today my favourite place is the forest on the outskirts, near my parents hause. It’s neutral enough and meaningless to feel comfortable.

Kaja Szechowsko
You run a jewellery brand called OMG! Jewels – how did you learn how to make jewellery, what features in your current range and how are the pieces made?
My jewels are just miniature sculptures. I didn’t take any special courses. It all started with a necklace portrait of my flatmate’s dog that I made for her birthday. It turned out so cool that I decided to make some more. The first collection is made up of necklaces featuring different kinds of creatures such as unicorns, holy sheep, slugs, meat-eating plants and animal skulls. Some of them are a little creepy, others are just lovely, however all of them are at least a little kitsch. I can reveal that the new collection will be even more freaky and will use an illustration medium.

Kaja Szechowsko double spread
Who or what inspired your colouring page artwork?
One of the necklaces I have made for OMG! Jewels features my favourite Siamese doll, who is also the protagonist of my colouring pages.

Kaja Szechowsko
You’ve moved around a lot in the past few years – what has taken you across Europe and what have you done to keep your creativity alive on the go?
Generally, I have terrible feelings that I’ll suffocate if I stay in one place too long. Usually there is some small indication that I follow. Once I found a little Eiffel Tower below my feet. Another time, I read about a place in one of Roberto Bolaño‘s books. And so on. It seems like a childish play, or maybe it’s just a selective subconscience, but I find it magical. I try to work in the conditions in which I find myself; it’s a little hard and I’d like to improve that point of the story. I was working in an artistic recidency and I have had some other temporary studios, but I feel now I need another quality of working calmness.

Kaja Szechowsko
What is your preferred process to create an illustration?
I work mainly with traditional techniques using paints and crayons. I like this process, I find it relieving. I use the computer only to put things together. Generally I wouldn’t really mind a life without a computer. I feel it destroys all the magic, both in life and art.

Kaja Szechowsko
Who is your new illustrated book Bad Herbs aimed at and what kind of ideas will it feature?
It’s definitely aimed at adults. It’s based on an aleatory concept that I invented. The drawings are only a pretext. It’s more or less about randomness and choice. But I cannot reveal more, because then, there won’t be a surprise anymore :).

Kaja Szechowsko
Where are you based now and what are your plans for the future?
Currently I’m not based anywhere at all. I’m just passing my mental SPA holidays in my parents hause, stroking my beloved cat Alisek and planning the brightest ever future. I’ve just left Barcelona with a deep conviction that I’ll never go back again, although I left all my stuff there. It’s irrational, but typical for me. I have a lot of plans for the future! When I finish the book it will surely satisfy my illustration hunger, and I’d like to go back to creating my mechanical toys, which I have abandoned for some time. And then travel, travel and look for the new adventures, and somewhere in the middle build a place where I can rest and work in peace.

Kaja Szechowsko
What was the most inspiring part of your travels?
It was surely the aspect of the unknown and the whole range of possibilities open to me, the uncertainty about what will happen and the complete certainty that something (whatever) will happen. I love the idea of life as a kind of hitchhicking experience. Another thing is that I like a change of scenery (or at least a scenography), at that point when I’m catching myself looking, but no longer seeing. When I getting used to something, it’s like the first sign I am getting languid.

Kaja Szechowsko 02
Where else do you look for inspiration?
In the dreams. I’m really good at remembering my dreams. Currently I’m trying to learn some techniques of lucid dreaming, to have still more fun. However as for now, the result has been completely the opposite and I just fall asleep immediately or don’t remember anything at all.

Preorder your copy of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion to arrive in January and don’t miss out on the opportunity to colour unique artwork created by 44 artists from all over the world. Just click here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday December 22nd, 2015 4:57 pm

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Alisek, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Bad Herbs, ,Colouring Book, ,etsy, ,interview, ,jewellery, ,Kaja Szechowsko, ,Lodz, ,poland, ,Polish, ,Roberto Bolaño, ,Voodoo Doll

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Eliza Fricker: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Baines and Fricker minerals wallpaper
Eliza Fricker of design duo Baines & Fricker contributes an imaginative colouring page to Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion inspired by the weird and wonderful statues of the V&A museum in London. She tells us more about her creative life in Brighton; running a business with her husband, creating wallpaper designs inspired by the everyday, and her upcoming graphic novel.

Eliza Fricker portrait
Why did you decide to study at Chelsea and what was the best thing you took from your time there and has informed your design practice today?
My dad studied at Chelsea and it had a good reputation. It was good to travel out of my area to go there and meet different people. I liked learning actual skills such as life drawing and the lectures were great – I think these foundations are essential to becoming an artist. We were given experience in each area – interiors/architecture, photography, drawing, 3D.

Eliza Fricker worldsend
How has your work been inspired by your upbringing and how have your parents affected the way you approach your creative practice?
My dad taught me a lot – he taught me to draw and how to see things (he is a fine artist and political cartoonist/illustrator). We drew together and went along the Thames and looked for interesting things. We lived in a very conservative area and both my parents were different from the other people and they taught me to see things differently and to question everything.

Eliza Fricker frontier
Why do you currently live and work in Brighton? what took you there and what keeps you there?
I moved to Brighton when I was 19 – we had friends here and my brother had lived here already. I shared a flat with my brother and eventually my parents moved here too. I met my husband here and his family are all nearby. It’s great for our daughter to live with her grandparents around her. Brighton is a perfect combination of city, sea and countryside. It has lots of good pubs and restaurants and friendly creative people. Although it is getting more and more expensive and making it harder for artists to afford to live here!

Eliza Fricker cast
When did you set up Baines & Fricker and why?
When I met Steve we shared similar interests – I was manager of an arts cinema in Brighton and Steve was commuting to a city job in London that he had been doing since he was 16. It was a natural progression to work together and earn money doing a job we loved.

Eliza Fricker makingacomeback
How easy is it to run a business with your husband? Who does what? Any tips and tricks for keeping home and work life separate?
We work together and separately – the studio is upstairs and the workshop is downstairs. There are elements we do separately, as Steve is the ‘maker’ and I do the social media/emails etc. I also still do my screen printing and illustration stuff. Our home life and work life is quite fluid and that works because we are doing a job we both enjoy!

Eliza Fricker collage
How did you hook up with an American publisher co-produce a stationary range, and what kind of imagery have you used?
They contacted me. They are adapting my Cat’s wallpaper to create a range of notebooks.

Eliza Fricker print
When you first start to design wallpaper where do you look for inspiration?
Some of my wallpapers come from screen prints and other are illustrations developed from my sketchbooks. I like to look at everyday things – such as pets, plants and food.

Baines_Frickercushions
Where will you be shooting your next range of furniture and wallpaper designs for Baines & Fricker?
We will be photographing these will Abel Sloane and Ruby Woodhouse from 1934 which will be great as we really admire their work and style.

Eliza Fricker properjob
I hear you are working on a graphic novel, can you give us a glimpse of what will be inside?
My mother was very ill for a number of years, with various physical and mental health problems. She became a spectral person, losing all of her former self. She just sat in front of the TV and ate crisps and chocolate until she was eventually diagnosed with a huge brain tumour. Miraculously she has made a full recovery but her personal life has changed radically – she is no longer with my father and she also lost her job as a bookshop manager during her illness. I am doing the book to help us all as a family process what happened and for my mother especially as she doesn’t remember being ill. One of the lowest points of her illness was when she was referred to a councillor who said she was fine and ‘Just Getting Old’- this is also the the title of my book.

Eliza Fricker colouring page
How did you come up with the idea for your colouring pages?
My images were inspired by sketches of post classical European sculptures that I made at the V&A, focusing on the surreal and almost comical nature of their outlandish outfits, hats and hairstyles.

Baines and Fricker cement works wallpaper
What kind of design inspires you most and where do you hunt for that inspiration when you need a new dose of it?
Our holidays and outings inspire us the most – we have lots of English holidays along the South Coast and the West Country and we also love San Francisco and New York. We take lots of pictures of things we see and like and this can be anything from signs to colours and shapes. Our Pew Bench range is inspired by visiting old churches and the bench seating in them. We like to create long lasting design and avoid fads or trends and we like to create furniture to keep forever.

Find artwork by Eliza Fricker Baines & Fricker in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside that of 43 other artists, available to preorder to receive in January from my Big Cartel shop now.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday December 23rd, 2015 10:14 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,1934, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Baines & Fricker, ,Big Cartel, ,brighton, ,Chelsea College of Art, ,Colouring Book, ,designers, ,Eliza Fricker, ,interview, ,Victoria & Albert Museum

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Laura Schofield: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Laura_Schofield_5
Laura Schofield has contributed a wonderfully vibrant artwork inspired by a love of pattern and texture. The Arts University Bournemouth graduate talks about her love of microcellular biology, how to spread the concept of sustainability and possibilities for the future. Find her work in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion now.

Laura_Schofield_1
You clearly love to use colour, what inspired the colour palette for your double page spread in my book?
Colour palettes and complimenting combinations have always intrigued me. I take inspiration from a wide variety of objects but mostly from the colourful, unique items I have collected on my travels. I am also interested in the possibilities of mismatched arrangements and enjoy the elective feel they can bring to my work. For the colour palette in this piece, I was admiring the vibrancy in exotic fruits and also took inspiration from a patterned hair scrunchie I found on the little Greek island of Skiathos!

Laura_Schofield_10
Where did you find reference material to create your illustration?
If possible, I always try to find real-life references and like to keep my sketchbooks to hand from all the previous inspiring locations I have been lucky enough to visit so far. Therefore, for the plant shapes and textures in this particular piece, I used my visual research collected from Kew Gardens Greenhouse a few months back. And with regard to the monkeys and apes, I enjoyed another trip to my local zoo where I often spend hours enjoying their fascinating company.

Laura_Schofield_3
When did you first start drawing and when did you realise you wanted to make a career as an artist?
When I was young, my Dad always encouraged my drawing and took my brother and I to draw horses in the local fields near my hometown. We would also take many enjoyable trips to sketch the spectacular views of the South Devon countryside and coastline. Drawing and exploring nature became a passion of mine that I didn’t want to let go of and although I still have quite a few other academic interests, I decided pursuing Illustration would make me happiest and hopefully also bring such joy to others.

Laura_Schofield_4
I first found your work at the AUB graduation show this summer, what was the best thing about getting your work out there at the end of your course?
It was great to finish university off with a bang in July with The Observatory AUB graduation show. I was heavily involved with the organisation and coordination of this exhibition, which was a fantastic experience in itself. But, being from Bournemouth and managing to get our work up in London, for it to be seen by the creative eyes wandering about Brick Lane, was very exciting for all of us and has opened up many opportunities since.

Laura_Schofield_2
What inspired your beautiful installation at the show?
I am allured to the mystery and depth within the jungle environment and so I based my installation on the beautiful yet peculiar shapes and colours found within such exotic climates. Being interested in the potential of working with both 2D and 3D surfaces, I also explored the placement of my designs on textiles and ceramics and enjoyed a very positive reaction to these.

Laura_Schofield_9
Why are you so fascinated by microscopic cell biology?
As nature has always been the main inspiration for my work, of course Biology has always appealed to me; I love learning about how natural things work the way they do. Though, I am particularly intrigued by microscopic cell biology because of the intricate detail and complexity inside something almost unimaginably small. I also find the fact that while all living things are made up of cells, there is such immense diversity between each type of cell. And when observing them under the microscope, I find the patterns and textures they unintentionally create absolutely incredible.

Laura_Schofield_7
How do you incorporate or promote sustainability into your work?
Being passionate about sustainable and eco-friendly living, I see my overall role as an Illustrator to use my creativity to help influence people’s views and actions to make the world a more sustainable and harmonious place. Yet, as there seems to be a current abundance of fear-evoking campaigns, I try to counteract this by creating positive, colourful and energetic designs, in the hope to gain an optimistic and more productive outcome. Most recently, I have submitted designs to Paignton Zoo’s The Great Big Rhino Project, in conjunction with Wild in Art. I hope to gain the chance to promote rhino conservation with Save the Rhino International and give these critically endangered, beautiful but shy-natured creatures, a voice.

Laura_Schofield_8
Can you tell us more about your bespoke gift service L-E?
A fellow illustrator and myself created L-E in our second year at AUB as part of the Young Enterprise Start-up Scheme. It was a trial business, only lasting for the duration of a year but in that time we managed to set-up and run an illustrative gift service, hand-making products to order, such as personalised cushions, cards and mugs. I find the prospect of turning my illustrations into products that the public can purchase very exciting and it is something that I may likely pick up again in the future.

What are you drawing tribal masks for?
After visiting the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford earlier this year and researching into the backgrounds of their vast collection of indigenous folk art, I found such masks and artefacts highly inspirational. A lot of these fascinating and skilful creations have been delicately made in cultures with isolated environments; with natural surroundings being their predominant influence. I think this is something to be celebrated. I hope one day that I will get the opportunity to see the making of such art firsthand and am eager to learn even more about the purpose and uses of such exquisite items.

What do you hope to do with your designs in the future?
In the future, I would like to see my designs spread across a variety of different platforms. My work can be easily adaptable and applicable to a wide array of concepts and I see it fitting well within packaging and advertising design. Yet I am also eager to explore textiles and the many products this medium can produce. There are a lot of possibilities and I am very excited to have the opportunity to be flexible in the way I work. I can’t wait to see my designs in action!

What is your favourite way to relax after a hard day’s drawing?
Preferably I would be on a beach, overlooking the Ionian Sea and watching the sun go down, but I suppose a few drinks in good company will do!

Laura Schofield is featured in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside 40 other artists, funding on Kickstarter. Get your copy now, it makes a perfect Christmas gift!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday November 9th, 2015 9:53 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Arts University Bournemouth, ,AUB, ,Brick Lane, ,Coloring, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Greenhouse, ,illustration, ,interview, ,Ionian Sea, ,Kew Gardens, ,Kickstarter, ,L-E, ,Laura Schofield, ,Pitt Rivers Museum, ,Save the Rhino International, ,Skiathos, ,South Devon, ,The Great Big Rhino Project, ,The Observatory, ,What do you hope to do with your designs in the future?, ,Wild in Art, ,Young Enterprise Start-up Scheme

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Erika Rier: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Durga-Slaying-the-Buffalo-Demon-Erika-rier
Portland based Erika Rier is a multi disciplinary artist with a unique vision. I am so glad she entered my colouring book open brief, with an amazing and unusual narrative artwork based on the struggle of womankind. Here she talks about her inspiration, how language and place informs her art, and the joy of homeschooling her daughter.

Portrait-erika-rier
How did you find the colouring book open brief and why did you decide to enter your work?
I’ve been following Amelia’s Magazine for ages and had been wanting to contribute to an open brief for some time but the timing was always off. I’d even got a sketch together for the That Which We Do Not Understand brief but was in the middle of a time sensitive project that prevented me from getting my submission done. When I saw the colouring book brief I was so excited. I swear I get at least 2 messages a week from people asking that I do a colouring book. I haven’t had time to draw a whole colouring book but I could definitely manage the two pages for this brief!

Til-Death-spread-Erika-Rier
What inspired your piece and how does it tie in with ongoing themes in your work?
As soon as I read the brief I knew that I wanted to draw some sort of stand-off between the two pages. I wanted the drawings to work together as a whole but to also work on their own as well. In my self-directed work, I have been exploring themes of violence, war, and struggle. The idea of a standoff definitely played into the themes I’m currently obsessed with. I also draw a lot of strange creatures, women who are half bear or have butterfly wings as well as centaurs and satyrs. I decided one side would be winged creatures facing off against land creatures. While I was working the piece it came to me that the two main figures were obviously at some point best friends, but things had gone south and now they’re battling it out on these two cliffs.

Kitty-Mommy-erika-rier
How has your crafty upbringing affected your current approach to illustration?
I come from a family filled with textile enthusiasts so from a young age developed a passion for sewing, embroidery, and knitting. For a long time I created a line of handmade clothing which I sold in NYC and stores around the country. I love the texture, colors, and patterns in textiles and those are what influence my illustration and drawing the most. I love bringing the flat, repeating patterns of textiles into my drawings, creating landscapes made up of repeating patterns.

I think the biggest thing I’ve gotten from my history of labor intensive craft work that I bring to drawing is patience. Threading a loom or hand stitching a quilt are massive, patience-sucking undertakings that have helped me develop the ability to stick through a very detailed drawing and to spend most of my days sitting at a desk creating work.

Sit-Still-erika-rier
What does your series Of Monsters & Women explore?
Of Monsters & Women is an open ended, loose series I’ve been working on for most of the year. I’m not even sure when it started, me drawing monsters and battles but now it seems to be the entirety of my self-directed work. In the most basic way these pieces explore struggle. They depict scenes of hybrid creatures and women in battle, often over trivial things. The series is exploring the internal turmoil I experience in my daily life as a woman, mother, and human. I’m also very interested in pushing against the trend in pop culture art of women being depicted as very passive and empty in pretty portraits. Life is full of battles and struggles but art depicting women seems to be all vapid stares, sexy poses, serenity, and/or maternal softness. I want to create art that shows the part of being a woman that is a battle between one’s self and one’s culture.

Rest-Area-erika-rier
Why are you learning Norwegian?
When I was very little, my grandmother whom I lived with, had a friend who visited regularly from Norway. She somehow sparked a strong desire to go to Norway in me. I’m not really sure what it is that I find so fascinating, pictures of it remind of where I grew up on the very Northern tip of the state of coastal Maine. I started learning the language so I could visit there but ultimately, after moving around America so much, I feel as though I’d like to live abroad especially in a country where English is not the primary language. I’ve also been learning Spanish because I like the idea of Peru as well. Norwegian though, has totally captured my imagination, I’ve never been so excited about learning a foreign language since I started learning it. The words are at once so familiar and so crazy sounding that I can’t help just saying random sentences just to hear them spoken.

The-Escape-erika-rier
Can you tell us anything about the children’s book you are working on?
Yes! This book has been a long time coming for me. It started with a funny name my daughter called herself when she was very little, the Crispiest Turtle. That name just stuck with me, I wrote it down and doodled some characters of it. She also told me a very enchanting story including a seagull and some very unfortunate whales and octopus. I’ve had a difficult time deciding exactly how to write the story but have finally finished a rough draft which pleases me.

Turquoise-is-for-Protection-erika-rier
You create dream artwork and family portraits to order, what have been the most memorable commissions? (I want one, such a great idea!)
I love creating custom artwork for people, I learn so much about them and their families. One of the first family portraits I did is still one of my favorites. The woman sent me pictures of her family and pets and then a stream of consciousness list of things that were meaningful to her family such as goats, poetry, elephants, mangoes, Hindu goddesses, unicorns, feathers…. The list was quite long but I managed to fit in everything, except for the goats. Another one was a woman who asked if I could read her favorite book and do a drawing of some of the creatures from the book. I just received a new commission to illustrate a story a woman has written for her boyfriend. When it is finished, she’ll have a single copy made and bound to give him for his birthday.

And-the-Boat-That-Goes-erika-rier
Why have you moved so much and what is your favourite bit of America?
I was born in Northern Maine and since then have lived in Vermont, Connecticut, New York City, Arizona, Washington state, and currently reside in Portland, OR. I move for many reasons, it started just to get away from my tumultuous family. Since then it has developed into a desire to experience new places. Lots of people love travelling but I kind of despise travelling. I feel like it gives you such a superficial, romantic view of a place. I love living in a new place and learning all of it’s intimate details. There are also practical reasons. We recently left Washington state and a big part of that was wanting to live someplace with a better public transportation system. I never learned to drive and Portland, OR is much easier to get around without a car.

New-Day-erika-rier
How do you fit everything in around family life and how does being a mother inform your work?
It is really hard to fit in everything so there are things I let slide, like cleaning the apartment or having a social life. Right now my family and my art are the most important things in my life so I focus mostly on those and let the other things slide. Attachment parenting has been the thing that I feel like makes my current life possible. My daughter is 12 now and homeschooled. She is a patient, focused, and self-directed young woman and I really feel like attachment parenting is to thank for that. The first 5 years of her life were hard, all I really did was parent, I did draw and sew still but not like I can now. That time I put into attachment parenting has paid off tenfold and helps me to pursue art while raising my daughter the way I’d like to raise her.

Being a mother affects my work so much it’s hard to even tease it out of the whole. Being a mother has changed how I look at the world and how I look at myself. The struggle to bring up a child who can survive in this crazy society but has not lost her magic is the biggest battle I wage everyday. Trying to figure out when to protect my child, when to let her wage her own battles, when to expose her to the ugly parts of life, these are all things that make up my real life battles every day and seep subconsciously into my drawings.

Many thanks for such an informative and interesting interview Erika! I love that my open briefs attract artists from all over the world as well as artists closer to home. Look out for plenty more international talent in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday September 17th, 2015 8:25 am

Categories ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Attachment Parenting, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring Book, ,Crispiest Turtle, ,Erika Rier, ,Homeschooling, ,interview, ,Motherhood, ,Of Monsters & Women, ,OR, ,portland, ,That Which We Do Not Understand

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Libby Parra: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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LIBBY PARRA risograph bugs
Libby Parra was a stand out find at the 2014 New Designers show, and I love her contribution to Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, a psychedelic landscape inspired by her recent trip to the Austrian mountains.

LIBBY PARRA studio pic
LIBBY PARRA afp
You’ve been very busy since I first discovered your work at the graduate shows last year, what have you been up to?
Ahh a crazy mix of stuff I never even imagined I would be doing; lots of fun freelance work – I did flyers and online ad material for a comedy group Abnormally Funny People for their shows at Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, editorial bits, making coffee for half of Oxford, and I worked as a Graphic Designer full-time. Now I am in London and working freelance as a designer & illustrator and currently working for a company called Unlease that I’m so so excited about.

LIBBY PARRA otro mundo zine 3
LIBBY PARRA otro mundo zine 2
I loved your zine, Otro Mundo, what does it feature?
Otro Mundo is a direct Spanish translation to ‘Another World‘ and it’s just that. I obviously took a bunch of inspiration from the real world, but I had a lot of fun coming up with my own creatures, environments and plants. I wanted to make it bright and insane so using risograph was perfect for that as you can get such intense colours from it. I’m really happy that you liked it, it’s the thing I am most proud of for sure.

LIBBY PARRA otro mundo zine 1
What is it that most draws you to risograph and screen printing?
It’s so satisfying watching all the layers go down one after the other building up an image. I love a gorgeous, perfect screen print but I am a really big fan of the happy accidents you can get if a layer is misaligned, exposing the technique and showing off glimpses of other colour and you often get that with riso prints.

LIBBY PARRA plants
Why have you recently decided to move to London?
It was always the grand plan! There is so many exciting things happening in this city and I just want to be a part of it. I’d often visit my best friend in London when I was back studying in sunny ol’ Kent, and would just feel at home in all the hustle n’ bustle. I love all the graffiti’d streets – there’s art all over the place.

LIBBY PARRA creepy bug
LIBBY PARRA few london
What has been your favourite post graduate job so far and why?
Definitely working for Few London; a leather accessories company that feature limited edition designs from new, up & coming print designers. I draw the designer’s portraits that end up on the product labels and the website. They have recently started selling on Not on the High Street (and are selling out) and will have a new range released in the lead up to Christmas. I just really like that they support new designers, it’s not easy to be seen when you are just starting out and Few London are a great platform for that.

LIBBY PARRA battery
How did you get to decorate the walls of a cafe?
After uni I picked up a barista job in a fab cafe in Oxford, Rachels. The owner Kean makes the most incredible traditional Asian home baked goods and in down time I’d doodle all the little treats, inbetween eating them, and one day Kean said, “Wanna draw on the windows?“. In typical cartoony-cutesy style I would put a face on just about everything and it got a really good response from passers by. You’d have people take photos of my drawings from outside! I had a lot of fun working there. Coincidently (and insanely!) I bagged my new design job in London because my new employer used to live in Oxford and would walk past the cafe all of the time!

LIBBY PARRA how to make work fun
LIBBY PARRA amelias
I understand that your colouring book artwork was inspired by a trip to Austria – why did the Tirol offer you so much inspiration?
Tirol is often called the heart of the alps – and mountains literally surround you wherever you go there. It was insanely beautiful. I love just being engulfed by nature, I think we often forget just how incredible the world is.

LIBBY PARRA trees
Why do you think you are so drawn to the natural world?
Going from a very built up place like London to Austria is just such an enormous contrast it’s almost surreal. A photo or a drawing of a peak or a mountain valley will never compare to actually being up there and experiencing it for real. I think that life can be really dark and difficult sometimes so it’s important to concentrate on all the fun and wonder in the world and that’s what I hope to do with my work.

LIBBY PARRA penguin shortlisted design
LIBBY PARRA anxious alan
What other things inspire you?
I like watching cartoons and playing video games – I like the weird and the wonderful and cartoons and games have this artistic freedom to just do whatever, create a new world, weird and awesome monsters and characters in a whole range of styles and I just like getting sucked up into all of it. Other than that – I get a hell of a lot from other illustrators and artists. There are SO many talented people out there. With just about everyone posting work up on the internet you don’t even need to pop to a gallery to get inspired you just have to check out your favourites on Instagram or whatever and you’re flooded with amazing work that makes me just want to get drawing myself.

LIBBY PARRA kirons monster
Libby Parra features in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside a plethora of other artistic talent. Make sure you secure a copy when my Kickstarter campaign launches very soon!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday October 19th, 2015 4:30 pm

Categories ,Abnormally Funny People, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Austria, ,edinburgh fringe festival, ,Few London, ,instagram, ,interview, ,Kickstarter, ,Libby Parra, ,New Designers, ,Not On The High Street, ,Otro Mundo, ,Rachels, ,Tirol, ,Unlease

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Feronia Parker-Thomas: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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feronia parker thomas
Feronia Parker-Thomas is yet another graduate of Camberwell College of Arts. She is now qualified as a teacher herself, signed to The Bright Agency and has just produced the illustrations for her first children’s book How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow. Her fab piece for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion features one of her favourite animals…

feronia parker thomas
feronia parker thomas
Would it be fair to say that you liked bears? What is it about them that appeals so much?
Yes, I am incredibly in love with them! I have done since a young age but have never really thought about why I find them appealing. Thinking about it now, there are two reasons that jump out at me. Firstly, they are lovely to draw, their fur is a fun texture to render and their shape is full of beautiful curves. Secondly, I think humans have always been fascinated with bears; there are examples of bears in prehistoric cave paintings and there are lots of bears in myths and legends. They have quite human features and I think we project whatever we are feeling on to them.

feronia parker thomas
How did you settle on your idea for my colouring book?
I love picture books and this is the area of illustration I am drawn to and mainly working in, so I wanted to do a narrative piece about a girl and her ‘imaginary’ bear. I was thinking about my sister and I when we were children sitting under tables creating imaginary worlds. I liked the idea that the girl was collecting food for her bear and then we get to see the big feast that ensues.

feronia parker thomas
What is your preferred method of producing an illustration?
I draw out a loose sketch of what the illustration will look like and then flesh it out in pencil, I then use my lightbox and the original as a template. I will usually do a watercolour base and then add pencil over the top for detail. I have dabbled in digital colouring recently but I am still not sure; I like the flexibility that digital can give you, but something doesn’t feel quite right for me. There are some amazing digital illustrators out there doing a much better job that I can! I work in the flat I share with my boyfriend in Streatham, and we have lots of books and plants and artwork on the walls; it is a lovely space with lots of light.

feronia parker thomas
Since graduating from Camberwell College of Arts in 2010 what have you learnt about the business of being an illustrator?
It is a rollercoaster; it has highs and lows. A high has been signing to The Bright Agency, they are going through quite an exciting time at the moment so it is great to be a part of it. I have learnt you have to put yourself out there; your work can’t be found if you are hiding it! If I was to give one piece of advice it would be to join Twitter and Instagram and share your work, get your work seen by anyone. There is a great community of illustrators on Twitter that support each other, it is lovely to be a part of.

feronia parker thomas
Why do you enjoy teaching so much and how do you balance being a teacher with being a working artist?
I love teaching because it forces you to look at art in different ways. It sounds incredibly cheesy but I love seeing the new generation of artists develop (insert puke noise here). The arts in schools are under threat and I think it is important to try and show young people that art can have so many different applications in life, I really enjoy winning round unwilling kids. It has been hard at times to balance the two, especially when you might have a tight deadline, but I love illustrating, so when you love doing something it isn’t hard to motivate yourself.

feronia parker thomas
Can you tell us more about your first picture book? it sounds great!
How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow is about an argument between the Sun and the Clouds. Without them working together there are no rainbows, so some very determined crayons work together to try and fix the problem; it is a great story about team work. The book was really fun to do and took me out of my comfort zone a little because they wanted the illustrations in crayon, which isn’t my usual medium. I had a great working relationship with the author and editor; so it was a really positive experience for my first book.

feronia parker thomas
How is development of your own ideas for a children’s book coming along?
Slowly but surely! I am trying to develop characters for several different ideas at the moment, it is nice to have the freedom to flit backwards and forwards and have space and time to develop. I am huge fan of David Roberts‘ illustrations for Rosie Revere, Engineer and Iggy Peck, Architect. They are wonderfully detailed illustrations, I seem to be drawn to illustrators who use lots of detail. I love Carson Ellis‘ work and Janet Ahlberg‘s illustrations were a favourite of mine as a child. I loved Peepo and The Baby’s Catalogue; I could still look at the Jolly Postman for hours.

feronia parker thomas-highgate
I love your drawings from Highgate Cemetery – what prompted this personal work?
The Transport Museum’s ‘Places and Spaces‘ theme for last year’s Prize for Illustration my starting point for these images. I didn’t end up submitting an illustration in the end but it was great to work to a brief. I am fascinated with cemeteries; I went to Paris last year and spent a large proportion of my time looking around different cemeteries there. In many ways it is an unfinished project, I thought I might do illustrated maps for ‘The Magnificent Seven‘ cemeteries in London but never got round to it; watch this space!

feronia parker thomas-pirate
Who are the Pirate Kids?
The Pirate Kids were two characters I created about a year ago as a portfolio piece. I feel a bit guilty that I haven’t developed them more, at the moment they are frozen in time!

feronia parker thomas
feronia parker thomas
What else do you love to draw and why?
I really enjoy drawing people, I get an intense satisfaction when I do a portrait and it actually looks like the person I have drawn. Last year I did a series of portraits of women I consider to be icons, feminism is an important cause to me and I wanted to celebrate them.

feronia parker thomas
Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion will be available to preorder on Kickstarter VERY SOON, so watch this space!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday October 7th, 2015 12:12 pm

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,bears, ,Camberwell College of Arts, ,Carson Ellis, ,Coloring, ,Colouring, ,David Roberts, ,Feronia Parker Thomas, ,How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow, ,illustration, ,interview, ,Janet Ahlberg, ,Mindful colouring, ,Pirate Kids, ,Places and Spaces, ,The Bright Agency

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Lorna Scobie: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Lorna_Scobie_zebras
The super talented Lorna Scobie published her own colouring book Jungle Paradise yesterday (read more here), so I am very happy she was also able to create an animal themed page for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion.

Lorna_Scobie
Where is your day job and how does it feed in to your illustration career?
I’m a designer at Macmillan Children’s books. A lot of the skills I use as a freelance illustrator have been super useful in my work as a designer at Macmillan, and vice versa. My day job requires me to be very creative and to be able to use photoshop and indesign well. It’s also very useful that I am used to working to deadlines and have learnt how to plan my time efficiently, as there is always a lot to do! It’s really useful to know how the publishing industry works from the inside, and to understand why some things take a really long time to move forward, and some things are needed urgently!

Lorna_Scobie_pets_1
Where did you study and how did it best set you up for a career as an artist?
I studied illustration at Kingston University and it gave me a great starting point for my freelance illustration career. We were lucky enough to have regular talks from people in the industry and also a variety of projects taught by visiting lecturers. It was really useful to hear so many different opinions and pieces of advice.

Lorna_Scobie_African_wild_dog
What do you do to destress? Are you a colouring aficionado or is there something else you prefer to do after a hard day’s drawing to unwind?
I do enjoy colouring in as it takes my mind off the stresses of the day. In the evenings I find that nothing makes me feel more relaxed than a luxurious bath, but at the weekends I love going on long walks in London’s parks. I find being around nature and wildlife a fabulous remedy, and I’m a country girl through and through!

Lorna_Scobie_pets_2
You have oodles of fans on instagram in particular – how did you build such a large following, any tips?
I don’t really know how that happened! I didn’t consciously take steps to get more followers on Instagram – I’ve always just posted what I like and hope other people like it too. I think people like to see a balance of work and the person behind the work. The informality of Instagram is really great, and perfect for showing behind the scenes shots, and work in progress. I love seeing inside people’s studios and sketchbooks, it’s really interesting to see how people approach their work.

Lorna_Scobie_fox
What is your preferred way to work when not creating purely black and white images?
Watercolour paints are my preferred medium as they are fast to use and dry, so I can build up layers of detail on top without having to wait too long. I work quickly and quite spontaneously, so rather than planning a drawing I will just use whatever pen or pencil that feels right at the time. I love colouring pencils as it’s an easy way to add quick bursts of colour.

Lorna_Scobie_colouring page
How did you decide which animals to include in your celebration of the animal kingdom for my colouring book?
I chose to go with a range of different sized animals, and ones with different patterns so that someone colouring them in could enjoy colouring in different textures.

Lorna_Scobie_sketchbooks
What did you do as part of the recent Pick Me Up challenge at Somerset House?
Earlier this year, the lovely boys from Ohh Deer kindly invited me to hold a one-day workshop at Pick Me Up, an illustration festival in Somerset House. I decided to do a huge colouring-in sheet, where I drew lots of animals on enormous pieces of paper. Whilst I drew, members of the public were invited to come and colour in the animals. It was a really fun day, and inspired me to do my own colouring book!

Lorna_Scobie_animals
I believe you have a large collection of succulents and cacti, any tips for raising these successfully?
Try not to give them too much attention! Sometimes I do accidentally kill my plants by overwatering them, I think the trick with the succulents is to water them a little bit, but quite infrequently. And the cacti I water only a few times a year. They seem to be happy with that! I try to just let them be, but every few months I will repot them if they need it, and cut off any dying bits.

Lorna_Scobie_bear
Lastly, what is your favourite animal to draw and why?
This changes all the time, but at the moment I’m really enjoying drawing lizards! I think they have funny expressions, and I like their long tails.

Find Lorna Scobie‘s fabulous animals to colour in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, available from Kickstarter exceedingly soon…

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday October 23rd, 2015 8:25 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Colouring Book, ,illustration, ,instagram, ,interview, ,Jungle Paradise, ,Kickstarter, ,Kingston University, ,Lorna Scobie, ,Macmillan Children’s Books, ,Ohh Deer, ,Somerset House

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Amelia’s Magazine | A Little Book of Craftivism: an interview with Sarah Corbett

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A Little Book of Craftivism Book Cover

For those not in the know can you summarise what Craftivism is about in a few sentences?
Very simply, craftivism is activism that uses craft as the medium to get the message out! Betsy Greer coined the term in 2003, and she defines it as “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite.” But it’s not a new concept & there are lots of different approaches around. My approach to craftivism in the Craftivist Collective is as form of ‘slow activism’, a reflective action which changes the participant as much as it does the world. Our craftivism aims to be  passionate but polite, provocative but patient, drawing people to engage in discussion and debate rather than forcing it down people’s throat. Unlike some of the more traditional, extrovert forms of activism, craftivism is quietly beautiful, it is individual and it is effective.

A Little Book of Craftivism - Hire a craftivist - workshops

A Little Book of Craftivism -Projects - bunting

What prompted the creation of a book about craftivism?
We offer support to craftivists old & new by providing online information, events and products & after speaking to many of our craftivists, it came to light that a small introductory book would be really helpful tool to help support, courage & inspire people to do craftivism or just provoke thought in people. We don’t think there is any book like ours out there at the moment so it seemed like a useful thing to produce for existing craftivists and to engage new people in craftivism in a quiet, friendly way. Plus I had worked with our editor Ziggy before on the State of Craft book where one of my projects was included in it and love the look and feel of her books so when the opportunity came along to work with her on our own book it seemed like a perfect fit. My dream is that it will be sold in shops all over the world, displayed near tills & people notice it and add it to their basket out of intrigue. 

A Little Book of Craftivism barbie

A Little Book of Craftivism craftivist footprint project

How long did it take to put the book together and what was the most exciting part about the process?
The book was quite a unique journey for most books in many ways. Ziggy from Cicada Books pitched the book to Thames & Hudson (our distributor) January 2012 who loved the idea but were nervous that it was ‘too niche’ so asked if we could match fund the project. In retrospect this was a great opportunity because it meant our supporters where part of the creation of the book through successfully crowd funding (Oct 2012-Jan 2013) proudly seeing their name alongside 150 others in the back of the book reminding us all that we are part of a movement and can achieve things together. I loved all of the parts of the process because it was all so new to me. My proposal to Cicada Books was actually titled A Little Book of Craftivism and I had an idea of the format but knew there was no way I could self-publish because I just didn’t have the skill as an editor or designer. Plus I loved the contemporary craft and graphic style all of Ziggy’s books have; they are all very modern but authentic to the artists work so when Ziggy encouraged me to pitch her idea I was excited at the prospect of working together every step of the way. I’m still learning so much which is exciting! 

A Little Book of Craftivism jigsaw photo

A Little Book of Craftivism mini protest banner

What is your favourite form of craftivism, if you had to pick one?
I still prefer small,encouraging pieces of craftivism to large pieces because I think small & beautiful can engage people in a deeper more long-lasting way where they find and decide to engage with our pieces rather than forcing our views on people with a big and brash banner. Cross-stitch used to be my favourite form of activism but not I really love hand embroidery techniques where you can stitch over your own handwriting which I think can connect to people more personally & show your own personality aesthetically. 

A Little Book of Craftivism Past projects - jigsaw

A Little Book of Craftivism post it stitched
 
Can you share any inspiring examples where a little bit of craftivism has had a positive effect?
I truly believe in our slogan “a spoonful of craft helps the activism go down” for lots of people in different ways. It’s hard to ‘prove’ how we have made a different in the world because we focus on helping with people’s personal transformation into politicised, active global citizens who are trying to be the change they wish to see in the world. I’m constantly inspired when I read blogs by individuals or hear from them directly about how our projects were the catalyst for them to see that they could be part of the solution to injustices in the world (as a voter, consumer, mother etc) and how they now feel empowered to fight for a better world for all. One tweet I love that also sums up the difference our approach to craftivism has had on people was by @RinSimpson & she tweeted ‘My small act of craftivism will, hopefully, go some small way towards changing the world. But more importantly, it has changed me.’

A Little Book of Craftivism tomato jam project

A Little Book of Craftivism Valentines project with Tatty Devine

Where do you hope that the movement goes from here?
I hope that people see that they can use craft for personal and political long-term positive change. I hope that our approach to craftivism helps show how craft can be used effectively to engage others and ourselves in global injustice issues and is a valid part of the activism tool kit we can use to help make the world a better place. Most of all I hope it reminds people that we should all try and be our best selves to help and not harm the world we live in. 

A Little Book of Craftivism by Sarah Corbett is published by Cicada Books and available now.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday November 13th, 2013 10:21 am

Categories ,@RinSimpson, ,A Little Book of Craftivism, ,a spoonful of craft helps the activism go down, ,Betsy Greer, ,Cicada Books, ,Craftivism, ,Craftivist Collective, ,interview, ,Sarah Corbett, ,State of Craft, ,Thames & Hudson

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