jungle – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Royal College of Art: Fashion Design Graduate Show 2011 review. Menswear Knitwear.

I had to sit in the photographer’s pit – legs akimbo – to view the RCA graduate fashion show on Thursday 2nd June 2011… apparently there are no allocated seats. Hurumph, buy more about how often have we covered RCA shows on this website? On the bright side it meant that I had a fabulous view of the models as they walked towards me down the catwalk. Menswear fine tailoring and knitwear was particularly strong at this year’s show. Here’s introducing two fabulous knitwear designers to watch:

RCA graduate fashion 2011-Cherie Newing photography by Amelia Gregory
Cherie Newing. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Cherie Newing by Emma Durnell.

Cherie Newing showed brightly coloured repeat pattern jumpers that touched the ankle. Intarsia knit jumpers and garish printed tracksuits featured stop signs and abstract shapes.

RCA graduate fashion 2011-Hannah Taylor photography by Amelia Gregory
Hannah Taylor‘s collection featured a whole host of influences, erectile from the Green Man to bank robbers, this web via the jungle: both urban and tropical. It was a super fun collection of cable knit shagpile wonder from someone not afraid to experiment with colour and shape.

The RCA is of course a fabled institution that has endowed the world with many fabulously well trained creatives, so I fail to understand why so many RCA graduates leave the college with zero web presence. Hannah Taylor, however, is one of the few who has multiple websites where you can catch up with her, including a website, a blog and a twitter feed. Hurrah!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday June 15th, 2011 10:22 am

Categories ,Brights, ,Cable knit, ,Emma Durnell, ,Graduate Fashion Show, ,Green Man, ,Hannah Taylor, ,Hanzipan, ,Intarsia, ,jungle, ,Karolina Burdon, ,knitwear, ,menswear, ,Patterns, ,rca, ,Royal College of Art, ,urban

Amelia’s Magazine | New Designers 2015: Floral, Jungle and Narrative Textile and Surface Design

New Designers Emily Ward
Next up in my coverage of New Designers 2015 part one I present more favourite textile and surface design – this time concentrating on florals, narrative designs and a popular jungle theme. Emily Ward at Norwich Uni put together a fabulous display showcasing her designs on lampshades.

New Designers Zoe Cook
Beautiful birds feature on this lovely silk scarf by Zoe Cook.

New Designers Marcia La Madrid
This lovely knitwear installation from Marcia La Madrid makes creative use of the very popular rubber plant motif.

New Designers Krupti Valgi
This lovely rich textile design is by Valgi Krupti at Bucks New University.

New Designers Wendy Connington
The 50s influence was strong with Wendy Connington at Loughborough Uni.

New Designers Alice Greaves
Fun prints from Alice Greaves have a narrative feel.

New Designers Izzy Dryburgh
Izzy Dryburgh pursues the ever popular butterflies theme.

New Designers Rachel Whichelow
Juicy florals by Rachel Whichelow at Huddersfield make brilliant use of sunny colours.

New Designers Hannah Reuters
Hannah Reuter had fun with this lovely liquorice allsorts textile design.

New Designers Emily Downer
A Day at the Zoo is by Emily Downer at Falmouth Uni.

New Designers Jemma Scanlon
Sophisticated embroidery created by Jemma Scanlon.

New Designers Jessica Boulton
Jessica Boulton was inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream to create this stunning scarf – a firm favourite with my followers when I shared this on my instagram feed.

New Designers Emma McClusky
At University of Dundee award winner Emma McCluskey created this gorgeous leafy print design.

New Designers Sophie Rolley
Extravagant painterly florals are by Sophie Rolley at Leeds College of Art.

New Designers Suzannah Marakova
Suzannah Marakova created these glamourous decorative designs.

New Designers Hannah Edmonds
This cool scissor pattern is by Hannah Edmonds.

New Designers Joe McFadden
Joe McFadden at Herriot Watt worked the hipster look with dark floral sophistication.

New Designers Hatty Atkins
And finally, pretty patterns inspired by curios by Hatty Atkins at Nottingham Trent Uni.

All of these images first appeared on the New Designers instagram feed (they very kindly asked me to guest post a favourite selection from both part one and part two of the show) or on my instagram feed: follow me there to catch my discoveries as I make them!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday July 9th, 2015 11:28 am

Categories ,2015, ,A Day at the Zoo, ,A Midsummer Night’s Dream, ,Alice Greaves, ,Bucks New University, ,Emily Downer, ,Emily Ward, ,Emma McCluskey, ,Falmouth Uni, ,floral, ,Hannah Edmonds, ,Hannah Reuter, ,Hatty Atkins, ,Herriot Watt, ,Huddersfield, ,Izzy Dryburgh, ,Jemma Scanlon, ,Jessica Boulton, ,Joe McFadden, ,jungle, ,Leeds College of Art, ,Loughborough Uni, ,Marcia La Madrid, ,New Designers, ,Norwich Uni, ,Nottingham Trent Uni, ,Rachel Whichelow, ,review, ,Sophie Rolley, ,surface design, ,Suzannah Marakova, ,textiles, ,University of Dundee, ,Valgi Krupti, ,Wendy Connington, ,Zoe Cook

Amelia’s Magazine | Jungle Paradise by Lorna Scobie: Colouring Book Review and Artist Interview

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
The marvellous Lorna Scobie publishes her first colouring book today, but I am lucky enough to own an advance copy so I’ve had bit of time to get acquainted with her uniquely cheeky critters. Jungle Paradise has a gorgeous cover with gift-tastic green metallic highlights and lots of crisp white pages, and it is a detailed frolic through the jungle featuring numerous animals, some inspired by a call out to this popular illustrator’s fans. Amongst the landscapes of larger fauna there are pages of insects and birds, ensuring something for every animal lover. I can’t wait to get started… Lorna tells us more.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
How long did it take to create Jungle Paradise and when did you work on it?
As I work full time, I worked on Jungle Paradise in the evenings and at the weekend. Although it’s meant I’ve been kept super busy for the past few months, I have really enjoyed creating the artwork so it didn’t feel like I was coming home from work to do work, more that I was spending time doing something I love to do. We were keen for the book to publish sooner rather than later, to make sure it was out before Christmas, so the schedule was quite tight! I started working on the book around June this year and it took me a couple months to complete it.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Where did you find inspiration for the pages inside Jungle Paradise, and did you use anything specific as reference?
The book itself was inspired by my love of animals generally, as a lot of my work up to now has been animal based. I tend to work from imagination, so lots of Jungle Paradise just came straight from my head. For some of the more unusual animals, like the ocelot and some of the lizards, I referenced some of the animal books I’ve collected. As well as encyclopaedias of animals and plant life I have lots of house plants surrounding my workspace – these were a big inspiration too! At the beginning of the project I asked my Instagram and Twitter followers what their favourite jungle animals are, and tried to include as many as these as possible!

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
What materials and techniques did you use to create the illustrations for Jungle Paradise?
I stayed true to my black and white illustration style, using a black fine liner, but made it more refined and detailed for the purpose of colouring in.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Where do the motivational quotes in Jungle Paradise come from and who found them?
I worked closely with my editor to find quotes as we wanted to get across the tranquility and wonder of nature. We hope Jungle Paradise will be an escape from busy city life, and so the quotes help to inspire people to think about the natural world rather than their ever increasing to-do lists!

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
How did you get the commission for your own colouring book?
I had worked previously with the editor and the idea of doing a colouring book together was sparked by a colouring workshop I did at Pick Me Up illustration festival this year. I was already thinking of doing a characterful animal colouring book at the time, so when I was approached by Hardie Grant Books to do something in that style it seemed perfect.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Your animals are described as “cheeky” – how did this come about and what elements do you include to ensure a cheeky look?
I’ve learnt to embrace the “happy mistakes” that crop up all too regularly in my work, rather than spending too long on a drawing, or reworking things over and over again. Hopefully this gives each of my characters a bit of personality, as they aren’t in any way perfect.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Who do you hope will buy your new book?
As well as creative crowds, I hope that Jungle Paradise will also reach a new market of people who perhaps don’t see themselves as creative. Or people who would like to be creative but aren’t sure where to start. Colouring-in is for everyone, and thats what is so fab about it. No special skills are required.

Will there be another? What has the feedback been so far?
I am working on a follow-up book as feedback from Jungle Paradise has been really positive so far, which is very exciting!

I am also super happy to share the news that Lorna Scobie is featured in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. More about her contribution here…

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday October 22nd, 2015 11:01 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Animal Colouring Book, ,Artist Interview, ,Christmas Present, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring Book, ,Colouring Book For Adults, ,Happy mistakes, ,Hardie Grant, ,Hardie Grant Books, ,instagram, ,interview, ,jungle, ,Jungle Paradise, ,Pick Me Up, ,review, ,twitter

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Hannah Rollings: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

Hannah Rollings recently published An Artist Once Said with Michael O’Mara books, a beautiful interactive art book. Her piece for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion follows on from this idea, taking the style and ideas of Henri Rousseau as a starting point.

Hannah Rollings portrait
Your PhD thesis is extremely interesting – can you tell us a bit more about it in layperson’s terms?
I am looking at developing illustrated interactive books or digital outcomes for children aged 8-11 on the subject of woodland stewardship specifically communicating the carbon cycle. I hope to work with children themselves to co-design narratives and resources that they find meaningful.

Dev Hannah Rollings
What draws you to educate youngsters about the natural world, and where did this interest start?
I’ve always enjoyed animal documentaries and used to have a WWF filofax that I used to study and draw from. The outdoors has always been a massive part of my life and has come to mean more to me as I begin to think about what is important in my own life. That natural childlike fascination of learning about things you see or find on a walk in the woods is very liberating and gives me a great sense of freedom that I hope I can communicate to big and small explorers.

Hannah Rollings
You also teach, what do you enjoy most about the engagement with students?
Teaching is a very inspiring conversation as you often question your own thoughts on subjects and it is always a privilege to see someone develop their work and to have a small helping hand in that is very rewarding. It is about asking the right questions at the right time, not necessarily having the answers.

Development Hannah Rollings
Why has academic study in general been so important to your artistic process?
Illustration can be quite an isolated working environment so I have always found that study has given me a good balance to broaden my work and gain critical discussion. Academic study has allowed me the structure and collaboration to develop a more reflective practice, giving me the space and confidence to shape my own direction. I also quite like certificates.

Hannah Rollings
As part of your research you coppiced an ancient woodland – what did you learn from this process?
It was a rollercoaster of an experience: amazing discoveries coupled with the practical difficulties alongside general misunderstandings about coppicing such as often being asked why are you cutting down trees. It was beautiful to see a small coppiced area come back to life through the seasons; the bluebells come up as you’ve given them more light and the butterflies and insects take over while new shoots of tree come up doubling the trees capacity to grow and live on.

Hannah Rollings
What inspired you to create your recently published book “An Artist Once Said”? It’s a beautiful tome.
Whilst lecturing in the studio staff and students would often put on the wall their favourite quotes from artists they admired – each unique and fitting to that persons work – and I thought what a lovely idea for a book. As I often need a creative nudge to get over the blank page.

Diary of a Redundant Cow Shed Hannah Rollings3
What is your favourite way to work?
I love the looseness of inks and watercolour but also find I want to create a little friction and contrast and then that is when collaging on the computer can be very exciting as it allows you to bring very different elements, scale and textures together to experiment and surprise yourself.

What made you want to take part in my colouring book?
My work is focusing on building in interaction and the refreshing menagerie of illustrators and approaches I thought would be very exciting to see and be apart of.

Double Page Hannah Rollings
How did you decide on your theme and realise the image for the colouring book?
I wanted to lead on from an ‘An Artist Once Said’ and had been looking at Henri Rousseau as part of my research in depicting foreign lands that people may not have first hand experience of but have magical naive images of. So I looked at this idea of travel and exploring to discover, as Henri Rousseau himself did to produce beautiful images, through the medium of colouring.

I am so excited that Hannah Rollings is part of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. Available to pre-order as soon as my Kickstarter campaign is live!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday October 6th, 2015 8:26 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,An Artist Once Said, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Hannah Rollings, ,Henri Rousseau, ,interview, ,jungle, ,Kickstarter, ,Michael O’Mara, ,PhD

Amelia’s Magazine | Wounds – Camden Barfly – Live Review

All photos courtesy of Amy Joyce

It’s been a week to the day that I first heard Wounds eponymous debut EP. To say I was blown away would be an understatement. I listened to it on repeat for the rest of the evening. With each play I noticed something I hadn’t before and got more and more excited at the prospect of witnessing them live.

As I climb the stairs of the Barfly I realise that the band have already begun to play. Walking through the door I’m confronted with a sea of people. I’m quite surprised to see that the room is full at 8 o’clock for an Irish hardcore punk band. Then I notice the huge circle at the front of the stage, about half the room. The lead guitarist and singer are stalking the area which the crowd are afraid to tread while tearing into Trees, the opening track from their EP.

The singer has a huge smile on his face between songs as the rest of the band tune their instruments and catch their breath. You can feel the energy coming from the whole band, despite playing to a room which is half full they’re giving it their all. At the front of the stage the guitarist is a ball of energy as he peels out razor wire riffs while spinning round and rocking out.

The next track Ugly Mouth is a monster of a song with a chugging guitar riff and little flourishes. They are ably assisted by the muscular rhythm section. The drummer in particular, despite being about half the size of his kit, is able to make an impressive racket.

Things slow down a little for Choke the moody mid tempo track which has a surprisingly danceable bass line. It shows that the band have the capacity to write songs which aren’t all pure speed and aggression. It builds to a false finish before exploding again.

It’s a mixed crowd, there’s barely any ‘hardcore kids’ here, the audience seem a little taken aback during the first few songs. However the singer eventually beckons the crowd closer; stating “Either you come closer or we do”, a threat, or a promise? Fortunatley he never as to deliver, as by this point the crowd have warmed towards the band and take a few steps forward .

One of things which most impresses me is how tight the band are, especially considering that one of the guitarist has only recently joined. They’re like a crack unit of musicians, each one in tune with the next as they assault their instruments and throw themselves into the set with gusto.

The highlight of the set comes when they cover Search & Destory by Iggy and The Stooges. It would normally be a back handed compliment to say that the best song of a bands set is a cover but when Wounds play it they make it sound as raw, scuzzy, and punk as it must have been when Iggy and co first played it.

During the song the singer leaps into the guy in front of me, spilling his drink on the floor and I’m expecting a scuffle. However after untangling themselves the amiable singer offers a sincere apology and tops the now empty glass up with his own beer. Who said being in a punk band meant you can’t be polite?

The last song they play is Dead Dead Fucking Dead released at the end of March. It’s a fitting end to the set which sees all members screeching the title/chorus into the sky.

I’m already looking forward to the next time the band are back on these shores. I have no doubt that they’re going to make a big splash. I’m impressed with them but can’t help but think that to truly appreciate them is to witness them in the tiny back room of a pub, filled to the brim with writhing, sweaty, bodies.

Written by Andy Devine on Wednesday February 3rd, 2010 4:37 pm

Categories ,Botch, ,The Blood Brothers, ,These Arms Are Snakes. Iggy and the Stooges, ,Wounds

Amelia’s Magazine | Royal College of Art: Fashion Design Graduate Show 2011 review. Menswear Knitwear.

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