Ceramic Hand letterpress book

These are some more detailed pictures of a book I made on the MA, 'Ceramic Hand'. It's a short story about a girl who's trying to sleep, but she can't help reflecting on a shaky relationship; she's reminded of it by the tacky candle holder on her bedside table, given to her by her ex-boyfriend.

I designed and printed it in letterpress, and bound it by hand. The type is set in Walbaum font, the illustrations are linocuts and the paper is Redeem 160gsm. The colours running throughout the type and illustrations are meant to echo the text, describing the girl's mood, the shadows cast by the candle and the changing sky.

I made five copies of the book and have two left and I made a limited number of lino prints of each illustration. All are for sale! Digital prints of the book and of individual illustrations are also available on request, so if you're interested, please get in touch. 

Floods animation

Animation is the theme of the moment, what with Blinc coming up, so I wanted to share the short animated film I made for my MA show; it's an illustration of a short story I wrote called 'Floods'. 

Many thanks are due to the following people: Emma Gatrill for her helpful hands; Marcus Hamblett and his family for letting me take over their bathtub and doll's house; Oli Whiting for helping me to record the sound; and Matt Page for patiently showing me the way through Final Cut. Oh - and everybody on the MA who lent me a piece of blue fabric!

Blinc in progress...

Here's a very quick look at some animation I'm making for Blinc digital arts festival, which takes place at the end of October in Conwy, North Wales. I'm collaborating with a dancer and native of Conwy, Alys Hughes. Our performance/animation piece is about 'Hiraeth', which is a welsh word, and translates roughly as 'longing'.

The soundtrack I've used for the finished film is 'Marwnad Y Fam' by Afal Drwg Efa; have a listen to their beautiful and unique music, made in Wales, of course.

Lovely copystand

This post is linked to the max!

We were all really proud of our MA show, but all good things must come to an end! I wanted to share a bit of the beautiful work that was on display and shamelessly plug the bejeezus out of my super talented course-mates.

Unfortunately I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I had (I must have drunk too much orange squash at the private view), but also check out the quick links in my side bar, and you can get an overview of the exhibition here in a neat little film by Woodrow Phoenix. Click away!

Rebecca Rossiter: The Toad Work

Rebecca Rossiter's project was a unique and absorbing look at the world of work, taken from two personal and very different viewpoints. She made two books; 'Inside Job', an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness', set in an office, and 'Get Me Out of my Inbox' (my favourite), a series of illustrated e-mails between a father and daughter, both fed up of their jobs. The delicate collages are thoughtful and beautifully paced, and the relationship between the two main characters comes through in crystal clear, un-flowery language. 

Jessica Plant: Samples

Jessica Plant's work, 'Samples', encouraged people in the community to share stories through pieces of fabric, clothing and textiles belonging to them. The stories were gathered into a single, slim but very rich hand-bound book. It's full of beautiful photographs and the stories themselves are insightful and diverse, great examples of how objects that seem meaningless to one person can take on huge meaning for somebody else. I want a copy! 

Other amazing work on show; Dominic Francis Evans' 'Batter My Heart', a relationship compendium with some of the best and funniest advice you could ever hope for. I'm keeping it as my bible. Dom is currently very busy becoming a high-flyer in fashion illustration and beyond. Anna-Kaisa Jormaneinen's dreamlike studies of happiness were another one of my favourite things on show; her pictures are like going to a really happy place in your head (and not wanting to leave). 

Treats at our MA shop; the red book is Dom's!

Super clever Miss Beth Dawson's project 'Toys for the inquisitive child' was a nostalgic treat for the senses. A series of interactive boxes encouraged viewers to play and re-discover their inner child through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Beth has a great website, and you can also find images on the wonderful and highly industrious Miss Lauren Watson's blog. Lauren's fabulous project was a collection of illustrated extracts from Graham Robb's 'The Discovery of France', a macabre mixed media feast of treasures. Lauren also teamed up with Sandra Aquilar early on in the year to create 'Thieves'. A very hard-working pair. Sandra's project 'The Lunch Box Cafe' was a playful comic about an alien working in a cafe, produced it in a classic format with subtle colours and halftones...it was like stepping back in time (in a good way). Also excellent was James Burlinson's 'Creature Conga', a rainbow coloured accordion book of weird and wonderful animal factoids. 

Jess' textile sample wares for sale

Other work I wanted to mention; Irene's shape stories 'How the Little Things Grow'; Erika Pal's elegant animation about dreams, 'The House'; Emma Falconer's interactive animation of Odysseus' adventures; Rory Walker's travelling theatre; Ellie Crane's portrayal of anorexia; Emily Wallis' highly skilled anthropomorphic illustrations; James and Tiago de Sousa's intelligent (and really funny) exploration of the psyche and split personalities; Sophy Henn's alternative comic for girls, 'Pickle' (highly desirable!); and Grant Ciecura's simple and potent portrayal of grief. 

PHEW...what a great show. Sad that it's ended - but onwards and upwards for all of us.