This post is a catch up of the various trips, workshops and exhibitions our wonderful head of course.

SUMMER

The 2017 MA illustration students excelled in an August wood engraving workshop, with fine prints made quickly, using very small woodblocks.

This was a table-top two-day workshop, held on the third floor of Evolution House.

Students worked from drawings, from which they engraved images into the end-grain surface of Lemonwood. T. N. Lawrence Carbon Black Letterpress ink was rolled onto a great big sheet of glass, thence on to the blocks.

All impressions were made by hand-burnishing onto a cheap Chinese rice paper. We also used a more expensive Japanese paper, Arakaji Natural, for final quality prints. These were displayed and discussed.

AUTUMN

Jonathan travelled to Sussex for a similar weekend workshop at the Moncrieff-Bray Gallery with a room of twelve students, & a most productive day. The workshop was connected to Abstracted Landscapes, a group exhibition in which Jonathan showed some recent works.

In November, Jonathan took part in the Illustrating Identites symposium, at the Université de Lorraine, an Illustration Research event, where he presented Drawing Book & Picture Hooks. His paper concerned collaborative projects between writers, illustrators, agents, publishers, ECA students & staff and primary schools in Scotland. In Nancy, fellow illustrator Jonny Hannah also presented a paper about Identity. The two Jonnys wore illustrated masks and performed Quel Temps Fait Il A Paris by Jaques Trenet. They played it again at Airs, Reels, & Ballads, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, in the month of November, and one more time, encore, with some other tunes at the Darktown Valentine’s Cabaret, Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

WINTER

This February 2018, an MFA wood engraving class was held Evolution House Boardroom. With small woodblocks, the students produced excellent results throughout a day of intensive printmaking.

During the same month, Jonathan Gibbs exhibited eighty-seven works at the Open Eye Gallery. These were paintings, drawings and wood engravings. Included was a set of four illustrations commissioned by Dr Davide Messina for a one-day symposium, Europa’s Long Renaissance: Myth, Metamorphoses, Migrations. Also shown were illustrations for Penguin, Goodwood Magazine, Alexanders, and Canongate.

SPRING

He has been working on pieces of Baltic Fir timber, requisitioned book-shelves from the Advocate’s Library in the University of Edinburgh. Jonathan also uses, Pine, Whitebeam, Lemonwood, Box, and Holly. This month, he is a visiting artist in the Independent Artist Programme at the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou.

Mar 28, 2018

The 2017 MA illustration students excelled in an August wood engraving workshop, with fine prints made quickly, using very small woodblocks.

This was a table-top two-day workshop, held on the third floor of Evolution House.

Students worked from drawings, from which they engraved images into the end-grain surface of Lemonwood. T. N. Lawrence Carbon Black Letterpress ink was rolled onto a great big sheet of glass, thence on to the blocks.

All impressions were made by hand-burnishing onto a cheap Chinese rice paper. We also used a more expensive Japanese paper, Arakaji Natural, for final quality prints. These were displayed and discussed.

Mar 28, 2018

Another year another fantastic fair. We were absolutely thrilled with how this year went. The fire station was crammed with creatives and attendees every moment. So thank you to all who participated and attended, it was wonderful seeing you all engage with the fair this year in such enthusiastic droves.

We had 58 tables with over 100 individual artists and countless pieces of work, all within our delightful new venue of the Fire station at the ECA.

On top of the wealth of stalls we had a diverse range of talks and workshops. It was inspiring to get a group of extremely talented individuals to share those talents with us.

Our fourth years provided a bountiful supply of cake and tea to fund their upcoming drip to the annual D&AD New Blood Festival.

A highlight of this year was “The BOOKMARKS Bumper Zine”. Our amazing print technician Mina and Emily from Crisp Shop managed the incredible feat of creating a zine in a day, that had a contribution from every stall. A mammoth undertaking that culminated in an edition of 60 beautifully printed Risograph zines.

It all wouldn’t be possible with out our own Lucy Roscoe and Jane Hyslop. 4 years on, they have worked so hard to make every year an undoubtably excellent event. They have exceeded themselves this year in making the best yet. So a huge congratulations to them.

Photography by: Julia Barbour

Mar 28, 2018

This weekend we had the pleasure of having a stall at the Fruitmarket Gallery’s annual Book market. All our students were given the opportunity, if they wished, to display and sell their work at the fair. The public responded great to the student’s work and it was fantastic to see their work outside of the studio.

Among the work was the brand new zine by our fourth year’s. Based on humorous confessions paired with sharp and energetic artwork, their zine is a risograph treat. be sure to pick one up at Bookmarks 2018 on the 21st of March. All the proceeds go towards funding their show at D&AD.

Feb 19, 2018

Our first years, collaborating with Graphics have been working on a project celebrating the life of the Scottish Author Muriel Sparks. As part of it the wonderful Brigid Collins Taught them how to make Tunnel Books.

The students produced some marvels of paper engineering that represented the many facets of the life and work of Muriel Sparks. Have gander at their work below.

Feb 19, 2018

This week fourth year ECA students Savannah, Poppy, Ellie and Miranda have been busy installing work made by their whole year group in the window of the famous Red Door Gallery on Victoria Street, Edinburgh.

Last semester curator and manager of the gallery Nicky Brooks visited the college and set the fourth year students the task of creating work on the theme of ‘Valuing your Values’. After a bit of market research and a lot of hard work, the talented illustrators have each produced a series of products beautifully displayed in the window.

Not only are the items on display for all passing to admire, they are also available for purchase from the gallery and online. If you are in Edinburgh pop along, or check out the wares via the Red Door Gallery online shop: http://www.edinburghart.com/

This beautiful and diverse selection of work is an exciting indication of the talented group in their final year of studies and the great things we can expect from this years’ degree show.

Feb 5, 2018

We are happy to announce that we are now open to table applications for Bookmarks 2018.

In its fourth year, BOOKMARKS artists’ bookfair will again provide a stimulating platform for visitors to explore artists’ books and zines made by practitioners from across Scotland and further afield. Exploring the artists’ book in its broadest sense, BOOKMARKS is a first stop for those interested in bookmaking as an artistic practice. BOOKMARKS will run this year on the 21st March, from 11am-7pm. It will be housed in the Fire Station, Edinburgh College of Art, The University of Edinburgh.

You can apply through Curator Space here:
Bookmarks 2018 Table application
Applications close 15.02.18

We look forward to all the amazing artists and their works and anticipate another incredible fair this year.

Hope to see you all there.

Jan 25, 2018

The first years have wrapped up for the semester and produced some stellar work. Here’s hoping they have a restful Holidays; they have thoroughly earned it.

Here are some images of their illustrated poetry and comics based upon a painting from the modern art gallery. The poems range from insightful to humorous and some perfectly verging that gap, but the main thing to be commended is their solutions and resolve of imagery in quite a tight project.

The comic project was also a chance to introduce or reacquaint them with Photoshop and to produce a hand rendered effect with computers. This methodology has become a fundamental part of many illustrators practice, with most at least using Photoshop ( or similar programs) to add those finishing tweaks and touches to their piece.

They are shaping up to be the exciting and energetic group of illustrators that we have year on year without fail.

Dec 15, 2017

We like to push the boundaries of illustration, to show the students that illustration is more than just a drawing or print. They are encouraged to seek out and develop different mediums and inventive design solutions. To try to bring in new mediums to their practice and through that become more versatile illustrators. For this second year project there was a great emphasise on material, where students where asked to create an object or 3 dimensional illustration that responded to a word they selected. The choices were Fear, Displaced, Scaffold and Solitude.

The task hinged on identifying and using a medium they felt best suited the narrative they were trying to construct. So the project both had a strong focus on developing new skills as well as being able to judge the most effective use of your material knowledge and applying that to the brief at hand.

It’s so interesting to see illustrators adapting their practice to a 3D medium. hope you enjoy.

Nov 29, 2017