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The second years where tasked with unleashing their inner botanist, in this plant centric project. Jane Hislop began the project by bringing in a selection of interesting specimens for students to examine and draw. They then studied the plants through drawing upon drawing.
The second element of the brief was to produce a print. Our studio assistant, with the help of the print technicians, was able over a few weeks to induct the full second year in Screen printing. They took to it like ducks to water and even on the first time were producing interesting and experimentive work and came out of it as competent print makers. We’re looking forward to seeing what they utilise the medium for in the future.
For the final piece they were free to experiment and come up with some unique and resourceful outcomes as you can see.
Our yearly expedition to Oban produce some wonderful experiences and the sketch work that goes with them. So the question is what becomes of all this raw material? Well we turn to print, Risograph to be precise. In previous years each student made their own small zine but this year we wanted to tie all the experiences together into one cumulative publication.
We purposely chose colours that although work well together are challenging. The vibrant fluro-orange balanced with a strong flat blue. The students quickly and with merit started to utilise the method of overlapping the colours and produced some interesting results. I think they successfully managed to create work that although very finished, still holds the experience and freedom of the sketches made in Oban.
They will be available to purchase at Bookmarks 21st March.
We’ve just arrived back from another lovely trip to Oban with a mix of second, fourth year and Master’s students. Now in its sixth year, this trip provides students with an opportunity to not only bond with their peers but to also leave the studio and focus on drawing and research carried out on location.
In a place like Oban you have to come prepared for any weather as it changes all the time. Being outside and experiencing a new place in a very physical way through the cold, sun, wind and rain can be challenging and often has an impact on the students’ drawings which in return are full of personal emotion ranging from joy to frustration and display lots of evocative atmosphere. Narratives of people interacting with the town and landscape fill sketchbooks and allow students to discover new stories and build a rich source of material to further develop.
This year our second year student Hannah Riordan reflects on her trip:
On the first main day in Oban we selected a point at random on a map and had to go and draw in that location. I was given an area surrounded by road works and fly tipping: Quite different from the boats and coastline I had envisaged filling my sketchbook with! I ended up drawing some cones that surrounded the road works site. This proved to be more exciting then I had first anticipated. It was interesting to observe the patterns the cones had been arranged in. I then climbed over a wall to be a closer look at some rubbish that had been left there. A rusty washing machine sat there surrounded by plants and flowers. I found the juxtaposition between these two things surprisingly intriguing! It then started to rain so we went to the Oban chocolate shop, which for me has to be the highlight of the whole four days.
We also spent a day exploring the islands. We chose Lismore and left it until the afternoon to visit. When we got there we realized that everything we wanted to visit was too far away for us to get back from in time for the final ferry. So we sketched in the middle of a muddy field surrounded by aggressive cows and an excitable beagle and thought to ourselves “at least its not raining.” I started on a watercolour landscape when the heavens opened. We decided to return to the ferry port waiting room to shelter from the rain. Our group had a sing along whist drawing each others tired and slightly damp faces.
All in all Oban was a great experience. I really felt like a got to know my course mates better. It was also refreshing being able to just draw and not worry about the outcome or deadlines.
And finally, a few more images of crits, drawings and fun at the hostel.
A successful collaboration between 3rd year illustrators and MSc School of Education students culminated in a presentation at the School of Education Inclusive pedagogy conference.
Over 2 weeks students reflected on the anagram SHANNARRI, which is a measure of well-being used in Scottish Education. They considered their personal educataional experiences and researched the limited teaching tools that explore issues of the ethics of everyone and issues of social justice. The education students wrote stories exploring the subject and the illustrators responded to these making prototypes of teaching boxes filled with educational games, books and artefacts including cushions, comics and workbooks to facilitate workshops.
The work received excellent feedback from the students and teachers attending the conference. With such great learning potential for all involved Holly Linklater (Lecturer in Education) and HarveyDingwall (Lecturer in Illustration) plan to develop the themes and content of this project further for both teaching and research contexts.
Some afternoon painting fun in the studio – as part of a current painting-inspired project, our first years have taken part in an experimental painting exercise led by Artist in Residence Sarah.
Students were paired up and asked to sit back to back. One side was given an image of a painting, which they then have to describe to their partner (without naming the painting or artist if they knew it). The painting partner then painted the description they heard.
The challenge for the describer was to put into words what they saw in the painting and to give as much information about how they believe it would have been created; what kind of brushstrokes were applied, is the style realistic? Are there many layers of colour? Do you think it was made quickly? What’s the mood of the painting?
The painters on the other side had to ask further questions; for example what is meant by ‘a yellow circle’, is it a perfect circle or a bit wobbly? Is the yellow completely flat or can they see some texture? How do they think the texture is made? What sort of yellow? Lemony yellow or orangey yellow?
This workshop was designed to help students really think about what they see and discover different methods of using colour and painterly mark-making. And at the end of it all the group were able to share their experience and have a good laugh – here are the results:
Today we were delighted to welcome Simon Grennan, comic maker and scholar who came to deliver a comic workshop and talk to our students.
The practical workshop was an amazingly easy and exciting hands-on introduction to visualising and making comics. Students worked through three different techniques to making stories with drawings. All that was needed were coloured pencils – hippos, lions, zebras etc were provided!
Later in the day Simon gave a an Introduction to Comics Studies to the whole Illustration department raising the question ‘What do we talk about when we talk about comics?’ He provided an accessible, engaging and entertaining introduction to the global conversations about comics, their history, production, readers and thinkers.
Simon Grennan is author of the graphic novel ‘Dispossession’, a Guardian Book of the Year 2015 and Research Fellow in Fine Art at the University of Chester. http://www.simongrennan.com
Hello! Having graduated from Painting at ECA in 2014, I have come back to haunt the illustration department this year as an artist in residence. Since graduating, I have taken part in several exhibitions as well as developing a range of greetings cards (and also work as a picture framer).
I have a polymathic approach to making, learning and using many different processes from drawing and painting to model making, zines, animation, and printmaking. I usually make work that has a humorous or playful element to it, whether this is conveyed in the subject matter or in the way it is made. I really enjoy work which acknowledges that art can be a very playful and ‘entertaining’ subject, and am hoping to explore how this will meet a design approach within illustration.
During the residency I’m particularly interested in developing my art practice through exhibiting work, and exploring how this will feed in to design projects. I’d really like to create a children’s book and develop my printmaking and animation skills. I’d also like to explore collaborating with illustration students as well as other departments and discover new approaches to making.
I’m looking forward to working with you all so please come and say hello! (I am usually in the studio Wed-Fri)
I am a Spanish artist. I completed my MA in Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art the last course. Before this degree, I had no formal training as an illustrator, having worked in advertising and graphic design. I am now one of the artists in residence at Edinburgh College of Art, with another residency lined up next year, at Arteles in Finland.
My practice normally focuses on women, mindfulness and imperfection. I have always been interested in everything related to human behavior, the relationship we have with the world and especially with ourselves. In addition, I have discovered my interest in interpreting nature and personal well-being in an enlightened way. Imperfection is my alter ego. It is everywhere, in art, human figures, nature, animals and love.
I work in mixed media, combining traditional materials, such as ink, watercolor and ink pen with digital. My aim is to reach a delicate and imperfect art (I always make the right imperfect drawings that make sense to me) through making freely and uniquely drawn illustrations.
I draw everything, from figures, animals, plants, landscapes, objects and buildings. I enjoy illustrating narratives and book covers and also creating lettering, patterns and animation.
Hello! I’m one of the Illustration Artists in Residence for this year at ECA. I’m a full-time freelance illustrator and graphic designer working mostly in children’s books and editorial illustration. Prior to being a freelancer I was a lecturer and programme coordinator in Malta, teaching graphic design, interactive media and game art for seven years.
During my residency here I will be working on client projects as well as working on my own projects. During the first semester I will be working on a children’s book with Merlin publishers (a Maltese publisher). The book is called ‘A Walk in Valletta’ and it’s about two characters touring the Maltese capital. I will be more than happy to discuss my process with any students wishing to know more about children’s book illustration (you can find me in the Illustration studio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays).
Another project I will be working on is a collaboration with a jewellery designer, who is also based in Malta. For this project, I am doing various character and background illustrations that will eventually become jewellery pieces. This is quite a challenging project for me because I’ve never designer products or jewellery pieces, so it should be interesting to observe and learn from the process. I’m also discussing another project with a book maker, where I will be doing illustrated covers for hand-bound books, but this project is still in its initial stages.
My personal project is about the theme of identity, specifically the multilayered/multidimensional layers formed by creative Maltese locals who live abroad. I’ve been working on this theme since moving to Edinburgh a year ago, and would now like to take it a step further. I have several drawings, sketches and ideas for this project, but I’m looking to expand these ideas by doing thorough research, interview subjects and experts. I’m in the process of pitching my idea to get funding for my research so this will hopefully help support my project and my research.
Eventually I would like to take some of these drawings and illustrations from this project and experiment with 3D printing. Rather than doing sketches specifically designed for 3D printing, I would like to expore ways of how to turn ‘flat’ illustrations to 3D objects, therefore preserving the illustrative qualities of the pieces.
Hi! I’m one of the new Artists in Residence in the Illustration department.
I’m originally from southeast London, but I’ve been living in Cornwall for the last three years, two of which were spent completing an MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice at Falmouth University. Moving to Edinburgh has proved to be a bit of a change from Cornwall! But it’s definitely a positive move – I’m already finding my new surroundings to be incredibly inspiring. I write and illustrate short stories in the Gothic tradition, and Edinburgh feels like the ideal place to do that – becoming steeped in its atmosphere, history and beauty can only be good for a ghost story writer.
I’m really looking forward to getting involved in ECA’s community and academic activities. I’m excited to be able to use the facilities, especially the print workshop, as my practice involves a lot of printmaking – I love to work in monotype, and any intaglio technique, especially etching, aquatint, and mezzotint. These were the techniques I used to illustrate Vignettes, the book I made for my final MA project.
While I’m here, I hope to produce some new works of illustrated fiction. I also love book design and bookbinding, and my goal is to make my stories into beautiful, and most of all, enjoyable books.
I’m also looking forward to continuing my academic research here at ECA. My research interests are focused on how illustration contributes to and interacts with texts’ emotional resonance, and how this connects with Derrida’s notion of hauntology, with particular reference to Gothic fiction. I’m also very interested in film and television, and especially in how they use and interact with illustration.
Finally, I’m looking forward most of all to becoming part of the Illustration department’s activities, and working with the students! Hopefully, it will be a wonderful and productive year.
