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Our first years are currently working on their final project for the semester; narratives inspired by Prof Bill Earnshaw‘s scientific research on cell division. In preparation for his talk our group was given a taste of what it feels like to be working in a real lab, at ASCUS in Summerhall. With the help of James Howie and Jiri Jirout we were shown how to extract our own cheek cells and tint them so they show up clearly under the microscope and could then be drawn.
Later in the afternoon Bill visited us at ECA and gave a talk on his journey of becoming a scientist in first place and more insight into his specific area of research. Overall, it was a great day and by the end of it our heads were buzzing with lots of new knowledge, inspiration and ideas.
In the next few weeks our students will be turning some of their learning into imaginative sequential narratives, which we will of course share with you once completed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
