Category: Visiting Lecturers

Simon Grennan at ECA

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!

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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

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Shaping the View

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This November ECA Illustration was delighted to hold the 7th International Illustration Research symposium and to welcome lots of researchers and practitioners to Edinburgh.

This year’s event took ‘landscape’ as a starting point, inviting illustrators, mapmakers, printmakers, travelers, tourists, antiquarians, ethnographers and experimental archeologists to share their journeys through Illustration.

Speakers at ‘Shaping the View’ explored complex and various interpretations of Landscape in research, academic study, and professional practice.

From an international submission of abstracts, Jonathan Gibbs and Desdemona McCannon chose 37 academic papers for presentation over two days at ECA.

Five key speakers enhanced this discussion and debate and the symposium concluded with musical pieces, projections and installations of landscape themes in the Wee Red Bar.

As a post-script, Saturday’s site-specific workshops added a new dimension, using the city of Edinburgh to explore further aspects of time, space, and location.

The complementary exhibition in the Sculpture Court has enabled all students and staff to show their work alongside invited artists, leading exponents of Illustration. The exhibition demonstrates a high level of academic study, research, and professional practice.

An international selection of work has been curated for a wider understanding and appreciation of Illustration.  Shaping the View has been made possible by research funding from the University of Edinburgh and by Saskia Cameron’s excellent design work of all the exhibition pieces.

img_4396img_4425img_4426Landscape-based work by 2nd and 3rd year students as part of the ‘Shaping the View’ exhibition

img_4441Roderick Mills, Paddy Molloy, Harvey Dingwall, Geoff Grandfield

img_4470Desdemona McCannon and Adrian Holmes

img_4476Jonathan Gibbs and Anne Howeson

img_4494img_4514Bianca Tschaikner on “Mapping imaginary Worlds’

img_4498Andrew Baker about ‘Landscape in Comics’

img_4520Stephanie Black on the exploration of nostalgia and the contemporary Moon under Water through illustration

img_4534Angie Lewin on printmaking, collecting, and finding wildness in unexpected places

img_4600A wonderful two days ended with drinks and joy in ECA’s Wee Red Bar

Work in Progress with Jim Hutcheson of Birlinn Books

Our studio is busy this morning with a pop up crit for a project led by Harvey Dingwall and visiting lecturer Jim Hutcheson, creative director of Birlinn. As part of their studio practice our third year students are presenting their work in progress and receiving valuable feedback from a publishing expert.

Students were asked to illustrate a section of James Hogg’s ‘The private memoires and confessions of a justified sinner’.  A dark gothic crime novel with an innovative structure written from the perspective of the editor or sinner himself. Written in 1824 it is reflective of the passion and innovation of the period.
Each student was given an about a 3000 word section of the book to illustrate over x4 A3 landscape pages ie x2 double page spreads. From this they were to select pull quotes or small blocks of text to be placed alongside their illustrations. The challenge is to create a dynamic and engaging layout.

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Friday Talk – Patrick Benson

So this Friday is our LAST professional practice talk of the year! We hope our students have enjoyed the series and will refer to them often throughout their own illustration careers.

This week we will be joined by award winning children’s book illustratorPatrick Benson. Check out some of his work and short bio below. Patrick will also be offering valuable one-to-one tutorials with a selection of our flourishing children’s book illustrators.

Patrick studied classical drawing in Florence, and continued studying Art at Chelsea Art School and St Martin’s School of Art. He worked for a while in the fashion business before embarking on a career as illustrator.

In 1984 he won the Mother Goose Award, given annually to the most promising newcomer in children’s book illustration, for his illustration of William Mayne’s Hob Stories. He gained further acclaim for illustrating Owl Babies, written by Martin Waddell, The MinPins by Roald Dahl and since has illustrated many other titles, including The Little Boat by Kathy Henderson and The Sea-Thing Child by Russel Hoban, both shortlisted for a Kate Greenaway Medal.  The Little Boat also won the 1995 Kurt Maschler Award.

 
To see Patrick’s full bibliography visit:
As sad as we are to wave farewell to another brilliant year of Professional Practice Lectures, we cannot wait to hear Patrick’s words of wisdom and look forward to the next generation of the Friday Talk Series.

Friday Talk from Jane Hyslop

This week students and staff are eagerly anticipating our Friday Professional Practice talk from alumni and tutor Jane Hyslop. The illustration department enjoys weekly tutorials from Jane in creating drawing journals, book binding and all things intricate and precise. After sharing in her vast knowledge, we look forward to adventuring into Jane’s own practice and hearing about her experience as a successful book artist and printmaker.

In her personal practice Jane has documented the decline of the mining industry, the dereliction of former mine workings and railways in parallel with the regeneration of the land in her native Midlothian. The flora and fauna that quickly populate deserted places fascinate her and recording this ongoing transformation is at the forefront of her work.

We look forward to hearing more about this fascinating ongoing project, her history with the University and her plans for the future.

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See more of Jane’s work at:

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An afternoon with Sorcha Fitzgerald and Jessica Kettle

For this weeks Professional Practice Lecture we will be joined by Freelance Illustrators and ECA Artists in Residents, Sorcha Fitzgerald and Jessica Kettle.

Sorcha is a recent alumni of the undergraduate course and has had a lot of success both during her time on the course and in her graduate practice. Sorcha uses printmaking, collage and a strong sense of narrative within her work, most notably in herself authored picture book, Wolf Girl. She also works in ceramics and set design, pushing the boundaries of her illustration practice.

See more of Sorcha’s work here:

http://www.sorchafitzgerald.com

Jessica is a graduate of the MFA course, after studying a BA in Music at York University. In 2012 Jessica was awarded the Langwith Scott Award for individual creativity for ‘The Little Girl Who Dreamt in Colour’, a picture book for children with an accompanying soundtrack. Jessica continues to work in print and children’s book illustration including stories such as ‘Bella’ created in partnership with The Leprosy Mission Scotland.

See more of Jessica’s work here: http://cargocollective.com/jessicakettleillustration

We look forward to hearing their words of wisdom about surviving art school and succeeding in the creative and chaotic world of freelance illustration.

David Roberts Professional Practice Talk

This Friday we will be joined by acclaimed children’s book illustrator David Roberts. David will be sharing his experiences in the illustration world and words of wisdom with our ambitious students.

After studying fashion at Manchester Metropolitan University, David worked in fashion illustration before exploring his ‘true calling’ as a children’s book illustrator. David signed up with Christine Isteed at Artist Partners in 1995 and  his first book ‘Frankie Stein’s Robot’ written by Roy Apps was published in 1998. This book was shortlisted for the ‘Mother Goose Award’ for emerging illustrators.

Since then he has illustrated works by some fantastic authors such as Philip Ardagh, Daren King, Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson, Tom Baker and Chris Priestley. His most recent works include ‘Iggy Peck, Architect’ by Andrea Beaty, ‘The Troll’ by Julia Donaldson and ‘The Dunderheads’ by Paul Fleischman which was shortlisted for the 2010 Kate Greenaway Award.

We look forward to learning the ins and outs of David’s successful career, and to enjoying another unique perspective of life as an illustrator, as we do each week with our Professional Practice Lecture Series.

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Friday Talk – Anna Wright

This Friday we will be joined by the wonderful Anna Wright for our weekly professional practice talk.  We are proud to say that Anna is an Edinburgh College of Art Alumni graduating in 2006, we look forward to welcoming her back to share her journey with our current students. Since graduating her illustrations have been sold worldwide having been featured in House and Garden, Country Life and Artists & IIlustrators.

Anna works in pen and ink to create lively illustrations of birds, animals and costume. Her diverse portfolio of work combines drawing with a flamboyant mixture of fabric, feathers, ribbons and other found materials. Focusing on colours, pattern and humour Anna has built a large range of collectible prints, cards, mugs, tablemats and bags with much more to come.

Students look forward to hearing about the obstacle and rewards of working in the Illustration industry and sharing in Anna’s many successes.

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Check out more of Anna’s work at: http://www.annawright.co.uk

Friday Talk Series with Catherine Rayner

This afternoon our students will be enjoying a presentation from the talented Catherine Rayner, as part of our Friday Talks Series. As a children’s book illustrator, Catherine Rayner has created a hoard of endearing and loved characters including Solomon Crocodile and Smelly Louie. Her tactile and sophisticated approach to illustration challenges the traditional aesthetic of Children’s Books, earning her several highly acclaimed nominations and awards for her work. Best of all, Catherine Rayner is one of our very own ECA Illustration alumni! We look forward to having her back to share the path behind her many successes.

http://www.catherinerayner.co.uk

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Talk from Lucy Roscoe

This afternoon our students will be enjoying a talk from Edinburgh based illustrator and Illustration tutor, Lucy Roscoe. After graduating in Illustration from Edinburgh College of Art in 2008, and then again after finishing a Masters in 2010, she now works for various clients illustrating books, cards and all kinds of interesting projects, as well as publishing artist’s books under the imprint The Book Tree Press.

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A Mark in Time, 2013

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The Beach House, 2011