Tag: drawings

Muriel Spark 100

Muriel Spark 100 – student work exhibited at the National Library of Scotland.

This collaborative project between Edinburgh College of Art first year Illustration and Graphic Design students was inspired by the current exhibition ‘The International Style of Muriel Spark’, which celebrates the life and work of Muriel Spark one hundred years after she was born in Edinburgh.

Small groups of students formed a collective and worked on a series of tasks including creating a collective archive box inspired by Muriel Spark’s personal collections, the development of one character at different stages of their lives, a tunnel book in response to a piece Muriel Spark’s writing and a piece to help promote her work to a new, young audience.

Throughout the collaboration, the collectives were asked to research into the life and times of Muriel Spark, and to create different responses to their findings. The collaborative nature of the project meant that students had to find a common ground and identify common values to work with one another while delegating various tasks amongst the group.

The students attended a series of workshops and crits led by author Vivian French and artists / designers Brigid Collins, Mary Asiedu and Astrid Jaekel, which has influenced the work they have created. We are delighted to see the work displayed in the foyer of the National Library, where it will be on show until 29th May.

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Oban 2017

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.

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And finally, a few more images of crits, drawings and fun at the hostel.

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Edinburgh in Colour

Written by 3rd year Illustration student Savannah Petrie, the main illustrator of ‘Edinburgh in Colour’.

I first heard about the ‘Edinburgh in Colour’ colouring book project through an email that was sent around: the organisers were running an illustration competition. I thought that seeing as I do a lot of line drawing that could be the right style for a colouring book, I’d give it a go. I think it’s great to try to do competitions or commissions outside of your course work because it gives you a chance to expand your portfolio, and try things you might not have done before. I really enjoyed creating illustrations for various places around Edinburgh, and it’s exciting to see my work printed in a book!

The colouring book was organised by a group of business students at Edinburgh University, as a way to raise money for Children 1st, a Scottish children’s charity. The books are now printed and for sale, and over £2500 has been raised already! Many artists/illustrators from ECA have submitted work to this book, and there’s also lots of information about the charity and Edinburgh itself.

The fundraising colouring book project was mentioned in the following articles: Edinburgh College of Art and The University of Edinburgh and is available to buy through Etsy and other shops around Edinburgh including the EUSA shop and local galleries in Edinburgh (Fruitmarket gallery and Summer Hall) as well as Pop-up shops at Edinburgh Grassmarket.

The illustrations below were submitted by Savannah Petrie and Ella Bruty.

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