Tag: ECA

Illustration staff Astrid Jaekel wins AOI award

A Teaching Fellow in Illustration has been awarded a prestigious Association of Illustrators (AOI) World Award for her recent street art project, “If These Walls Could Talk”. For the twentieth anniversary of Wigtown’s book festival, Astrid Jaekel decorated 11 buildings on the small town’s square with her illustrations.

FREE PICTURE Wallpaper Murals at Wigtown Book Festival 11
Astrid’s illustrations were inspired by the townspeople
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A Wigtown resident stands outside his shop decorated by Astrid“If These Walls Could Talk” was a temporary project which challenged the perception of how older generations perceive street art, which is often associated with youth culture, and perhaps not the Scottish countryside.

In the 1980s and into the 1990s, many businesses in Wigtown ceased to exist and the small south-west town declined. In 1997, however, it was awarded the status of Scotland’s National Book Town, which has, over time, helped to regenerate the local economy. Now, Wigtown’s many cafés and second-hand bookshops attract book lovers all year round.

Astrid began her project by going door to door around the town square in order to learn about the buildings and find residents who might like to “donate” their houses to be canvases for street art. The town embraced Astrid’s vision.

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FREE PICTURE Wallpaper Murals at Wigtown Book Festival 12
Astrid decorated buildings with inspiration from the town’s love of books

 

“I’d like to think that the project made the people of Wigtown feel proud of their town and gave them the chance to continue telling their stories.”

Astrid Jaekel

Many locals have played a major part in growing the book festival as volunteers, and “If These Walls Could Talk” was intended to shine a spotlight on Wigtown and its residents. The project was also meant to encourage visitors to mingle with locals, and to get the visitors to see the place as more than just a charming festival town.

“I’d like to think that the project made the people of Wigtown feel proud of their town and gave them the chance to continue telling their stories to the festival visitors,” said Astrid, “I believe that that’s exactly what street art should do. It should generate conversation and make people reflect upon their surroundings. It should connect people with one another.”

A project of this grandeur proved to require a few extra pair of hands. Astrid enlisted fellow artists as well as ECA graduates, including Irish street artist Joe Caslin.

One set back during the project was Storm Ali. It decided to pay Wigtown a visit just after Astrid installed the wallpapers and many sections were left in tatters or destroyed completely. Through resilience and dedication, though, Astrid and her team managed to repair the damage to produce an award-winning project that seamlessly unites storytelling, illustration and street art while capturing the essence of the small town.

All of the 200 shortlisted entries of the awards will be displayed at an exhibition at Somerset House in London 11 – 28 July, with in-depth presentations of each of the category winning projects.

To learn more about the exhibition, check out Somerset House’s website.

Oh Buoy!

If you are heading down to Leith you should check out this exhibition showcasing 13 ECA Illustration alumni and friends who have come together to investigate the surface of water – asking questions about what floats above and what may hide below.

All work is made using Out of the Blueprint‘s risograph printer and a limited colour palette to give the collection a unified aesthetic.

The show was organised and curated by our Artist in Residence and very talented illustrator Andrea Popyordanova and is on display at Out of the Blue Drillhall until 15th September. Prints are available for £20 while they last.13876612_10154402847456112_6153201936322143723_n24561478910111213

 

 

Degree Show part 2

Only 4 days left to see our degree show! Pop along and meet our enthusiastic graduates, have a chat and enjoy the fantastic views of rEdinburgh from the top of Evolution House.

Here are the next 8 out of 25 graduates, a click on their names will take you to their websites where you’ll get to see more work.

Gabriele LisauskaiteIMG_1737-a

Helga PavelkovaIMG_1738-a

Rosanna CorfeIMG_1739-a

Maria RikteryteIMG_1740-a

Paige Collins IMG_1741-a

Heledd OwenIMG_1743-a

Andrew Oakheart IMG_1744-a

Valpuri KarinenIMG_1745-a

Degree Show part 1

Only 5 days left to pay our degree show a visit and meet our enthusiastic graduates who are happy to have a chat and explain the process behind their work. You’ll be able to find us on the 4th floor of Evolution House.

In the next 3 blogposts we will be introducing all 25 graduates; please click on the Illustrators name to get to their website and see more of their work. Here are the first eight…

Liv Wan IMG_1729-a

Barney Mumby-Price IMG_1731-a

Sara Julia LjeskovacIMG_1732-a

Peony Gent IMG_1733-a

Mhairi BradenIMG_1734-a

Felix MiallIMG_1735-a

Harry English 

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Molly SoarIMG_1736-a

Bird Day 2016

Today a slightly different kind of life drawing has taken place in the Illustration department. Our studios have been cleared in preparation for the degree show, providing us with lots of space to organise a rather unusual drawing experience for our students.

Our special guests and life models today were Edward the european eagle owl, Bonnie the barn Owl, Percy the peregrine falcon, Kenny the kestrel, Blue the red tailed hawk and Skippy the Australian boobook owl.

Their keeper Archie McCrone introduced us to each bird and its individual character. He spoke about the birds natural habitat, and shared interesting facts about their anatomy and behaviour. Many of our students are involved in character design of both human and animal figures and being given the chance to study this wonderful range of birds from up close was something quite special.

Now in its second year, ‘Bird Day’ has become an annual activity which marks the end of the academic year through a rather fun and at the same time educational event.

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Artists in Residence Ceramics Workshop

Last Wednesday we had the first part of a two day ceramics workshop in the Illustration department, led by two of our artists in residence, Rebecca Brown and Sarah Bissell. Working with stoneware clay, everyone handbuilt whatever they fancied – whether it was inspired by a larger project, a functional piece or by playing with different ideas in order to get used to a new material.

By the end of the class we had created a collection of pieces that included mugs, wall hangings, spoons, dogs, cauldrons and cacti, among a variety of other bits and pieces.

The pieces will be fired this week and on the 23rd the second part of the workshop will take place, which will involve painting and glazing the work before it’s fired for a second time.

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Superheroes

During the past eight years we have run the Drawing Book projects with various primary schools in Edinburgh, as well as in Orkney. This has involved tackling a variety of themes in collaboration between art students and school pupils. Animal Characteristics, Feelings, Olympics, Sea Monsters, Opposites and School Meals are but a few of these, and now we have Superheroes.

All of this has been made possible by Vivian French, who has guided us through Drawing Book collaborations, far and wide, with great skill, wisdom and good humour.

Our visits to Wardie Primary School have been a totally inspiring and creative experience for everyone. The children are natural, spontaneous, wise, and good humoured.

To make a connection between art college students and children at the very start of their education and causes us to consider the fundamental values of drawing, thinking, telling stories and picturing things.

The Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh City Council Literacy Department, and the University of Edinburgh have given their support to Drawing Book.

What powers would one wish to have, and how might these be used towards the greater good of mankind? This is the question. We learned the answers and much more besides from the Wardie Superheroes project.

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Exhibition at the Doubtfire Gallery

This month, the Edinburgh College of Art Illustration Department is pleased to present Escapade, a collection of works created by students, staff and notable alumni exhibited at the Doubtfire Gallery. We are excited to share our experience of what Illustration means to us as individuals and as a collective.

One of the most exciting aspects of Illustration is the wide-range of media where work can make an impact. The ECA Illustration Programme drives its students to apply their talent across a diverse range of end channels, from books and exhibitions to packaging, digital media and community arts. It is a dynamic and fast paced discipline that pushes the limits of both the artist’s and the viewer’s imagination.

Guided by acclaimed Illustrator and Programme Director Jonathon Gibbs, the course has thrived from its collaborative studio culture. During their time at ECA, students undergo countless tutorials, workshops and critics from the Illustration staff, their peers and successful practitioners, many of whom previously studied at ECA. The exhibition includes works from across all stages of the Illustration Programme’s creative community, from developing fourth year talents and fresh new graduates to the distinguished staff and alumni who inspired them.

All exhibiting Illustrators are currently living and creating work in the city of Edinburgh. Their collection of Illustrations offers a wide variety of themes, techniques and styles, all in celebration of their connection with Edinburgh College of Art.

Make sure to check Escapade out between 11th April – 2nd May. Find more information at the link below:

http://www.doubtfiregallery.com

ECA Illustration 2015.qxp_A5

ECA Illustration 2015.qxp_A5

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.