Okay everyone – this is it! Three days to put up the degree show. Here’s some photos to show the progress of my space through the day. Roll on tomorrow!
Hannah’s Instagram
Hannah’s Current Reading
Data from Goodreads
Degree Show set-up
Posted in Illustration
Tagged 2013, degree show, eca, edinburgh college of art, illustration, set-up
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A mixed up season
The bank holiday weekend has been warm but blustery and overcast. There are only six ewes left to lamb on the farm. Up in the hills there are still snowdrops but down in the valley I saw a swallow darting across the sky. What a mixed up season it has been. Despite dire warnings of frost from just about everyone Little Owl and I planted out our pea seedlings in tubs today. We tied up our pea sticks, spread out the compost and tenderly transplanted the little plants. Then we cut the bottom seam off some clear bin bags and created homemade green houses for them. I hope they will survive.
There is a growing pile of my illustration work by the front door ready for putting up the degree show next week. Slowing I’m binding everything into booklets, labelling them and stacking them ready to go. My little work room looks like we’ve been burgled as I rifle through bundles of drawings from the beginning of the year. Moving it all around shows up my neglect of housekeeping over the last few months. That’s another thing to tackle once this is all over!
Posted in Growing things, Illustration
Tagged degree show, dust, ewes, frost, green houses, hills, housekeeping, illustration, lambing, peas, season, seedlings, snowdrops, tubs
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Inspiring people
After complaining in yesterday’s post about people who weren’t inspiring me I thought I’d share with you some people who are inspiring me:
1. The article I’ve put up here is one my mum sent me from a magazine she found in her staff room. Before any one asks, she photocopied it. My mum thinks ripping pages out of public magazines is a low blow – she’s so good! It’s all about a garden nursery where I grew up. It’s a really good place, and thriving, so I was amazed to find out how hard it was for them at the beginning. They were nearly bankrupt at one point. I loved this advice from them: “Do something you love. Be prepared to work extremely hard for long hours and little reward at the beginning. And always remember to have a sense of humour!”
2. Sugar Mouse near York is a sweet shop set up by a lady called Angela Spencer. Two and half years down the line she’s still not taking a wage. I have learnt this year (that’s another story I’ll tell when it’s slightly less raw), that to businessy people this means the business isn’t viable and they wouldn’t entertain it. However, this little business is playing a vital role in a rural community, as much social as economic. I’m fascinated by these small businesses that have a social enterprise ethos to them. It’s something I hope to achieve with Firefly.
3. Cate James is a children’s book illustrator who was Artist in Residence when I first joined Edinburgh College of Art. Apart from being a truly brilliant illustrator Cate is a brilliant person. It’s been a long slow haul for her, which seems unbelievable when she’s so talented. I’ve found her journey really inspiring. She now illustrates the Grandpa and Lollipop books amongst other things and is Artist in Residence for the Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital.
4. Wild Rumpus are a social enterprise who are passionate about delivering family arts events in wild natural landscapes. These guys put on the brilliant Just So Festival, where I will have a stall to sell Firefly this summer! They’re all about wonder, imagination, and creativity. Again it’s all about trading in order to allow something really good to happen as opposed to trading to make profit.
So, Firefly launches tomorrow. Ahhhh! If you haven’t already please do visit the website: www.firefly-magazine.co.uk.
Posted in Illustration, Making changes
Tagged angela spencer, business, cate james, edinburgh college of art, Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital, Firefly magazine, grandpa and lollipop, illustration, inspiration, inspiring people, Just So Festival, social enterprise, sugar mouse, Wild Rumpus, york
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Approaching cliff
I have been doing a lot of hard thinking recently about what on earth is going to happen to me when I finish this degree. I’m under no illusions about the world of illustration…it’s tough. There are some terrifying stats around with regard to Art graduates. Only 5% ever end up working in the creative industries and of those, most take at least five years to get established. It doesn’t seem to have that much to do with how good you are either but much more about hard work, business acumen, and who you know. As you might have gathered I was feeling pretty despondent.
I don’t think it’s much helped by the countless visiting illustrators we’ve had at college or illustrator websites I’ve read, where people have got where they are through sheer luck. Their mum was a children’s book writer or they got chatting to someone over a photocopier. Then I stumbled across these two websites, and together with a few other things, I’m feeling a lot more positive. The first is by Ben O’Brien who acknowledges that all illustrators are liars and actually that chat over the photocopier was hard won (I can’t comment on the “my mum is a children’s book writer” one!). I think his advice to go and do something else while working away at getting established is advice I’m going to take to heart.
The second website is by Keri Smith. It’s the best advice I’ve ever read on promoting yourself as an illustrator…so grounded, sensible and achievable. For me, the advice that particularly rang true was about taking it slowly and starting with short-term achievable goals. I also loved what she said about entering competitions. I shall feel free from now on to never enter another competition again – what a relief!
So, I’m approaching my degree show with a lighter step and although I still feel like I’m about to hurl myself off a metaphorical cliff, I think I can do it with a smile.
Posted in Illustration
Tagged Ben O'Brien, business acumen, cliff, competitions, degree, hard work, illustration, keri smith, who you know
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Nomad Magazine
Nomad magazine has just come back from the printers and it’s looking great. For those of you who don’t know, this year I have been the Creative Director for the Edinburgh University student magazine, Nomad. I’ve learnt so much, especially about layout and art editing.
The front cover artwork and the headers for each page have been done by a wonderful illustrator in my year called Danielle Callaghan. You can visit her site HERE.
The illustration for the first double page spread shown here is by another brilliant illustrator from my year called Anine Boesenberg. You can visit her site HERE.
Then the last spread shown here is mine. So there’s another thing to tick off the list towards my final submission. I think I deserve a KitKat and a cup of tea.
Posted in Illustration
Tagged Anine Boesenberg, art editing, Creative Director. KitKat, cup of tea, Danielle Callaghan, edinburgh university, illustration, layout, magazine, Nomad
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Fondant fancies
I’ve just been sent invaluable supplies by my mother-in-law to keep me going over the last couple of weeks of my degree. This little cube of cakey perfection is a Fondant Fancy from Betty’s Tea Rooms in Harrogate. If anything can see me through, one of these will!
Posted in Cooking, Family and friends, Illustration
Tagged betty's, degree, fondant fancy, harrogate, illustration, yorkshire
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A little book
Outside my window the weather is wild. The rooks from the trees behind our house take off in giant plumes, then tumble and wheel on the gusts. Little Owl’s swing has wrapped itself around the cross bar in a giant knot. Lambing is nearly over and our next door neighbour, the farm shepherd, drags herself wearily from the house once again. The work on the farm has been extra tough over the last month with the two cattlemen off sick. When I say off sick, I mean practically dead. These are two tough Border men and they don’t go down lightly. One carried on working for a whole week with pneumonia and a pulmonary embolism. Needless to say, neither of them will stay in bed.
Here is my bear book finally finished and printed. Little bear is a tad fussy about his porridge and his parents have to go to great lengths to get it to just the right temperature. The children’s book industry is crazily competitive and I’m such a beginner so I have no great expectations for this book but I’m happy enough that Little Owl has offered it pride of place on her bookshelf.
A First Book of Nature
Here are some pictures from a beautiful book Little Owl was given for her birthday called A First Book of Nature. I thought you might enjoy seeing it if you haven’t already. It’s by Nicola Davies, who was a Really Wild Show presenter when I was little (I think that’s pretty cool!), and is illustrated by Mark Hearld. It’s a sort of scrap book of nature. The words are lovely but mostly we’ve enjoyed pouring over the pictures and feeling the atmosphere of the passing seasons.
This afternoon Big Dreamer came charging into the house full of excitement. There was brown liquid in the bottom of the jar he’d been using to collect birch tree sap for his latest home brewing escapade. Unfortunately for him, he’d been driving back from dropping Little Owl with her grandparents first thing this morning and had missed out on the heavy rain we’d had here. There was no mistaking it for anything else expect muddy rain water with a few flies in it. Poor Big Dreamer but a close shave for the rest of us would-be guinea pigs!
Taking a breather
Little Owl is on her Easter holidays from nursery for the next two weeks. She’s going to spend next week with her grandparents but this week she’s with me. Hence my degree work has had to come to a halt but, to be honest, it’s a welcome breather. I have felt pretty grim about all my work over the last few weeks. Such grimness comes from taking myself far too seriously and forgetting about the little things. These are little things that Little Owl quickly reminds me of, if I give proper time to her wide-eyed curiosity. Today I was amused to find her utterly absorbed by the detergent drawer of the washing machine slowly being jiggled open by a vigorous spin cycle. My washing-machine-drawer moment was watching a male rook trying to catch the eye of his lady friend by doing the most amazing winged dance in the garden this afternoon. I don’t know how she could resist!
Posted in Family and friends, Illustration, Wildlife
Tagged breather, courtship, curiosity, dance, degree, detergent drawer, Easter holidays, grimness, nursery, rooks, spin cycle, washing machine
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Birch sap wine
The floor plan for the degree show has gone up in the studio. I know my space. Today we’ve been putting orders in for shelves and tables. Time is ticking!
Big Dreamer has been out tapping birch trees so that he can make wine from their sap. No, don’t worry he didn’t just make it up. It’s a legitimate ingredient for wine. However I do think he’s a little optimistic with his receptacle.
Posted in Countryside, Family and friends, Illustration
Tagged birch sap, birch trees, degree show, floor plan, illustration, wine
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