Taking a Fancy to Book Illustration

I have been really getting into podcasts lately (a whole post of that is yet to come). One of my favourites, and regular audio accompaniment to the Lea river canal path, is Design Matters hosted by Debbie Milman. I like them for this purpose because they are a good length, well recorded (a shamefully important factor as I struggle to hear most things through my ancient earphones), and Milman is an excellent host. Each episode sees a particular person or group from a field of design interviewed about their career and achievements, in a way which encourages digression into more theoretical discussions. 

Though this series presents a large range of designers from different fields, I do feel that I have heard about many graphic designers, and most notably illustrators. Listening to these episodes, such as the one with Oliver Jeffers, has really made me think about illustration as a career path for me. Obviously it relies heavily on drawing (my life long love affair), along with CAD programs I am already highly confident with. I know I have never really connected with making 2D things, and I never felt destined for graphic design, probably because I never really knew what it was, and it seems to be an element of any other art course anyway. But someone once described to me books as being '4th dimensional'. 2D images and words which exist in a 3D object have the power to capture the imagination and take the person into another world entirely. It is a connection between narratives, images and words which excites me, so I felt compelled to get some illustration focused exhibitions into my calendar, as well as some much important creative work! 

Ladybird by Design - House of Illustration

I was really inspired by this exhibition, as it explained the technically simple and practical approach of the ladybird books, and juxtaposed that with the cultural and social significance the series had upon multiple generations of readers. 

This exhibition particularly focused on those published between the 1950's and 70's, and how the books 'depicted a soft and simple world'.

The books themselves were formed from one sheet of paper (suitably sized for the method of mass printing they used.) This was to work around paper restrictions, so every book had 56 pages and were of an identical size and shape. The illustrations were multi coloured, and vocabulary kept easy for children to read and understand. 

I greatly enjoyed being able to see the original illustrations up close; the vivid colours pop out off the thick card onto which they are painted. I assume gouache is used, perhaps with some oil. The illustrations range from depicting everyday life, to historical scenes, through to fictional tales, all perfect to inspire a young reader. 

I was particularly drawn to the image of a deep sea diving team, as I can imagine the bold colours and stunning composition as making a 5-year-old think; 'That's what I want to do when I grow up.' I also particularly enjoyed the 'Shopping with Mother' series for their illustrations, as they reminded me of Richardson and Ravillious's 'High Street'. 

What I think is most impressive about these books, having viewed this exhibition, reading a few chapters of Ladybirds they had in the final room, is their effectiveness. Working with the 56 page and size set rule, the ladybird's combination of image and word never fails to inspire and excite children, (nor 21-years-and-a-6th-old such as myself.) 

Animal Tales - The British Library

This exhibition gave a specific overview to how animals are used through physical illustrations as well as plot-lines for storytelling. With examples such as Orwell's Animal Farm for 'Animal Allegories', and the Beatrix Potter series demonstrating how 'after Darwin and Freud, neat distinctions between humans and animals blurred', this show provided an interesting socially and culturally aware view on a common theme within book illustration. 

Beautiful binding - from House of Illustration giftshop

I thought it was particularly interesting how animal themes and characters are juxtaposed with words, as they are unable to understand our language. Places such as 'the wild', and even the thoughts, intellect and feelings of animals still remain oddly unknown and unattainable to us. I feel if I should write then I could consider writing with animals in mind, as books such as 'The Bees' exist to be purely adult literature.

In terms of illustrations I liked, I particularly enjoyed William Stobb's for 'Kashtanka - Chekhov for Children'. I would also be interested in reading Garnett's 'A Man in the Zoo' for content. 

Funnily enough, a trip to the gift shop presented to me further illustrations that I adore. These are in the form of the National Railway Museum's 'Travel England' posters, which had been used on the covers of a range of BL books. The illustrations shared vivid and colour qualities with those that I saw at the Ladybird exhibition, but carry a concept relating to place and location, (albeit advertising). I will start researching these images, and definitely refer to them in my next project.

So, two highly inspiring exhibitions down, and two exceedingly brilliant gift shops visited. That isn't bad for a few hours work out in London! I'm taking away ideas to further my work exploring the relationship between image and text, as well as having learnt more about book illustration as a whole. What's next for me? To just keep drawing and keep writing! 

One's from the Archive...

There's an awlful thing that can happen to a young aspiring designer, whose creative flair, skills and evidence of the above relies on the technology of today. 

And, that it have one's laptop harddrive go kaput, as mine has done recently.

Luckily for me, as well as most (I hope) other young aspiring designers, is that the internet forms a beautiful web for trapping up information and holding memories that may otherwise be lost. For example; my portfolio exists online, my iphone photos are stored in the cloud, my dropbox is brimming with usefully random documents, and my junk hotmail account is spammed with subjectless emails with as many attatchments as they can hold. 

So, in focusing on the positives (the negatives being that I foolishly hadn't backed up since February, meaning I have lost 6 months of digital camera photos, uni work and the enterity of my sunmer personal project...), I am always aware that data is simply matter, and holding onto memories is the most important thing. However I am so aware that I love publicly musing upon my memories, capturing them through curated images and words, of which a blog is perfect. 

I was a lot better last Summer at blogging, however I struggle to keep it up as a routine. I become concerned if the memory isn't recent, as I cannot recall interesting details. All this said though, I do not see myself as an aspiring journalistic or reviewing writer (though I do like to dabble when abroad.) I see my self as a creative writer - playing upon the boundaries between fact, fiction, poetry and prose. Which is just simply a fancy way to say I have no idea what I'm writing (I do try to make it funny though in parts...) I have been trying to learn some tips by listening to lectures upon the subject, and one makes the point that writing a whole load of unedited gobbledy gook is a good way to begin. 

Writing is like a muscle, so like any muscle simply using it will make it stronger and better. Hence, I feel I should push myself back into the habit, and due to my recent experience there is no better place to do it than online. Using my own photos of places, experiences, and things I find inspiring and motivate my creative practise, it will help me form ideas for further writing and video work. All the content will be 'From the Archive', and not focusing on the details of each memory (of which I cannot recall), but instead carve out new ideas and highlight running themes, in attempt to learn more about myself as welll as remind myself how special every moment and memory is. Well, that is the plan anyway...