Off I went with my tiny sketchbook...

Well today started off like most other days (ie pointless and totally un-inspiring). I was half asleep, staring out the window watching the people outside getting drenched in rain and feeling pretty depressed about having to spend the rest of the day walking around in the freezing cold and rainy streets of grey London. Once I got into the City Centre, things started looking up, the weather improved, and I was feeling a bit happier at the prospect of being in a museum all day and out of the cold.
So to cut a long story short, I had a great day drawing and cutting and sticking, here are some of my drawings...

Photo of the week

LEWIS CARROLL - 'Alice Liddell as a beggar-child' 1858

"It (photography) is my one recreation and I think it should be done well"



Alice first heard the story of 'Alice's Adventures Underground' when Carroll and a friend took the three Liddell children rowing. He later wrote it out, dedicated it to her, and published it in 1865. This picture of one of Carroll's favourite child friends, was according to Carroll's nephews and biographer, shown it to Lord Tennyson, who judged it 'the most beautiful photograph he had ever known'.



After looking into the life and work of Lewis Carroll, I got back into reading the 'Alice In Wonderland' books and loved the illustrations in the books so much I made little badges out of them.

JEFF KOOOOOOOONS

I visited the Jeff Koons exhibition at the TATE Modern. I thought it was incredible. There were coloured mirrors lining the walls, in the shape of animal heads. It created such a childish feeling in the room and was really magical.

Dan Mumford

Dan Mumford is a freelance Illustrator who came in to Uni as a Guest Speaker. Dan did his Foundation at Camberwell and a 3 year degree at Brighton University.
Whilst studying at Brighton Uni, he would do some work on the side for local un-discovered bands he knew. One of these bands was now legendary 'Gallows'...



Here is some work Dan has produced for the band...





Amazing. I think you'll agree.

Chrissie Abbott

OK, I have a new found love who goes by the name of Chrissie Abbott...

How awesome are these illustrations?








If I had the dough I would buy the harvest print.

On Thursday, we had the delight of having Chrissie Abbott come into Uni to talk to us about herself and her work.
I was so pleased to finally have someone from the Illustration Industry come in to talk to us, so far we have had PR and Marketing personalities, Photography & Styling personalities, but no-one from the area in which I am most interested in...Graphics and Illustration.

Here is a little background info on her...

Chrissie Abbott studied Illustration at London College Of Communication, after Graduating she joined 'Zip Design' (a design studio who offer art direction, graphic design, brand development, iPhone apps, web design, web development, web banners,
motion graphics, illustration and project management).

Chrissie also worked with KOKO London, was working on their artwork and layout, this helped her learn more about the career she possibly wanted to pursue.

Worked with YCN (YCN also represent the dynamic duo 'Jiggery Pokery' who came in to talk to us about their work a while ago). YCN represents the finest illustration and moving-image design talent; and produces design, content, campaigns and other communication in all media for varied clients. After looking at their website http://www.ycnonline.com/home I am really impressed by the Portfolios represented and the amazing talent that is involved. Chrissie told us that working with YCN was an amazing learning experience for her, and not only did she gain experience and knowledge of the Industry, she also made many contacts (which is one of the most important things when trying to further your career).

Recently, Chrissie Abbott held a solo show in the Old Shoreditch Station - the show was called 'In my mind I'm clapping'. Chrissie merged with the curator to out the layout of the show etc. but all the work was her own and was all made especially for the show. She told us she felt that having her first solo show really made her feel as if she had stepped up in the world, as though she had progressed to the next level of the life.

Perhaps the most famous work she has done is her work with LITTLE BOOTS.



When Chrissie was working with LITTLE BOOTS, she wasn't yet signed. Chrissie was designing her promotion, and found that LITTLE BOOTS and herself had a lot of similar interest (Kate Bush, The Beach Boys etc.)
Once LITTLE BOOTS was getting bigger and was signed, Chrissie felt like she was thrown in the deep end, having to design flyers, merchandise, working on the Facebook page, the Myspace page, and playing a major role in the Art Direction for the photo shoots.

Questions???

* So where does she get her inspiration and imagery when creating album covers and promotion?
She looks to the material produced by who she is working for, the imagery for the music has to come from the music itself, it has to be related. She takes the actual imagery from old National Geographic magazines bought on ebay and uses other non-copy written photos.

* How will her style move forward?
Chrissie would like to look more into painting and use less found imagery.

* How much of her work is handmade and how much computer based?
Most of her work is computer rendered simply to save time. She told us she will present her work to a client, and they will ask her to move certain things around the page slightly, so having the work on the computer means she can do this easily.

* How does she keep motivated?
She has to obviously make money, but most importantly is her love for her work. Chrissie is really happy in this Industry and producing the work makes happy.

* Any Advice?
Don't ever take criticism personally, don't try and have a style just produce what you like. Trying to produce something that is 'trendy' is a bad idea as everything is changing all the time, it's not about being current. Produce work that communicates what you want to do.

Photo of the week

EDWARD JEAN STEICHEN - 'Heavy Roses' 1914

"The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each to himself. And that is the most complicated thing on earth".



This picture was taken near Steichen's home in Voulangis, France. This original was a palladium print. The palladium process was similar to the platinum process but palladium was substituted for the more expensive metal. Both types of print were more stable than the silver print They also produced a wide range of subtle grey tones which works particularly well with this subject.

Claire Foster - WGSN

Claire Foster - Footwear & Accessories Dept. WGSN



A brief outline of her experiences so far...

She studied Fashion Design in Birmingham, did Work Experience at i-D Magazine. After
Graduation, floated around a bit, was doing freelance work for magazines, freelance feature writing and styling. Made small collections on the side and eventually opened a shop which was a collaboration between herself and a friend of hers in a free retail space. Her friends had contacts in magazines and was able to get them press. Had the shop open for 6 months, found it was a great learning experience. Learned about the Industry more, Buying, Marketing, Press etc.
Moved to Manchester to show her Womens wear and accessory collections. Had buyers from all over the country. Claire found the running theme of her career to be DIY. For about 2-3 years, Claire was working on making contacts and networking, thought this was very important, whilst the whole time working freelance writing and styling. Went for the job as Associate Editor for accessories and footwear. At the interview, she was asked to write a piece on a trend that she thinks is important (I wish I had asked her what she wrote about!!). Became Coordinator - Trend Analysis.

Now Take a breather...



A little bit about WGSN :

"WGSN don’t just look out the window and tell you it’s raining, but predict the cultural climate weeks, months, even years in advance — so you can plan for the future.

The accuracy of our vision has been proven time and again. That’s why we have a 93% retention rate with the world’s leading brands". (www.wgsn.com)

WGSN helps people to understand and anticipate fashion trends, Trends are predicted ! year to 6 months in advance. They publish 3 reports a week, updating their subscribers on the latest trends. Have International contributors and offices all over the world. Includes Street Reports (take photos outside the shows), and have specific blogs dedicated to different areas, for example blogs on eye wear, footwear etc.
Not only do the public find WGSN inspiring, but so do Designers.


Claires job allows her to travel the world, hoping to scope out all the newest trends and what's happening i fashion, art, music etc. She told us about her latest trip to Australia at the end of May and what she took from the trip.

One of the main differences between the UK and Australia re the seasonal differences, this affects the trends for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, making their fashion vastly different to ours at different times of the year.
She mentioned a website that acts a little like 'The Sartorialist' or 'Facehunter', but is called 'Melbourne Street Fashion' (www.melbournestreetfashion.com).

Here are some of my favourties from the site...








Claire told us that a lot of the street style in Australia was more Grunge, thrown-together and more DIY than England, she called it 'Grunge City'. The fashion there had a very 90's feel to it and that Vintage was huge! She showed us photos of the Street art, the graffiti, some of the zines that were being produced.
Whilst there, she didn't only look at Fashion, she would look at the whole of their culture, including the bands.

Here are list of a few she saw so you can check them out :


- Bridezilla

- Red Riders


- SPUNK!

- Lions at your door


Claire would then present this information she gathered to her colleagues at WGSN, and the team would work on bringing all this info into the website and to their customers.

At the end of her lecture, I asked her a couple of questions...

* Which key people do you work with?

I work with the Senior Editor and Head of trends. With Photographers, Designers, Eye wear Industry and use their specific knowledge to her advantage. Also illustrators and freelance writers.

* Do you have any other jobs on the side?

I still do freelance writing on the side (The Guardian) as an external job. It's good for people to work on different projects at once, it helps you keep an interest in other things as well as your job.

* Key Points for Graduates in jobs/Work Experience?

The most important thing is enthusiasm. 70% of the job at WGSN is research - we need people who know how to research well. You need passion and interest in the specific area you are entering. Have an open attitude to doing different things and in the future you could potentially be going into PR/exhibition/office.

* Any Advice?

Get invlolved as well as your degree; working at LFW, doing a bit of writing/illustration on the side.