Gunter Grass- Cat and Mouse

I hadn't read an excellent book in a long time, and it was beginning to make me feel a bit empty. I read Cat and Mouse on holiday a few weeks ago, and it filled that gap. I won't try and explain the story, just please read it.
To make matters even better, it has an awsome cover, designed by Gunter Grass himself! Does the joy never end.

Summer Projects

1. Loneliness poster series. - I want to make a set of posters raising awareness of loneliness, and hopefully be reminders to act kindly and generously.

2. Alphabet Magazine. - Am making firstly a one-off magazine to use up old interviews. Magazine is going to be a folio pack of hand printed posters. Am currently transcribing the interviews, then need to design posters in time to print when I return to Camberwell. After the one-off, the magazines will come out in alphabetical order, with each issue's content falling under a particular letter.

3. Continue research and drawings of Ali Bey magic act (great grandad) for graphic novel/animation?

4. Develop floral patterns. - for example wallpaper. Each week aim to buy a bunch of flowers and draw from all angles and stages, eg. bud, leaf, half bloom, full bloom, so I will have a floral vocabulary, of sorts, with which to design a pattern for each type of flower I choose. I then would like to develop these into prints once I have access to Camberwell Studios again.

5. Camberwell Summer project. -25 A5 drawings under various titles to do with family, personal beliefs, etc. Have started on this- can't decide what approach is best. I would definately like all the images to be linked, eg through a story. So am experimenting with a graphic novel style approach, trying to link a story to the headings without it being corny.

Floral Posters

My Nanny asked me to make two posters for a stall she always runs at Hunstanton Flower Festival. I made a poster last year as well, it's just a list of prizes for the 'Grand Draw' with flowers round the edge, on an A1 piece of mountboard. Last year I used sweet peas as the flowers, but this year really couldn't decide. I had real trouble finding a way to create an arrangement of flowers to draw, and repeat in different angles/positions round the border. I tried peonies from life, but in the end just did online research as to existing drawings of flowers, and adapted them.

I looked a lot at Pierre Redoute, but can't remember the names of the other artists.

Unfortunately, I also forgot to photograph my finished posters. I did blue text, and pink roses as a frame. It was ok in the end.

This was my poster from last year...

It was ok, I liked the sweet peas. But this years poster worked a lot better as a whole image. The text was bolder and more stylised, and in a darker shade of blue.

Final Exhibition

This is my piece hanging in the exhibition, kindly photographed by Becca. It seems like a long time ago now. I wasn't too happy with my end result, to be honest. I liked the parts where we experimented with how to display it, and Jen came up with the idea of hanging it from invisible wire. I think it's ok as a whole piece, in how it's hung and looks, but by the end of the project I was really wishing I'd focused more on illustration, maybe going in a new direction or development, rather than the massive research tangent I went off on. BUT it is over now, and I am now back in the practise of drawing in pencil, which is good. Since then I have been quite focused on the idea of expanding my printing, am looking forward to the new year beginning at Camberwell.

Other Blog of Mine

www.warmasjam.blogspot.com