FREAKONOMICS.GIF

As part of my Freakonomics project, I thought I would have a go at animation! why the heck not, another string to the bow. Heres a taste in GIF form, my first, first of many, I actually really enjoyed making it!

The 3 best pieces of advice i have been given this year...

I felt it only fitting to leave this blog post until last, advice can come at anytime throughout the year.

First of all, from Adam Graff, he had alot of great advice in his talk, none more so than,

"Draw what you love, you will be commisioned based on what is in your portfolio"

Second was from Jo Spicer in class,

"Become a mini expert" 

Sounds simple and obvious I know but it really hit home and gave me alot of confidence in the work I both had been doing and about to do going forward.

And finally from my talk with Ben Jones on my final blog interview,

"dont be a dick to people"

Sure, in the wrong context this can sound quite silly, but how true and appropriate it is, we all work for one another with what we do, word it however you like, that is the underlying message always.

 

The final tuesday club of the year - Steven Swanborough

Tuesday 21st April 2015

Final tuesday club of level 5 and it comes from an ex student who has very successfully transitioned his education at Stockport college into a very successful Manchester based design company... 

The Neighborhood

http://www.the-neighbourhood.com/

Its always a great learning curve for us to hear from an ex pupil who definitely speaks how it is in the real world and what employers are actually looking for. As an illustrator, I found alot of the work he and his company do really didnt have much impact on me and my direction, i wasnt sure how much input he himself had on the work he showed to us, it was a great sales pitch for the company as a whole but maybe not so much for Steve, who we were all there to see and hear.

But it was great to hear how fondly he spoke of Stockport college and how the tutors still do of him as a student success story.

Over all this was very much worthwhile, if just to hear an inside veiw on the hiring process we all hope to go through in the near future! 

im giving this talk 5/10

FREAKONOMICS...Its in EVERYTHING!!!

Some Kind of Freakonomics!?

Beth Nelson and Charlotte Tracy discussion forum - plagiarism

Tuesday 21st was the final discussion forum of level 5, and oh boy, when its Beth Nelson at the helm, its bound to be interesting.. controversial.. annoying!.. all of the above!

plagiarism was the topic and I have to say, it really made me think, a little too much if anything, copyright is an issue that can affect us all in this proffesion, and as such, Beth and Charlotte brought up alot of valid points and issues, things alot of us either take for granted or dont even think about to begin with.

With alot of opinions and suggestions put forward today, it was definitely one of the more helpful discussion forums we have had this year, just dont be telling Beth I said that!

Great way to end the year, bravo girls.

I wish I had done this...

Sometimes you have to just sit back and admire in this world...

3D Ship Drawn on Three Flat Sheets of Paper by Ramon Bruin

Sometimes a piece of art just hits you right in the inspiration! Usually out of nowhere when your not even looking for it, often the best thing to do is stop looking.

This piece has been saved on my desktop for sometime now, sometimes I open it to marvel at it in all its glory, or I simply glance at it and it makes me feel like drawing, because I know how it looks big, small, it makes little difference!

Originality is a hard thing to discover these days, especially in the art world where everything has been done 10 times over, so stripping something back is often the key, see something in a new light or just get rid of everything that has made this modern world… samey! forget computers and digital, grab a pencil and see something new, beautiful will never go out of fashion! visually striking will always be desired! Raw talent will always shine brightest.

Interview with Ben Jones...

My latest blog interview is with former Stockport college student Ben Jones. Since graduating Ben has gone on to have a very successful illustration career, he is still spoke of highly throughout staff at the college, often a reference point to up and coming students, so it was only fitting I track him down and get a few words...

http://www.benjonesillustration.com/

Firstly, could you give a few words about yourself and your artistic background.

I am a freelance illustrator based in Manchester. I studied at Stockport college graduating in 2006. Since then I have worked for clients including The New York Times, The Folio Society, The Guardian, Rotland Press, BBC History Magazine, Penguin books amogst others.

Who has been your biggest artistic inspiration throughout your work?

Eastern European illustrators and designers such as Jan Lenica, Bohumil Stepan, Roman Cieslewicz and Karel Tessig mainly inspire me. DADA and surrealism also inspire me. But I would say my man inspiration is reading both fiction and theory. I also tend to let my political feelings have an impact on my work when I get the opportunity.

Have you encountered any copyright issues during your work?

Nope. Most publishers, magazines, newspapers have editors and lawyers that look over the work. Just make sure to use copyright free imagry.

Do you have any artistic regrets or anything you would change/do different given the opportunity?

Earlier on in my career I tried to hard to be a commercial illustrator. Now I make work that I enjoy making and looking at. I guest what I am trying to say is it is important to trust yourself and make work that you like and not to try and create work that is not you because it may seem relevant at the time. A timeless visual language is more important than a fleeting style.

Do you live by any Artistic rules? Style over Substance? Quality over Quantity? or just free Reign?

I think a good illustration should be astatically pleasing first and foremost but should have a depth in its content. I think an emotional response is also important.

And finally, what piece of advice would you give to any up and coming artist?

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Work hard because of your passion for your subject. Get work in front of people by email and in person. 

Don’t be a dick to people. 

Big thank you to Ben for this. 

Manchester Print Fair No.9

Saturday 18th April, Manchester's print fair once again rolled into town, had a blast last time and met a few decent contacts with industry that have turned out very valuble indeed, so, wouldbe rude not to attend once again!

In attendance we're Simon of Wraptious who I have previously interviewed with what once again proved to be the biggest and best stall this print fair has to offer, followed closely by John Powell Jones and his colleagues, good to chat to you all there.

Big inspiration through level 5..

Throughout level 5, alot of my inspiration has come from such random places, but when I was truly stumped on my Some Kind of Fairy Tale brief, it was a few talks with John (JPJ) that brought me towards the world of Dr Seuess, somethig I have always been aware of, just never that interested in. But it was his book, The Cat Behind the Hat that hit me right in the inspiration.

It was these full page spreads that John introduced me to, but in true Ben and John fashion, we didnt quite agree, shocking I know! 

 But luckily my stubborness revealed these absolute gems that really did have an impact on my fairy tale brief, I think you can see how/why...

Manchester Art Gallery

Friday 10 April was an eventful day! So after our trip to the library, it would infact be rude not to pop into th Manchester Art Gallery for a bit, see whats new. turns out quite alot! there were plants everywhere. went pretty well with the sunshine!

 The Lost Gardens Exhibit

 Pretending to culture...

 Tales of the city inspiration??

Our visit to MMU library

Myself and Leigh Arrandale made our first trip to the MMU library, check out a few books, get some divine inspiration for our upcoming "tales of the city" brief, and to generally just see what all the darn fuss is about with this place! 

Tales of the city devine inspiration found!? 

Adam Graff interview

So a couple of months back Adam Graff was a guest talker at tuesday club, and it was great, he gave me some of the best advice ive had on this course. Naturally I have stayed in contact and conducted an interview with him. Enjoy...

www.adamgraff.com

Firstly, could you give a few words about yourself and your artistic background.

A creative path was always going to be the one I followed, there was never any real alternative. It was always the thing I loved to do most and that I was best at. You naturally pitch yourself against your peers and all through my education I seemed to rank high.  

Who has been your biggest artistic inspiration throughout your personal work?
My inspriration comes from so many places, from living from being interested in whats going on. There will always be artists and fellow illustrators who I'm inspired by, but these change with time and my natural evolution. I have been very keen to look at the work Maira Kalman, Luke Best, Demitrio Psillos, Jonny Hannah, Paul Davis, Andrew Foster, David Shrigley, Nathalie Lete 

Have you encountered any problems involving copyright? If so how was it delt with?
No, I don't believe I have.

What made you decide to go into teaching?
I actually drifted into teaching by initially doing some workshops at my old college. It seemed to naturally suit my sensibilities. I loved imparting information and receiving inspiration, a beautifully symbiotic relationship. I was recommended for a job as a Visiting Lecturer on a Foundation Course and that's where I made a place for myself. It might sound a little 'hippy' but if you are open to receive, I believe that the right things come to you. Teaching is right for me - I love it.

Do you have any artistic regrets or anything you would change/do different given the opportunity?
Many images I create I regret. Hmmmm... not so much regret because I think it might be right sometimes to do shit work, but that I wish hadn't appeared in the public realm. Apart from that I am happy the way my creative life is/ has been up to now. Perhaps I'd like a second go at my MA with a different area of investigation.

Do you live by any Artistic rules? Style over Substance? Quality over Quantity? or just free Reign?
yes: content and substance - a good idea is paramount. I like to include humour hopefully intrinsically. Love what you do; enjoy the process; from the heart; keep it joyful.

What, in a few short words makes a fantastic book cover?

A good book cover for me should encapsulate the flavour of the book and suggest something of its content. 

It should grab your attention and be beautiful to look at.

And finally, what piece of advice would you give to any up and coming artist/entrepreneur?

 Like life, it's not for the faint hearted. Be bold, be brave, be extraordinary and don't give up even though there will be many times you feel like it!

Some Kind of Fairy Tale Book Cover Contest.

Another book cover contest entered, this time for Orion, and my book choice this time was Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graeme Joyce.

Its a pretty dark and eerie British "fairy tale"

Not your typical happy ever after story, so how to portray this in a book cover? a challenge for sure! 

The competition brief called for a blank picture and to just consider text. I have designed a few full page spreads with text that i will post on here soon.

The Success that was our Parkinsons Auction.

After weeks and months of planning and stressing, The charity auction was a HUGE success, we raised alot of money for Parkinsons Equip and had one of the most memorable nights of our degree for sure, Big personal thank you to everybody that was involved, so proud of you all. 

Thank you to Ray and his wife for these pictures.

Interview with Simon Wadsworth (Wraptious)

A while back I met Simon Wadsworth at Manchester print fair whilst he was working his stall, this stall turned out to be for Wraptious Art, his own company. Since then I have stayed in touch with Simon and learned all about his company, the following is an interview he has kindly done for me, but before you do, head over to wraptious.com if you havnt already. Incredible company that is definitely onthe rise.

Firstly, could you give a few words about yourself and just what Wraptious is.

Sure. I launched Wraptious just over a year ago, having previously worked in strategy for a large retailer. It was a fun and challenging job, but an office job nevertheless and I'd been wanting to do my own thing for a while. I launched Wraptious as a way of supporting emerging artists (Wraptees), giving them a platform to showcase their work, which we sell as a growing array of gifts and homewares.

 What inspired you to start up your own business in the art world?

It was quite random inspiration actually. I was doodling away on some post-it notes during a dull office meeting, and colleagues exclaimed my doodles would make great gift wrap! So for fun I thought I’d give it a go. However I soon realised that it’s not as easy as it sounds – support for startup artists in the UK is extremely limited. It’s inherently difficult for anyone creative to make a name for themselves – time, money, skill, opportunity, even confidence can all act as a barrier. There is a lot more talent than opportunity in this world! So what started out as a bit of fun, developed into a business plan for a new art platform – which ultimately led to me quitting my career and launching Wraptious.

Have you encountered any copyright problems along your way to this? 

Not with Wraptious yet, no. We follow all the usual procedures - copyrighting all work, and keeping a trail of the work's origins where possible. We also have a contractual agreement with all our artists, to protect them as much as us. However, we're fully aware of friends in the industry where this has been a big issue for - either exactly copying work, usually abroad in India or China, or copying the style - which is a much harder thing to control.

How does Wraptious pick and choose what artist/artwork makes it to your stands?

We're really flattered as we get many emails a week from budding awesome artists sharing their portfolios, and we would love to say yes to everyone. Unfortunately, until we provide drop-ship capability and a crowd-sourced web platform (2 years away - you heard it here first!), we can't accept everyone. Instead, we run competitions twice a year seeking new artists - everyone is invited to share 3 pieces of work which gets voted on by the public. A lot of fun and a lot fairer than us deciding! 

Do you have any regrets or anything you would change/do differently given the chance on your Wraptious journey so far?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter once said that CEO should stand for Chief Editing Officer, as the hardest challenge for the founder is to edit down the 1000s of good ideas to the one or two ideas you want to focus on. In our early days - and we're still victims of this today - we have fingers in lots of pies as we test the waters to see what works best for us. Some of these involved a lot of wasted time, and we're a lot more focused now that we were when we launched!

 Who has been your biggest artistic inspiration in your own personal work? 

Man, that's a tough question. I remember back at school that the first artist I really admired and studied was Roy Lichtenstein. I found his work so fresh and confident, especially at the time he was creating it. In the last few years, I've become more focused on graphic design, so designers like Stagmeister, Paul Rand and Peter Saville have been big influences.

 And finally, what advice would you give to any aspiring artist/entrepreneur on there way up in the art world? 

Just get out there! Confidence in your work will grow as your develop your style and encouragement from others. Do some market events, join Etsy or ArtFinder, contact galleries. Be professional and have a social media presence. If you're passionate, work hard and not afraid to shout about your work, you can't go wrong! Good luck. x

Big thank you to Simon.

Freakonomics Final Piece for Penguin Book Cover Contest.

Tomorrow is final submission day, this is it, been a long journey and can honestly say this isnt what I expected me to produce in the slightest! But, on that note, I am super proud of it and cant wait to send it off for competition. Bring it on! 

 

Screen Printing... Trial and Error!

 So this was our screen printing baptim of fire, so to say! but, after a long journey of trial and error, I now know how to expose my own screen, screen print in many variety of inks and processes! Totally worth the effort and pain along the way! 

 Screen Print Selfie!

 Always tidy what you use!

 Our Auction event flyers

 and lots of them!

 Who doesnt love a screen room selfie!?

I dont even know!? what you doing Martin!?

Interview with John Powell-Jones

My first blog interview is with none other than John Powell Jones, Screen printing teaching extraordinaire!

Firstly, could you give a few words about yourself and your artistic background/printed by mono/teaching work..

I’ve been working as a freelance artist/illustrator/printmaker for the passed 6 years.

Having produced illustration for bands for a number of years I did a weekend course in screen printing to be able to make more of a viable business out of my practice. So I could offer print and design.

What was your biggest inspiration to start up your own business and studio?

My biggest inspiration to set up my own practice came from people like Seymour Chwast and Art Spiegelman, they didn’t wait for the perfect client to come along and offer them the perfect job, they created what they wanted to do.

Who has been your biggest artistic inspiration throughout your personal work?

Personal inspiration changes often,  

The people that are having a creative impact on me currently: Jonathan Routh, George Condo, Philip Guston, Philip Glass, Shackleton, Keith Harring.

A constant source of inspiration: Dylan Carlson, Daniel Clowes, Matisse, Charles Burns, Chris Ware, Richard D James, Robert Crumb, Corita Kent, John Carpenter, Miro, GNOD.

What made you decide to go into teaching?

I was approached a few years ago by the head of Illustration at Salford to come and do a talk on my practice and a couple of days of tutorials, this turned into a semi regular position. I now teach on the Illustration and Graphic Design degree at Salford and Illustration at Stockport. It’s something I really enjoy and has become an integral part of my practice.

Do you have any artistic regrets or anything you would change/do different given the opportunity?

I don’t think I have any artistic regrets, there’s been jobs I haven’t enjoyed working on and wouldn’t do again but it all comes down to experience, sometimes you need to work on something you don’t enjoy so you know to say no next time.

Do you live by any Artistic rules? Style over Substance? Quality over Quantity? or just free Reign?

I’d say try and follow the rules of Sister Corita Kent 

What does the future hold for you and Printed by Mono?

It’s hard to say what the future holds, hopefully doing the same that we’re all doing now but in a bigger studio!

And finally, what piece of advice would you give to any up and coming artist/entrepreneur?

My advice would be keep making, always!

Big thank you to John and www.printedbymono.co.uk. Go check it out if you havnt already!

Art Exhibition and Auction for Parkinsons Equip - 12th March 2015

COME TO THIS.