Welcome to issue two of INK magazine — a showcase for the work of students and staff at the University of Lincoln.
Drawing with Scissors is about the Illustration work of Agnieszka Kowalska who teaches on the School of Design Illustration degree. In Journey of A Book, read how Graphic Design student Megan Langley wrote, designed, and made London in 2100, a book about climate change. Space
Invaders is a visual review of an exhibition by students on the first year of their Fine Art degree. Chimeric Dreaming features paintings and prints by Brian Voce who teaches Graphic Design and runs the University’s Big Draw events, and it’s A ZIne Thing, by Oonagh Monaghan focuses on the growing Zine Library.
INK has been printed in an edition of 150 copies using Riso printers. Risographs are stencil duplicating machines that use soy-based inks to print a single colour at a time. Each new colour requires a separate ink drum, and the paper is run back through the printer each time a new colour is required — this means that each copy of INK is unique.
We’re on Instagram: @inkmagazinelincoln, and also on issuu.com/inkmagazinelincoln/docs/ink_magazine_two
The Editors
INK MAGAZINE
Issue Two – Spring 2023
School of Design
College of Arts
University of Lincoln
Brayford Pool
Lincoln, LN6 7TS
Published by:
The School of Design
Editors:
Jantze Holmes & Barrie Tullett
Contributors:
Agnieszka Kowalska
Megan Langley
BA(hons) Fine Art –Students & Staff
Sian Kirman-Wright
Brian Voce
Oonagh Monaghan
Drawing With Scissors
After working purely digitally for several years, I felt the need to get back to the physicality of material. I have always liked using paper and paint, so experimenting with collage was the ideal excuse to repurchase art supplies.
It is all about the process, which includes painting papers to begin with, experimenting with various paints and inks, and looking for happy accidents. Instead of using a pencil or brush, I can work efficiently with scissors and test out different colour, texture, and shape combinations much more swiftly.
Paper is a fantastic material to work with. The elements may only be loosely attached to the background, casting shadows and drifting out of the frame. There is no ‘undo’ option because everything is done by hand, but the collage process still provides plenty
of room for rearranging and testing before making the ultimate decision to glue the elements down.
It is never perfect but I have learnt to appreciate it. There is a trace of imperfection and my personal touch and I love it that way. Working with very humble materials and finding the right colour by mixing paint or ink instead of using digital techniques, has a touching quality in an age where everything can be done with exact accuracy, easily duplicated, and sent immediately.
The process is time-consuming and messy. When tidying up at the end of the day at the studio, I often uncover pieces of paper that somehow inspire ideas for the next piece.
The task is then to find other missing bits and assemble them to create something new.
Agnieszka Kowalska
Agnieszka Kowalska is a fine artist and freelance illustrator who works across a range of illustration projects including text books, picture books and board games for children. She teaches practical modules on the BA(hons) Illustration course here at the University of Lincoln
The Journey of a Book
LONDON in 2100 —Megan Langley
In my project, I chose to map London in the year 2100, based on the predicted consequences of climate change.
Through the publication I am hoping to bring attention to the harsh realities of the climate crisis – by targeting London specifically I hope to bring it close to home, with a city we all know so well.
The idea of this publication came from my personal worries about the lack of action taken to prevent climate change. I feel that it is hard to be truly involved in taking action to stop this, as we can’t always see the immediate effects.
Because of this, it is easy to put it off or shift it to the back of our thoughts.
This effect was created by pouring oil onto a white board and then placing drops of ink into the prepared surface. A stick was then used to drag and draw the letterform.
Through this book I hope to raise awareness on the seriousness of the situation, and guide people to make a difference. The book has four main chapters; the flooding of the Thames, increasing temperatures, mass migration and overpopulation, and finally air pollution. Each of these chapters describe and illustrate (through expressive typography) the effects these consequences will have on the city.
Techniques:
Watercolour and Stencils
Within the book, I take different areas of London and illustrate how they will be impacted by predicted consequences of climate change. These includes landmarks, streets, boroughs, bodies of water, and the London Underground.
I have done this through a range of different type experimentations, including, oil, Indian ink, tape transfer, water refraction, and manipulated digital scanning.
Traditional plastic stencil sets were used with watercolour paints to create ‘bleed’ around the shapes of the letterforms – the letters were overprinted with different mixtures of paint and water.
Water Refraction
The phrase ‘RIVER THAMES’ was printed out and placed behind a glass of water. This distorted the words when photographed through the glass. The effect changes depending on the placement of the words, the size, and the shape of the glass itself.
Tape Transfers
The phrases were printed out digitally, and then covered over with Sellotape. Tearing this off the paper then pulled parts of the letters away, created a cloudy and distressed effect. The ‘tack’ of the tape, the direction, and speed at which you pull it off, all alter the results.
SP
ACE
Project Space Plus is the University of Lincoln’s public gallery for art shows and exhibitions, providing a vibrant programme of curated exhibitions and projects that are interspersed with ‘In Practice’, which offers Staff and Students the opportunity to test out new research or work in progress in a gallery context to put ideas in practice for a public audience.
INVADERS
A weeping willow for all the people affected by the war in Ukraine. This is very close to home for me because I’m from Poland. The piece is called Weeping Widow. It’s made from a branch and black yarn. The best part of making it was the fact that it’s so personal to me.
The weeping willow really reminds me of where I live back in Poland.
The best thing about making my art piece were the new processes I used in my art. It was my first time making a large scale sculpture and I am happy with how it turned out.
Lee
A wearable giant eye. When you visit a gallery, you go to view the art. Through my sculpture, the art instead views you.
Kit
My artwork, Monolith, is an 8.2ft sculpture. A wooden frame has been cut, and then built into an 8.2ft tall triangular prism.
It’s is then wrapped in a reflective Mylar sheeting. Its aim is to reflect the space and light in the project space to interact with the area surrounding it. Lee
Oliwia
1 2
3
alongside a projection using footage from ‘The Dating Game’.
Our piece is surrounded the many victims of the serial killer Rodney Alcala, made famous when he appeared on the TV show.
We wanted to present portraits of these victims, alongside sound taken from the show, in an enclosed space to make the audience feel trapped and uncomfortable, as if their space had been invaded.
We both enjoyed collaborating on this piece of work, and working with the whole group to make the entire exhibition. Overall it was a great experience that we would both like to have chance to take part in again.
Catrina and Jade
A Little Human Touch is a set of interactive images that allows the viewer to invade the art with touch.
Through the use of thermochromatic pigments that change colour when heated and cooled, the viewer is able to see the effect of their touch on the artworks – it also allows the viewer to think about the affects of their touch on the world outside the gallery.
Millie and Amy
Photography by Sian Kirman-Wright
Tell us about your creative work
My work is about the relationship between structured and chaotic systems – where chance and accident determine the outcome. Naturally one piece of work suggests another and so a body of work emerges as a series of iterations around an initial idea or theme.
Currently the style of my work is abstract, structured, geometric but often incorporating unpredictable elements where chance takes a hand in the final outcome.
The work is always carefully planned in the initial stages and the geometric elements are drawn up accurately but then as the work develops the structure becomes obscured by more expressive elements where the paint is applied instinctively.
Much of my recent work (the Bad Seed, and Fuzzy Logic series in particular), links to an interest in issues surrounding genetic modification of plants and animals, and the chance production of new chimeras. (How small changes could lead to unforeseen and unpredictable consequences).
I began exploring the way very simple geometric systems based on manipulating circular repeats may combine unexpectedly, to produce complex and unexpected outcomes through alignments of overlapping geometries creating images evoking ideas of ‘new and imagined’ flora and fauna. The work takes the circle as a trope, in much of my work it is a metaphor for the ‘perfect’ seed a genetically engineered ‘Pandora’s Box’.
What inspires you?
My inspiration comes from many sources: landscape, maps, grids, archaeology, repetition, science, nature, decay, our impact on the environment, and the medium itself and of course the work of other creative practitioners. I’m a great believer in maintaining an open and curious mind, being open to inspiration whatever the source. For example (and this will sound ‘bizarre’) two major early influences were as follows. Firstly, a programme on TV that was shown so long ago I can’t even remember when, it followed an archaeologist of the Sussex Downs who excavated the graves of two stone age individuals laid to rest side by side. All that remained of them was a coloured stain in the earth in the shape of where their bodies had lain. The archaeologist painstakingly scraped away the earth to reveal their forms. As the earth dried the wind gently blew them away and they were gone forever. I was intrigued by what they had become and the subtleness of their remains but also poignancy that they were now forever lost. The second ‘odder and even more bizarre’ influence came from the painters and decorators at a local college I taught at. I arrived one day to find several large cupboards had been removed to leave only their ‘ghost images’ where the decorators had repeatedly painted around the cupboards over many years when redecorating leaving behind intriguing silhouettes layers of paint and runs down the wall. Both of these ‘encounters’ made a strong lasting impression.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
I’m finding myself more and more interested in things invisible and cosmological. Such as dark matter being the stuff that holds the universe together. The threads that connect us together and through time.
The intention is to begin some new work exploring how incorporating text into the works might function alongside image. I’ve had ideas around exploring ‘absence’ and ‘forgotten’ especially in relation to ourselves in a sense of us as a species and in relation to the death of a loved one.
When did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?
The idea that I wanted to pursue art as a career just ‘grew’ on me as I developed in my teens, doing something creative became more important to me when I made my A Level choices opting to study my two passions of Geography, and Art. I quickly learned that I loved the study of physical geography and geology but had little interest in human geography, (towns, cities farming). At this point becoming an artist became the thing I wanted to do most Making art really matters to me... (although my interest in physical geography, and landscape still continues to inspire my work).
Do you have a favourite project that you set for students?
That’s a really difficult question, as I’ve previously enjoyed working on branding and typography projects alongside the more experimental work such as the dazzle camouflage inspired ‘Get Lost’ project, and sound and audio projects.
The one I’m currently most excited about is a collaboration with the composer Henry McPherson. Henry and I have been jointly working on a project whereby my students respond to an artwork through creating experimental sound and the production of Graphic Scores. The scores have been sent to Henry and he and fellow musicians are reinterpreting the scores through a series of performed musical improvisations both live to an audience and also recorded in the studio. The results have been wonderful to hear and I’m excited to pass these on to my students who I’m hoping will be as equally thrilled as I am when they hear the results.
Henry and I are planning to link up again next year but this time to also involve his students at the University of Huddersfield. I’d love our music students here at the University of Lincoln to get involved too.
If you weren’t a Graphic Design Lecturer what would you like to be?
I often wonder what would have happened if I’d stuck to my original plan at the age of four to become a train driver. (I guess diesel never had the appeal of steam). After graduating I was accepted into a post graduate teaching course but realising school teaching would be a mistake for me and possible ‘a trap’ leading to a situation where I would find myself teaching but not practicing I quickly closed that option off by declining the offer. So instead I became involved in making a living in community arts and running freelance workshops, whilst setting up my studio. To make a living solely from my artwork would be nice, but also, I think a somewhat solitary career. I’m not sure there’s anything I’d rather be than involved in education and the creative arts. I really enjoy helping creative talent grow therefore even if I was able to make a living through selling my work (highly unlikely as commercial considerations aren’t something I’ve ever pursued) I’d also still want to be involved in arts education in some context.
it’s a zine thing
Oonagh Monaghan
It was a well-attended and popular event with some amazing zines produced for the Library collection. From artistic expression to personal themes, the whole zine-making process was captured in a couple of absorbed hours. The results included a zine based on the book ‘Little Women’, one on ‘Life on the Autistic Spectrum’ and a zine based around a simple explanation of pronouns.
The collection has also inspired students from non-art or design programmes. History and Heritage student, Jamie Markham produced a zine entitled ‘Queer Love: an Invisible History’. Before encountering the zines collection and attending the workshop, Jamie knew very little about
zines. The event allowed him to unravel a rich queer history of self-expression. He also wrote a blog post about it ‘The Zine and Queer SelfExpression’* where he investigated the history of queer zines and how they were a unique form of expression which provided community and belonging when basic human rights were otherwise denied.
Recently, Oonagh Monaghan, Subject Librarian, attended a fascinating talk by two librarians from the London College of Communication (LCC). The talk was entitled ‘Shocking girls, riot zines: stories of feminist self-publishing throughout LCC Zine Collection’. From ‘Shocking Pink!’ to ‘Bikini Kill’ to ‘Reassess your weapons’ to ‘One of my kind’, from
In December 2022, the Library held its first Zine workshop.
DIY menstrual pad making to sex workers rights to black punk girls to self-defence strategies, zines have been throughout history precious tool for women, girls, femmes and gender minorities to raise their voices, organize, and rebel. Eleanor Parker and Blanca Garcia Paja presented some of these voices, stories and revolutions that populate LCC Zine Collection, one of the largest in the UK, and the zine librarian’s responsibility to keep their spirit alive.
These two librarians have been invited to speak at a School of Design Equality, Diversity & Inclusion event in April entitled ‘You want to make a zine? Here are the rules’. There will also be a zine making workshop for the students to get creative after the talk.
The event is funded by the College of Arts EDI committee with the aim of facilitating engagement
with the School of Design’s students through creating a safe creative space to discuss EDI related issues which they are passionate about. The longer-term aim is to facilitate the development of a student School of Design EDI Committee.
Zines have a long history of being used by marginalised and excluded people and communities due to their DIY and self-publishing format.
As a school of designers and makers finding creative ways to engage with ideas is important – making physical things that are visual and are tangible expressions of voices and experiences is important to our student body. The project is a collaboration with members of EDI committee, School of Design Technicians, School of Design Subject Librarian Oonagh Monaghan (also EDI committee member) and students.
*https://library.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2023/02/15/the-zine-and-queer-self-expression/
The University of Lincoln: School of Design
As part of a vibrant and innovative university, our students have the opportunity to mix with peers outside of the visual arts, socially, and through multi-disciplinary teamwork. We are a design school within a dynamic university, with all the considerable benefits this brings. Situated in the heart of a beautiful and historic city, the University of Lincoln has established an international reputation for the quality of both its teaching and research.
Our students annually win international design awards, such as the RSA Student Design Awards and D&AD New Blood Awards. Our innovative ‘Student as Producer’ initiative offers students the opportunity to engage in real academic research and external professional projects.
All of this design activity takes place in two purpose-built facilities with specialist studios, labs, and workshops. We aim to provide spaces in which our students can explore design, share their ideas through practise-based learning, and critically appraise the world of design. This is what attending university is all about.
You can discover more about the Lincoln School of Design by meeting our students and staff. We look forward to welcoming you to an Open Day or degree show where you can experience our School and facilities for yourself.
For more information please contact:
Head of School: Ian de Vere
IdeVere@lincoln.ac.uk
Deputy Head of School: Stewart Bibby
SBibby@lincoln.ac.uk
Art Foundation Year: Heather Connelly
HConnelly@lincoln.ac.uk
Creative Advertising: Dave Pettitt
DPettitt@lincoln.ac.uk
Fashion: Ann Draycott
ADraycott@lincoln.ac.uk
Illustration: Keith Hume
KHume@lincoln.ac.uk
Graphic Design: Barrie Tullett
BTullett@lincoln.ac.uk
Photography: Graeme Oxby
GOxby@lincoln.ac.uk
Product Design: Paul Sinclair
PSinclair@lincoln.ac.uk
https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/lsd/
