Primary Research • Documentation of gallery visits / trips I've been on over the course of the year and how they've inspired me
R E D D O O R G A L L E R Y
R E D D O O R G A L L E R Y
I really enjoyed my visit to The Red door gallery in Edinburgh located in the beautiful old town. They have a vast collection of products and prints showcasing the work of both established and up and coming creatives.
‘Credited with being ‘one of Edinburgh’s most varied and interesting art spaces’, we stock a large selection of art prints from over 100 illustrators (screenprints, giclee and digital prints) sitting alongside designer products, fashion accessories, knitware, unique homewares, jewellery, artist cards and wrap.’
A few months after visiting the gallery I emailed them with regards to potentially having my work displayed one day. Being the first people I have contacted I am quite nervous but realise that i can only benefit from reaching out and building connections with other professionals.
Considering my own practice, I could see my work sitting well in this environment and wondered if this would be something that could be a possibility for the future. I chatted to the owners of the store and they would indeed welcome new talent and told me not to hesitate to get in touch.
Hello again! My name is Sophie Kilmartin, and I am a third year illustration student at Leeds Arts University. I had the pleasure of stumbling upon your store during my visit to Edinburgh last week and was so inspired by your beautiful collection of products and prints from emerging creatives like myself. After our wonderful chat, I am emailing with regards to discussing the possibility of selling my work in your shop in the near future. I have attached a link to my website if you would like to check out my portfolio. I look forward to hearing from you soon! Best wishes, Sophie Kilmartin
H O U S E O F I L L U S T R A T I O N
I visited The House Of Illustration in London during the summer. - During which I got to see three very dierent but equally interesting exhibitions. - Jacqueline Ayer, Quentin Blake, and Anime Architecture.
The gift shop was one of my favourite parts of the trip with so much amazing artwork. - I bought some beautiful prints to remember my journey by!
H O U S E O F I L L U S T R A T I O N
Jacqueline Ayer Jacqueline Ayer's picture books were a remarkable addition to 1960s America. Documenting her family’s life around the back lanes of Bangkok, they were the first books published in the US to depict Asian culture authentically. The Paper-Flower Tree and Nu Dang and his Kite will be reissued by Enchanted Lion Books to coincide with the exhibition, for the first time in almost 60 years. Born in 1930s New York to Jamaican parents, Ayer grew up with Milton Glaser in the first interracial housing in the US. She illustrated for Vogue and worked alongside Andy Warhol before moving to Thailand in the 1950s. She also founded fashion company Design Thai, creating textiles and garments without colonial overtones – her reference book Oriental Fashion is still used by London College of Fashion today.
- I am really inspired by her colourful -
illustration and beautiful narratives. Her work really stuck with me! love her approach to documentation illustration - her images have a sense of urgency / fast pace to them. In the moment.- often contrasted with fine details I admire her use of fine mark making against bold block colour. Images are striking. strong use of negative space I am inspired by her link between illustration and pattern/textiles design. It makes me reflect on my own practice and how I've begin to use nature observations to create pattern. - A process which is working harmoniously for me at the moment.
Quintin Blake “These pictures are the product of half a century spent bringing characters to life on the page. In The Life of Birds Blake follows the path of great illustrators – Grandville and Lear – and fabulists – Aesop and La Fontaine. Blake’s birds are more like novelists’ characters than moralist’s examples. Like Daumier, he creates individuals who are examples of, but not reduced to, types. The drawings are, by turns, insidiously charming, absurdly sad and fiercely observant. They suggest feelings about getting old, about the life of art, about the insufferability of silly people and the unpleasantness of bullies.”
Millennium Gallery - Sheffield
H O P E I S S T R O N G
I was really moved and inspired by this exhibition…. although it doesn't directly link to my current practice, it did remind me of my interest in using illustration to raise awareness of subjects that I am passionate about. Through extended practice I am focusing on mythology, nature and pattern design, and with the time remaining I don't feel that I will be able to take on social/environmental issues within my current projects. However, it doesn’t mean that i’m not able to approach this after Graduation. My exploration of nature through Lino cut and print, could transition into tackling conservation and animal welfare issues.
‘With far right parties and hate crimes on the rise, civil liberties and minority rights seem more at risk today than we could have imagined. In these turbulent times, Hope is Strong explores the power of art to question the world we live in.
See work by one of the world’s foremost politically motivated artists, Ai Weiwei, alongside Jeremy Deller's The Battle of Orgreave Archive (An Injury to One is an Injury to All), chronicling the confrontations between police and striking miners in South Yorkshire.
Hope is Strong will also feature work by Conroy/ Sanderson, Ashley Cook, Kate Davis, Ruth Ewan, Jamie Fitzpatrick flyingleaps, Mona Hatoum, Sharon Kivland, Goshka Macuga, Ciara Phillips, Keith Piper, Olivia Plender, Hester Reeve, Sean Scully and Artur Zmijewski.
Hope is Strong is part of our 2018 Protest & Activism season supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund marking the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act.’
J O H N R U S K I N
‘Discover a collection created for Sheffield’s workers over 130 years ago; a collection designed to inspire creativity and to be a haven from the busy workday world. John Ruskin, who formed this collection, was a Victorian writer who searched passionately for beauty in the world around him. He explored nature from the smallest pebble to the mightiest landscape and examined art from the daintiest brush stroke to soaring architectural structures. Visitors to the Ruskin Collection will see a broad range of exhibits, including early renaissance art, gothic architecture, engravings, mosaic decoration, illustrations of birds, flowers, insects, geological specimens, illustrated books and medieval manuscripts.’ I a finding myself to be very drawn to nature as of late, and seeing the beautiful work of John Ruskin has encouraged me to pursue this interest in my practice. The delicate line work and details are charming and make a really lovely collection of work. - I think I am beginning to overthink the content of my extended practice and reaching a creative stump. It would be nice to create a series without a specific end goal in mind - just a simple collection of nature illustrations or prints. - From his vast collection you really get a sense of how much Ruskin enjoyed spending time amongst nature. I too enjoy emerging myself in wild life and find it to be calming inspiring.
B O T A N I C A L G A R D E N S
A day out in Sheffield turned out to be great inspiration for extended practice! I visited the botanical gardens and was captivated by their array of beautiful flowers and plants. From British wildlife to the tropical - it had everything. This trip really affirmed my love for nature, and my interest in exploring it through my practice. I’ve been feeling stunted with certain projects of late - and no matter how I'm feeling with regards to other briefs - I revert to drawing nature. whenever I'm stressed being in the outdoors always calms me! Im learning to do what I enjoy and think that this is an indication that I should create a project evolving around wildlife of some kind. After this trip I have decided to keep a sketchbook around nature, with the potential to become a zine / lino print collection / perhaps even pattern making?
M O R E I N S P I R A T I O N
- Over the year I documented a vast collection of artists work who i’d discovered out and about. Here is a small collection of some examples! I think it’s so important to always be on the look out for inspirations - I have discovered some great up and coming illustrators who's work i now follow. Moving on from this - i need to start building more connections. especially with other emerging creatives! - Its always really inspiring to see other emerging illustrators and printmakers and their work in context. It encouraged me to reflect on my own practice and allowed me to picture where id see my work. - i’d also like to be selling prints and publications in independent art and print shows - Seeing others work in context has also allowed me to consider many forms of application that they apply their product to. For example taking a print and applying it to pattern and product design. There are so many possibilities and ways that I could expand and tailor my designs for different purposes.
Nature - A key inspiration to my practice. Update - currently I am expanding my nature illustrations into pattern design. I have begun developing pattern creations which directly reflect my woodland walks around the countryside. It’s really nice to begin to visually represent my experiences with nature and apply simple observational drawings to greater use such as pattern. Nature has such a desirable aesthetic that is in demand within the surface design industry. Print and printmaking links well with this fabric design - So the continuation down the path of nature might inspire might influence the direction of my practice quite heavily.