2014 Year Book
We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat!
Introduction
We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat! is the 2014 UCA BA (Hons) Illustration year book accompanying the joint Maidstone Graduate Show at Free Range, Truman Brewery in Whitechapel between 27 June - 1 July 2014.
Never has the range of opportunities and contexts for production of Illustration, been as wide and exciting, as in the recent years. The traditional illustrative processes of drawing, printmaking, painting and bookbinding complement and often merge with new processes enabled by new media, such as digital drawing and illustration, digital photography, online publishing, moving image and interactive illustration. Illustrators produce work for production in the traditional terrain of print, in publishing, editorial, packaging and design, as well as new areas such as online publishing, illustrated digital applications, surface pattern design, games and exhibition design, television and product merchandising. The new illustrator needs to be adaptable, flexible and entrepreneurial in order to respond to the rapidly changing nature and opportunities which our visual culture demands.
The Illustration graduate show features work created using a variety of media and processes, from drawing, printmaking, painting, animation, surface pattern design, digital drawing, 3 dimensional model making, book arts and even an etched suit of armour! The intended contexts for the work are as broad as its means of production, reflecting the terrain of contemporary illustration. What connects the work is an underlying strength in visual narrative and storytelling. The title of the publication reflects both the changing location of the Illustration course from its home of 35 years and more at Maidstone to its new home in Farnham, plus the size of the year 3 cohort this year. It also reflects the transition of its graduating students into the professional environment and their future careers.
These are exciting and challenging times for our graduates to be launching their careers. We would like to congratulate them on their success on the course and wish them luck in their future creative careers. Their collective efforts to raise money for this publication and the end of year show are evidence of the entrepreneurial spirit that will serve them well in the future.
It has been a busy year in Illustration at UCA, with student trips to the Paris Book Fair, another intensive student and staff exchange – this time to Berlin, the start of a new MA Illustration at Farnham, the production of some of the first Lion and Lamb Press publications, not to mention the talks from a huge variety of visiting lecturers.
...and now the final voyage to Farnham is complete and we settle on a new shore.
After two years the move from Maidstone to Farnham is almost complete. We will be sorry to leave Maidstone, but Farnham offers new opportunities with its juxtaposition of other visual narrative based courses such as Animation and Film Production, along with access to additional resources and facilities. Our new location has the potential to enrich the courses core strengths and underlying philosophy, whilst broadening the methods and contexts of our graduates production. Consequently the move to Farnham, should not be seen as the end of an era, rather the beginning of a new chapter in the courses developing narrative.
Daniela Fox
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Illustration and Narrative
Contents
Extract from ‘The Coming Illustration’ by Joseph Pennell, selected by Jim Walker
Illustration is perhaps often associated with books as a weak supporting element for the authors text, whether it is a story or an editorial piece of writing. The foundations of this association has a long history and in part lies in the development of early forms of book production. In part the image was deemed to support the imparting of knowledge. By defining the image as a mode through which to communicate knowledge the illustrated image had to function as a neutral mediator it could not be seen to contaminate the text. This would imply that the illustrated image has no communicative value, that it lacks a language and is firmly removed from any form of deep expressive potential. Yet this assertion places illustration in a negative context that denies the complex history of illustration, particularly in considering it as a narrative form of communication that has a distinctive language and grammar of its own.
Pennell, J. (1913) ‘The Coming Illustration’ In: The Imprint 1 (1) pp.24-32
Introduction
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Illustration and Narrative
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Chapter 1: Graduates 2014
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Graduate Contacts Chapter 2: Exhibitions and Excursions
An example of the complex multi-layered narrative language of the illustrated image can be found in the illustrations for Laurence Sterne’s novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759). What is notable for the reader/viewer is that these images seem not to represent or show a clear subject, they do not illustrate a narrative scene frozen in time. Rather Sterne constructed the book to be enriched and liberated from its physical form by including illustrations such as, a solid block of black and another with marbled paper. What these illustrated forms highlight is that illustration demands more from the viewer/reader than they perhaps expect. In part they are required to revisit, refresh, rethink and reflect on the visual in a constant search for meaning. While we can instantly recognize and enjoy the illustrated narrative action evoked by Maurice Sendak, John Tennial, Oliver Jeffers, Laura Carlin and Quentin Blake. They also draw us into the matrix of the illustrations construction, we notice the differences in material, texture, brush strokes, pencil marks, the thickness and fluidness of line. These form part of the heart of the narrative language of illustration that all illustrators seek to explore and play with the hearts and minds of the reader/viewer. It is this richness of diversity that drove Joseph Pennell to comment that: “The illustrator – the real illustrator - is an artist who can show what the author meant to say and couldn’t - an artist who can make something out of his author.”
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Student and Staff News
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Origins
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Paris Trip
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Slow Commute 2
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Comica
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Chapter 3: Maidstone Archive
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Chapter 4: Illustration at UCA
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BA Illustration at Farnham
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MA Illustration
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Lion & Lamb Press
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Bookmaking and Printmaking
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Colophon
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Chapter 1
Graduates 2014
Leah Bray
Kirsty Saunders
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Roshney Patel
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Charlotte Tomlin
Christine Apiou
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Amy Lane
Adam Curry
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Jamie McCallion
Simon Bridgland
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Rhys Jefferys
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Victoria Conway
Natasha Murphy
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Ruairi Hayward
Ryan Wigley
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Daniel Saunders
Jake Bussell
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Philip Bajowa
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Michael Howdon
Jamie Drabble
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Cassey Schooley
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Melissa Sinclair
Serene Garner
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Hannah Burlace
Hannah Outerbridge
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Berenice Termote
Sarah Botting
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Matthew Alker
Amy Congalton
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Emma Bowden
Grace Frampton
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Libby Parra
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Daniela Fox
Becky Goosey
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Emily Richards
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Chapter 2
Exhibitions and Excursions
Student sketchbooks
Student and Staff News
Staff Research
Student Successes
November saw the launch of a specialist academic and research journal dedicated to Illustration at the fourth Illustration Research Symposium held at the Pitts Rivers Museum in Oxford. The first issue includes papers from the third IRS held in Krakow in which members of the illustration staff exhibited their work and present papers. The first issue is free and can be downloaded from: intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/viewJournal,id=233/
We are very proud to report this year has been bountiful with student success. UCA illustrators, students and recent alumni have been shortlisted for almost every notable competition and award.
Visual theory tutor Jim Walker is associate editor of the journal and has recently written an essay on the illustrative work of Joy Batchelor published in a book celebrating her centenary. Joy was the co-founder of the animation studio Halas & Batchelor who produced Britain’s first animated feature film Animal Farm (1954). The book was launched at the Barbican as part of a retrospective screening of Joy’s films. Jim Walker also curated and presented a commemorative film programme and talk about the life and work of Oscar winning animator Bob Godfrey at Bradford Animation Festival. Godfrey is perhaps best remembered for producing the animated series Roobarb (1974) and Henry’s Cat (1983). The talk was a lively celebration of his life with contributions from those who worked with him. The highlight of the event was Steve Bell’s demonstration of how he drew Margaret Thatcher for his newspaper strip and for the animated series Margaret Thatcher – Where Am I Now? (1999).
Alongside all the hard work for final major projects and preparation for the graduation show the current third year are already carving their way in the professional industry. We wish all of our students and alumni the best of luck. Melissa Sinclair has been shortlisted for the illustrious V&A Illustration awards. The nominated illustrations come from her bitter-sweet comical and poignant second year project Lars and the Real Girl. Winners and finalists will be exhibited at the V&A, London later in the year.
Becky Goosey has been shortlisted for the Richard Watts Charities Art Competition. Becky’s entry was selected from over 100 submissions all based around the theme of ‘Chatham Intra and lesser known Chatham’. The winning and shortlisted works were exhibited this April at the Nucleus Art Centre, Chatham.
Recent graduate Abbey Massey has been shortlisted for the prestigious A.O.I Awards 2014. Abbey’s intricately detailed map of Maidstone will be exhibited along side other winning and shortlisted entries at Somerset House later in the year.
Libby Parra has been shortlisted for the Penguin Design Awards. Libby’s design for the Puffin Children’s award title ‘The Outsiders’ will be featured on the penguin website when the winning entries have been announced in June.
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Origins
Paris Trip
A student-led group exhibition marks the end of year 2 and the culmination of months of planning and working on a wide range of self-initiated projects.
At the end of November the Illustration course organised its annual trip to Paris and the fantastic Salon du livre et de la presse jeunesse. There were three floors of amazing books from a wide range of publishers, small collectives and bigger publishers alike. Many of the illustrators and writers were there and it was a great opportunity to speak with them and get our books signed.
This year ‘Origins’ was the chosen exhibition theme and the selected venue was the Farnham Scout Hut. The students responded with very diverse and individual projects, which included short narratives, pop-up books, printmaking, oversized wooden coins and stories about beards among others.
We sampled some of the local cuisine and walked into tiny shops full of amazing food packaging and tins.
The 2nd year exhibition takes place in venues outside of the college environment, which allows for imaginative curation and gives students the chance to think about their work as part of a group show. The process is exciting, often challenging and it offers valuable experience in many different areas, from designing and curating to promoting and fundraising. Above all it is a real opportunity for the students to ‘test the water’ prior to the Final Show in year 3 and aim for even more successes.
On our third day we visited the Pompidou Centre, where a really inspiring drawing exhibition from the Florence and Daniel Guerlain collection was on, and finally had a brisk walk through the Paris markets!
ucaorigins.com
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Slow Commute 2
The project most importantly brings together students from varied and diverse cultural backgrounds, kinships are formed through the sharing of experiences and ideas about illustration and the potential of the medium.
The spring term saw the second installation of The Slow Commute. The idea for the project began as a conversation between UCA Illustration and St-Lucas Beeldende Kunst, Ghent about the mutual concern with reportage illustration, the process of travel and the role of the illustrator as interpreter and documenter. The idea grew into an international student exchange also incorporating Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design, Halle, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague and Polish Institute based in Warsaw.
This year the Slow Commute was hosted by the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design, Halle. Beginning their journey at the former Berlin Wall crossing Checkpoint Charlie, walking in teams, students spent 10 days journeying from the capital South West to Halle. Using only maps as guides the experience of travel and journey was open to interpretation and participants were invited to record and document as they saw fit; drawing, writing, photography, audio and moving image recording where amongst the media explored.
Students and staff from all five institutes meet in one of the host countries and would together undertake a journey by foot from the city centre, through the suburbs and into the rural areas then back into another major city. The process of commute would be slowed down; the experience of travel controlled in order to bring attention to the changing landscape which is so often taken for granted in the need for efficiency and promptitude.
Students Ciaran McGuiness, Naba Rai, Beth Peters, Christine Apiou and Stephen Fowler, visiting tutor and friend of the course, recount their experiences of a Slow Commute through the Germanic landscape.
Stephen Fowler Tutor The effect of seeing and hearing about student and staff illustrations from around Europe enabled me to see outside the confines of my own practice and has helped to inspire new ways of making illustrations and images. The seriousness of how they took their profession had a great effect on me. I felt set free to dance with my drawings and thoughts. The most memorable part of the journey was the makeshift party at the end of the intense 10 day trek. The Illustration Department was cleared of its desks. Decks and beer were installed, Atak (Georg Barber) played some great tunes and dedicated the Clashes ‘London Calling’ to the UK students. We all danced and jumped about well into the early morning. It took an age to say our happy and sad farewells.
Ciaran McGuiness First year student The Slow Commute enabled me to look at myself and my work, and helped me to grow as an artist and think of Illustration in different ways. The opportunity to meet artists from around the world, and learn from world class tutors in an amazing country has opened my mind. My work has benefited from seeing their art and discussing ideas all while experimenting with different mediums and sketching, drawing, painting while on the move. I would recommend this experience to anyone who has the chance to take up this opportunity in the future. There were two particularly memorable moments; the first was during the longest stretch of walking (17km) and although we were exhausted, we really bonded as a group while singing a multitude of songs including an amazing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. The second was when we took out some rowing boats on a beautiful lake at midnight, the stars, the company and the silence culminated in an amazing moment of clarity and appreciation for where we were and who we were with. 66
Beth Peters Second year student
Naba Rai First year student
The overall experience was definitely a new experience. I had a lot of fun walking with all the other students both from UCA and the other institutes. It was great to see work made by students from different countries. We all got on really well and there wasn’t really the language barrier you might expect. There was a great atmosphere, everyone seemed to work so well with and around one another (not to mention the party on the last night!). I think my favourite time during the whole trip was when we stayed at a hotel by a lake and at midnight a group of us took two small boats filled with students to the middle of the lake. We stayed talking until we were silent and just chilled. The Slow Commute has opened me up to stepping outside my comfort zone in the future.
The talks by all the tutors were great, it was a fantastic opportunity to get to know their work and also the work of the students. I will certainly be following them in future. I witnessed first hand how other students approached the walk and documented differently, there were some really interesting ways of working. My favourite memory was when we were on a boat one night on a lake and all of a sudden everyone became quiet and we just enjoyed watching the sky and taking in the moment. That was definitely one of many great moments.
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Comica
Chapter 3
This year students from the illustration course had a stand at Comica Comiket, at the new Central St Martins building, selling copies of their comics, postcards, prints and related ephemera. This is the third year of attending the event and the students work proved as popular as ever.
There were mixed emotions in the move of BA Illustration from the Maidstone Campus to Farnham. While staff and students were excited for the course to continue to grow and opportunities that come with any new change, there was still the business of packing up 35 odd years of UCA Illustration from the office and studios. Feelings of nostalgia and pride were stirred up as many prints, posters and books from former students were rediscovered. One particular treasure, an old small trunk, contained hundreds of promotional postcards from graduating students dating back to the late 1980s. The following images are a small selection of student work printed in tribute to the alumni of UCA Maidstone, BA Illustration.
Following the success of previous years, alumni from last year had their own stalls. These included Edie OP who has been making a name for her dark humorous work tag lined the ‘Sunny Side of Sinister’. edieop.com
The studios at Maidstone and even the doors of the Illustration studios were decorated with students artwork and there were cabinets of memorable 3D work and artefacts, some of which appear in this publication. These rooms created an atmosphere of communal creativity and passion for the subject, an ethos which is continued at the Farnham campus in our new studios with their excellent north light.
Maidstone Archive
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Chapter 4
Illustration at UCA
Rhys Jeffreys
BA Illustration at Farnham
The BA (Hons) Illustration course at UCA provides a creative and stimulating environment in which to explore visual narrative and communication. We investigate ideas, concepts and image making through drawing, book production, moving image and printmaking. The course gives students the opportunities to challenge the perceived boundaries of illustration, both in its practice and its context. It provides a creative and stimulating atmosphere where personal innovation and originality of ideas are encouraged. Students investigate ideas through drawing, text and image, sequential narrative, book production, animation, printmaking and creative writing. They have the opportunity to explore a full and diverse range of media, processes and techniques from drawing and printmaking to digital illustration and animation.
Resources and Facilities
Visiting Lecturers
The course has access to a wide variety of excellent resources and facilities. There is an extensively resourced print room, with screen printing, relief printing, etching, photopolymer printing, letterpress and lithography facilities. There are also traditional and digital bookmaking facilities, coupled with a digital printing/resources area, plus access to state of the art digital and animation resources, along with extensive 3D workshops.
We have been lucky to be able to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of over twenty visiting lecturers and speakers this year and would like to thank them for their continued support of the course as well as to acknowledge how their varied practice and experience can benefit and contribute to our students developing engagement with the breadth of illustration and visual culture: • Graham Rawle • Nick White
Teaching Staff
• Helga Steppan
• Jane Cradock-Watson (Course Leader)
• Leah Fusco
• Jim Walker
• Gina Cross
• Robin Chevalier
The Illustration course at UCA has a long and rich history of narrative and reportage illustration for books, prints and moving image. Its location in Farnham, with its excellent printmaking, book making, animation and craft facilities, along with the collaborative opportunities with neighbouring courses, provide an enriching and stimulating environment for students.
• Tim Ellis
• Iro Tsavala
• Orly Orbach
• Mireille Fauchon
• Olivier Kugler • Stephen Appleby • Nous Vous • Sam Arthur (Nobrow)
The course regularly has visiting Illustrators and Lecturers, who show their work and talk to students about their own working processes and the kinds of work that they undertake, as well as advising students on the development of their practice on the course. This helps to inform students about the contemporary professional practice of Illustration as well as inspire and enthuse them.
• Mr Bingo • Lucinda Rogers • Claudia Boldt (Loop Magazine) • Rosie Nicholas • Thomas Dowse • Stephen Fowler • Mickey Gibbons • Helen Ferguson • Pam Francis • Tony Richardson • Sarah Sutherland • Grant Petrey
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MA Illustration
The MA Illustration course offers you the chance to challenge the boundaries of illustration, both in its practice and in its context. Contemporary illustration practice has grown to encompass a broad range of ambitions and opportunities for the image makers and story tellers. The growth of online digital cultures and the impact of digital image making on traditional image making requires flexible and adaptable practitioners as well as providing unique opportunities for the entrepreneurial illustrator.
Jayesh Sivan, one of this years MA students says of his experience so far on the course: ‘I’m really enjoying the course so far. The course content is broad, which is great because it’s helping to expand my skill set. I am also able to hone in on my areas of particular interest. The lecturers and technicians are all extremely helpful and encourage you to experiment with different techniques and approaches, this is made possible by the great facilities and technology available. I have already highly recommended this course to a few other illustrators that I know, and they’re all impressed when I describe it to them.’
This course is primarily concerned with the illustrated narrative and offers a creative and intellectual environment in which you can rigorously pursue a project of self-directed study and the systematic production of a body of work on a topic of specific interest within the field of Illustration. It will also promote in-depth research to ensure that you are able to contextualise your own work in relation to the leading edge practice in Illustration. In recent years Illustration is increasingly seen in many different contexts in contemporary visual culture, including illustration for publishing, book illustration, book arts, comic strip, graphic novels and moving image. Illustration at UCA has a long tradition of original narrative and storytelling through images, reflecting staff expertise and practice in these areas. You will explore narrative storytelling, authorship, self publishing, book production and visual narratives through the development of a personal project. The MA Illustration course supports you to develop your own independent voice and to identify an audience. You are encouraged to take a self directed entrepreneurial approach, to develop and explore creative opportunities and options for your work. This entrepreneurial emphasis is supported by access to specialist facilities such as digital media suites, photography, printmaking and bookmaking. The course provides you with the opportunity for extended critical debate, a high degree of critical reflection and integration of theoretical and practical concerns as part of the realisation of an ambitious body of work.
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Bookmaking and Printmaking
Lion & Lamb Press
In 2012 the Illustration Course launched the Lion & Lamb Press, a publishing venture to support interesting projects from current students, recent graduates and staff alike. The Press encourages experimentation as well as collaboration between individuals, other courses and small presses in the UK and abroad. So far we have published four titles, including books by two students Elizabeth Peters and Mitko Karakolev. A new group publication will soon be completed in September, featuring responses from the course team and the extended illustration family of visiting lecturers. The intentions of the press are to promote the work produced as part of the course to book fairs and reinforce links with its partners, which can lead to exciting new projects.
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Simon Bridgland
Colophon
With thanks All the Illustration Academic staff team including: Jim Walker, Robin Chevalier, Iro Tsavala and Mireille Fauchon. Special thanks All Maidstone and Farnham support teams, especially: Frank Seiber, Martin Robinson, Jonathan Jarvis, Tony Lee, Sue Brown and Becky Bickerton. All Photography curtousy of members of the staff teaching team at University for the Creative Arts.
Design and Art Direction Studio Et Cetera and Jane Cradock-Watson Copy Editing Jane Cradock-Watson Printer PPG Print Publisher The Lion and Lamb Press
UCA Illustration Blog ucaillustration.blogspot.com UCA Illustration Twitter @illustrationuca UCA Website ucreative.ac.uk
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