Lincoln Illustration Lecture

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

I thought I'd share with you what I've been up too recently. November has already been a busy month, which I have loved every minute of and there's still more to come!

A few weeks ago I was asked by the Illustration Department at  Lincoln University whether I would be willing to talk to some of the third year students about my work and how the MA Design Programme had informed my practice and I of course excitedly said yes!

So on Monday 17th November I spent a full day lecturing to the 2nd Year and 3rd Year Illustration students. I firstly introduced myself and explained how a lot of their visiting speakers probably talk about their working experiences- to give them an insight into the industry their going in too. But my presentation was going to be slightly different, I was more focused on showing them my work and what to expect after uni.

I wanted to speak quite honestly and open about my journey through Illustration, including the highs and the lows. I think a lot of illustrators suffer from creative block from time and time and it can get very frustrating and disheartening when a project isn't turning out exactly how you planned.
I reassured the students that this perfectly normal and problem solving is why creative people love what they do so much.

I know if I found the creative process easy then I would get very boring very quickly; but I think taking risks, challenging yourself and making mistakes are all part of the creative process and need to be practiced, whatever stage in your professional career.

All the students in 2nd and 3rd year were really engaged and came up to me afterwards to talk individually. They all had different thoughts on where their practice might be heading and I know a few of them were considering continuing in education towards a Masters. I hope some of the advice I gave them was taken as food for thought , as everyone's experiences and opinions are different.

Here's a few images of my Portfolio that I took in to show the students, they all seemed to really like the stock I had printed on, which is 300 gsm Somerset Printmaking Paper. We all agreed that printing on nice stock gives the work a richer quality.

A3 Box Portfolio
The box portfolio is effective when prints need extra attention and need to be handled.

A3 Box Portfolio
Left- Boxing Cows, Giclee Print.
Right - Run Rabbit Run, Giclee Print

A3 Box Portfolio
Left-  MA Dissertation 'Stepping Beyond the Familiar'
 Right- Giclee print called 'Have you got any Polos?' 

Thanks to the Lincoln Illustration Department for inviting me to talk to the students and the students themselves for being engaged and enthusiastic throughout my time there

If students would like any advice or the notes from the slides them please contact me via email at jessicarawlings1990@hotmail.co.uk

Keep your eyes peeled for my next blog post about working with my old college on a Chatsworth House commission.

Thanks for looking
Bye for now

Sheffield Print Fair @ The Millennium Galleries on 10th May 2014

Hello Everyone

Exciting news! I am pleased to announce that I will be exhibiting in the Sheffield Print Fair at the Millennium Galleries on Saturday 10th May.
I looks like it going to be a great day full of talented artists and printmakers.
Here's a link to the website below where you can find more information about the day and a list of the exhibiting stallholders

http://sheffieldprintfair.blogspot.co.uk/






If your around in Sheffield on 10th May then why not pop by and say hello, hopefully you'll find lots of inky goodies there!

Now to get planning some more prints for it :)

Illustration Presentation

Hi Everyone!

I  presented to some of the undergraduate students at Lincoln University today, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to talk to them about my work and my experiences, as I was in the same position as them 2 years ago. The presentation was titled 'My Journey through Illustration from BA-MA'.

I talked honestly about the transition from undergrad to postgrad, what happened after my degree and also why I chose to undertake a Masters course. I wanted to show the students how my work has changed and developed over the past 2 year and wanted to give them an insight into the approaches and processes I use. The talk was then followed by a discussion about the definitions and boundaries regarding illustration and art.

The students were fully engaged throughout the talk and asked lots of insightful questions. Some of the students were thinking about studying a Masters and others were interested in my plans after the MA.

At the end of the talk some of the students had a look through my portfolio and asked a few more questions about the techniques I use. I then had the opportunity to look at some of the students work, which was really interesting to see what they were all up too in the studio.

It's been a great experience for me and something that I'd love to keep doing, I'd like to thank all the students for their comments and if anyone would like a copy of it or would like to chat further then email me at jessicarawlings1990@hotmail.co.uk. 

Work in Progress

Some work that I'm thinking of screen printing, need to get my hands inky again soon!!

Let me know your thoughts

Work in progress

Here's a sneak peek of what I am planning at the moment, the images are in black and white at the moment as they are going to be screen printing.. still deciding on colours

The work is in response to my different journeys I've taken during summer and how the objects are related to folklore and mythology, more to come soon

Thanks for looking! Comments welcome

Quick Snaps

Its the start of the academic year and I couldn't be happier with the feedback I have been getting about my work, which is being currently exhibited in the new art and design building at Lincoln University.
 I've got one more year left of the Masters and it is going to be extremely interesting and exciting to see how my work develops and changes over that time.

Its going to be lot of hard work and dedication but I know it will all pay off

Here are a few snaps of my work in the exhibition- enjoy!

Exhibition time!

Its that time of the year when Lincoln postgraduates students have the chance to exhibit their MA work,
so today I have been designing some new business cards to be on mine stand for people to take away with them.

The exhibition will be in the new art building in Lincoln on Friday 13th September, not long to go now- getting excited!! If you find yourself in Lincoln then drop by and let me and the group know what you think of it, we'd love to hear your thoughts and comments.

More updates to follow.

For now here is a little sneak peek of what I will be showing: