Fearghal's Book

I have a new(ish) nephew! He's a dote and also happens to be my Godchild. I recently made him a present which is a book about his short life so far. The book includes details of his family tree, the day he was born and other famous folk he shares his birthday with. There's also spaces throughout the book for his parents to fill in as he grows up.

The portraits in the book are a mixture of mono-print and watercolour. The line quality of the mono-print combined with the subtle pastel water colours enabled me to achieve the softness I was after in the drawings. It was a slightly different way for me to work but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Some of the other spreads are more design based where I collaged different photos and graphics together. The pages are french folded and hand bound using a single sheet bind technique.

Wemakegreatthings

I've started a collabarative project with my good friend and fellow illustrator Lizzie. We met at college in Camberwell but now she has abandoned the northern hemisphere for the sunnier climes of her homeland, Australia. It's all very sad here in London without her (sniff), but thanks to the wonders of modern technology we can continue work together in a cross-continental collaborative way (yah!).

Wemakegreatthings is the title of our joint blog. We picked the name because we both have a strong craft element to our work and we share an appreciation for hand-made processes. We both approach illustration in a mixed-media kind of way, employing lots of different techniques including print-making, collage, sewing and (more in Lizzie's case) 3d elements.

I'm really excited about our collaboration!

Pogonology in progress

I've come to the conclusion that things take approximately four times longer to do than I think they will! Producing this book has been a very labour intensive process and involved a lot of planning. It was a step by step process - Screen printing the illustrations, aligning and overprinting the letterpress, trimming down to size, folding the sheets, embroidering each page, binding the sheets and attaching the cover. Each stage posed different challenges to be overcome and I've learned a lot about hand-made processes.