London

In my previous post I mentioned that I’ll be exhibiting two new pieces of work for ‘Into The Sun’ exhibition at A-side B-side Gallery, Hackney Downs Studio.

I have another exhibition coming up on the 1st July, and that is an exhibition revolved around the idea of myths, legends, folklore tales and imaginary creatures. W3 Gallery are hosting an exhibition called ‘A Story So Far’, which I am super happy to be part of. But not only that, they are using my piece ‘Fox Spirit’ for their promotional materials too!

The exhibition will be running from 1st – 21st July and for more details about the gallery please visit their website at http://www.w3gallery.org.uk/. Free entry to the gallery as well!

The_Story_So_Far

For more information about the event please visit their Facebook event here or visit their Facebook Page here.

I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Into The Sun

 

I’ve been pretty busy over the past few weeks as I’ve been preparing new work for two upcoming exhibitions.

The first one will be running from the 25th until the 20th of June. I’ll be exhibiting two new pieces of work for ‘Into the Sun’ exhibition, organised by artist Ivy Mei. The private viewing will be on Thursday 25th June at A-side B-side Gallery, Hackney Downs Studio.

Come by and say hello to us all! For more information about the group show please visit the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1451097908528392/

The gallery’s opening times are as follows:

Thursday: 12-5pm and 7-9pm

Friday-Monday 12-6pm.

All other times must be arranged via an appointment.

Hopefully I’ll see you there!

Renegade Craft Fair Flyer

The other week myself and June (June Sees) went along to Renegade Craft Fair: London at the Truman Brewery. There were certainly lots of stalls to see, however, we spent most of the afternoon there and I had such a good time meeting some very lovely artists/crafts peeps.

I had the chance to meet the very lovely Harriet Gray (Hello Harriet) and Luke Waller. I also bought a set of tattoos from her too (all will be revealed very soon!).

I took a few photos from the fair, but now looking back I should’ve taken some more!

Renegade Obe

Renegade Three Renegade Four

Oh No Rachio’s (above image) succulents were up for sale and oh so pretty!

Renegade Two

The next Renegade Craft Fair in London will be on November 7th and 8th. For more information about future fairs please follow the link.

enjoy_life

Well, I decided to quit my full-time job last week as I’ve been unhappy about it for the past couple of months. I think I needed that final push to break away from the comforts of it and to start a new career. I thought to myself for a while why should I be spending most of my days in an environment that’s mentally and emotionally weighing me down?

Think positive. Stay positive.

Create and make.

The other night June Sees and I went along to Bloomsbury Publishing’s illustration masterclass, which was run by the lovely and extremely talented Yaseem Ismail.

The masterclass was about the publishing side of children’s picture book and also looking at from the very first drafts to the final finished book in bookshops.

Yasmeen was full of energy and enthusiasm during the evening! She was sort of bouncing across the room from the projector to the whiteboard; really engaging the audience with her words of (very good) advice. I loved how she gave the talk based on her own personal experiences mixed with industry experience as it was interesting to see how she managed to get to where she is now. With lot’s of persistence, motivation, years of hard work, her dedication and passion really shone through during the masterclass.

Yasmeen was really direct and to the point about certain subjects such as finding your own style and how to get a good portfolio together. When she was talking about ‘style’, it took her a while to find a medium she was happy to work with. The most important thing she said about it was that there’s no wrong way in making images, which I whole-heartedly agree. Be inspired by things around you, when you’re down then take a break and go back to it.

In regards to the publishing industry, she went through each of the stages and how it filters down to getting in on the book shelves to parent’s buying the books for their little ones.

I don’t want to give too much away for those who haven’t been to it. I would recommend going if you’re interested in picture book illustrations.

By the end of the masterclass I was feeling very motivated and reflected about my own practices as an illustrator. I bought ‘Specs for Rex’ and ‘Time for Bed, Fred!”, both beautifully illustrated, and got Yasmeen to sign them both for me!

Yasmeen Ismail