About
I love drawing……it’s been a constant throughout my life, from school art lessons to a Fashion degree, followed by twenty years as a designer. A PGCE in Art and Design enabled me to teach Textiles and Art at secondary school and finally, as a retirement present, I allowed myself the luxury of returning to university to do an MA in Children’s book Illustration. For a long time, I had taken my drawing skills for granted they were just part of my working life, always with a purpose for design or technical reasons. Returning to university has reawakened my love of observational drawing of people and animals, which in turn has fuelled the creativity for picture making
Project overview
Belonging
My MA project is about “Belonging”. As a great joiner there is nothing better than being part of something, a family, a place, a school, a team. My book “Marina and the synchronised swimmers” is about a mermaid who wishes for friends her own age and how a mutual love of swimming and dance allows her to become part of a synchronised swimming team, eventually winning a coveted prize because they work together. The phrase ‘teamwork makes the dream work” relates to that sense of belonging where each person plays a role, and the whole is much more powerful than its component parts. I took the story into a nearby nursery and even though the children were small they could understand the characters making friends, making sure everyone was included. My second story is of Little Dee who lives at the end of the jetty, set in Lytham and St Annes, the place where I live and “Belong”. A cautionary tale about our beautiful but dangerous coastline during the Kite festival and the need for the services of the RNLI. The two books are totally different, the first is very colourful done in water colours, in a traditional format. The second has a limited palette with a vintage look, a concertina book housed in a slip case. The course has given me the opportunity to explore and experiment with so many types of media and to learn even more about the technology behind the production and printing of books.
Marina and the Synchronised Swimmers.
Team work makes the dream work
At the end of the Jetty
Little Dee.....at the end of the Jetty
Dress the Dolly Book
