Postcard Collaboration

I finally got round to sending off my postcards to Katie Scott who I interviewed for my 'Picaresque' project, and I got them back off her today (along with my book I left in London) which I was pretty excited about. So here they are.. I'm really happy with how they turned out. When I get a free moment or maybe over summer I might play around with colouring them because I think some could work really well in colour. I definitely want to collaborate with people more in future, it's something I've really liked doing both in this little project and the collaborative project we had earlier in the year.

Reflection time..

Looking back on it, the whole Picaresque project has been really good for me and has benefitted me in lots of ways.
When we first started it I wasn't really that keen on the idea of travelling to somewhere I had never been to have a conversation with someone I'd never met before. Looking back on the whole day though it was definitely good for me to get out of my comfort zone which is something I don't do very often and will make a real effort to do more of in future. I feel it's important as an illustrator to always test what you're capable of, push yourself, and break out of what you're used to.
It was the first time I've felt quite professional since I've been at uni and it felt like how I imagine it is to go meet a prospective client for the first time which is something I would not be as nervous in doing now.
As well as giving me an insight into meeting new people on a professional basis, Katie also gave me a lot of ideas about getting your work out there, and what it's like working as an illustrator after graduation. It's made me consider actually being an illustrator post-university, where as before I was certain I was going to use my degree as a starting point for something else creatively based such as advertising. As well as this she showed me her process of how she creates her work, this taught me a lot in that I've always thought my work needed to be more 'finished', and seeing Katie's process gave me a few ideas at how I can achieve this.
Picaresque for me went far better than I imagined it would and was far more useful than I thought it would be. It's really given me the incentive to pull my finger out a bit and make the most of my degree and at the same time start making connections on a professional level and get my work out there more.

Video Interview..

This is a section of the footage I got of the actual interview with Katie Scott. Over the Easter holidays I am going to edit together a proper video using all the footage but this is just a taster.

Diary..

These are a few pages from the diary I kept to show my journey throughout the whole process of interviewing an illustrator. The diary itself is ongoing for now but I will submit it as part of my final portfolio where as for the first Picaresque deadline I will just submit this blog. By the time the final submission comes around I will be able to submit:

• This Blog.
• My visual diary - including written, drawn, and photographed media.
• A collaborative series of postcards done with Katie Scott.
• A Film interview - edited.

As mentioned above Katie said she would be willing to do some collaborative postcards through the post or something.. I am going to do those this weekend from my end and post them off to her. I also left my book at her apartment so I'll be able to get that back through the post which will be nice because I'd just got to a really good bit.

Also, as I said I video recorded the whole interview which I am going to edit together nicely (hopefully) so it becomes more of a final outcome rather than just loads of different footage jammed together. I haven't had chance to do this yet but once imovie has stopped being so slow I will be able to post an example of the footage I took. Over the Easter holidays I will edit the video together ready for submission at the end of the summer term.

Stoke Newington.

After getting off a stop too early in Stoke Newington, I managed to find my way to Katie's apartment with the map on my phone which luckily decided to work for once.

She first showed me around her apartment which was exactly the kind of place I'd like to live in at some point in my life. I really liked that they had their own screen printing equipment in there too and her housemate mentioned how she'd managed to expose a screen in her room by blacking out the windows.

After a cup of tea and a chat (in which she answered most of my questions I was going to ask in the interview anyway) she showed me some of her work. It was interesting seeing the original drawings, before they had been edited and coloured. It gave me an idea of the processes she uses which was good knowledge to have for my own work. 

She also told me a lot of stuff about promoting yourself as an illustrator, and about the aspects you don't take into account until you get out in the real world like taxes etc..

After I had interviewed Katie we went to the post office so she could post some of her promotional packs (as shown in some of the photos) to various publications. I thought this was a really good way to find work, rather than waiting for someone to see your website/blog, you go straight to them. 

Then after a lot of hassle on London public transport, we made it to the Hunterian Museum which was where she was taking me in response to me asking her to take me somewhere important to herself or her work. Unfortunately it was closed because it was a monday! But after researching it when I got back I will definitely be going to see it next time I am in London.

Instead we went for a coffee and then to a book shop (..that's name escapes me) which was full of illustration and graphic design books. If it hadn't been so expensive in there I definitely would have bought something. 

35mm..

These are some of the photos from my day in London taken on an old 35mm Boots camera I have. I like using the film because I think the pictures instantly have more character, it's just a shame film costs so much to buy and develop or I'd be using it way more.

Leaving Cardiff.

Underground & Vertical Escalator 

Stoke Newington.

Stoke Newington & Katie's apartment.

BBC Merch and Cacti.

The Museum who's name has slipped my mind. It

was closed but I will definitely visit next time.

Crap photos of Katie's work.

Katie's Illustrations..

These are some of Katie's illustrations. Her work can be found on her website and her blog.

Oxford Train Station.

Waiting for the bus at Liverpool Street.

Katie's desk.

Katie showing me some of her work...

Promotional packages Katie sends out to business' acting like a portfolio/business card.

Questions:

These are some of the types of questions I am going to ask Katie when I interview her..

• Where do you get your ideas/inspirations from?
• What's your favourite medium to work in?
• What does an average day entail for you?
• What's your creative process when you get a new idea?
• Do you plan your work or it is more spontaneous?
• How do you promote yourself as an illustrator?
• What do you enjoy most about what you do?
• What are you working on at the moment?
• How do you get yourself out of creative slumps?
• What do you do in your spare time?
• What creative background do you have?
• What's the best thing for you about living & working in London?
• Are there any other artists/illustrators work you like at the moment?
• What plans have you got for the future?
• What was the most valuable thing university taught you?

Things to take to London:

• Wallet - money, train tickets, rail card.
• Cameras - digital SLR, boots 35mm, video Camera.
• One of my screen printed t-shirts - as a thank you gift for Katie.
• Pens, Pencils etc...
• Small can of Hairspray - to fix drawings on the go.
• Phone, Headphones, Book.
• Tube Map.
• Questions to ask in interview.

Plan of Action

Public transport and I have a love hate relationship. More often than not it goes wrong for me, resulting in missed trains & buses. For this reason I was not looking forward to getting to London, especially as I decided to break up my journey by stopping at home on my way which is about halfway between Cardiff and London.

My Plan was:

• Get the train from Cardiff to Swindon on Sunday 12th February.
• Get picked up from Swindon train station by Mum and drive home to Faringdon.
• Get up at 6:30am on 13th February and get the 66 bus from Faringdon to Oxford at 8:00am.
• Get the train from Oxford to London Paddington at 9:30am.
• Arrive at Paddington at about 10:30am.
• Get the tube to Oxford Circus.
• Get the tube from Oxford Circus to Liverpool Street Station.
• Get the 149 bus to Stoke Newington, where Katie lives.

I had only ever got the London underground on my own once before and it was not a fun experience. Luckily the directions Katie sent me were easy enough to follow and I made it to her apartment fine.

The First Stage:

The first stage of this project was to email illustrators who's work I liked to see if they would be interested in being interviewed.

I firstly emailed Claire Scully, who's work was quite an influence on me while I was at college. I knew she had done an interview with a student a few years above me for the same project so thought I could get her just incase I couldn't get anybody else. I emailed her and after a few days she replied but didn't seem to keen and after a few more emails never emailed me back..

The day after I emailed Claire Scully, I emailed Katie Scott who's work was much more relevant to what I am looking at in my practice. She replied and seemed a lot more up for it than Claire Scully was.
I found Katie's work because her illustrations are the album artwork for a band I really like; Bombay Bicycle Club'. Her work is mainly scientific style illustrations of fake human anatomies and other biological objects like plants and creatures. I thought it would be a good idea to interview her too because of the fact she is only a very recent graduate but seems to have made a name for herself already.
I arranged to travel to London in order to meet Katie and interview her as well as do some collaborative drawing and see where she lives and works. I also asked her if she would mind taking me somewhere relevant to her work - somewhere she gets inspired by or just somewhere she likes, to get a better idea of how she gets her ideas outside of the studio.