Jonathan Gibb

From the first of May until the eighth of August artist, illustrator and printmaker Jonathan Gibb made a monotype a day using the erasers below to build abstract patterns, colours, and compositions in a 'hundred-day project'. Jonathan trained in art and design at Lowestoft art college and then went on to London Central St Martins and the Slade. He has been head of the illustration department at ECA for many decades and has just retired.
I am looking forward to all of Jonathan's new creative output, after his many years of channeling it much of his energies into the fantastic graduates of Edinburgh College of Arts Illustration

Nicola Fabian

At ECA jeweller Nicola Fabian has also been drawing inspiration from botanicals, her sketchbooks are meticulously pressed specimens and the results a stunningly beautiful, organic compost of silver flora.

"The South African landscape and my mother’s jungle of a garden are my sources of inspiration. This collection of work aims to communicate the fragmented and sometimes ambiguous memories of my childhood in South Africa. Arrangements of leaves, flowers and seed pods that remind me of home have been used to translate my memories into tangible objects. Transformed into metal through the process of casting, these natural elements are an imperfect and evocative memory of the original form and encapsulate the ephemeral nature of my memories. " Nicola Fabian

George Douglas I

I have been attending a weekend workshop coordinated by Picture Hooks and led by George Douglas. George graduated from ECA last year and works extensively with print and collage. The workshop concentrated on monoprinting and collage. Although I have taught and made monotypes and collage for years it is always good to see if you can pick up new techniques and approaches from the tutor or fellow students. Also after weeks working away in my studio, it's good to be working as part of a creative community.
Above are some examples of Georges risograph prints, below George demonstrating monoprinting.

Tom Wilson

Today I am traveling to the west coast to catch up with an old art school colleague Tom Wilson. Tom's work was always rooted in his love of the wilderness and flora and fauna. Here are some examples of his studies of nests and  the wing and feather quarry of a sparrow hawk.
I am looking forward to experiencing his local knowledge and guide skills and experiencing the wilds of Ayrshire on a wild late November day.

Margaret Simpson's Dog's of Portobello

Margaret Simpson's 'Dog's of Portobello'  bought a smile of nostalgia and memory as when I first moved to Scotland I lived in Portobello and had a black dog called Tilla with whom I spent many many happy hours playing on the beach with. Margaret Simpsons collaged illustration development sketches are on display at ECA.

Traveling and Adventure

I found this picture whilst walking in Edinburgh College of Art a few weeks ago, it made me want to draw the witches by Roald Dahl.

This week I am away from my normal workaholic routine and so I wanted to warn you that 'artroomplant' service may be intermittent. I am attending the Bologna International Children's Book Festival and I hope to find many wonders and joys to share.

Victoria Crowe

I had the good fortune to have the artist Victoria Crowe as a tutor for one of my years as a student at ECA. Because of this I have always loved following her art through exhibitions in Edinburgh and hearing of her through friends.
These images are part of a series of works called 'Winter Sequence' examining the changing light in the winter from snowstorm to moonlight through paint, monoprint, ink, collage and drawings. I absolutely adore Victoria's depiction of the bare winter branches and that wonderful dawn light on the top image is perfection.
Victoria Crowe is also involved with a large scale tapestry commission that is being made at the Dovecot studios in Edinburgh, to be completed in 2016.

Kittie Jones

Kittie Jones is a graduate of ECA now working at Leith School of Art. Her wonderful bright works are developed from rapid sketches and fleeting glimpses.

Astrid Jaekel

Above; Hans In Luck, Below; Astrids studio at ECA

I stumbled across Astrid Jaekel's studio when I went off the beaten track at ECA degree show, temped by these large articulated puppets of an old lady and a cat. The puppets are part of a character study that Astrid has been developing based on; 'The old Boys' by William Trevor.
Astrid is working partially with silhouettes and shadows, but she is also a painter and printmaker. I would love to see her produce a shadow theatre production but that's my bias, I love shadow puppets. I am really interested in where Astrid's work goes in the next year and looking forward to her degree show next year.

Catriona Stevenson

Catriona Stevenson a silversmith graduate of ECA creates work of beautiful clarity and clean design.

Ceramics by Ayalin King

These stylish vessels are by Ayalin King, who has just graduated from Glasgow School of Art. It is sad that so many Scottish Art Colleges have abandoned Ceramics, I hope this trend doesn't continue I feel that it is a valuable discipline that we should treasure. I was disappointed that Edinburgh College of Art have abandoned their Tapestry course, true not many of the tapestry students produced tapestries but it gave them something to rebel against and it was a wonderfully eclectic and creative course.