Zine II

I think with Annie Edison Taylor throwing a cat in a barrel over Niagara to see if it may be safe for her, connected in my brain the dogs and other animals sent into space to check if we were safe to go. So I woke up wanting to make some work about dogs in space. I have to say I found it really disturbing when I found Strelka (below) looked so like my own dog Pepper. Anyway, I made a zine using images of Pepper and my friend's cat Fuzzy. 

These little four spread zines are great for exploring a subject, little repositories for research, and for someone who is essentially phobic of sketchbooks they have been a revelation. 

Cat book

I have been making cat books where the cats throughout the book share ears and eyes, I made one coloured and one black and white using the cut-out pieces to collage extra details on. 

Severus Lian 年糕太太

'Hiding in a fridge', I think has already entered the urban dictionary of phrases for cowardice in the UK so Severus Lian's illustrations are timely and funny.

Oleksandr Shatokhin VI

I love this illustration by Oleksandr Shatokhin so much, made me laugh out loud, poor poor flower!

Zine

The weekend started with a how-to video on printing using plastic wrap or cling film and then rapidly I became involved with making a zine, which I have never done before. I thought first to make one about victorian female mountaineers in their long dresses scaling the heights, but in researching this I became distracted and then compelled to find out more about Annie Edson Taylor and her death-defying journey down Niagara falls in a barrel. A zine is a great way to process and collate research for any age, I really enjoyed making this.

Janosch V

I love this style of Janosch, it's wonderful energy and colour. These illustrations are from 'Lazy Blackbird and Other Verses', by Jack Prelutsky.

Colour and cut

I made these, 'colour and cut' books as a demonstration last week and then went to document them further on a sunny day. I loved the way the bright sunlight added a whole new dynamic of shadow play to them.

Arthur Boden

'Boden's Beasts' by Arthur Boden published 1964 with photographs and graphics by John Woodside is charming and simple but I adore Boden's creatures especially the giraffe with sticking plaster patterns. It has a dialogue between Mr Boden and Lauren Jane printed in different colours for each voice.

There is also a Boden's Birds, which seems to be rarer, published in 1975.

Cut and collage

This week I made a tall book which I have called, 'Crown of crowns' a cut and collage book about the passage of a crown. I have been enjoying working with rich colours.

John Bond IV

John Bond's 'Minty'.

Olga Shevolya I

Olga Shevolya has been exploring glasshouses in her imagination, creating glass cages for fantastical beasts and plants from layers of watercolour.

Olga Shtonda III

I like this illustration by Olga Shtonda, the movement in the legs and the wonderfully grumpy face reflected in the petal framed mirror.

Bon BiiBiii

A cat in a shower cap, I love these bright colours, by Bon BiiBiii.

Chris Korobova I

The dapper and charming Monsier Tarakano by Chris Korobova, a character devised by his mother to make the cockroaches more acceptable housemates. 

"I am glad to introduce you to my childhood hero - 'Monsieur Tarakano'.
Don't know if you remember that there were a catastrophic number of cockroaches in houses and flats. For some reason I was afraid of these little ones, but one day my mum devised Monsieur Tarakano, he was the head of cockroaches family, but primarily a gentleman.
Mommy made up the stories about him, we were having fun and this fear of little beetles completely disappeared.
'Tarakano', went to the kindergarten with me, swam in grandma's compote and told secrets of cockroaches.
This is a cycle about a fearless imaginary friend from childhood that rings a bell in my memory to this day." Chris Korobova