Falmouth Illustration – Our Cabinet of Curiosities
The project is a speculative book cover for John le Carre’s ‘The Night Manager’. Ioana created this book cover as a submission for the Penguin Student Design Awards, whilst in her final year of study on the BA(Hons) Illustration course here at Falmouth University. The goal was to design an eye catching adult fiction book cover that appeals to contemporary readership. Please click here for more information.
Personal work created during lockdown in London. Jason’s life in lockdown seemed to merge into an endless loop, emancipating ideas and directing his emotions out from his body into his drawings, proving to be both a meditative and healing condolence. Please click here for more information.
During the Falmouth Illustration Festival members of staff held and exhibition of their work to give an insight either their professional practice or personal creativity. Exhibitors include; Georgie Bennet, Keryn Bibby, Graham Black, Sue Clarke, Cally Gibson, Tilly McKerrow, Nick Mott, Chris Odgers, Mat Osmond, Nigel Owen, Linda Scott and Emilia Wharfe. The exhibition was supported by a Collaborative Zine project run by Hugh Frost with the theme ‘Passages’.
“Illustrations don’t have to end at the edge of their frame; let’s experiment! We will look together for ways of using panels, borders, composition and framing as narrative device.”
Judith Chamizo focussed on windows as liminal spaces during her workshop as part of the Falmouth Illustration Festival.
Illustrator and MA Online Illustration alumni Teresa Clark delivered a talk about her personal practice – discussing how found materials and mixed media practice can act as a meeting point/liminal space. After the talk, Teresa ran a workshop to explore the creative possibilities afforded by ‘happy accidents’, helping to free imagination and encourage students to relish the accidental and to respond to the unpredictable
Students embrace the simplicity and naivety of drawing. Fail better and trust your instincts in a session that encouraged expressive mark-making as your own primal, creative language
Last week Linda Scott and Julie Ann Monks travelled up to Bristol with a group of Year 2 Illustration students for the first study trip for 2 years. Working closely with our co-ordinator and Falmouth Alumni Dave Bain, who graduated in 2005, our students participated in studio visits to Hamilton House in Stokes Croft, Dove St and Centre Space studios. Successful practising illustrators including Harriet Lee Merrion, who recently illustrated a Folio Society publication of Margaret Attwood’s ‘Oryx and Crake’, Children’s book illustrator Paula Bowles and others spoke with enthusiasm to students about their journey from graduation to the present day, with excellent advice regarding their process. Presentations from other illustrators included Dave Bain’s forays into designing and painting murals at hospitals and public spaces in the city, Paula Bowles’ stylistic transition over the years and the refreshing work of Molly Fairhurst, very much a rising star in the world of illustration who also delivered an inspiring animation workshop.
The week culminated in a pop- up exhibition in the Hotwells area of Bristol , with most students exhibiting for the first time , on the timely theme of ‘Liberation’ . A showreel of animations from Molly’s workshop, was also projected onto the walls of the gallery.
The theme for this year is Falmouth Illustration Festival is Passages, and we are delighted to be welcoming an outstanding line-up of illustrators, artists and rebels, each of whom will speak to this most timely of themes. Our 2022 guests offer fascinating and divergent perspectives on how we might turn, as artists and citizens, to find safe passage or passages to negotiate uneasy times both within our illustration practice as students and emerging creative practitioners.
Throughout the week we have an incredible selection of campus based and online events, from artists, illustrators, writers, academics and Falmouth alumni. The festival offers a unique chance to meet your peers from the entire illustration department, exchange ideas and work collaboratively.
Passages, launches on Monday 7th February 10am online followed by our first talk from Internationally renowned North American Graphic novelist Ben Passmore with cold takes on politics, riots, anarchism, and police brutality in the USA, joined by collaborator; illustrator and writer Ezra Clayton Daniels to talk about their 2019 Graphic novel BTTMFDRS, described as ‘Gentrification horror at its finest’.
Sessions throughout the week include the innovative Life Drawing Lab, from our tech team a variety of exciting and unique printing workshops including screen, mono, riso and litho based print. Louise Lockhart talks about her illustration business Printed Peanut and Ocean Rebellion founder Sophie Miller expands on their art and performance-based approach to activism reflecting on campaigns that have received national press coverage. Hot topics such as Corporate Memphis and ethics within illustration will be brought to life by illustrator Julien Posture.
We are also fortunate to have staff contributions including Linda Scott’s seminar; promising to open up a feminist and colonial critique on the relationship between science fiction and illustration. Barnaby Lickens-Richards will be giving a lecture on ‘Interest in copying: what is means to continually draw the same thing, looking at Russian icon painting, Native American Art and contemporary comics. Shefali Wardell is delivering communal drawing workshop inspired by devotional practices. Georgie Bennet is giving an online talk and workshop inspired by the #streedraw online drawing series. Nigel Owen is delivering a lecture on his own work over the last two years; ‘Slab Serif City’. Nick Mott, will present an improvised talk around the themes, visuals and sounds of his latest solo album and book of traditional collages: The Fall of the Human Empire. Merlin Evans, is giving a live performance centred on the theme of drawing as a ‘radical listening’. Natalie Hayes is giving a presentation on ‘plant-based’ choices to initiate discussion and collaboration within illustrative practice. Mat Osmond invites you to a workshop about the ecological crisis and asks what it might mean to get good at imagining the sorts of culture (and sorts of people) which might emerge from the processes of large-scale change we now refer to as ‘ecological crisis, runaway global heating, -and mass extinction. Carlos Garde-Martin will be opening up discussion with our MA Illustration Online Alumni focussing on ILL750 the Final Major Project. Rose Forshall is delivering a collaborative monoprint workshop on ‘Map Making’ using the theme Passages as a starting point. Keryn Bibby, founder of an award winning design business, will be giving tips for launching a successful creative business. Cally Gibson, Becky Haughton and Katie are delivering a print-making workshop throughout the week. To wrap it all up, Hugh Frost is organising a Zine Fair throughout the week with a drop off, show and sell on the Thursday and a staff exhibition.
There may well be more, they just keep coming, all incredibly exciting and a wonderful celebration of the talents and interests our course team have to offer.
We also have portfolio review workshops with celebrated illustrator Owen Davey, Found poetry workshop with Antonia Glücksman and an amazing collaborative workshop bridging traditional and digital media, culminating in a screen printing or riso print session form the fabulous Falmouth tech team.
Placed throughout the week we have alumni at various stages of their careers, from all three illustration courses for you to find pathways you identify with or feel inspired by.
We look forward to all our students joining us for Falmouth Illustration Festival 2022 and will post up photographs and film or the events over the next month
Best wishes, Keryn Bibby, Head of Illustration.
