Rolling stone magazine Minotaur reveal

Pixies Minotaur Boxset revealed.

Today I was lucky enough to see the finished and final masterpiece that is the Minotaur (see these past posts here, here, here and here).

I think it is the most beautiful thing my eyes have ever seen, you can order it here.

Below is a photograph I took for the box set, Art Direction by Vaughan Oliver.

Intervening the everyday

Intervening the everyday

I've been thinking about this a lot recently. I printed another 30 odd posters to spread around the Secret Garden Party festival but accidentally left them on a train, so if you find a green leather covered poster roll (snaffled from my graduation ceremony) on your travels let me know.

I like helping people, and I like to help people feel better, so I set out to create positivity for the people around me.

I wanted to steal a moment from their routine to show them that they can feel happier, better more optimistic, that there are reasons to smile. I wanted these moments to come from them, from their emotions and feelings in response to something I had given them. I did this by creating messages for them to see.

I started with a few posters that developed at a fast pace adding new messages and concepts. I had a camera by my side and a pile of posters ready to go up at all times. The initial interest in my posters inspired me to find new ways of intervening and intercepting the everyday in my neighbourhood. I designed stickers, badges and business cards. These designed pieces spread my messages to people by giving them something different and questionable.

When my community became Barcelona I took it there. I measured and documented the intervention though photography and created a book of my photographs and the stories behind the images.

Officially employed!

Next week I am going to start the first steps into my new job!

The contract has been signed and the studio is about to me built so after a couple of months waiting it's really going to begin!

Luke Pendrell the course leader of Graphic Design at the Unversity of the Creative Arts, Epsom asked me to set-up and run a letterpress studio at the Uni. It starts off that I work in an existing letterpress studio one day a week and spend a second day at the Uni setting up a studio with the press there. When the studio is up and running I'll be the technician of sorts and I'll be running workshops with the students.

I think it may just possibly be my dream job! Re-visiting what I had written as my career plan five months ago (here) reminds me of how perfect this job is. It's great to be doing something I am really passionate about as well as have access to a studio and running workshops! I am starting off my training with two days spent at Hand & Eye next week, and I'm really looking forward to getting back to those little letters.

Letterpress printer

Me at Hand & Eye Letterpress in March, photo by Rosa De Carlo.

Here is something I found on my computer. It comes at a good time to re-read it. I wrote it as a career plan for my final project for my degree back in April. Take a read...

I am going to work in a letterpress workshop, I will learn the craft and skill of printing and the technique and beauty in good typography.

I have done a two week placement at Hand & Eye Letterpress and enjoyed it so much, I have never learnt so much so quickly and easily. I even enjoyed cleaning the windows and dissing (putting away in the correct place) tiny type for hours on end when there was no printing to do.

I spent long days standing up with short breaks and no pay whilst sleeping on a sofa, but I really felt right being there. I like the tactile type, the beautiful prints, the impression of the type on the paper. There is so much to consider all the time, there is always something going slightly wrong or unexpected which needs to be corrected. There is such a sense of achievement when something is completed, and things are completed all the time. There is no panic or stress when things go wrong, I was packing 5000 letterheads to be send to the client when Phil realised one line had been positioned wrong. We threw them in the bin and they had to be printed again, that’s two days work for one days paycheck. But these things happen, letterpress is a risky business and it is part of the process.

I have always been driven by process, and feel that one of my strengths is my interest in learning new processes and techniques constantly. I immerse myself in as much information about something as I can and I try things until I come up with something I like. My passion for traditional print techniques began in the very early days of my degree, and I feel more than ready to get into the world and start really working with print.

I’ve only been away for two days but I already miss the routine, the people and the type. So I think I’ll try and find a press to work in, maybe as an intern, maybe part-time, maybe on a casual basis, maybe in America where the presses are bigger, better and further away.

As it is very hard to find working and busy presses who are able to take on staff or interns I will be looking for jobs and internships in all areas of traditional printmaking, paper and publishing. I have a few ideas, such as London Print Studio who featured in my design investigation are a really interesting charity organisation built on an amazing ethos of community, people and printing. They have internships starting in November and are in the process of installing letterpress equipment.

I dream of having my own letterpress studio filled with tiny metal type and giant wooden lettering and beautiful colour inks and a vast array of paper stock with the radio playing and people dropping by for cups of tea.

A rather nice view of a salivary gland

Sorry for the lack of posting recently, I am stranded far far away from my bits and bobs and my own computer due to an unexpected blockage in one of my salivary glands which has taken me out of action for now. I'm pursuing some letterpress work, which was meant to start next week but shouldn't be far off when I'm all better.

I found out about a billboard campaign in America stating optimistic facts about the recession, similar to the work I was doing during my degree to encourage optimism and happiness in my community which formed the content for my book Intervening the everyday (here). As for these new billboards the design isn't good but I think the intent is. For more info read on here.

Pixies Minotaur Exhibition and secret gig! UPDATE

As promised here are some more photos from the Minotaur Work in progress exhibition a few weeks back. More info in earlier blogs.

above: A shot of the Minotaur boxset content.

above: My photograph of Pixies spelt out of small metal type in a spread for the small book.

above: Photo I took as part of a shoot Art Directed by Vaughan.

above: the image on the right is from the same photo shoot.

above: and another from that shoot. The shoot also features in the Minotaur Digital Press Release number 2 (posted below).

All work has been Art Directed by Vaughan Oliver.

Lexicon Degree show Update

After a very scary incident with my memory card I have finally recovered photos taken over the last few months, including Lexicon, my degree show in May. More information on all the projects can be found in previous blog posts.

Me with my portfolio and a banner showing an image from Intervening the everyday book. The feather says 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People' words from the Jimmy Cliff song, printed onto the feather with a DIY stamp.

The A-Z of Patterns book as seen in the display case.

Intervening the everyday, a book about my journey to spread happiness throughout my community with stickers, post-its and business cards used in the intervention.

Amelia's magazine and Shelter Update

Here is one of my images for a competition run by Amelia's Magazine in aid of homelessness charity Shelter on the Facebook page. Much more info in the post below. My work being chosen to feature on the Facebook page doesn't mean it will be included in the quilt Amelia is making but it means somebody likes it, always nice. Have a look here for mine and many many other wonderful entries.

Amelia's magazine and Shelter

I've just sent these photos off to Amelia's Magazine as an entry for a competition. The winning entries will be included in a quilt which Amelia is making. The quilt will then be auctioned in aid of Shelter the homeless charity. The brief is to create artwork which represents the two of hearts.

I have cut out hearts in the shape of a two and used light and shadow to create images and photographed them. I couldn't pick one to enter so I sent all of these.

D&AD New Blood exhibition

New Blood starts on Monday and with all work printed, mounted and boxed up it's ready for the private view on Monday.

Everybody is welcome, just sign up at D&AD New Blood.

National Hall, Kensington Olympia, Monday 29th June private view from 6pm-10pm and Tuesday 30th June 10am-9.30pm and Wednesday 1st July 10am-4pm.

Intervening the everyday: remix

Pixies Minotaur Exhibition and secret gig!

Well last night saw the launch of Minotaur, the Pixies boxset I've been working on with Vaughan Oliver and 7 others since February. There was an exhibition of the artwork as a work in progress. This included the design and art direction of Vaughan and the photography of Simon Larbalestier, both of whom worked on all the five original Pixies albums.

The exhibition also featured a 40 minutes set by the Pixies themselves, which was amazing! The highlight was Kim Deal saying Thank you to Vaughan and his students, and actually mentioned my name! It was great to meet both her and Frank Black before the exhibition as well as Simon Larbalestier, who's photography lined the walls alongside ours.

My work was hung in the exhibition as spreads from the two books featuring in Minotaur. I also spent time with Vaughan last week preparing the artwork for print and composing the large banners. It all came out really well and looked great hung in the space at Village Underground on Great Eastern Street.

More of my own photos to follow but until I can get them from the camera to the screen these from official sources will have to do. Click here to buy Minotaur, or just to see what's included.

Post Degree post

Ok so what now? Since my Degree Show Lexicon I have been chosen for the D&AD New Blood Exhibition, which I'm working towards at the moment.

Me and my work will be at National Hall, Kensington Olympia, Monday 29th June private view from 6pm-10pm and Tuesday 30th June 10am-9.30pm and Wednesday 1st July 10am-4pm.

I have also been working on more Pixies things with Vaughan Oliver, details to follow very shortly, after tomorrows exhibition of the work!

I have been involved in talks about being in a collective involving artists from a range of backgrounds and working in lots of different mediums, our first exhibition is set for the end of July at Foundry on Old Street.

Phew, three Exhibitions in one post! Busy times.

Hand & Eye Letterpress part two

I've finally sorted through my photos of Hand & Eye Letterpress, where I spent two weeks helping out and learning in April.Faces in unusual places.
Six Elements of Good Typography, set by me in Baskerville.

Ready to print, a poster of an Eric Gill quote. Available at the Hand & Eye shop here.

Now sold out, available at Keep Calm Gallery only.

The quote is "If you look after goodness and truth, beauty will take care of itself" A lovely statement.

New North Press Letterpress day

The first thing I ever typeset.This poster was a collective effort by me and 11 other students from UCA Epsom. Early stages editing in progress above.The final version all inked up and ready to print.The first print of the run. The poster explains how what we do to procrastinate when we're given a new brief. These procrastination's seem to hinder the process of starting work but often turn into their own inspirations. This was a full group effort with each of us choosing one caption to typeset and print. Mine was talk.

The workshop was held at New North Press a few months ago.

Business card factory

So I've spent the bank holiday getting ready for my degree show, LEXICON (see below). I ordered some rubber stamps and and lots of yellow card for my business cards.

The idea is that you take a card with my details on and use one of the wooden stamps to print a message on the reverse. These messages are from my Intervening the everyday project. So after cutting and stamping 250 little cards I'm eager to see whether my idea will be a popular one.

Lexicon degree show

Well this week brings my degree show LEXICON at Truman Brewery, Brick Lane in London.

Come along from Friday 29th May until Monday 1st June, 10am - 7pm.

Take a look at my work on the official LEXICON website. I'm also represented at the Free Range website.

The skull symbol was designed by fellow student Phoebe Richardson

Pixies

This is the second press release for work I've been involved in for

Minotaur, a Pixies boxset with all new artwork including an over sized
72 page book.The work is all Art Directed by Vaughan Oliver who

designed all the original Pixies artwork. Simon Larbalestier the
original photographer has done a new set of photographs for Minotaur.

Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and Dave Lovering from Pixes are all

interviewed on the video, along with Vaughan Oliver and

Simon Larbalestier. More information at Artists in Residence

Exciting stuff!

Intervening the everyday

I like helping people, and I like to help people feel better, so I set out to create positivity for the people around me. 

I wanted to steal a moment from their routine to show them that they can feel happier, better more optimistic, that there are reasons to smile. I wanted these moments to come from them, from their emotions and feelings in response to something I had given them. I did this by creating messages for them to see.

I started with a few posters that developed at a fast pace adding new messages and concepts. I had a camera by my side and a pile of posters ready to go up at all times. The initial interest in my posters inspired me to find new ways of intervening and intercepting the everyday in my neighbourhood. I designed stickers, badges and business cards. These designed pieces spread my messages to people by giving them something different and questionable. 

When my community became Barcelona I took it there. I measured and documented the intervention though photography and created a book of my photographs and the stories behind the images.