More Dignity

Apologies for the blog silence! I was ill for my week off (fun times!) and then was busy back at work/getting ready to go on holiday...which I am now! I swung a king size bed too because its in the attic where only midgets can stand up straight (I'm not short...but I'm less than 6ft+ like the other possible residents!). The first is the comic I drew as an example for the kids sessions which I'll scan once I get it back. Then there is the second collage I designed at the start of the event and then at the end, when we'd finish. There is the exhibition and the space it's in and finally Maureen and myself putting the final collage into a frame...we didn't want to have to come back down to put it up!

I'll probably post bits and bobs from the Lakes if I get the chance!

Sketches from training days

It's weird how I tend to learn incredibly visually. I've always been in trouble throughout school and collage for doodling during lessons but I realized when I was at sixth form that it really helps me to learn to be able to associate an image with a key piece of information. This is how I explained my bringing a sketchbook to our training days...instead of a notebook!

Ok this one was more inspired by Skyrim...

Dignity Poster Designs

Here are the sketches that were done for the collages. I started with rough sketches, consulted with our development worker Maureen and then chose a few to do larger in colour. We then chose two out of the four. I was inspired by the words freedom and being heard as well as drawing inspiration from album covers of the 1960s and propaganda posters, especially those of the second world war.

This was a little too heritage/countryside campaign

Everyone was a fan of this one but I felt it was less dramatic than the others. I do like the slogan though, taken from a nuclear war poster.

This was one of the posters that went on to be produced as a collage. I like how patriotic and empowered the characters look and the final image was really striking.

This was the other image we chose to create. This was far easier to make in collage because it's a lot more graphic and the shapes are much more simplified. I think perhaps that's why its so effective.

I intend to try and get some of these done as proper, finished artworks, hopefully next week when I'm on leave.

Dignity Month

Some of the promo stuff I made for the events. The initial poster, poster for kids session, the invite and the two word panels (words provided by attendees of sessions)

Our service was asked to put on an event for Dignity Awareness Day/Dignity in Care Campaign and we took it a little further...and made a month of it! Myself and our development worker put together a programme of sessions leading up to an exhibition that would both promote our service and the Dignity Campaign but also showcase all the work created. Myself and another sessional worker Michelle went on tour, using the awesome

(though sadly closing soon) Arts Hartlepool Unit to deliver a range of sessions starting with banner making on textiles with each person creating an A4 'patch' to be sewn into the bigger banners on what dignity meant to them.

We then wrangled a lot of children during half term to create their own 'Dignity Champions', superheroes that embodied dignity. First they designed and drew some amazing characters such as Potato man (he fills you up when you're hungry) and Rainbow Girl (she makes everything good). Some of the older ones made comic strips whi

lst the younger all made masks to transform them into their characters.

We then did outreach work with sheltered accommodation for which I designed a number of poster designs inspired by propaganda posters and 1960s psychedelia (don't ask) and then we made very large 'paper mosaic' collage versions of them, with two separate designs

, one of which was finished at the launch party rather than leaving me to do it all!

Our launch event went really well, with a lot of the participants showing up for cheese and cupcakes. It was definitely worth the blood, sweat and tears we put into getting it up in time!

More pictures to come. I seem to have left my memory stick at work...doh!

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog! Because of the nature of my work and because monsters really didn't have a huge deal to do with me I've created this blog as a replacement. I'm hoping my followers will find their way here! I stopped blogging for a while but I'm hoping that'll change now! I've been sorting myself out. I've got myself a job delivering sessions, primarily art, to people with mental health needs after doing odds and ends with various groups all over the North East. I've been really lucky to be there from the start of the service and work as part of a great team. I also get to do illustration and promotional material for them as part of my job too! I'm hoping now I have an income I can get back to my blogging, drawing, creating and all sorts. I'll include some of my work that I do for work (examples, promotional material etc) but also stuff I've been doing for myself too. I'm also updating the look of my blog so don't worry if it keeps changing. Prepare for a bombardment whilst I do some catch up!