Here’s the rest of the set.
(post by Tanya)
Digital Toolkit no. 2
Digital Toolkit no. 1
We moved house recently, so all our tools are (temporarily) in boxes in the dining room. Seeing them all together inspired me to draw them ...
(post by Tanya)
Cats & Dogs at Horniman Museum and Gardens
The Cats & Dogs exhibition at the Horniman Museum is now open. I created the identity with watercolour using a free and easy style that’ll appeal to young families. The design had to be flexible enough to work in every shape and size from the 5m banner outside the museum to teeny smartphone banners, so this was built into my idea from the onset. Fun stuff.
https://www.horniman.ac.uk/event/cats-and-dogs/
p.s. you might notice that beneath the framed poster are the Membership and Benefactors leaflets which I also created for the museum.
(post by Tanya)
Change up ahead
Here’s a sneak peak of a watercolour project I’m working on. More details to follow in February 2022. New Year is just around the corner!
(post by Tanya)
Destination Unknown
After a scenic trip on the Great Western, as soon as we landed in Torquay installation of the Agatha Christie exhibition began. I hear the show is popular with visitors, which gives me a warm glow.
Agatha Christie: Destination Unknown
Sat 11 Sept 2021 to Sun 28 Nov 2021
Torre Abbey
The King's Drive
Torquay TQ2 5JE
www.torre-abbey.org.uk/whats-on/agatha-christie-destination-unknown/
(post by Tanya)
Hands up
As hands are amongst my favourite things to draw, I worked them into my design for the Joiners and Ceilers show at the Guildhall Art Gallery a few months back. After getting client approval for the idea, I needed accurate reference photos. Luck was on my side as on the client team was master joiner Clive Turrell who was kind enough to pose for the photos. After a few pencil sketches, I scanned in my favourites and stylised them in Photoshop.
Initial sketch for client approval. (We didn’t use this particular pose in the exhibition).
Rough preparatory sketches
A few of the final illustrations used in the show
(post by Tanya)
Countdown to Agatha!
Only a few days to go until we install the new Agatha show. Curator Alice Graham and I have been working on it intensively since spring, so it’s great to see the work coming to fruition.
The show takes a fresh angle on her life and centres around the work she did with her husband: archaeologist Max Mallowan. Many times I’ve laughed aloud while designing - it’s her wonderful tales and quotes, you see... it seems Agatha is world famous for good reason! The star objects are original transcripts of her poetry, which are a revelation.
In a lovely full circle moment, I was already an admirer of hubby Mallowan. Since childhood I’ve visited the British Museum to gaze at the Assyrian reliefs he excavated. This led me to studying archaeology at UCL, where he was a professor in earlier days.
Right! Must be off to pack my tape measure, masking tape and toothbrush.
Agatha Christie: Destination Unknown
Sat 11 Sept 2021 to Sun 28 Nov 2021
Torre Abbey
The King's Drive
Torquay TQ2 5JE
www.torre-abbey.org.uk/whats-on/agatha-christie-destination-unknown/
(post by Tanya)
Environment Champions Club for the Horniman Museum and Gardens
I had real fun with this one. A set of x30 vector illustrations and poster designs for the Horniman Museum and Gardens. Find out more here:
https://www.horniman.ac.uk/about-the-horniman/climate-and-ecology/environment-champions-club/
It’s a timely post as there are stag beetles flying around our neighbourhood at the moment. They spend most of their life cycle underground as larvae (around 6 years) so it’s always kind of wondrous to see them take flight.
(post by Tanya)
Guildhall Art Gallery - Joiners and Ceilers exhibition
Here’s a few shots of the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers show at the Guildhall Art Gallery. Not only is the historical content really fascinating, the subject matter remains very contemporary: joinery and carving techniques have proved so robust and enduring, for centuries there’s been no need to change them. If you tune your eye in (as I have since working on this show) you start to see joinery everywhere – look around the room you’re sitting in and doubtless there it’ll be. Door frames, doors, windows, stairs … it’s like it’s coming out of the woodwork. (Boom, boom.)
A real bonus of this show is that the wall-mounted showcases, joinery samples, some frames and the leaflet dispenser were made by master joiners... this is art and craft in action! I do recommend it. And yes, that is bubble-wrap on the chairs - that particular shot was taken during install shortly after the 1754 Master’s Chair (on the left) was brought from the V&A. The chair on the right was made especially for the 450th anniversary which, in a touch of wit, has the dates 1571-2021 embedded in its very structure. The chair is 1571mm high and the lumbar rail is 20.21 inches wide. Clever stuff.
Show runs until 18 July 2021
p.s. If you’re wondering what a ‘ceiler’ is, it’s derived from Latin and relates to wood carving.
In other news, I completed an illustration project for the Horniman Museum several weeks back. Also recently designed a metal door bell panel for my studio building, plus I’ve started work on a brand new (and very exciting) Agatha Christie exhibition. It’s all go in the studio! More on all those projects soon.
(post by Tanya)
450th anniversary crest
Update: here’s the full crest for the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers. For maximum flexibility I created it as a vector so it can be used at any size. Scroll through to see all the colour versions.
In related news, I’ve just finished designing an exhibition for the Joiners and Ceilers which is due to open at the Guildhall Art Gallery next week. More soon …
If you liked this post, you might also like to see the crest I created for King’s College, Cambridge.
chutneychorus.com/crest-kings-college-cambridge
(post by Tanya)