Herb Lubalin and EROS Magazine, 1962

Whilst in New York we got to make a couple of special studio visits, but by far the best trip wasn't even a studio.

A couple of us were lucky enough to go to Cooper Union, where in the basement stowed away is the Herb Lubalin Study Centre for Design and Typography. We were met with the curator of the archive, Alexander Tochilovsky. It was a very small long room, more like a wide corridor really, and around a table he introduced us to Herb Lubalin.

We were there for over three hours looking through this amazing work, and we could touch and hold everything with our bare hands, even though some of them are the original works and sketches. Alexander said that the centre believed in sharing 'design as it was made to be experienced', and so we had all this opportunity to be up close to all these pieces as they were intended to be. I was most amazed by a series of magazines that Herb Lubalin and his studio made in collaboration with Ralph Ginzburg, an American author, editor and journalist called EROS.

EROS was a magazine about love and sex. All four volumes were published in 1962 (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and was folded when both Ginzburg and Lubalin were arrested; at the time all mail was censored and censorship in the 60s included anything of a sexual nature. Both of them knew that this could perhaps be the end of their careers, but it was a project that both felt they had to pursue. Lubalin agreed to work with Ginzburg if he had full creative control, and he became art director. There's a nice little section in Ralph Ginzburg's wikipedia page about it.

Anyway, when Alexander mentioned that these were still in circulation online etc, I knew I had to have them. I'm planning my dissertation at the moment, and I want to write about sexuality, which makes these invaluable historically. Not to mention that they're beautiful! And lucky me (and Hannah too!) got all four for about £60. Definitely worth looking out for online!

Yay! Unboxing video!

New York Sketchbook.

And yet another New York sketchbook!

It was really great to go back for a second time in such a short space of time, I feel really blessed to have the opportunity. I felt like it was a good way to experiment with the way I work, and make it look and feel really different. For a start, I decided not to focus too much on drawing in the first place. This time it was winter, so I think the bitter cold would have stopped anyone just because it would make our hands go blue ( honestly not a cop out, I got windburn THROUGH my trousers...). So I only really drew in two different places.

Hannah and I have been to New York before, so we went up The Rockerfeller with Rosa and spent a good four hours up there drawing. We went in the afternoon and so we luckily caught New York in three states; daylight, twilight and night time. I had so much fun drawing with them, and I don't think I've enjoyed location drawing that much in a long time.

To update you all, things have been looking up so far this term, and I'm so glad that I didn't leave the course this or last year. I really urge anyone who is going to or at university to see it through as much as you can. Obviously, university isn't for everybody, but it is also as much what you make of it as what they offer you at university. So far, I've been really enjoying these projects and I have been able to fulfil my wants and needs more than perhaps the briefs I've been given. But then I feel like I've been progressing which is, of course, the most important aspect.

New York Photography.

I am incredibly sorry about my lack of posts... It's possibly my worst hiatus yet! BUT it was not without good reason. It's been a super super SUPER busy few weeks and I've barely got time right now to take a breath!

Rosa, Hannah and I got the chance to spend 6 days in New York together with the Illustration trip, and we had an amazing amazing time. I took two films with me, and I took some obvious generic pictures (of course) but I have a few I can share with you!

I took a sketchbook and some surfaces with me too which I will share with you shortly!

As you can see, more piccys of Hannah Swanwick, but you know, can't help photographing such iconic hair...

Also was amazing to spend some time with Jack and Ariel as well!

Kingston University: Experimental Life Drawing, Amanda

Now this was a while ago now, but more experimental life drawing!

So thoroughly enjoyed this module, and it's totally up my street with my way of working. And I've LOVED working with paints as well, so hopefully it will encourage me to use them more!

Amanda was a real character, and was all over the place with her positions and accessories, which made for great colourful compositions.

Kingston University: POP Project continued

Our house has a small forest worth of wood in at the moment from mine and Ani's escapade, so I decided to take a few prints for research.

I decided I needed a whole succession of log cross-sections to myself. I went and spoke to Will, a technician in the workshop who specialises in finding greenwood for the Uni. These two pieces were just sitting by the river at the uni, and then it was up to me to clean them up! 

The bark was very soft, and the wood is too; it makes terrible furniture, but might just work for me. Will helped me cut the first piece into about 60 one inch pieces. I numbered them in order so hopefully it will set me up for some great experiments in the print room next week!

Kingston University: Experimental Life Drawing, Hannah

This week Jake was away so we had another tutor call Martin with the beloved Hannah, who we'd worked with last term. We started out doing our own thing because he wanted to see what our work was like. I brought acrylic paints again, and this time I had oil pastels with me as well. This was my first painting.

After having a look, we went through some exercises with Martin. It was interesting to have quite an academic take on the 'experimental' and he really encouraged us to be instinctive and relaxed. It really reminded me of the life drawing classes we had on Foundation.

After working on these exercises, the last hour went back to our own materials. 

I was really pleased with these last two paintings, and I'm really glad that we had those exercises in between. It really loosened me up back to the kinds of drawings I like to do and love to look at.

Front Row Society Submission: Artisanal Botanist

Some exciting news! I spoke to my beautiful friend Katie over Christmas (she does Surface Pattern at Leeds), and she told me about Front Row Society, who run competitions on a monthly basis specialising in fabric prints. For me, it's just a great encouragement to do something for myself every month, and hopefully it will pay off! So here's my Venus Fly Trap design, based around the given theme, Artisanal Botanist. It sticks out like a sore thumb amongst all these flowery mirror-y digital prints but, I hope that's what will give me a chance of being noticed! I may also do a couple more submissions last minute tomorrow with the same illustrations... GAH so exciting!

The prints are chosen on basis of merit, but each print is voted on by anybody, which increases the chance of it being seen! So I would really really appreciate it if you could vote for me! And of course, any other prints that you think deserve chances of winning.

Votes are made HERE and starts on the 16th February until the 28th!

Thankyou!! It would mean the world to me if you voted for me, it is my first go but one of my resolutions was to get stuck into some competitions this year while I have the chance! So I will be doing these every month, or at least every competition that I think has some steam for me.