Design Week Mention

Just had my latest paper cut featured on the Design Week website as part of their Christmas round up which is always nice. They have been very suppostive of me this year featuring the majority of my projects that I have submitted.

Also as a reminder this week sees the Arctic Circle end of year Christmas show which will be broadcast on Resonance FM as well, it looks like a great event with the (un)usual mix of AC goodies!

Another AC Christmas

I've just finished the Arctic Circle Christmas illustration, I had a lot of fun with this one figuring out how to build paper icebergs. The image is for a special Christmas event which will be broadcast on Resonance FM and for a free Christmas card sent out by the Arctic Circle to anyone who wants it, all you have to do is leave your postal address here.

Halloween Happening

Ah what says Happy Halloween more than a pirate penguin and pumpkin walrus! Well if you were at the Arctic Circle Halloween bash at the Westminster Library in London you would have seen pirate penguins mixing with foxy counts all to the sounds of The Miserable Rich, The Real Tuesday Weld and Alabaster Deplume
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Green Man projections

Just got a few photos through from the Artic Circle team (who are all recovering in a darkened room!) of their adventures at the Green Man festival. Here are a few pics I'm sure there will be more to come. All photo credits go to Diana Jarvis, pop over to her site and check out some of her other work!

Penguin Cinema

If your not festival-ed out already and have room to squeeze another in this year then I recommend the Green Man Festival which features our friends from the north; Arctic Circle who will be putting on a weekend of cinema and sound and creating an island of calm to rest and relax from the rest of the festival's shenanigans with artists such as Emily Barker, NSRO and Paper Cinema!

I created a paper cut illustration for the occasion which I'm lead to believe will be projected in the cinema tent. For more information  pop over to the AC website, and if that wasn't incentive enough The Sleeping Years will be playing on Sunday, so don't put the tent away just yet!

F&M, a little animated

Just got this from Ben at AC, it's a small flash animation by Luke Twyman bringing a bit of life to my Fairy Tales and Monsters illustration to promote the festival. This will be playing on VDU screens at Kings Place this week. iAS I have said before if you have the chance to go, GO, the list of events and activities seem to be getting bigger and better by the day, in fact we are just planning some projections at the moment too! For more info on the latest additions to the programme click here.

Monster mail

It's always nice to get something in the post, that's not part of the usual deluge of direct mail, phone bills and bank statements!
That's why those nice people at Arctic Circle are asking if anyone would like a copy of their latest poster/leaflet featuring my paper cut for the Fairy Tales and Monsters festival. If you fancy a copy then just send your name and address to here: http://www.jointhecircle.net/mailing_list.php OR email the penguins directly at ben@jointhecircle.net and a copy will wing it's way to you.

Please note the enchanting Viking models are not included!

Fairytales and Monsters: the final cut.

All my paper cuts have healed up, my scalpel is cooling off in it's case and the Fairy Tales and Monsters art work should start appearing across London from tomorrow. At the moment I'm busy working out designs for tote bags, t-shirts and badges to tie in with the festival as well as suggesting a few activities to keep people busy in the foyer of Kings Place. So stay tuned for more bits as they arrive!

As well as creating the main paper cut illustration I also found myself creating a typeface, which is something I hadn't planned on! After going through all the typefaces I had and a few on line suppliers I started drawing my own. The type face took inspiration from the highly decorative letter types used in storybooks and fairy tales. I wanted it to have something of the decorative drop cap about it, without feeling too cartoony. I also felt that the characters should be linked somehow, as if they had been woven together like the elements of a good story. I know it's not Helvetica on the legibility scales but I'm happy with how it turned out and thanks to all those who gave their opinions along the way ( you know who you are)!

The typeface in development, trying to find a balance between legibility and sensibility.

All in all it looks like it should be a great few days of music, events and fun, well worth catching if you can. For more info pop over to here.
I was also fortunate enough to have the design featured on the Design Week blog which is always nice.

The final logo

Fairytales and Monsters

 I have been working on an illustration for the next big Arctic Circle event which will be called Fairytales and Monsters. Like the last one it is a paper cut, this time cut from a single A3 sheet, it is nearing completion and is starting to come together.

As the event is called Fairy tales and Monsters, it gave me a great opportunity to go back through the classics to garner references to include in the illustration. As I mentioned in a previous post I loved the silhouette illustrations by Jan Pienkowski, the beautiful fluidity in paintings by Arthur Rackham and Edmund  Dulac (see the above illustration). I have managed to squeeze in 25 fairytales and monsters, most from classic sources such as storybooks but a few cinematic references have crept in to, see how well you do and how many you can find! I'll keep you posted on the illustrations development in the mean time here is my starting sketch and a few pictures of how it is looking at the moment.

I have even been playing around with projecting the design on the walls as well. Here is a snap I took of the projection on the walls of the meeting room in my office, I think a more romantic environment could be found but I don't work in an enchanted castle!

Hiss Golden Messenger

Just a quick plug for tonight's Hiss Golden Messenger at Kings Place in London, kicking off the 2011 Arctic Season of events. It has gained Time Out's Critics choice so if you find yourself at a loose end and in need of some 'Mystical Country' (David Bowie's description-not mine!) then pop down to Kings Place, more info can be found here.

Paper Penguins

A new year and a new season of events from Arctic Circle and this gives me a chance to try a new look for the penguin. Last year I experimented with a mixture of 3-D paper sculptures with 2-D characters. I really enjoyed this as it totally took me away from my computer and left me alone with a sheet of paper, a scalpel and an idea. This year I have reduced it even more restricting my self to a single A4 sheet and a single cut.

Here are a few snaps I took of the process:

The year of the penguin

This year sees a certain penguin coming of age. Arctic Circle will be celebrating five years of putting on unique events in a variety of venues from The Barbican to Tate Britain and taking in spots in Manchester, Bristol and London, with a variety of artists from The Notwist, Efterklang, North Sea Radio Orchestra and countless other fantastic artists. I have been involved with Arctic Circle since it's first night at the Hayward Gallery and to help celebrate this landmark I'll be posting a few of the images that have been created to promote it's events over the past 5 years.

Christmas Concert

A bit late in the day I know but if you are in London and at a loose end and are feeling festive with all the snow fall and Christmas parties then pop down to Kings Place tonight to enjoy and experience the Arctic Circle Christmas Concert. It's becoming a bit of an annual event and this year sees the excellent Emily Barker, Ted Barnes, The Sleeping Years, Gill Sandell, Dom Coyote, Harry Escott and Sam Amidon provide the music plus a few projected visuals by me.

Go on it's Friday!!!

Meet Leonard Hussey…

Mr Hussey finds time to put his banjo down and pick up a large dog

I'm just decompressing from the last flurry of design activity for the year long project which has been the Explorers' Club. As I have mentioned in previous posts it has been a great project to work on, with an excellent range of musicians and having a new release coming out each month this year but it has been a lot of work. 

The Explorer's Club poster image

After I hit the send button on the last 'deliverable' I ran a hot bath and turned on Radio 4, by coincidence the programme that happened to be on was called "Vital Mental Medicine" which was about Shakelton's ill fated expedition to the South Pole in Endurance and the role music played in keeping the stranded crew alive and it seemed to chime with the Explorers Club.


I knew about Frank Hurley's amazing photographs of the ship, the frosted rigging making the ship look like a spectral apparition trapped in the pack ice, but I didn't know anything about Leonard Hussey and his musical role in the expedition! Hussey was the expeditions Meterologist but was made part of the crew because he could play the banjo.

The importance of music was made clear as the Endurance was sinking through the Antarctic pack-ice, Ernest Shackleton allowed each member of his expedition to take 2lbs of possessions with them as they abandoned ship. One exception was made; while Hurley was wading through the ice cold water saving his photographic plates Shackleton dove in and saved Leonard Hussey's banjo saying, "We must have that banjo. It's vital mental medicine."
So it proved; when Shackleton set off in a small boat to sail to South Georgia to get help, he left behind twenty-two men on Elephant Island. There they lived for months under an upturned boat and old sails. Every Saturday the banjo-playing meteorologist put on a concert. He composed songs about the crew members and whenever they caught a seal to eat brought out his banjo. He played, the men sang - and anger and depression were kept at bay.

Leonard Hussey survived, as did his banjo, now in the National Maritime Museum, its skin marked with a dozen signatures of members of the failed expedition to the South Pole.

Mr Hussey's banjo signed by the gang

Hussey was interviewed in the 1950's for radio where amongst other things he talked about his banjo having seen action in warmer climes, "having among other things been played to an audience of cannibals in Africa."

Ah the magic and universality of music!

The last mile…

The 12 illustrations for the Explorers series

Ah the adventure that has been the Explorers club is finally coming to an end. 12 monthly releases that have featured 43 exclusive songs from over 40 artists. It has been a lot of work but it has been a great pleasure seeing the series grow and receiving a link each month to discover and explore new artists and new songs. Thanks to all those involved in creating the illustrations for the sleeves and the music that has been excellent and to Arctic Circle and LOaf for pulling it all together. It's still not too late to subscribe to the series, just pop over to LOaf where all the tracks are still available. This is the latest illustration for a bonus release called "Lost Luggage" which will be released next week.

Cover for Lost Luggage, a bonus release for the Explorers Club

Tis the Season

The Inside with fold out poster, card, badges and the CD

Another cold day in London, so it made me think of a little project I did ages ago with Pika Pika, LOAF records and AC. If your feeling getting in the festive mood give this alternative  collection of Christmas originals a go.

The front of the limited edition version with "snow"

The back of the limited edition version

Christmas presence

Just finished the AC Christmas concert image last night, I decided to loose the white Christmas tree and to just keep the emphasis on the presents which is a tree in itself!

If you have the chance check out the concert, if past years are anything to go by it will leave you with a feeling of good will to all men and a head full of beautiful songs.