Illustrator Spot - Jon Klassen (+ Hats)

Whilst wearing my illustrator 'hat' I am always on the look out for new and exciting works. I am happy to hear that there is soon to be a new book in Jon Klassen's hat series of illustrated children's stories, We Found a Hat. 

WE FOUND A HAT BY JON KLASSEN - IMAGES FROM THE GUARDIAN

top: a sneak peek at the cover of the new book by jon klassen 'we found a hat', below: desert illustration scene from the new book

Beginning with my favourite of the books so far 'This is Not My Hat' (seen below), the trilogy is now to be completed with the new book 'We Found a Hat' featuring desert scenes with tortoises. I really love the quirky edgier style to Klassen's work and it makes a refreshing change in children's literature to some of the more widely available sweet and sugary books.

THIS IS NOT MY HAT BY JON KLASSEN - IMAGES FROM ART OF THE PICTURE BOOK + GALLERY NUCLEUS

top: from the cover of the first in the series 'this is not my hat' by jon klassen, upper middle/lower middle + bottom: illustrations from 'this is not my hat' by jon klassen

The colour palette featuring strong blacks and murky muddy colours goes against the common logic of using every bright, brash, clashing colour available to attract children. The characters are also given space to take centre stage, Klassen hasn't felt the usual commercial pressure to fill every inch of the page. Even the brush lines are 'scruffy' in parts, something that can often be airbrushed out, this gives the work a feeling of realism.

I WANT MY HAT BACK BY JON KLASSEN - IMAGES FROM ART OF THE PICTURE BOOK

top: cover of jon klassen's 'i want my hat back', below: an illustration from the book 'i want my hat back'

I like Klassen's take on how to make illustration unique and fresh in this snippet from his interview with The Art of the Picture Book.

It’s like anybody can take a good photo, where the color’s right and the focus. It’s beside the point now. Everybody is a photographer. So now it’s about where you’re standing again. It’s not about how beautiful the photo is or if you can apply a filter to it properly because anybody can do that. 

I think it should be the same with illustration. Lots of people can draw really beautifully or they can make something pretty with Photoshop. But where are you standing? What do you have to say? 

I'm hoping Klassen has plenty to say and am looking forward to many more award winning books in the future.

Another Place - Crosby Beach

Making the most of the sun last weekend, we took a trip out to the beach. I have been wanting to visit Crosby Beach for some time to go see Antony Gormley's 'Another Place'. The collection of a 100 standing iron men sculptures has now been in residence there for 10 years(!). So glad to have finally seen it!

ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

above: view out to sea of another place by antony gormley at crosby beach

I have mixed feeling about Antony Gormley's work. On the face of it, the work seems quite self interested - most of his sculptures (if not all) are based on his own figure. I'm not particularly keen on the Angel of the North situated by Gateshead, or at least the naming of it. To me it appears a sad angel that will never fly, permanently stuck in some rusty industrial time, never progressing. That's not how I imagine the 'North'.

ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top: one of the 100 standing men in another place by antony gormley, middle: crosby beach vista, bottom: standing man's view out to sea

'Another Place' is a much more successful piece. Crosby is the ideal home for this work. The iron material the figures are made from links up well with the surrounding industrial architecture. Crosby isn't a friendly bathers holiday beach. It's wind swept, unkempt, vast and dangerous in parts - with soft sand and risk of changing tides.

STANDING MEN | ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top: close up of one of the standing men, bottom: barnacled legs

The figures are positioned permanently looking out to sea, their eyes and mouths are closed, giving them a wistful look. They look quite solemn, seemly contemplating life and being resolved to their fate whilst the sea slowly erodes them. One of the benefits of waiting a while to visit this piece is seeing how the figures have succumbed over time, now very rusty, barnacled & some sunken.

ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA

top: beach vista, middle: close up of one of the standing men, bottom: crosby beach

'Another Place' is an apt name for this work, it is other worldly. A place like no other. 

Shop Spot - Buy Me Once

It has been busy week here. I've happily taken some time out to mention this fab little shop Buy Me Once. I am all for buying less and buying better but in busy modern life it can be difficult to find the time to search out those long lasting products.  We've all been there, my personal arch nemesis is the toaster - I have yet to find one that can withstand more than two years of intensive family use. While 'Buy Me Once' cannot initially solve my toaster rage, it does provide a fantastic selection of of well designed goods that will go the distance. It's easy to see why this shop is getting some great reviews. Here are my top picks.

BUY ME ONCE - IMAGES FROM BUY ME ONCE

top left: biobu bamboo kids dinner set, top right: cemile peshtemal (turkish towel), middle left: damla blanket lemon yellow, lower left: ernest wright & sons embroidery scissors, bottom left: birkenstock arizona white leather unisex, bottom right: black cast iron le creuset pot

I love the company motto 'love things that last'. Armed with shops like this we can hopefully be saving money (no more replacement buys!) and the planet in one.

Vogue100: A Century of Style

The National Portrait Gallery (one of my faves) and Vogue have come together to create an inspiring exhibition of fashion photography. Looking at the Vogue back catalogue, the curators have collated the best images of cutting edge fashion, beauty and portraiture from 100 years of Vogue publications. Happily the exhibition has come to Manchester Art Gallery and I went to take a look.

VOGUE100 - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA & MANCHESTER ART GALLERY

top: gallery wall at vogue100, bottom: marlene dietrich in london by cecil beaton 1936 - image source manchester art gallery

For any budding photographer (and avid selfie fanatic) this exhibition is well worth a look, as there are plenty of ideas of how to add creativity to your images. Celeb spotters will be happy too, there is a long list from Henri Matisse to David Beckham, see how many you recognise! And of course there is the fashion & beauty to inspire with designers from Dior to McQueen.

VOGUE100 - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA & MANCHESTER ART GALLERY

top: the varnished truth: jean patches by clifford coffin 1951 - image from manchester art gallery bottom: main gallery at vogue 100

I especially liked how the exhibition has been put together. Grouped by decade, the images give a real sense of life at that time, who we followed and trends we loved (and some we would rather forget!).

VOGUE100 - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA & MANCHESTER ART GALLERY

top: vogue100 magazine editions on display, bottom: linda evangelista at the international collections by patrick demarchelier, 1991- image source manchester art gallery,  

VOGUE100 - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA & MANCHESTER ART GALLERY

top: bare facts about fashion by george hoyningen-huene, 1929 - image source manchester art gallery,  bottom: vogue100 gallery

The exhibition is on until the 30th of October 2016, check the Manchester Art Gallery website for details. Well worth a visit! I hope we can look forward to more collaborative exhibitions like this in the future.