Binding their own business.............

Staffordshire Graphic Design & Illustration students got a treat when Mark Cockram, Specialist Bookbinder, came in to deliver a talk and hands-on workshop. A master of his trade, Mark guided students through the book binding process with amazing results!!

We will definitely 'book' him again!!

Surface Space Exhibition for Danielle......

Level 4 Illustration student, Danielle Somerfield, is exhibiting in Burslem at Surface Spaces - in her words...

"My pieces were done by screen printing images i made onto magazine advertisements from vogue.

Its basically just about how fashion affects women's perception of beauty and the screen printed images are the representation of the models in real life, not air brushed but ill looking, unnaturally thin etc "

Surface Spaces is a unique temporary ‘pop-up’ art space for 18 new & emerging artists in a vacant Live/Work Unit in Burslem town centre.

We invite you to the opening preview event on Friday the 2nd of December 2011 between 6-9pm for Live music, food & drink and of course a diverse and exciting range of contemporary artworks.

DON'T FORGET! Surface Spaces exhibition will run from Saturday 3rd December 2011 until Sunday 11th December 2011, 10am-to-4pm, at 2 Queens Row, Bournes Bank (rear of 7-11 Queen St), Burslem, ST6 3FA.

Surface spaces is a collaboration between Midland Heart housing association http://www.midlandheart.org.uk/, Barewall Gallery http://www.barewall.co.uk/, and Surface Collaborative http://www.facebook.com/SurfaceCollaborative

Daniell's blog.....http://danirosea.tumblr.com/

just nice things

..some nice stuff from various blogs.........starting with some interesting cv's..........

Blackpool Rocks!

Comedy Carpet by Why Not Associates

At first sight, the Comedy Carpet looks as if the text is painted. In fact, each of the 160,000 letters is made of 30mm solid granite cast into high-quality concrete panels. Given the unusualness of the project, its complexity and scale, no one company was able to produce the work in its entirety so Gordon had the challenge of producing the work in-house.

With the assistance of artists/makers Russ Coleman and Andy Sawyer, Gordon turned a former fish processing factory in Hull into a bespoke studio, and recruited and managed a production team to make it. After several months of research, with input from chemists and engineers, the Comedy Carpet team evolved new techniques and recipes for production including a special white face mix and the perfect blue that wouldn’t fade. They searched far and wide to find materials of the exact quality and consistency; from India, they sourced black and red granite; from China, stainless steel.

Although constructed on an industrial scale and making use of new technology, the work also required craft skills of a very high standard. The process of making each of the 320 slabs involved many complex stages from cutting, sorting, fettling and laying out each of the letters to a three-stage casting process, curing, trimming, grinding and polishing.

Each slab is a work of art in itself; multiplied by 320, it takes the project to an altogether different level.

London 2011

Following several weeks of very busy project work the new Staffordshire University intake, accompanied by seasoned third year students, headed to London in search of inspiration, culture, entertainment and KFC's.....

Whilst first year Graphic Design and Illustration students headed to the Design Museum and Tate Modern, Cartoon & Comic Arts first years were drawn towards Madame Tussauds where they were confronted with Marvel Superheroes, face-to face! Dinosaurs were sketched at the Natural History Museum and Post-Modernism scrutinised at the V&A.

Third year students had the opportunity to a full 3 days of industry visits - including 300 Million, Independent on Sunday, BNB Studio, Heavenly, Ranch and YCN - each studio giving an insight into their work practices, studio culture and tips on working in the big smoke!

..........Level 4 Graphic Design, illustration and Cartoon & Comic Arts students prepare for a visit into history.

........McCann Erikson....(with reception illustrated by Harry Malt)...inspired Level 4 students
.......Tom Wallace studies photography at Tate Modern.




.......Level 4 students out and about - working on a type project

Level 6 students at YCN
...Level 6 congregation at Heavenly



Adam Ding of Heavenly preaches the design sermon!


.....Students at BNB Studio and Faye Constable at Ranch with Wayne Townsend

Madame Tussauds..........

The skin your in..........

Well, summer has closed and gone for lunch - a new semester dawns for students at Staffordshire Uni. With a bucketfull of awards and degrees to celebrate, we wish every success to our 2011 graduates on their journey into the working world - and welcome our new students in a couple of weeks.

'Cartoon & Comic Arts' joins our portfolio of awards this year and promises to deliver some exciting work and creative students. Hopefully their level of commitment will match my good friend's.........who selected a rather different canvas for the fantastic four and watchmen......