Heres a few pictures of my exhibit in Yate Library, Gloucestershire which is on until the end of April. The work is up until the end of April. I’m also selling prints of the original drawings on-line at Folksy, Etsy and Dawanda or directly from me of course. (I’m in the process of having my website re-designed and built so at some point this year you will also be able to purchase and order artworks from my website.)

The Exhibition is divided into Imagined Sea Birds and Imagined Forest Birds, with little books of illustrations of the same name.

At the beginning of January/end of last year I had a go at The Outsider brief that was set by The House of Illustration and The Folio Society. I had never read the book before so I enjoyed getting to know the characters, researching the location it was set in and the atmosphere and themes within the story. The competition asked for three illustrations and a cover image.

I tried to keep my personal voice as an image maker in my drawings, whilst still being sympathetic to the author’s intentions. I created several images before I edited back into my set of three. In this instance, I don’t think my set was entirely successful, and this is partly down to limited time to dedicate to an unpaid project at the beginning of the year. I would have liked the luxury of another week or so on these, to expand my set and nurture my character development. However, I’m glad I entered and I learnt a lot through the process of tackling the brief, especially as this sort of book isn’t something I would normally illustrate out of choice. My colleagues were very suprised to see me abandoning my recent drawings of imagined landscapes and birds, to draw a revolver sparkling in the sun!

I really enjoyed this challenge, it took me out of my comfort zone and stretched my capabilities which was very rewarding. I’m looking forward to seeing who did actually win this competition and the angle they took on the book that wowed the judges.

Cover….

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a little show of Birds on at Yate Library in March and April.
Heres one of the images that will feature…

I’ve just finished putting together a little book of Imagined Forest Birds, in time for my exhibition in a library in Gloucestershire in March. Now working on one about Sea Birds…

Very belated happy new year!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We had lots and lots of snow here over the festive period and I was quite snowed it for a week or so. Fortunately there were some very friendly farmers about to help dig our car out of the snow and plough roads so we could all eventually get out and about again. Its amazing how much work you can get done when you can’t escape your house!

Some of the work I’ve been working on recently has been for a pitch to illustrate a book that I am very fond of. I can’t reveal too many details of pics just now, but I will in a couple of months.

I’ve also been taken on as a Creative Partner for a wonderful Nursery in Newbury which I’m very much looking forward to. I love being able to use my creative skills in different ways, especially when it is for such a wonderful organisation as Creative Partnerships. Its amazing how much those sorts of projects feed and inspire my studio work. Ages 3 – 5 are a wonderful age group to work with, so I’m sure they will give me lots of ideas for the children’s books I’ve been working on, and in return I will be researching the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching and discovering ways we can implement it there in partnership with the nursery team.



Below are a few images from my sketchbooks. I’m having a little exhibition at Yate Library in March so I’ve been working on a new body of work, that will work well in cabinets. At the moment, I’m expecting it to be a combination of 3D, hand rendered type, books and flat artwork, presented in an installation format….but as with all projects, they almost always lead to something more adventurous than you’d intended.

I’ve been adding many little handmade things to my on-line shops this month.

This includes a new line of illustrated gifts.

SEA STONES






Now that I am lucky enough to live near the sea again, I’ve started collecting some beautiful and unique stones. I’ve been enjoying the new surface to draw on, and taking inspiration from the natural contours and lines of the stones, and the environment that they came from.

They can be found and bought by following these links:


http://www.folksy.com/shops/HayleyPotter


http://www.etsy.com/shop/HayleyPotter?ref=seller_info

http://en.dawanda.com/shop/Hayleypotter

Prices start from just £3.00 and they all come boxed.

Heres a picture of my handmade book for Poole Literary Festival (please see previous posts). Its on exhibit at the Lighthouse in Poole, Dorset until the end of this month.

Many thanks to Craig Coady for this photograph.

Its that time of year again where my Hooded Warbler changes his cloak for a more festive one, and I add lots of new cards and gift ideas to my shops…



http://www.folksy.com/shops/HayleyPotter




http://en.dawanda.com/shop/Hayleypotter



http://www.etsy.com/shop/HayleyPotter

All buys will come with lots of lovely little extras…

Hello!

I’m back from Poole Literary Festival. Lots of fun was had there (I always get over excited about anything to do with books!)

If you were one of the people that came to say hello to me, then thanks very much for taking the time to pop in – much appreciated!

After contemplating my pile of books (please see previous blog post) I decided to make a concertina book that was made from, and inspired by the books that I had. I had three hours to complete the book, whilst contained within a 1m x 1m space.

After considering the amount of time I had to complete the book, and the contents of the books I’d been given, I decided to make the book a manageable size and length, that could be viewed in it’s entirety on the display plinth. Originally I had hoped to illustrate part of a story, but all of my books were reference books, so I decided to produce a sequence of images that explored a new and imagined forest.

If you missed out at the weekend, but would still like to see what was produced by me, and the other nine artists that took part, then you can come and see the work in the reception area of the Lighthouse in Poole from now until the end of November.

Photos of how mine progressed are below, with more to follow from the Festival’s official photographer later on.