Anna and The Witch's Bottle

By Millie Findlay

A unique fusion of narrative, image and music, Anna and The Witch’s Bottle is a fairytale turned on its head, with echoes of Alice in Wonderland meets Aubrey Beardsley.

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The inaugural project of creative boutique Black Maps Press, Anna and The Witches Bottle represents an attempt to experiment with how narrative is communicated and appeals to the imagination through a multi-sensory experience. Not only are there beautiful words and images to shape the story, there is also a wonderful minimalist soundtrack provided by Martin Roman Rebelski of Doves.

Written by author Geoff Cox, (who is currently working on Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, starring Marilyn Manson as Lewis Carroll and model Lily Cole as Alice), Anna and The Witch’s Bottle is a modern fairytale turned on its head, at once whimsical and childish, but with a dark underbelly.

The book is illustrated by Rohan Daniel Eason, known for his collaborations in the fashion world, he recently created a pair of hand-inked gloves for Yoko Ono. His illustrations perfectly reflect the darkly idiosyncratic tone Geoff Cox’s narrative, filled with sad-faced dog waiters and a hut made of crabs.

Black Maps founder Stuart Suitor brought the three elements together to present an alternative to the standard children’s books currently on the market. "I was absolutely struck by the pedestrian nature of these modern children's books," says Stuart, who was reintroduced to children's literature whilst teaching English to children from ethnic backgrounds. "I found myself lamenting the strange, creepy, weird but entirely marvellous books I had read as a kid." This served as the catalyst to bring the three creative forces together in what would eventually become Anna and The Witch's Bottle.

"Whilst being music driven, Black Maps aims to expand the idea of a record label, including experimental film, private press literature, design commissions, textile works, events and beyond", affirms Stuart.

Anna and the Witch’s Bottle is to be released in a limited edition of only 300 copies this month, making it an immediate collectors item for fans of mellifluous beauty. This unique and magical book has all the makings of a future classic: this is children's literature like you have never seen/heard it before.

Anna and The Witch's Bottle Launches at The Pumphouse Gallery Summer Party in Battersea Park on 22nd of September 2009 with a special reading and preview event.

Copies of the book are available at the Black Maps website or at the following real-world portals: select Paul Smith stores, MySugarland, Howie and Belle, Merchant Archive, Galleri Kleerup, and Culturelabel.com, for the bargain price of £30. But hurry, only 300 copies are available!

Graham Carter's East meets West

By Millie Findlay

While jotta member Graham Carter has been one of the most sought after illustrators in the UK over the last ten years, as one of the founding members of Peepshow Collective, he’s now celebrated for his prolific repertoire of silkscreen prints, which explore childhood fantasy, the animal kingdom and now, a collision of eastern and western culture.

	Deer Boy, Quiet Carriage, Ever Red, Seeking Samurai (Click any image to enlarge it)

Graham rediscovered his love of silkscreen printing in 2005 and hasn’t stopped since with a string of successful solo shows across the South East, and exhibiting in galleries throughout the UK. His unique printmaking style has made him one of the most collected printmakers in the UK over last 5 years, with characters and exquisite colour pallets which transport the viewer into a land of robots, giant bears, origami creatures and of course, yeti’s.

What were your main inspirations for the work you have made for your upcoming show?

I’m kind of caught between two phases at the moment. On the one hand I am into retro American culture and design, and on the other, a more Oriental inspired approach.

My desire to visit China/Japan is evident in my work, although it’s more of a fantastical version rather than a true study of their culture. So the show in general is a meld of the two cultures. Like a travel diary

How do you approach your personal work as opposed to your commercial projects?

The excitement factor is at a zero generally when I ‘m working on commercial briefs so I tend to go about things on a robotic level. In some cases I just automatically produce what I think the client wants rather than ‘how I would do it’ - because I know from past experience that they will say, ‘hmmm. We like it, but can it be more like this....?’ So I just cut that stage out to save time.

There is a completely different feeling when I’m producing my own work and I become absorbed in it and quite excited about reaching the end result. I speedily try to get through commissions to give myself time to work on my own ideas, which usually begin life on the page of a sketchbook, scribbled or in a coffee shop while watching the world go by.

How did you come to focus back on your own work, rather than company briefs?

I wanted to give the Brighton Art Fair a go because it looked like a fun thing to do and thought it would be interesting to see how my ‘other’ work went down as it had largely been unseen. Luckily the response was overwhelming so I’ve just carried on from there. Until that point I didn’t realise the print business was such a big thing, so it proved to be great business shift as well as a personal one.

How did you rediscover your love for screenprinting?

Ah it’s always been there and I’ve always kept my hand in even when working for Habitat etc. Wherever I’ve lived I’ve always investigated the local open access print workshops. I’ve tried alternative working methods but always came back to silkscreen. I’ve only scratched the surface really when you consider just how many screen printing methods and surfaces there are to play with, so I should be doing it for a while longer. Investing in my own printing studio was the next natural step for me so I’m lucky enough to be able to immerse myself in it - as long as my back holds itself together!

How did you come to the yeti as a recurrent character?

It’s only really featured in 2 or 3 recent prints but it seems to be a favourite with people. I just enjoy the idea that the Yeti truly exist and are revelling in the fact that no one can find them, and living quite a happy peaceful existence. I produced around 40 yeti clay sculptures for a show at ink-d gallery brighton so I need to wait a while before I revisit Yeti land.

What are you working on at the moment?

Just finished working on a design for a high-end ladies fashions company. They specialise in using artists to design their tops and it’s basically like working on a huge cross-shaped print. Quite a departure from my usual way of working but quite enjoyable towards the end.

Just about to start on a limited edition screen print as part of a group show for ink-d gallery, based on the kissing policemen by Banksy (I maintain I sketched it out first before he produced it – so now my version can finally see the light of day!).

ENTER YOUR ROBOT IMAGES TO WIN AN ORIGINAL GRAHAM CARTER PRINT HERE

Check out Graham's work on jotta

www.graham-carter.co.uk

Night of the Living Drawn

By Millie Ross

llustrator and cut-out creationist Ellie Logan was recently commissioned to illustrate, cut-put, paint and photgraph a graphic adaption of George Romero’s cult horror film Night of The Living Dead. Ellie reveals the hours of slicing n dicing involved in the process of drawing out the living dead.

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What is your back ground?
Like most artists, I always painted and drew as a dorky kid. I was a design school drop-out who left New Zealand for many years selling door-to-door products, playing receptionist for a posh Windsor hotel, running a B&B in Edinburgh, then back home to do a degree in Arts while getting involved with musicians , where I did stage/costume design and touring shows.

Inspired by the way that musicians worked together, I curated illustration shows and auctions and packs of cards with local illustrators' work representing local bands and businesses. I then came to London after living in Korea for a bit to sell a fashion label internationally. I felt something was missing so I started a stall in 'up market' on Brick lane and sold my 3d photographic art. Happily the work sold to my surprise, as like many artists I have bouts of insecurity!

A London based art and culture magazine called 'Pimp' helped me on my way, by showing interest and printing my work. I decided to get a portfolio up on the AOI (Association of Illustrators) where Bang Zoom! Books stumbled across me.

Originally they were looking for work inspired by the film 'Night of the Living Dead' for the back of the graphic novel as part of the 'international art section' .The work I put forward led to me being asked to do the entire book (about 800 images!).

When and why did you go from illustration to making cut outs?
I don't recognise a difference, to be honest. The cut out style was a way for me to cope with being so crap at computers. My background in stage/performance design was most probably the inspiration..and allowed me to use anything I could find to make something appear a certain way...illusion done on a shoestring and fear of photo shop!

Is this your first attempt at creating cut out imagery for a narrative?
I have been working in cut-out for about about 8 years.

Do you ever create your own narratives for illustrations or cut outs?
Yes, I did this for about 5 years before I realised it could be liked by anybody else , it was something I did outside working hours.

What drew you to Night of the Living Dead?
Funnily enough my flatmate Pete got me into the zombie genre one week before Bang Zoom! Books contacted out of the blue...weird!

How long did it take you to create the sets for the graphic novel- did you base it on the film?
I was given stills from the movie, I then drew and painted the character, the background and other objects , I then photographed the scene held up with lipsticks (as they were the best size and freestanding) I lit the sets with bike lights and used sugar for the road scenes and real glass for the car window scenes. I would then download them and play with the contrast, brighten or add a vignette where necessary. So each image would take me about 2-3 hours.

How did you go about getting a publisher involved and then George Romero to do a forward?
All down to Bang Zoom! Books

When will it be released?
The book is in it's final stages. It's being laid out with words, bubbles and sound effects. The Dead are really coming to life now!! Release date to be confirmed.

It's quite an intensive process you go through to get the look you wanted, can you tell us more about this process?

Yeah it was, firstly I cut out photographs of characters and placed them in a miniature scene, all in photographic paper, (3d collage looking). The producers wanted the 3d look to be more subtle than this, so that the viewer would not really know how it had been done, so the challenge was to make it appear 3d, but not obviously. A good challenge, and a nice way to evolve my 3d paper art in to a more menacing look.

Initially the book had been photoshopped with colour. I had a break from the book to work on other jobs. On returning to this mammoth project, I decided to strip it back, and redo a vast number of images. Within this time I had actually become a better painter, so this is another reason I remade much of the book and on final grading only used photoshop to up the contrast and lighten any dark areas returning to the feel of the 1960's.

Why did you choose to produce the images in this way?

I wanted a real/unreal look, so that the story had haunting and mystery, but not just a copy of the original film. Bang Zoom! Books and I both wanted to do something quite special, as the film is.

How do you go about promoting your work and obtaining paid commissions?
The last 2 years have been busy with exhibitions. I have not had time to look for work. Due to exhibiting in the London Underground on a Billboard and platform poster for ArtBelow and being featured in books and magazines, I have been contacted as a result .

For example; I was found at the market and then featured in a Chinese Book about London art and have since been signed up to an art licensing company in Taiwan. They in turn sponsored my show for ArtBelow in Tokyo's metro in association with dazed and Confused Japan and have printed my work on products.

What else are you working on at the moment?
Most recently I made a short film for 'Hop Skip', (a performance and video show curated by Martina O'Shea at Liquid Studios as part of Hackney Wicked)

Currently I am working on an exhibition for Taiwan. This year's work will focus on triptych style work in the feel of religious relief art. I am looking into carving and making moulds and painting on top of 3d panels. I exhibited at Hackney Wicked's Top and Tail Gallery's show with an olde engraved gin glass. I am working with techniques and compositions of the middles ages and mixing in modern themes of religion versus economics, so comparisons with modern life should hopefully bring about some thought.

What would your ultimate collaboration be?
I would like to direct a film bringing together; makeup, sound and visual artists as well as stage design.

www.clublogan.wordpress.com