Design; creative direction; illustration; visual art… these seem like separate strands of creative work but I bring all of my knowledge, skills, experience and thinking to everything I do – including my Tower Gallery artist residency.
As I prepare two pieces for the gallery’s September Open exhibition, there's been some design problem-solving as I work out how to display the biggest drawing I’ve ever done, a blank prototype first because there’s only one shot at battening the real thing. I've applied my designer’s eye for complementing colour to pick a mount board for a subtle drawing on wallpaper. And I’ve used mount-cutting skills taught to me on Foundation.
My thing for reuse has seen me grab the battening prototype to make a shadow tracing in successive colours of chunky graphite and brushstroke.
And I’ve brought reuse together with my love of type, cutting up discarded drawings in builder’s wax and clay wash to make grounds for an alphabet sketched live from the dedication stones around the building.
That breadth makes projects more interesting – for me and for the people who work with me because of the way I think.
Book for my talk on my research into the design and crafts of the building and find out more about my sketch tour on the Open House website.
For more pictures from my residency, head over to Instagram.
The Tower Gallery September Open is at East Tower, Memorial Community Church, Barking Road, London E13 from 11 Sept until 4 October, Fri-Sun 3-7pm.
