Author Archives: Jane Porter

Under 5s art projects

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dingdangdo_ideasOnce a week I run a one-hour art class for under 5s. It’s attended by a group from a local nursery, and there is no nicer sound than hearing the children laughing with excitement as they come along the corridor towards my room. It’s great fun to spend time with three-year-olds – they are such charming, funny and entertaining people. It’s lovely to dip into a world where the only problem is whether to play ‘Wheels on the Bus’ or ‘Bananas in Pyjamas’ at the end – this choice seems to be loaded with a great deal of emotional significance and has been known to cause tears.

I’ve filled a noticeboard in the room with past projects – they are usually collage-based and inspired by a different picture book each week, which I then read to the class. Can you spot work inspired by Petr Horacek, Jenni Desmond, Karin Littlewood, Leigh Hodginson, Ed Vere, Yasmeen Ismael, Neal Layton and Chris Haughton?

I make a lot of use of novelty hole punches from Blade Rubber, a shop just near the British Museum – they have a tremendous range to choose from, with leaves, stars and flowers being especially useful.

Some thoughts about drawing…

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kiwi_jane_porterI’ve been asked by a publisher to do some samples for a picture book about birds – it would be a dream job for me as birds are just about my favourite thing to draw. But, perhaps because it feels such a perfect opportunity, I’ve got tangled up in knots trying too hard, and have spent ages doing lots of research, and filling dozens of sheets with all sorts of birds in many poses, media and colours.

It became clear that what I really needed to do was simplify, and loosen up – which is much easier said than done. Then something unexpected intervened: a week or so ago I was at the monthly river cleanup organised by the Wandle Trust, up to my waist in the icy waters of the river Wandle in chest waders, fishing out rubbish with my hands in just a pair of heavy duty rubber gloves. After a couple of hours my hands went numb so I worked on the bank instead. Even after a hot bath back at home my fingers were numb, and a week later the tips of my middle fingers are still numb – and this has affected my drawing style. I normally grip a pencil or pen very hard, but it’s forced my hand too be more relaxed. (Although I do hope my fingers will come back to life soon…)

I’ve also been using a feather to draw with (dipped in Indian ink) – and when I produced this little kiwi I felt I had perhaps cracked something – it’s got the looseness I was aiming for. Last summer I heard Helen Stephens give a talk, and she gave away another tip for how she achieves her wonderful flowing relaxed lines – she stands up when she is working. Another technique to try!

 

Filling the Frame

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twickenham_1It’s going to be an exciting year: I’ve just picked up the keys for a new (temporary) studio space at Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham. Together with my friend mosaic artist Sue Edkins, I’ll be spending every Wednesday there working on a community art project, The Frame. We’ll be working with schools and community groups to produce three collage-based pieces, inspired by true stories of Twickenham’s connections with the First World War. In June the work will fill three outdoor frames at Diamond Jubilee Gardens, just by the river in the heart of Twickenham, opposite Eel Pie Island.

We were thrilled to be chosen for the project by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames’ arts team, and we’re both really looking forward to getting started. We’ve already begun researching this fascinating subject, and will be looking at the Hearsum Collection, Twickenham Museum and the Rugby Museum – I’ve also been digging in my own archive of historic postcards, inherited from my father-in-law who collected them his whole life. I’ve posted about this collection before – and very sadly Philip has died since then, but I think he would be pleased to know that his marvellous collection is being used for an art and education project.

 

Polar bear production line

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polarbears_Jane_porterOne of my favourite Christmas activities is making cards. Usually I design and print something, and only then realise they don’t fit a standard envelope – but I’ve finally learned my lesson and lino-printed dozens of cards just the right size to fit a bunch of A6 envelopes I’ve been sitting on for years (they are left over from The Longest Little Book, a Big Draw project I ran many years ago). All the card I printed onto was offcuts from the exhibition I held earlier in the year, Skim Sky Blue, so it was rather satisfying to use up so many odds and ends. I completed the cards with a hand-painted watercolour red bow round the bears’ necks.

It was the last outing for the very wonky drying rack – it’s now a pile of first-class kindling.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Would you buy a used tent from this fox?

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fox_JPThis opportunist fox is from a story I wrote in the summer, all about a bear who can foretell the weather by observing nature. His old fashioned ways are challenged by the arrival of the fox and his cut-price sombreros, but there is a terrible price to pay.

I had great fun writing the story but feedback from publishers so far is that – although they like the story and characters – weather just doesn’t sell. What a shame! I used my oak gall ink to draw the fox, and a mix of coloured pencils and watercolour – I’m really enjoying working non-digitally at the moment.

Building a world

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I’m currently working on my first picture book as author and illustrator, to be published by Walker Books in Spring 2016. I’m using watercolour pencils, a new technique for me, and having a lot of fun experimenting with different ways of smudging.

plants1 plants2I’ve decided to be quite systematic, so I’m building up some style sheets so that I can keep the scenery consistent throughout, and I am creating a flora for the book. The pinkish ones are all marginals, the type of plants found around the edges of ponds and rivers. I spend a lot of time on the river and love the form of reeds and rushes – mostly they are the sort you might find along the Thames, but in a burst of ecological wrongness I’ve also thrown in a lotus from the hothouse at Cambridge Botanic Garden. The bulrushes (reed mace for purists) also have the wrong leaves, but that’s the fun of a picture book…

Be honest to yourself…and other plates with a message

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plates_with_a_messageI’ve had another lovely afternoon with the “Recycled Teenagers” – the Over 55s group at National Trust property Sutton House in Hackney. We were making decoupage plates with a message, loosely inspired by the campaigning work of Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon (Doreen Lawrence). I invited everyone to think of a simple campaign slogan expressing something close to their heart, and create a suitable background with images from magazines. The results were fantastically varied and very inspiring.

Cauliflower ears and potato teeth – the vegetable monster show

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veg_compI was thrilled to be chosen to judge the children’s vegetable monster competition at Southfields Harvest, a local community event celebrating autumn. Here are some of the entries – it’s amazing what you can do with a celeriac and a runner bean. The winner is shown bottom right – extra points for the ‘crime scene’ style passion fruit pulp that the monster is sitting in. The patty pans make marvellous and terrifying eyes too.

The event also involved a knit-in – I knitted a radish to get into the spirit of things, and enjoyed sitting stitching on the day with local friends old and new.

Take a letter, Miss Smith…and other interesting toys

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palma_toys_titleI always love a toy museum, and recently I discovered one of the best yet – the Museu de sa Jugueta in Palma de Mallorca. It’s crammed with the most fascinating collection, from smoking boys to Frankensteins with their trousers puzzlingly pulled down.

Spaceships, cars, toy theatres and dolls’ houses – it’s all here. It’s a great bit of social history too: the job-related toys include ‘Miss Smith’, a classic 60s secretary – and in case you thought opportunities for girls were limited, an absolutely terrifying optician as well.

Palma_toys_jobsMusic’s another great theme, with both boy and bunny bands – I love the Ye Yehs on tour, and the big-eared mice with their jazz combo.

Palma_music_toysMy favourite items are the mournful spotty dog on a bicycle and the gorgeous gingham luggage set – and there’s something grimly irresistible about the dolls’ eye mechanisms, though I never liked dolls as a child.

palma_toys_bestIf you find yourself in Palma, it’s well worth seeking out.