The Plague: etched in our history

Earlier this year I was commissioned by the National Library of Scotland to produce an etched print for their Winter 2015 exhibition, entitled 'Plague! A Cultural History of Contagious Diseases in Scotland'. It is an exhibition of historic cultural responses to epidemic diseases in Scotland, to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Plague.

The brief was to produce an illustration of Edinburgh's Old Town in the atmospheric, smokey style of etching that I'd done previously with 'The Resurrectionists'.  The illustration would then be made in to a large scale graphic for display in the opening section of the exhibition.

It was great to re-visit this style of printmaking again and also to return to illustrating Edinburgh's Old Town.  I was given artistic license with the buildings, as the main concern was that the cityscape looked cramped and atmospheric rather than historically accurate.

Preliminary sketches focused on the main characters and animals:

After the final image was approved came the task of transferring the image on to an A3 zinc plate and drawing on the image with an etching needle. The plate was then etched in an acid bath before prints were made -

print size - 42 by 29cm

A total of six prints have been made for the NLS for this commission, all of which are available to purchase online at http://joannarobsonillustration.bigcartel.com.  (For those of you in Edinburgh I will have a few with me at the Summerhall Christmas Market on Sunday 13th December.)  Each print is unique because the ink is applied differently to the plate each time.  Some of them look very smokey with the ink moving in swirls, while others look lighter and more subtle.

The exhibition opens at the National Library of Scotland on 11th December 2015 and runs until 29th May 2016. Visit http://www.nls.uk/exhibitions/plague for more information.

Available to buy now -

The new Christmas Cards from the previous post can now be purchased individually online at http://joannarobsonillustration.bigcartel.com/.

Also available to buy is a specially put together pack of the twelve cards for £30.  Available only while stock lasts.

Pack of twelve

The Twelve Days of Christmas

This time last year I was caught out by the Big Event at the end of the year, so this time more preparation has happened and a collection of cards has been produced.  Each day of the Twelve Days of Christmas is turned in to a laser cut silhouette, beautifully framed in an embossed wreath.

A lot of the ones made have already gone to a few Edinburgh galleries.  If you're in Edinburgh and would like to purchase one or two, then do stop by the Marchmont Gallery, Edinburgh Printmakers or The Red Door Gallery.

If not, I hope to have some available to buy online soon later this month - I will update this blog when that happens.

Edit: cards now available to buy online! Visit http://joannarobsonillustration.bigcartel.com 

Character studies

Another book art project is in the pipeline, which should be finished next year.  I've been working on this project slowly and gradually over a long time.  The main design is finally starting to take shape, so I thought that in the meantime I could now start to share some concept drawings for the main characters here:

Expect more updates on this project as we go in to 2016!

The Six Swans - pt 2

Hooray! This side project is finally finished and copies are now available.  Here are some of the great new promo photos taken last weekend - 

The Six Swans is a laser-cut paper sculpture, made from a single sheet of folded black paper.  It's inspired by a Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name (and a story that scared me as a kid).  The fairy tale tells of the plight of six princes, who are turned in to swans by their wicked stepmother.  Their only hope for the curse being lifted is if their sister can produce six shirts for them sewn from nettles.  She must also keep a vow of silence for seven years, or else her brothers must remain swans forever.

This piece of work is a bit of a departure from the laser cut work that I usually do, but it was great to try out this idea.  I wanted to create more of a 3D effect with the cut-outs, so the action is less confined and can jump out of the folds, but still wanted to continue using only one single sheet of paper as the basis for the work.

The Six Swans are in an edition of fifty and are available to purchase online now at http://joannarobsonillustration.bigcartel.com/

New greetings cards

A georgian hen night

In light of the surprise success of these cards, replacements have been ordered and will be available to purchase online soon.  The original Valentine's Day inspired illustrations have been given a bit of colour and another design has been added too - 

inside: '...costly and unmanageable.'

City illustration for Techne

Above is my finished piece for the fourth edition of Techne for Pitville Press, which will be screenprinted later this summer.  I had a lot of fun with this image and it was a welcome break from the line drawing that I usually do!

The Six Swans

Here's the prototype of a new laser cut piece I've been working on recently:

height - 28cm; width - approx. 25cm

Even as I was designing it, I knew that there were going to be problems ahead with the structure, and it took many revisions on the laser cutter before finally it looked like it was strong enough to be folded up and to stand by itself.

There's only the packaging to finish, and then a small edition of them will be available to purchase very soon!

Watch this space....

Online portfolio

This task was long overdue, but I've now set up a portfolio of some of my art work that can be accessed here - it can also be accessed via the tab along the top of the blog, under the main banner.

The artwork is a combination of commissions, self-initiated artwork and book art.  Editing is still underway, but for now all I think that's the bulk of it done!

New work on the way...

This tiny sketch is a little taster of a big project I'm doing for next year.  It makes for a welcome change from all the black, laser-cut gothic stories I've done previously, however this time the challenge is even more massive...  More photos and images later on will reveal why.

The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde: Part II

As promised, here are a few production photos from Lung Ha's The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde. The combination of stage smoke and coloured lighting really added to the atmosphere and much use was made of the shadows and lighting, which looked incredible on a large set like this:

(this felt like being shrunk and then walking around in your own work!)

"Lung Ha Theatre Company and Drake Music Scotland have together pulled off an atmospheric reworking of RL Stevenson’s, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde."  **** Edinburgh Guide

"The thematic assists from composer Greg Sinclair and the musicians of Drake Music work extremely well...a fleet and surprising adaptation of a famous story that really belongs to Edinburgh and which Lung Ha Theatre make their own."  **** Edinburgh49

"Together with a team of musicians and an ensemble cast bursting with spirit and passion, Lung Ha present a revitalised and genuinely enthralling tale."

***1/2 The Public Reviews

"Pearson has constructed a fascinating feminist reimagining of Stevenson's story which resets it in Victorian Edinburgh, the original city where politesse becomes a facade for a far darker Old Town underbelly. This leaves plenty of scope for light and shade in Caitlin Skinner's production, which navigates Lung Ha's regular ensemble of some seventeen performers through the big city bustle."  **** Sunday Herald

"This production, directed by Caitlin Skinner, proves that art has no boundaries, not even for the disabled: it is an exemplary piece of theatre" **** TV Bomb

"...featuring an outstanding, lyrical and pensive musical score by Greg Sinclair, played live by a six-piece band. Yet there’s even more than this, in Caitlin Skinner’s fine production." **** The Scotsman

The production goes on to Dundee this Wednesday (25th March) for one night at Dundee Rep.

The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde

I'm delighted to announce that Lung Ha's Theatre Company's new production of 'The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde' will feature a set design inspired by my laser-cut book.

The show opens this Thursday at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh before going on to the Dundee Rep laster this month.

Photos to follow later!

February Fourteenth

Two of the four cartoon cards about to go to print in time for Valentine's Day next weekend...  Message me if you are interested in having one - 

new logo

Find me on Twitter here at...

https://twitter.com/JoannaKRobson

Occasionally if I have images and photos of work in progress, or have any nice news about my work, I'll share it here on Twitter.  

Hopefully I'll manage to keep it more updated this year!