The Cordyceps Plague of Middle England, 1886. - Part 1

Fig 1.

I saw the programme Planet Earth on BBC1 a while back and was struck by these strange organisms named Cordyceps. These are a type of fungus that invade the body of an unfortunate living host and develop inside them. The utterly bizarre thing being that the organisms then kill the creature and break free by changing the behaviour of the host for its own benefit. The clip below shows a doomed ant forced to climb high into a tree to gain the best point for photosynthesis, where the Cordyceps then reveals itself. Pretty grim but fascinating at the same time. 

I know the idea has been explored that humans and animals could become infected with the same fungus, and I was inspired to create a series of images. This project is going to be a set of images inspired by Victorian medical textbooks, suggesting that there was an outbreak in Victorian England. 

I know that this will be an enjoyable project that I hope will look visually stunning :). I will be using found images from bric-a-brac shops to create these collages, so let the rummaging begin! 

Screen-cap from BBC1's Planet Earth

A is for Ankle

Hello Sunday (or blog day as it seems to have become!),

I have had a lovely weekend back home in Essex visiting museums and family. Was a welcome little change of scenery but it is good to be back in our little place by the sea. Dare I say it but I actually missed the shrieking seagulls in the morning! 

So the other week I was asked to create an image for a new zine. All I was told was that the theme was the letter 'A'. So I did a little brainstorming... and then some more... what do you do when a topic is so broad?! 

At university I often struggled with knowing I had to do something when it was allowed to be pretty much anything. At first this freedom feels great, after growing up being told precisely what to do by teachers, bosses or parents. I have found that not having any sort of restraints sends me in excited circles like a caged animal released into the wild (haha). So I give myself a box to work in and for this task I decided to focus in on the shoe shop where I work part time. Leading me the idea to focus in on a part of the body so often overlooked. The ankle. 

I have defined this by using the pattern of the sock to highlight my chosen feature subtly leaving the viewer to fathom the 'A' in the image. It's far more fun to be subliminal! 

This image was drawn by hand before being coloured digitally. My reference was an image from the wonderful blog They Call Me Redhead. 

A Stopgap and the Start of Something New.

Hello!

I come to you from what feels like the bottom of a big hill. These last three months in Brighton have taught me three things; the sound of the sea dissolves woes, hard times are hard and to make most of absolutely any situation. Although we have next to no money I really couldn't be happier and somehow I feel like we are finally getting somewhere. My only escape from the tiny little bedsit we call home is creating, dreaming and japanese food.

A Stopgap and the Start Of Something New

This is edited from the sketchbook that kept me going through the summer, I feel like we are looking through a window to the real world going by, but yet to really run along with it. This following image is our means to an end, the bedsit we share and will remember forever for it's miniature size and our big adventures.

New.

A couple of rough new images. I am going to be illustrating the book "Cider With Rosie", an autobiographical story by Laurie Lee set in the cotswolds in the 1920's. In its very early stages my project looks like this….

Untitled.

An image I made when I was a little down last month. I think its kind of interesting, so here it is. Its based loosely around the notion of having far too many commitments and the stress caused by that. 

A Wallpaper Life

Final few images from my recent book about Ian Curtis; Why Is The Bedroom So Cold?. Was happy with the way it turned out but I am very eager to move onto my next project. I will post some pictures of the physical book soon. 

Ballet 1. Standing at the sidelines.

A mixture of acrylic, pencil and ink. This is my favorite image I have created all year. I love the unfinished quality of it which works as there are certain areas of detailed line-work. I have also learnt to ditch white paper!

More to come soon...