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Illustration Collaboration: Harriet Gray
Harriet Gray is a young illustrator about to embark on a new life in London, and by all accounts it will be a busy one as we keep seeing her beautiful, quirky, and always instantly recognizable work both in print and scattered across the web alongside other wonderful creatives and indie endeavours!
To us, Harriet is a master storyteller, weaving delicate, magical and strange tales from the tip of a pencil. We love the three different ways she has approached our trinkets and treasures: the scientific, the imagined and the personal.
Read on to find out a little more about Harriet and her work.
First of all, tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, and if and where you studied.
Hello, my name is Harriet Gray. I’m twenty-five, four-foot eleven inches and have recently embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator. You can find me living and working somewhere in the Shropshire countryside. I really can’t remember a time where I haven’t been doing something creative. As a young child I’d always be making things, all of my school books were covered in drawings. It only seemed natural for me to progress into a career in art. I graduated from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth with a BA Honors degree in illustration. I have since developed a small obsession with drawing tangled hair and animal fur.
Who and what have been your main influences and inspirations that have helped you to develop such a beautiful, distinctive illustration style in such a competitive market?
When I was younger I remember always being really encouraged by my parents and especially my secondary school art teacher when it came to drawing. I think my art teacher liked me, as I was the only one in the class who didn’t shade something by just smudging the pencil across the page with my finger!
I tend to look for inspiration from artists with styles quite different from my own, my current favourites are Yelena Bryksenkova and Ruth Munro. I have always loved the work of Egon Schiele too.
My natural drawing style is very gentle and delicate. I think I am a little OCD, which helps greatly with intricate and detailed drawings. I love to experiment with the different shades, tones and textures achievable with just a pencil.
Do you live more in the past, or more in the future..?
It’s always good to take a moment to reminisce, but at the moment I am definitely living in the future! I feel like my career in illustration is only just starting so I am excited to see where it will take me. I will be moving to London soon, hopefully by February. I’m really looking forward to moving there, at the moment it’s hard to think of much else!
Where do you work from, and do you have any rituals before beginning a new piece of work?
I work from home, but am lucky enough to have a separate studio room, which I share with my boyfriend and fellow illustrator Luke Waller (It’s great to have someone there to moan at when a drawing isn’t going quite right haha!) Before starting work I HAVE to tidy up everywhere, I can’t start work if I know there is a mess somewhere waiting for me to tidy when I’m finished! – Did I mention the OCD?
Describe a typical day in the studio.
I’m a night owl, so I have to admit I don’t get up particularly early! Once I’m up and dressed, I’ll make sure everywhere is tidy, then I’ll sharpen my pencils and get my work space ‘ready’ … then I check my emails/twitter/blog etc and generally have a faff around on the internet! After this I’ll get all my errands out of the way, take etsy orders to the post office etc before I sit down to work on whatever drawing needs doing that day. I like to work on a few projects at once. I try to always have at least one personal project to work on along side any commissions. I feel it helps to step away from a drawing every now and then and let it breathe, then come back to it with fresh eyes. So working on more than one drawing allows me to do this whilst still being productive!
Once I’ve started working I generally won’t move from my desk for the rest of the day, and quite often stay up working til the early hours.
What keeps you pushing forward and making new work?
I genuinely do not know what I’d do if I didn’t draw and make things. (Most likely I’d become a crazy cat lady.) I often wonder what people with ‘normal’ jobs do when they are not working. If I am not drawing or making, I will be thinking or talking about it, brainstorming what I can do next, researching/gathering inspiring images … I just never seem to turn off from it.
How have you found collaborating with us on this project? Would you work across creative disciplines again?
It’s been such a treat to have a choice of so many beautiful pieces to draw. The items I chose are ones I felt an immediate connection to. They were really inspiring to work with and seemed to evoke a sense of nostalgia and charm. The key necklaces instantly made me think of stories like the secret garden and Narnia, I wanted to capture some of the magic and mystery. I love your collection of timepieces, and the use of the birds, bugs and flowers brought to mind the life cycle. How we are all dependant on each other and how time is so precious. Your delightful collars just reminded of Christmas and wanting to dress up in something snuggly, so I simply teamed with a moth eaten jumper.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this project so thank you for letting me be part of it, definitely something I’d love to do again.
And finally the most important questions…
Favourite hot drink? I’m going to say green tea with jasmine … but what I am really thinking is mulled wine! – Really can’t be beaten on a cold wintery evening
Favourite ‘real’ drink? … ahh ok, mulled wine!
Rural or urban? Can I have a little of both please?
Cats or dogs? 100% Cats
Find Harriet online:
http://www.harrietgray.co.uk/
And Harriet’s got a mailing list you can subscribe to as well. Magic!
Illustration Collaboration: Scarlett Rebecca
Scarlett Tierney is an ambitious, young illustrator based in the East of England with a background in Fashion & Textiles. We were first drawn to her thoughtful, detailed portraiture from her personal projects and are so, so pleased to see that as well as making detailed still life drawings of our jewellery and accessories, she has also chosen to depict a character - a true “Aviary Girl” who she imagined would wear our wares.
As well as clearly being able to see how talented an illustrator Scarlett Rebecca is, we wanted to know a bit more about who she is, and how she works, so we asked her a few questions after she had completed her beautiful series of illustrations in response to our trinkets and treasures…
First of all, tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, and if and where you studied.
Hello *waves* I am Scarlett, I’m 23 and I live in lovely Bedfordshire in a cozy little house that desperately needs a cat. I like to describe myself as a ‘fledgling’ illustrator, just beginning my journey into the world of illustration. I studied fashion and textile design but decided to move towards surface design and then illustration because I love drawing! I have no illustration training but heaps of enthusiasm which I think makes up for it. I also run workshops for children and adults, and teach textiles here and there. I love to collaborate with people and share skills!
Who and what have been your main influences and inspirations that have helped you to develop such a beautiful, delicate yet distinctive illustration style in such a competitive market?
Thank you! I am quite an impatient person when it comes to my work at the moment (I think it’s a phase). I used to love making intricate illustrations with fabric and thread but that takes too long! Drawing is so immediate, and it really makes you feel connected to the work because you’ve painstakingly drawn every single aspect. Plus I love the texture of pencil. I’m quite scared of colour so my illustrations are often quite muted and I’m always worried I’ll overwork a drawing so they have that unfinished look. I’ve always worked very realistically but I’m breaking away from that now, adding aspects of pattern into my work.
Some artists who inspire me: Julia Pott, Gemma Correll, Quentin Blake, John Cuneo, Mervyn Peake, Jenny Hart, Deidre Scherer, Rob Ryan… and Harriet Gray & Gemma Milly!
Do you live more in the past, or more in the future?
Both! I like to revel in the past and get excited for the future, but always make time for enjoying the now!
Where do you work from, and do you have any rituals before beginning a new piece of work?
I’m lucky enough to live in a two bedroom house right now where the spare room is my studio. It’s got a lovely bookcase (I have a book obsession.. I need them!), a cozy sofa bed, about a million pens and pencils and a lovely large desk.
I think Gemma Correll’s ‘Never Ending Cycle of Creative Woe’ describes perfectly my creative process. Firstly I have a cup of tea and then procrastinate for a bit, research in my lovely book collections, work on some designs, congratulate myself, procrastinate more and then rush to be finished for the deadline. I always try to figure a way to get people into a design because I love portraiture.
Describe a typical day in the studio.
Tea, look at my to-do list, twitter, email, look in one of my lovely books, tidy, tea, do some drawing, get uber frustrated, have a cry, another tea, sharpen a pencil, feel better, twitter, cake, more drawing, high five, cross things off on the to-do list with a flourish, tea.
What keeps you pushing forward and making new work?
I just don’t think it’s ever really crossed my mind not to…
How have you found collaborating with us on this project? Would you work across creative disciplines again?
It’s been wonderful, I’ve been so inspired by the gorgeous treasures I was working from, and I think our styles really worked well together. It was fab to run with a design with no restraints. I love collaborating, it keeps you fresh and opens up your creativity, it’s great to have a challenge. I’m just sad it’s over.
And finally the most important questions…
Favourite hot drink? Tea. Strong, splash of milk and a wet spoon of sugar.
Favourite ‘real’ drink? Baileys or a nice cold cider.
Rural or urban? Rural.
Cats or dogs? Cats, cats, cats, cats, cats!
Find Scarlett Rebecca online:
Scarlett’s work is also currently available at the Letchworth Arts Centre Christmas Fair from now until Christmas, as well as the We Are Bedford pop up shop until mid December.
