Cake and Doodle 20/04/16

I attended Cake and Doodle again it has been awhile since I last went.

This weeks theme was Oliver Twist, I didn't really get much doodling done but I went with a friend of mine who is studying illustration at Salford university, he was previously studying animation but switched courses.

The great thing about Cake and Doodle is that it is every week, each week there's a new theme and they feature a different artist every week. They often share the work produced on facebook and twitter if you choose to tag them in your drawings. The themes are something new since they weren't doing it the last time I went, you can work to the themes, do your own thing or use the time to continue with something you are working on.

It's also a good place to get feedback on your work, since I was struggling to get replies from the clients and artists I contacted I used this as an opportunity to get some group feedback on my portfolio. This will be detailed in another post.

This week I swapped facebook details with a few of the artists so if you are trying to make contacts within the industry it is a good thing to take part in every once in awhile. I plan on attending more frequently after I finish university.

Cake and Doodle 17/02/16

After the Chris Madden, Barney Ibbotson and Emma Reynolds talk (which will be detailed in my next post) I looked into Draw Northwest and some of the other artistic gatherings which take place in Manchester, this lead me to Cake and Doodle.

This week I decided I would attend the Cake and Doodle gathering. It takes place every Wednesday at Ziferblat on Edge Street at 7:30pm, Ziferblat is a unique venue in the fact that tea, coffee, cake, soft drinks, juice, biscuits, cereal etc is free you are charged based on how much time you spend. The rate is 6p a minute so that's £3.60 an hour. So if you are planning on attending keep in mind you will be charged for your time spent.

The gathering is a good way to make industry contacts in fact one of the women who attended works with Emma Reynolds. It's a very open environment and you will often be asked what you are working on and given advice and critique if you express you are open to it. It's a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. And in addition it's a great way to find out about exhibitions and events around Manchester and it isn't just limited to illustration. Through this weeks Cake and Doodle I learned about O!PLA 2015 which is a night of polish animation on Friday 4th March 7:30 -9:30pm at Ada house, 77 Thompson Street, Manchester. It requires a ticket since seats are limited.

I would definitely recommend attending Cake and Doodle not many attend every week so just come along if you happen to have a free evening.

Exploring Wonderland Exhibition

On the 8/02/16 I visited an show in the Manchester Craft and Design Centre called Exploring Wonderland which was a celebrating the 150th anniversary of Alice's Adventures in wonderland. There was a large variety of work including home decor, jewellery, illustration, installation, sculpture, ceramics and paper cut.    

Since I did a project on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland last year it was interesting to see other peoples take on it especially since the work on display spanned so many disciplines.

I especially loved the paper cut by Fairy Made Paperart

More of her work can be found on her facebook page FairyMadePaperart

Gallery Visit: Richard Goodall Gallery

Yesterday I visited the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester. I was really impressed by the work on display and I could see my work fitting in there. They sold work from a range of artists and my parents ended up purchasing a print.

I discovered two new artists the first being Jay Ryan.

Jay Ryan is an American artist specializing in screen printed posters for rock bands and concerts. I love the quirkiness of his characters, they are cute but not overly cute and it inspires me that he has actually produced artwork for bands and he has even produced album artwork and track illustrations. Being a big fan of music I would love to produce work for bands.

The second artist I discovered goes by the name of Daniel Danger.

Daniel Danger is based in the New England region of America, I love his use of colour and the subject matter of his work. I have recently discovered that I find old abandoned buildings absolutely fascinating so his work instantly appealed to me. His work is almost akin to documentation, you will find many urban explorers love to document abandoned buildings before they get demolished and are gone for good. By the looks of his instagram @tinymediaempire he does dabble in urban exploration.