Marcia
Project 1
Marcia’s Project 1 was based on the starting point ‘Stories’. In response to this, she spent time exploring different styles of book illustration - specifically analysing how the different styles of illustration impacted on the prose they accompanied and may influence the readers imagination. She found children’s book illustrations particularly influential. Inspired by Shirley Hughes’ illustrations of children in nature, Marcia began to focus her own illustrations on landscapes and natural forms. Visits to bookshops, art galleries and public gardens inspired her own practical work which developed into illustrations of flowers, fruits and vegetables in a range of materials. She then paired each of her illustrations with a suitable piece of prose, and presented these in a handmade book. Marcia’s illustrations are beautifully delicate, and showcase a number of materials that she spent time refining including monoprint, watercolour, oil pastels and ink.
“I’ve always been super interested in storytelling, reading and writing and how they can spark the imagination into creating vivid imagery. I wanted to explore how illustrations, especially those found in children’s books, help bring stories to life”
Project 2
Marcia’s Project 2 was based on the starting point ‘Layers’. Inspired by the many layers within fruits and vegetables, she spent time exploring these natural forms in a range of media, styles and scales. A visit to a local fruit and vegetable market inspired her chosen colour schemes, and she concluded her project with a large scale mixed-media collage containing a wide range of drawings, paintings and prints from her own photographs of fruits and vegetables.
“I drew inspiration from a small farmer’s market I visited for first-hand research. I looked carefully at how the fruits had been laid out to appeal to the buyers, which helped me plan my colour schemes for my final piece”
