DRAWING BOOK PROJECTS & CONFERENCE: A series of three collaborative works, 2010/11/12, involving ECA staff & students, writers, illustrators, and primary schools in Edinburgh

Jonathan Gibbs (Illustrator)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract / Description of output

• Drawing Book was originated by Jonathan Gibbs and Vivian French in 2010, to facilitate art college collaboration with local schools, writers and illustrators.
Departmental staff members Jim McBride, Harvey Dingwall, Cate James, and Jill Calder assisted and contributed to the Drawing Book Projects with Stage 2 Illustration students.

With the support of the Scottish Book Trust and the Edinburgh City Council, we selected five Edinburgh primary schools with whom we made a series of stories based on animals and their characteristics. A group of students and staff visited Abbeyhill, Prospect Bank, Nether Currie, Murrayburn and St Johns primary schools for various workshop sessions. This involved a synthesis of words and pictures, giving the students experience of the classroom and various ways of working with children, combining art & literature.
The creative result was a set of illustrated books, and exhibition pieces. Edinburgh City Council's Literacy and Learning staff, Evelyn Love-Gajardo, assisted throughout the project.
Vivian French's creative writing sessions with the school pupils gave the art students the opportunity to observe and participate in creating character and narrative themes in an educational setting, in contrast to their usual studio environment at the College of Art.

The school pupils visited the art college at the conclusion of the project, and presentations were held at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

With Vivian French, I organized the Drawing Book Conference, to be held at the
Scottish Storytelling Centre on June 5th 2010.
The panel consisted of Vivian French, Natalie Russell, Jonathan Gibbs, Sue Heap, Debi Gliori and Fraser Ross Asssociates.
This group of writers, agents, illustrators and educators made presentations and answered questions on the subject of Children's Books, writing and illustrating for children, narrative and sequential illustration.
The conference was fully attended and coincided with an exhibition of work made by students and pupils at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

This event and the project itself was funded by Live Literature Funding from the Scottish Book Trust.

• Drawing Book II was held at Abbeyhill Primary School, exploring human emotions, feelings and experience. The Stage 2 Illustration students constructed illustrative boxes to contain scripts and pictures created by the school pupils. This work was shown at Abbeyhill Primary School, and provided a more concentrated exploration of text and image.

• Drawing Book III, The Animal Olympics 2012, was devised to coincide with the Olympic Games and involved collaboration with the Gylemuir Primary School, Edinburgh.
We made animal models, a rich variety, devised during a series of workshops, and settings for various field & sporting events.
The Stage 2 Illustration students made sets, 3D constructions to contain specific events. These were created by five groups of children and students and the Games were held at ECA on 29 February 2012.

Evelyn Love-Gajardo, of Edinburgh City Council's Literacy and Learning department, supported and attended this event.

Animal Olympics 2012 was funded by Live Literature Funding from the Scottish Book Trust.

Drawing Book projects are set to continue, exploring text & image; writing and illustration; education & learning; books, pictures & stories.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDRAWING BOOK
Publication statusPublished - 5 Jun 2010

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