Pecha Kucha Flyer

PKN 7 flyer 2Final Flyer for the upcoming Pecha Kucha in Dundee!  Thanks to Lyall for the graphics!

 A sample below of an earlier edition.a5 pecha kucha flyer final merged 72dpi webI’ve designed the latest flyer for the Pecha Kucha Vol 7.  In my illustration I really wanted to capture the creativity going on in Dundee using  my signature style.  Using pattern to represent the different creatives, cultural organisations and events happening in Dundee that blend and merge together to create such a rich tapestry of the city, using the iconic silhouette of The Law as a backdrop.  This event also links into the revealing of which city is to be crowned City of Culture 2017.

I’m a huge fan of Pecha Kucha nights organised by Creative Dundee, they are so inspiring!  They’ve always have a great mix of creatives on the line up from people I know to things that I didn’t realise was happening in Dundee and surrounding areas.  it’s a great concept, 20 slides and 20 seconds – it’s gives a fast snapshot!  I did one back in May 2012, a bit scary standing up in front of 200 people!  You can see my one here.

Pecha Kucha Volume 7 will take place on Thursday 21st November at the Bonar Hall in Dundee from 7pm – 10pm.  This is a ticketed event and tickets are available from Eventbright please click here.

If you like my artwork is available for licence or I can create something bespoke for you.

Vision for V&A Dundee

Vision V&A LouiseI’ve created some Patterned Artworks for my vision of what Dundee will look like when the V&A Dundee is built on the River Tay.  In my illustration I really wanted to capture the creativity going on in Dundee using  my signature style.  Using pattern as a metaphor to show the energy and creativity that weaves, blends and merges together with all the different creative people, cultural organisations and events happening in Dundee.

My Patterned Artworks have a natural flow that echo natures organic ability to sit in harmony to its surroundings and I see the V&A Dundee fitting into Dundees’ changing landscape very well.

Wool Delaine Louise Kirby small for web

This image is digitally printed on wool to create a wall hanging.  The Patterned Artworks could be printed on a multitude of products from tea towels, ceramics, cushions, scarves, prints, mugs, notepads… the list is endless!  I would love to be commissioned to create Patterned Artworks for the V&A Dundee.

My wall hanging will be on show at the Wasps Artists Open Weekend on the 19th & 20th October outside my studio on level 4, studio 404.  You can find out more about the Open Studio weekend on my previous blog.

Sneak Peek into Dundee Creatives Studios

wasps open studio 2013

Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th October 2013, from 12 noon – 5pm

I would like to invite you to the Dundee Meadow Mill Wasps Artists Open Studios on Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th October from 12noon – 5pm.

My studio will be open with a range of Bargain Boxes with scarves, cards and prints and you can see some of the new things I’ve been working on!  I’m on the 4th floor, in studio 404! (there is a lift!!!).  I have the lovely Sooz Gordon sharing my studio who styles funky eclectic interiors, makes Dundee inspired cushions and offers Style Surgeries for others to learn about interior design.

Lots artists will be taking part all under the one roof from a wide range of creative practices – painting, ceramics, illustration, textiles, jewellery, installation, interiors, photography and much more.  It’s a chance to have a look inside the creative spaces.

As well as the usual amazing array of artists and makers welcoming you into their place of work, this year we have a programme of FREE events in the Gallery Space on Saturday and Sunday (see below).  There will be a cafe and a group show of tenants work in the cafe area and Project 2 on the 4th floor. This year we will have a shop curated by Lovely Things with some of their product alongside work from artists and makers.  I will have a selection of things in there too, it’s on the 3rd floor, in studio 316.

Saturday 19th
12-1pm Creative Writing with author Zoe Venditozzi (maximum of 8 people)

1:30-2pm The Museum and the Whaleback City – Poetry Reading by Andy Jackson.

Fife-based poet Andy Jackson reads from his poetry collection The Assassination Museum and also from Whaleback City, the new anthology featuring six centuries of Dundee poetry, of which he is co-editor. Expect quirky, accessible poetry on themes as diverse as Daleks, dancing and conspiracy theories.

3:30-5pm Best Bits of Pecha Kucha Dundee (screening).

Sunday 20th
12:30-1:30pm – Meet the Inkers – Vanilla Inkers new intake.

2-5pm TRiGGER : Connectivity @ WASPS 2013 – TRiGGER is holding a participatory drop in afternoon on Sunday 20th October at WASPS Meadowmills Gallery space from 2-5pm. We will be inviting visitors and studio artists to contribute to an informal reflective visual response to WASPS Open Studios weekend. The afternoon is a relaxed and interactive experience with participation welcome from all visitors.

(These events will take place in Project 1 on the 4th floor.)

Ms Battenberg’s Travelling Tea Room will provide a veritable cornucopia of delectable treats. Sit back and relax with some homemade treats and a cuppa. Available throughout the weekend.

Come and try on my scarves and enjoy my colourful patterned studio!  Come and see the creative talent Dundee has to offer!  For a map please link here.

Please spread the word to others you think may be interested!

Lets go on a journey together…

land rover web imageI was lucky to be selected to take part in the coaching with Cultural Enterprise Office with Lynn O’Neill.  I really enjoyed the bespoke personal service and allowing myself the time to develop.  I was encourage to think BIG, so I wanted to showcase my patterned artworks on a product that would dispel the myth that my artwork was only for scarves.  So I started an self initiated project, for my all time favourite car the Land Rover Defender.

I think the brand really matched the essence of what I’m about and my love of the great outdoors.  I wanted to use my patterned artwork and signature style of delicious colours, patterns, and expressive mark making with a rhythmic flow capturing the essence wilderness of the landscape to create sophisticated, natural and beautiful designs suitable for Land Rover Defender.

land rover section by louise kirby

So I set about creating some hand painted paper designs using imagery of the landscape, fields of pattern and animals.  My visualisation was that I see the Land Rover Defenders as something that can go anywhere with no obstacle and I wanted to capture this in my artworks by merging and blending a variety of terrains into one another to give the feeling that Land Rovers can go anywhere, with spontaneous marks the emphasise the thrill, and adventure of the Land Rover Experience through the rugged British countryside.

I could imagine my patterned artworks on  – exterior bodywork, spare wheel covers, interior upholstery, promotional leaflets, collectable toys, and water bottles to hoods.

From there I needed to visualise the artwork on a product, so without getting my hands on the real thing I tried putting my designs on simple line drawings.  Here are some of my samples.

Land Rover Repeat in Product web

land rover red in product webI searched for the biggest model I could afford and got this lovely toy and set about applying my design idea on the product.  I also made a hand printed silk wheel cover too!  I loved the little model so took it to the park to do a wee photo shoot. Here are some of the photos from that day.

Land Rover web

Land Rover View webLand Rover water web

Land Rover Grass web

I hope you like my creation; do you imagine driving about with my design on it?

I’d love to go on an adventure with Land Rover where I bring the creativity and they bring the wheels!

wheel commission louise kirby web

Drawing with Stitch workshop for 11-16 year olds at the DCA

lg_11-16s-Drawing-with-Stitch

I’m running a 4 week block of Drawing with Stitch for 11-16 year olds  at the DCA.  Where we will create cool tote bags.  The course runs from the 25th April from 6pm – 8pm for 4 consecutive weeks.  I’ve designed this to learn some basic hand sewing skills and also to encourage participants own creativity creating unique outcomes.    Looking forward to meeting all the budding new designers and seeing their creative results.  Block needs to be booked directly through the DCA box office and more info here.

Being a textiles and surface pattern designer I’m always using lots of ways of markmaking and stitch adds a lovely quality of line.  I love decorating surfaces in images, patterns and words.

Here’s some some of my stitch samples below

 

 

LK DCA 3

Here are some of the young peoples creations, they worked so hard over the 4 evenings learning new stitches and creating a tote bag

ladybirdbag

owl in progress

owl bag

New year and new products – cushions, cards, art prints and canvases

Stripy Fields Framed ArtI’ve signed up to Society 6 that allows designers to have a range of products.  I have 3 of my designs Fields of Pattern, Stripy Fields and Spotty Fields on this website producing cushions, cards, art prints and canvases for me.

Cushions come in 3 sizes 16″ x 16″, 18″ x 18″, 20″ x 20″ and you can choose to have the cushion pad included or not, available in all 3 designs.  Please click on the cushion and you will be taken to the website.

Fields of Pattern Pillow

Spotty Fields Pillow

Stripy Fields Pillow

 

Cards come in a pack of 3 of the same design and are available in all 3 designs.  Please click on the card to be directed to the website.

Fields of Pattern Card Spotty Fields Card

Stripy Fields Card

Art Prints come Framed or Unframed and in various sizes in all 3 designs. Please click on the card to be directed to the website.

Fields of Pattern Framed Art

Spotty Fields Framed Art

Stripy Fields Framed Art

 

Canvases  in various sizes on white canvas using the latest Epson archival inks, are also available please click here to see.

All products are available directly through Society6, the website is in dollars and it ships  to the UK for a small fee.  Enjoy shopping!  Part of my mission to cover the world in my patterns!

for your tootsies, hoofs, trotters, paws or feet

I’ve moved to the countryside allowing me to be surrounded by my inspiration of Scottish wilderness and thousand of pheasants!  After days out exploring the area I would come home with muddy welllies or walking boots, so I decided to make myself a doormat  to keep my house nice and clean!  Here’s some examples of my hand painted doormats.

Hand Printed Doormat

Indoor use only

Helping to keep your home clean

Each one unique

Material – Coir Mat, PVC backed.

Introductory offer of £25, only available for collection from my studio, please email me if you would like one hello@louisekirby.com

I also had a little play with some other silhouettes and patterns I like!

 

 

Sneak + Peek

I’ve been creating some one-off, hand printed scarves in my studio.  The Sneak + Peek collection is inspired by the pheasants hiding amongst the fields.  Where I live there are thousands of pheasants but it’s not till you come close that they reveal themselves with their distinctive call warning all there pheasant friends to look out.  The mono printing technique that allows me to capture the textures of the fields and no two scarves are the same.  Each scarf is reversible to allow you to change your look and get two scarves for the price of one!


 

 

 

Material – 100% Silk Crepe de Shine

Dimensions – 32cm x 180cm (aprox)

Price – £120

Scarves are available to buy directly from me, please email me hello@louisekirby.com   I will include free postage and packaging to any UK address.

 

All Wrapped up…..

It’s that season, the leaves are changing colour and their is a chill in the air!

I just wanted to let you know about my artwork being used on 2 Anthropologie scarves called Wings of Braemar.  They are only available through Anthropologie stores and online.

They are a lovely quality of wool and I love wearing mine!  I’m really proud that my logo features on the edge and sold in their stores all over Europe and USA and online.  It’s great   having my work reaching a wider audience and with such a high profile that I really admire.

I hope you like them!

Thanks for reading my blog!

Come and have a peek!

Hello there!

Come along and have a peek in my studio, see what creatures are hiding amongst the colourful marks.

I’m opening up as part of WASPS OPEN STUDIOS  on Saturday 3rd + Sunday 4th November on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor of an old jute mill in bonnie Dundee.  Where 50 creatives will open up their studios in the one building.  And we have a new fandangled lift to take you to all the floors!

We’ve all settled into our newly refurbished spaces and lots of fab new artists and designers – such as Nikki McWilliams and her great biscuity cushions, Vanilla Ink and her jewellery studio with 8 jewellers always something that’ll take your fancy, Islay Spalding with jewellery that I think looks great in my lugs, Mhairi Wild and her lovely colourful textiles………. lots of new artists, designers and makers to really makes it worth a visit.  And of course some of the folks that have been  creating in there for years such as Paola McClure and her wacky soft sculptures, Garry Brown and his wooden driftwood sculptures, artist Louise Ritchie and her expressive artworks, Lindsey Gardiner and her great illustrations that now fashion themselves on cushions and bags……….and many more!

I will have a range of scarves and have some samples on things I’m working on. My lovely mum will be holding the fort for me on the Saturday afternoon and I’ll be there in person on the Sunday.  Come along and say hello!

Full list of Open Studios Artists, Designers and Makers taking part – Jonathan Hood, Simon Dwyer, Volker Rosenberg, Peter Mansfield, Tracey Stewart, Nikki McWilliams, Lyndsey Gardiner, Vanilla Ink Kate Pickering, Sally Fenton, Leanne Evans, Scarlett Erskine, Victoria Kelsey, Robin Bell, Audrey Reid, Ruth Morrison, Filipa Oliveria, Joanne MacFadyen, Lynda Watson, Jen Robson, Liz Myhill, Neil McIntee, Islay Spalding, Penelope Anstice, Susie Johnston, Garry Brown, Shona Adam, Louise Kirby, Robert Macmillan, Alistair Evans, Nicole Baudon, Luiza Ramazzotti, Genna Delaney, Madeleine Mackay, Mhairi Wild, Jonathan Burns, Marianne Wilson, Vivien Moore, Paola McClure, Dougie Paterson, Louisa Lewis, Astrid Leeson, Cally Booker, Gearaidh Mac Griogair, Gerard Menzies, Casey Campbell, Claire Anne Grant, Holly Wilcox, Lauren Leiper, Nicola Morrison, Pamie Bennett, Jill Skulina, Emily Inns., Louise Ritchie.