November 21, 2008
illustrator kat macleod
I never understand why galleries aren't always open on Sunday. It seems like the perfect day to peruse works of art, don't you think. But quite a few times I've been caught out. And the same thing happened last weekend when I was in Melbourne. I was hoping to catch Kat Macleod's exhibition at Lamington Drive Gallery in Fitzroy. It's hard to believe but it's her first exhibition, although, of course, she has been prolific as an illustrator in books and magazines. The good news is that even if you can't make it to the gallery or arrive on the wrong day, like me, you can check out the catalogue which will be uploaded on the The Jacky Winter Group website. Oh, and the exhibition ends November 29 - so don't wait too long to check it out... And one more thing. If you would like to see the interview I did with Kat during my Design*Sponge guest blog click here - and if you would like to see the remainder of her answers that I posted on daily imprint, click here. But for now enjoy what she has to say about the exhibition alongside a few other thoughts.
Which five words best describe you? Sometimes messy and sometimes neat.
What's your proudest achievement? I am very proud of Ortolan, the graphic design company I co-run with my two business partners Simone Elder and Chloe Quigley. I love being able to spend each day working with them, there's a lot of mutual admiration and respect going on. We have worked really hard to create and maintain our business and I feel really lucky that I've met the girls and we are living our dream. Also I am really happy with my first solo exhibition which just opened. I worked really hard on it and I couldn't be happier with how everything has turned out.
What was the starting point for this exhibition? I have only really worked on commercial and editorial projects since the beginning of my illustration career eight years ago. I really love my job but there seems to be less and less time to draw just for fun and experiment with materials and subject matter, and explore new styles and techniques. I had been thinking it would be nice to see what happened if I focused on a collection of drawings which weren't for a client or a brief, and just see what I could come up with. My illustration agent Jeremy Wortsman from The Jacky Winter Group has been helping me organise and work toward having a show all year, and when he opened up his own gallery, Lamington Drive, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. The show is titled The Tiniest Spark, it's a lyric from one of my favourite Bjork songs, Isobel. The full lyric goes: "In a forest pitch dark, glowed the tiniest spark, it burst into a flame...". I thought that the lyric summed up my process of drawing, and that's more or less what I explored whilst creating the pieces: the spark of an idea and the little burst of inspiration which is the beginning of each piece. The show is an exploration of my process.
What's the best lesson you've learnt? Make room for intuition.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? Quentin Blake, who illustrates Roald Dahl books. I'd like to have met Roald Dahl too. Both of their work is genius in my eyes, and their books are just perfect.
What are you reading? Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.
What was the starting point for this exhibition? I have only really worked on commercial and editorial projects since the beginning of my illustration career eight years ago. I really love my job but there seems to be less and less time to draw just for fun and experiment with materials and subject matter, and explore new styles and techniques. I had been thinking it would be nice to see what happened if I focused on a collection of drawings which weren't for a client or a brief, and just see what I could come up with. My illustration agent Jeremy Wortsman from The Jacky Winter Group has been helping me organise and work toward having a show all year, and when he opened up his own gallery, Lamington Drive, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. The show is titled The Tiniest Spark, it's a lyric from one of my favourite Bjork songs, Isobel. The full lyric goes: "In a forest pitch dark, glowed the tiniest spark, it burst into a flame...". I thought that the lyric summed up my process of drawing, and that's more or less what I explored whilst creating the pieces: the spark of an idea and the little burst of inspiration which is the beginning of each piece. The show is an exploration of my process.
What's the best lesson you've learnt? Make room for intuition.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? Quentin Blake, who illustrates Roald Dahl books. I'd like to have met Roald Dahl too. Both of their work is genius in my eyes, and their books are just perfect.
What are you reading? Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.