My Illustration Workshop on Iona - Inkery on the Island!

It's true, I have years of experience as a lecturer (Edinburgh College of Art and several other educational establishments too) but I have never hosted a residential Illustration workshop!
 Well, it's about time that changed and I was finally convinced to go for it (with a bit of friendly persuasion and encouragement from the book artist Rachel Hazell, no less).

So,  I am delighted to tell you about my first ever residential workshop called Inkery on the Island which is taking place on the magical island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, from 6-10th March next year! Exciting, isn't it?

My workshop is about discovering new ways to respond to words, developing ideas for visual narratives and learning to trust the creative gut instinct...as well as experimenting with ink and dip pens!
Creating finished illustrations based upon unexpected forms of text is the goal - Ink, drawing, paper, looking, thinking, ideas, words, random elements and playfulness will ALL be involved in that process, that's for sure! There will probably be wine and biscuits too. And cake.

 It's open to anyone who likes to dabble in art in its many forms and who simply fancies stepping outside their everyday work and doing something a little different! You don't have to be a professional artist /illustrator/designer/maker but if you ARE , then you are very welcome too. View it as a chance to re-boot, especially if you need a bit of space and perspective to reflect on what and where your creative practice is heading. And yes, ideal for anyone who needs to re-engage with their playful, most creative side!

There are 8 places available on this 3 days /4 nights workshop, which costs £400.00 per person inclusive of tuition, accommodation, food and basic materials...and bags of creative inspiration (and of course there will be a goodie bag too)! We'll have the exceptional, super-comfy award- winning Iona Hostel as our exclusive base - there really is no better place to experience this beautiful island. Arrange your own travel to Iona which is actually quite easy to get to both via car/ferry and by efficient public transport links - and the journey is all part of the fun.

This will be, I hope, a truly fun, inspiring and creative break. If you are interested and want to know more information, discuss whether it's right for you or just fancy a blether please contact me on jill@jillcalder.com or call 01333 313737 for an information sheet.

Now for something joyously inky, inspired by my travels to the glorious West Coast of Scotland. Who knows, maybe you'll see a wild otter too, if you come to Iona!

It's not Illustration...but so what?

My husband and I are dog people. We love dogs.
Our lovely old black lab, Charlie was put to sleep a couple of weeks ago (or as we say in dog parlance, "he went to the bridge") and we miss him sorely. However, he was nearly sixteen, so he kived to a very ripe old age and was pretty active right up to his last day. There are so many pictures of this dog of mine, but here is a drawing I did of him last year, which I suppose does tie in with my blog.
We still have a wonderfully loony choc lab called Dougal, who is at my side right now, snoring.
But it's good to have 2 dogs...SO, we have decided to get another pup.

We met her on Sunday, deep in the wilds of south west Scotland, and she is a wee cracker - a proper little thug. Bizarrely she is related to Dougal and is in fact his grand niece.
Dougal is not going to know what has hit him when puppy arrives - but I can't wait!

Here is a video the puppies with their mum, Tia, at 3.5 weeks old. We think our one is the confident little black pup, busy clambering over all the others. *heart melt*

Illustration Friday- GARDEN

Not done an IF for AGES...this one fits the bill perfectly.
What's the story? I was mucking about in summer with new inks and new paper - getting back to basics almost -
and playing around with some garden themes with birds and animals. More for something to frame and exhibit really!
Then I got a call from Simone from Friend &Johnson who wondered if I could do anything for the Chicago Children's Theatre.
One of the plays was "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde. The Giant has an amazing garden that some children play in and bring to life.
So, I adapted my original ink drawing and added some tiny children and birds via Photoshop to emphasise the difference in scale.
The original is for sale at the Frames Gallery in Perth, Scotland in a show of Scottish Illustrator's work.