Laydeez do Comics - Tom Gauld, Simone Lia, Rachael Ball and Tom Ferrier

It was a jam packed Laydeez do Comics this Monday! And it was no wonder since we had a great line-up with Tom Gauld, Simone Lia, Rachael Ball and Tom Ferrier.

People started gathering at the Rag Factory (in Brick Lane) around 6.30 and pretty soon it was difficult to get from one side to the other.

First up where Tom and Simone who started the presentation together. The two of them were in college together and had collaborated on their first comics.  

After that Tom talked a bit about his work and his latest comic, Goliath.

I bought the book a few days ago and I highly recommend it. The story tries to imagine the famous story about David and Goliath from the point of view of Goliath. In the book, the fateful fight is almost a side note in the end.

The style of illustration is deceptively simple but poignant. I say 'deceptively' because there is a lot of cross hatching involved which can be very time consuming... specially when one is trying to recreate a night sky!

Tom Gauld

Then Simone talked about her lasted graphic novel, Please God find me a Husband. She was very open and honest about her work, anxieties and beliefs.

I have bought her book but haven't read it yet. I have heard good things about it. It is supposed to be quite funny and touching. I liked her style and the whole book is different shades of blue.

Simone Lia

During the break there were books on sale and I took the opportunity to have my books signed. The great thing about getting comic artists to sign books is that you always get a drawing as well:)

Simone Lia signing my book

Everyone really enjoys catching up with each other and at times it a while to settle back down!

Sarah McIntyre and Darryl Cunningham 

After the break we had a few announcements and then Rachael Ball and Tom Ferrier presented their work. 

Rachael has gone back to comics after a long absence. Her latest work-in-progress was called Shadows and consisted of beautiful and haunting paintings.

Rachael Ball

Tom Ferrier is a doctor and creates comics based on his medical experiences which is quite interesting. The drawing I liked the most was of his memory/imagination about having an illness as a child when horn grew out of his face!

Tom Ferrier

I think Laydeez do Comics is going from strength to strength and it provides a great space and opportunity for artists to socialise and discover new work.

Comica Comiket

It was a Saturday, and I wanted to catch up with my sleep, but the alarm went off at 7.00am and I knew I had to get up and pack to leave for the Comica Comiket where I had a small table.

My deliver from Awesome Merchandise had arrived just the day before.

It was going to be a one and half hour journey to Bishopsgate Institute hall near Liverpool Street Station.

Bishopasgate Institute

When I arrived at my table I saw that they had auto-corrected my name!

A bit of black felt tip.. and voila! Problem solved.

All set up!

It was great when friends stopped by. Elena also volunteered at the Comiket Cafe that day.

With Bhumi

 Throughout the day artists like Tom Gauld, Simone Lia and Philippa Rice did live drawings which was projected on screen. I recently bought Paul Gauld's comic Goliath. He and Simone will be talking at Laydeez do Comics tomorrow.

Simone Lia

Philippa Rice, creator of My Cardboard Life, works in collage and it was fascinating to watch her in process. She uses the craft knife freehand and so quickly... like a pencil!

Phillipa Rice

It was a great day but sitting for seven hours can be surprisingly very exhausting! On the train ride back home I just sat back and enjoyed the spaceship like clouds outside the window.

 I made this image for my mum. Saturday was  Mother's day in Nepal. 'Ama ko mukh herne din' literally translates to 'a day to look at your mother's face'... so I did just that! It was the next best thing to seeing her in person. I took inspiration from an image I had seen of Po, from the Kung Fu Panda:)

Alchemy- Festival of South Asian culture at Southbank Centre

On Tuesday I went to London to see a play. I have a few hours to kill between the time I arrived at Waterloo and the start of the play so I decided to go and check out what was happening at the Southbank Centre.... and it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise!

From the 12th to the 22nd of April, Southbank is hosting the Alchemy festival which celebrated the art, dance, music, literature and design from South Asia. From what I could see in those few hours, there seemed to be a mixture of traditional folk artists and modern designs.

In the main foyer there was a display and demonstration by the JIYO initiative... an innovative design-led enterprise working with skilled rural artisans.

Charkha

I ended up being a translator between this woman and an English visitor. It takes her around 8 hours to spin enough cotton to be made into a metre of cloth!

This Rajastani instrument I was told is called Ravan... like the ten headed king of Hindu mythology.. apparently because of the loud volume that can be produce from it! 

 There were beautiful patterns  and colours everywhere.

Puppets waiting to perform

Puppet dance

Shadow puppets

There were some wonderful Ikat saris hanging from the ceiling. Ikat is prised for it wonderful handmade craftsmanship.

Ikat Saris

Old Bollywood

I was so, so, so tempted to buy this illustration but didn't have the cash!:( 

This is Madhubani art which has inspired my own illustration and comic work.... but of course this is way more intricate and beautiful!

Madhubani art

On the lower level of the foyer, there was an installation called Re-imagined Dreams. Artist Sabari Majumdar worked in collaboration with Asha, a Lambeth-based  South Asian women's organization that works to support survivors of domestic violence, including forced marriages.

To be honest, when I was first reading the description, I assumed that Asha was based in India. The thought that forced marriages would be an issue in the UK didn't even cross my mind!

The installation is a collaborative re-interpretation of a traditional South Asian folk tale titled 'The Flowering Tree'.

The most amazing coincidence was that as we got talking we realized that we had lots of friends in common back in India! The world can be such a small place, even in a billion people country like India!:)

Re-imagine dreams textile installation

There was also the Brit Pak exhibition which showcase the working of emerging British Pakistani artists including Sofia Niazi.

Sofia Niazi

I really enjoyed myself at this fair. It felt good to be surrounded by sounds and sights of South Asia.

And being a comic artist, how could I not love this caption?:) I agree!

Pick Me Up - Contemporary Graphic Arts Fair

.  

I managed to  visit  Pick Me Up, the Contemporary Art Fair at Somerset House, London on its last day. The line of people waiting to buy tickets told me it would be a good show.

Waiting in Line

The start was encouraging.. I was the 100th customer so I got a free sample packs with images from the main exhibitors!

Some of the exhibitors that I really liked were Jon McNaught, Rikka Sormunen and Yoko Furusho.
I loved Jon's minimalist illustrations and I am specially biases towards him because he creates wordless comics... like me!:) If I had the money, I would have loved to buy these puddle prints from him... I fond them very calming.

I loved Rikka's use of watercolours and patterns. They were very delicate even though they were quite dense.

   

Yuko's work had a magical quality about them. I loved the use of stripes and polka dots:)

  

There were hands on demonstrations and workshop taking place but I didn't have the time to attend. The fair was much bigger than I expected and there were a lot of nice and sometime  amusing stuff.

From the very last room I bought this Hippo silkscreen print by Alice Hoult :) I am partial to hippos because they inspired the creation of Miss Moti.



Here are some more images of artworks that I liked from the fair. It was great that they let us take photographs.

 

This was titled Wedding Ring:)

Love this Quote!

Photograph of a hand made camera

Miss Moti-esque women

This was really funny!

The words didn't make sense till I realised the cups were a pair.