Elly Mackay is a Canadian based artist and educator who creates scenes from moments in stories or plays often based around the theme of childhood. Mackay first started as a teenager creating tunnel books which she sold at her local gallery this led her to take an Art and Design course at college and then an illustration, print making and electronic art at university. While studying Mackay started freelance illustration.
To help create her works she explores her own childhood, experiences as a mother, vintage book illustrations, set designs and the surroundings were she lives. Her works today are a return to the style of layering. Mackay starts with thumbnails and concept drawings and a bit of writing about the atmosphere she wants to create. She uses a strong plastic paper as it bends easy, crease, takes ink and the strength allows it to stand easily.
Once some of the layers have been created she starts installing them to a theatre 'above' which is open on all 6 sides including the bottom. This allows her to play with the lighting from all angles to find the right mood for a scene to then take a number of photographs.
Mackay has now published her very first children's story book, If You Hold A Seed, and is due to publish four more over the next year.
Her works remind me of Gillian Lee Smiths, both have a fairytale look and feel to them and this is because they both play with light but in different ways, Mackay uses physical light but Smith uses mixed media to create light and dark.
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