Elly Mackay

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.

http://www.ellymackay.com/

Vin Burnham

Vin Burnham is an award winning costume designer and has worked on feature films, TV commercials, TV, theatre, opera, ballet and rock n roll. Vin Burnham was always surrounded by theatre and performers, both her parents were actors and her grandfather was an opera singer.  

Her long list of works includes the Chronicles of Narnia in 1988, Batman in 1989, the Fifth Element in 1997, Wind in the Willow in 2007 and Zing Zillas in 2010. But before getting any of these jobs Burnham went to art school but dropped out before she got her degree and went on to work selling programmes and working behind bars at West End theatres. She then got a lucky break at the Royal Opera House in Convent Garden in the prop department and then went onto work in the Wardrobe department at the Nottingham Playhouse where she created her first creature. After many doing many jobs Burnham decided to go a freelance with a close friend in London as costume maker for Oscar winner James Acheson.

Vin Burnham is also the creator of the Little Costume Shop which shows of small scale models of opera and ballet dresses in her own designs. Most recently She has created the Little Wedding Dress Shop were she creates small scale mementos for peoples wedding days. Burnham has also published a book in 2009 named the Best Ever Kids Costumes, which reminds me of what Iain Simons said about writing a book to help getting your self known.

 

Gillian Lee Smith

Gillian Lee Smith is an artist and model maker who originally studied costume design at university were she learnt to illustrate characters which she now uses in her work today. Smith's inspiration comes from the idea of story telling, personal emotions and the use of imagination, helped by her job working with people with dementia were she uses objects to stimulate memories.

Her work includes mixed media pieces with media like acrylic, chalk, ink, water colour and oil pastels which create a dark but almost mystical, fairy-tale feel to the pieces. Within her sketchbook, along with costume and character designs, is writing of her most deepest inner thoughts which she then develops into her larger mixed media pieces.

   

I absolutely loved the pieces that I saw at the creative industries day and would defiantly consder buying one. I think the appeal is the use of emotive faces and colours that Smith uses I also like the idea that she links her job with her passion as I think it's something thats quite rare but is something that everybody would love to be doing. I am defiantly inspired by her works and I really want to try using the theme and design of her works but put them into a textile format.