ABOUT
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PROFILE
Since graduating in 2000 with First Class Honours BA Fine Art Degree from University of Portsmouth, I have been freelance as a creative practitioner, freelance graphic designer, illustrator and workshop leader specialising in design, bookmaking and stop frame animation. I've been a STEM Ambassador since 2018. I have worked with a number of art organisations including Permanent Gallery and Bookshop, e-Permanent, The Craftimation Factory, Stories in Transit, and as co-manager of the art company Borbonesa. I currently live in St. Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings. For more information about any of the work featured here, or if you would like to commission an illustration, design or education project contact me via email here. |
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LECTURER BA (HONS) ILLUSTRATION AT UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH
I am lecturer in Illustration at University of Portsmouth (School of Art, Design & Performance) and teach on both L5 & L6 and along with Course Leader Ros Simms curate the artist books collection 'The Ministry of Books'. |
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BORBONESA
Art / Design / Publishing/ Education I am co-founder of the art group Borbonesa; a collective of artists and makers who design and create book works, produce stop frame animation, and deliver art-based workshops in both bookmaking and animation. Along with Matt Fleming, Ian Whitmore and David Yaghoobi, Borbonesa have successfully completed two Arts Council England funded projects Othello and Timequake. Projects and workshops featured in my portfolio that have been devised and delivered collaboratively as Borbonesa are marked with the Bobonesa logo. As a workshop leader my responsibilities include planning the workshop structure, preparation of equipment and materials and technical support during workshop delivery. "Lee and the Borbonesa team have consistently shown themselves to be dedicated, thoughtful and creative but also mindful of the needs of schools and their practical operating needs. Their experience from their professional practice alongside their work in schools means that they bring a unique and valuable set of skills and resources to each project they engage in.'' - Sharon Court, Education Projects Manager www.borbonesa.co.uk |
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MICRO LIBRARY BOOKS
Artists Books / Bookmaking Workshops In 2012 I founded Micro Library Books; a small-press publishing platform specialising in the design and production of limited edition pocket-sized illustrated books and packaging. Since producing the first bookwork experiment The Engineerium Micro Library Box Set I have since produced several other titles including The Diary of Mashie Black, the Micro Library Diary and Grid Books Set, each of which I have designed and illustrated in the Micro Library format, assembling each copy by hand. In addition to the printed works I have devised and delivered several workshops tutoring both children and adult learners in miniature bookmaking, paper sculpture and pop-up. "Probably one of the most extraordinary objects I have ever found on Etsy! A small miracle of art in the age of machinery. I cannot wait to see more from this incredibly talented book & graphic design artist.'' - Beth, Etsy Customer www.microlibrarybooks.com |
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STORIES IN TRANSIT
Storytelling & Animation Workshops I am a key artist for Stories in Transit a project directed by Dame Marina Warner. Stories in Transit organises storytelling workshops in the UK and in Palermo, bringing young migrant students together with artists, writers and musicians. The project aspires to work with displaced individuals, whatever their status. Its work does not extend approval, tacitly or otherwise, to conditions that curtail the right to freedom of movement and work for refugees; no one should be made to pay for their survival with their dignity. The project’s hope of improving those circumstances should not be taken as an acceptance (“normalisation”) of the restrictions imposed on arrivants from any country. www.storiesintransit.org |
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THE CRAFTIMATION FACTORY
Animation & Wellbeing Projects The Craftimation Factory is a registered CIO established in 2012 by Janey Moffat Laloe. She believes that 'making is connecting' and that 'people feel better when they are making something, anything - even if they do not think they are very good at it'. The Craftimation Factory's inspired approach to promoting creativity in children and adult learners has seen it run council-funded textile and reminiscence workshops for people aged 50+, through to puppet making and stop motion animation workshops for young people. Since moving to St. Leonards I have been working with The Craftimation Factory during their animation workshops, tutoring participants in stop frame animation techniques, and offering technical support of animation equipment. www.thecraftimationfactory.org |
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INTO UNIVERSITY
Further Education Support Programme At each local centre IntoUniversity offers an innovative programme that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to attain either a university place or another chosen aspiration. In February 2015 I ran a two hour animation workshop at both the Brixton and Brent branches of IntoUniversity as part of their Creative Industries programme. Their programme provides children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with the help that many children receive as a matter of course. There are three main strands: - Academic Support - FOCUS - Mentoring www.intouniversity.org |
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e-PERMANENT
Digital Online Art Platform e-Permanent is an online platform for artists which supports the creation of new work for networked space. Artists are commissioned through an international open call for proposals and their works are presented online alongside new writing and features. Working alongside Gallery Director Laura Mousavi-Zadeh and gallery volunteers, I was instrumental in establishing the e-Permanent digital archive, co-managing the process of transferring Permanent Gallery's physical material into digitised content. I created a live editable document and, along with volunteers, cataloged gallery publications, press & publicity material, video and photographic documentation adding them to the archive. |
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PERMANENT GALLERY
INDEPENDENT ART SPACE / BRIGHTON (2003 -2007) Permanent Gallery was established in May 2003 by Laura Mousavi-Zadeh as a space for artistic experimentation, which provided practical and critical support in the producing, presenting and contextualising of artists’ work. Central to the exhibition programme was the process of dialogue between the gallery, each artist and their audience. The Permanent Gallery aimed to exhibit a rigorous, high quality programme of contemporary art that reflected the diverse landscape of artistic practices within a local, national and international context. I was a member of the gallery steering committee, and co-managed book arts related exhibitions at Permanent that sought to raise the profile and awareness of artist-book making. I jointly project-managed over fifteen exhibitions between 2006 - 2009, including ‘Planet Le Gun’, ‘Sitting Room’, and ‘Works for Turntables’. For complete list of these exhibitions > CLICK HERE |
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PERMANENT BOOKSHOP
ARTISTS BOOKS, ZINES & PERIODICALS (2003 - 2007) The Permanent Gallery Bookshop was a platform for ideas-based publications, located in Permanent Gallery - an environment where artists were encouraged to experiment within an atmosphere of social, cultural and critical engagement. The Permanent Bookshop retailed over 200 titles ranging from independent locally produced artist’s books to international large format magazines. I was co-manager of The Permanent Bookshop between 2003 / 2007, along with Matt Fleming. In addition to selling and promoting the artists' books, I actively promoted the bookshop and its collection at numerous Small Publisher Fairs, Gallery Openings, Book Launches, and represented the gallery and bookshop at Conferences, Presentations and Degree Shows. For a complete list of the book fairs and exhibitions > CLICK HERE |