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Developments sketches for the pages for Paper Tooth Comic (coming soon)
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A shot of the latest studio --- zine collection, books reshuffle since moving to Winchester.
I am working on a narrative comic (working title Paper Tooth) that collects various tools and materials used by illustrators.
A recent trip to Prague with Illustration students from the University of Portsmouth. I scouted a bookshop Xao Gallery and bought a Selection of zines. Rich and inventive riso wonders!
https://xaoxax.cz/ Busy working out the dimensions of the tapestry box, endless prototypes were made to make the lid fit correctly. It will house the book and the mechanical music box.
My submission for International Artists’ Books exhibition Love and Music, 2020.
Six hundred and sixty-two 3mm holes punched along a 13.3 foot long paper strip, accordion-folded into a 120-page book, and wrapped in a printed paper belly-band. Using a 1:16 scale version of The Bayeux Tapestry as a guide, the exact head position of each of the 626 human figures (embroidered into the original tapestry) were marked onto a 13-foot long strip of 160gsm paper, and punched out as 3mm holes. When the pages are removed from the hardcovers they can be fed and wound through a 15-note mechanical music box, sounding notes. Гобеле́н (Tapestry) Dimensions:35mm (w) x 45mm (h) x 35mm (d) (closed), 35mm x 4600mm (unfurled) Weight: 35 grams Materials: saffron-coloured rayon book cloth, 160gsm caramel-coloured paper, inkjet 140gsm wrap, card. After making several practical versions of a multiplane rostrum I assembled a more abstract sculptural piece from wood, acrylic and metal. Multiplane Rostrum (Artists’ Maquette) is a ½ scale model of piece of equipment used in the creation of stop frame animation. The handmade scale model is a speculative sculptural piece with mechanism with frame, scrolling, trays and moveable arms. The various mechanisms allow visual materials such a filters to be passed below and in front of a camera in and out of the frame. The sculpture, which is a sculpture on what an animator needs to create an animation, speculates on the various processes involved in making abstract animation. Title: Multiplane Rostrum (Artists’ Maquette), 2019 Dimensions: 24cm (w) x 28cm (d) x 29.5cm (h) Materials: wood, Perspex, acrylic, metal, brass ‘Traditionally, experimental animators have avoided the standard animation stand and the production-line procedures of the commercial studio. One common bond among all experimental animators is that, in varying degrees, they personalize their equipment and techniques, as does any fine artisan or craftsman. Some animators have gone far beyond the conventional mechanisms by building complex devices…’
- Cecile Starr & Robert Russett from ‘Experimental Animation’, 1976’. This coming March 2020 I am giving a lecture at The Royal Drawing School alongside Joan Ashworth about our involvement with Stories in Transit. All welcome. ''Joan Ashworth and Lee Shearman will unfold their contribution to Stories in Transit, Marina Warner’s project working with refugees in Palermo, Sicily that uses storytelling and narrative games to exercise the imagination of the participants. Joan and Lee have worked with one of the stories, as told by Dine Diallo; one of the young refugees from Guinea. After an oral telling of the story by Dine, participants in the workshop made drawings in response, which were then translated into articulated silhouette and translucent paper cut-out figures. Using this artwork as material for animation, participants filmed sequences using a variety of creative techniques. Joan and Lee will discuss and reflect on the processes involved in creating the animation, show examples of the paper puppets as well as screening clips from the film so far and reveal the next steps for the Stories In Transit project. shall be discussing our contribution to Stories in Transit, Marina Warner’s project working with refugees in Palermo, Sicily that uses storytelling and narrative games to exercise the imagination of the participants. We will discuss and reflect on the processes involved in creating the animation, show examples of the paper puppets as well as screening clips from the film so far and reveal the next steps for the Stories In Transit project.'' ANIMATING 'STORIES IN TRANSIT' March 18th 2020, 6.45pm Royal Drawing School, Shoreditch Studios, 19-22 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3SG £5 / £3.50 concessions Read more about Stories in Transit website, or my reflection here.
 ANIMATION: I have been experimenting with various ways of fixing an iPad above my work area. Rather than buying a metal camera stand I wanted to make something that could accommodate various additions, and be cut into and adapted into a multiplane camera rostrum. I found this embroidery easel made from pinewood so it is light but strong, and could easily be modified. #animation
Two Rotoscope Gifs I create in Procreate. I traced two instances of wind-blown tarpaulin.
For sound production for upcoming animation projects I am using Logic Pro X since migrating my sound work from PC (Cakewalk & Soundforge). I am also using a U-PhoriaUMC404HD external sound card together with a Boss Micr BR-80 and a Sigma TM-15e+.
PAPER ENGINEERING: I designed, illustrated and assembled a miniature paper pop-up kiosk/ vending machine based on The Penguincubator. It was illustrated in Indesign, printed and assembled from two sheets of A4 180gsm card. It is a speculative maquette that suggests a book dispensary.
I visited The Asset Strippers by Mike Nelson at Tate Britain.
'Mike Nelson has transformed the heart of Tate Britain into somewhere between a sculpture court and an asset strippers’ warehouse, carefully selecting objects from a past world, the post-war Britain that framed his childhood. Nelson’s project has been informed by the Duveen Galleries’ origins as the first purpose-built sculpture galleries in England, intended to rival the sculpture court at the British Museum and the V&A’s cast room, turning the neo-classical galleries into a warehouse of monuments to a lost era and the vision of society it represented.' I was contacted by Heloise Laurie who is writing her PhD at Paris University. She asked for my recollections my experience of an earlier exhibition by Mike Nelson entitled 'The Coral Reef', which I had seen back in 2011. Do you remember how you first heard about this work and what led you to visit it? I first heard about Mike Nelson and his work back in 1999 when was I studying Fine Art in Portsmouth University, UK between 1997-2000. As part of the course, practicing artists would visit our University each week to talk about themselves and their work. One of those artists was Mike Nelson. During his artists talk he talked about his early career, inspirations and his work- including installations he had been working on. One in particular was Agent Dickson at The Red Star Hotel- an installation at Hales Gallery, London 1995. It was a kind of space shuttle built from stacked boxes; inside of which was a 'cabin' a small cramped room with a hammock, a painting, some crash helmets, tin post and pans, books. The visual impact of this work - in a red-lit room made quite an impression on me. His discussed his work- which blended fact and fiction- along with slides. It really inspired me - so I actively sought out his work. I saw The Coral Reef for the first time at Matt's Gallery, London back in 2000. At that time Matts Gallery was located on Copperfield Road, London. I think it was the first time The Coral Reef was exhibited. I saw a listing for the exhibition in Time Out. It was the first time I had visited Matt's Gallery also. According to your recollection, how long was your visit of " The Coral Reef " ? I visited the gallery on my own and I remember vividly the work and I wondered about The Coral Reef for several hours. Were there many people that day in the artwork? Did you have to wait to enter or did you feel that you could not go at your own pace inside the work? When I visited The Coral Reef installation at that time, in the afternoon -the installation was empty! I was fully immersed in the work, on my own, allowed to wonder about the rooms freely. At that time Mike Nelson was not as well known as he has now become.  MINISTRY OF BOOKS @ University of Portsmouth
I helped move The Ministry of Books collection to a new book room. Now the collection of artists' books their own space alongside Zinopolis. I made a balsa wood cityscape painted in Neon Pink UV paint for an upcoming exhibition at Stour Space
A mock up of a miniature concertina books based on HAL-9000 from 2001; A Space Odyssey. I made this mock up to coincide with the Stanley Kubrick Exhibition at The Design Museum, but the idea was rejected at quite a late stage so I didn't continue with the production of this book. The wrap is based on the control panel and safety warning from the film prop. The cover had red acetate covering a hole cut through. More info about Micro Library books here: www.microlibrarybooks.com
I was asked by Tom Sowden to submit some artwork to The Blue Notebook (writing on contemporary artists’ books) THE LIVERY OF LUSK & MURK OF ILLUSION
Read more: Micro Library Books The Blue Notebook  GRAPHIC DESIGN: I redesigned the logo for Ministry of Books at University of Portsmouth, based on Maureen O'Neill's original design. I used indesign to create the circle and traced over Maureen's ministry icon.
 My collection of the illustrative wonders that I have picked up at various Illustration and book fairs the last few years. Sorted these out at the start of the Academic year. There has been some great books made this last year.
I am working with the poet Pip Rowson on a series of miniature books to coincide with the upcoming exhibition at The Design Museum ' Moving to Mars'. We set about researching and speculating relocating to Mars.
Arrive, Survive & Thrive Mars Books Design Museum Moving to Mars Exhibition Moving to Mars Micro Library Books Collection  I attended the artists talk Lothar Gotz gave at Towner about the trajectory of his arts practice, inspirations, influences and ideas behind Diagonal Dance the current commission at Towner Gallery. The conversation between Noelle Collins and Lothar about the commission was especially illuminating and I felt there were many themes in his work that relate to my own.
I designed and made a pocket-sized pop-up diorama collage.
 I collaborated on a miniature handmade concertina-folded book featuring a poem by writer Pip Rowson. The poem incorporates thirteen captions from fathom charts. This artwork is a full-colour inkjet print on 160gsm paper, which has been cut, scored and folded down into thirty-two 35mm x 50mm pages, and bound in tweed green rayon hard covers. This first edition of 'Fathoms' is part of the Micro Library Books 'Featured Artist' series and is limited to 50 copies.
Dimensions Closed: 35 x 50 x 14mm 32 concertina pages, 160 gsm white paper, inkjet print, tweed green rayon cover, 35 x 50 x 10mm |
Lee Shearman Blog : Illustration, Animation, and Artists' Books
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