Monday 6/13

To kick off our second week in London we met with Ben Cox from the Central Illustration Agency, where he manages artists. He was both insightful and witty, which made for a great presentation. That afternoon we had our zoom call with Nadav Kander, who was able to allot time in his schedule to speak with us while he was working on a project in Ibiza. Our entire group felt super grateful that he was able to do this and we couldn’t wait to get to chat with him. Prior to meeting him, we had heard many different things about his character that made him sound super mysterious and intriguing, one of them being that he pauses for a long time after someone asks him a question. We found this to be extremely accurate, I felt like I could see the gears turning in his head as he sat in the strong silence that followed each student’s question. He spoke so eloquently, he could make even the mundane sound poetic. Considering a lot of my work is about solitude, I felt as though I could really empathize with the meaning behind a lot of his work. We left the Art Workers Guild that day filled with inspiration and contentment. I know a lot of people that haven’t been allowed to pursue studies that they wanted to, so on a more personal level, I felt super lucky to have the opportunity to study my passion. 

Tuesday 6/14

On Tuesday we met with Sammy Satwinder, the King of Calligraphy, for an interactive lesson. Similar to Nadav, he spoke about his work in a way that made you feel like you were skipping in a field of flowers at sunset. He explained calligraphy to us as “dancing words that have rhthm”, which I found to be a beautiful way to describe it. Since Emma’s 21st birthday was approaching at the beginning of July, he painted an extravagant E on her hand that he later topped off with gold foil as a present. 

That afternoon we went to the British Library, where we saw the Magna Carta and, wait for it… letters and original lyrics of the Beatles that were donated by John Lennon! As an individual that comes from a huge Beatles loving family, I must say this was pretty awesome to see in person and had the Magna Carta beat for sure. Sorry, high school history teachers. 

Following the library, Emma and I headed back to South Bank to explore a bit. We crossed the Tower of London, and I was in shock at how detailed and intricate the architecture was.

Wednesday 6/15

Wednesday called for another interactive lesson, but this time with Jim LaFevre, a jovial animation director represented by Lexus Studios. He taught us about all the different types of animation that existed and the pros and cons of each. He referred to sketchbooks as “butterfly nets”, adding that we should chuck EVERYTHING in there, which brought a smile to my face. The last 30 minutes of the presentation were spent making our own animations on a phenakistoscope. It was amazing to see our little doodles come to life. 

Jay Mitchell, founder of 1883 magazine, met us at the Art Workers Guild in the afternoon. He explained 1883 as a magazine that featured a conglomeration of different things, from fashion, to music, to lifestyle. His unconventional creative process defied the rules of design and allowed him to create layouts that were extremely captivating. Most of my graphic work is aggressive and gritty, and I found a lot of similarities to my work in his. It was very refreshing to see someone who rejected following a certain style or process for the approval of others. 

After we wrapped up our day of presentations at the Art Workers Guild we headed over to the Wunderman Thompson headquarters, where we received a brief from Simon Sworn. Giddy with excitement, a swarm of ideas buzzed around in my brain and I was chomping at the bit to start expanding on them with Emma, who I chose to be my partner. 

After a busy day of thinking and listening, we were excited to end our day at Blues Kitchen for some drinks and dancing. Cheers to our favorite day of the week!

Thursday 6/16

Leah and I started our day off at Pret a Manger for some much needed caffeine and then headed to the tube. I really enjoyed our morning routine that we had adopted together. Once we became comfortable with the tube, we grew quite fond of our morning transits. Something about drowning out the rest of the people around us with music as we sat on the velour seats was calming to me and got me ready to start my day. We followed a somewhat hidden path to the entrance of Pentagram, where Dominic Lippa would be giving us a presentation on the ethos and history of the company. He shared that Pentagram has always used its platform to fight for social causes, something that I believe to be very important in this day and age. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the entire office as well as some magazines to take home. When he opened the room up to questions I asked him if he had any advice for us 21 year olds to which he replied “Never stop learning, I’m 60 years old and I’m still learning everyday!”. Noted, Dominic!

In the afternoon, we visited the Design Museum, where we learned about product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. We also got to play around in the ASMR exhibit that was on display, they definitely did a good job on curating it considering Bill got a couple of z’s in.

Friday 6/17

Friday morning started off with a visit to Spitalfields market, which Bill had described to us as the best destination for anything vintage. The rows of stands seemed endless with countless vendors selling anything and everything you could imagine. Silk scarfs, hand-made baby clothes, jewelry, vintage records and books all spread out on tables waiting to be picked up by a passerby to find their forever home. After 15 minutes of walking around the food section trying to reach a decision on what to have for lunch, Leah and I landed on Turkish food. It was my first time trying it and it did not disappoint! It tasted even better than it smelled.

With a full stomach, we made our way to Wiedan Kennedy to meet the rest of the group. With all the fun colors and quirky decorations, their office was very up my alley. We headed downstairs to meet Miriam, who would be giving us our brief for the day. In the 60 minutes we had to execute a clothing item that solved an everyday problem, Leah and I came up with ChiroCloth. Described as the “Clothes that heal you”, Chirocloth is a posture correcting piece of clothing. Although we didn’t get first place or win the lottery ticket that came with it, we were very proud of our idea and had a really fun time coming up with it. My ideation skills mixed with Leah’s illustration skills made for a good dynamic.

Saturday 6/18

Doing work isn’t too bad when you're enjoying iced latte’s with your friends at Mare Street Market. The lively environment put me in a good headspace to get my work done and I spent the entirety of the day planning my writing for this blog! So, thank you Mare Street, for providing me with a place to be productive.

Sunday 6/19

What better way to start your Sunday than by heading to the farmer’s market? Leah, Hannah, Elena, Colette and I browed each stand with interest, intrigued by all the handmade pastas and quiches galore. I bought some truffle ravioli and Hannah decided on some Elderflower Kombucha. One thing I noticed about London was that they loved their elderflower. And I don’t blame them, I became quite keen on the Elderflower Gin and Tonics from The Narrow Boat myself. 

In the afternoon, Leah, Hayley and I met Bill at the University of Arts London Central Saint Martins Grad show which was absolutely breathtaking. There was so much talent across all different mediums and left me feeling very inspired and eager to improve my work as an artist.