my first spoon

from a branch, with an axe, with love.

  
I've been working with some fantastic designers and makers to develop 8 puppets for the Young Vic's production of Wild Swans. I don't know if we're allowed to release any photographs yet so for now here is an amazing carved barn owl puppet by Jan Zalud, who I've had the pleasure of working with for this project. Check out more of his wonderful work at janzalud.co.uk.


Also A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, the current christmas show at the Little Angel Theatre is receiving some amazing reviews! Its's on until January 29th, so please go and see it!!! 


Here's a shot from the performance ....

making a plague

More photographs showing the making process of the puppets and props for the Little Angel Theatre's Christmas production of ....
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings


Inspired by the short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The plague of crabs is destroyed by Kansas the Dog (above) and the townspeople celebrated with a delicious victoria sponge cake!

                                    Check out the Time Out listing here!

Claw hands

My hands are covered in little cuts and are cramping up, claw like. Over the last week or so I have been learning how to carve, and whenever I close my eyes I see a little chisel cutting a spiral of smooth wood. Extremely satisfying, like pealing paint. In the workshop at the Little Angel Theatre, puppets are coming to life for their Christmas show, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, a collaboration with Kneehigh Theatre.
Part of the set is to include a fishing net with crabs caught up in it, and it is my task to carve these crabs... 40 of them! Its a fairly simple shape (bit like a pasty), repeated again and again, so its quite a good starting point for me to work out some techniques.

This is an incredible and inspirational film about a puppet maker from the Cast Iron Marionette Troup, 
based in Portland, Oregon. Just simply fascinating.

tshirt designs

Sorry for the quiet blog time. Summers been happening which means I'm often away from my computer (a good thing?) I worked on the Kids Field at Glastonbury this year and above is the design that went on our t-shirts, which were printed in a very spangly gold on neon pink, Oh yes. 

U1 Artist Collective Exhibition

[The plane is over the Andes] 

Susana Parrado: Oh, mama, look at the mountains! They're beautiful! 

Eugenia Parrado: Don't make me look at the mountains, Susana. The mountains look like big teeth.

Quote from ‘Alive’ (1993)

Photos and flier from the U:1 Artist Collective current exhibition at the Arts Centre, Plymouth. Incorporating installation, video projection, illustration, photography, painting and sculpture.  Its a fun, eclectic, interactive exhibition responding to the theme of sublime, and the blurring boundaries of harmony and horror. Basically I made a den out of sticks and blankets.

"To look to the skies and to know your place... or what little consequence your existence will have. The harmony ? Or horror?"    

quote from a painting by Helen Manley 

The Plymouth Post newspaper came to our private view. The exhibition is open all week until Friday from 10am - 5pm, so if you haven't already been down then please do! 

 Hand painted Cajon drum! This was made for Lion Drums who are based just round the corner from my house in Plymouth.

Just finishing editing the footage from our Bristol Exhibition, with U:1 Artist Collective! We'll hopefully be bringing some of this kinetic art to Plymouth soon... keeping eyes peeled for empty shops, squats and spaces at the moment. 
U:1's next exhibition will be opening on Tuesday 2nd May, in Batter Street, Plymouth Art Centre. We will be exploring the theme of "Harmony and Horror" by creating small environments and microcosms, atmospheres and environments. More info to come.... 

Book covers, projected animation and puppets! These are some old photos that I just got off my madre's camera from my degree show in 2010... As if it was nearly a year ago... 

She started with The Universe. Then she wrote The Galaxy, The Solar System, The Earth, Europe, England, Felling, Our House, The Kitchen, The White Chair With A Hundred Holes Like Stars, then her name, Margaret, and she paused.
    'What's in the middle of me?' she asked.
    'Your heart,' said Mary.
    She wrote My Heart.
    'In the middle of that?'
    'Your soul,' said Catherine.
    She wrote My Soul.
    Mam reached down and lifted the front of Margaret's T-shirt and prodded her navel.
    'That's where your middle is,' she said. 'That's where you were part of me.'
    


       from a short story by David Almond

> > > 'Party in Your Eyes' - a U:1 Artist Collective Exhibition < < <

Birds made for 'Party in Your Eyes', a U:1 Artist Collective group exhibition in Broadwalk Arts, Bristol. This is a kinetic art window installation which is up until 9th April. Please join us for tea and cake to celebrate the exhibition closing party on Saturday 9th April 11am- 3pm. We will be selling small works and zines.  

Left to right- Sophie Stocks, Amber Donovan, John Roberts of Puppetcraft, Jonathan Street, Libby Quick and Emily Swann of Clockwork Moth. With our baby Hugh! 

A Play by Carl Grose as part of the National Theatre Connections Festival - 
March 15th, 16th, 17th - 7:30pm at Studio 31@ DAPA (Aller Park, Dartington Estate) and March 29th at the Drum, Theatre Royal, Plymouth
Tickets available from pmorrow@kingedwardvi.devon.sch.uk
Or contact me and I'll get ye some!


x

Here's a sneaky look at some of the puppets we are creating for the play Gargantua! It will be showing at Dartington on 15th, 16th and 17th of March and on 29th at the Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth as part of 'Connections Festival'. If you'd like some tickets please get in contact or visit the Theatre Royal website, here!

Puppets for Kneehigh

So these are some puppets that I had the great joy and luck to help make. I was working with John Roberts of Puppetcraft, putting the finishing touches to these large puppets for Kneehigh's upcoming show 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'. They have now been sent to the Little Angel puppet theatre to be painted, clothed and wigged and used for rehearsals. Whey.

I have these four framed prints in an exhibition at the B-Bar, Barbican Theatre in Plymouth, in collaboration with the U:1 Artist Collective! Each are about A3 in size and they're for sale at £35 each. Its up until the end of Jan so please pop in and have a perusal.


Happy New Year to all !! 
Just so I get them down somewhere solid here are some resolutions for the big TWENTY ELEVEN
     
     get a cajon drum    
     draw more
     blog more
     adventures
     join an ultimate frisbee team
     read as many books as I can as fast as possible
     plan my land/ sea trip to Bhutan
     go to the Lake District and Scotland
     buddies and woodcraft
     


                    xx

miow

 

 

x ~ 'The Middle of the World' by David Almond ~ x

Photos from a meditation garden I helped create in the middle of a field of tall grass on a farm/ retreat in the south of
 France.  Using a massive scythe is great fun and here are some of the stones that we painted to make a calm space for
 everyone that visits. 

this is a collaborative piece of work which forms the colourful chilly month of October. It was produced for a 2010 calendar made by students in my year at UoP. The Leaves image on the left is by Sarah Bartlett.

o o o o o

what's in the middle?

These are some rough sketches for my new project, which is going to be a picture book for young readers. I'm illustrating a short story called The Middle of the World by David Almond. He's a fantastic writer, check out The Savage with drawings by Dave McKean, big likes.

this is a drawing inspired by Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road

 

This is a great book! Read it  read it read it. Boring cover though (?)

owl man bird man

Why the Whales Came from Amber Donovan on Vimeo.

Narrated by Hannah - double click to make full screen!

'October was in the chair, so it was chilly that evening, and the leaves were red and orange and tumbled from the trees that circled the grove. The twelve of them sat round a campfire roasting huge sausages on sticks, which spat and crackled as the fat dripped onto the burning appplewood, and drinking fresh apple cider, tangy and tart in their mouths. April took a dainty bite from her sausage, which burst open as she bit it, spilling hot juice down her chin. "Beshrew and suck odure on it," she said.'