I am Ciara

The bird has flown!

2010-04-28T15:30:00.008+01:00

A big thanks to everyone who regularly checks this blog, I have now made the move to Tumblr so will no longer be updating my blogspot.

COME JOIN ME ON TUMBLR // NEW RSS FEED

Accidental Collage

2010-04-23T17:04:00.003+01:00

I fell and tripped...

A random collage that came out of a page I use for turning photos into black and white (long story). This is how things fell on the page, I thought someone out there might appreciate it.

Innovation in Latin America

2010-04-19T13:25:00.002+01:00

I recently completed an illustration for Research World magazine on the topic of Innovation in Latin America. I had lots of fun creating weird juxtapositions and making colourful patterns.

Nylon Magazine

2010-04-16T12:44:00.003+01:00

The very lovely people at Nylon Magazine commissioned me to illustrate their article on documentary film making. It was a great project as I pretty much had free reign. I haven't done a detailed collage in a while so it's nice to create something so busy, 10 points to anyone who can spot Daisy the cow :) A big thanks to Kristin for her help, it's out in May.

Broken Budgie

2010-04-09T10:13:00.002+01:00

Here's a lil' something something I found. It's circa 2005 and made while experimenting with my faithful old printer (may it rest).

The Globe - Barclays Bank

2010-04-03T01:11:00.005+01:00

Barclay's Bank commissioned me through the YCN Agency to design the front cover and opening spread for their magazine the globe. The piece is about a x-factor style competition they are running for new businesses.

Digital Arts Tutorial

2010-03-26T16:10:00.006Z

Digital Arts kindly asked me to create a tutorial for their March - April 2010 issue. Through 7 steps I showed the readers how create a vintage effect on digital photographs. Out now to buy and enjoy, big thanks to Johann for his help.

Calling Cairo

2010-03-26T15:47:00.003Z

I was asked to design a flyer for the amazinly talented band Calling Cairo. If you haven't heard of them have a listen here. Or better still head down to their free gig at 93 Feet East on 30.03.10 at 7.30!

Through the Looking Glass

2010-03-26T15:22:00.004Z

I went to see Alice in Wonderland a few weeks back... I'm not sure if it was because of the hype or the fact that it's a Disney PG but I wasn't blown away. I came out feeling slightly disappointed, even a little sad. I've always liked the concept of the film, the dreamy excentricity and flamboyant visuals but have never actually read the whole book. In view of this I have decided to read Through the Looking Glass and hopefully re-kindle the love. I dug a copy out of my Nans library and was pleasantly surprised to find loads of cuttings from newspapers sandwiched between the pages, all on the subject of Alice in Wonderland and the various adaptations. Above is an amazing illustration I found hidden under a horrible red and white cover. I'll keep you posted on my progress through the book.

Should Boxing Be Banned?

2010-03-12T13:13:00.002Z

Spot the tiger asked me to illustrate the question "Should boxing be banned?". It's a good one as I'm not sure how I feel about it, I guess no one forces the boxers to get in the ring but then the long term damage to their brain is devastating. Hmm... POW!

Happy Accident

2010-03-02T11:33:00.003Z

I can't remember why or when this happened but I stumbled across this image the other day while tidying. I like how dark the subject contrasts with the colourful imagery. I'm also a big fan of fuzzy felts, they make me smile.

Rabbit in Goldfish

2010-02-22T17:22:00.004Z

I'm going to try and make this blog slightly less about myself. Here's a weird image I found in my Grandparent's library in a book about things under the sea. I'm pretty sure rabbits dont live under the sea and neither do goldfish but if they did I guess this is what it would look like...

Kitsune Noir Wallpaper

2010-02-18T09:32:00.005Z

This week my work is featured as part of the Kitsune Noir wallpaper project. A big thanks to Bobby for including me in this, I love his blog! You can go and download various sizes to suit all your digital wallpaper needs.

Good for the Soul

2010-02-13T15:45:00.006Z

I've been working on a really open brief over the last couple of days so I decided to take this as an opportunity to experiment ...

Happiness is... Eve Before The Fall

2010-02-11T10:16:00.002Z

YCN have asked me to contribute to their magazine Ideas Illustrated. They asked me to respond to the question "Happiness is...? My illustration is based on the idea that before Eve was tempted by the Serpent all mankind knew was happiness. It was only after the fall that self-doubt and cruelty became part of this world. Sounds a bit dramatic but I've wanted to do something on the Garden of Eden for a while.

Bostock and Pollitt - One Tree

2010-02-10T16:51:00.003Z

Bostock and Pollitt have just released a range of recycled papers. To celebrate this they asked various creatives to respond to the phrase "what one tree means to me". My illustration is based on the idea of conquering the unconquerable. Theres some real good stuff in the book so I'm real glad to be included. Thanks to Corrinne for sorting everything out.

Festival De L'imaginaire

2010-02-08T18:11:00.003Z

The lovely Rana Salam commissioned me to illustrate the main image for the Festival De L'imaginaire. All very exciting! More images to come.

Like Buses

2010-01-29T14:08:00.005Z

So its been a busy week for me, one of those weeks where I leave everything to the last minute and make things really stressful. I've been working on a 6 page illustration for Sketchbook Magazine. Its all about Amelia Gregory and her infamous magazine, pictured above is the first draft, still needs a bit of work but its nearly there. Pictured below that is the cover and double page spread I illustrated for The Big Issue. And below that is a listings leaflet I designed for the African Film Festival a while back.

Strongrooms Mural

2010-01-22T15:54:00.005Z

Strongrooms, based in Old Street have just opened up a new post production suite called Picture House. They very kindly asked me decorate their newly purchased foyer. They gave me almost complete free reign which was amazing but I only had a budget of £50. Here's the result...its a mixture of collaged prints and acrylic paints. If you're ever in the area, pop and see it on Singer St.

Bollocks to Poverty Banner

2010-01-18T18:01:00.003Z

Action Aid commissioned me to illustrate a banner for their Bollocks to Poverty campaign. Here's my spiel....

"The idea behind my illustration is quite simply "what environment would you rather live in?" To show this I juxtaposed a rich healthy environment with a grey, polluted one. Most people would choose the rich and colorful environment; but not everyone has a choice. I just wanted make people think about the extremes of affluence and poverty in the world and how we should help those less privileged than ourselves."

Digital Arts Showcase

2010-01-18T17:54:00.002Z

Christmas really got in the way of me posting this up but here it is. Digital Arts Magazine published a nice little showcase of my work. A big thanks to Johann for sorting that :) More updates to come...

Sound of the Wall Calender

2009-12-22T10:44:00.001Z

Yesterday I started work on a year calender for Sound of the Walls. Its not quite finished but I thought I'd post it up anyway....

The Big Issue

2009-12-18T17:10:00.003Z

I was asked to illustrate the front cover of the Big Issue which is amazing. Here's a sneak preview of the cover....

Iko Iko

2009-12-18T03:44:00.004Z

Its nearly 4am and I'm still up working on a spread for the Big Issue. I've been cutting out lots of weird imagery and putting them on a page as spare bits. Thats how Mo and Macy happened. Enjoy.

YCN Christmas Cards

2009-12-04T18:00:00.005Z

YCN kindly asked me to design 5 christmas cards for their new pop up shop - My Two Front Teeth. Let the merriment commence...

Four of Five Album of the Year '09

2009-11-23T20:34:00.002Z

Last week I worked with the very talented Adam Ellison on a promotional flyer for the Four oh Five Album of the Year '09. We were given complete creative control which is always a joy, I think it's turned out really well!

Bollocks to Poverty and Bad Idea

2009-11-22T15:35:00.004Z

I've had a super productive week... Here's an illustration for I created for Bad Idea magazine, followed by a banner I designed for Action Aids Bollocks to Poverty campaign.

Window Wonderland

2009-11-14T14:53:00.002Z

I was recently chosen as one of the 11 finalists for Apostrophes Window Wonderland competition. I will have my artwork displayed in their window throughout December at their St Christophers branch in Oxford St. An additional bonus is I get free tea and coffee for six months, woop!

Collage a Tu

2009-11-06T11:58:00.005Z

I've been collaging a fair bit recently. There's no major narrative to any of it but I guess thats what makes it fun :)

Welcome!

2009-09-25T00:48:00.007+01:00

This my first ever post which is very exciting. I've just relaunched my website so I figured a new blog would go very nicely with it. I haven't got much to post at the moment but I will soon so check back for updates!