I've spent the last two weeks with my good friend and very talented sidekick, Mr Matt Howarth (formerly head of animation & special effects at Granada TV, BAFTA nominated, and now a freelance animator and filmmaker). Run along here to see his website.
We were asked by the very lovely people at Leeds Central Library to occupy their art space known as Room 700 to create some visual wonderment. We decided it would be fun to turn the walls into sketchbook pages that, courtesy of Matt, could also move, using a projected animation technique.
So, for two weeks, I filled the walls with large scale drawings based loosely on archive material from the library and Matt created a show reel of animated clips as we went along.
TIMELAPSE: Check the timelapse film here to see our coffee cups going down and our biscuit packets being reduced to crumbs.
ANIMATION: Check the animation showreel here, completed onsite by Matt during the residency.
In the middle of our attack on the library walls I had a little trip down to the big city to attend the British Book Industry Awards where I managed to catch up with some of those delightful publishing folk and spend a very pleasant evening at the Canongate table. We came away empty handed but it was a brilliant evening and well worth the trip.
Here's a pic or two from the posh party.
And now it's back to normal and the buildings at Dean Clough Mills are basking in the sunshine whilst I consider continuing where I left off which is bang in the middle of Matt Haig's fantastic follow up to A Boy Called Christmas. Yes, I know, that's ANOTHER very lovely and talented Matt. I'm collecting them. More on the Christmas scene as soon as it's the right moment to release something.
And last but not least, here's a pic from my weekend. A little bit of Vitamin Sea !
Thanks to Leeds Libraries and their brilliant team of staff, to both Matts, and other people called Matt, and to Canongate Books.
Goodbye for now
