1970s coat - a sewing project

Artwork for my most recent illustration commission for Mighty Shepherd Publishing What do Construction Workers do? is with the printer. While waiting for final edits and so on I made a coat out of scrap material using a vintage 1970s sewing pattern. What better way to relax? I'll post about the book when it's launched and available to buy in early October.

What do Vets do? Illustrations for a non-fiction book by Emma Juhasz for Mighty Shepherd Publishing

What do Vets do? is a non-fiction fully illustrated book for children aged six-years-old upwards. There are 48 pages of: information about the kinds of vets there are and the equipment they use; interesting facts about animals; information about how to become a vet in the UK and some fun activities. It was written by Emma Juhasz and published by Mighty Shepherd Publishing.

While working on this project I learnt a lot about animals including the fact that elephants can swim. 

And gorillas sometimes need a dentist.

And what different kinds of vets do.

Click here for more information and to find out to find out how to buy What do Vets do?

What do Vets do? is the first in the series of books for children about the kind of work they might like to do when they grow up. The second book in the series What do Construction Workers do? is soon to be published.

If you'd like to know more about What Do Vets Do? and other books in the series contact Emma Juhasz. What Do Vets Do? is published by Mighty Shepherd.

Christmas Advent Windows in South London

My daughter helped me decorate our advent window. The neighbour who organised advent windows in our part of south London, Jessica Owen, secretly assigned us and others in our area a number/date and then each night from December 1-24 a newly decorated window was revealed.

Tottenham's Trojan Horse? Book

'Tottenham's Trojan Horse?' is available at Housmans Bookshop and Big Cartel.

Dave Morris interviewed on BBC Radio London. Illustration from 'Tottenham's Trojan Horse'.

Tottenham's Trojan Horse? is based on one of the case studies in Mark Panton's doctoral thesis about stadium-led regeneration.

I helped Mark edit his thesis and during this process we had many conversations about a community in High Road West, Tottenham. Their homes and businesses may be demolished to clear space for a fans' walkway from White Hart Lane train station to the entrance of the new Tottenham Hotspur Football Club stadium and they have joined together to challenge the proposals.

Mark and I decided to create a book that would use his research to tell the story of how the fans' walkway proposals came about, show the impact on the people affected by it and what they are doing in response. The best way to do this, we felt, was to use a comic format, base it around dialogue from interviews and make it accessible to a general audience 14-years-old upwards.

The book was published in February 2018, there have been two print runs and copies have gone to people in 8 countries. It has won an award and has been featured in a number of articles and interviews.

Please visit tottenhamstrojanhorse.blogspot.com for more information including how to buy the book or read it for free. "Tottenham's Trojan Horse?" is not available on Amazon.

Duck&Bear comic (suitable for adults and older children) available on Big Cartel

The first episode, there are five episodes in total.

Duck & Bear was originally created as a webcomic but is now available on Big Cartel as an A4 handmade Japanese-bound comic. Duck is a writer and Bear is an illustrator, the story explores their creative processes and friendship. It's warm, funny and family-friendly but best suited to older children and adults. UK price of £6 includes shipping, overseas buyers or anyone with any questions please message Amanda via the contact form on this blog.

For more information about this comic and to see other books go to: crazypanda.bigcartel.com

The comics are handmade and Japanese-bound.

Comic Book Day 2017 at Dagenham Library - Autobiographical Comic Workshop

How to book a free ticket for Comic Book Day at Dagenham Library (there is a link at the end of this post).

On September 23, from 2-5pm, I will be running a drop-in autobiographical comic workshop at Dagenham Library. It will be suitable for all ages and all abilities. The comic can take any form but my suggestion would be to make it about something that has happened that day - like an entry in a diary.

Part of a 24 hour comic I made a couple of years ago, it was created during the course of a day.

If you are interested in comics, zines or graphic novels it's fine to just drop by for a chat.

A couple of my zines will be on sale. I will also have information about the workshops I'll be running at Barking or Dagenham Library starting February 3 next year - 6 sessions that will lead to participant comics being published together in a book. Plus the lady in the photo, Catherine, will be with me - she is a character in a zine I'm working on at the moment.

Besides my workshop there will be a poet, comic book retailers, publishers and more.

For free tickets to Comic Book Day and more information please register on EventBrite or phone 020 8724 3942 or email LBBD. You can email me via the contact form on this blog if you have any questions.

Comic Book Day is part of LBBD's ReadFest 2017. Information about other ReadFest events is on EventBrite and available at LBBD libraries.

Non-fiction graphic novel "Tottenham's Trojan Horse? A Tale of Stadium-led Regeneration in North London"

About the book:

In 2010 Haringey Council in London granted planning permission to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for a new stadium and other linked developments. In 2012 Haringey unveiled regeneration plans for the borough that included demolition of homes and businesses to make way for a proposed fan’s walkway from a relocated train station to the site of the new stadium. A process that was already challenging for the football club, the council and the local community now became tortuous. Those most affected by the proposals felt left out of the decision making and had to find a voice.

The floor of my workroom.

In the next week or so we'll have a draft of "Tottenham's Trojan Horse?" ready. All text will be in place and will have been edited several times but the drawings are either rough pencil sketches or photos that I'm using as placeholders. Before going any further we're going to show it to others for their input. This is to make sure the book will be factually correct and easy to understand. The story is taken from one of Dr Mark Panton's case studies in his doctoral thesis, rewritten so as to be accessible to academics and non-academics 14-years-old upwards.

A rough sketch of Boris Johnson.

We have started up a blog and a Facebook page to post further progress of the book but please contact me if you have any questions. The book will be published in early 2018.