THAT WHICH WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND
I went to see the Northern Lights in Tromsø, in the Arctic Circle when I was 23, but, for all my efforts it turned out they didn't want to see me. Though I didn't get a glimpse of the mindblowing Aurora Borealis, the trip started my long love affair with the night sky, the moon and all things mystical.
Interesting fact - this photo was actually taken at midday. The Polar Night phenomenon occurs in the Polar Circles in Winter, when the sun barely makes it over the horizon and night lasts for more than 24 hours, creating an amazing twilight all day <3
Back to subject. When my lovely friend Sarah shared the proposal for Amelia Gregory's 10th anniversary celebration book based on the theme of That Which We Do Not Understand, we decided we must submit some work. Sarah had recently visited Iceland (much more fortunate than me on the lights front) and her beautiful written piece explores the Icelandic folklore surrounding the Northern Lights , focusing on the Fire Fox. I was to create an illustration to accompany the text, which would be printed in a delicious gold foiled art book if chosen. I have a few back issues of Amelia's Magazine from when I was at LCC University in London, and I remember the beautiful papers and finishes used in the special editions.
The book will be crowdfunded to remain as eco-friendly as possible (if there's not the demand it won't be made!), so if you want to see the book happen you can support the campaign by pre-ordering a book here. Alongside the book, a selection of Amelia's favourite prints will be made available to purchase from East End Prints. We recently heard that our pieces had been selected for the book, which was fantastic news, it's going to be brilliant. Here's a little information about how it's going to happen from Amelia herself:
“The Limited Edition Amelia’s Magazine artists’ book will be printed by Principal Colour, high quality lithographic printers based in Kent who have printed all my previous magazines and books. The limited edition gold foil A2 artworks will be printed by renowned fine art printers Harwood King, based in East Sussex. Because my website does not make any money I plan to get this project off the ground via crowd funding website Kickstarter. By pre-selling copies on Kickstarter I will be able to prevent over production, thereby avoiding debt and lessening the impact of our creativity on the environment.”
Here's a lovely snippet from Sarah's short story entitled The Fire Fox. [you'll have to wait until the book is published to read the full piece...]
Far below my restless child looks up into the starry night. Swirls of colour begin to light up the heavens.
Wonder and marvel fill eager eyes as shades of glowing green dance high up in the north, illuminating the sky with the mysterious lights of the fire fox.
When I first saw the beautiful text, a few words immediately jumped out at me, and I loved the "...can almost touch the star filled sky" line which I've explored in my print. The still darkness of the mountainside will be accentuated in print, as the stars and Fire Fox are illuminated in gold foil, which I've made into a fancy little .gif to bring it to life!
Find out more and support the campaign here on Kickstarter. We need all the help we can get to make this beautiful project come to life, we're nearly 50% there, and there's only 16 days to go. If you want to pre-order a copy of the book this is the place to do it & and spread the word! Thanks so much x