A Year of Stories
Happy Autumn, friends! October is such a wonderful month, and one I care much about. It’s my birth month, and it’s also full of wonderful low sunlight, crunchy orange leaves, and pumpkins on doorsteps. My schedule is slowly winding down for the year, and I have been taking some time away from the studio to enjoy this magical, but oh so short, season. As I mentioned in my Instagram posts, I’ll be closing my online shop at the end of this month (but I’ll still be accepting wholesale orders). It’s partly fuelled by the uncertainty of the postal service around the Christmas period. It has been a particularly busy year for me, especially with book projects. I am beyond grateful for these opportunities which bring so much excitement and challenge to my career. I’ll be delving into my to-do list and illustrating new cards, prints, and other exciting new paper products for my shop. I’ll also be finding time for other creative hobbies, such as quilt making, and decorative craft projects.
I had five publications released this year. Ranging from book covers to interiors. Except for Girls Play Too, all the books I illustrated this year are set in times long ago - my favourite! I absolutely love to immerse myself in period fashions, historical references, and seek out everyday objects that no longer form part of our modern world. I search sites like Pinterest where I build mood boards of reference images (as shown below), so I can easily refer to them when I’m sketching and illustrating. I’m a qualified archaeologist and art historian, so I am in my element at this stage of the process. It’s important to me (and the reader) that the objects, clothing, hairstyles and architecture are based on historically accurate examples.
I also have my own drawer unit full of vintage items I have collected since I was about 12 years old! I use these as props for my shop photos, and they also come in handy for photos of my books. The story of Lily’s Dream references the craft of sewing and embroidery, and luckily I had some vintage thread cards, scissors and a thimble to help ‘tell the story’ of the book through the props in the photo.
At the beginning of each year I feel anxious as to whether I will receive book projects during the year. However, there is excitement also; as I wonder which titles I may be asked to work on. I try to stay optimistic and believe that the next book project is just around the corner. I find this mindset helps me to stay calm, focused, and most importantly - hopeful.
Take care everyone, I hope you enjoyed reading! ~ Rachel xo