1999 Magazine; Interview and Feature

Cover and spread from 1999 Magazine

1999 Magazine Feature

- Over Summer I got in contact with Ruby, owner of 1999 magazine, about being involved with her next issue. She instantly focused in on my 'Dear Self' zine. It's a little crazy that a tiny zine I put out over a year ago (now sold out too) still gets attention even now. 

- She asked if I'd be up for doing an interview about the publication itself and I agreed! I sent a copy of the zine over to her so she could photograph it for the final printed article. 

- When the issue finally came out, she sent me a copy with a few freebies and goodies too, as well as a thank you note for being included in the issue. 

- Overall this was a great experience. Ruby herself is wonderful, and being published in a magazine alongside established groups such as Girls Against was truly fabulous. I'm really happy with how the interview came out, and I think after having the face to face Hull City of Culture interview over Summer, I felt a lot more confident with this email interview.

The magazine is available to buy from the link below!! 

1999 Magazine Store; LINK HERE

HCoC Interview; Published Q&A

Full Interview Available: HERE

The interview I had with Ellie over at Hull City of Culture during the Summer break went live a couple of weeks ago on their website! It was honestly amazing to be featured in such a massive part of Hull's current shift into 2017 (year of culture) and to be presented so wonderfully. Going into the interview I was massively nervous as I wasn't sure what sorts of questions Ellie would ask, and I was petrified of saying something stupid. The thought of a photographer taking my photo was also daunting, it was a world I've never ventured into as an illustrator, but it's something I'm very glad I did!!!

The response to this post has been super duper!!! I got a massive ton of support from friends and family, and the post was shared on Facebook and Twitter for an even wider reach. It's really nice to know that people support the things you do and like the things you say. The whole thing has been a billion times better than I could ever have hoped (and even the photo itself isn't too bad haha).

I definitely feel I'd be more prepared and maybe even a little less nervous going in to do something similar to this in the future. I'm glad I could present myself in a way that seemed friendly and open, and I've actually stayed in touch with Ellie since the interview which is great for networking opportunities too!! 

<3 Hull xo

Artlink Exhibition

Exhibition Set-Up

This Friday was the exhibition launch night!! I'm a little sad as I was pretty ill on the night, with the remnants of a cold still gripping my lungs and nose, but I went for around 40 minutes and the turn out was really great!! For a gallery so small I was a little apprehensive over the number of people that would show up, but the small space was packed with artsy-type folk looking to be having a fab time! 

Networking wise I probably let myself down a little as I didn't approach anyone, but that was mostly due to my body being an incubus of bacterial plague that I didn't want to subject anyone to. I didn't really want my professional first impression to be one of exhaustion and ill-health.

The show itself was top notch though! It really got me thinking about how I'm going to package and present my work in the future!! There were a few little tricks other artists had used that I really felt made a noticeable difference.  

Stamped onto the back of Alexandra Snowdon's prints

I really liked this small edition to the back of Alexandra Snowdon's prints, stamped onto the hardboard that each print was back onto I thought it was something so simple and yet so effective! It succinctly communicated that "hand made" element of each print without having to explain it. Anyone unfamiliar with print processes could pick this up and understand straight away it's not a digital print but something hand crafted; so lovely!

The range of work on display was really great too! I'd say most of the works fit into an illustration bracket, so it was awesome to see an exhibition like this run!! Overall this has been a wonderful experience, and the show is still on for another month so there's plenty of time for further exposure and people seeing (and buying!!) my work. It will be interesting to see which prints sell better than others, at this point I'm not too worried if I have lots of prints left over from the exhibition as I'll be able to pop them onto my online Etsy store and sell them from there. But the feeling of someone else stocking your work is something that has filled me with happiness!! 

Artlink Gallery Exhibition and Pop Up Print Shop

Artlink Gallery Exhibition Poster

These past few weeks I've bee preparing for taking part in a exhibition-come pop up print shop at Artlink Gallery, Hull. The show will run from the 11th November until the 12th December, in a bid to encourage the public to buy more printed goods in the run up to Christmas. 

Practically, this event has pushed me out of my comfort zone (I actually produced over 50 split fountain screen prints in a week) as well as giving me some experience in dealing with a gallery as an individual professional. The gallery provided a contract and inventory that I completed and handed in with my works, and they were very helpful; answering any queries I had regarding either document. I was very happy with how the delivery, and explanation of everything was organised, and I found their commission to be of a more than fair rate. It's also nice to know that any commission they take from my sales will be put back into the runnings of the gallery (with it being a registered charity that focuses on bringing art and design to the local community, running workshops and exhibitions).

I delivered my artwork and supporting documents to the gallery a little over a week before the exhibition preview,  so if anything needed altering or changing I had the time to make the adjustments. I met Kate, the gallery manager, and she was lovely and friendly! It's a little unfortunate they were running another workshop(?) at the time as they were pretty busy or I would have spent a little more time looking around!

I'm excited for the preview and seeing how they display all the work (it was explained they would take care of the hanging // presentation aspects of the show). And this has been a fantastic oppertunity to not only (hopefully) make some money from my art, but be involved in my local art scene at home in a professional format. This is the first exhibition that I've been a part of OUTSIDE of my education system, so it's very exciting!! 

Artist Facebook Page

Available HERE

I recently did something I swore a year ago I'd never do. 

I made an artist page on Facebook. 

This decision did not come out of the blue however, and wasn't something I did to just spread my social media presence even further. It took me a while to decide to do this, as Facebook was just a platform I never thought of as something that could help my professional presence. Between all the memes, LAD bible shares and photos of cute dogs, Facebook just never really felt like somewhere I wanted my work to sit. I felt as though I just wouldn't reach anyone via Facebook that I wanted to. Were the people who shared VICE articles onto my timeline really the kinds of people who would be interested in my artistic endeavors?? 

I decided to take the plunge for a number of reasons. The first of which was to engage with an older audience than people my age. A lot of the people a couple of generations above me don't really use instagram and twitter, but still stay active on Facebook. This page would be a way for me to advertise myself to those people, to keep them up to date with events, projects and ways they could actually buy my work. 

I also decided to get a Facebook as it felt like a platform I could use in a way similar to blogging, but with an easier way to reach me. By simply searching 'Jazz Harbord Artist' on Facebook my page pops up straight away, it also has a message option and links to my other social medias. As well posting pictures and writing posts, Facebook also allows me to share events, which is useful given my upcoming gallery exhibition and pop up print show in Hull!

I've surprised myself recently with how much I'm enjoying using Facebook for my art. It's a format I'm used to with a lot of functions in one place; I'm hoping to keep it updated as a kind of 'creative hub' for my practice!

Website Thoughts and Struggles

Most recent website design (no longer live)

I've been trying to find a website that suits both myself and my work for quite some time now. The closest I've come so far is the above format website, that provided a minimal and slick presentation of my work. And while I liked the simplicity of the site, the price per year seemed a little high (around £53 per year). I understand that this is cheap compared to having a custom site made, but it's a lot of money for a poor student like me to part with, when I'm not 100% sure what I want from my site yet.

I was discussing my struggles with my boyfriend recently, as he runs a digital marketing company with his housemate, and he said they could probably make me something similar, only charging me for the domain name. I understand the potential dangers of "mixing business with pleasure", and I wouldn't like to feel as though I was taking something for nothing, however the business they do have a lot more experience in web design and presence than myself, and the site would be made in the format of a wordpress theme, so I'd be able to exchange and move images around at my own leisure' it's definitely something I'm considering. 

I've been thinking recently about what headers I'd want and how I'd like them to work. A design similar to my format site would be ideal; I like the crisp layout and how the site functions as a whole.  I've thought about having a few headers at the side, that act as drop down menus when clicked on. I don't want something really text heavy, the artwork is the focus here.

HEADERS

HOME

Website homepage showing range of work

WORK

Title 1 (image based, side scrolling function)

Title 2

Title 3

Etc

ABOUT ME

Info

Experience

CONTACT

Leads straight to page with contact details

EXTRAS

Want social media icons at the bottom of the website at all times

-Instagram

-Twitter

-Facebook

-Blog

-Linkedin

-Etsy

In my past websites, I've kept the 'about me' section quite brief, maybe this is something I'd expand on with my final website. I'd like the about me section to feel a little more personal and express a bit more about who I am as a person. My previous about me read: 

"Drawer of things

Petter of dogs 

Practitioner of kindness

Let's make something with feeling.

21 y//o studying illustration @LCA

Blog; jazzfeelz.blogspot.co.uk

Store; Etsy.com/uk/shop/JazzHarbord

Twitter & Insta; @jazz_feelz

Contact; jazzisdrawing@gmail.com

Have a nice day x"

It's very brief, and I feel I could cut the contact details out of my 'about me' in my final website and write a little more about who I am as a person. Through all the PPP tasks I feel I'm getting to know more about myself and my practice and how to express it in a way that fits with who I am as a person. Having a human and relatable aspect to my website is important to me, as I feel that majority of my work draws from human experience and relationships. This is something I'm going to keep in mind going forward! 

Linkedin Account and Post

Post Available: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/worth-passion-jazz-harbord?trk=prof-post

Linkedin is a professional platform I've heard a lot about but have never used myself. As part of this week's task I signed up and made an account, as well as published a blog post on something I feel passionate about; to try and facilitate for some interaction on my account. Though I've only just started using the website, it seems like one that could prove to be very useful in the future. It's relatively easy to make professional and industry links, and the groups function makes for even more widespread networking. It's beneficial to also have a place I can post updates and events as a professional practitioner, to boast about my creative ongoings!

I'm hoping to keep this account updated with work I'm completing outside of LCA, to keep an active online professional presence, and use it to source more connections outside of my immediate vicinity!