Greeting Card Publisher Lucy Monkman turns her illustration and art tutoring into a book.
Lucy Monkman has illustrated a number of books but Made By Hand At Home is the first that she has written. Drawing on her experience as a freelance illustrator and as an art tutor of primary school children, the book has developed from projects she created for children during the first lockdown in Spring 2020, when we were first asked to stay at home.
As an illustrator Lucy works from home so in a number of ways her working life was largely unchanged last year, but her teaching as an after-school art club tutor was put on hold. With the hope of helping home-schooling parents, she started to post ideas for art projects on her social media. Many of these projects used the food and the drink packaging already in the house. The public response to these ideas clearly showed people’s desire to be creative and the benefits of creativity on our well-being.
The book celebrates the creative potential of everyday life whether it is via a humble loo roll tube or a takeaway coffee cup. With almost two hundred images it offers ideas for artistic projects using recyclable materials available in the home. It covers a wide range of subjects including chapters on working with colour and shape, making decorations and creating cardboard characters.
Writer and educator Gayle Johnson has written: ‘In part a compendium of creative ideas, in part an accessible art history and in part a wry social commentary on our times. This inspiring book is a must-read for parents, educators and everyone interested in the visual arts. It invites us to live differently and to notice our interactions with the things that surround us more closely.’
In time for the school holidays, which for many families this year will be another period of staying at home, the book will be published on 30 July 2021. It will be available in retail outlets and available to order priced £12.99 with free UK delivery via Lucy’s website.
