Make Lemonade

Amelia’s.magazine.where.to.now?

Amelia’s Magazine, what springs to mind? art blog, creative hub and an amazingly colourful world full of fashion, culture and illustration. What comes next? Amelia Gregory has been active in the environmental world for some time now, bringing this concern forward with her love for the creative arts and showcasing new talent, Amelia has complied an Anthology of Illustration. The limited edition hardback book has an amazing collection of illustrations created by various different artists, ranging from Japan to Manchester.

 Their creations are in response to an open brief set by Amelia herself, in order to address the issue of the future of the environment, some illustrations explore what solutions may be found, others bring to attention the consequences of our irresponsible actions. It is a light and refreshing look at such a serious issue, it also allows for the hard statistical side of the environmental problems to be explained and explored in a more creative light.

Flicking through I found myself immersed in pictures as I used to as a small child, Illustraions cover page after page with different themes being explored in every corner, some of my favorites included Justin Wallis- from Arkansas in the US, his quirky and inslightful mini portraits of people had me taking each character apart piece by piece… He takes inspiration from childhood interests, and says that he enjoys developing on and growing from those ‘roots’.

Next was Yoko Furusho from Japan, Taking inspiration from well known Japanese anime, such as My Neighbor Totoro. Her illustration were almost eerie, i found the innocent faces and pastel colours very attractive and comfortable yet parts of her illustration were intriguing, similar to a china dolls face, there is something that just doesn’t quite sit right… I guess they fulfill their purpose that way, we aren’t meant to be sitting comfy with whats happening to our planet.

I could go on with the illustrations that I took a liking to, but there was one thing that just didnt sit quite right with the book, having seen and experienced how creative Amelia Gregory is with her briefs and projects, I cant help but feel a hardback was a less imaginative way of expressing and displaying an environmental issue and the work surrounding it. Even though all the paper and ink is produced to an ethical standard, there is something very static about a hardback book. The creative world is in my opinion at its most imaginative and is  extremely resourceful right now, I would have liked to and perhaps in the future would love to see something more constant and ever changing, a project that would reflect the continual developments in the environmental world… monthly newsletters perhaps not on paper but through meetings and dinners, through music and film. The possibilities are endless, and to me quite exciting. I wonder whats next for Amelia’s Magazine?