Rock it up
(Ian, John and Simon at Club Gateways: Glasgow, UK)
To fill in the backstory here, I have been employed a couple of times on a freelance basis by Scottish writer’s organisation, ConFAB. I was approached to do a poster for one of their events on the basis (familiar story for me here) that I wouldn’t be paid in actual money, but in a set of tickets for the event itself. The event in question was Club Gateways, a show and accompanying club night with a rockabilly theme. It sounded like a fair deal, especially since I probably would have turned up anyway – this way I could treat a few friends to a cheap night out in Glasgow. The added bonus being, of course, I would have my work plastered all over the city.
After a fair amount of to-ing and fro-ing of different poster ideas, from initial discussions with the organiser and then a professional storyteller, the design was finally finished during my time away in Berlin. That’s one great thing about freelancing, I’m not tied to my office. During a meeting in Glasgow concerning the poster, I reeled in surprise at the notion that one could be a professional storyteller. I think I’ll be looking into this phenomenon again and perhaps seeing if I can attend an official storytelling, so watch this space. If you’d like to see the poster, it’s on my illustration website and on the Club Gateways site too.
It’s quite different from my usual style, but I still enjoyed creating it – it was bizarre seeing it plastered all over the boards of the Winchester Club last night, and it was heartwarming to be accompanied by a gang of friends. These are three of them; Ian, John and Simon. I have chosen to showcase them for various reasons – the first being their wonderful expressions. They were all well turned out in James Dean-esque white shirts, sitting together and had procured some flattering glasses from other friends to complete their (slightly nerdy) fifties outfits. I’d like to point out a nice touch at this point; the middle ‘band member’, John, has replaced the fifties obligatory box of cigarettes under his sleeve with a box of chewing gum. His attention to detail is to be admired. I think the three look more as if they’re in a strange retro band or this is an advertising shoot gone wrong.
Yet another reason they’re here is that they formed a decent chunk of our group’s male contingent, making jiving in couples much easier, not to mention marginally less awkward. The night had a very decent live rockabilly band and dancers from local jive and swing classes who were teaching us our rock steps. At one point the main teacher attempted to teach me a thing or two, but to my complete surprise, once I had managed an ungraceful but complete step, he flipped me upside down through 360 degrees with apparent ease. From the gasps and laughter that ensued, it must have been quite a spectacle, though for my part, it made me rather queasy.
– Today Rosie is visiting family and having hot pot for dinner in Glasgow, UK –
