How would you describe yourself in your professional capacity?

A mix of things – I’m an illustrator when people give me jobs to illustrate stuff, but when I’m doing comics I consider myself a writer-artist.  When I occasionally do scripts, I’m a writer.  Although that’s the most tenuous of my self-descriptions.

Your style is very distinctive.  Is this a natural style or something that you consciously developed?

I don’t think there is such a thing as a wholly a natural style – everybody develops and takes inspiration from other people – but this is the style that feels the most natural to me.

I’ve always favoured a thick black line, but back when I was doing my first comics I used to achieve it by pain-stakingly filling in black between two fine lines.  It took years for it to occur to me that I should just use a thicker pen!

I ended up hating the drawing process – really hating it.  For a while it was just a means to an end and I would suffer through it.  Nowadays I love it.

Do you look back at stuff you drew when you were a kid and recognise anything of your current style in it?

I don’t really have any of the drawings I did as a kid.  Maybe they’re in my folks’ loft.  I remember drawing a lot as a kid, but I doubt any of it would bear any resemblance to what I do now.

I think the ideas are better, although that’s probably not saying much!

Like a lot of people, myself included, you went through a creative drought after university. And you don’t seem to have dipped again – you seem to be going from strength to strength.

After my Bachelor’s degree I was quite productive for a while – writing scripts and trying to get stuff made, but that petered out after a year or so.  When you don’t have the deadlines and the constant prodding of a course to keep you going, your enthusiasm can drop.  I did a Masters in Illustration & Design a wee bit after that, hoping it would kick-start something, but all that did was suck all the creativity out of me.  It took me a while to recover from that experience.

My getting all productive occurred early last year.  I’m not sure what prompted it exactly, but it was around that time that I got involved with the Paper Jam Comics group in Newcastle and submitted to their anthologies.  This helped a lot, as I was constantly around encouraging, talented people who were in a similar situation to me.  It was also at this time that you and Nick launched Empty Shop and I got involved with that.  To see you guys doing all that was hugely inspiring and to be able to get involved in exhibitions was a major boost to my confidence.

How do you keep motivated?

I try to mix things up.  It depends on what’s going on – if the illustration stuff dries up for a few months then I’ll do some writing. It used to be the case that I would do one thing for a year, say write a sitcom, then when that failed I’d try illustration or comics, but now they all co-exist – I try to balance everything. Entering competitions and art projects keeps the spark going.

I have been more creative in the last year than I have in the last five or six combined.  Because I’m actively seeking stuff out now the drought doesn’t really go on that long, and I can have projects in reserve – like doing a new comic or something.

So if you work at it you see the results?

Yeah totally.

And is the pay off rewarding?

Oh yeah, it’s great to see your stuff in print and hear or read feedback from people who like your work.

You recently came across some negative feedback on your blog.  I thought you handled them really well.  And it was very honest of you to let those comments through unedited – what was your thinking behind that?

I started the blog as a way to get my work out there and seen by people – I didn’t really require them to get back to me about it.  However, some did and were generally very complimentary about my work – which is always nice.  I’ve made a few good ‘webfriends’ as a result.  When someone felt the need to post negative comments, it was tempting to delete them, but I thought it would be more honest to leave it up there and let people make up their own minds about the validity of my work.  Doesn’t mean I agree with their comments, of course, and it doesn’t mean that I won’t have a go at them back, but I think it helps to balance out the good and bad press.  I hope I came out of it with some dignity intact!

I looked at your Twitter feed – I thought that it was a really good use of the format.  How did that come about?

I joined Twitter, like most people, to see what the fuss was about.  I didn’t really get it – still don’t to be honest! - so I left it alone for a while.

In the meantime, my girlfriend and I were playing silly word games (we’re so cool) making up fake TV shows that rhyme with the host’s name, like “‘Guess The Poo Art’ with Moira Stewart” and things like that.  Stupid stuff.  I was bored at work one lunchtime and decided to post them online.  People responded, so I kept going.

Writing comedy has always been my primary concern – it’s why I did scriptwriting at university.  However, it’s a difficult area to build a career in, so other things got in the way.  Comics were a way of getting my writing out there, disguised as art.  I would love to make my blog as much about comedy as illustration, but there isn’t as many ways of getting jokes across to people on the web, unless you do funny videos, which I don’t.  To a certain degree Twitter solves that problem.

It must be really hard to be funny in 140 characters and even harder to get a point across, right?

Yeah it is – so the games help.  I try to vary them a bit so they don’t get boring.  My stuff mostly consists of making bad puns and then using 100 characters to try and explain the logistics of them.  Hopefully people find them funny.

I like how you pun on your name in the title of your blog, but that’s the incorrect English pronunciation, isn’t it? Aren’t you breaking Scottish law or something?

Ha!  Why do you think I live in England?  If I set foot back over the border I’m dead!

It’s the typical English way of pronouncing “Waugh” – as in “war” and so lends itself to a multitude of puns.  Our family pronounce it as in “wok” – but with a touch more phlegm – but you English types have issues with that, so I tend to just pronounce it your way to avoid irritating explanations.  My Dad doesn’t approve, though.  Sorry Dad.

Do you have an arsenal of puns to use for it?

I’ve got a few – most of them are along the side of the blog.  “This Means Waugh” is my favourite, although I quite like “Waughmonger”.  If I ever had a celebrity chat show it would be called “This Means Waugh”.

Weren’t you going to name your kids as puns?

Yeah, still am if I get my way.  The twins First World Waugh and Second World Waugh.  Maybe even a little Nuclear Waugh if Em’s uterus is up to it.

Tell me about Paper Jam.

It’s a group that’s been going for quite a few years now – it’s a mix people who read comics and want to socialise with others who do and people who make comics and want to get away from the drawing board once and while to compare war wounds.  They put out anthologies of comics from time to time and put on events to promote them.

It’s a good laugh and encouraging to people who may not have the confidence to do a whole comic by themselves but fancy trying it out.  If people would like to get involved, they should check out the blog at paperjamcomics.blogspot.com

“Billy Joel?”  Respond…

Well, if he didn’t start the fire, I want to know who did.

What other artists do you admire?  Are there any artists people should be checking out?

Loads, but I tend to pick different things up from different people.  The cartoonist Seth is a big influence artistically, but I don’t respond to his stories in the same way I do with people like Jeffrey Brown or Tom Gauld.  A lot of indie cartoonists leave me cold story-wise, so I tend to look to other sources – TV shows and films – for inspiration.  Right now I’m inspired by things like Doctor Who and Pixar movies for the way they appeal to adults and children on equal levels without sacrificing quality in the writing.

Recommend one song, something reasonably obscure. Preferably something that hasn’t been drooled over by anyone from Radio 1 or T4.

Difficult one.  I discovered a band called Frightened Rabbit a while ago – who are originally from Selkirk, which is the next town over from my home town – and have been listening to them a lot recently, but I heard them in Topman yesterday, so I suspect anything by them is out of the question.  If it isn’t, then the song “Living In Colour” is an amazing foot-stomper of a record.

The fail-safe for me is probably my favourite band of all time – an American group called Clem Snide who have been doing the rounds for many years, but still don’t get any airplay.  They are alt-country indie rock with a really great frontman who writes witty, occasionally heart-breaking lyrics.  They’ve too many amazing songs to mention, so I would suggest people just download an album and check them out for themselves.  The song “Fill Me With Your Light” is a favourite and as is a good place to start as any.

Is there anything else on the cards worth talking about?

More illustration stuff.  I’ve been in the last couple of issues of Alan Moore’s Dodgem Logic magazine and I’m in the next couple.  That’s quite high profile for me and lots of fun to do.  Apart from that I’m doing stuff for various comics anthologies and trying to get a new comic put together before the Thought Bubble convention in November.  This year it’s all about building up a name for myself.  There’s other bits and pieces that would be great to talk about, but I don’t like to jinx things.

Can you recommend any websites or blogs to check out?

Loads.  The Paper Jam blog has links to all our sites, which are always worth a look.  Other than that, the Draw Serge! (drawserge.blogspot.com) and Covered (coveredblog.blogspot.com) projects are great to get involved with.

Mint! Cheers bonny lad

Links
Andy’s blog – thismeanswaugh.blogspot.com
Andy’s brilliant use of Twitter – www.twitter.com/thismeanswaugh
Paper Jam Comics Collective – paperjamcomics.blogspot.com

Friday’s event featuring ‘Art… and that’ launch – http://emptyshop.org/featured/friday-23rd-our-2nd-opening-and-its-a-big-one

Andy’s Recommendations
Draw Serge – drawserge.blogspot.com
Covered – coveredblog.blogspot.com

Faye
Faye Mulligan is going to be doing our general admin. She will offer vital support making sure everything runs like clockwork. Faye will be helping with the day to day ins and outs at Empty Shop such as taking workspace bookings and responding to any  of your lovely emails. She will  also be the friendly voice down the phone at Empty Shop HQ, so if your looking to find out more about Venue hire, events coming up – or if you have any question about Empty Shop please feel free to contact Faye on thefolks@emptyshop.org.

Jonny
Also new to the team is Jonny Atkinson. His role is to handle our exhibitions, searching the land for the best artists and helping all of you realise all of the opportunities we offer. Jonny’s currently seeking new innovative art that can be showcased in new and old spaces within Empty Shop such as the Stairwell Gallery exhibition programme and more to be announced soon. He will also be working online, exhibiting new video art on the empty shop website every month. If you would like further information, fancy submitting a video or think you may have something special that Empty Shop will love.

Please contact Jonny on exhibitions@emptyshop.org

Linda
As the third new member of the Empty Shop crew Linda is going to be heading up some of our communications stuff. She’ll be responsible for keeping everyone updated on the ins and outs at Empty Shop including looking after our online social networks such as facebook and twitter and composing newsletters like this one, so next time you hear from us it’ll be Linda’s words you’ll be reading…

Media opportunities, press enquiries and all things marketing can be directed then to media@emptyshop.org

Ok this is going to be a long one so for those of you who can’t be bothered to read the breakdown here it is in a nutshell –

• Friday 23^rd July
• Massive night of art
• Set over two venues
• 4 exhibitions
• Paper Jam comic book launch
• Salford Zine Library in the North East for the fist time
• Poetry & performance
• Loads of fun

Times
Durham Art Gallery: 6pm – 8pm – then onto Empty Shop HQ: 8:30pm – 10:30pm

***We will gather at Empty Shop HQ at 5:45 to lead people up to the Durham Art Gallery, so join us there first and we can head up together***

Everyone is welcome to the opening on Friday night
Open Saturday: 11am – 5pm
Open Sunday:11am – 4pm

The main collaboration is with the Durham Art Gallery. On the same evening they will be launching their big summer show ‘What Are You Like?’ an illustration exhibition based on the Victorian parlour game featuring work by some pretty big names such as David Shrigley, Quentin Blake, Brian Eno and Elton John to name a few and they asked Empty Shop to work with them on the event.

We were more than happy to combine forces and take a bit of the Empty Shop ethos to the DLI so we set to work on programming some exhibitions and events to accompany the night. Here’s a run down of what we are bringing to the table:

Art… and that

A specially commissioned comic made by the awesome guys at Paper Jam Comics Collective. We are big fans of Paper Jam and have shown work by them in the past. With the DAG’s exhibition showcasing big name talent we thought it would be a great opportunity to show off some local talent. The folks over at Paper Jam have created a special art themed edition of their ‘…and that’ series and will also selling their back catalogue.

Salford Zine Library

We love DIY. We love people doing things for themselves and creating for the love of it. Salford Zine Library is an amazing collection of self published, small press, DIY comics and zines from all over. The guys do an amazing job of collecting and keeping the library together and we are delighted to be bringing it up to the North East for the first time. This amazing collection will be available to browse for two weeks at the Durham Art Gallery. If anyone makes zines and would like to submit theirs to the collection get in touch with the guys.

Giant Pictionary – we like fun and we especially like fun at openings so that’s why we decided to suggest a giant game of pictionary on the wall! This should be going on throughout the opening and possibly the duration of the exhibition.

Empty Shop HQ after show event – when the fun ends at the DAG it continues at HQ with our second opening our new building. Come join us for some art, drinks and good ol’fashioned socialising – here’s what’s in store:

• The FreeBirds studio group showcase – an exhibition showcasing the work of the FreeBirds featuring work of varying disciplines and styles.
• Some poetry and performances curated by Empty Shop Exhibitions Coordinator Jonny Atkinson
• Beermat Show – The brainchild of our friends Temporary Art Space, the Beermat Show an expanding collection of beermat art and a touring exhibition. It comes to Empty Shop HQ for the opening night and we are looking for submissions to add to the collection.

*If you have ever drawn, scribbled or doodled on a beermat, send it to us at

Empty Shop HQ,
35c Framwellgate Bridge,
Durham,
DH1 4SJ

Have you recently thought this?…

“I wish there was a sizzling cast of contemporary, pioneering musical and digital motion graphic artists to evoke, provoke and delight in Durham very soon”

…well if you have then your in luck! This July ex-FreeBird Ste Walker is bringing exactly that with aBrassive, part of the Brass Festival that is currently going down in Durham.

It should be dead good and that – we are going so see you there.

What? aBrassive
When? Sat 17th July | 7pm – 11pm
Where? Durham Live (formerly Walkabout and Robins Cinema before that)
How much? £7 (or £5 if you email in time for the advance offer)

Check out these links for more info and updates:

http://abrassive.wordpress.com/
http://www.brassfestival.co.uk/

Empty Shop is filled simultaneously with sadness and joy in announcing the availability of a studio space in our fabulous FreeBird towers, Empty Shop HQ.

Steven Walker aka 50ftfootlonghorse is flying the nest due to a change in circumstances and direction. We’d like to thank Ste for his contribution to Empty Shop in the last year, starting with Shock of the Used he’s consistently supported both the organisation and us as friends.

We wish Steven great luck all future endeavours and look forward to developing collaborations of globe shattering consequence further down the line.

To enquire about the space email thefolks@emptyshop.org

We have installed a plugin to make our website work as a mobile site when accessed through a mobile device. It’s apparently touch optomised too soo should work nicely on iphones and other touch phones,  I’ve tested on a few phones but would be keen to hear if it works ok on yours and if you encounter any problems. Feel free to let us know either way by leaving a comment here, preferably using your mobile so we can see if mobile comments work too.

The next stage is making the site back compatible with the ancient Internet Explorer 6, a problem that has been flagged recently as it turns out lots of work places don’t have the ability to update their browsers – bear with us and we’ll get there soon.

Thanks

Something exciting is brewing y’all; FreeBird Ged Robinson is kick starting his new project Kymeera: Cultural Remixes in less than two weeks at the Star & Shadow in Newcastle.

Kymeera:Cultural Remixes is a newly established organisation that aims primarily to curate unorthodox events and collaborations which fuse live music, performance, visual art and literature. This first outing sees Ged collaborate with Andrew Cleaver – awesome stuff. The official breakdown is this:

An eclectic night featuring visual art and performances from bands representing various genres and style, all followed by DJ sets from a number of individuals to end the night with your dance shoes well worn…

The night kicks off at 6 o’clock with Versions of the Fifth, a group show presenting the art and writings of Toby Lloyd, Steven Walker, Carlo Viglianisi, Mary Quinn, Andrew Donaghy, Christos Worsely, Eilis Hanson and Robbie Hudson. This will form part of the debut event from Kymeera: Cultural Remixes.

Following this will be a night of music brought to you by the following bands and DJ’s:

MASS
Tyne and Wear Agro Prog – www.myspace.com/massmassmass

CARPUS TRIO
Intense jazz/industrial hardcore – www.myspace.com/carpustrio

GRANDFATHER BIRDS
Chilled/intelligent/indie – www.myspace.com/grandfatherbirds

LUNA LOUNGE
Spaced out instrumental improvised noise – www.myspace.com/lunaloungeband

DJ’s:

Syncut

El Toro

PRMNNT dj’s

Venue: Star and Shadow, Newcastle

Kick off: 18:00

Price: £5

Facebook event page – click here

Just a quick post to elaborate on the earlier mention of live art performance this Friday, which will happen as part of the after show event for Hannah Marsden’s new exhibition preview.

The event will take place as a private after show party at Empty Shop HQ (to find out more please email us) and details are as follows…

RICH FISHER (FISHING ALL THE TIME)
& HIS SPLENDIFIDUS TRUFFLE BAND

(an art performance)

a collective, a collaboration, a band of artists unwearyingly fusing improvisation, music, the written word, the spoken word, the visual treats of video, of lighting, of experience, a celebration of spontaneity, of the absurd and of the happening.

This Friday at The DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery sees the opening of a new exhibition by friend of Empty Shop Hannah Marsden. She has been using The Workspace at Empty Shop HQ in the build up to the show to try out ideas and have a City centre base. It’s been great having her around and watching her do her thing.

We’ll be heading up to the DLI this Friday to check out the work so come and join us – there will also be an after show event at Empty Shop HQ to keep the art based japes going featuring some more work by Hannah, a peformance by Andrew Wilson and video by FreeBird Toby Lloyd (possible extras to be confirmed). If you are interested in the after show event please email us as it is a private affair with a limited capacity.

About ‘Reflective Observation’
Durham based artist Hannah Marsden’s new body of work explores a personal conflict between her introverted instincts and extroverted interests. For this exhibition Marsden explores the symbolic potential of the umbrella as a symbol of protection and distinction. Incorporating sculpture, performance and film, Marsden performs undercover research in and around Durham to explore the interconnectivity of humanity and the idea of a universal human nature.

Marsden is a graduate from Newcastle University and has exhibited work at Allenheads Contemporary Arts and Gallery Glue.

Details
Date: Friday, 11 June 2010
Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Location: The DLI Museum and Durham Art Gallery

For more info try these links:

Umbrella of Humanity Blog

DLI and Durham Art Gallery

Empty Shop is seeking voluntary administrative support for our Durham City based headquarters.

Likely to be around one day’s work a week duties would include handling exhibition submissions, liaising with artists and partner organisations, basic website maintenance (training provided) and a variety of other day to day tasks. Knowing your way around MS Office would be preferable. Being friendly and flexible is a must. Would suit a graduate or artist looking to get into arts admin.

All enquiries to thefolks@emptyshop.org

You can keep up to date with opportunities with Empty Shop by checking the ‘Get Involved’ page – click here