Leela & Bee

Recently I was asked to create an illustration for the Zizzi Kenilworth. I invited one of my best friends Anna O Neil (Bee) to team up with me for this venture. I have been friends with Bee for a long time. Initially, we got to know each other during our portfolio course at the Central Technical Institute in our hometown of Waterford. After our year in the CTI we moved to Wales to study at the West Wales School of the Arts. That was where the fun began!!!! We lived together with two of our other best buddies for three years and it was probably the greatest time I've had so far!  
I began by studying fashion design at WWSOTA and struggled with the rigidity of the subject for two years. I was lost in a mass of unaccounted seem allowances and miscalculated patterns....I just wanted to illustrate and be creatively freeeeeeee. Bee kept telling me to move to textiles, actually from week one in first year she told me I should be there but I had pledged allegiance with the fashion department an was uneasy about moving.

Eventually at the end of the second year she finally convinced me and so I made the move to Textiles. It was the best decision I've ever made and I will be forever grateful to Bee to giving me the kick to do so!

This reaffirms our similarities and I have always thought that if we could team up and collaborate it could amount to something fantastic! Thankfully, Zizzi thought so too and so allowed us to work together for their Kenilworth revamp.

It was one of the most enjoyable ventures I've worked on so far...I'm hoping team Leela & Bee will get some more opportunities for creative mash ups!!!

you can see some of Anna's work here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/annaoneill/