Long time no post!!!!

Some of you may have wondered if I've disappeared all together!! I have spent the last few months working away, saving up to live my dream and take off on a years travel. After a long time opf saving and planning I finally left on the 31st of January. I've started  a new blog to doccument these adventures...until I return home and start illustrating again! You can follow the journey here http://frecklesandfernando.blogspot.com/

Stay in touch,

Lisa X

Zizzi Hitchin!

"Food should be fun!" Thomas Keller

So I've just finished my fourth project working with Zizzi Ristorante! During my time working with the team, I have come to learn what a fun company this franchise is! Looking at elements of their practice such as their artistic Fresh Talent collective and the musical Zizzi sessions, it is quite clear that this is a highly innovative company of the times.

This is what I wanted to illustrate in my work here at Hitchin.

Hitchin has a thriving market which dates as far back as the 14th century. I illustrated elements of food that have been sold at the market over the years, highlighting the fun and frivolous in each item.

My illustrations have been printed on vinyl and applied to the windows of the restaurant. In addition, my funtastic food has been printed on bunting which hangs outside the premises, mimicing the bustling town market!

...will have some photographs here soon!!

Zizzi Leeds The Light Photographs!!!

I went to Leeds last week to visit the fantastic new Zizzi Restaurant in The Light Center. It is epic!!!! I am delighted to have been apart of such a fantastic project. I urge anyone near Leeds to go check it out and tell everyone about the fantastic work Zizzi is doing with the fresh talent collective.

 You can check out some more of the Fresh Talent work for Zizzi at http://kitchen.zizzi.co.uk/

Bee...the styling sensation!!!!!!

oh I forgot to mention, Bee is also an amazing stylist....

Leela & Bee bring you....Zizzi Kenilworth

Kenilworth castle is the heart and soul of the town and so we decided to convey the whimsical nature of it in our work. Our illustration shows a young girl dreaming of her knight on his voyage to be by her side. Along the way he battles a dragon, then passing Kenilworth castle he finally reaches his lady.



knight on route to his lady!

Every part of the tapestry was hand made by the designers. All the fabrics were hand dyed to a contemporary colour pallet deigned specifically for Zizzi. The illustrations are machine embroidered and each piece has been delicately hand finished to create a 4m long tapestry.

Knight and his lady

This is a piece unique to Zizzi and very special for Kenilworth!!

The finished tapestry was far too long to photograph in its entirety so you will have to wait a little while for some photos :)

                 

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/

Work for Zizzi Canterbury

Illustrations of John Cogan created by the fresh talent collective

Zizzi Canterbury has resently reopened its doors! John Cogan was the former owner of the buliding and his memory is strongly reassured in the new restaurant. There are twelve individual portraits of him gracing the walls, created by twelve of the illustrators from the creative collective.
You can read more about Zizzi Canterbury here...    http://www.zizzi.co.uk/restaurants/canterbury#