An Islington artist who religiously documented each day of the coronavirus lockdown in her illustrated journal is raising money to publish the work.
For 151 days between March 28 and August 25, Christine Nicholls spent about three hours creating an illustration of her daily life, weaving thoughts and words throughout the pages.
This amounts to three months of working seven hours a day, five days a week on the pieces, many of which were created from her shed.
READ MORE: The effects of Covid-19 on refugee art therapy charity New Art StudioChristine, who runs a business called Ink Pot and Pen and hosts map making workshops, posted each day’s work on her Instagram page and saw her follower count spike from 300 to 1,500 over the period.
“I felt it was a journey that we were all in together,” Christine told the Gazette. “It’s very much the detail of my life that I have documented, it’s all about my everyday life.
“It’s not the figures or stark reality of the situation, it was about when I walked into a tree or fell off my bike - stupid things that did happen - and good things like my tomato plants flowering as well.”
Christine, who has been a full-time artist since about 2016 and lived in the area for 35 years, is planning to lithographically reproduce her journal on recycled paper in a small print run.
“I really wanted it to be like the original sketchbook,” she added. “I have chosen the paper because, if not the same, it is very close and I wanted it to be quality.”
Within 12 hours of launching the crowdfunder on September 17, Christine reached half her goal of £8,500. She has now smashed the target and has collected more than £8,700.
The campaign has seen donations from as far afield as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, America and Europe.
Christine added: “(Through the journal) I learned about resilience and appreciating the good things in my life. I wanted to give people something during that time - and I can’t sew so it wouldn’t be a bonus if I tried to sew - but I found this was a way to connect with people.
“I loved the peace and quiet and got to appreciate the community I love.”
A bookshop in Sussex, Much Ado Books, has also invited Christine to do a live journaling event on October 3.
Donate at www.kickstarter.com/projects/inkpotandpen/the-diary-of-an-artist-in-lockdown
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