monsterville cocktail party and more silly-making with wigs
Last night we had what was supposedly a more grown-up kind of party at Monsterville, in Stratford’s Discover Children’s Story Centre, with five different amazing cocktails (including the Beauty & Beast, and the Zombie), but the trustees and other adults ran around just like the kids, trying on wigs and generally mucking about. In fact, we even had a few children present, here I am with the Cross girls in the monster beauty salon. Don’t they look lovely?
It was great seeing Ed Vere and Neal Layton again, my fellow Monsterville illustrators. We were reminiscing about our basic brief for the job: a big room, and something to do with monsters. That is a cool brief. And so much fun coming up with the idea of a monster village. (You can see previous posts, drawings and photos if you click here and scroll way down.)
Here’s my lovely bewigged agent, Jodie Marsh!
This was the first time Stuart had seen Monsterville, so I had fun showing it off.
Fab comics creator, writer and illustrator Ros Asquith:
I’d slipped in a little reference to Alex Milway‘s yeti books, The Mystical 9th Division, so here he is, posing next to the yeti sign with his new book, The Magma Conspiracy, launching July 7th. The book is part chapter book, part comic, and Alex’s drawings just get better and better. (He trained as a landscape painter, even though he’s working now mostly as a writer!) Those are editor Lucy Ingram and designer Ben Norland from Walker Books next to him.
Here’s my amazing editor friend Bridget Hannigan, who’d come down from Cambridge for the party. (Isn’t that a great dress she’s wearing?)
Bewigged Bridget:
Axel Scheffler, looking dapper in eyeballs. (He’s probably Britain’s most beloved monster creator, for his Gruffalo.)
Ben Norland and writer Nick Cross:
Emma Halford and Rosie Pike, librarians at Bishop’s Stortford College. (Rosie organised the Bishop’s Stortford Festival of Literature which awarded Morris the Mankiest Monster its Picture Book Award in 2010.)
Woodrow Phoenix with ice cream monster horns. (You might recognise Woodrow’s nam from the dedication in When Titus Took the Train; Woodrow’s taught me a lot about how to get on with work when I hit a glitch.
Styling!
Tish Francis, co-director of Oxford’s Story Museum:
My website’s designer, artist Dan Fone:
Of course, Bridget and I couldn’t resist clambering around the Mouth of Doom (the closet thing Monsterville has to Soho):
Woodrow and Bridget, looking luminescent:
Thanks so much to everyone who came along, particularly those who came from fairly long distances! And thanks to the team at the Discover Centre, for such a wonderful evening. (Find out more about Monsterville on their website.
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