Blog: Marmalade

PICTURE BOOK: FINAL

I H A T E C O N C E R T I N A S

This is not an exaggeration, concertinas are impossible to stick together and no matter how many tests I do they all end up as uneven as the last. After four tries I finally have the final book, although it is still not as neat as I had hoped it would be.

The book consists of sixteen printed sheets of A4 paper, giving the concertina thirty two pages when folded, though it is double sided. The exterior of the book, shown with the title page, creates a singular portrait when fully opened, measuring at 233cm when laid flat. The interior, shown on the reverse, contains a commentary with no imagery, the vague nature of the text allows the audience to be able to view either side of the book first without being confused by the content.

Overall I think I am happy with the outcome of this picture book, by choosing a subject that meant a lot to me personally and had a different attitude to creating the work. I considered the audiences perspective a lot more and the impact of including or excluding certain things from the narrative in the book. I found using a simple approach and not overcomplicating one idea gave me the space to create an honest piece of work that really reflected my own feelings without being too unbearable for the audience to view.

I'm not sure why I had such a hard time putting together the picture book, I think the double sided concertina was maybe too ambitious for a first attempt, though it was important to the concept of my picture book.

I chose to put the book together in stages, so as to not confuse myself. I had calculated the size of each of the designs before hand in photoshop to ensure they would be all be correct for when it came to putting the book together.

I began with the exterior, glueing the plain paper to the individual sheets, I took my time compared to previous tests, and was able to finish the first half of the process with the book looking accurate in all areas. As the glue reacted with the thin paper I noticed the sheets had begun to wrinkle, this didn't negatively impact the outcome of my picture book too severely as I had the theme of water throughout and the wrinkles could be considered ripples of sorts. However it was the dog-earing that was beginning to happen that worried me, the thin paper on the front and back page was pulling up and creasing in areas so I had to find a solution.

I cut small pieces of A5 card to fit in to the front and back of the book, this way the exposed areas wouldn't get dog-eared, and when stood up the book would have more strength.

One thing that I noticed as I was putting together the interior of the picture book is that some areas of the text was in line with the folds and so I would have a crease going through some sentences. I should have considered this when aligning the text in photoshop however at the time it was too late for me to redesign and print out a new version, so I'm just stuck with it.

Once I stuck the interior sides down I noticed the alignment of the folds had begun to move, I don't know how it happened but it moved the spacing of all the pages in the book. It will no longer sit perfectly flat, and the edges are misaligned.

After all the hassle the concertina had taken before this I honestly wasn't surprised. I'm not entirely disappointed with the result, if I had the chance to do this project again I would not chose a concertina design. I would like to have spent more time on the digital redrawing of the photos as I did rush them thinking they wouldn't be the focus of the book. Although I would also like to have used more traditional media, given the end product of the project had to be scanned and printed digitally I didn't want the extra work and so chose to work directly with digital, I think the photos could have looked quite effective if they had been drawn perhaps with charcoal or a bulky pencil.

PICTURE BOOK: INTERIOR

H O N E S T C O M M E N T A R Y

After the tutorials, both with Matt and the peer groups, I found that a lot of people thought the book was effective in its simplicity. I was also being encouraged to continue with the honest commentary that I had begun to develop for the interior of the picture book. My initial plan was to use the commentary as an informant to the viewer, to give them more information and backstory as to the meaning of the picture book, it was going to run alongside some drawings that I had been struggling to develop. However after receiving the encouraging comments about the minimalist approach to my book I thought I would risk not having any illustrations on the inside.

I chose to continue the theme of water, and overlay the text in a similar fashion to written poetry, the spacing intentionally done for the viewer to read the commentary as I would speak it.

The text itself was quite embarrassing for me to write down, speaking honestly and talking of being selfish, knowing other people would read it was a risk for me. But I felt it was important to the picture book as a whole. The end sentence, 'do you like marmalade too?', I think may sound humorous or strange to some people, which it can be open to interpretation, but the sentence has an alternate meaning that I intended when writing it that I hope some viewers are able to understand.

PICTURE BOOK: EXTERIOR

2 3 3 C M

It was harder than I had expected to create one long continuous image in photoshop. I ended up editing the base of the water on one image file, and then cropping it into eight separate photoshop files to make it easier to edit and print. When laid out the full extension of the concertina measures at 233cm long. I was an idiot for choosing a continuous design.

The idea I had was simple, the cover page would show a marmalade jar sinking in water, the back would show a plastic bag at the bottom of a river with rocks holding it down. This way the audience would be given little information to begin with when looking at the picture book, much like me when researching Clara, but by opening the book they would find all the answers, the viewer would see the family photos, and small hints towards the final answer. The whole concept is subtle, I didn't want to be too direct and make the audience uncomfortable, I think if they pay attention to the small hints on the pages, they will figure out what happened, and thats easier than outright drawing it in the book.

I chose to include real family photos of Clara from the time with her family as I thought it might bring a sense of personality and honesty to the piece. To show that this was a true story, not something I imagined for the purpose of an interesting narrative. When drawing the photos digitally I tried not to focus too much on the small details, I looked at the basic shapes and tones to create the images, thinking they would only appear small when printed out, I didn't want to spend time on something that wouldn't be seen. However when seeing the printed out version I noticed the photos appear bigger than I had thought they would, and small mistakes are more noticeable, though it doesn't draw away from the overall image so it may not be noticed by the viewer.

PICTURE BOOK: IDEAS

H O W D O Y O U M A K E A S T O R Y B O A R D ?

It turns out I am very lacking in creative storyboard writing. All the attempted storylines I made were overcomplicated and ruined the theme I was trying to show. I considered collage as a way to incorporate my research in to the picture book, to use the documents to tell the important plot points. However considering the majority of my sketchbook work contained detailed line drawings it seemed like I was straying away from the style I had used throughout the project so far.

I thought the best way for me to create a simple narrative would to put all the elements necessary to the telling of the story in front of me and arrange them in a way that could work as an illustration. I gathered all my research and began to take away elements I thought weren't informative to the viewer. I chose to focus on the family photos I had brought back from home, I wanted to somehow visually represent the loss of Clara and how it impacted the family. Though somewhat hurtful to do, I used a Stanley knife to begin cutting Clara out of some photocopies of various family photographs. I thought it might represent the erasure of her from our family, and visually represent to the viewer that something of importance must have happened for this to be done to the photos.

Although I received many compliments on the effectiveness of this approach, there is something in the brutality of removing Clara from these photos that I really don't like. Though I was the one to do it, I have chosen to not take it further for this reason.

After returning Clara to the photographs I found myself inspired by a new idea, I thought I could create a new narrative, a false one of sorts, to inform the viewer from a new perspective. I know Clara jumped into a river holding a plastic bag full of rocks to weigh her down, but I could make more of this. The viewer may or may not interpret the sinister aspect of the bag of rocks, but it would be the floating photographs sinking alongside the bag that would draw their eyes. This would create a narrative, not the true one, but it would show them the history of Claras life, and they can analyse and figure out the end of the story from the clues that are in front of them if they choose to. Not everyone likes a sad ending.

HEALTH: APRIL 1955

T H E D E A T H O F C L A R A W H I T A K E R

The Lancashire Archives was incredibly informative for this research, I knew little information of Claras death, only that it was a suicide, and happened in the Garstang area. The administrators at the Archives were able to do some searches that I didn't have access to, they searched for possible escapes from Whittingham with the name Clara Whitaker, no results, they also searched for deaths at Whittingham with Claras name, no results. The likelihood is that Clara died while not in their care, and so I would have to search other records for her death.

I was able to find records of a death of a Clara Whitaker in the months of Apr May Jun in 1955, a female, aged 47, in Garstang.

Given Clara was 45 in the Whittingham records from 1952, that would make her around 47 in 1955, this was her.

To see more information I was to order a copy of the Death certificate.

"Sixteenth April 1955, River Wyre, Barnacre with Bonds

Clara Whitaker

Female

44 years

Of 44 Ferguson Road, Blackpool. Wife of Sydney Whitaker. Caretaker.

Asphyxia due to drowning - Killed herself while the balance of her mind was disturbed through ill health. P.M.

Certificate received from Blackhurst Coroner for bounty of Lancaster. Inquest held 20th April 1955."

Below is a newspaper article I was able to find after having access to the information on Claras death.

"Woman's body in River Wyre

The inquest on Mrs. Clara Whitaker, aged 46. of Ferguson Road, Marton, Blackpool, whose body was recovered from the River Wyre at Garstang show-field on Saturday. was held at the central police office, Preston on Wednesday.

The coroner recorded a verdict that she killed herself while the balance of her mind was disturbed through ill-health.

Sydney Whitaker said that since 1940 his wife had a history of mental trouble but she had never talked of suicide. P.c. Lomax said that when Mrs. Whitaker's body was recovered he found underneath it a shopping bag weighted by a stone."

The article is from the Lancaster Guardian, April 22nd, 1955.

Clara Whitaker jumped off a bridge in Garstang with a shopping bag of stones, with no intention of coming back to the surface.

HEALTH: ARCHIVES

L A N C A S H I R E A R C H I V E S

The Lancashire Archives is a building containing official documents and records from the Lancashire area dating as far back as the 1800s.

I chose to visit the building while exploring the Whittingham grounds since I was in Preston and there could be information available on Clara.

The archives have you look through folders of lists of documents they have available to you and you are able to request them to your table, a maximum of three at a time. I was able to find the patient register for 5 Oct 1950 - 27 Feb 1953, which considering Clara was admitted in 1952, her record of entry should be in between those dates.

I was able to find a Clara Whitaker, admitted on 20th Oct 1952, the date I had predicted, aged 45 Years.

We found that she had been discharged on 16th Dec the same year, the doctors had written her as recovered, which we were told means both the patient and staff believe they are well. However I believe as she had written in her letters to her daughter Sybil, that she was desperate to come home for Christmas, and that she may have just gone along with the charade for the doctors so to get discharged earlier.

Another piece of information I found was the phrase "previously dealt with under the Lunacy Act or the Mental Treatment Act", which means this is not the first time she has been admitted in to hospital for treatment for her mental health. A fact I had previously not known. And now I can't say how many times she might have been at Whittingham.

Below are some more documentations I found through research

CENCUS OF ENGLAND AND WALES, 1911

William Henry Jolliffe, Crew, 32, Married, Master, Worker

Clara Jolliffe, 31, Married

Elanor Jolliffe, 5

Clara Jolliffe, 3

Births registered in October, November, December 1907

Jolliffe, Clara - Thorne District

9c909

Marriages registered in October, November, December 1930

Jolliffe, Clara - Married to Whitaker in Fylde Area

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HEALTH: WHITTINGHAM DAY TRIP

T H E P L O T T H I C K E N S

After a full week of heavy research through various sources I have gathered some more knowledge of Clara Whitaker. Born in 1907 as Clara Jolliffe to William Henry Jolliffe and Clara Jolliffe (Schofield). Clara lived in Blackpool for the majority of her life, and in 1930 she married Sydney Whitaker, in 1937 her daughter Sybil Whitaker was born. In 1952 she was admitted in to Whittingham Mental Asylum, Preston.

I have developed a full map of our family tree on the Whitaker/Jolliffe side in this week, this project has somehow become a high school history project, but I have made some progress in learning about Clara's health, and why she was admitted to Whittingham.

Above is a photo of a young Clara Whitaker

I had the chance to go to the old site of Whittingham Hospital in Preston, however not much is left, the majority of the hospital grounds were demolished to make room for new housing and other property, the only thing left is the Church and the the cemetery. Given I didn't know much about Clara at this time I thought it could be beneficial to visit the graves, on the off chance she died in the care of Whittingham.

The Church is completely inaccessible due to fragile structure, there is a metal fence surrounding the full exterior of the building.

I thought it best not to trespass and so only took photos from behind the barrier.

The cemetery is a short walk away from the church, secluded in its own small park.

At first there was no visible graves, I thought maybe they had been moved when the main grounds were demolished however I soon found some small spotted military graves.

I still found it quite barren for a Hospital cemetery, moving to the next area, and behind some trees, I found rows upon rows of gravestones all made out to patients who died in the 80s. I was told by some locals that the developers building housing on the site nearby had recently gained access to build over this whole cemetery. Who knows what will happen to the gravestones.

Below is a map showing, on the left, Whittingham Hospital as it once was, and on the right, the grounds today.

Whittingham was well known for being a grand hospital, with its own ballroom, farm, sports-club, and even railway. Below are a selection of photographs of Whittingham when it was still in use as a Mental Asylum.