Holocaust Memorial Day 2015

On January 27th, I was invited to Westminster Central Hall in London to attend a special service celebrating Holocaust Memorial Day 2015, marking 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was part of the Memory Makers project translating the story of survivor Sabina Miller into an illustration.

Before the special service for the event, I met with Sabina to present my final illustration to her - which I had specially framed for the occasion. I gifted my piece, simply called 'Sabina', to thank her for such a wonderful meeting back in October and to give her something to remember her young life by; as she left the war with no possessions.

Sabina's daughter, Sandra, got in touch with me recently to tell me how much her mother and family love the illustration - and that Sabina has displayed it, pride of place, in her kitchen where she spends most of her time.

The Service

200 survivors attended the commemorative service encompassing music, poetry and personal testimonies. Prince Charles of Wales, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prime Minister David Cameron, Sir John Hurt, David Dimbleby, Michael Palin, Adrian Lester, Christopher Eccleston, Lawrence Fox, Keeley Hawes and Sarah Lancashire also attended the event commemorating the survivors, as well as politicians and other celebrities. 

It was a truly wonderful commemoration and I'm very grateful indeed to have been invited along and be part of the atmosphere remembering those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. The service was televised on BBC Two later that evening which you can watch on the iPlayer here.

After the event, a reception was held which presented a good opportunity to talk with other survivors, memory makers and volunteers. Tami and I had the pleasure meeting Sarah Lancashire and Helena Bonham-Carter!

In the Media

My illustration, as well as other works from the artmakers of the Memory Makers project, was featured on the Jewish News website as well as the Huffington Post UK.

I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone at HMDT, This is Fishburn, Amazon PR and all of the volunteers for having me as part of the Memory Makers project and for being so accommodating to myself and my Guide Dog during the event.

Find out how you can get involved with the Memory Makers project by clicking here. You can also follow the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust on Facebook and Twitter.

Memory Makers Project for Holocaust Memorial Day 2015

In the Autumn I was very kindly invited to be involved with the Memory Makers project as part of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust's 2015 celebrations; commemorating survivors of the Holocaust and other subsequent genocides through the platform of creative responses showcasing the survivors' personal stories. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkeneau.

Six other British writers and artists, including Stephen Fry, also took part in the project producing specially created works in various formats, such as; illustration, poetry, ceramics, sculpture, animation and film to portray the experiences of the genocide survivors that they met in person.

Meeting with Sabina

I met with 92 year old Sabina Miller, a survivor of the Holocaust, during early October in Central London.

She told me her powerful story of a loving childhood in Poland and a family unit torn apart simply because they were Jewish. They were sent to the Warsaw Ghetto and contracted Typhus, resulting in Sabina losing her family to illness and mystery. She fled to the Polish countryside hiding in the ground, saw the constant flow of trucks transporting Jewish people away, and adopted the identities of non-Jewish girls to escape capture. Her only possession left from the war to remember her family by is a checkered cardigan that she wore the day her family were sent to the Warsaw Ghetto. Everything else was lost.

Meeting with Sabina inspired me both personally and creatively. This was someone who had everything taken away from her simply because of who she was, but through fierce courage and determination overcame adversity and hardship. I admire Sabina greatly and it was a true honour to have met her.

Illustrated Response

'Sabina' by Kimberley Burrows, 2014

When I first met Sabina and she told me her incredible story, a few elements immediately grabbed me and stayed in my mind; the powerfully haunting image of two young girls (one of whom was a young Sabina) huddling together in a hole in the ground, against a snowy backdrop, with just a blanket between them, the harrowing sight of trucks continuously visiting the farm where Sabina worked, taking and transporting any Jewish people they could find, and the Sabina today and how incredibly strong and positive she is now that she has a large, loving family and no longer has to hide her identity.

She left the war without a family so I wanted to illustrate the family she has now, with Sabina surrounded by her grandchildren, the youngest of which is enveloped in her only possession left from the War – a patterned cardigan – which will be passed down through the generations.

I knew that I wanted to capture all of this powerful imagery in my response that I have called, simply, ‘Sabina’. My gift to her. Meeting her was such an honour and a wonderful experience where, in those few short hours we spent talking to each other, she influenced me beyond my imagining. Through her powerful storytelling, kind nature and wise words I have learned first-hand how strong people can be even after enduring the loss of family, identity and hope and that love, kindness and positivity can truly conquer all.

Keep the Memory Alive

My page on the HMDT website can he accessed here with a full overview of why I wanted to take part in the project, meeting Sabina for the first time, her full story of surviving the Holocaust, and the creative process behind my illustration.

Holocaust Memorial Day is held annually on January 27th. Find out how you can get involved with the Memory Makers project by clicking here. You can also follow the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust on Facebook and Twitter.

Scouts Magazine's Get Active! Cover

The cover of Scouts Magazine's 'Get Active' supplement has now been put together by the design team! The cover features illustrations I recently created for their Ability Issue focused around accessibility and inclusion among Scouts and Cubs in the UK.

Get Active! says: "This issue we're delighted to bring you a supplement dedicated to inclusion, echoing Scouting magazine's core theme. As always, we want to emphasise that scouting is a Movement that is inclusive and open to all, and here we provide you with some great ways of bringing the additional needs of others to the forefront of your programme.

From learning Braille to games to suit a range of abilities, this issue is a celebration of the wonderful variety you can find within Scouting today. And we simply couldn't be prouder. Enjoy the issue!"

The inside of the cover contains a section about my involvement with the project as well as a short bio and photo.

Kimberley Burrows is a blind illustrator from Salford, Manchester, and the winner of the RNIB's Young Illustrator of the Year. She can only work for 20 minutes at a time, but nevertheless continues to establish herself as one of the artists of the future. She says, 'I'm really grateful to be a part of this project… especially on the subject of inclusion - something I'm very passionate about.'

Here are my original drawings that were used for the Get Active! supplement; including the background and the illustrated elements featured around the collage. I wanted everything to be bright and colourful and to showcase as many different disabilities as possible. As always, I used my favourite mediums of black fine liner and coloured pencils and the project took most of the month of October to complete.

I want to say a big thank you to the magazine's Art Editor, James Daniel, for getting in touch and for inviting me to be part of this project. It is an honour to be included in the ability issue and I'm extremely happy with the final result!

Henshaws Christmas Cards Now Available!

My winning Christmas Card design, titled 'Christmas Girl', is now available to purchase at the Henshaws Resource Centres located in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle, as well as the specialist College in Harrogate and Arts & Crafts Centre in Knaresborough.

I purchased three packs yesterday as soon as they were made available, as well as receiving a complimentary pack for designing the card, to give out to friends and family over the Christmas period!

My design was based on the competition theme 'A Christmas Wish'. It features a younger version of myself - a curly redheaded girl - in a pink duffle coat and turquoise gloves posting her letter off to Santa. A little Robin Redbreast sits atop of the postbox surrounded by a snowy landscape. A silhouette of Santa can be seen in the top-left corner of the card flying in his sleigh, being pulled by reindeer against a backdrop of the moon and pink, purple gradient of the starry night sky. 

My illustration was created using my favourite mediums of black fine liner and coloured pencils, and it also incorporates Photoshop CS5 brushes to create the bright stars in the night sky. You can view my original blog post detailing my 'Christmas Girl' design by clicking here.

Each pack is priced just £2.50, with 100% of the proceeds going to Henshaws Society for Blind People, and contains 10 cards and corresponding envelopes.  The full list of winners and their designs, as well as further information on how to order, can be found at the Henshaws website here.

Installation and Illustration for the One Man's Vision Exibition

Following on from my previous post about the One Man's Vision exhibition and my involvement with the project - I have now finished my illustration to be framed and showcased at the exhibiton and have helped during some of the installation process at Salford Museum and Art Gallery. I wanted to share my latest piece and experiences with you.

Elephant in the Room

My artwork, created specially for One Man's Vision, is based on an audio file I listened to regarding the social perceptions of and reactions to blind and visually impaired people.

Featured in the background are many logos and symbols associated with myself; disabled, hard of hearing, sight impaired and a long cane user. But to me personally, they are exactly that. In the background. While they are a visual representation of the disabilities that I have, they are not me - the person in the middle of the illustration. A young, confident, fashionable and intelligent young woman with many hobbies, talents and opinions.

When the general public see these logos, they assume that they are attached to older people and are often surprised when they see me in shopping centres or cinemas, just getting on with my life and going about things as any other person would. I've often received comments such as, "But you're so young! Why has this happened to you?" and "You look so normal!". Other times, I receive the opposite reaction - it's an elephant in the room and I can tell that someone desperately wants to talk about my visual impairment but finds it hard to do so incase they offend me by choosing the wrong words. Scope's "End the Awkward" campaign resonated deeply with me was also a source of inspiration behind my illustration.

I used contrasting colours on the top and bottom panels with differing gradients to represent my contrasting experiences with the general public and also the stark contrast of the symbols against the real person associated with them. It took nearly a month to complete the piece and it was created using my favourite mediums of a black fine liner and coloured pencils.

@Glittered This has just been hung by our exhibitions team! Looks great! pic.twitter.com/7yhV42fSgL
— Salford Museum (@SalfordMuseum) September 17, 2014

As well as creating an illustration, I also helped with the exhibition itself; creating Braille labels which will be installed to allow all visitors to access the printed information, helping to type up some of the labels to be printed off and placed next to objects inside cases, and creating an object list to keep track of all of the items on display. I had a really interesting insight into how exhibitions are installed and had a fantastic time with the team. A big thank you to Carrie and Laura for having me!

The One Man's Vision exhibition will be opened to the public at Salford Museum and Art Gallery on Saturday, 20th September. You can visit the One Man's Vision website here and can read more about the exhibition at the Salford Museum and Art Gallery website here.

Final Illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I have now completed my sixth and final illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine, as their Young Illustrator of the Year for 2014. My final piece is based on all of the achievements I have made over the past year; with becoming the RNIB's Young Illustrator contributing to many of these.

My illustration features my interview with Granada Reports and my article in the Manchester Evening News shortly after I became the RNIB's Young Illustrator of the Year, my artwork for John Lewis celebrating their 150th birthday in the summer which was displayed at the Trafford Centre, Salford Mayor Ian Stewart after his very kind tweets of support earlier this year, and an upcoming achievement when I visit European Parliament in November with the European Blind Union.

My illustration took a month to complete and was created using my signature mediums of black fineliner and coloured pencils.

I want to say a big thank you to the Insight Magazine team for their support and for the wonderful opportunities that being their illustrator has presented to me. I have enjoyed my time contributing to the magazine immensely!

Fifth Illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I have now finished my fifth illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine!

The theme I had to work with this time was 'Support at the time of sight loss' - so incorporated support from friends and family, a Doctor and Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO), and helpful information supplied through the internet, leaflets and helplines.

The illustration took the majority of the month to complete, whenever I had some free time as I've been so busy recently!, and was created using black fineliner and colouring pencils.

Christmas Card Design for Henshaws

I have now completed my christmas card entry for Henshaws based on the theme A Christmas Wish, titled Christmas Girl.

The competition was recently posted on the Henshaws Facebook page, though I had started my entry beforehand as I remember reading something being posted about it through social media and the official website back in March or April. After being reminded through Facebook, as well as kindly e-mailed by a member of staff at Henshaws, I thought I would continue with my card and enter the competition!

It was created using fine liner and coloured pencils and digitally altered using the photo-editing program, Adobe Photoshop CS5, using nebula and fairy dust brushes. This is the first time I have used Photoshop to edit one of my illustrations and I'm rather pleased with how it turned out!

The design took roughly 2 and a half weeks to complete in all and will be sent off very soon! Good luck to anyone else entering the Christmas Card competition!

Fourth illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I've now completed my fourth illustration for the RNIB's Insight Magazine, based on outdoor sports and activities. The illustration depicts my ongoing character (featured in all of my illustrations so far) in the centre riding a bike surrounded by an archery board, football and net, racket with a tennis ball and shuttlecock, and a cricket bat with a ball and wicket.

I wanted to use this imagery specifically to represent some of the sports that have been adapted for blind and visually impaired people; blind archery, goalball, tandem cycling, sound ball tennis and cricket. I have visually impaired friends who enjoy tandem cycling and playing cricket, so wanted to include those to represent their favourite sports and hobbies - as well as my own, which includes badminton (I don't mind playing occasionally, though I'm not very good! I much prefer to be hit by a lightweight shuttlecock than a tennis ball!) and blind archery which I have a new interest in.

You can read more about sports for blind and visually impaired people by visiting British Blind Sport, the International Blind Sports Federation and Metro Sports Club for VI People.

Third Illustration for Insight Magazine

I've now completed my third illustration for Insight Magazine's March issue!

The theme is 'preparing for adult life' and my illustration was created using coloured pencils and a fine liner. It portrays me in my high school uniform when I was a teenager, looking towards the future of adult life and the tasks it includes - food shopping independently, washing clothes, preparing meals safely, managing money and paying bills. These are skills that I'm still learning as a severely visually impaired adult. I currently receive help from an enablement officer based at Henshaws Society for Blind People, who visits me regularly to help me learn kitchen skills such as using appliances, pouring hot liquids, chopping, peeling and spreading, and working up to preparing small meals for myself safely and independently.

The February issue of Insight Magazine will be sent out very soon, so I will post a scan of my second illustration and my small article when it's released!

Second Illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I have now completed my second illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine! The next issue will be focused on accessible technology and digital communication, especially in the form of computers, smartphones, tablets, apps and functionality.

I decided to depict my iPad and my favourite apps and features. These include accessibility functions such as zoom and voiceover, iBooks - which is fantastic with its accessibility and customisation of the text size, background colour, font type, inverted options and is even handy as an audiobook if you have voiceover selected from the general settings in your iPad, the internet, games, Facebook and Twitter. All of these apps have a very clean, easy-to-use layout and each one is important to me for its specific use. I will also have a small paragraph explaining my favourite apps and features, with my headshot, along with other members of Envision.

This next issue of Insight magazine will be available in February 2014. For more information about the magazine and how you can subscribe, please click here. 

RNIB's Young Illustrator 2014 Competition for Insight Magazine

I entered the RNIB's Young Illustrator competition earlier this week, after spending most of the month working on my entry, and checked my e-mails just now to find out that I won! I'll be producing an illustration for every issue of Insight magazine in 2014 as the prize, as well as having my article included in next month's issue regarding the English campaigning network we've set up. alongside the RNIB.

The theme was "next steps", so I wanted to make it personal and show my own next steps for the future; completing my braille course, training for a guide dog, more campaign work (hence the image of Parliament) and mobility training with my long cane. I'm so thrilled, and very grateful to everyone at RNIB's Insight magazine for choosing my entry!