"The Wind in the Willows"

After my FMP proposal tutorial the other day, me and the tutors came to the decision that "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame would be a good book to start with. The story is simple and contains charming imagery that would translate well with my style of collage. "The Wind in the Willows" is a story that creates a sense of nostalgia with many generations, so creating a poster for such a universally loved book will be fun and exciting.

Illustrations of the book by Ernest H. Shepard (see image above) are said to be one of the most well loved editions of the book. According to the world wide web, Kenneth Grahame was happy with Shepard's preliminary sketches, but died before the work was completed.

I have decided that I'm going to try my hardest to fully read all the books I chose, to ensure that my illustrations are well informed (as well as getting the chance to read some classics that i've been meaning to read for years). So far I am on Chapter 5 - DULCE DOMUM. Below are some of my favourite quotes so far;

"First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing."

"Toad sat straight down in the middle of the dusty road, his legs stretched out before him, and stared fixedly in the direction of the disappearing motor-car. He breathed short, his face wore a placid satisfied expression, and at intervals he faintly murmured "Poop-poop!"

"In the middle of the room stood a long table of plain boards placed on trestles, with benches down each side. At one end of it, where an arm-chair stood pushed back, were spread the remains of the Badger's plain but ample supper. Rows of spotless plates winked from the shelves of the dresser at the far end of the room, and from the rafters overhead hung hams, bundles of dried herbs, nets of onions, and baskets of eggs."

Above is A very quick visualisation of the scene I read from Chapter 4, where Mole and Ratty go to stay with Badger after getting stranded in Wild Wood (see the last quote above). I really like the idea of showing both sides of the animal world, for example Badgers underground home with its simple necessities, compared to Toad's overground house, Toad Hall, with all his lavish possessions.