From Myth to Print: Chichester College Student Artwork Published in Folklore Journal  

Creative flair was on full display after seven Chichester College students’ work was selected to feature in a mythical folklore and fantasy journal.  

Animation and Illustration students from the college submitted their work to the summer issue of ‘Gramarye‘, the peer-reviewed journal of the University of Chichester’s Chichester Centre for Fairy Tales, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction.  

Using both traditional media, digital media, and animation, the students explored different contemporary interpretations of folklore from around the world.  

The students’ work was selected from submissions across their entire class, with Heather Robbins and Paul Quinn from the Chichester Centre for Fairy Tales, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction, visiting Chichester College to judge the work and select pieces for publishing.  

One of the students selected for this was Mia Peake. Her work explored the creation of the Doom Bar, a folktale about the creation of a Sandbar in Padstow, Cornwall.  

A sandbar is a long and narrow ridge of sediment that can build up near beaches, or in lakes or rivers. 

The folktale tells of a mermaid who falls in love with a local man, and after she tries to pull him into the ocean, he shoots the mermaid to escape. As she sits there dying, she curses Padstow, and the bar grows from a fistful of sand she throws in anger.  

When asked about the creative process for her piece, she said:  
“I experimented with a different style than I would usually do, I did more lineless work (a technique that used value and tone to define forms and shapes), and I did some more themed around embroidery, because I looked at how different cultures tell their folklore and how they represent their identities.”  

Lucas Hunter was another student whose work was exhibited. His work is a manga-inspired portrayal of some of the key battles of Norse Mythology. It mainly focuses on Ragnarök, the Norse telling of the end of the world.  

Lucas discussed the thought process behind his work, saying:  
“I wanted to tailor things for their journal. I wanted it to be something that a lot of people could know a little bit about in Norse mythology. I feel like a lot of people know Thor and Odin, even if that is from the films. 

“But I also wanted it to be unique so it would stand out more in the journal. So, I incorporated my work to include some basic pen and ink to make a manga art style.”  

Mimma Ngwerume was another of the students whose work was exhibited in the journal. For her piece, she focused on how the portrayal of mermaids changes around the world, paying particular attention to the Mami Wata, a water spirit associated with parts of Africa and the Caribbean.  

When asked how she had found taking part, she said:  
“I found it a little bit difficult because I never really focus on sea creatures, but I definitely did find it pretty fun.  

“I was really trying to expand my understanding of the different hierarchies, the colour pallets, for things like eels, snakes and normal finishes from different regions.”  

A massive congratulations to all those students who took part: Angus Gruhn, Lucas Hunter, Mimma Ngwerume, Luke Coventry, Mia Peak, Steph Tuppen, Karyna Rohachova  

To find out more about all the Art, Design and Media courses available at the college, please click here. To find out more about the wide range of courses available at the Chichester College’s upcoming Open Days, please click here.