The Story of the Blind Elephants
The Blind Elephants joined together in 2009 with 9 founding members. They first met as individuals attending a Dublin based Illustration Bootcamp course ran by Adrienne Geoghegan. After the course finished each person felt that they shared a commitment to continuing illustration and hence the Blind Elephant Illustration Collective was formed.
In January 2010 a blog was initiated with bi-weekly illustration challenges. Every 2 weeks a different word was interpreted visually by each member and posted on the blog. Members were also free to post some of their own personal creative work. These are called ‘Free for Alls’ (or FFAs) and they can be based on any theme sparked by the illustrator’s own imagination! The blog became a platform where each member could express their own individual style while being inspired, encouraged and motivated by the other members.
A year later the volume of work contributed by each member encouraged a group show that was held in The Bernard Shaw, Dublin. Each of the members selected from their favourite blog posts to display in the exhibition. The success of the show was reflected in the surge of new interest in the collective and its members. It drew many new followers and fans to the blog and Facebook page.
In February 2011 due to the increasing popularity in the collective, the Elephants all agreed it was time to introduce new members to the group and develop new and interesting illustration challenges for the blog. It was decided that famous quotations would be the subject of the new illustration challenges. Every month a new quote is illustrated and posted to the blog and facebook page. Each year we get a new set of tasks, in 2013 we have a choice of 3 words each month.
The Blind Elephant members have been involved in many creative activities and collaborations, most notably to date the ICON Walk of Fame Project in Temple Bar, and also a live Storytelling and Illustration event held by ‘Events on the Corner’, Talbot Street and raised money for the Barretstown charity.
One of our exhibitions (see pictures here) took place in Belfast in January 2012. Since then we have shown in the pretigious venue of Farmliegh in November of 2012, showing regularly in the cool Bernard Shaw Pub and in April of 2013 in The Little Green Gallery.