Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog, I would like to start by introducing myself.

I'm James Calderbank, an Illustrator and Designer currently based in Surbiton in Southwest London. I originally grew up in the rural southwest of the UK in a place called Somerset which comes up a lot in my work. I'm currently fascinated by Spiritualism and the folk lore history of Britain which has many connections to this.

I've been working on a graphic novel project in my spare time titled 'The Thankful Village' which looks at the folk lore and general superstition that comes from living in a small rural village in Britain. I've always been fascinated by the folk lore of places all across the world but it was only recently I began to be captivated by the history of home. Britain is such an old place with an incredibly rich history, not all of it is written down and when you go back far enough things get really weird.

I will be leaving London soon, I'm returning to Falmouth in Cornwall to pursue an MA in Authorial illustration. This is something I've wanted to do since before the pandemic but only now does it feel like its possible to undertake it, to truly make the most of my time studying in such a beautiful part of the country. For my studies I want to look at English Folk lore and the connections they have to the fantasy genre, how our history and our stories have developed over time into such compelling works of art.

I hope to use this blog to explore my research and my musings on this subject so I hope reading this that you will join me on this adventure into Britain's past, present and future through storytelling.