Lizzy Stewart: Cardigan Heart Zine

A a 28 page book of short, illustrated stories written and drawn by Lizzy Stewart. The book is full colour, litho printed (it smells nice) on smooth, heavy weight paper and staple bound. I picked it up as at the time I had a huge illustration module, and at the time I didn’t draw very often.

I bought Cardigan Heart at the Graphic Design Fair ‘Pick me up’ in London in 2011. The book is litho printed on smooth heavy weight paper and staple bound. On opening the first page Lizzy writes;

‘stories, Half stories and illformed ideas. They are mostly about Love.’

Stories are usually about love’. The rest of the book consist of collections of Lizzy’s memories, some with colour others in black and white, including ‘Viewed from a train, ‘Thursday’ where she appears to have turned into a wolf of sometime and howling and fighting in the dark, and ‘Ultimatum’ including quotes like ‘If I reach Kings Cross before this song finishes he’ll call’. I love the way she has left some pages with no description at all, and the use of space on the pages.

Reading Cardigan Heart is like being inside Lizzy Stewart’s head, but at the same time the words and captions make this book extraordinarily relatable. This book is a huge inspiration to me, it’s taught me not to be afraid to make my work personal. I also really like this style of illustration, some aspects are simple and a bit rough round the edges. Which creates a bold handmade feel, almost like a diary.