I started this comic in during lockdown in Melbourne 2020.
I had bought a punch needle kit to learn a new skill and keep me occupied on those long days we couldn’t leave the house.
Preferring a gentler way of creating an image with wool, I changed to an embroidery needle and wool, the way I would colour an illustration with ink or paint, and from there the idea of an embroidered comic began.
This comic is embedded in those times of isolation, appreciation and reflection.
AVAILABLE AUGUST 2023.
Written by Edward Murphy, illustrations and concept by Claire Murphy.
38 page comic, set in 1930s Australia.
A girl named Coral and her trusty cat Mackenzie begin an adventure that takes in Melbourne mobsters, cruel cops, fighting families and a motorbike called Bessie. In the grip of the Great Depression there is still fun and excitement to be had.
Self published February 2020.
Available here
COOEE TO THE LADIES: Australian Women of Talent and Interest is a selection of 20 inspiring women in Australian history.
Women from different backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities, each with a fascinating story.
Each biography is accompanied by a full-page illustrated portrait; from icons like Annette Kellerman, Vida Goldstein and Miles Franklin to less well known figures like Alice Anderson, Joan Richmond and Gladys Elphick.
Introduction:
After not drawing for a while, I started a ‘Drawing a Day Project’ in 2015. I find the lives and vintage attire of women of the early 20th Century fascinating – it was a real turning point in women’s rights and awareness of their changing place in society. So I started researching women of this era, drawing their portraits and sharing them on Instagram; this was the beginning of Cooee to the Ladies: Australian Women of Talent and Interest.
This book is recommended for young adult to adult readers.
Published 2018, sold out.
A picture book series about the extraordinary men and women who have shaped Australia's history, including opera star Dame Nellie Melba.
Dame Nellie Melba was a soprano singer. She was the first classical musician from Australia to gain international acclaim, helping to raise Australia's cultural prestige in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was appointed Dame Commander, OBE for her enormous fundraising efforts during World War One. Dame Nellie is remembered for bringing opera and opera training to audiences across Australia and commemorated on the Australian hundred-dollar note.
Portraits: An illustration every day for a year - women of talent and interest.
To see more visit my Instagram feed Tunabake #oneadaytunabakedrawings
(Li Xianglan) 1920-2014 (94)
Chinese born/Japanese singer, actress and politician.
(Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin) 1879-1954 (74).
Australian novelist, writer and feminist.
(Zelda Mavin Jackson) 1911-1985 (74).
The first African American female cartoonist.
1920-1966 (45)
American reporter and war correspondent
1904-1955 (50)
Chinese architect and poet
1949 (67)
NASA Astronaut - the first mother in space (1984)
(Ida Sherbourne Rentoul, Ida Sherbourne Outhwaite) 1888-1960 (72).
Australian illustrator.
1887-1975 (88)
Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville star, actress, writer and business owner.
During lockdown in Melbourne 2020 I had bought a punch needle kit to learn a new skill and keep me occupied on those long days we couldn’t leave the house.
Preferring a gentler way of creating an image with wool, I changed to an embroidery needle and wool, the way I would colour an illustration with ink or paint, and from there the idea of an embroidered comic began.
This comic is embedded in those times of isolation, appreciation and reflection.
AVAILABLE AUGUST 2023.
Co-written with Edward Murphy, illustrations and concept by Claire Murphy.
38 page comic, set in 1930s Australia.
A girl named Coral and her trusty cat Mackenzie begin an adventure that takes in Melbourne mobsters, cruel cops, fighting families and a motorbike called Bessie. In the grip of the Great Depression there is still fun and excitement to be had.
Self published February 2020.
Conceived, illustrated, and co-written by Claire Murphy. Biographies co-written by Edward Murphy.
Cooee To The Ladies: Australian Women of Talent and Interest is an A5 paperback book, self published in December 2017.
Part of the ‘Meet...’ series; a series of picture books telling the stories of extraordinary Australians through history.
Published by Penguin Random House Australia in 2016 in hardback, paperback and ebook.
