Cara Rooney: Illustrator & Plaything Maker
Based in Dundee, Cara Rooney works as a professional plaything maker. A lifelong love of drawing and storytelling led Cara to study illustration, start creating her own picturebooks and help Alzheimer Scotland reimagine their art therapy program for a digital age.
This is Cara’s story…
What I Do
I describe myself as an illustrator, plaything maker and creative workshop practitioner. I create illustrations, interactive books and workshops that encourage people to build a fascination for nature and the environment.
“Do You Want to Work at McDonald’s?”
Drawing and writing stories have always been my favourite things to do. In primary school, I used to love writing stories about cats (which is odd because I don’t like cats now), and in high school, my two favourite subjects were Art and English.
When I told my dad that I wanted to go to art school, he said, “Do you want to work at McDonald’s?” He wasn’t exactly the most supportive at the beginning, but seeing me go through art college has changed his perception. I think he has grown to appreciate the creative industries for what they are. My little sister is now going to fashion school, and it has not been quite as difficult for her.
Applying to Art School
In high school, we weren’t told about the different subjects you could study at art college. I applied to courses in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. At the interview for Communication Design in Glasgow, I remember feeling so unprepared because high school just doesn’t show you how to approach interviews like that.
My application was only accepted to Painting in Edinburgh and General Foundation in Dundee. I wanted to move away, but I thought that design was more suited to me, so I decided to study in Dundee. At DJCAD, you start with a one-year course where you get to try a bit of everything, and this is when I realised all the different directions you can go within design.
Making Friends
The best thing about art school was making good friends. Being in a space full of people with such diverse creative experiences and being able to bounce ideas off of each other and receive feedback was amazing.
“Being in a space full of people with such diverse creative experiences and being able to bounce ideas off of each other and receive feedback was amazing.”
- Cara Rooney
The most challenging part of art school was figuring out my process. In my second year, I struggled because I was still working in a way that high school had taught me and spending ages on the final drawings.
It was our tutor Tommy Perman who told me things didn’t have to be complicated and that sometimes the best way to communicate an idea was through a simple drawing. He showed me artists like Jean Jullien who communicate complex concepts through simple drawings and told me I could use a drawing from my sketchbook as a final piece. This was amazing for me, as I always prefer my sketchbook drawings to final drawings.
Pandemic Graduate Positivity
Graduating in 2020 was tough because, due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to celebrate with friends. I also had Pinterest boards full of degree show inspiration, so knowing that was not going to happen was upsetting.
However, we had to just make the most of the situation. Although we were restricted to doing things online, there weren’t any restrictions on where online could take you or who you could meet, like there would have been in a physical space. I went to the Bologna Children’s Books Fair, took part in an American online degree show and had a tutorial with an editorial illustrator in New York.
Working for Alzheimer Scotland
I started my job with Alzheimer Scotland in 2017. I worked in their day service for three years alongside my studies until 2020, when the pandemic hit. When everyone was isolating in their homes, we switched to doing telephone support and began phoning people to make sure they were okay. As it went on for longer, we realised we had to adapt the services we were providing into a digital format and began hosting music groups and chair exercises over video calls.
My manager was keen to use the skills I had developed at art college to create an activity group for therapeutic support for people with dementia and their carers. I developed a Creative Christmas workshop: each individual chose a place they loved, then I found a snowy photo of it and drew it out on a canvas before delivering it to their door with some art supplies. During weekly sessions over video call, I’d lead painting workshops with an emphasis on enjoying the process rather than aiming for a perfect final result.
“Explaining things like spam folders and mute buttons has been tricky, but so rewarding.”
- Cara Rooney
Everyone grew in confidence through this workshop, and it had some unexpected outcomes. For example, one man decided to paint a picture of the Law in Dundee for his daughter, who he hadn’t seen in months because she lived in Wales. After it was finished, he delivered the painting to his daughter, and it helped her reconnect with her home and her father.
I also run weekly sessions about different musicians, and it is quite surreal to be sitting at a computer with 12 elderly people chatting about Frank Sinatra. It is very different from the way things used to be. A lot of these people didn’t even have access to laptops before the pandemic, so explaining things like spam folders and mute buttons has been tricky, but so rewarding.
These sessions have been nice for me because it has been a while since I have painted purely to enjoy painting. I have a bit of an obsession with things being perfect, which is just not very realistic. It is about accepting that, when something goes wrong, you learn from it. It is all experience that will help you in the future.