amiluu

Hello. :) My name is Amy Gallagher and I'm a UK based freelance illustrator, comic artist and cartoonist.

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Vaccines, Shots That Protect You

Vaccines, Shots That Protect You

Hello everyone!

I recently worked with online open-access science journal Frontiers For Young Minds, to create illustrations for their article “Vaccines, Shots That Protect You“. (https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00031)

The article explains how vaccinations work, why vaccines are vital, and how they protect you and those who you surround yourself with. Make sure to check it…

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Microbes Book Presentation for Book Week Scotland 2018

Microbes Book Presentation for Book Week Scotland 2018

Wow-wee!

On Monday 19th November, I did a Microbes book presentation as part of Book Week Scotland 2018 at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. The event was fully booked, filled with 400 school kids and teachers. It was the biggest crowd I’ve ever presented too. Thank you to everyone who came!

I spoke about how I got into microbiology and creating Microbes. I also briefly talked about four groups of…

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Book Week Scotland 2018

Book Week Scotland 2018

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while! I’m back with more Microbes action!

On Monday 19th November at 10am I will be doing a live book presentation at Glasgow’s Mitchell Library as part of Book Week Scotland 2018. Yay!

I will be talking about my book and the fascinating world of Microbes. In addition, I’ll be conducting a couple of Microbes themed science activities, and I shall get members of the…

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Hello everyone!

I hope you’re having a pleasant weekend. I recently returned from a month trip to Finland! I was invited there to take part in a comic and illustration residency called “Comic Blast” hosted by Arteles. I had an incredible time, and it impacted me in a very positive way. I really appreciated having the luxury of spending a month on a creative project without any life commitments distracting me.

It made me realise how much joy I feel when producing meaningful work, and that I need to focus on my creative side more. I spent the month working on a short comic about my Mum’s childhood, where she grew up in a poor but close-knit community in South London. You can get a glimpse of what I got up to on my Instagram. (@amiluu_scribble) I’m trying to fit in this personal project amongst my other commitments, but I hope to have it completed within a year’s time.

In other news, Lauri Fortino at Frog on a Blog recently gave a positive review for Microbes! You can find it here: https://frogonablog.net/2018/05/05/my-view-book-review-microbes-by-amy-gallagher/ Thanks Lauri Fortino!

Until next time, Amy

Small update and book review! Hello everyone! I hope you're having a pleasant weekend. I recently returned from a month trip to Finland!

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Microbes available on Kindle!

Hello everyone! I thought I’d share with you the great news that Microbes is now available on Kindle! https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B078NN9NGL/ You can purchase a Kindle version from Amazon for only £4.48 (that’s half price of the book!) Enjoy! 🙂

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Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season! 🙂 In my previous blog post, I talked about a private book launch event with a local school. During the event I had volunteers swab different surfaces in an effort to collect and grow bacteria in petri dishes containing nutrient agar. After a few weeks, the school sent me photos of the petri dishes, with some fantastic results!

I’m sure the students were amazed as well as disgusted with their findings! I bet they will be making the extra effort to wash their hands from now on. 😉

You can find out about bacteria in my book, Microbes, where I cover the different shapes of bacteria, how they reproduce, and the problem with resistant bacteria and antibiotics.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of Microbes, you can find it on Waterstones, Amazon and from my publisher, Thunderstone Books.

If you’re interested in growing your own bacteria in petri dishes, follow this link or this link.

Happy bacteria growing! Amy

Even More Bacteria! Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season! 🙂 In my previous blog post, I talked about a private book launch event with a local school.

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Hello everyone! 🙂

I had a brilliant launch last week on Thursday 7th and Saturday 9th December! I want to thank everyone who attended and who purchased a copy of Microbes!

On Thursday 7th I had two Year 5 classes from a local school join me for Microbes-packed fun. They participated in science experiments where we inflated balloons with carbon dioxide produced by yeast, made “germs” scatter, collected bacteria to grow in petri dishes and made some SLIME!

  After the experiments, we had a Q&A session followed by me signing and doodling in purchased copies of Microbes.

Saturday 9th was a more relaxed event, where parents and children both got involved. There was plenty of colouring in of different Microbes characters, and fun using a USB microscope to see amazing detail of tiny objects, such as pennies. I also performed demonstrations of the science experiments, talked to parents about the book and answered questions.

I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to share Microbes with everyone and celebrate its launch. I have had a wonderful time connecting with many people and receiving incredible positive responses. I want to thank Thunderstone Books for allowing me to share Microbes with the world and for their continual help and commitment to the book, to Didsbury Library for allowing me to use their space, to St.Catherine’s Catholic Primary School for getting involved and celebrating the launch with me, to my family and my partner Joshua for their help and support, and to everyone who has so far purchased a copy of Microbes!

If you haven’t yet got a copy, but would like to purchase one you can find Microbes on Amazon, Waterstone’s and my publisher’s website Thunderstone Books.

Thanks everyone! 🙂

Amy

Microbes Book Launch Hello everyone! 🙂 I had a brilliant launch last week on Thursday 7th and Saturday 9th December!

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3...2...1...Microbes release!

3…2…1…Microbes release!

Hello all! 🙂 I’m excited to announce that Microbes is now available! Horrah! I’ve arranged the Microbes book launch too! Double horrah! There will be two events held at Didsbury Library, (692 Wilmslow Road, Manchester M20 2DN). On Thursday 7th December, I will have two Year 5 classes from St.Catherine’s Catholic Primary School to attend an hourly session of Microbes packed fun! I have designed…

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Bacteria From My Bellybutton & More

Hello all! Today I bring you a bacteria focused experiment that I conducted at home, and you can too! This activity demonstrates the importance of personal hygiene and good cleanliness! I bought a bacteria growing kit from Kitchen Chemistry on Ebay and you can find more about conducting such experiments from here and here. The kit I purchased contains nutrient agar, petri dishes, and sterile…

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You can pre-order Microbes!

For all you eager beavers, you can pre-order Microbes! It’s available to purchase from Waterstones, Amazon, and my publisher Thunderstone Books. The book will be released December 1st. This book would make a super duper Christmas present for children 8+ or for any science-lover! If you wish to find out more about Microbes, please see below a review from the blog “The Picture Book Review“.…

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Colouring Pages!

I’ve been creating more colouring pages for the book launch! I’ll be making a limited supply of fun activity packs that can be purchased with Microbes at the book launch. The packs will contain science-themed activity sheets and colouring pages. More information on the book launch will come soon! Here are a couple of example colouring pages for now!  

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I’ve been working on activity sheets and colouring pages for the Microbes book launch! Here’s a sneak peak of what I’ve done so far. 😀

Prepare to launch! I've been working on activity sheets and colouring pages for the Microbes book launch! Here's a sneak peak of what I've done so far. 😀

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Boo! It’s October 1st! The countdown to Halloween begins!

It's time to send your hauntingly happy greetings to loved ones and make their night a memorable one! This card is blank inside so you can personalise it with your spooky magical wishes!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/542960846/happy-halloween-card

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The Fungi Kingdom

Why was the mushroom invited to the party? – Because he was a FUN-GUY!  *Ba-dum tish* So, let us dive into the kingdom of fungi. I suppose the word “fungi” brings the image of mushrooms to your mind. These types of fungi are multicellular clusters, but other fungi exist alone as single-celled organisms, like yeast cells, which are used in bread to make the dough rise. The mushrooms we see above…

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Say thank you for all things big and small with my Thank You Card. We all like to feel appreciated every once in a while. :)

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/556752353/thank-you-card

This card is part of my newly designed range of beautiful contemporary greeting cards. Make sure to check the whole range at www.etsy.co.uk/shop/amiluu

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Viruses. Not the computer kind.

Viruses. Not the computer kind.

Viruses are one of the smallest and deadliest of all the microbes. They’re so small that you need a very powerful microscope to be able to see them. Viruses can infect people, animals, and plants and can spread very quickly. They cause many diseases, some of which you might have already experienced, such as colds, flu, and chicken pox – very itchy spots! Viruses are very nasty. They are villains…

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Silica Gel. What is it and why shouldn't we eat it?!

Silica Gel. What is it and why shouldn’t we eat it?!

Hello all! Do you ever come across those tiny sachets in your new box of shoes or leather bags, with the text “SILICA GEL, DO NOT EAT”. Have you ever wondered what silica gel actually is? What purpose does it hold? I’ve written about silica in the Algae chapter of Microbes, but I shall dive a little further here, as well as give you a little glimpse of the chapter’s contents! So, silica, (also…

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