The Bookmaker

How about this! My print making tutor, super-person and collaborator Christine Lock is also a book maker. Feature here in all humility by moi is one example of a book with slip case. The whole piece is made by hand, in fact I witnessed a lot of the production when I was working down at the Lock Press today - that's another story.

This story probably means we will be collaborating on book making before too long. OMG!

NORFOLK
Where were you last week?
Where was I?
Norfolk - chillin' owt and drawing.
Curlew’s cry, fresh crab dressed and priced, kiss me quick he’s coming to take the money for our deck chairs. Posh pottery, tea shops sky’s as big as your heart and horizons as broad as the imagination

Thanks to super chum and fishmonger Mike Muller for the photographs click here by the way, for great fish.

THE DRESSER AND HER MODEL

The idea behind this piece, being the final project in Bron’s A2 course:
Start point is Dolls and >> onto Barbie Dolls. Barbie is an icon of beauty - perfection. Everyone is seeking perfection, some will pay for it. So into plastic surgery and the finished piece represents the pure body gone wrong; the folds of the leggings, for example, represent cellulite.

Location: Undisclosed
Model: Megan Baynes
Hair and Makeup: Model’s own
Photography: Bronnie Baynes

Creative Moves

How much of life's goods and chattels can you get in the back of an aging Saab?

Quite a lot! Is the answer as we move Megs back down from Leeds in preparation for the Summer working in Ibiza.

Norfolk Morning 2

07:35

The incesent slap slap of metal stays against masts

A dispute of gulls

Warm sun cool breeze

My nose drips onto my drawing

A hammer sounds on the timbers of a boat nearby

Norfolk Morning

Three days on the north Norfolk coast this week

Up early each day, recording sounds as I drew or took photographs

Tuesday 07:14

A gull chats away as I draw

Crows, a long way off

The cough of a walker

A lark joins the conversation

I hear the water returning to the mud flats

Oyster Catchers, flute music

Faure Fantastic

Sunday, St Mary's Beaconsfield, the choir swelled its ranks to 34, and we sung Faure's Requiem as part of an Evensong service.

It was quite wonderful. From the first bar we were confident and bright and sensitive to this lovely piece of music.

The congregation broke out into applause as we walked back into the choir vestry

Featured: 11 year old Ali, our solo soprano, rehearsing the Pie Jesu with our Director Debra Ivens.

More press work

My printwork at Christine Lock's press in Marlow continues to grow in terms of techniques and ideas. During last weekend's session I was working on introducing some figure work into the foreground of some pieces I had done sometime back.

It's done by taking figure drawings, from my Moleskines, distilling them down to basic shapes, silhouettes, inking them up and putting them through the press on top of the image already there. Early results are insteresting and add a new twist to the journey in monoprint.

The figures add a engaging ambiguity to the work - another dimension.

Chalkland Flowers

A wonderful bike ride early yesterday moring. In May, where we are, on the edge of the Chilterns, the flowers are quite lovely at this time of the year. Along one side of the road home I noticed three shades of blue.

Foreground Forget-me-Not and Blue eyed Mary, right at the back , Bluebells.

Johannesburg

3o days to go to the World Cup and I arrived on Monday morning and now heading back on Wednesday evening. Great people, great energy as the country prepares to be the centre of the World in a month's time.

Felt up

Super friends Chris and Liz came to stay and run a felt making workshop in the kitchen throughout the whole of Saturday.

Felt making is as old as time: The story of Saint Clement and Saint Christopher relates that while fleeing from persecution, the men packed their sandals with wool to prevent blisters. At the end of their journey, the movement and sweat had turned the wool into felt socks.

Hard work. Results great. I made a bag for carrying camera, two Moleskines, phone and wallet. (detail photo) If you want more background on the wonderful world of felt click here

English Cathedrals

So the plan, hitherto not revealed here, is to visit all 43 cathedrals in England.

English Cathedrals - each one has something special about it, each has something to remember. This Easter we knocked a couple more off the list, in London St Paul's - the only cathedral on the list that was truly the work of one man - Sir Christopher Wren. A sunny day in during Easter Week (unlike freezing May 9th) a large crowd - with an entrance fee to match (£12.50) - this wonderful church is a visual feast - English Renaissance at its very best.

Blue and Yellow

Out yesterday on a bike ride with, Richard, super chum and member of Her Majesty's Judiciary. A classic chilly May day but lots of colour.

Pnau-Baby Breakbot Remix

Saturdays in Hong Kong

Another post Iceland ash flash back. Saturday morning in Hong Kong? A great place to bump into people is along the Hollywood Road, the other Saturday I collided two great former colleagues Nancy Willis and five minutes later with Kenneth Andrew and his wife.

The streets that bisect Holliwood are paved with interesting shops and stalls. A great collection of cameras and glasses are featured PLUS three wonderful gorgeous photos (here as montage) which I had to buy.