Out and About.

June has been and gone already! Time is flying by at lightening speed maybe because we have been so busy with work and a London trip- more of that later…

Much of my time has been devoted to promoting “White is the Moon”; this has included a very nerve-wracking telephone/radio interview. A school visit and a book shop signing.

Let me tell you about the school visit first. I was invited to attend a Literary Festival at The Excel Academy in Stoke-on-Trent. Of course I enlisted the help of my husband Tony, a retired advanced skills teacher. We had five one hour sessions with year seven pupils, each session involved an introduction to my books and then a workshop where the children tried their hand at writing and illustrating. In the short time allocated they produced some interesting adaptations inspired by “White is the Moon”. The children were well behaved, imaginative and co-operative. We had some very interesting questions about publishing and illustrating; all in all an enjoyable day. You can see some of the work they produced below. I have to confess by the end of the day I was exhausted!



The shop signing was by invitation of the beautiful and historic Nantwich Bookshop.
This event coincided with a school festival in the town centre so the place was buzzing with visitors. The shop gave me a window display and a table inside where I displayed my books, old and new. They very kindly plied me with cups of tea and toasted teacakes! Like many bookshops nowadays they sell food and drinks, pre-loved and new books and host many events. The day was a success and we sold lots of books and I met many customers, children and book lovers. I hope to return before Christmas; by that time my latest venture should be published. This time an illustrated gift book by a famous writer, more of that soon...



June wasn’t all work, as I mentioned earlier we had a London visit, which was a mixture of cat sitting and sight seeing. We also saw many friends, family members and spent some very special time with our two grandchildren. We did lots of walking as the weather was kind and visited two very different houses.

One was a National Trust property in Chelsea, former home of historian Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane. I especially enjoyed reading some extracts from Jane’s letters where she writes about the trials of house keeping and hiring servants. The house is still very much a home and has many personal effects. The artist Helen Allingham was a frequent visitor and painted the rooms and their contents some of which are displayed on the walls. She also painted a portrait of Thomas, which you can see, here-




After our visit to the house we spent some time in the lovely enclosed garden and planned our next visit.



The next house was very different, much less a home, more of a place to entertain and impress. Chiswick House is a magnificent neo-Palladian villa. The gardens at Chiswick are said to have been the inspiration for the gardens in New York's Central Park. Our time was limited and the sky began to grow dark, conscious of our long walk home along the river we had to cut our visit short.



We also had a trip to the theatre to see Les Miserables, something I have wanted to do for ages. It was a spectacular performance, Probably the best musical ever!

Presses old and new.

As the sun shines on this glorious summer I have been sitting at my desk painting Christmas candy canes and St Nicholas himself, none of which I can show alas!

However, we found time to return to London and revisit Hammersmith, this time with camera and ticket to visit Emery Walker’s House, possibly the most well preserved Arts and Crafts House in Britain. Although there are no doubt grander houses, to step through the doors of No 7 Hammersmith Terrace is to enter the world not only of Emery Walker, William Morris, Rossetti and Cobden Sanderson but to enter a more domestic, feminine world that made this house into a home.



Emery Walker was a typographer, printer and mentor to William Morris; they met through their shared political ideals and became great friends. Emery helped in the establishment of The Kelmscott Press and was a partner in The Dove Press with Cobden-Sanderson. If you visit the house you will be taken back to the days when Emery was a married man with a young daughter Dorothy, who continued to live in the house for the rest of her life. When Dorothy grew older she had a young Dutch companion who also remained there until her death, thus ensuring the continuity of both the house and its contents. You get a real sense of homeliness here, not only are there original Arts and Crafts furnishings, wallpapers etc but also paintings, prints, books and all the paraphernalia of life - an eclectic mix of possessions which make this a home rather than a museum.

You can wander through the garden which fronts the river Thames and get a glimpse of Hammersmith Bridge where Cobden-Sanderson was believed to have stood before he threw the entire type from the Dove Press into the water below after a bitter dispute with Emery. I wonder if it is still there in the muddy depths and what ghostly tales it could tell?



After taking some refreshment at The Black Lion, we continued our walk to Kelsmcott House where we saw some prints being made on William’s lovely old Albion Press. I came home with some purchased for the bargain price of £1 each!

And now for my news; goodness knows what William would have made of our modern world but, the first of my picture books has been made digital and is in the app store now. You can see it here- “White is the Moon” (Auryn Inc) has moved into a new millennium complete with sounds and words, which appear when you touch different parts of the illustrations. For example, if you touch the moon, the written word appears and a voice says “Moon”, how exciting is that? William must be turning in his grave! I hope not.

Picnics and a Giveaway!

The picnic illustration is taken from ‘Where’s My Share?” one of my picture books which is in the process of being made into an App by Auryn Inc- more news of that to come soon!



After what seems like an eternal winter we finally have our much longed for summer and we have been out and about.

Firstly, a quick visit to our son in London and a walk along the river and a chance to admire the open space and fresh air. We found an array of interesting sights, buildings old and new and a small garden themed exhibition. It is heartwarming to see how pleasant the Thames is now and how nature can regenerate if we give it a chance. This quote was written on a metal container filled with plants and formed part of a larger garden display.

“There are indeed many good things in life which may be unequally apportioned and no such serious loss arise, but the need of quiet, the need of air, the need of exercise, and I believe, the sight of sky and of things growing, seem human needs, common to all.” By Octavia Hill who did so much to protect our green spaces and went on to found The National Trust.



Further along the river we visited the Bankside gallery, which was hosting an exhibition celebrating fifty years of wood engravings by Simon Brett. Inside we found Simon sitting quietly working and demonstrating his craft. I even had the chance to chat to him for a while and he gave me some advice on hand burnishing. I have admired his work for many years now so it was very pleasant to actually meet him in person and to watch how he engraves his blocks using a vast array of engraving tools.

Simon has a website here where you can learn more about his life and work.



On our return from London the lure of the summer sun won over indoor pursuits, we took Ted (foot now healed) on a lovely long walk up Bickerton Hill and and remembered the words of Octavia Hill as we admired the beautiful view across the Cheshire Plain. We packed a small picnic and ate our lunch to the hum of the bees and sound of birdsong. It really is a most lovely spot.



I attended another bookbinding workshop, this one was all about headbands and how to sew them. Our instructor was Nicky Oliver from Black Fox Bindery
It was an enjoyable and very companiable day, in the morning we made a single core headband and in the afternoon we made one with a double core. Like so many bookbinding skills it is easy when you know how. Nicky made it look so easy but I struggled to make a neat job, still I am determined to practise some more. Here are some photographs from the day and the work of class members.



Finally, I was contacted again by Novica who asked if we would like to have another giveaway, to which I answered, “Yes please!” Novica supports the work of craftsmen and women from around the world. I have a $50 gift voucher to give away, if you would like to take part in the draw please leave a comment which includes your desire to take participate and I will pick a winner from random in two weeks time- that will be on Tuesday 30th. Please bear in mind that the gift certificate does not cover the cost of postage and there may be taxes to pay depending on where you live.



I have been particularly attracted to the work of a Novica designer called Ritu Agnihotri who specializes in textile design featuring a blend of embroidered work with strong print lines. Her blouses would be great to wear on warm summer evenings-

Or maybe you would prefer something like this?

In fact, there are so many lovely handcrafted beauties; it is hard to make a decision.

Hope you are enjoying your summer, good luck everyone!

Ice Age Revisited.

Last weekend we had a trip to London, taking along our camera minus the battery. I had intended to show you all the lovely things we encountered on our walk along the Thames starting at Hammersmith and ending in Chiswick. We walked past Hammersmith Bridge where the book binder and co-founder of The Dove Press, Cobden Sanderson, stood before throwing the type from the press into the Thames. (You can read what drove him to this barbaric act here.)



We saw properties once owned by William Morris and his friend and mentor Emery Walker. Further along the bank we saw and the home of Ravilious and stood awhile under the blue plaque on wall. The level of the Thames was dangerously high and in places spilled over the banks, threatening many properties and gardens. We explored the very spooky graveyard around the church at Chiswick before exploring Hogarth’s House complete with spring garden filled with daffodils and violets. All of which I intended to photograph, now you will just have to take my word for it!



The weather could not have been colder and icy wind chilled us to the marrow. We decided to take refuge in The British Museum where we saw, rather appropriately I thought, an exhibition about art in the Ice Age. I had no expectations about this, thinking that there would be little art surviving from over 40,000 years ago. The art on display was extraordinary, original pieces from ancient civilizations displayed alongside contemporary pieces by artists inspired by the primitive. There was a quote by John Berger written on the wall, next to the exhibits that stuck in my mind-
“Art, it would seem, is born like a foal that can walk straight away..”

Perhaps the creative spirit is something, which has always existed in the human brain, so too I believe, is the sense of the aesthetic and the ability feel uplifted by beauty. Many of the exhibits were carvings on bone, depicting the animals that lived alongside Cro-Magnon man. There was a suggestion that because the drawings were sequenced this was maybe an attempt at animation and that maybe the artist was trying to depict movement. Maybe he was making an attempt at pattern design?

We came away from the exhibition feeling enthralled and amazed by this window into an ancient world. So seldom do I feel so uplifted after visiting contemporary art exhibitions, which seems to have an obsession with the shock factor and ideas over substance. Ice Age man would have found survival difficult enough and yet found a place for art, decoration, jewelry, music and beauty.



And now, for something a little more down to earth. I found two lovely old Pelican Books on Wild Flowers and felt inspired to make some sketches of plant forms. I wanted to keep the drawings very simple in order to incorporate them into a new design group inspired by lino printing and nineteen thirties textiles. Apart from the hand drawn plant shapes the designs were made digitally. I tried to keep the colours very subtle and slightly faded, my husband remarked that they reminded him of remnants of wallpapers which appeared under layers of papers when we decorated our 1930’s house. Wouldn’t it be a good idea if everyone kept a scrapbook of the décor of their home complete with fabric samples and photographs of the interior and exterior?

We have a winner!

Thanks to everyone who took part in my calendar giveaway; a name has been picked out of my hat, ---- drum roll----- and the winner is Kerry O’Gorman.

In my last post I mentioned our trip to London where we visited The British Museum and just managed to catch the Shakespeare exhibition. As that has now closed I will move on to our visit to The British Library where we saw an exhibition called “Mughal India, Art, Culture and Empire

The library itself is based next to St Pancras station; both buildings are worth visiting and could not be more different. The photograph shows the station in the background and the library in front. The new library building reminded me of a Japanese temple. It has simple, modern lines but has a great beauty, not in its ornamentation but in its proportions and in the choice of materials. I love being exploring this wonderful space and if you are anywhere near you should take a moment to go inside. There is always something to see for free, there are places to sit, eat and rest and of course a lovely shop!

The main exhibitions are ticketed, having said that they are not overly expensive and the ones we have seen have been unforgettable. I can honestly say that the current Mughal India exhibition is truly spectacular. There are so many treasures on show the effect is dazzling. I was particularly interested in the exquisite miniature paintings and illuminated books. The artistry on display was amazing, the tiniest of brushstrokes, the brightest of colours, pattern everywhere, on the clothing of the figures in the book illustrations, on the carpets they sat upon and in the borders around the pictures, so much detail it hurt the eyes. If I had to choose one piece it would be a painting of squirrels being chased up a plane tree, you can explore this for yourself here by following the link. As you zoom in over the image bear in mind that this painting is a really small, so much detail has been packed into a tiny area, painted by Abu’l Hasan, 1605-08.

And now, it is time for me to get back to my desk, I have more hand made, limited edition books to parcel up for my Etsy shop. This time I remembered to make a note of the edition numbers outside the boxes, before the final wrap. We live and learn!

Somewhere over the rainbow.

Hello again, I hope all is well with you in this New Chinese Year, The Year of the Rabbit.

I won’t say much about my absence, you have troubles of your own I am sure. Let us just say that these past few months have been full of heartache and personal loss and at times I have felt like I was drowning in grief. I am happy and grateful to report that I did not drown, my family and friends pulled me through.

When I started this blog I wanted to share with you my inspirations; apart from the usual meaning inspiration can simply mean to breathe in and to draw oxygen into the lungs. That it is how I feel at the moment, inspiration is a vital part of life and has helped me overcome that terrible feeling of drowning. So I would like to thank all of you for sharing your creativity and inspirations with me.

Sometimes grief becomes too heavy a burden to carry around, we decided to visit our son in London for a little respite, it did us the world of good and have come back with hope in our hearts. We recently visited The Bankside Gallery in London and saw an exhibition of Wood Engravings, passing through the nearby Borough market, filled with spring flowers and wonderful food aromas. We saw St Paul’s Cathedral and climbed to the top of the dome, enough to make anyone breathe deeply! You can enjoy a virtual tour here. On our final day we went to the new British Library, if you get a chance this is well worth a visit. It looks a little austere on the outside but inside it is beautiful, very light and airy. It reminded me of Japanese architecture with its simplicity and elegance, I will definitely try to visit again before too long as there was too much to take in one day.





The rabbit painting is one I did years ago for Camden Graphics Ltd. I used gouache and coloured pencils, hence the grainy effect on the rainbow.

A lovely day at the V and A.

I am a little late in writing about our most recent visit to London at half term but better late than never I suppose. Tony and I caught the train down to Euston and stayed for three nights in the city, primarily to visit our eldest son but also to cram in as many museums, galleries and shops as we could!

We managed to see the Van Gogh Exhibition at the Royal Academy, The Chris Ofili exhibition at the Tate Britain and some of the many treasures at The British Museum, but the jewel in the crown was a visit to the newly opened Medieval and Renaissance wing at the Victoria and Albert Museum.


There are now ten new galleries spread over three floors, textiles, and paintings, sculptures all of which are unmissable. There was so much to see and so little time to see it in, here a just a few of the very lovely and inspiring things that caught my eye.
“The Boar and Bear Hunt tapestry”, see detail above, dates back to the fourteen hundreds, as well as depicting the hunt in all its gory glory, the tapestry shows the costumes and fashions of the day. The lady above is proudly displaying her coat lined with miniver, an expensive fur made from the bellies of Baltic squirells. It is thought that a coat like this would have taken the fur from hundreds of squirrels killed during the winter months. I suppose conservation was not an issue back then! Click on the images for a closer look.


The highlight of the visit for me was this exquisite, tiny notebook, which belonged to Leonardo Da Vinci. There is something rather magical about seeing the handwriting of a famous person from the past, it retains an immediacy which the printed word lacks. I suppose it is a bit like the difference between a handshake and a text message.

Eventually we had to tear ourselves away from the museum and face the horrid, cold, wintery weather outside and thought how lovely and warm the lady with the miniver coat would have been.

Birds eyes and Alley cats.

We have a busy week ahead with little time for reading or creating new blog posts so I will leave you with some photographs of a recent trip to London.

Despite having visited London fairly frequently in the past, I have never before visited Westminster Cathedral, often described as one of London’s best-kept secrets. If you get off the tube at Victoria and walk down Victoria Street you will be amazed to see a this Byzantine like cathedral set in a Venetian style piazza. Inside you can admire the many richly decorated chapels, perhaps light a candle and be enveloped in the most beautiful, tranquil and spiritual atmosphere that is both warm and welcoming. (click the photographs for a closer look)


Do not leave the Cathedral before you have taken the lift to the top of the tower where the most fantastic bird’s eye view of London is to be had. On the morning of our visit the sky was crystal clear and we could see for miles and miles. I am sure most visitors to London head for Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul’s and forget about Westminster Cathedral, which is a great pity. You can learn more about the Cathedral here and listen to some of the music of its celebrated choir.



No trip to London would be complete without exploring the many back streets and alley ways, peering into shop windows and admiring the many window boxes and small garden plantings. (click to enlarge)