Christmas Books Giveaway.

Annie Cholewa from Knitsofacto is running a Christmas book giveaway and if you are quick you can enter.

On offer is a signed copy of "Can it be True?" and also a retelling of The Snow Queen by Sarah Lowes illustrated by Miss Clara.

The giveaway is open until the 24th October and Annie would like you to share some of your Christmas thoughts with her.

Annie is a talented photographer and has managed to capture the gold foil on the book jacket so beautifully.

And now, if you will excuse this very hurried post, I must dash, I have books to deliver.

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!

And the winner is....

The time has come to pick a winner for my blog giveaway. All the names have been put into Miss Mouse's Easter Bonnet and the first name out of the hat is Charisse, who incidentally was the first person to enter the draw. Well done Charisse! In case you don't know this very talented lady you might like to visit her blog The Faerie Patch

It was so nice to read all your kind comments from friends old and new, so thank you each and every one xxx.

In case you are wondering, the illustration above was one I created many years ago as a greeting card for Camden Graphics Ltd.

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!

November Giveaway!

No sun, no moon!


No morn, no noon

No dawn, no dusk, no proper time of day.


No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,


No comfortable feel in any member

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,


 No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds

November!

Thomas Hood.

This month began much like the poem by Thomas Hood, dreary mist and rain, gloomy news from home about the state of our ash trees, and a distinct lack of birds, which was very worrying. Everyone has remarked on the shortage of starlings this year, even the house sparrows were thin on the ground. We watched the news and worried for the safety of friends across the ocean after the devastation of hurricane Sandy. Added to that we had our own drama here in the shape of a car crash which demolished the telegraph pole across the road, so added an extra line to the poem- No internet- November! Fortunately nobody was hurt and the fault was fixed but it took ten days, which made work very difficult.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom however; we had lots of trips and caught up with family and friends. We went to the NEC in Birmingham and handed over the original painting of “Hare’s Hideaway” to Mike and Hilary Emeny of “Art of the Imagination”. It is always a wrench to part with an original painting, knowing that if all goes well I may never see it again! I was comforted by the fact that printing technology is so far advanced as to allow an accurate copy to be made.

We also visited an exhibition called “The First Cut” in ManchesterThe exhibition showcased the work of 31 international artist who specialize in cutting and manipulating paper. I was particularly drawn to the work of Su Blackwell who’s work is book inspired (see paper house- Wuthering Heights). Many of the works were incredibly complex and fragile and made us wonder about the logistics of setting up such an exhibition. Later in the month we visited London but I will save that for next time.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I have a give away for you. I have a copy of my “Nature” calendar for 2013 up for grabs. This slimline calendar has twelve different nature based images including many taken from my children’s books. You will find an owl, foxes, a puffin, rabbit and hare, hedgehog and many more. The calendar has been published by Judges and is available in the shops here in the UK only. My giveaway is open to everyone, no matter where you live but please note the holidays are UK bank holidays etc that may not be relevant to you. To be included in the draw all you have to do is indicate you wish to take part by leaving a comment below. I will pick a winner at random on Friday 30th of November.

You may also be interested to learn that you can help a worthwhile charity and buy my new Birthday calendar here- and my Gardener's Scrapbook Calendar 2013 here-

HURRY! HURRY! Book Giveaway and two interviews.

I am having a very lazy week, my blog friends are doing all the work for me! I have two online interviews; the first about art licensing and you can read it here on Alex Colombo's art blog The Moon from my Attic

Secondly, for a chance to win a copy of my book "White is the Moon" all you have to do is visit "Good Books for Young Souls" where I have been interviewed by Wendy.

To enter the "White is the Moon" giveaway all you need to do is leave a comment on Wendy's blog, following the links and leave a comment but please HURRY because the giveaway finishes on Thursday. Please note Wendy can only ship to a USA address. However,I will be hosting my own giveaway on this blog next week open to everyone.

You can also try out the "Look inside feature" in the Amazon shop to give you more idea about the book.

Thank you so much Alex and Wendy and good luck everyone.

We have a winner!

We have a winner to the Calendar giveaway 2012. In total there were 31 worthy winners with the very best intentions and aspirations for the coming year. The random number generator chose number 15 which is Ta Dah…… 4roomsandthemoon

This is what she wrote-
“my plan this year is to worry less about things that aren't really important! More time spent for making art - and just "seeing" the gifts in front of my steps!”

Thank you so much to everyone who took part both old friends and new. Happy New Year to all of you x

Calendar 2012 Giveaway!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year and what it might bring.

It has become something of a ritual for me to hang a calendar in my kitchen on the first day of January. I like to make a note of birthdays, appointments for the dentists, meetings, exhibition dates etc and store them where I can see them, in a place where I spend lots of time which for me is next to the kitchen sink!

This year I will be hanging a copy of my calendar, which is now in its fourth year, and plans are underway to reprint again in 2013. I have one copy of "A Gardener’s Scrapbook Calendar 2012" to give away so If you would like to take part all you have to do is tell me what your New Years Resolution will be and I will choose a winner on Tuesday January 10th.

My resolution is to spend more time in the fresh air and less sitting at my computer, not so easy when the weather is dull, wet, cold and grey like today.