Tea for Three

I had a lovely invitation earlier this month and a chance to meet with two ladies whose blogs I have visited for quite some time now. Knowing that our hostess had recently moved house I thought it would be good to buy her a little housewarming gift, which occasioned a great excuse to go shopping. I live very close to what is referred to in these parts, as “the pot bank” although the potteries are now in very sad decline, there are a few still standing and working. Middleport is England’s last working Victorian pottery and the home of Burleigh who still makes uniquely hand crafted products out of earthenware. The factory has a shop, which is well worth a visit if you are ever in these parts. As you step through the factory gates you step back centuries, it has been faithfully preserved and rescued from closure several years ago by the Dorling family and more recently by Prince Charles. It was good to see regeneration in the streets around the factory, many of the original Victorian terraced houses are being rescued and repaired to their former glory.

As I mentioned, I had the chance to meet with two fellow artists/designers who blog, can you guess who they may be? There are clues in the photograph below.

The card designs belong to Gretel Parker from “Middle of Nowhere” and the lovely Christmassy crochet was designed and created by Sue McLoughlin from “Mouse Notebook” I have written about Sue’s work before and have been carrying my belongings around in her “Mouse” bags for several years now.

It was a joy to sit and dine with these two friends and I believe we could have chatted away into the early hours. We were given a guided tour of Gretel’s newly acquired cottage and despite the fact that she has had scarcely enough time to unpack, the place has a great character and homeliness, lots of light and stunning views across rural Shropshire. We sat, surrounded by cats and books, drank tea, munched on cupcakes made by Sue and I had my very first lesson in needle felting. If you visit Gretel’s website you will see her gorgeous creations and it was great delight to meet some of her felted characters in person. She illustrates children’s books and often paints the toys she has created. I bought one of her original paintings some time ago and I treasure it, she occasionally has original art for sale but not surprisingly they get snapped up by eager collectors.

Before I go I must say a quick thank you to Annie from Knitsofacto for organizing her blog giveaway, I was delighted to win one of the prizes, hooray!

Also many thanks to Heather from "Inkflorishes"for the most beautiful Christmas card and envelope. You may think it strange to thank somebody for an envelope but Heather’s are hand written with the most exquisite calligraphy. If you visit her blog you will see what I mean. Thankfully Ted (my Jack Russell) was sleeping when the postman called!

Last but not least, I have several illustrations now available as framed/unframed prints from Encore Editions. They are having a pre-Christmas sale with 20% off; all you need to do is follow the link and type in the code prancer12 at the checkout.

“The Mouse Prince” illustration was originally commissioned by Royal Worcester as part of a series of "Nutcracker" designs. Shortly after their completion the factory in Stoke closed its doors and the project was never finished.

Two hundredth blog post and a giveaway!

The time is flying by at an alarming rate, my garden is knee high in nettles and brambles, my laundry basket is groaning and my desk is piled high with work. One reason for this backlog is our trip to The Lake District where we attended a book repair workshop followed by a short holiday based in Ulverston.

I have of course taken a zillion photographs, which will have to wait for another day. Today I wanted to do something a little bit special, as it is my two hundredth blog post. I started this blog originally as a place to share inspiration and for me this normally comes in book form so today I am offering as a giveaway a hard back, cloth bound, (second hand, I pounced on it in a charity shop!) of one of the most exquisite books ever- “In and Out of the Garden” by Sara Midda. When I had my first child, some thirty years ago, my husband bought me a copy of this remarkable work of art, which sits here on my bookshelf and is a constant source of delight.

For those of you who do not know the book let me try to describe it; every page is hand painted or drawn including the text. It is a collection of garden lore, images and quotations, which have been exquisitely rendered in minute detail, the book was three years in the making and in my opinion is outstandingly beautiful. I am sure many of you will already own a copy but for those of you who don’t you can enter my giveaway by leaving a comment below and please indicate your wish to participate. Maybe you have a special, treasured title, which we should know about, please share your recommendations too. I will pick a winner at random on the first of June. Oh yes, and I should say that the edition that I am giving away is a second edition printed in 1982, Sidgwick and Jackson, London and is missing its dust jacket but everything else is good.

And now, back to the workshop. We learnt, over the space of three days, how to reback a Victorian cloth bound book. You know the sort, one that has torn endpapers, a tatty ripped spine and bumped corners; my shelves are full of them! We separated the text block from the bookcase; I needed to do some secondary sewing to secure the sections. We dyed new cloth and paper to match the original cover and endpapers. We then went on to reback and repair the book, taking time to make a new spine, repair the endpapers and consolidate the corners. You can see some of the stages below, click to enlarge.




the finished book! Just so we are all clear, the giveaway book is "In and Out of the Garden".

Lovely things in the post.

Thank you “Milly” from Drawings From Nature for my lovely set of art cards which arrived in the post earlier this week. I first came across the work of this artist/illustrator Eileen Postlethwaite when she was featured in Country Living magazine. Eileen has a website which features her nature inspired artwork, feathers, leaves and shells etc found around her home in the beautiful English Lake District.



Country Living magazine also features the work of another artist this month, that is Celia Hart from Purple Podded Peas. Celia is an illustrator and printmaker who has a bold and colourful contemporary style. She also has hand bound children’s books in her Etsy shop and I simply could not resist buying this little treasure, I still have a set of her tree decorations from last year which I am looking forward to displaying.

Last but not least, artist Frances Tyrrell from Fairy Lanterns has the most exquisite, hand bound fairy inspired books on her website and as it is Christmas and I do so love hand bound books, I had to have a set. My Christmas present to me from me, you do understand don't you?

Before you go, one more thing, I will be having a blog giveaway in my next post. A set of fat quarters for all of you quilters and crafters so watch this space!

"Narnia" by Andrew Skilleter

I first met Andrew at an exhibition opening called “The Art of Christmas” which was organized by Books Illustrated. Andrew is married to the illustrator Patricia Papps who’s work I have featured previously and as I admire both artist’s we had much to chat about. The two beautiful illustrations featured here are part of his "Narnia" works by C.S.Lewis.

You may know Andrew’s art through his work as a Dr Who illustrator in the eighties. Since then he has produced hundreds of covers for adult, teenage and children's books across numerous genres. His work has also encompassed the illustration of many books, magazines, CDs and Audio, TV and Video and a long creative partnership with the BBC including for the Radio Collection covers for The Chronicles of Narnia, Brother Cadfael, Tolkein, Journey Into Space and with other BBC departments including visual entertainment and exhibitions.


In these days of digital art it is sometimes difficult to appreciate how an illustrator creates images. I have had the pleasure of seeing his original artwork, which is both intricate and detailed. I asked him about the technique he used on his Narnia pieces and he told me that the work is in acrylics on rigid CS10 board and mostly hand brushwork with some airbrush for the background.

Andrew now tells me that he has a brand new website and will be selling his Limited edition Narnia prints directly from his online shop He also has work in a new exhibition where he will be showing his original artwork for the BBC's adaptation of 'The Chronicles of Narnia' at The Salisbury Museum. The exhibition entitled 'The Wonder of Illustration' has been organized by Books Illustrated and features other artists as well as Andrew and it runs from Saturday 4th April until Saturday 4th July 2009. If you live in that part of the world you might like to go along, I am sure you will be astonished at his skill and draughtsmanship.

Save the sound of spring.

As I switched on the radio this morning I heard more gloomy news about our loosing battle with climate change and preserving the planet. My usual response to such reports is to sink into a deep melancholy but instead I decided to do something positive about one environmental issue that has concerned me for some time, and that is the plight of our bumblebees, so today I joined the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and I would urge you to do the same.

I am sure that by now we are all aware of the importance of bees, not only as pollinators of our wild plants and garden plants but as pollinators of many important food crops. If you care nothing about our countryside (and I am sure you do) then consider these words by Albert Einstein “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live.''

The trust works in many ways, by raising awareness about the important role we can all make to help our native bees. I know that many of my dear fellow bloggers are keen gardeners so maybe you would like to help by planting more bee friendly plants this year? If we all planted just one extra species this year in our gardens I am sure it would be beneficial. If you are a lazy gardener like me you might want to try white dead nettle – so called because it has no sting! It looks very pretty with its white flowers and variegated leaves and provides good ground cover which helps prevent weeds.

The website has a wealth of fascinating information for gardeners, here is a little taster-

“Exotic or highly cultivated garden flowers are largely unsuitable, as they either produce little pollen and nectar, or keep it hidden away from the bees. In particular, most annual bedding plants (e.g. Pelargonium, Begonia, Busy Lizzies) have little nectar to offer bees or other wildlife. Instead, why not try growing traditional cottage garden flowers and native wildflowers. Many of these thrive and look superb in the garden. They are also easy to grow, generally being hardy and much more resistant to slugs and disease.”

So, instead of feeling depressed about the state of the world, perhaps you might also like to give the trust your support by doing a link on your blog? The more we help bees the more work the bees can do to help preserve our native plants which support many other life forms including our own. Please feel free to use my bee graphic on your blog to help the cause of bees worldwide.

Snowdrops

The last snowman has melted and there are signs of spring in my garden and hedgerows. Snowdrops in wonderful drifts, a welcome sight to lighten the heart.

Dublin Bay Rose

I have a rose that climbs a trellis in my garden, it blooms every year in June, despite neglect on my part. It has the most beautiful deep red, velvety petals and is called "Dublin Bay". I wonder how it got it's name?

Queen of the May

I love this month best of all, the hawthorn in blossom, pink campion, birds building nests and everywhere green, green upon green, fresh and unspoilt. It is also a month when I think of my sister; today would have been her birthday. When she was little she was crowned Queen of the May, I wonder if anyone does that anymore?

Two Holly Trees

Two Holly Trees is the name of my Cafe Press shop which I upgraded to a Premium shop earlier this year. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of Cafe Press, it is a print on demand design service. You can choose to make the products available to yourself or you can open a shop on their site. The advantage is that they handle all printing, shipping, payments etc. The disadvantage is that unless you order the products yourself it is impossible to check the quality. Having said that, I have been pleasantly surprised with the products that I have seen to date. The photographs show a ceramic coaster tile and a note card.