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.

Christmas Blessings.

This year I am trying very hard to be positive and to focus on my many blessings but this Christmas will be a challenging time for us as we remember our loved ones who have passed. This time two years ago my brother was critically ill over Christmas and later died in the New Year. Last December it was my father who was reaching the end of his life, we lost him in January. I know from reading your blogs that I am not alone, you too have your problems and losses to deal with. I try each year to reinvent Christmas, make a new tradition, try some new kind of food, and decorate the house slightly differently. Life moves forward, change is inevitable, we have much to be thankful for and this year our home is gearing itself up to welcoming family and friends from near and far. We will raise a glass to the memory of those we have lost and give thanks for the new lives that have brought us great joy.


I would like to thank everyone who has visited my blog throughout the year; all of your comments are greatly appreciated. I wish you all a peaceful and joyous Christmas.

Shine up your buttons with Brasso!

Since my last post I have hardly had time to draw breathe, it has been such a busy time. As any of you who are self employed know, it is usually a case of feast or famine. Luckily, the former has been the case and I have had the luxury of working on Christmas projects in December, so much more inspiring than July. I have promised to keep this work under wraps for now so you will just have to take my word for it!

I am otherwise very late and disorganized regarding Christmas; not a single Christmas card sent and no decorations hung. I have, however, been doing lots of clearing, sorting, cleaning and polishing. Oh, the joys of Brasso! There are few things more Christmassy than a brass candlestick shone to perfection.



We have had some lovely joyful events including a 30th birthday celebration of our eldest son, now that does make me feel old! When our boys were little I had a bit of a craze for cross stitch and managed to complete two samplers celebrating their births. Well, guess what, I eventually got around to framing them, better late than never, and now have them hanging in my newly tidied and sorted “office corner”. When I took my prints and things into the framers I noticed a shop selling hand made custom furniture at very reasonable prices so I had a desk made to fit my small alcove. I am so pleased with myself for getting around to a mammoth tidying and sorting, a place for everything and everything in its place. Well that is the theory anyhow!



Still on the cross stitch theme, I was contacted by a Turkish company who have made some of my designs into cross stitch patterns. They have promised to send me copies and I am very intrigued to see their interpretations. It seems that everyone is asking for cross stitch again and the more I think about it the more inspired I feel to do some more. It lends itself perfectly to cosy firesides on winter’s evenings.



We also had an invitation to John Rylands library in Manchester, to see their annual exhibition of Designer Bookbindings, always a treat. Manchester looked particularly festive with Christmas street markets in and around Albert Square. All in all, it’s getting to look a lot like Christmas, I really must get a move on.

Curwen Patterned papers

Ever since I was a child I have had a fascination for pattern, pattern as being defined by the repetition of similar forms. I suppose that is what I try to achieve when I paint, I look for pattern and decoration in feathers, leaves, bark. Maybe that is why I have admired designer’s rather more than fine artists, being naturally drawn to those artists and craftsmen who can both draw beautifully and design. One such artist is Eric Ravilious, so when I saw this Curwen patterned paper (see top left) I seized upon it with glee. The gorgeous collection of Curwen papers was for sale at the Oxford Fine Press Fair (mentioned in my last post), on the John Purcell stand.

There is some dispute over who actually designed this paper. The folks at John Purcell papers said that the man to ask was on the Incline Press stand so I decided to enquire further. Having a head like a sieve I got him to write down what he knew of the pattern, the story he told me was fascinating. It seems that an artist and textile designer called Enid Marx, who had worked with the Incline Press, identified the pattern as a 1928 Curwen pattern by Eric Ravilious. Apparently Enid had desperately wanted to learn wood engraving as a student but her tutor thought her drawing skills too poor. The young Ravilious took it upon himself to pass on the skills he learnt in his lessons and Enid would go around after class and Eric would go through the day’s lesson with her. There is another school of thought that believes the pattern to belong to the era of the Festival of Britain but I am going with Enid on this. What do you think?



The black, white and red paper is by Edward Bawden, I am not sure whom the lovely deep red pattern is by, maybe someone can help here? Anyway, needless to say I came away with samples of all three papers and have enjoyed covering diaries for Christmas presents. The tiny diaries are covered in a Japanese paper, again I knew the name once but my brain has long since shredded that bit of information, I should really write these things down!

footnote; since I posted this The Incline Press have been in touch to say that the lovely deep red Curwen paper is by Sarah Nechamkin, a wonderfully prolific paper pattern designer in the late 1940s. Thank you Graham for that information.



Oh yes, before I forget, I finally finished the owl painting. The two tawny owls are standing either side of a very old oak tree, which put me in mind of the rhyme about an owl standing sentinel, I think from Mother Goose? The tree appears to be keeping watch also, maybe they are looking out for each other.

Like a kid in a sweet shop!

"Like a kid in a sweet shop" is how my husband described my behavior yesterday at the Fine Press Book Fair in Oxford yesterday! You can visit their website by following this link.
Oxford Fine Press Book Fair

Amongst the many exhibitors was Andy English (in the photograph above) whose work I admire greatly. It was a pleasure to see him in action carving a new block. I also got the chance to see his new collection of engravings for "The Woman in Black" by Susan Hill. Amongst his collection of exhibits were individual prints, bookplates and miniature books including a new, limited edition of "A Prospect of Ely" which you can see in the foreground of the photograph. (If you click on the photograph you will see more details.)

Andy is a full-time professional engraver, he has a blog called The Wood Engraver where you can learn more about his work with links to his website and shop.

The book fair was a great place to buy papers, so many beautiful hand marbled and paste papers and a lovely selection from The Curwen Press in particular caught my eye. There were stalls selling leather and bookbinding supplies too as well as stands selling beautifully produced hand bound books. The overall effect was so exciting and inspiring that today I feel rather exhausted.

I should be putting the finishing touches to my latest painting, shown below, almost finished now but I need to think a little more about the last bits. I had toyed with the idea of using gold leaf but now am not so sure.....?

Bookplate tutorial

This is my first tutorial so you are my guinea pigs, wish me luck!

I have designed two bookplates, one is a frog design and the other is a fairy; I call her "Bouquet Fairy" as she is holding a bouquet of wild flowers. The frog design was first offered to a website called My Home Library You can still finds lots of designs there. the version that I am offering you here today has slightly different wording.

To get your Free Frog Bookplate click here-



Your PDF should be ready to print; I like to use black ink on a good quality paper such as Conqueror, which comes in a range of colours although traditionally bookplates tended to be printed on white paper. Try experimenting on different papers to see which one you like the best, I prefer a cream paper but it is up to you.

Set your printer to print top quality, follow your printer’s instructions to ensure a good result.



The bookplates will need to be trimmed to size, allow a little space between the border and the cutting edge, I like to give about 5mm clearance all round but you can trim right up to the border edge, it is up to you. I use a craft knife and a metal ruler on a cutting mat but you can use scissors if you are careful.



When you have your plates cut to size you will need to glue them into your book. This procedure needs to be done with some care and preparation to give the best results. It is advisable to practice on an inexpensive book first. I do not always glue bookplates into all my books especially if the book is very valuable; instead I place it inside the front cover.

You will need a small brush for gluing, adhesive (I like to use PVA mixed with a little water to a creamy consistency). You will also need some waste paper and a small clean cloth.

Firstly, take your book and decide where you want to stick the plate. I find it useful to lightly mark the corner position with a pencil. You can use a ruler and a setsquare to help get an even space each side. You can erase the pencil mark later.



When you are ready, take the bookplate and place it face down onto a clean piece of scrap paper. Take your brush and carefully glue the back of the plate making sure that you apply a thin but even coat. Start in the middle and work your way out to the edges, you will need to hold the plate down with one finger but try not to get too much glue onto your fingers! Discard the waste paper, take your bookplate holding it carefully at the corners and gently position it into the book.

You can use your clean cloth to gently press your plate into position and wipe away any surplus that may have crept out from beneath. You will then need to leave it to dry before closing the book. This is important; you do not want to stick your pages together!

Remember, practice makes perfect so try an inexpensive paperback first.

The fairy bookplate pdf is available here in my shop

Good luck, I hope you enjoy your bookplates.

'tis the season for bookbinding...

We are now experiencing cool autumnal weather after an amazingly hot spell, which took everyone by surprise and made it hard to be indoors. I had to spend time working on Christmas artwork, painting snowmen and Christmas trees when the sun shone and the garden beckoned.

Our grandson George celebrated his second birthday and I had my … errr hmmm birthday too. The nicest part about birthdays is of course the presents and I am thrilled with my new press, which my husband bought for me. A bookbinding friend called Robert Hamer built it, he numbers all his presses and I am honoured to own number 8. He laminates the plywood to make an extremely strong structure, which is much lighter than metal so even a wimp like me can lift it.



Having the new press has inspired me to do more bookbinding. I rescued a lovely but very tatty edition of “Highland Pack” illustrated in black and white by Keith Henderson. I choose a grey/green cloth and a piece of paste paper, which I had previously decorated in a workshop, believing that it would come in handy one day! This was my first attempt at a half cloth binding. If you would like to try yourself I can recommend a very thorough but easy to follow book by Kathy Abbott “Bookbinding A step-by-step guide”. I also made some more little notebooks for personal use and experimented with printing an image taken in Venice with a “photocopy” effect filter. I printed it out onto thin grey card on my ink jet printer and used it as a cover for a simple single section notebook.



Of course I am eager to devote some more time to printmaking, my lino and wood engraving tools are looking forlorn and neglected, oh for a thirty-six hour day.
Before I go I just wanted to point you in the direction of Mangle Prints who has been printing some delightful Christmas cards, each one hand pulled and nice enough to frame.