Thursday 30 October 2014

Trelissick Gallery new year art


rains

early morn on the Helford passage

sketch1

sketch 2

polzeath

early morn on the helford

billow

stepper

helford

New art works soon to be with Trelissick Garden Gallery

Saturday 18 October 2014

Newlyn Art Gallery : The Midas Touch

 
Through Penzance rains & dodging promenade waves.

18th October -15th November
 Midas Award 2014 

The Midas Award provides an important platform for recent fine art graduates from Falmouth University. The annual award is a partnership with Midas construction, Newlyn art gallery and Millennium Gallery St. Ives. Selected from this year's Falmouth University fine art degree show by representatives from each of the partners and guest selector artist Patrick Lowry, the five shortlisted artists present their work in the upper gallery.
    The winner to be announced at the preview on Friday 17th October, will receive materials and mentoring to develop work for a solo exhibition next year at Millennium Gallery, St. Ives. Last year's winner, Marc Messenger, presents his new series of sculptures in the lower gallery. The works have been specifically created for this exhibition since winning the award in 2013.


flicker

walkend

flow


Lower gallery - Marc Messenger 'Existed'
'This body of work is inspired by Ikebana, the art of Japanese flower arranging. Take a step back. Consider the graceful isolation of nature waiting for spring to come. Contemplate the simple beauty of nature to just exist, with seemingly effortless force, passing time under the influence of the universal cycles that control all existence. Using natural materials and allowing a deep engagement with the minutiae of form has encouraged a reinvention of the past, whilst revealing a moment caught in the seclusion of the present - a moment that just existed.'

beautiful simple illuminated natural common earthbound dance twist weight 




The Picture Room - Caroline Pedler
Recent works by falmouth based artist Caroline Pedler. An-ti-dote is a result of a period of time spent as resident in Studio 5 at Porthmeor Studios, St. Ives.

hidden covered memory re-invented marks stillness linger advertised play

Upper gallery

Laura Adams uses animation to explore how troubled emotions can dramatically shift one's perception. The charcoal drawings are key in the development of metaphors behind the imagery, moving from room to room as if mapping the mindscape.

delicate solitary light hand flicker butterfly reflection chair void within 

Diane Bechmann's work explores human behaviours, our desires and secrets, as well as our obsessions with ideas of escapism and the combinations of fantasy and reality. By concealing the bodies within packaging materials, she aims to objectify the figure and evoke the notion of a product enticing the customer.

consumerist trapped chained suffocation bound hardsell judge 

Jon Doran is interested in exploring the ability of a painting to depict truth; whether a body of work can be a faithful proposition of the experience of reality. he sees each mark upon the surface as holding a dual existence; being simultaneously abstract and representational.

dappled narrative layered flicker woods light natural

Calum Armstrong is interested in natural materials. Influenced by architecture and sculpture, his work explores a space between these disciplines. His intention is for the work to interact with the building or space it inhabits and to draw the use of material into question.

geometric lift nature weight shift tower

Guido Lanteri Laura invents and assumes the identity of fictional characters, placing himself in a world where anything is possible. In Modo Del Abeglia he immortalizes the feelings he holds for the land of his ancestry. Drawing inspiration from performance art, gymnastics and rock climbing, he uses acts of physical strength and endurance as a means of distorting reality.

fun play upside treewalker




                                                      The Midas Award 2014
 
   


  

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Diverse voices: 50 of the best Children's books

Taken from Seven Stories. Fruits by Valerie Bloom that I Illustrated is within the 50 :) I've included the top 10..with an attractive you tube clip of my Were Going on a Lionhunt in patwa below

Guardian article

Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books


Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books

Seven Stories, National Centre for Children’s Books is delighted to announce Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books celebrating cultural diversity in the UK.
A distinguished independent panel of experts has come up with a list of 50 books for all children, from birth to teens, living in the UK today. Books published since 1950 to the present day were considered.


Kate Edwards, CEO Seven Stories, National Centre for Children’s Books said:
“Children’s books shape our earliest perceptions of the world and its cultures, building understanding, empathy and tolerance. Despite this there is still a lack of representation of children from different cultural backgrounds – especially as main characters.  By drawing attention to some best loved and well crafted children’s books, our Diverse Voices season will curate an exciting and diverse list of books that will help to inform the choices of librarians, teachers, booksellers and readers when they pick books to recommend, stock, read and enjoy. Britain’s rich and diverse cultural heritage is something to be celebrated and championed.”
Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books includes: much-loved picture books to share, poetry, must-read novels, fascinating biographies, future classics and challenging books that are likely to provoke discussion.
The list has inspired a number of project and partnership work over the summer in conjunction with The Reader Organisation, Discover London, New Writing North and Gem Arts – outcomes of which will be presented in Seven Stories Book Den exhibition space. Seven Stories will also be hosting a celebratory weekend on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October with storytelling, music and activities inspired by Diverse Voices. 
The Guardian children's booksite is celebrating and discussing Diverse Voices and all kinds of diversity in children's books all this week with features, discussions, author interviews and galleries. See what they are up to and join in the discussion here: www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site
Seven Stories have also specially created learning resources for use in schools, which will be available from Thursday 16 October to encourage the use of books that reflect the diverse world we live in. See www.sevenstories.org.uk/learning for details.
Debbie Beeks, Learning & Participation Manager, Seven Stories: ‘These books offer a rich world to inhabit, enjoy and explore. The responses from children, young people and families demonstrate the power these art forms have to make a group a community, a creative response a moment of realisation, a story a part of a personal journey. I hope that children, carers and educators are inspired to get hold of the books, try some of the ideas in the resources and experience for themselves, the art in this collection of stunning books.’
Seven Stories invited a panel of experts to help draw up the Diverse Voices Book list.  Publishers across the industry were also invited to submit books for consideration.
The panel of experts includes:
  • Julia Eccleshare, Guardian Children's Books Editor and Early Years Diverse Voices Champion
  • Sarah Smith, Libraries Development Manager, Brent Libraries and Young Readers Diverse Voices Champion
  • Katherine Woodfine, Arts Project Manager, Booktrust and Older Readers Diverse Voices Champion
  • Jake Hope, Freelance Children's Book Consultant, Chair, Youth Libraries Group North-West and Teenage Readers Diverse Voices Champion
  • Debbie Beeks, Learning and Participation Manager at Seven Stories, Reading for Pleasure Champion for Diverse Voices
The Diverse Voices Book List and season is supported by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and has evolved out of the Diverse Voices Book Award, which was founded in memory of Frances Lincoln (1945- 2001) to encourage and promote diversity in children’s literature.

Diverse Voices – 50 of the Best Children’s Books
Early Years (0+)
 “The images and stories that children hear from the very beginning of their lives are instrumental in expanding their view of the world and in shaping their later attitudes. Born without any sense of the artificial divisions between people or hierarchies in their status, which may later be imposed, pre-schoolers are open-minded: they see animals in pictures and have no difficulty in knowing that they represent humans. They jump effortlessly over ‘barriers’ and differences. For that reason, making sure that everyone is represented in pictures and words is vital. Happily, there are some excellent examples of books that do this. But, the campaign to make books for the very young has a long history - forty years and more from the earliest days of The Other Award  - and the growth in the output of these titles has remained stubbornly slow. This selection shows what can be done and why it matters. Let’s hope it encourages writers, illustrators and publishers to add to it.”

Julia Eccleshare, Guardian Children’s Book Editor and Early Years Champion.

Amazing Grace Mary Hoffman  Illustrated by Caroline Binch. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.
The classic picture book about the little girl who loves stories and shows us that we can be anything we want to be.

Fruits: A Caribbean Counting Poem, Valerie Bloom Illustrated by David Axtell. Macmillan Children’s Books                                                                          
A rhythmic counting poem that describes all manner of delicious Caribbean fruits as a little girl tries to eat as many of these as she can in a single day.



The Goggle-Eyed Goats, Stephen Davies Illustrated by Christopher Corr. Andersen Press                           
A vibrant and colourfully illustrated tale about Old Al Haji Amadu’s five extremely naughty and very hungry goats who gobble and gulp through whatever they find.

Handa's Surprise, Eileen Browne. Walker Books.                                                                             
A mouth-watering story about Ayeko who puts seven fruits into her basket, but one by one these disappear as all manner of creatures snack upon them.

Hue Boy, Rita Phillips Mitchell  Illustrated by Caroline Binch. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books 
As much as Hue Boy longs to be bigger, he discovers size isn’t everything in this uplifting village-based story about a small boy with a very big personality.

Leon and Bob, Simon James. Walker Books.      
A quiet reflective book about the unusual friendship shared by Leon and Bob and the sense of fun and fulfilment others can bring into our lives.               

Not So Fast Songololo, Niki Daly. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.
An African town is brought to life through sight and sound in this touching story of young and old where Grandmother Gogo and grandson Songololo set out on a stroll together.

Over the Hills and Far Away, Elizabeth Hammill Illustrated by 77 artists. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books           
A stunning collection of 150 rhymes from countries all over the English-speaking world, including Great Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa and the Caribbean compiled by Seven Stories co-founder Elizabeth Hammill.  The collection contains best-loved nursery rhymes, but also new discoveries, and vibrant rhymes from Native American, First Nation, Inuit and Maori cultures.             

Ramadan Moon, Na’ima B. Robert Illustrated by Shirin Adl. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books    
The festival of Ramadan and its celebration across the world is explored in this thoughtful book which looks at the role faith plays in many children’s lives.

Rastamouse and the Crucial Plan, Michael De Souza Illustrated by Genevieve Webster. Little Roots.
A cheeky, cheese-filled tale about super bad thief Bandalulu who has stolen all the cheese from Mouseland.

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Ice Bear Cometh Part IV : MARK HADDON'S THE ICE BEAR'S CAVE RELEASED !



NEW 
Now available! With many thanks to Penny Morris & James Stevens at Harpercollins. With a glass raised to both Mark Haddon & Clare Alexander. It's been a few curious years down the road...along Hammersmith Broadway before the big move for HC to London Bridge.

Books are my bag and not just for Super Thursday


more Ice Bear pictures to view here