25th Mini Print Exhibition

This is my submission for the Mini Print exhibition, 2010.

For the past 25 years staff and students from the School of Creative Arts have been working with the Centre for Fine Print Research, at the University of the West of England, to produce an annual show of limited edition miniature prints.

The project is designed as a print exchange between artists, as well as an archived collection from which prints can be bought The exhibition is hosted each year by Blackwells Bookshop, Park Street, BS1 5PW. 

This year the exhibition will run from the first week of December, until late Spring.

http://www.uwe.ac.uk/sca/research/cfpr/dissemination/exhibitions/MINI%20PRINT/index.html

Miniprint trials

With Thursdays deadline for 60 prints looming am thinking, I've now spent ENOUGH time tweaking the colour . . . . . and must just Get On with it!

The Royal Academy and the British Museum, London

Monday and off to Town. 

I'm so glad that I made a commitment to a friend to see these exhibitions with her. I find it only too easy not to make the effort to get up to London, too much hassle with trains or parking (I know, I know!) 

First stop the Royal Academy. Since 1867 Burlington House has been the home of The Royal Academy, it's a magnificent listed building at the heart of London’s West End. And it looks impressive even on a cold, grey and wet Monday morning.

Then on to the British Museum. Both these exhibitions are worth seeing, but I especially enjoyed the Egyptian Book of the Dead - fascinating!

Ceiling rose in the entrance lobby

Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880 – 1900 at the Royal Academy.

No photography is allowed at the exhibition, this means I cannot show you much. You'll have to imagine the qualities of their work such as expressive brushwork, bold colour and decorative design or visit. For more details take a look at the website. 

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/glasgow-boys/

The British Museum and - A Journey through the afterlife. Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.


Again, photography's not allowed. Which means the images I can show you are from a couple of books I bought. 


Spells for eternity, The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, which although not the exhibition catalogue (quite expensive £45!) is informative and covers a lot of what's on show, and Food Fit For Pharaohs um mm not sure there is much reference material for this!?

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/all_current_exhibitions/book_of_the_dead.aspx

The Book of the Dead gave the dead person the knowledge and power to travel through the netherworld and enter the afterlife. The ritual of the Opening of the Mouth performed on the mummy of Hunefer, shown supported by the god Anubis (priest wearing a jackal mask). Hunefer's wife and daughter mourn.

The Book of the Dead made for Nesitanebisheru (who died around 930 BC) is over 37 metres long (really!) and is the longest known example. In the early 1900s it was cut into 96 separate sheets to make it easier to study, store and display. It contains a very large selection of spells, written in a precise hieratic hand and illustrated with exceptionally fine and very beautiful line drawings. 

While not the oldest of papyri on show, it has the most wonderful, deceptively simple ink line drawings. Judgement scene from the Book of the Dead of Nesitanebisheru.

Although they left no recipe books, we get an idea of what they ate from the wall paintings and offerings in their tombs. Ancient Egyptian houses were simple, so it's fair to assume their cooking facilities were also simple. 


Ice cream!!? in the days before freezers. . . . a bit of artistic licence maybe.

Around an about

We decided to have a wander, followed by a pub stop, near Burford at the weekend.

Starting at Great Barrington, through Honey Bush (what!) and Sheep Dip following the little river Windrush to the village of Windrush and stopping at a brilliant pub named The Fox for refreshment! 

Then on to Little Barrington, crossing the river at Barrington Mill and back to the Landy waiting patently for us at Great Barrington. 

As you can see we started under blue skies, bryony adorning the hedgerows.

I could hardly believe these daisies are still flowering on this cold November day.

Spindle fruit is the most wonderful colour, the raspberry pink fruit splits open to reveal luscious orange seeds. They look delicious, I wonder if they're edible?

What a tenacious grip on life these trees have. Here at Mill Copse amongst all the tumbled down stone, they perch, splendidly moss covered.

And at the end of an unmade road stands Manor Farm, with these very picturesque out buildings

We discovered this feral apple tree at Windrush Mill, looking wonderfully red and gold but sadly too high for me to reach more than one delish specimen. 


And in any case Chris carries the back pack so I could hardly have persuaded him to join me in a spot of apple scrumping.

Hawthorn berries, called haws, are edible and were commonly made into jellies, jams, syrups and used to make wine, or to add flavour to brandy, rather than eaten fresh. 


And (so my mother once told me) the young leaves taste good in sandwiches!

Poets and afternoon light

This mornings post brought a nice surprise. The BlueGate 2010 anthology. www.bluegatepoets.com http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1626178

Autumn has been true to form, and a wet grey yesterday becomes a honeyed golden today. The marigolds are still giving their all despite the earlier frosts, I find myself wondering how long they'll keep going. Of course the flowers are edible so I should be harvesting them.

'The yellow leaves of the floures are dried and kept throughout Dutchland against Winter, to put into broths, in Physicall potions, and for divers other purposes, in such quantity, that in some Grocers or Spice-sellers houses are to  be found barrels filled with them, and retailed by the penny more or lesse, insomuch that no broths are well made without dried Marigolds'. John Gerard's Historie of Plants c1636 

On days like this when I'm working in the shed I can let the girls have the run of the garden, and trust that foxy won't come visiting when I'm here. They love to get out foraging and roam around happily cluck-clucking to themselves. 

Our hedgerows are festooned with berries. And when I approached the drunken hedge, flocks of small birds flew off from feasting on sloes, thankfully I've already picked plenty for sloe gin which will be ready in a few weeks time. 

  Through the garden gate to my shed . . . .