Start the week on a high note...

powerlinerflyers from wes johnson on Vimeo.

The Cheshire Cat

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland first appeared in 1865, with John Tenniel's engravings accompanying Lewis Carroll's timeless story. In 1907 the copyright for Alice expired and there was a rush of illustrated editions to challenge Tenniel's version. The most successful version was illustrated by Arthur Rackham ; in the first six months after its publication 14,322 copies of the six shilling edition were sold. Forty years later, in 1947, his Alice was on its 12th edition and has stayed in print ever since. It is a story which never fails to capture the imagination and I have a habit of buying any new version or old or foreign copy that I find. Not surprisingly then I will definitely be going to see Tim Burton's version of Alice when it opens next month. Alongside Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter will be the voices of Paul Whitehouse, Michael Sheen, Barbara Windsor and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat.

For all those cat loving paper engineers out there visit the Alice 2010 blog and scroll down to the post for Friday Feb 5th to download the PDF to make your own Cheshire Cat (Sorry about the long winded way of doing this but if you like Alice the rest is interesting too!)

Timeless magic

I had to pop in to Tenby this afternoon and thought I'd go via Manorbier, a village with a super beach, it's own castle and a wonderful 12th century Norman church dominating it from above. My friend lives here so I am a frequent visitor. There is something about St James' Church that I find very restoring and it is often empty, so, perfect for contemplation and to me, also a rich source of creative inspiration. These photos detail part of the painting that is in the roof above the main doorway. I have enhanced them as it is pretty faded in parts . I love the shapes and colours.

I can spend ages wandering around the churchyard. I am entranced by the imagery on the railings and headstones and drawn to the organic shapes of the mosses and lichens that have been there longer than I've been in existence. Like many small village churchyards, it is a special place. I am fascinated by the headstones and love looking at the names and dates inscribed on them. In truth, it is not only churchyards that interest ; I find cemeteries and war memorials equally wondrous things to look at.

I finished with a walk down to the beach and along the strand line. This is a surfers beach in summer and it can be packed with families. Today it was chilly and cold so there was only me. Magical day.

Bird Song?

The end of the month sees the start of an installation at the Barbican by French artist Celeste Boursier-Mougenot. It takes the form of a walk-through aviary for a flock of zebra finches, furnished with electric guitars and other objects. As the birds go about their daily rituals they create a unique soundscape.....

(Found via the BBC)

Not so much a shed...

It has been a glorious day and I decided to get on with my shed tidy up. I mentioned it the other day and my friend said 'shed' was a misnomer and I ought to clarify where I spend some of my time. So, I thought I'd take a few quick photos. In truth, it's more a workshop than a shed as it is not small. The people we bought the house from used to run a small naturist camp and rent the shed out to people to stay in. Of course then it was called 'the chalet' and I have called it that for years .... but it is really where I escape hoping for inspiration to strike!

This is my favourite corner with my etching press. I don't use it anywhere near as much as I should. I need to get up there this year and work through my print ideas. Trouble is ,I am not a great believer in my own ability but I need to overcome that and get on with things this summer.

First up though I need to finish the tidy up. There are things everywhere as you can see. I'll be finished tomorrow. There will then be no excuse and I hope to take advantage of the better weather to get on with something creative.

Paper Infinity Card

I had a phone call yesterday asking if I would run some workshops this summer for a children's book group, either designing and producing their own stories in book form or doing something creative with paper.

This might be an idea to use. I found it last week on Marilyn's website which is a great resource if you want ideas for things to make with children. I've made a couple so far and it is so simple yet so addictive once they're finished. You just can't help turning them over and over looking at the patterns they create. I'm experimenting placing words on the cards to see where they fall and altering the shape of the basic card too.

For personal speed I did not download the PDF from the website. From one A4 sheet of thin card I cut 4 X 4 inch by 2 inch strips and scored a line 1 inch from each end. Prior to cutting the sheet of card I put both sides of the card through my printer to make sure I had a pattern on each side but children could draw on both sides of the paper and then cut it up perhaps? I hasten to add that this is not just an idea for children. It is fascinating for paper engineers of all ages!

Wellcome Images

If you have never looked through the image site of the Wellcome Foundation you have missed a rare treat. Under a Creative Commons Agreement in 2007 the thousands of scientific images they hold became freely available for educational, personal and not for profit use, as long as the source is acknowledged. For anyone interested in social as well as scientific history it is an image library packed with gems. It records the commonplace and the unusual such as photos of bearded ladies and Tyrolean giantesses of the 1930's. Every time I search it it's for something different. This is the first time I've looked at it since we've had bees so I had to search there and I found this great advertisement for honey throat lozenges. I love the fact that they are bee shaped! Imagine....

My interests fall into two clear areas. I look for interesting images that might spark my curiosity, tell me about something or someone I have never heard of before or provide some background for a collage and book idea. Primarily though, I look at advertisements and photos of a time just outside my own memory. It just happpens to be a period I find fascinating such as this wartime poster looking for nursing staff. I can just about remember when nurses - or usually 'Sister' - wore those starchy caps...

... and I couldn't resist posting this... these ladies are exercising in an ante-natal class in 1955. Now I can admire their foundatiion garments given their personal circumstances but can anyone enlighten me as to why they're wearing those masks? Perhaps they didn't want to be recognised...

If you have an inclination to the curious and interesting take a look here. You will be well rewarded.