Fishink . Further walks up the road.
Those of you who have followed my posts for a while will know that I often go for a walk up the road from where I live. The surrounding fields and lanes change so much, season to season and fortnight to fortnight, that there’s always something new to catch my eye and visually or photographically record. Last friday was no exception. A lovely day with vivid colours that blossomed in the quiet afternoon sunlight.
I came across a small pipe near a stream in the woods that had been dripping and splashing water. This had built up and frozen over a few days to create a mini Narnia.
Leaves and twigs captured in suspended animation, as Jack Frost played games with nature, it was quite a magical space.
Some more details.
Beautiful late afternoon wintery light.
Holly Clifton-Brown is a freelance illustrator living in London. Her work combines traditional painting with contemporary techniques to create a unique and imaginative visual language.
Holly is a talented girl and has already been commissioned for picture books with: Anderson Press, Templar Publishing, Egmont Ltd, Carlton Publishing Ltd and Lerner Books. She works in creative partnership with Author Will Brenton, Director of Wish Films.
She also finds time to create artwork for other companies.
She is revamping some of the traditional fairy stories and poems such as Alice, Pinocchio and The Owl and the Pussycat as well as creating some more of her own.
She has a wonderful control of her materials and a fantastically creative imagination. Here’s a couple of her idea sketches.
Holly will have an exhibition ‘Tales from a Pea Green Boat’ at Le Garage, 115 Dulwich Road, SE24 0NG from the 6th – 20th April 2012, you can keep track of her work on her blog. In the meantime she’s off to Bologna, Italy for the 2012 Children’s Book Fair on from the 19th til the 22nd March. Have a great time Holly, who knows I may even see you there !
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the most important international event dedicated to the children’s publishing and multimedia industry. In Bologna authors, illustrators, literary agents, licensors and licensees, packagers, distributors, printers, booksellers, and librarians meet to sell and buy copyright, find the very best of children’s publishing and multimedia production, generate and gather new contacts while strengthening professional relationships, discover new business opportunities, discuss and debate the latest sector trends. About 1200 exhibitors coming from 66 countries and 5000 international professional trade representatives in 2012. In its 49th edition, the Fair offers more than 20.000 square meters (about 215.000 square feet) of exhibition space with a simple and easy-to-understand layout. Find out more from the link above.
Pan Am Airlines
I watched a very informative programme on the BBC last night all about the sadly now bankrupt, but once world leading airline company, Pan Am. The airline was launched on October 27, 1927 and lasted up until the early 90’s when a bomb exploded a Boeing 747 over Lockerbie and scared the public away from flying for some time. There’s so much info out there on sites like Wikipedia but Pan Am was without a doubt, the most luxurious way to travel for at least 40+ years. There’s some amazing posters I’ve come across to celebrate all the countries they would do scheduled flights to in their amazing Clippers.
There’s a fab article with some great images about stewardess’s clothing here and a whole variety of Pan Am Retro merchandise here. American TV have even produced a show based on the Airline Company, looks like Madmen have met their match (see here.)
There’s much more info on Everything Pan Am . Possibly around the time of the Kubrick’s 2001 a Space Odyssey, a rumour started that Pan Am would be offering trips to the Moon at one stage, after days of switchboards being jammed with interested patrons, they had to confess it wasn’t about to happen, even if they did send out some false tickets for the Moon Club. Can you imagine being served by a stewardess with a soft crash helmet on her head, hurrah for the sixties !
Happy Chinese New Year !
Happy New Year, 2012 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon ! Happy 400th Blog post to Fishinkblog too !
In ancient times the dragon was a symbol reserved for the Chinese emperor, and it is considered to be an extremely auspicious sign. The new year, which traditionally lasts for 15 days, is the longest and most important of the Chinese holidays. Much like New Year in Western cultures, the festival begins on the first day of the first month within the Chinese calendar. It ends on the date of the full moon. This year it started on the 23rd Jan and runs until February 6.
Despite often being known as ‘Chinese’ New Year, the annual celebration is recognised by other Asian populations worldwide, within countries such as Thailand and Singapore. Different years are represented by different zodiac animal signs – today marks the start of the Year Of The Dragon. Perhaps the most recognised image within Chinese culture, the dragon symbolises power, strength and good luck. In contrast to European beliefs, where dragons are considered evil creatures, they are seen as having auspicious power and it is seen as positive.
Often regarded as one of the most important signs in the zodiac, Chinese tradition dictates that those born in Dragon years tend to be brave, innovative and highly driven, regularly making it to the top of their profession. Famous people born in Dragon years include former U.S. president Bill Clinton, actress Reese Witherspoon and artist Salvador Dali. According to online site The Freshness Mag even Nike are getting in on the act with the timed release of their dragon inspired wear !
Text and images from the Mail here. Dragon drawing is © FISHINK.
Roald Dahl Stamp Set illustrated by Quentin Blake
I’ve just noticed that on the 10th January 2012, some of Dahl’s most popular children’s stories were featured on Royal Mail’s new stamp set . Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr Fox, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits and The Witches. As many of Dahl’s best loved stories have been illustrated by Quentin Blake it made perfect sense to use his illustrations.
Dahl’s daughter, Ophelia Dahl, said her father would have been “thrilled” about the stamps. “My dad wrote thousands of letters home throughout his life and never dreamed that one day one of his own characters would grace a stamp,” she said. “This is an excellent way for us to kick off a year of celebrations to mark 30 years in print for The Big Friendly Giant and it’s great that the stamps include a collector’s set, devoted to The BFG and other characters from this book.” Dahl died in 1990. His writing for children and adults is published in almost 50 languages, and his books have sold over 50m copies in the UK alone. James and the Giant Peach was a great childhood favourite book of mine.
More info from the Guardian site here, and more about Quentin Blake in a 2007 Guardian story here.
Soon after this post, I got a lovely message on Face book (below), now that’s what I call service with a smile !
Figgjo Fajance AS . 60’s Ceramics from Norway.
Figgjo Fajance AS is a Norwegian porcelain manufacturing company, founded in 1941.
It was based at Figgjo in the municipality of Sandnes, Norway. The company took its current form in 1968 following the merger of Stavangerflint AS with Figgjo Fajanse AS. The company has a factory, museum and factory outlet at Figgjo. It specializes in vitrified china for the domestic and professional catering markets and was founded by entrepreneurs Harald Lima and Sigurd Figved.
Lotte was a popular pattern, several designs with people were available in a stylized manner. The company made bowls, cups and dishes, as well as wall plaques.
The company was called Figgjo Flint until the production line at Stavanger closed down in 1979, today they mass produce dishes under the name of Figgjo, but somehow I’m sure that it’s their mid century designs that people will remember the most.
Fishink Dog Stamp First Editions
Since Christmas I’ve been thinking about stamps quite a bit and also the act of sticking a piece of paper on another to make something else happen (ie to post a letter). I decided to have a go at producing my own Fishink range of canine images. I don’t know who looks more haughty, the dogs or the queen lol
So I got to thinking about other dog stamps that have been produced. Here’s a few to highlight Animal Rescue saying ‘Adopt a shelter pet’ and some rather colourful offerings from Paraguay.
In 2008 the Royal Mail launched a series of stamps to celebrate the roles performed by working dogs in the UK. It was then 100 years since the first British police dogs were introduced. Another dog gets USA recognition for it’s devotion to the US Mail and then the Danish government tried to encourage it’s residents to clean up after their dogs. Great idea but do we really need to see it on a stamp !
Offerings from Walt Disney and the UK’s very own Wallace and Gromit in a rather festive collection.
Some rather nice Russian stamps from 1965 and not to forget all the ones designed to celebrate the Chinese year of the dog.
And whilst we’re talking about Russia, there was a whole host of stamps produced inspired by Laika the Space Dog’s trip in Sputnik 2 in 1957. Rumours have it that Laika died a few hours into the mission from overheating, when the booster rocket failed to separate from the spacecraft. We’ll never be sure, but one thing we know for certain, the little stray made history by being the first dog in space !
There may be more animals in space soon as I’ve been creating some drawings, inspired by just that. Watch this space !
All Comments welcome. All images copyright of F I S H I N K.
Domenica More Gordon . More needle felted dogs and Archie
photo © Claire Lloyd / Domenica More Gordon
It’s almost a year ago that I first wrote about Domenica More Gordon and her beautiful needle felted dogs here. Since then her range has broadened into greeting cards, dog kits and cut outs. Domenica uses a process called dry felting, she says ” It is very simple. You use wool in its basic form and a series of different sized felting needles. The needles have tiny hooks on the end and as you stab the needle in and out of the wool, it begins to take shape. The longer you work at it the firmer it becomes. The challenge for me is to get the feel of the dog right, not just how it looks but how it feels in your hand.” Some of her most treasured wool comes from the sheep who graze on St Kilda and was collected by friends who picked it from the grass where the sheep graze.
Her fascination with her creations began with a desire to recreate a toy that could generate the same intense connection that she felt for some of her toys as a child. With a painter for a father and a textile artist for a mother, it’s hardly surprising that Domenica’s talents hadn’t been realised earlier. In trying to describe what it is that makes her work so widely appreciated she says ” I am not sure what the secret is exactly. Looking at things, I mean really looking at something is part of all that…..also attention to detail, down to the finest point and the determination of capturing the feeling you are looking for no matter how long it takes ”
Domenica has also started illustrating books for Bloomsbury and has just signed a 3 book contract, all about a dog named Archie.
Wonderful to see the developments from last year. If you can’t afford one of Domenica’s personally made pooches then you can still buy your own Dog Kit here on her site and take a look at some more of her woollen canine creations.
Sir William George Gillies 1898-1973 was born in Haddington, East Lothian. His interest in art was encouraged by his uncle, William Ryle Smith, an art teacher and watercolourist from Broughty Ferry. He enrolled at Edinburgh College of Art in 1916 but after two terms was called up to serve in the war in 1917, resuming his studies in 1919.
Assisted by a travelling scholarship, Gillies studied under André Lhote in Paris in 1923 and he went on to visit Italy in 1924. For a brief period after these experiences he worked in a cubist manner, but would later revert to a more traditional style. His cubist influenced works are typified by the 1933 still life, Two Pots, Saucer and Fruit. The arrangement of the objects, which are close together on a tilted table top, are influenced by Cézanne, whereas the understated colours and textures are reminiscent of Braque and Picasso.
In 1934 Gillies attended an exhibition of Paul Klee’s work and was impressed by the childlike qualities and imaginative use of colour that he saw. Klee’s influence is clear in Gillies’ 1934 work, The Harbour, which depicts the harbour at Anstruther. Gillies has created a grid-like composition, using bold blocks of contrasting colour emphasising the vertical lines of the buildings and the ships masts. This is balanced by the use of rippling horizontal brushstrokes.
Although he experimented with portraiture in his early career, Gillies concentrated principally on landscapes and still lifes, frequently depicting the Lothian, Fife and Border regions. Both in his prolific output over the course of his career, and in his 40 years of teaching, Gillies influence on Scottish painting of the twentieth century has been profound. A couple of my favourites here.
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh is hosting an exhibition, William Gillies, Landscapes and Still Lifes which runs from the 11th January – 3rd March 2012. more info on their site here.
Many thanks to National Galleries Scotland, Bourne, Aberdeen Art Gallery, The Scottish Gallery, Royal Scottish Academy, Duncan R Miller and Louise Kosman for use of images from their sites.
Fishink in Manchester with Graffiti.
Sunday was another sunny day in Manchester and I noticed more amazing graffiti popping up around the city, like this fox.
This bird is a colourful sight, it’s sheer scale is impressive for a start, if you want to see more about spraying with cherry pickers then look below.
More bits ‘n’ bobs with encouraging suggestions.
The Hilton Tower and Deansgate in late afternoon sun.
And then time for some well earned, great food, from Odd Bar in the Northern Quarter, Hmmmmm and a day well spent I think.
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