Fishink Random Mix
Since about 2008, I’ve been collecting images from the internet that have caught my eye. Way back then, I wasn’t so diligent in keeping records as to where images came from, or who had painted, photographed, illustrated or indeed created the artwork in the image. So I apologise in advance for their lack of referencing, but to be honest, it was purely about seeing groups of imagery together, that for whatever reason, I enjoyed.
As I have managed to amass quite a few of these ‘collaged sheets’, I thought I would share them with you, in the hope that they may also provide some inspiration to you the readers, from their shape, colour, texture or out and out randomness : )
I hope you found something inspirational here today ? More on my Instagram here. Don’t forget to add and follow me too, thank you.
Fishink’s ‘Boo Ring’ and Manchester visit.
It’s been a whizz of a week and sorry but I’m so totally unprepared for today’s post, that I wondered… how on earth did I manage to post three times a week in the past? It seems like a previous life that somehow wasn’t possible lol
I popped into Manchester for some inspirational art gallery visits and apres birthday spending. There was an interesting exhibition of photography called ‘Strange and Familiar’ at Manchester Art Gallery .
“Curated by the iconic British photographer Martin Parr, Strange and Familiar considers how international photographers from the 1930s onwards have captured the social, cultural and political identity of the UK. From social documentary and portraiture to street and architectural photography, the exhibition celebrates the work of leading photographers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rineke Dijkstra, and Garry Winogrand. Bringing together over 250 compelling photographs and previously unseen bodies of work, Strange and Familiar presents a vibrant portrait of modern Britain.” It’s on until the end of May if you are passing.
All of these shots are mine, the faces were taken in the exhibition.
I’m still busy sketching and trying different apps and software packages on the i-pad for some variation in style and technique.
Remember me telling you I was working with Jeweller Heather Fox ? Well these were the initial drawings I sent to her to start the ball rolling on a commissioned ring based on Boo my dog.
There’s a lot of thought that needs to go into making imagery work, especially once it’s been filtered down to such a small scale. The drawing with Boo all curled up, I now realise, doesn’t work in metal as it’s too difficult to read what is happening with her legs.. they look more like the roots of a tree lol. I love the other images and think they are working well.
So I did another drawing, and once again I had to reconsider the position of her ears, in order to help make the small metal shape of the dog, more descriptive and easy to identify. When I saw just how tiny the cutting tools were that Heather was using, I was amazed that she still has any eyesight left at all !!
Well done Heather, so far so great!
Shopping wise, I was very delighted to find a half price calendar by Miroslav Sasek, one of my fav artists. A lovely diary with illustrations by Robert Gillmor and a book recommended by a friend to read. A pretty good haul if I do say so myself. Riding home on the tram, I noticed that practically everyone had their eyes glued to their phones. Sad to say that they all missed the fact that the sky was the most amazing shade of organges, pinks and purples, I wanted to shout out…. ‘Look everyone at what you are missing, whilst you gaze at your little pieces of metal and glass.. beautiful real life passing you by’ but I didn’t and just sat gazing at the sky quietly by myself : )
Looking forward to seeing the next jewellery developments. Have a great week everyone.
Ruth and James McCrea. Children’s Illustrators from the Sixties
Ruth Pirman was born in Jersey City on May 28, 1921. She attended schools in Brooklyn Heights, in Brightwaters, and in Florida, and earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Fla., where she met her future husband, James C. McCrea.
James was born on Sept. 12, 1920, in Peoria, Ill. He attended Sewanee: the University of the South in Tennessee, and served in the merchant marine during World War II. He also taught typography at Cooper Union in New York City for a decade.
The McCreas were married on July 4, 1943.
During World War II, while James served in the merchant marine and she lived in Miami with her in-laws, Ruth supported herself painting watercolors of the Bahamas, producing more than 500 of them. The couple moved to New York City after the war and lived in Bayport from 1956 until 1980, when they bought a house in East Hampton and retired there.
In their professional lives, the McCreas worked with many of the major publishing houses in New York. They also collaborated on four children’s books that Ruth, wrote and illustrated, which were published by Atheneum Books. In 1963, the American Institute of Graphic Arts named one of them, “The King’s Procession,” one of the 50 best books of the year.
I particularly like the illustrations in this book ” The Birds “, it has such a charm about it and I love the contrast between the birds and their environment too.
More Medieval dragons, castles and celebrations in ” The Story Of Olaf “.
Among Ruth’s independent work were the covers and illustrations for dozens of cookbooks published by Peter Pauper Press, with titles ranging from “The ABC of Canapes” and “The ABC of Cheese Cookery” …
… to “Simple Continental Cookery,” “Simple Hawaiian Cookery,” “Aquavit to Zombie: Basic and Exotic Drinks,” and “Abalone to Zabaglione: Unusual and Exotic Recipes.”
In East Hampton, where she was a longtime member of the Ladies Village Improvement Society, Ruth was known as the “dollhouse lady,” her family wrote. She built and lovingly maintained a collection of elaborate dollhouses, all impeccably furnished and decorated. In years past, she often opened her historic Main Street house to visitors interested in her creations. The largest of them was called Hazard Hall, because, according to a 2011 article in The Star, “it was too hazardous to get anywhere near it because things, like the children’s chess pieces and their father’s handkerchiefs, disappeared into it.” “Every time life was too much for me, I would start another room on the house,” she told The Southampton Press in 1998. “It’s a form of escapism.”
The McCreas also collaborated on dozens of book jackets, designs, and illustrations including covers for novels by such writers as Graham Greene and Iris Murdoch. They worked together on the original oil paintings used for the cover design of the full set of Ernest Hemingway titles in the Scribner Classic series. Some featured below.
Sadly James passed away in 2013, aged 93 and Ruth in February 2016, aged 94. I love their strong graphical, quirky style and I’m certain their work has inspired many Illustrators and Graphic artists since the 1960’s too. I’m sure I’m not alone in loving their wonderful work ?
Fishink Walks
Welcome back, hello and a Happy New Year to you all for 2017. I hope this finds you all well, rested, fed and ready for the year ahead after a well needed, festive break. We were very fortunate to spend Christmas with our good friends over in Tarporley, here’s a few snaps from their beautiful home.
There’s also some great countryside trails to be found around the area. On the first of the icy days, we took a stroll along the canal.
I love seeing lines in the landscape.
Still bits of colour too, alongside shape and texture.
Most folk were tucked away in the warmth so we had these views, largely to ourselves.
I discovered this frozen puddle on the roof of one of the barges. It looks like a solar system captured in glass.
Some lazy, low afternoon sunsets.
Of course Boo enjoyed all the smells of the countryside, until her feet got too cold!
What were your best memories over the last few weeks ?
Fishink and the LNCCF
I heard that the Christmas Little Northern Contemporary Craft Fair was on a few weeks ago, so I popped along to Altrincham Town Hall to take a view.
This isn’t the Town Hall (below) by the way, just a beautiful building I spotted en route, and the lower shot was taken in the Market Hall, which hosts a variety of craft, design, vintage and food stalls, alternating the theme most weekends.
The LNCCF show was in a great location in the Town Hall, with plenty of new work to catch my eye and interest. I stopped to chat to a couple of exhibitors, the first of which was Von Allen and her amusing Heartfelt Dogs. Von says ” All dogs are individual one-offs. They are needle felted from 100% wool with glass eyes. Their clothes are selected from various vintage ranges from Paul and Sindy, Ken, Action Man, G. I. Joe, and other action dolls.”
“I’ve always been creative; my mum had me down as a Blue Peter presenter due to my ability to produce something out of nothing even when I was a kid. Those of you of my generation might remember the Blue Peter Book of Teddy Clothes with an extensive range of costumes you could make, including a pirate, a cowboy and a pilot’s outfit; I made them all. Growing up, I was a little obsessed with puppets and stop frame animation; Hector’s House, Pogles Wood, Noggin The Nog and Topo Gigio were all very real for me. ”
I spotted a few faces I was sure I’d seen running around the fields earlier that day ! Beautifully made and I’m always drawn to work that makes me smile.
The second stall I really admired, was the work of Linda Baxter from The Black Fish Press.
Linda says ” My interest in lino block printed textiles began back in the 1980s while studying for a History of Design degree at the then Manchester Polytechnic, where I came across textiles designs by 20th century artists and sculptors like Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth who, in the 1930s, had designed and printed lino block fabrics for their own use, some of which were later produced commercially. Researching and reproducing these textiles was a great way of learning and understanding the design disciplines and printing techniques involved.
Now retired from art and design teaching, I have started designing and printing again, returning to my favourite printing method. “
I also wanted to catch up with a friend I had made a few years ago when exhibiting previously with LNCCF, Jeweller Heather Fox. Heather was selling her Jewellery and new range of unique christmas decorations at the fair this year… aren’t they great !
I had long been inspired by a ring I bought for my partner back in the early 90’s, from a Jeweller in the Manchester Craft and Design Centre, who’s name I don’t remember and has since moved. (If anyone knows this designer’s name, please let me know).
It’s a fun silver ring called “Anteater, Two Lizards and a Fish” and I decided that I wanted to create something similar for myself, using my own drawings and the skills of a Jeweller who’s work I liked. I had a chat with Heather about my idea, and the collaboration was accepted. Heather had already created work which involved layering silver upon silver, and had a sense of humour (with her ‘Chris Moose’ below) that I could also relate to. I’m excited to see what happens.
Of course I will be using some of my illustrations as a starting point…. watch this space for more news !!!
I also couldn’t help but buy one of these lovely glass birds by maker Heather Gillespie. It will sing loudly from the tree this year : ) Lovely skies we are getting lately too. How are your Chrismas plans going so far ?
As this is my last blog post for 2016, there’s just one last thing to say…..
Happy Holidays Everyone! Let’s all catch up again in a couple of weeks… bye for now.
Fishink at YSP
I wanted to start today by sharing my latest commission with you. I had a similar illustration (but with foxes on) at the Sale Arts Trail Bazaar last weekend, and someone requested a version with cats and so the rest (as they say) is history. If anyone else would like an individual commission, just let me know. craig @ fishink.co.uk and I’ll see what I can do, thank you.
I can’t resist a trip to the beautiful Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Everything about it appeals to an artists eye, soul and heart. Plenty from St Judes artists to keep me smiling too lol. Lovely new ceramics from Angie Lewin and bags from Emily Sutton.
Stolen grassy glimpses of nature from ceramist Karen Howarth.
Excited ceramic birds on the work of Anna Lambert.
I’ve never made it to Y.S.P with Boo (my dog) before, so it was as much a treat for me as it was for her. Although I’m still not sure all the driving went down so well with her ! Does anyone else have a dog that seems to completely hate being in the car ? Ah well, she made up for the journey by her excitement at seeing the grounds. I’ve never visited the YSP Chapel before either.
Boo got quite a few admiring comments, as did the coat I had made for her recently.
The grounds looked amazing on this frosty, yet sunny day. Wonderful colours.
Boo.. a natural poseur!
I’m pretty certain that Henry Moore would have loved to see his work in this setting.
Even Boo appreciated it.
Don’t forget (as mentioned in my last blogpost) the indoor exhibition here by Angela Harding in on until Late February next year.
I couldn’t resist making a few new purchases of my own. A lovely new calendar and mug from
and a ceramic tile from
Both available from the YSP shop. Early Christmas presents for me, and just what I wanted too! lol
Angela Harding at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park
It was five years ago that I first talked about the work of Angela Harding. Her work was more painterly back then, and since, an illustrative, defined and more distinct style has blossomed. I went to Yorkshire Sculpture Park this week to view her current exhibition “Flights of Memory”, which is on until Feb 26th next year. Just look at the display in the foyer.
Here’s Angela working in her studio, what an inspiring view !
As usual with photographing works of art behind glass, the lighting and reflections obscure the work slightly, so apologies for this. I’m certain, however, that you can still appreciate the beauty in Angela’s work.
There’s a whole alphabet of birds to choose from.
I love the aerial perspective of this Curlew flying over the town.
I took a few close ups so that you can see the detail for yourselves… wow!
The snowy scenes below are also available here as advent calendars, what a great idea.
I’m always excited to see how other artists work, their tools of the trade, how they use their sketchbooks etc. So lovely to view this display case, full of woodblocks and cutting tools.
Oooo and sketchbooks too !
Of course with Angela owning dogs of her own, I knew a few Whippets or Lurchers wouldn’t be too far away : )
So many designs I admired, such an obvious love for nature and their simplistic colourations, all work so well for me.
As soon as I got home, I went onto Angela’s website and purchased these two keepsakes. Now I can think about her every time I wash up lol.
Do visit and see Angela’s wonderful exhibition, on until Feb 26th next year.
Part two from Yorkshire Sculpture Park next Monday.
Fantastic Beasts and where to find them.
By a strange twist of fate last night, I ended up going to see the new film from Harry Potter author J.K Rowling , called ‘Fantastic Beasts and where to find them”.
Played by the lead actor Eddie Redmayne and based on a character called Newt Scamander (who is mentioned in the first of the Potter films), it’s a story of magical mischief set some 70 years before Harry Potter even started reading his school books. The year is 1926, and Newt has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident, were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt’s fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.
Stunning visuals and creative creatures.
Dark arts magic and mayhem too.
Amazing to see what CGI can achieve these days, and some stunning New York visuals from all perspectives of the city. There is said to be a further four films coming our way in the next few years about Newt! Great to loose myself in a little Christmas magic for a couple of hours.
There’s more info in this review from the Guardian newspaper here.
Sale Arts Trail 2016 Christmas Bazaar
Christmas came early yesterday as I took part in the Sale Arts Trail Bazaar.
Over 40 designers took part including a few new friends like knitwear designer
https://saleartstrail.com/2014/11/12/qa-knitwear-designer-clare-wright/
top left and organiser Sophie Nixon top right. The rooms had been wonderfully decorated and felt warm and festive.
There was a good steady flow of visitors. Sadly, I only had a brief chance to literally whiz around the other stands, but I did admire the work of furniture designer Neb Abbott. His lighting display had some wonderfully patterned structures to them.
This was my Fishink stand, great to have a bit extra wall space (thank you Sophie) to really show off my larger pieces. Thanks to a couple of friendly, regular clients, giving me new commissions to make for them, I had a good show. If anyone else would like something special making for their walls do drop me a line. Craig @ Fishink . co . uk
A couple more familiar faces here and there, and a cleverly co-ordinated stand from Bronwen Simpson who works from Marketplace Studios, Stockport and makes beautifully steamed, ladies felt hats and pure wool scarves. She looked very dapper with her pheasant-feathered hat !
Thanks to the organisors/exhibitors for their company and support yesterday, and to everyone who came (including Craig and Annette) and purchased something to help support local small businesses …what a pleasure to work within such a great designer community.
Rena Gardiner at MMU Special Collections
Just a quick reminder that if you are in the Manchester area next Sunday then come and have a look around the Sale
https://saleartstrail.com/christmas-bazaar-2016/exhibitors-christmas-bazaar-2016/
Look forward to seeing you there. For the regular followers you may recall that I’ve spoken on Fishink Blog about
before, also here
Rena Gardiner A lifetime spent Illustrating the English Landscape
For those of you who managed to get to see the (now ended) exhibition at the MMU Library, Special Collections Gallery that ran for just over two months, you’ll know what a joy it was to see some of Rena’s work, ‘up close and personal’. I was lucky to find the time to pop into Manchester last wet Wednesday, especially to see it, and was very thankful that I had. Sadly it’s very difficult to get decent images with everything being behind glass, but I hope you can see just how beautiful Rena’s illustrations, water colours, lithographs and lino-cuts really are.
Rena Gardiner found a way to reconcile a one-woman industry with mass production without compromising her artistic integrity. She adopted elements of commercial printing but bent them to her purpose, crafting everything herself. She treated a commercial press like a hand press and produced books and prints that were in every sense handmade.
Her work exemplifies the printing process known as autolithography, where the artist draws directly onto the lithographic stone or plate with no intervention of another hand or photography. Rena’s particular contribution to the art was the way she used the commercial press as a creative tool to develop and explore her images and not simply as a means to produce an existing image. It was most unusual for an artist to take on every aspect of organisation and production.
The highlight of the exhibition for me was seeing Rena’s sketchbook and this wonderful collection of holiday paintings.
I would have loved to have seen more inside this sketchpad (above).
Rena’s passion for history, buildings and the landscape emerged early on in her work, and she would pursue these themes for the rest of her life. After completing her studies at Kingston Art School and gaining her teacher’s diploma, her first post was in Leamington Spa. In 1954 she moved to Wareham in Dorset to teach at the Bournemouth School for Girls. She fell in love with the country, which became her home for the rest of her life.
She saw herself as an artist expressing herself primarily through the medium of printmaking. She experimented with book illustration and the craft of making books, and also began to travel abroad where she was influenced by the vibrant colour and architecture of Venice and Rome. This early period saw the maturing of her skill and talent for drawing, painting and printmaking and, in particular, her very personal approach to lithography.
Such attention to detail and a keen eye for the accuracy of what she is drawing too.
It was the generation of artists who had been establishing their reputation before the War that inspired Rena. Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, John Piper, and Barnett Freedman, all of whom made lithographs. Rena visited exhibitions organised by the Recording Britain Scheme initiated by Sir Kenneth Clark as an extension of the Official War Artists Scheme. This featured such artists as Kenneth Rountree, Thomas Hennell, Rowland Hilder, Enid Marx and Barbara Jones. Rena was an avid reader of John Betjeman’s and John Piper’s Shell Guides as well. However she also admired the work of topographical artists of the past such as Thomas Girtin, John Sell Cotman and Thomas Shotter Boys, and the technique of the great lithographers such as Honore Daumier.
Rena was also familiar with the Puffin Picture Books published by Penguin and edited by Noel Carrington, and recognised the influence they had on her own work. Full of brightly coloured and freely drawn illustrations which relied on autolithography for their vitality and economy, they introduced Rena to another group of artists such as Clarke Hutton, Hilary Stebbing, Kathleen Hale and in particular S.R. Badmin.
In 1965, Rena moved into a cottage at Tarrant Monkton, near Blandford Forum, where there was sufficient space to install a commercial printing press. Her book production began to flourish. She established her relationships with the National Trust, Salisbury Cathedral and other clients and by 1970, she was making enough money from the books to give up teaching and concentrate on book production.
She still found time to produce paintings, pastels and drawings of England and abroad. The paintings from France show her particular interest in Romanesque architecture and sculpture. During this period she produced many of her most successful books and mastered her illustrative technique, exemplified by three large-format books on Dorset and the books about Cornwall, starting with Cotehele in 1973.
By the time she was in her sixties, Rena found the pressure of book production an increasing burden, and her last new book was produced in 1996. She still worked on reprints and editions of existing books, but wanted to slow down. Rena returned to the art of printmaking and revived her interest in lino cutting. Her subject was her beloved Dorset and she took the opportunity to travel abroad and make prints of Italy and France. In the late 1990’s she spent time in the beautiful surroundings of Cotehele in Corwall and produced a collection of 35 linocuts.
So pleased I finally got to see this exhibition before it ended. Hope those of you who didn’t get there, enjoyed it through my images too.
Thanks to Martin Andrews for some of the information used in this post.
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