Illuminate and Royal Manuscripts at The British Library and

Friday night was one of the British Library's late evening events. It was part of their Spring festival this week and the theme was illustration. It was a good opportunity to see the Royal Manuscripts exhibition before it closed on the 13th March too. Link to the exhibition here.



There were a mix of illustrators and activities and a bar and music as well. So there was a good atmosphere. It was good to see Mary Pullen there running an Book of Hours, illuminate a letter workshop. Mary's website here We were in an E17 Art trail exhibition at the Hornbeam a couple of years ago. Mary is part of the House of Illustration. Their website here.


I enjoyed Mr Scufff's Time out for Tea and Recession Busting Tips. Website here He was also the DJ on the night. James Jarvis's Spherical Dialogues made me smile too. Jame's website here There were graphic novels, cartoons and comics as well as illustrations for books, I am drawn to graphic novels and would like to make more illustrated books in some way.



The Illuminated manuscripts were stunning in the Royal Manuscripts Exhibition, with the benefit of there being very people there, so you got to see the books very easily. The gold in the illuminations really stood out in the low light, and I had a sense of how amazing it would have been to have had one of these precious books, at a time when there were few books around.



What always fascinates me are the little creatures and beasts that are drawn in the borders of the illustrations. I made a few quick sketches in my book as I went round.

Grayson Perry The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman

I went to see Grayson Perry's latest exhibition at the British Museum, The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman last week. Exhibition info here.
I really like Grayson Perry's work, including his vibrant irreverent ceramic pieces, with their collaged surfaces and painted and scratched designs of which there were several in the exhibition. He had spent a few years researching the objects in the British Museum with the help of curators and brings together some intriging objects including Tibetan travelling shrines, maps and headresses. At the entrance to the exhibition is the customised motorbike he used for a pilgrimage with his bear Alan Measles, who is the god of Grayson Perry's imaginary world.

Alan Measles voices part of his history on the British Museum website

"So around the year 2000 Gray starts to celebrate me once more this time not as a swashbuckling hero but as a wise old friend. He finds me matured, no longer seeking endless vengeance and having to win every race. But as I re-enter the conscious human world one blot mars my new found contentment. Someone has tried to usurp my iconic position as the go-to teddy bear, someone yellow with a remarkably similar injury, an evil twin if you will. Yes, I mean that po-faced inanely smiling do-gooder Pudsey bear."

In his Head of a Fallen Giant, the head was made of hundreds of cultural icons, from Lewis chessmen , CND signs, post boxes and Tower Bridge, to country cottages and acorns.

Grayson Perry writes, " Part of my role as an artist is similar to that of a shaman or witch doctor. I dress up;I tell stories, give things meaning and make them a bit more significant"

The heart of the exhibition is his tomb to the unknown craftsman a cast iron ship full of cultural objects made by unknown craftsmen and including an ancient flint axe head, the original tool of them all.

Egyptian Book of the Dead Exhibition

Just been out to see the exhibition of the Egyptian Book of the Dead at the British Museum before it closes in a few days time.

Really busy in the exhibition, slowly queuing to look at the work in the first few rooms, rather tired when I got to the final room, which was a shame because there were not many people there.

It was a moving and intense experience, I am always cagey about exhibitions involving spiritual practise and human burials. I think that remains like mummies should not be on display and returned to their homeland. There was one such mummified body as part of the exhibition, but the main features were the texts of the Egyptian rituals surrounding death.

Some beautifully illustrated texts that took my breath away, something about the power of such painting as part of a ritual and religious context that lead the work to have a power of communication. Visitors there were really paying attention to the texts and reading all the notes and small bits of translation.

Going through the rooms, the images started to add up, the patterns of the symbols repeated. I made quick sketches of some of the birds as I went round.


I started to have more of a sense of the connection between these Egyptian rituals and Buddhist rituals and even thought about the surviving Christian rituals of confession and the Last Rites, but generally here we have lost the rituals surrounding death. Glad I did make the exhibition though, I can see some of the symbols becoming part of my work.

Drawing in the British Museum.

I've just been going through my sketch books looking at the drawings I made at my class in the British Museum last term.
It was good to spend a bit more time in the different galleries again and to be with a group of great people. I had to get used to the dozens of people looking over my shoulder again, making comments to each other about the work and being photographed!. It didn't take me too long though.
the class was caught by the tube strikes, for me anyway, I didn't try to get in on those days knowing how chaotic it would be on all the transport systems.



I enjoyed the European galleries, the Asian galleries and back to the Elgin Marbles where I had been in previous classes some years ago. We are planning to meet up again as a class regularly which I am very pleased about as good intentions to go back to draw are helped along by having a focus or opportunity.

Revolution on Paper exhibition

The British Museum has an exhibition of Mexican prints 1910-1960, Revolution on Paper, on at the moment till 5th April. I have only just managed to get there recently.
The exhibition focuses on the socialist revolutionary prints by artists from the Taller del Grafica Popular, the national print workshop, Rivera's famous cover image Emiliano Zapata and his horse, and work by david Alfaro Siqueiros.

One of Siqueiros lithographs, Latin America was a masterful work using the iconography of Christ on the cross. The figure slumped against a powerful tree/cross was depicted with a variety of marks and tones, suggesting anguish, energy and sensitivity.

One of Rivera's works was lovely lithograph of his wife Nude with beads (Frida Kahlo) there was a delicate touch and intimacy in his portrait, all the more contrasted with the revolutionary work on show.There were many depictions of Mexico's hero Zapata complete with his iconic moustache and again a contrast with the colourful lithographs illustrating the creation by Carlos Merida, whose stylised birds I particularly liked.

British museum and He Weimin

At the British Museum this week looking at a small exhibition Between Tibet and Assam: cultural diversity in the eastern Himalaya In room 91. There were photographs and ritual items, clothing and paintings from two different peoples, the Apatani and Monpas. Unfortunately a recording of part of a festival mentioned on the website was not there. There was a copy of the book of photographs collected from mid twentieth century academics and a contemporary photographer, Michael Aram to browse.


Walking down the road to Tottenham court road I noticed the Arthur Probsthain bookshop. I hadn't been in there before and so was pleased to find a collection of Oriental and African books, the bookshop is part of SOAS. There was a creative air in the shop, with a selection of cards and prints for sale and an exhibition space at the back of the shop. The wood block artist He Weimin had a show in there. I am always impressed by wood block prints, I haven't made any myself yet. I particularly liked the densely worked prints that He Weimin had done.