Bluebells and bookbinding

We have had a peculiar May this year, as I write this the sun is shining as we would expect but earlier in the month we had miserable, grey, cold dreary weather which cast a gloom over everything. The bluebells have been lovely but not so plentiful as previous years. On one of our dog walks we spied a fox near the canal path. We watched as she made her way to a dense patch of brambles and wondered if she had any hungry cubs to feed. The young fox illustration comes from “A Book of Days”, a birthday book I illustrated for Blackie and Son Ltd.

We had a very pleasant visit from artist friend Celeste Goulding, who had traveled to England on holiday from Australia. You may remember Celeste from a previous post? This time we enjoyed an actual rather than a virtual cup of tea. It was so nice to meet her in person.

Work has been busy, getting design collections ready for Surtex, an annual trade fair in New York. I did however find the time to attend a bookbinding workshop with Glenn Malkin, a bookbinder from East Yorkshire. Glenn is an amazing and inspirational craftsman who has a bindery called Signature Bindings Glenn specializes in affordable bindings and repairs, journals and fine bindings. His website contains useful information about forthcoming workshops and events as well as showcasing his award winning designer bindings.

In the one-day workshop we managed to complete three books. One wrap around binding, one Japanese stab binding and a little single section cased binding. All the materials were supplied including the lovely marbled papers. I was especially pleased with the book, which utilized part of an old map, an idea I am sure I will use again. Maybe next time I will remember that as this structure is covered with a map it has a front, back a head and a tail. I managed to create a back and a front the same way up but would have preferred the back to be the front, although in Japan it would have worked perfectly! Finally I have been creating an online print shop with Society6, the shop currently offers art prints and stretched canvases, and I hope to add more images in due course.

And the winner is...........

Hi everyone, as promised I had to pick a winner for my blog giveaway today and the first name out of the hat was Beth Niquette. So, if Beth emails me her postal address I will send my book across the big blue yonder. Thank you so much to everyone who entered and took time to help out with some market research, I am very grateful for your input. I am sorry this is a very short blog post, I am super busy, cutting and sticking and sewing and designing in a last minute dash for a trade fair. The photo above shows a small sample of an incredible bargain bag of odds and ends I bought recently in a clearance sale. In total 90 spools of assorted thread for £5 and a big bag of buttons for £1, a bag of zips and a bag of ribbons also for £1 each! Don't you just love a bargain?

Children's Book Giveaway

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you left about my children's book. It has been very heartwarming to read them, I really do appreciate your visits. This week I am hosting my own giveaway open to anyone who cares to enter. I have a signed copy of “White is the Moon” to give to you but first, I hope you will help me in a little market research. I have recently had some postcards printed, there are two sets available in my Etsy shop and I am wondering which people will like the best? So, if you would like a free, signed copy of my book please leave a comment below and say which animal postcard appeals to you the most.

I have always loved frogs, though I know that many hate them, it was lovely to see so many tadpoles whilst walking yesterday. We have been experiencing very heavy rain and cold, wintry weather but yesterday saw a bit if sunshine so we put on our dog walking boots and headed to the fields. The rain has made everything look so fresh and green, cowslips and primroses in flower, every cloud has a silver lining I suppose!

I will choose a winner on Wednesday the 2nd of May, so bye for now and good luck.

HURRY! HURRY! Book Giveaway and two interviews.

I am having a very lazy week, my blog friends are doing all the work for me! I have two online interviews; the first about art licensing and you can read it here on Alex Colombo's art blog The Moon from my Attic

Secondly, for a chance to win a copy of my book "White is the Moon" all you have to do is visit "Good Books for Young Souls" where I have been interviewed by Wendy.

To enter the "White is the Moon" giveaway all you need to do is leave a comment on Wendy's blog, following the links and leave a comment but please HURRY because the giveaway finishes on Thursday. Please note Wendy can only ship to a USA address. However,I will be hosting my own giveaway on this blog next week open to everyone.

You can also try out the "Look inside feature" in the Amazon shop to give you more idea about the book.

Thank you so much Alex and Wendy and good luck everyone.

My heart is like a singing bird.

Illustration taken from "White is the Moon"

“My heart is like a singing bird” from the poem “A Birthday” by Christina Rossetti best describes how I feel right now as we prepare for Easter. This year we hope to also celebrate my husband’s birthday together with four generations of our family.

You may have noticed the addition of a link to “White is the Moon” in my sidebar. This children’s picture book was one I first worked on when our boys were little, now we have a grandson old enough to read it, albeit with his own hilarious adaptation. “Once there was a fish and the fish was called Seymour” and “Pink is the pie” has replaced “Pink is the crab” after he saw it had a close resemblance to a cheese and onion pie! I am waiting for samples to arrive, of the book that is, not the pie. When I have them I will do a giveaway.




We have also been enjoying unbelievably sunny March days; warm enough to sit in the garden in tee shirts and jeans. Ted the dog has been treated to extra long country walks, making the most of the weather before it changes back to cold and grey.
The woodland near home is carpeted with wood anemones and shining stars of celandine, birdsong fills the air, in particular the very lovely music of the song thrush, blackbird and yellow hammer.
Grandson George can be seen proudly wearing his Easter Bonnet, made with help from his clever mum.

The lovely little embroidered bird is from Chloe Redfern, a mixed media artist who has an Etsy shop called Slightly Triangle. Her decorations are absolutely delightful.



I have been painting daffodils for my portfolio, maybe to end up on a paper napkin or greeting card one day? Sometimes it is nice just to work for the sheer pleasure of painting from life.


I hope your Easter days are filled with sunshine and birdsong too.

A little bit of Whimsy.

For the last couple of years I have been working with Wentworth puzzles, makers of quality wooden jigsaws. This spring they have chosen my rabbits design to feature on one of their puzzles. Each puzzle is contained within a sturdy box, inside the box is a fabric drawstring bag holding an amazing array of different shaped pieces.



This puzzle contains specially themed shapes called 'Whimsy" pieces. There is a rabbit shaped piece, a lamb, a butterfly and many more. You can find the puzzles here on the Wentworth site. They are not cheap but they are a quality product and one meant to last. I think they make a good alternative to chocolate eggs which can be more style over substance and like all jigsaws they are good for sharing.



We have been making the most of the mild spring weather, walking the dog and wild flower spotting. Today was no exception, the fields were alive with birds nest building, queen bumblebees looking for new homes and primroses, marsh marigolds and pussy willows all competing for attention. It does the heart good!

Tea with Frances.

I have on my bookcase, nestling between the works of Gennady Spirin and Cicely Mary Barker, a small collection of sumptuously illustrated books by another gifted illustrator of equal stature by the name of Frances Tyrrell. She is one of those artists whose work deserves to be more widely known, so I decided to invite her round for a cuppa for a chance to get to know her a little better. We hope you will join us.



How do you take your tea and in what kind of cup do you like it served?

Thank you so much for inviting me. Hot, milky and sweet is how I like my tea please, and in a bone china mug or a cup and saucer – perhaps one of those beautiful mugs with a Valerie Greeley design?.

( Blushes, I did not pay her to say that! )

If you could choose anyone, past, present or future, who would be joining us for tea?

William Morris, to humbly hear whatever he would care to say about art, design, nature, literature and inspiration. If it were possible to invite one or two more I would include Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen, and I would love to have tea with Charles Kingsley too, and ask him for a story.



Will you tell us a little about your background in art and design?

I grew up with beautifully illustrated books in the house, second-hand volumes that my mother collected. I remember in particular a gorgeous edition of The Idylls of the Kings, and a charming nursery rhyme book from the 1920's, all of which fired my appreciation for design, detail and romance. I took fine arts at university but had to learn the illustrators' trade in the field, first with a major greeting card company and then with book publishers here and abroad.



Where are you based and does it influence your work?

Oakville, Ontario is my home, and my house and upstairs studio are just a block up the street from the lake. I have always lived in suburbs, with sidewalks on the one hand and on the other a glimpse of fairyland in nearby woods and fields. The long winters here can seem straight out of Hans Anderson's Snow Queen. As a youngster I was enchanted by the beautiful, complex frost patterns on windows and, like Anderson's Kay and Gerda, would press a heated coin into the frost to make a peephole. I still try to capture the magic of those sweeping snows and gardens of ice in my paintings.



What have you been doing/working on today?

Fairies and more fairies, as I prepare for an art show coming up in June, to coincide with International Fairy Day on June 24. Today I am sketching a fairy wedding, with a bride and groom and their attendants and a confetti of flower petals. This is the untidy stage, getting everyone lined up and properly dressed! The fairy wedding is part of the next Illustrated Fairy Gazette, the 6th in our series of miniature hand made fairy-to-fairy publications.

( Believe me, these hand made publications are exquisite, I bought a series a few years ago.)



I hope that you have brought along something wonderful to show us, what is it?

After the wedding the happy couple, fairy royalty, make their royal progress in this water lily carriage, inspired by the story of Thumbelina..

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat over a cuppa, albeit a virtual one.

I am sure that everyone enjoyed that interview and if you would like to learn more about Frances and her work you can visit her website here.
Frances also has a blog called Treasure Seekers Studio
an Etsy shop

Frances also has a very gifted mother called Avril Tyrrell who writes her stories, lucky lady!