One of my favourite jokes as a child was the one where you had to name three crustaceans – but now I can only remember two thirds of the answer! (A: King’s Cross Station, and Charing Cross Station). Anyway, here are three friendly crabs instead…
STOP PRESS: I’ve just been reminded that the third one is St Pancras Station – thankyou Helen!
If only there were really shrubs like this…
Here’s some wildlife from the river Wandle – illustrations I’ve been working on for the Wandle Trust‘s forthcoming vision statement document.
Here’s a sleeping otter who’s very pleased with his new mittens…
An idea I’ve been working on…the lettering is made with my special ‘Econasign’ stencil set – very labour-intensive but fun to use.
I went to London Zoo this afternoon to deliver the hand-made giant book I have been making for the education department.
It’s a story about one of the zoo’s ferrets, Toffee, visiting all the other animals in the zoo to find out about how they live.
Anne will take both the book and the real-life Toffee with her when she goes to visit schools to explain about the Zoo’s work.
Anne and Sophie (above) were both really pleased with the outcome.
The book is entirely hand-made and a mixture of collage, ink, watercolour and acrylic on Somerset paper, with Japanese binding.
I’ve been making lots of penguins for the hand-made book I am making for London Zoo‘s education department – it’s all about the zoo’s ferret, Toffee, meeting the other zoo animals.
Here’s another one of my prints from my show ‘Compendium’. This one’s a game called Bachelor’s Kitchen – instructions on how to play are shown below! I like the idea that the penguins have gone on a stag night and gone a bit silly after too many Dubonnets.
Source: ‘Three Hundred and One Things a Bright Girl Can Do’, Jean Stewart, Sampson Low, Marston & Co, 1904
The girls sit in a row, with the exception of one, who goes in succession to each girl and asks her what she will give to the bachelor’s kitchen. Each answers what she pleases, such as a rolling pin or a warming pan.
When all have replied, the questioner returns to the first girl, and puts all sorts of questions, which must be answered by the article which she before gave to the kitchen, and by no other word. For instance, she asks, “What do you wear on your head?” “Mouse trap”. The object is to make the answerer laugh, and she is asked a number of questions until she either laughs or is given up as a hard subject.
The questioner then passes to the next girl, and so on. Those who laugh must pay a forfeit.