Your miserable and most unworthy scribe goes to Durham!

What a day I had yesterday!!  I was very honoured to be asked up to the Palace Green Library in Durham to do a workshop as part of their Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition (which is amazing by the way, as is its region wide programme of events - well worth checking out!).

When I arrived in Durham it was clear that this exhibition is a very big deal - there are signs and banners for it everywhere, and the town, which I'm getting to know and love more with each visit, has a really nice buzz about it.

Anyway, here's what I did - a live drawn Lindisfarne Gospels timeline, taking you through the background of why it was made, who made it and how, and the ripping yarn of how it came to settle in Durham for hundreds of years...

Now, I say 'here's what I did'...but it should read 'here's what we did'.  The whole point of it was that large parts of it would be filled in by kids, parents, grandparents (and exhibition staff!) who popped in, and they really didn't let me down!

I also brought quill pens, reed pens and silverpoint for kids to try out, but as you can imagine didn't have much time for photogramaphising, so you'll have to imagine the chaos that entailed.


Oooh and another thing - I got a brief ten minutes to look around the exhibition itself, and I'll say again, it is absolutely fantastic.  I got the history bug doing the 'Discover The Lindisfarne Gospels' book, and I learnt so much more in just a few minutes wandering round.  I saw the big book itself which was amazing, but my fave bit was seeing St Cuthbert's pocket bible, which was taken from his coffin when he was exhumed and (I think!) is the oldest book in England (Europe? The world? Calling all experts!!)  to have survived with it's original leather binding intact....kinda lovely.  Click here for some more 'must see's .  A top exhibition, staffed by people who love the subject, which has some kind of intrigue at most turns...I thoroughly recommend it.

A big thank you is in order to everyone there for an absolutely fantastic day.

Wot I did this Spring...

Ohmygoshkit's July and I haven't blogged anything for a ages (as some of my mates have politely pointed out!).  So where have I been?  Well I've been working innit, and over the next few days I'll fill you in on what I've been doing.

First up, today is the launch of the very exciting Lindisfarne Gospels Durham exhibition, whereby for 3 months this beautiful Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscript returns (on loan from the lovely folks at the British Library) to its one time home in Durham.  It isn't understating things to say that this is one of the most beautiful and important books in this country's history, so I was very honoured when I was asked by Durham University to co-write and illustrate a kids book about it.

The book arrived on my doormat recently, and I have endeavoured to take the prerequisite idyllic bloggy photos, but it has been made difficult by major building work in my house and high winds in my garden. Apologies in advance!!

The book tells the story of how and why the book was made, and the 200 yr odyssey it went on before settling in Durham.  Your guides for the book are these two...based on illustrations that can be found in the manuscript itself.  I thoroughly enjoyed working on it, largely as I found the subject fascinating, but also because of the endless enthusiasm and support of Dr Sarah Price, who co-wrote the book with me (and was really the brains behind the operation!).

A typical scene in my 'studio'

Heh hem ...and another one...

I am very proud of the book, but it's always hard to be objective about your own work.  It does however seem to have passed the child test!

 I'll be going up to Durham at some point in August to do some live drawing (not to be confused with life drawing!) and workshops - I can't wait!  I thoroughly recommend a trip to Durham, as this exhibition will be fascinating...but also because I love the place.