Amelia’s Magazine | Eyjafjallajökull: clear blue skies and no aeroplane contrails.

Bethnal Green contrailfree gavin mackie
the city contrail free gavin mackie
A view over the City of London by Gavin Mackie.

Well, this it’s Monday and there are still no planes in the sky above my house in Brick Lane. True, clinic it’s not the perfect blue sky that it was over our glorious plane-free weekend, pill but it is most definitely contrail free.

Surrey contrailfree Julia Pollard
The flight path over a lake in Surrey remains blissfully contrail-free. By Julia Pollard.

Over the weekend, as others successfully used the hashtag #getmehome on twitter to help people to return from their travels, I used the hashtag #contrailfree to collect photos of the wonderful skies that we experienced over London and beyond. As I look back at my collection it reminds me of the wonderment I feel every time I look up at the clear blue sky – with nothing between us and space beyond. On Saturday and Sunday it seemed so hyperreal that it was almost unnatural – more Photoshop than real life. And yet this was very real.

Here then is my ode to clear blue skies, with thanks to everyone on twitter who joined in with my crazy plan.

Sky over Tooting Jenny Robins
The sky over Tooting in SW London by Jenny Robins.

English cricket pitch no planes Alice
A traditional cricket pitch by Alice.

Bristol contrailfree Pearl peroni
The skies over Bristol by Pearl.

Suffolk contrailfree simon wild
A flag flying in Suffolk by Simon Wild.

Twickenham rugby ground lia182
The skies above Twickenham Rugby Ground by Lia.

Contrail free tristam sparks
Pure blue by Tristam Sparks.

Blue Skies Contrail Free Matt Bramford
Bethnal Green by Matt Bramford.

littlehampton clive flint
Littlehampton by Clive Flint.

Peckham Library Belinda
Lilac skies over Peckham Library in south London by Belinda.

Volcanic ash sunset south bank
A volcanic ash sunset over the South Bank by Amelia.

Today, disbelief that the exploding volcano could possibly affect life in the long term has gradually turned into panic as the lack of air travel starts to affect everyone’s lives in ways that could not have been predicted. Shows have been cancelled, holiday plans altered, and alternative methods of travel found. There is talk of a naval rescue for holiday goers. Beautiful exotic flowers and fruits that are destined for air freight to the West now languish in the refrigeration units in Kenya. As a friend predicted to me on Saturday, the airlines have started to desperately question the authority of the experts who say it is too dangerous to fly.

Bethnal Green contrailfree gavin mackie
Clear blue skies over Bethnal Green (where I live) by Gavin Mackie.

It is not as if I am unaffected – I’ve just paid for a stand for Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration at the London Book Fair where I was hoping to attract international buyers, many of whom will no doubt not have made it into the country. I expect this will result in less sales for me, something I can ill afford. On the plus side I suspect that many European buyers will have made it, having realised that it is possible to carry on business as usual if they travel by land, and not air, to the UK.

Fight the Flights no planes
A view of clear skies above City Airport, courtesy of Fight the Flights.

“There are no flights to anywhere at all and it will probably precipitate the downfall of capitalism.” So predicted 6 music this morning: it was said in jest but herein lies a kernel of truth. Things may become bleak for many businesses dependent on global trade if planes continue to stay grounded and this really could affect how we interact with the rest of the world in fantastic ways we could never have imagined before. Luckily the Transition Towns movement has been putting methods for local resilience into practice for some time: and now might be the time for the mainstream to look at their ideas with closer scrutiny. Not a moment too soon in the opinions of many.

Brick Lane amelia gregory
Brick Lane looking towards the City. By Amelia.

Of course, there is also the possibility that the neighbouring Katla volcano may blow. A far bigger beast, she has accompanied every single of Eyjafjallajökull’s previous eruptions. How long will this situation continue to affect our lives? Will there be long term ramifications for the micro-climates of those countries lying under the ash cloud? So many questions remain unanswered… and in the meantime I continue to marvel at this force of nature, showing us exactly who is boss around here.

You can read my original article about Eyjafjallajökull here.

Categories ,6 Music, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,capitalism, ,Contrails, ,exotic flowers, ,Eyjafjallajökull, ,Fight the Flights, ,Flowers, ,iceland, ,Katla, ,Kenya, ,London Book Fair, ,London City Airport, ,Resilience, ,transition towns, ,Volcano

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | Eyjafjallajökull: clear blue skies and no aeroplane contrails.

Bethnal Green contrailfree gavin mackie
the city contrail free gavin mackie
A view over the City of London by Gavin Mackie.

Well, this it’s Monday and there are still no planes in the sky above my house in Brick Lane. True, clinic it’s not the perfect blue sky that it was over our glorious plane-free weekend, pill but it is most definitely contrail free.

Surrey contrailfree Julia Pollard
The flight path over a lake in Surrey remains blissfully contrail-free. By Julia Pollard.

Over the weekend, as others successfully used the hashtag #getmehome on twitter to help people to return from their travels, I used the hashtag #contrailfree to collect photos of the wonderful skies that we experienced over London and beyond. As I look back at my collection it reminds me of the wonderment I feel every time I look up at the clear blue sky – with nothing between us and space beyond. On Saturday and Sunday it seemed so hyperreal that it was almost unnatural – more Photoshop than real life. And yet this was very real.

Here then is my ode to clear blue skies, with thanks to everyone on twitter who joined in with my crazy plan.

Sky over Tooting Jenny Robins
The sky over Tooting in SW London by Jenny Robins.

English cricket pitch no planes Alice
A traditional cricket pitch by Alice.

Bristol contrailfree Pearl peroni
The skies over Bristol by Pearl.

Suffolk contrailfree simon wild
A flag flying in Suffolk by Simon Wild.

Twickenham rugby ground lia182
The skies above Twickenham Rugby Ground by Lia.

Contrail free tristam sparks
Pure blue by Tristam Sparks.

Blue Skies Contrail Free Matt Bramford
Bethnal Green by Matt Bramford.

littlehampton clive flint
Littlehampton by Clive Flint.

Peckham Library Belinda
Lilac skies over Peckham Library in south London by Belinda.

Volcanic ash sunset south bank
A volcanic ash sunset over the South Bank by Amelia.

Today, disbelief that the exploding volcano could possibly affect life in the long term has gradually turned into panic as the lack of air travel starts to affect everyone’s lives in ways that could not have been predicted. Shows have been cancelled, holiday plans altered, and alternative methods of travel found. There is talk of a naval rescue for holiday goers. Beautiful exotic flowers and fruits that are destined for air freight to the West now languish in the refrigeration units in Kenya. As a friend predicted to me on Saturday, the airlines have started to desperately question the authority of the experts who say it is too dangerous to fly.

Bethnal Green contrailfree gavin mackie
Clear blue skies over Bethnal Green (where I live) by Gavin Mackie.

It is not as if I am unaffected – I’ve just paid for a stand for Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration at the London Book Fair where I was hoping to attract international buyers, many of whom will no doubt not have made it into the country. I expect this will result in less sales for me, something I can ill afford. On the plus side I suspect that many European buyers will have made it, having realised that it is possible to carry on business as usual if they travel by land, and not air, to the UK.

Fight the Flights no planes
A view of clear skies above City Airport, courtesy of Fight the Flights.

“There are no flights to anywhere at all and it will probably precipitate the downfall of capitalism.” So predicted 6 music this morning: it was said in jest but herein lies a kernel of truth. Things may become bleak for many businesses dependent on global trade if planes continue to stay grounded and this really could affect how we interact with the rest of the world in fantastic ways we could never have imagined before. Luckily the Transition Towns movement has been putting methods for local resilience into practice for some time: and now might be the time for the mainstream to look at their ideas with closer scrutiny. Not a moment too soon in the opinions of many.

Brick Lane amelia gregory
Brick Lane looking towards the City. By Amelia.

Of course, there is also the possibility that the neighbouring Katla volcano may blow. A far bigger beast, she has accompanied every single of Eyjafjallajökull’s previous eruptions. How long will this situation continue to affect our lives? Will there be long term ramifications for the micro-climates of those countries lying under the ash cloud? So many questions remain unanswered… and in the meantime I continue to marvel at this force of nature, showing us exactly who is boss around here.

You can read my original article about Eyjafjallajökull here.

Categories ,6 Music, ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,capitalism, ,Contrails, ,exotic flowers, ,Eyjafjallajökull, ,Fight the Flights, ,Flowers, ,iceland, ,Katla, ,Kenya, ,London Book Fair, ,London City Airport, ,Resilience, ,transition towns, ,Volcano

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | The spectacular eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland: and why I love thee.

Eyjafjallajökull volcano
This is quite obviously not the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. But I liked the picture anyway. A little bit apocalyptic no?

As news reaches me this Friday evening that there will be no flights in and out of UK and most of Europe until at least Monday I can’t help but titter to myself a little bit. Why? Because this act of nature has done what no amount of climate activism has managed to successfully do: prevent a huge amount of CO2 from being emitted. In one single stroke. It has also thrown the aviation industry, diagnosis business and holiday makers into utter disarray. And there is absolutely NOTHING we can do about it.

In the past few days the explosion of the wonderfully named Eyjafjallajökull volcano has caught us totally unaware and unable to cope. The news headlines trumpet stories of the worst crisis to face aviation since World War Two and “the worst travel chaos since 9/11“, viagra 100mg but the fact is that we in the west – with all our fancy infrastructure and semblance of control over just about everything in this world – have no idea what to do about this spontaneous outpouring of ash. We’ve got used to the idea that it is our inalienable right to dash frantically across the globe at the swipe of a credit card, but this event has proved that it isn’t. Not if something completely outside of our control happens. It is forcing people to reconsider how they must travel: the ferries, trains and buses have never been so busy. See! It is possible (especially for short distances) to travel across land. My feeling is that if we were meant to fly then we would have evolved with wings. It’s just not quite right, and we need to reconsider the ease with which we board an aircraft. Maybe we should move at a slower pace after all.

Yes, of course lots of people are suffering and distressed, stuck somewhere, missing important occasions. But the truth is that life goes on and many of those people will band together in the spirit of the Blitz. They will help each other out and make new friends. It is not the end of the world, but instead time for a reminder of how we might re-imagine it. And that is something we desperately need to do, for we cannot keep putting planes in the sky and just hope for the best. The blithely exploding Icelandic volcano is a salient reminder of the fragility of our carefully crafted control. At the end of the day we are at the mercy of the elements, and we can’t always beat them, but instead we must adapt and live with them – humbly. The day after the Great Leader’s Debate Eyjafjallajökull offers a salutary sign of our place in the universe. Our politicians can talk about electoral policies all they want but there are some things over which they have no power.

This morning I watched Sky News scrolling news of the eruption and interviews with top volcano experts, who were grilled about whether they were being over cautious in their recommendations for planes to stay grounded. The Evening Standard tonight explained how the volcano “emits glass and rock particles that can cause planes to crash”. Only by putting the information in the most simple and understandable language can people grasp the enormity of the situation: Yes, it really would be a bad idea to put planes up there, even if you can’t actually see the ash yourself from your kitchen window. It seems so hard to believe that flying a plane could be beaten by something as simple and as old as the earth itself, but of course volcanos are what created the earth. And they aren’t going to stop exploding just to appease us.

There are other upsides. No one has a clue how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull but twitter is alive with the sound of the puntastic #ashtag. And what is my twitter feed full of? The sound of people admiring the clear blue skies up above – not an aeroplane contrail in sight. Before this happened I don’t think anyone had actually stopped to consider just how much our love affair with aviation has come to dominate our surroundings, especially in a big busy airspace like that above London. But now that the telltale pollution trails have vanished we all notice, blissfully. I’ve just cycled into town, and the whole way I had my head tilted upwards, admiring the lack of contrails. It felt so… special.

Eyjafjallajökull volcano no contrails
Look! No contrails this morning above the estate where I live. Just pure blue sky over the spring blossom.

Eyjafjallajökull volcano no contrails
Travelling into town this evening. Still the clearest of skies.

Eyjafjallajökull volcano no contrail
Looking along Oxford Street towards the Post Office Tower. Nothing but clear clear contrail-free skies. Just believe me okay.

Then there is the added excitement of the unknown to deal with. We don’t know how long this eruption will go on for, and we can’t prevent or stop it. This is what the world is. This is the way that Planet Earth, our planet, our ONLY planet behaves. Deal with it everyone. And enjoy moving at a slower pace, admiring the clear skies above.

You can read my follow-up article about clear blue skies here.

Categories ,aviation, ,Blitz, ,Climate Activism, ,Contrails, ,Election, ,Evening Standard, ,Eyjafjallajökull, ,Great Leader’s Debate, ,iceland, ,Planes, ,politics, ,Sky News, ,twitter, ,Volcano

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | The London Book Fair: the volcanic fallout on attendance in April 2010

London Book Fair- empty stand
London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano

The London Book Fair is held yearly at Earls Court in West London and it is the primary place for book publishers, pharm distributors, information pills shippers and producers of associated book paraphernalia to gather and do business together. Yesterday I went down there to find out how my tiny contribution to the book market, Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, is getting along amongst the sea of titles, and to find out just how much attendance had been affected by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

What I found was lots of empty stands. One was for Clarks Worldwide Shipping: the irony was not lost. Some had hastily scribbled notes taped to the table. South African companies were particularly absent, as were visitors from America and Australia. But I met a Swedish man who had travelled overland to get to the book fair, and on one stand the Norwegians were putting on a great deal of fish based canapes. The Scandinavian countries, I am told, always put on a great nosh-up because they are keen to promote their arts to the rest of the world.

London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano
London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano
London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano
London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano

Central Books distributes Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration in the UK, and their stand is located in the second arena, just behind the discount booksellers. I suspect most people will only pass this area in search of the tasty Scandinavian snacks beyond. (The beauty of hospitality at the book fair is that anyone can dive in, anywhere. Just head down an aisle in the direction of any cluster of people and you’re bound to find a mini party that you can join.)

London Book Fair- Scandinavian Snacks

My book was sandwiched between a photo book about the seasons and a guide to London. And beneath two memorable tomes by different authors, joined in their delusions: The Hockey Stick Illusion and The Wind Farm Scam. Both clearly my kind of book. I skim read the intro to the latter, and discovered no clear idea of what exactly is suggested as an alternative energy source. Suffice to say I will not be reading this book to find out. Sadly I don’t think I’ll be attracting a multitude of buyers given the company that Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration is keeping.

London Book Fair - Central Books

At Idea Books – who look after my international sales – my book looked more comfortable, sandwiched between lots of other idiosyncratic art books. One that I particularly took a shine to was a hardback photography book called Diggers and Dreamers by the wonderfully named Love Enqvist, which documents the utopian vision of architects across the world. One place I had not heard about is called Arcosanti, in the Arizona Desert. It’s been a work in progress since 1970, a vision of the Italian architect Paolo Soleri, who invented the concept of “arcology” – where buildings are designed to interact with the living environment. What remains is a brutalist masterpiece and there are plans afoot to complete the rest of the dream.

London Book Fair- Idea Books

Over at Gestalten I had a cheery chat with Lee who works down the road in Spitalfields. Two books in his roster really caught my eye, The Upset compilation of young artists, and Flowerhead by Olaf Hajek. He also introduced me to the second issue of Elephant magazine; produced by Marc Valli of Magma Books, who I am more used to dealing with concerning sales of Amelia’s Magazine. It’s a beautifully produced affair by someone who is up to his eyeballs in the design world every day of the week.

London Book Fair-The Upset, Gestalten
London Book Fair-Flowerhead, Olaf Hajek, Gestalten

Black Dog woo-ed me onto their stand with a new title, The Front Room: Migrant Aesthetics in the Home. As well as being intrigued by the assimilation of different cultures I’ve always loved a bit of kitsch, so this looks like a thoroughly fascinating book that I hope to be able to review.

London Book Fair- The Front Room, Blackdog

As the witching hour fell I wound along the aisles, snaffling a peanut here, a glass of water there (yes really, I didn’t take advantage of the free wine.) A few people said with resignation that the fair seemed very quiet but everyone was sanguine as to the reasons why. It will be interesting to see how the lack of visitors from further afield impacts book sales in the long run – but most predict far busier fairs in New York and Frankfurt later this year.

London Book Fair- empty stand

In the meantime if you would like to stock Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration in your shop, please get in touch with Central Books or for international buyers, Idea Books. Or alternatively just drop me an email.

Categories ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Arcosanti, ,Arizona, ,Black Dog, ,Canapes, ,Central Books, ,Diggers and Dreamers, ,Earls Court, ,Elephant magazine, ,Eyjafjallajökull, ,Gestalten, ,Idea Books, ,London Book Fair, ,Magma Books, ,Marc Valli, ,Olaf Hajek, ,Paolo Soleri, ,The Front Room, ,The Upset, ,Volcano

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | The London Book Fair: the volcanic fallout on attendance in April 2010

London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano

The London Book Fair is held yearly at Earls Court in West London and it is the primary place for book publishers, distributors, shippers and producers of associated book paraphernalia to gather and do business together. Yesterday I went down there to find out how my tiny contribution to the book market, Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, is getting along amongst the sea of titles, and to find out just how much attendance had been affected by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

What I found was lots of empty stands. One was for Clarks Worldwide Shipping: the irony was not lost. Some had hastily scribbled notes taped to the table. South African companies were particularly absent, as were visitors from America and Australia. But I met a Swedish man who had travelled overland to get to the book fair, and on one stand the Norwegians were putting on a great deal of fish based canapes. The Scandinavian countries, I am told, always put on a great nosh-up because they are keen to promote their arts to the rest of the world.

London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano
London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano
London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano
London Book Fair- empty stands due to volcano

Central Books distributes Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration in the UK, and their stand is located in the second arena, just behind the discount booksellers. I suspect most people will only pass this area in search of the tasty Scandinavian snacks beyond. (The beauty of hospitality at the book fair is that anyone can dive in, anywhere. Just head down an aisle in the direction of any cluster of people and you’re bound to find a mini party that you can join.)

London Book Fair- Scandinavian Snacks

My book was sandwiched between a photo book about the seasons and a guide to London. And beneath two memorable tomes by different authors, joined in their delusions: The Hockey Stick Illusion and The Wind Farm Scam. Both clearly my kind of book. I skim read the intro to the latter, and discovered no clear idea of what exactly is suggested as an alternative energy source. Suffice to say I will not be reading this book to find out. Sadly I don’t think I’ll be attracting a multitude of buyers given the company that Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration is keeping.

London Book Fair - Central Books

At Idea Books – who look after my international sales – my book looked more comfortable, sandwiched between lots of other idiosyncratic art books. One that I particularly took a shine to was a hardback photography book called Diggers and Dreamers by the wonderfully named Love Enqvist, which documents the utopian vision of architects across the world. One place I had not heard about is called Arcosanti, in the Arizona Desert. It’s been a work in progress since 1970, a vision of the Italian architect Paolo Soleri, who invented the concept of “arcology” – where buildings are designed to interact with the living environment. What remains is a brutalist masterpiece and there are plans afoot to complete the rest of the dream.

London Book Fair- Idea Books

Over at Gestalten I had a cheery chat with Lee who works down the road in Spitalfields. Two books in his roster really caught my eye, The Upset compilation of young artists, and Flowerhead by Olaf Hajek. He also introduced me to the second issue of Elephant magazine; produced by Marc Valli of Magma Books, who I am more used to dealing with concerning sales of Amelia’s Magazine. It’s a beautifully produced affair by someone who is up to his eyeballs in the design world every day of the week.

London Book Fair-The Upset, Gestalten
London Book Fair-Flowerhead, Olaf Hajek, Gestalten

Black Dog woo-ed me onto their stand with a new title, The Front Room: Migrant Aesthetics in the Home. As well as being intrigued by the assimilation of different cultures I’ve always loved a bit of kitsch, so this looks like a thoroughly fascinating book that I hope to be able to review.

London Book Fair- The Front Room, Blackdog

As the witching hour fell I wound along the aisles, snaffling a peanut here, a glass of water there (yes really, I didn’t take advantage of the free wine.) A few people said with resignation that the fair seemed very quiet but everyone was sanguine as to the reasons why. It will be interesting to see how the lack of visitors from further afield impacts book sales in the long run – but most predict far busier fairs in New York and Frankfurt later this year.

London Book Fair- empty stand

In the meantime if you would like to stock Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration in your shop, please get in touch with Central Books or for international buyers, Idea Books. Or alternatively just drop me an email.



Categories ,Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration, ,Arcosanti, ,Arizona, ,Black Dog, ,Canapes, ,Central Books, ,Diggers and Dreamers, ,Earls Court, ,Elephant magazine, ,Eyjafjallajökull, ,Gestalten, ,Idea Books, ,London Book Fair, ,Magma Books, ,Marc Valli, ,Olaf Hajek, ,Paolo Soleri, ,The Front Room, ,The Upset, ,Volcano

Similar Posts:

Bookmark this:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • MySpace
  • del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Digg
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Technorati
  • LinkedIn

Amelia’s Magazine | Jerwood Drawing Prize 2010: Exhibition Review

Transition Heathrow
Jerwood drawing 2010-Lesley Halliwell
Detail of Drip, information pills 20 Assorted Colour Inks by Lesley Halliwell.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize opened a few weeks ago with a suitably boozy party that I attended for just long enough to swing around the exhibits. The prize was set up to challenge what constitutes ‘drawing’ and there was plenty of painting, 3D abstract art, embroidery – the wonderful Tattoo Face by Julie Cockburn – and even a sculpture on display. In fact, the sculpture, which I paid little attention to, won second prize. What does tie the whole shebang together is the delicacy of production. Everything is carefully considered, finely rendered and inherently beautiful, making it an unmissable exhibition for anyone working in the illustrative or fine arts.

Verran, Virginia Bolus-Space (Signal)

First prize went to a gorgeous abstract round painting in felt tips called Bolus-Space (Signal) by Virginia Verran, a fine art tutor from Falmouth University. I find it heartening that a tutor should win this award because so often those who teach don’t find the time to do themselves. Virginia has shown other recent work at the Emma Hill Eagle Gallery.

Cadi Foehlich untitled (tea table)

Cadi Froelich won the second prize with her Untitled (tea table). Cadi is a bit of an enigma: still completing a foundation degree in Brighton, despite having exhibited “internationally”. If anything pushed the conventional boundaries of what it means to draw, this ring marked piece was certainly it. Student prizes were won by Warren Andrews and the double act of James Eden & Olly Rooks, though I have no idea what their submissions were as I didn’t make a note of them.

Here, for your delection, are my personal favourites:

Miyazaki_Geometrical Lyricism
Naoko Miyazaki shows a delicate paper abstraction entitled Geometrical Lyricism.

O'mahony
Michael O’Mahony’s long haired portraits feature the random thoughts of a multi-hued brain. I like the addition of a fag.

Meschko_Wandering
Wandering, is a more traditional entry – a beautiful fuzzy grey penciled drawing of a church from Ben Meschko.

Huddleston_Poppy
Poppy by Donna Huddleston is an art deco influenced abstraction of some lady figures… almost fashion plate-esque. Pale and beautiful.

Halliwell
Lesley Halliwell has gone crazy with the spirograph to fabulous effect, producing Drip, 20 Assorted Colour Inks in garish multicolour.

Jerwood drawing 2010-Martin Huxter
Martin Huxter chose that artist’s favourite, the human skull, this time embellished with real human hair in The Very Hairs From My Lady’s Head. Disconcerting and intriguing.

Salan_Homeless Man
Raji Salan illustrates a wild bearded man in felt tip pens for Homeless Man. He wears a baggy old shell suit that almost, but not quite, overwhelms his hair… however it’s the unexpected red lushness of his lips that really stands out.

Hannah Wooll Portait of a Girl
Hannah Wooll’s portrait is of an altogether more kitsch inspired ilk: heavily pencilled hair engulfing a small elfin face within a grainy wood frame.

Moreton_Street LIfe
Laura Moreton-Griffiths has put together a beautiful woodblock-esque panorama of Street Life, though closer inspection shows that it is rendered in indian ink.

Schmid_Apres Nous
Louise Schmid’s Apes Nous is an intriguing abstraction in pretty colours .

Tomiyasu_Untitled (Unkown 3 Victorian)
Yuma Tomiyasu’s Untitled (Unknown 3, Victorian) pretty much does what it says on the tin. The Victorian bit that is; a beautiful dainty image.

Fowler_Submission
Nina Fowler has likewise produced a beautiful drawing of three women, Submission, in sharply defined pencil relief. What is their connection? We shall never know why they look so yearning.

Fieldsend_The Garden of Sleep
An old fashioned looking rendition of a beach is placed side by side with a blank section for Paul Fieldsend-Danks work The Garden of Sleep, which includes charcoal dust in it’s ingredients. Orb-like white blobs hover over the crowds.

Page_Twenty Six Horror Houses
Another street scene comes from Michael Page. His Twenty-six Horror Houses are shown piled on top of each other against a bloody ketchup red backdrop.

Cathy Lomax Outfit 38- Taupe Linen
Amelia’s Mag favourite Cathy Lomax was spotted at the exhibition loitering as far away as possible from her beautiful but long titled work Outfit 38: Taupe Linen, Sleeveless Dress with Racer Back and Back Zip (Castevets’ New Years Party). Cathy runs the Transition Art Gallery, Garageland magazine and the Arty fanzine. She’s a veritable whirlwind of artistic talent.

Jerwood Chris Agnew The Way of the Future
The Way of the Future by Chris Agnew is a curious thing, an etching on resin, glowing as if alive with the power of a sacred megalith.

Jerwood Edward Lawrenson Ash Cloud
A similarly orange work, Ash Cloud, from Edward Lawrenson must surely have been inspired by the wonderful antics of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

Jerwood drawing 2010 Srinivas Surti
Last, but not least, Srinivas Surti’s Joss Stick Billboard is a laser cut collage created on a laminate floorboard to evoke a surreal post-apocalyptic half decaying tower block. Drawing, but not as we traditionally know it.

The exhibition runs until 7th November and all further details can be found on our previous listing. Highly recommended.

Categories ,arty, ,Ben Meschko, ,Bolus-Space (Signal), ,Cadi Froelich, ,Cathy Lomax, ,Chris Agnew, ,Donna Huddleston, ,Edward Lawrenson, ,Emma Hill Eagle Gallery, ,Eyjafjallajökull, ,Falmouth University, ,Garageland magazine, ,Hannah Wooll, ,James Eden & Olly Rooks, ,Jerwood, ,Jerwood Drawing Prize, ,Julie Cockburn, ,Laura Moreton-Griffiths, ,Lesley Halliwell, ,Louise Schmid, ,Martin Huxter, ,Michael O’Mahony, ,Michael Page, ,Naoko Miyazaki, ,Nina Fowler, ,Paul Fieldsend-Danks, ,Raji Salan, ,Srinivas Surti, ,Transition Art Gallery, ,Virginia Verran, ,Volcano, ,Yuma Tomiyasu

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | Jerwood Drawing Prize 2010: Exhibition Review

Transition Heathrow
Jerwood drawing 2010-Lesley Halliwell
Detail of Drip, information pills 20 Assorted Colour Inks by Lesley Halliwell.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize opened a few weeks ago with a suitably boozy party that I attended for just long enough to swing around the exhibits. The prize was set up to challenge what constitutes ‘drawing’ and there was plenty of painting, 3D abstract art, embroidery – the wonderful Tattoo Face by Julie Cockburn – and even a sculpture on display. In fact, the sculpture, which I paid little attention to, won second prize. What does tie the whole shebang together is the delicacy of production. Everything is carefully considered, finely rendered and inherently beautiful, making it an unmissable exhibition for anyone working in the illustrative or fine arts.

Verran, Virginia Bolus-Space (Signal)

First prize went to a gorgeous abstract round painting in felt tips called Bolus-Space (Signal) by Virginia Verran, a fine art tutor from Falmouth University. I find it heartening that a tutor should win this award because so often those who teach don’t find the time to do themselves. Virginia has shown other recent work at the Emma Hill Eagle Gallery.

Cadi Foehlich untitled (tea table)

Cadi Froelich won the second prize with her Untitled (tea table). Cadi is a bit of an enigma: still completing a foundation degree in Brighton, despite having exhibited “internationally”. If anything pushed the conventional boundaries of what it means to draw, this ring marked piece was certainly it. Student prizes were won by Warren Andrews and the double act of James Eden & Olly Rooks, though I have no idea what their submissions were as I didn’t make a note of them.

Here, for your delection, are my personal favourites:

Miyazaki_Geometrical Lyricism
Naoko Miyazaki shows a delicate paper abstraction entitled Geometrical Lyricism.

O'mahony
Michael O’Mahony’s long haired portraits feature the random thoughts of a multi-hued brain. I like the addition of a fag.

Meschko_Wandering
Wandering, is a more traditional entry – a beautiful fuzzy grey penciled drawing of a church from Ben Meschko.

Huddleston_Poppy
Poppy by Donna Huddleston is an art deco influenced abstraction of some lady figures… almost fashion plate-esque. Pale and beautiful.

Halliwell
Lesley Halliwell has gone crazy with the spirograph to fabulous effect, producing Drip, 20 Assorted Colour Inks in garish multicolour.

Jerwood drawing 2010-Martin Huxter
Martin Huxter chose that artist’s favourite, the human skull, this time embellished with real human hair in The Very Hairs From My Lady’s Head. Disconcerting and intriguing.

Salan_Homeless Man
Raji Salan illustrates a wild bearded man in felt tip pens for Homeless Man. He wears a baggy old shell suit that almost, but not quite, overwhelms his hair… however it’s the unexpected red lushness of his lips that really stands out.

Hannah Wooll Portait of a Girl
Hannah Wooll’s portrait is of an altogether more kitsch inspired ilk: heavily pencilled hair engulfing a small elfin face within a grainy wood frame.

Moreton_Street LIfe
Laura Moreton-Griffiths has put together a beautiful woodblock-esque panorama of Street Life, though closer inspection shows that it is rendered in indian ink.

Schmid_Apres Nous
Louise Schmid’s Apes Nous is an intriguing abstraction in pretty colours .

Tomiyasu_Untitled (Unkown 3 Victorian)
Yuma Tomiyasu’s Untitled (Unknown 3, Victorian) pretty much does what it says on the tin. The Victorian bit that is; a beautiful dainty image.

Fowler_Submission
Nina Fowler has likewise produced a beautiful drawing of three women, Submission, in sharply defined pencil relief. What is their connection? We shall never know why they look so yearning.

Fieldsend_The Garden of Sleep
An old fashioned looking rendition of a beach is placed side by side with a blank section for Paul Fieldsend-Danks work The Garden of Sleep, which includes charcoal dust in it’s ingredients. Orb-like white blobs hover over the crowds.

Page_Twenty Six Horror Houses
Another street scene comes from Michael Page. His Twenty-six Horror Houses are shown piled on top of each other against a bloody ketchup red backdrop.

Cathy Lomax Outfit 38- Taupe Linen
Amelia’s Mag favourite Cathy Lomax was spotted at the exhibition loitering as far away as possible from her beautiful but long titled work Outfit 38: Taupe Linen, Sleeveless Dress with Racer Back and Back Zip (Castevets’ New Years Party). Cathy runs the Transition Art Gallery, Garageland magazine and the Arty fanzine. She’s a veritable whirlwind of artistic talent.

Jerwood Chris Agnew The Way of the Future
The Way of the Future by Chris Agnew is a curious thing, an etching on resin, glowing as if alive with the power of a sacred megalith.

Jerwood Edward Lawrenson Ash Cloud
A similarly orange work, Ash Cloud, from Edward Lawrenson must surely have been inspired by the wonderful antics of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull.

Jerwood drawing 2010 Srinivas Surti
Last, but not least, Srinivas Surti’s Joss Stick Billboard is a laser cut collage created on a laminate floorboard to evoke a surreal post-apocalyptic half decaying tower block. Drawing, but not as we traditionally know it.

The exhibition runs until 7th November and all further details can be found on our previous listing. Highly recommended.

Categories ,arty, ,Ben Meschko, ,Bolus-Space (Signal), ,Cadi Froelich, ,Cathy Lomax, ,Chris Agnew, ,Donna Huddleston, ,Edward Lawrenson, ,Emma Hill Eagle Gallery, ,Eyjafjallajökull, ,Falmouth University, ,Garageland magazine, ,Hannah Wooll, ,James Eden & Olly Rooks, ,Jerwood, ,Jerwood Drawing Prize, ,Julie Cockburn, ,Laura Moreton-Griffiths, ,Lesley Halliwell, ,Louise Schmid, ,Martin Huxter, ,Michael O’Mahony, ,Michael Page, ,Naoko Miyazaki, ,Nina Fowler, ,Paul Fieldsend-Danks, ,Raji Salan, ,Srinivas Surti, ,Transition Art Gallery, ,Virginia Verran, ,Volcano, ,Yuma Tomiyasu

Similar Posts: