IT'S THE SEASON

I've done two versions: the first one can be interpreted as a traditional image but I intended it as a memorial for all the children...and their mothers...and their fathers... who perished this year because of conflicts and disease and poverty and other disasters. It's a sad card, not in tune with all the jollity and buying and selling and eating and drinking.

I cut the image in a vinyl block. The print below is on gold handmade paper but most of the others I printed were in black on white paper.

My second card is more cheerful and represents a hopeful star in a hopeless world.
I drew it on a graphic tablet using ArtRage software then printed a few on fine art digital paper.

I wish you all a serene and hopeful holiday, however you celebrate or escape from it, and may the New Year bring us, and the whole world, all the joy and peace we deserve.

Thank you for stopping by over here, my friends, you are always welcome and always appreciated.

TRANS-SIBERIAN PROSODY AND LITTLE JEANNE FROM FRANCE IS ON THE TABLE!

Just the first two bound copies, not yet the full edition, but enough to show the beautiful printing and binding, the beautiful translation and the beautiful images. Congratulations to Nicolas and Frances McDowall (The Old Stile Press), to their binders in Northumberland, to Dick Jones and of course to yours truly, for all the hard work of completing this demanding, exciting and historic project. The final pages include afterwords by Dick Jones, Miriam Cendrars (Blaise Cendrars' daughter) and myself. Actual publication date, prices and the whereabouts of a launch are yet to be announced but watch this space and the OSP website.

As far as we know, this is the only illustrated version of Blaise Cendrars' famous poem to appear since the original edition of 1913, published and typeset by Cendrars himself with abstract images by Sonia Delaunay. A very interesting article about Cendrars appeared recently in the Times Literary Supplement which you can read here.

Technical details: the bound book in its slipcase measures 35.5 x 30.8 cms (14 x 13.5 inches). The slipcase is covered in bronze-coloured metallic cloth with a blocked-on image of Cendrars which I did for the half-title page. The binding is in red and blue Fabriano paper on boards with cloth spine. The standard edition consists of 150 copies bound as above. There are also 10 Special copies in a solander box containing the book plus a folder with 4 extra prints: two new images and two from the edition, all printed by me on paper I pre-coloured in acrylics (see photos below). I am informed by Frances that all but one of the Special copies have already been ordered.

The shadow stripes in the above and some other photos are not on the paper but from blinds on my window.