I've had to shut down all media, including the BBC website as I am SICK TO DEATH of those annoying, expensive and irrelevant idiots who are about to embark upon an outdated institution of which I have no respect.
Jewellery talk and more from Dauvit Alexander, The Justified Sinner.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Triumph Of Maximilian I
Anyone familiar with my recent work knows that I'm very keen on scrolls and banners! In Sheffield last month, I went to an exhibition of woodcuts by Hans Burgkmair (and others) dating from around 1512 and which were commissioned by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I as a means of commemorating himself after he died. It seems that Maximilian I was obsessed with his own death and immortality. One of the most amazing features of these prints - for me - was the scrolls and banners portrayed in them:
As part of the exhibition, there was a book of the prints available to view, one published by Dover Paperbacks in 1964 and harder to find than hen's teeth. (I did manage to find a copy on ABE books but it has subsequently gone "missing" in the post, which, as we all know, means that it has been stolen.)
Having searched extensively online for the book in PDF or similar format, I stumbled across the whole 60 or so pages on the website of the University of Graz with the added bonus of them having been coloured at some point, the woodcuts in the exhibition and the book being black and white.
The prints are amazing and well worth looking at, especially if you have an interest in European history during this time. There is much here that will be appearing in my future works.
As part of the exhibition, there was a book of the prints available to view, one published by Dover Paperbacks in 1964 and harder to find than hen's teeth. (I did manage to find a copy on ABE books but it has subsequently gone "missing" in the post, which, as we all know, means that it has been stolen.)
Having searched extensively online for the book in PDF or similar format, I stumbled across the whole 60 or so pages on the website of the University of Graz with the added bonus of them having been coloured at some point, the woodcuts in the exhibition and the book being black and white.
The prints are amazing and well worth looking at, especially if you have an interest in European history during this time. There is much here that will be appearing in my future works.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
more gormenghast
When I was in my early 20s, I read compulsively Mervyn Peake's trilogy, "Titus Groan", "Gormenghast" and "Titus Alone", a remarkable body of work which is, superficially, fantasy writing: Alas! it is too often dismissed as such. In fact, what Peake created was a fantastical portrait of a rigid, class-ridden society on the brink of collapse, a parable for Britain in the early-mid 20th Century.
As mentioned before, a gift of a polymer clay owl skull prompted me to create a piece based on an episode from the book in which Sepulchrave, 76th Earl of Groan, is driven to insanity by the burning of his library, the madness leading to him believing that he has become an owl.
This is where the piece has got to since that post:
As mentioned before, a gift of a polymer clay owl skull prompted me to create a piece based on an episode from the book in which Sepulchrave, 76th Earl of Groan, is driven to insanity by the burning of his library, the madness leading to him believing that he has become an owl.
This is where the piece has got to since that post:
Overall form of the piece. The skull will sit in the central section and will wear the ruby-set crown.
Hand-pierced and carved lettering on a scroll made from found, corroded iron. The "lens" elements are natural quartz cabochons, enamelled below and showing the letters "S" and "G" for "Sepulchrave Groan".
Closer view of the main piece. The corroded iron key is set with a peridot (tip), a garnet and a natural brown zircon. The section which holds the key is set with a tourmaline. The Section which holds the skull is set behind with an amethyst. The iron chain is set with garnets, quartz and petrified wood.
It is the 100 year anniversary of Mervyn Peake's birth this year, so I'm very pleased that I had the opportunity to make this now.
I am currently torn between chapters of two unbelievably funny books just now: "I Think The Nurses Are Stealing My Clothes: The Very Best of Linda Smith" (a compilation of words by Linda Smith and writings about her by her friends and colleagues) and "It Just Occurred To Me: The Reminiscences and Thoughts of Chairman Humph" (a rambling memoir by Humphrey Lyttleton). It was pure chance that I came to be reading these simultaneously, having bought them both in charity shops when on book-less trips. In one way, it is lovely to be able to laugh at the humour of two of the people of whom I would class myself "a fan" but in another, it is really sad to remember that they have now gone and that those eagerly-awaited 6.30pm Radio Four slots will never be quite as funny as they once were.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Strange Story...
The Strange Story...
Originally uploaded by the justified sinner
Just before the holiday, I was looking for my copy of "Boutell's Heraldry" in order to do a bit of research for a project I have in mind. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it and, more annoyingly, I couldn't remember the name of the book in order to re-order it.
One evening, Dingo mentioned that he had never seen "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", so we decided to watch that (Lazenby should have had a longer run as Bond: way better than any of the others, bar Connery.)
In this film, James Bond is required to pose as an expert on heraldry and in order to infiltrate a woman's room, he arranges to meet her on the pretence of showing her an important book. He picks up the book, of which I immediately recognised the cover. A couple of freeze-frames later and we had enough details for me to order another copy from a second-hand bookshop!
No doubt the original copy will now turn up.
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