All Things Considered

The Unsophisticated Arts
Posted by Simon Lewin

Another Barbara Jones post! Our friends at Little Toller have just republished The Unsophisticated Arts in which Barbara Jones records the art of everyday life. She travelled throughout Britain visiting fairgrounds, tattoo parlours, taxidermists, houseboats, high street shops, seaside piers and amusement arcades.

The book was first published in 1951, the same year that Barbara Jones curated the ‘Black Eyes and Lemonade’ exhibition for the Festival of Britain. These two events were definitive in the history of popular art, creating a vibrant snapshot of culture in postwar Britain which has influenced generations of artists and designers ever since.

This new edition includes previously unpublished ephemera and art from Barbara Jones’s studio including watercolour, ink and pencil studies from her sketchbooks which reveal her lifelong fascination with vernacular art.

Find out more about the book or take a look at a few pages from the original catalogue for Black Eyes & Lemonade.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 30th, 2013

Mark Hearld
Posted by Simon Lewin

And here are some of pieces Mark Hearld will be exhibiting as part of York Open Studios.

Both Mark Hearld and Emily Sutton will taking part in our next St. Jude's In The City event in Edinburgh in July. If you'd like to attend the opening, sign up for an invitation.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 11th, 2013

A conversation with Ed Kluz
Posted by Simon Lewin

We're pleased to announce the launch of a short film about the work of Ed Kluz.

Filmed and edited by Alun Callender, Ed Kluz discusses his work, inspiration and working practices. The film is shot on location at Racton Tower in West Sussex and at Ed's Brighton studio and home.

Ed is currently collaborating with us at St Jude's on a range of fabrics and wallpapers. You might like to take a look at his Painswick and Lionheart fabrics.

Ed will also be taking part in an exhibition of prints, paintings and collages that we're organising in Edinburgh in July.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 10th, 2013

Paul Bommer
Posted by Simon Lewin

Printmaker and illustrator Paul Bommer has an exhibition in Norwich from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th April 2013.

'Sack & Sugar' is a selling exhibition of Paul's limited edition prints and Delft tiles.

Paul is a graduate of the National College of Art & Design in Dublin. Working until quite recently in the East End of London, Paul has now relocated to the wilds of the north Norfolk coast seeking space and new inspiration.

Paul's work is informed by an irreverent humour and a love of character, history and a rich sense of time and place, captured with a deft line. He is currently focussing on limited edition screen prints and decorated ceramics which include limited edition tiles and private fireplace commissions.

If you're unable to visit the exhibition at Yallops Gallery, 59 St. Augustine's Street, Norwich NR3 3BG, we're pleased to offer a selection of Paul's prints over at our online gallery.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 8th, 2013

Silt
Posted by Simon Lewin

 In The Old Ways, Robert Macfarlane continues to write about his experience of walking and observing as he passes through landscapes - some dramatic and some more mundane. 

For Silt, one of the most striking chapters of his brilliant recent book, bestselling travel writer Robert Macfarlane walked the Broomway, the notorious 'deadliest path in Britain'.

He was accompanied on this journey along along the Essex offshore path (which has claimed the lives of more than sixty people over the centuries) by his friend and accomplished photographer David Quentin.

Penguin Books are publishing a special e-book edition of Silt which will feature all of David's photographs from the journey, all taken on 35mm black and white film using a Leica rangefinder.

Until April 13th 2013 the photographs are exhibited in London at 4 Windmill Street, accompanied by a specially commissioned sound piece by musicians Jimmy Cripps and Rico Borza, and sound designer Jesse T. Rybolt. Find out more

You'll find lots of Robert Macfarlane related content published by our friends Caught By The River.

Posted by Simon Lewin on April 4th, 2013

Bernard Cheese
Posted by Angie Lewin

We had the pleasure of printmaker Chloe Cheese’s company recently. She was staying with us in Edinburgh, working on images for our forthcoming St. Jude’s In The City exhibition at The Scottish Gallery in July.

A short time after her return south we were saddened to hear from Chloe that her father, the painter and printmaker Bernard Cheese, had passed away.

I was very lucky to be taught by Bernard throughout my three years at Central St. Martin’s in the 1980s. He inspired me in all aspects of printmaking, especially linocut, lithography and the inclusion of collage in my work and was particularly encouraging in the run up to my final show.

Married to Sheila Robinson, Bernard Cheese lived in Great Bardfield in the 1950s, exhibiting regularly in local exhibitions with neighbours Edward Bawden, John Aldridge, Michael Rothenstein and Marianne Straub.

The images below are courtesy of The Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden who hold many of Bernard’s prints in their archives.

And here’s an obituary from The Guardian.

Chloe Cheese will be one of the ten printmakers taking part in our St. Jude's In The City exhibition in Edinburgh in July.

Posted by Angie Lewin on April 2nd, 2013

Barbara Jones
Posted by Simon Lewin

Regulars will know we're long time fans of Barbara Jones' work.

Born in 1912, Barbara Jones studied at the R.C.A. and was a pioneer in the field of popular culture, demonstrated by the book ‘The Unsophisticated Arts’ - published in 1951 and described by Peter Blake as “a treasure trove of information about popular art”.

In 2009, Ruth Artmonsky published a book on Jones’ work - “A Snapper Up Of Unconsidered Trifles” which we recommend.

We were very lucky to source a copy of the poster for her 'Black Eyes & Lemonade' exhibition in 1951 and a copy of the catalogue for the exhibition - we've put a few pages of that online.

Our friends at Quad Royal share our passion for Barbara Jones' work as you'll see here and here.

We have a few of Jones' original drawings and sketchbooks which we'll share before too long.

We've been prompted to post this for two reasons.

Until 9th March 2013 there's an exhibition of British murals and decorative painting in London organised by Liss Fine Art which features the magnificent 6' x 12' piece Out in the Hall (below).

The exhibition brings together many of the important murals and decorative cycles undertaken in Britain between 1910 and 1970. Not featured in the exhibition is our gouache piece 'Shelf and Mirror' (below) which we believe was a working drawing for a mural for the ocean liner SS Orsova.

We're also pleased to hear that The Museum of British Folklore are working on a collaborative exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery which will look at Jones' unique curatorial approach to her Black Eyes and Lemonade exhibition. More news on that soon.

Posted by Simon Lewin on February 24th, 2013

Burns Miscellany
Posted by Angie Lewin

Jonny Hannah's 'Burns Miscellany' landed on our doormat today with spontaneous drawings printed onto vibrant coloured pages. Timorous Sassanachs that we are, we didn't indulge in traditional the haggis fare last night but are big fans of Tunnocks of all varieties - including Mark Hearld's collage, exhibited at Godfrey & Watt in 2011 (see last image).

You can see more of Jonny's printmaking over at St. Jude's Prints.

Posted by Angie Lewin on January 26th, 2013

Lionheart
Posted by Simon Lewin

It's always great to see how our fabrics are used. Although it's printed on an upholstery weight linen, Luke Edward Hall couldn't resist tailoring this shirt from Ed Kluz's Lionheart fabric for Patrick Wolf to wear on his tour last year.

We'll soon be adding a 3rd colourway of Lionheart - sign up for our St. Jude's fabric newsletter for details. And who knows, we might even look at printing this on a lighter weight cloth.

Find out more about Luke Edward Hall and visit Ed Kluz's blog.

Posted by Simon Lewin on January 25th, 2013

Ed Kluz – Open House – Brighton
Posted by Simon Lewin

Artist, designer and illustrator Ed Kluz opens his home in Brighton this weekend with a selling exhibition of paintings, prints, drawings and paper collages inspired by local history and landmarks. His screen-printed fabrics designed for St Jude’s will also be on show with cushion covers available for purchase. A range of Christmas decorative papers and items will also be on sale.

The exhibition is on the third floor of an 1820s townhouse on Norfolk Square. Be prepared for stairs. Find out more

Posted by Simon Lewin on December 12th, 2012