Farewell to all that technology……

Today is Remembrance Sunday and I thought about a school visit I did, talking to some children about picture books and that type of thing. One little girl asked me about The Frank Show which is a book about a boy whose grandfather is a source of some embarrassment to him, until he learns a little about Frank's life.

The girl pointed to the picture below and asked me what type of phone Frank was using. I said it wasn't a phone but a hearing aid to help him hear things better. And she said that if he had a phone he could show people pictures about his life instead of telling stories all the time.

I had to agree with her. But Frank was probably too busy to take pictures during the war because he was a soldier and had lots of more important things to do. She thought that hearing aids were a good idea.

I like how pictures can generate questions as well as make statements about things. Someone told me that children born this century don't recognise a dial-telephone. If they see it they can ask, is my opinion. It keeps them thinking and asking and learning.

Frank wouldn't be patient enough to work a smartphone anyway.

Bluetooth bypassed Frank.

Bluetooth bypassed Frank.

Shouldn't you be working?…

Nothing to see here. 

A Dog With Nice Ears launched…

A Dog with Nice Ears was launched in Battersea Park, in earshot of the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and a stone's throw from the Chelsea Hospital. Lauren Child stood on a chair and spoke to the baying crowd. There was a professional dog show where a small dog put a tiny load of washing into a minuscule washing machine. I've never seen such a thing in my life before then, but I swear it happened.

If you like dogs, have thought about getting a dog, or have a vivid imagination, you might like this book too.

doglaunch_nice_3.jpg
lauren child book launch

The Mediterranean…

Armin Greder's new book The Mediterranean is another impressive observation of the risks displaced people take to make a better life. See Armin's books The Island and Flight, and you'll see what I mean. 

Wordless – apart from an opening sentence – the pictures tell a backstory that is familiar but often forgotten by others when refugees arrive in a foreign place. Or at least try.

The dramatic lighting in the photos of the book is unintentional. Believe me, it's not needed.

Come up and see me sometime…

"An artist's studio should be a small space because small rooms discipline the mind and large ones distract it." – Leonardo da Vinci

Yeah, right.

Shocking images have emerged of various studios I have had. I have always tried to apply Leonardo's theory, but maybe his air conditioners didn't buzz and hum and drip water all over his drawings. Oddly, every studio has been on the first floor of a building.

All I need is desk space to spread things out. Nowadays, I do like having a desk with locking wheels. 

Heavens above…