In a recent post I have guest-authored for the British Library Asian and African Studies Blog I was invited to write about some of the library’s manuscripts that I have found most inspiring.… Continue reading
Originally posted on The Book & Paper Gathering:
A guest post by Anita Chowdry My last few workshops on shell gold have been particularly rewarding as my participants have all been up for…
Painting and Illumination in Persian and Mughal Books: An exclusive look at Manuscripts in the British Library with Dr Barbara Brend 4 June 2015, 10.00 am – 5.30 pm Cost: £135 Sold Out… Continue reading
Launching a sustainable practice as an artist is challenging, even after graduating from a world-class institution like the University of the Arts London. A career as a visual artist is by definition undefined,… Continue reading
As I periodically offer practical courses on how to make 24 carat “shell gold” pigment, I feel it might be useful to cover some of the applications of this marvellous pigment. The next… Continue reading
“Digital art” is a catch-all phrase with a remit that is mind-bogglingly vast and often prone to generalization. It has been championed in recent years by the Arts Council England; the subject of… Continue reading
The Crypt Gallery at St. Pancras Parish Church hosts a rolling programme of exhibitions, and has become known as one of London’s coolest venues for self-funded shows mounted by artist collectives. This December… Continue reading
I have recently received some fascinating communications in response to my previous “Iron Genie” and “Ingenious Drawing Machines” posts, which the authors have very kindly given me permission to share in the current… Continue reading
I have always been fascinated by early photographs taken during the pioneering years in the nineteenth century… the images are so mysterious and beautiful – literally memories of a moment held in captured… Continue reading
The ultimate study of the harmonograph and its history is provided in a book entitled “Harmonic Vibrations and Vibration Figures” published circa 1909, edited by Herbert C. Newton of Newton & Co., “Scientific… Continue reading
Now in its sixth year, the Kinetica Art Fair (16th – 19th October 2014 at the Old Truman Brewery, Spitalfields, London ) has become an annual fixture in the London art scene. Organised… Continue reading
A frequent comment made by viewers of the Iron Genie harmonograph in action, is that it reminds them of the Spirograph. Most of us are familiar with this childhood toy, which consists of… Continue reading
My abiding interest in pigments and their sources has always been a catalyst for a much wider scope of interest, and in the raft of very human impulses that have shaped the history… Continue reading
Just look at that – a beautiful precious Blue, its subtle variety of shades and striations, shot through with streaks of calcite and glittering iron pyrites, describing some imaginary landscape. It is the… Continue reading
In my previous post I described the process by which we smelted iron and steel from natural ores at Bushfire Forge. Our next challenge was to see whether we could forge useable knives… Continue reading
Last week, in the company of four other participants, I attended a very special workshop at Bushfire Forge, run by master bladesmith Owen Bush. Owen researches and practices historical techniques of bladesmithing, creating… Continue reading
Originally posted on POETOPOGRAPHY:
Last night after attending the private view of BEYOND FAIRYTALES at the Hardy Tree Gallery, I took my girlfriend Julie and my friend David to see Yeats’ flat at…
On Tuesday 8th July we installed my Iron Genie harmonograph at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. This interactive kinetic sculpture will be in the museum’s “Top Gallery” until the 21st.… Continue reading
I had the privilege of hosting at my studio a small group of staff who take care of precious historical manuscripts at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford. They came to examine and… Continue reading
This is an invitation to all my lovely online friends, followers, fellow-artists, brilliant people and supporters to subscribe to my new mailing list at “MailChimp”. MailChimp is a bona fide e-mail marketing company… Continue reading
An artist who had seen some of my previous posts recently gave me a tip-off about an antiquarian harmonograph book at a local Bloomsbury bookshop …. need I say more? Of course I… Continue reading
It is the season of degree shows, and Central Saint Martin’s Show One, featuring students graduating from the Fine Art courses, is currently open to the public until the 27th May. Having graduated… Continue reading
Bloomsbury is blessed with a wealth of superb second-hand and antiquarian bookshops, so it takes little encouragement for me to fuel my addiction to rare and interesting books. I recently hit a windfall… Continue reading
Imagine stepping into an immersive alien environment, your senses heightened, flipping through your mental memory-files trying to make sense of the space and time to which you have been transported…. a vast, dark… Continue reading
On the 17th March I gave a paper called More than the Colour Red: The unspoken symbolism of cinnabar pigment in Indian painting at a fascinating conference hosted at the University of Cambridge,… Continue reading
As I briefly mentioned the art of marginal design as one of the arts of Islamic manuscript production in my previous post, I thought I would share a few details from a very… Continue reading
Examining and re-creating an historical manuscript page is one of the best ways to understand the processes that went into its making, and one that I have employed several times in the course… Continue reading
Update 23 Feb 2014: Thankfully the conservation staff at the National Library and Archives and the team at Thesaurus Islamicus Foundation have managed to save all the manuscripts that were on display, though… Continue reading
The heavy steel harmonograph sculpture on which I have been working for more than a year is finally finished and working, and it is time to give it the debut it deserves! It… Continue reading
The crypt is guarded by a row of Caryatids; beneath their solemn gaze, great red doors of steel protect the subterranean mausoleum. The crypt is part of St. Pancras Parish Church, an iconic… Continue reading
The Emperor Shah Jahan, who reigned over the vast Mughal empire in India from 1628 – 1658, was responsible for some of the most exquisite architecture ever seen. The favorite grandson of Emperor… Continue reading
One of the most magical things about metals in general is their ability to transmit a wide range of colours under different conditions. The most brilliant and enduring pigments of the pre-industrial painters’… Continue reading
Known by many students and alumni from Central Saint Martin’s college of Art & Design, David Stewart is an inspirational senior technician, artist and teacher of large-scale metalwork. His current exhibition Melancholia at… Continue reading
For a long time I have been intrigued by the exquisite marbled patterning on the blades of antique swords and daggers, and wondered how this was achieved. Surfing online to see what I… Continue reading
Paul Dewis is a master printmaker, and technician at the Byam Shaw Print Centre, part of Central Saint Martin’s college of Art & Design. He has taught me how to etch, and how… Continue reading
The beauty of a large structure is enhanced by attention to detail, and in the case of this harmonograph, the details are rendered in solid brass. Brass details invoke the wonderful scientific and… Continue reading
The first stage of making the steel harmonograph was to cut out and prepare all the structural components. In a sense, the process is a bit like tailoring – you measure and cut… Continue reading
The prototype harmonograph worked well, but I wanted to create something more elegant and original that would paradoxically evoke the sensibilities of the industrial nineteenth century at the same time as expressing the… Continue reading
The image above has been developed using scans of drawings created by the first prototype harmonograph that I created and displayed over a year ago at the Byam Shaw campus of Central Saint… Continue reading
Central Saint Martin’s college of art, part of the University of the Arts, London, is opening its doors to the public for the degree shows. This year the shows are divided into two… Continue reading
A group of second year students on the M.A. Art & Science course at Central Saint Martins, including myself, plus course director Nathan Cohen and our tutor Eleanor Crook, have mounted a group… Continue reading
I am posting this drawing, which I did a while ago, in response to John Baez’s recent post “Rolling Circles” on his Azimuth blog: http://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/rolling-circles-and-balls-part-1/ I really enjoyed reading the discussion, the diagrams,… Continue reading
I spent the brief August heat wave in Paris, rediscovering the beauty and elegance of the city. I love the iconic Art Nouveau entrances of the Paris Metropolitain, designed at the turn of… Continue reading
Silverpoint drawing requires a specially prepared ground because the silverpoint will not make a mark on ordinary paper. Preparing the ground can be a complicated business, and I shall be adding some posts… Continue reading
This silverpoint drawing is by Leonardo da Vinci, in the British Museum collection. It is called ‘Bust of a warrior in profile’ , dated 1475-80, © The Trustees of the British Museum. It… Continue reading
We have now developed a vibrant community of interesting and talented individuals around the weekly drawing classes at the studio, composed mainly of professionals from creative industries or academia. Regular attendance is never… Continue reading
With my Master Classes in Fine Drawing underway at the studio, I thought it would be useful post a list of basic materials that we use, and the best suppliers local to Bloomsbury.… Continue reading
Some time ago I happened upon a venerable 1865 edition of Owen Jones’ Grammar of Ornament in an antiquarian bookshop, and after a month or so of obsessing about it, I decided to… Continue reading
St Pancras Station with its integrated grand hotel is a marvel of high Victorian engineering and design, recently restored and redeveloped as part of a major regeneration project in the King’s Cross area.… Continue reading
My Name is Red is a novel by the celebrated Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. It is a memorable read – a beautifully constructed ‘whodunnit’ set in the visionary world of the miniature painters… Continue reading
