Nicola Streeten

Liquorice Number 7-Dog Special

2011-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

Finally, Liquorice 7 is out! Sally and I are rather pleased with this issue, with a focus on dogs...you even get your own pet dog as a FREE gift.

And here are this issue's dolls to design an outfit for, the competition deadline is 5 Dec - real cash prizes for the winning entries. There's also a quiz to find out what breed you are...you want a copy?

www.liquoricemag.com and now they are available from Orbital Comics in London too.

RCA Secret Postcards 2011

2011-11-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here are my entries for this year's RCA Secret Postcards...

Psychologies Mag December 2011 issue

2011-11-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

Channel 4 News 6 Nov 2011

2011-11-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the Katie Razzell Channel 4 News report on the graphic memoir, with a focus on my graphic novel, BILLY, ME & YOU

BILLY, ME & YOU Reviews

2011-10-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

FINALLY the official publication date for my graphic novel has arrived and what better way to celebrate than with a bunch of wonderful write ups and reviews and...to see it parked on the Highlights stand at Foyles flagship branch in Charing Cross...I have laid out the reviews in full here in chronological order, with links to where they appeared.

Here are the reviews....
Page 45 A fantastic comic shop in Nottingham, but more than that...A HUGE resource exists on their website, especially useful for anyone wanting to find out more about the graphic novel with lots of more autobiographical titles in stock. You can order books from them online. Here's the write up by Jonathan Rigby.

19 October 2011
Jonathan Rigby
Billy, Me & You (£12-99, Myriad) by Nicola Streeten…

The most profoundly moving graphic novel I personally have ever read bar none. Tears were rolling down my face continuously whilst I read it (yes, on the bloody tram again!), and for a good twenty minutes afterwards. Upon finishing it I was actually shaking and felt physically sick. Indeed, even as I start to type this review I can feel the tears welling up once more.

An autobiographical story about the death of a young child is clearly difficult subject matter to tackle, and I don’t doubt a considerable part of my immediate personal reaction to it, is due to recently becoming a Dad to the beautiful Isabella, who seemingly every day manages to steal another little piece of my heart that I didn’t even know existed prior to that moment.

I therefore admire Nicola Streeten massively just simply for having the courage to create this work, which describes the heartbreaking death of her first child Billy aged two during heart surgery, a mere ten days after his condition was diagnosed. I admire her even more for creating a work which is not simply an outpouring of her grief, but instead an acutely insightful look into the nature of such a loss, and an equally insightful portrayal of the reactions of the world around her to it.

Firstly, I simply can’t imagine what it must be like to experience the loss that Nicola did. Even now, just thinking about such a thing happening to my daughter is causing my hands to shake as I type and my eyes to prickle again. Her clarity in explaining the sequence of events and her initial emotional turmoil is just astonishing and so very touching. From there we then move onto her and her partner John’s attempts to come to terms with what has happened, and just exactly how their lives have been so completely shattered in such a devastatingly short space of time. The black and white photograph of some of Billy’s toys, left where he last played with them, taken by John and included here, is unbelievably powerful in this context.

I do suspect anyone who has been through the loss of a loved one, even an older person as my wife has relatively recently with the loss of her much beloved father from cancer, will identify completely with the extreme range of emotional experiences Nicola and John endured. But there is actually also a considerable amount of humour in this section of the work, as we are frequently treated to her thoughts in response to the comments of others, which range from the truly caring to the completely unhelpful, and indeed the occasionally utterly bizarre and inane. Their comments – not her thoughts, I probably should just clarify! It’s an odd thing to find yourself chuckling whilst crying, but I did so on several occasions as Nicola’s thought bubbles uncannily reproduced my wife’s own thoughts in several similar social encounters with, on the face of it, entirely well meaning individuals who seemingly just managed to continually make matters worse with their attempts at consoling her.

When I read Phoebe Potts’ graphic memoir about infertility GOOD EGGS, I found myself struggling to have compassion for her, despite my wife and I going through a similar ordeal ourselves, albeit with a happier outcome as we were eventually blessed with Isabella, simply because I (and also my wife) couldn’t warm to Phoebe remotely as she portrayed herself in that work. Here though, much like Rosalind Penfold’s DRAGONSLIPPERS, which tells the autobiographical story of an abusive relationship, I found myself in complete empathy with Nicola, simply because of the matter of fact portrayal of her story, which has the important quality of feeling like it has been written with a desire to help others who might be experiencing such a horror, as opposed to GOOD EGGS, which feels to me more like Phoebe Potts just wanted to write a comic all about herself and was using her infertility as subject matter to that end. Probably a harsh statement, but in writing an autobiographical work, it’s as important to be clear about why you’re writing it, as in the presentation of the material, in my opinion. At no point in BILLY, ME & YOU did I ever feel that Nicola was attempting to elicit sympathy from the reader. Rather I felt, much like Rosalind achieves with DRAGONSLIPPERS, that there is a genuine sense of the author wanting to reach out to others similarly afflicted and say “You are not alone. Nothing I say can actually make things better for you personally, but I do understand what you are going through.”

I don’t doubt that writing this work some thirteen years on (plus also having been fortunate enough to have another child, and her depiction of the inevitable emotional turmoil the arrival of her daughter Sally engendered in her and John is again in equal parts illuminating and moving) has been a cathartic experience. It’s just I genuinely think achieving such a catharsis wasn’t her primary motivation in doing so. Nor I’m sure was writing a comic about herself.

This caring approach is not the only thing Nicola shares with Rosalind’s DRAGONSLIPPERS, as she also chooses to employ a relatively simplistic, dare I say it, primitive art style here. Now I have no idea whether Nicola is actually as accomplished an artist as Rosalind is (click here – four down, left – for her portrait of Stephen in his ‘distressed’ leather trenchcoat overlooking the Trent in suitably regal manner); I’m sure she probably is, but I think her choice of art style for this work is inspired, as the illustrations have a childlike feel to them which really helps ground the work and lets the emotional content roar off the pages, and I do also think when you are dealing with such serious subject matter as this, that picking a less ‘serious’ art style really does help.

This is a work you should read. It’s not an easy read, but you should read it nonetheless. This is probably one of the very few works out there, like Brick’s painfully honest account of his struggles with depression in DEPRESSO, that not only has the power to heal, but also the power to inform people how best to practically help and support someone suffering such from overwhelming emotional trauma.

LINK (To purchase)

And a mention in Herald Scotland

Graphic novels

Reviewed by Teddy Jamieson

Graphic novels shake off the superheroes

16 Oct 2011

Everything is possible now.

You can talk about love and loss, desire and grief. You can tell stories about God and Islam. You can quote JG Ballard and Heaven 17 and rant about class war and neoliberalism. You can do any of these things in graphic novels today and publishers – big publishers, small publishers – will let you.

And yet some people are still happy with superheroes.

Dan Clowes, surprisingly enough, is one of them. Clowes is something of a legend in American indie comic circles, the author of Ghost World and the wonderfully Lynchian Like A Velvet Glove Cast In Iron. He’s also a regular New Yorker contributor. So he’s not the most obvious candidate to play around with superhero tropes. But that’s exactly what he does in The Death Ray. The result, admittedly, doesn’t really resemble the latest issue of Captain America. Instead it’s an arthouse take on the subject. Imagine if Todd Solondz had directed Kick-Ass – the result might have been something like The Death Ray. This is a dark, nasty slice of nihilism played out in faded pop art colour. It’s a fable about power and the abuse of power, and argues that one inevitably leads to the other.

Does that sound fun? Ah no. It feels pretty redundant, truth be told. That’s partly to do with Clowes’s nihistic tendencies feeling a little too familiar by now (yeah, yeah, we get the message. We’re all miserable, selfish, greedy idiotic bags of meat, thanks for sharing). And partly it’s because he’s hardly the first to explore the inherent fascistic tendencies of superheroes. Others (Frank Miller and Alan Moore) have done it better (and with a Hollywood pizzazz too). More than that, it feels such thin soil to plough, especially when compared to the deep, loamy furrows to be found in Clowes’s fellow countryman Craig Thompson’s new book, Habibi.

Those are metaphorical loamy furrows, it should be said. Habibi, an epic of more than 600 pages of exquisitely drawn storytelling, is set in the desert. The richness comes in the words and images, as two refugee child slaves fight for existence in a world that might be yesterday or might be tomorrow, one that’s steeped in the Bible and the Koran, in the Tales Of The Arabian Nights and in fears of environmental destruction. Dodola and Zam, the kids in question, are blown from empty sands to harem to factory, while Thompson examines love in all its forms – sensual and spiritual. The book’s publisher, Faber, has done it justice. As a result Habibi is both bravura storytelling and objet d’art in itself.

Not that you need the signifiers of quality to be quality of course. Billy, Me & You comes in a plain yellow wraparound cover and, if you open it up, Nicola Streeten’s drawings are at first glance crude and unsophisticated (no borders etched out in Arabic script here). But once you start to read, you can see it’s not so much crude as raw, a red-eyed, fist-in-the-gut account of how Streeten and her partner (and their friends and family) dealt with – or didn’t – the death of their two-year-old son Billy after heart surgery.

“So this was grief,” she writes. “A thing with a life of its own – controlling and distorting our understanding of the world – turning the innocent gestures of kind people who loved us into malicious acts of spite.” Yes, it’s a busy, messy piece of work but then so are the emotions on display. What’s most remarkable is that it will make you laugh. And then there are moments that will tear your heart open.

As I said, everything is possible now. Even translations of dark sci-fi fables by French documentary-makers. Sandcastle, written by said documentary-maker Frederik Peeters and illustrated adeptly by Pierre Oscar Levy, is as dark as The Death Ray but it’s a cooler, more disturbing thing. A group of people find themselves trapped on a beach. Every time they try to walk away they run into an invisible barrier, and the longer they stay the older they get. Half an hour equals a year here. Toddlers become adults, adults become addled. Death is coming at a gallop. What is there to do? Nothing but fight and love and cry and tell stories.

You could say the same of the people who turn up in artist Laura Oldfield Ford’s Savage Messiah. They’re the Common People of Pulp’s lyric, who’ve watched their lives slide out of view and who know there’s nothing left to do but dance and drink and ... well, you know how that goes. Savage Messiah is a gather-up of Oldfield Ford’s psychogeographical fanzines that collage black-and-white photocopied photographs of decaying bits of London with her own pencilled drawings of people she meets – the punks and skins, the squatters and shell-suited working class who live in the bits of the capital city that have yet to be reclaimed by the moneyed middle classes – The Westway, the Lea Valley, Hackney Wick; all the places where pound shops sit next to brutalist tower blocks, where poverty is passed in a diet of bad food, bad pills, bad sex, punk gigs, raves and rucks.

Oldfield Ford is Iain Sinclair in smudged make-up, drifting around the fag-end of London life in a punky derive soundtracked by Einsturzende Neubaten and Throbbing Gristle to chronicle the lives to be found there. The lives overlooked by money and power. Her own included.

It’s a book pulsing with anger and class politics, disgusted with the “millennial mediocrity” of modern London, its flashy empty promises, its bare minimum-wage opportunities. This is a marginal book in every way, a clotted, gritty book about clotted, gritty places, but not blind to the beauty you can find there, however ephemeral: “9.45. Traverse the precarious point where Marleybone Road becomes The Westway. Slope down a subway of violet tassellations, little tiles glowing like amethysts beneath a film of grime.”

There are no superheroes in Oldfield Ford’s London. But there is something heroic about it too. Fight the power!

The Death Ray By Daniel Clowes, Jonathan Cape, £14.99

Habibi

By Craig Thompson, Faber & Faber, £20

Billy, Me & You, By Nicola Streeten, Myriad Editions, £12.99

Sandcastle,

By Frederik Peeters & Pierre Oscar Levy,

Self Made Hero, £14.99

Savage Messiah, By Laura Oldfield Ford, Verso, £19.99

21 October 2011

Francesca Cassavetti

The revolution starts here

Last night, we gathered in a fantastic house close to the British Museum for the launch of Nicola Streeten's graphic memoir, Billy, Me and You, a frank reflection on the aftermath of losing her two year old son. Her unflinching examination of her and her partner's ways of dealing with this terrible tragedy, from suicidal thoughts to angry judgement of others' inadequate responses, may sound like a harrowing read but Streeten's honesty at revealing some of her less generous thoughts, along with her sense of humour, manage to keep this sensitive material far from grim, while remaining extremely moving. In the words of The Guardian, it is quite a feat.
And that is another reason to rejoice at the success of this project. Despite much recent progress in the way comics are perceived in the UK, we still have a long way to go. Like the music business in the late seventies, the mainstream press and publishing world still seem stuck on the idea that the virtuoso artistry of the package outweighs its content. It took punk rock, much of which has stood the test of time and has gone on to be a huge influence, to explode that myth. I see this book in the same revolutionary vein, its artwork not seeking to soothe the reader with beautiful images, but rewarding with its raw emotion, and an ultimately uplifting message, those who can look beyond esthetic orthodoxy . Bands like The Ramones and The Clash were denigrated as poor musicians by the establishment, but their legacy still carries more power and energy than anything any supergoup ever produced.
This is brave step in the right direction, helping to bring about a shift in attitude. UK readers and publishers will eventually understand that Sequential Art is more than a series of illustrations arranged pleasingly on a page, but words and pictures combined to convey stories, ideas or feelings, that transcend the sum of their parts.

Comics are more than pretty pictures!

24 October 2011
Andy Oliver
Broken Frontier
Nicola Streeten’s memoir of grief and recovery is an incisively perceptive examination of social conventions in the face of bereavement.

When Nicola Streeten’s son Billy was just two years old he was diagnosed with heart problems that would lead to his death, following surgery, just ten days later. Thirteen years later, Streeten returned to diaries she had written at the time to create a graphic novel account of her life immediately following that traumatic event, written from what is described as a “healed” perspective. Originally serialised in her small press comicLiquorice Magazine, Myriad Editions have now collected Billy, Me & You as a complete graphic novel, with the initially surprising, but ultimately justified, tagline of “a dead baby story that is funny.”

The small press has always been an outlet that allows us to experience comics work that we might never get to see in a commercial arena. Fortunately, of late, more publishers are becoming aware of the potential, viable audience out there for self-published material that previously would have reached only a very limited readership. With Billy, Me & You, those small press origins are reflected both stylistically and in terms of presentation; embodying that raw frankness that is often such an intrinsic part of autobiographical self-published work.

In just the first few pages, set in the unimaginable hours directly after Billy’s death, Streeten establishes a rapport with the readership that is never lost throughout the entirety of this graphic diary. From the outset she employs an often brutal candour regarding the grieving process and the reactions of those around her and her partner John. Much like some of the real life “characters” in the book there will, no doubt, be those readers who find this openness either unbearably painful or even somewhat uncomfortable in its straightforwardness. They shouldn’t, because it’s through this refreshing honesty and integrity of approach that Streeten communicates so effectively with her audience.

As the book progresses through the weeks and months of grieving, daily struggles with acceptance and the realities of loss on this level, the reader begins to realise just what a unique comics reading experience Billy, Me & You is. You may find yourself moved to the point of tears at the heart-rending poignancy of one section, only to find yourself laughing out loud at another of Streeten’s acute assessments of human foibles a few scant pages later. Indeed Billy, Me & You is as much about our own reactions to death, and the clumsiness of our social conventions regarding that one great leveller, as it is about Nicola, John and Billy’s story. Streeten’s anecdotal accounts of the often awkward, and sometimes quite bizarre, reactions of friends and colleagues to events will surely make most readers look inwards and confront some uncomfortable truths about ourselves and our coping mechanisms in these circumstances.

Visually, Streeten’s illustrative style has a cartoony humanism that is equally at home conveying both the dark humour she employs so effectively and those moments of absorbing pathos that the book often swings between. The occasional insertion of photographic imagery is also jarringly efficient in reminding the reader that Billy, Me & You is not a work of fiction. I doubt I will be the only reviewer who refers to the photographs of Billy’s toys, left abandoned where he last played with them, as a haunting moment that will stay with the readers long after they have filed the book away on their bookshelves.

Every so often a graphic novel comes along that shakes you up from a jaded malaise and makes you remember that comics are a medium that has the power to share experience and express emotion like no other. Incisively perceptive, uncompromisingly observant and keenly insightful, Billy, Me & You is not just an astonishing piece of comics material in its own right but also an ambassador for the criminally overlooked work of the small press.

25 October 2011
Richard
Forbidden Planet

Sixteen years ago, 19th September 1995, Nicola Streeten and her partner John lost their first child, Billy, aged just two years old. He died following heart surgery for problems that were diagnosed just two days earlier.

That’s the starting point for Billy, Me & You. The very first image is of Nicola and John walking out of the Royal Brompton, Billy’s things in their hands…..

Streeten kept a diary through the days and years following Billy’s death, a diary she’s now transformed into this graphic novel, this memoir, this look at surviving the worst imaginable thing that can happen to parents.

Billy, Me & You is described, at one point on the press release as a book that “will be relevant to anyone who has experienced the loss of someone they love“.

But that’s too limiting. This has a universal, empathetic appeal. For me, it captures all the fear and horror of being a parent, that inescapable, utterly ridiculous fear of losing your child, and the contemplation of the unimaginable vacuum that such a tragic and horrific event would leave. It isn’t limited to those who’ve lost someone they love, not at all, it’s a universal fear, given reality and a profound truth in Streeten’s words and pictures.

In truth though, we have no idea. We simply can’t imagine what it would be like. We can contemplate all we like, but thankfully, few of us will ever suffer this.

All the way through this, I selfishly kept thinking, “thank god, thank god this wasn’t us, how would I cope, how could I possibly cope?“. A terribly selfish thing to think. But I read it and realised Streeten wouldn’t see it like that. I like to think I’d be one of the people she met, the people she awarded marks to based on their responses, who’d just stand there shocked and worried that the best I could ever come up with in situations like this was a pitiful “I’m so sorry…..”

Her diary entries are so enlightening, so simply true. This is so very real, and you can feel it on every page. The movement through the years of abject grief, of recrimination, of guilt, of questioning, and every other possible emotion and action in between is captured in these 200 pages so very well.

To say it’s moving really undervalues Billy, Me & You. It is, of course, how could it not be, given the subject matter. But it’s so much more than that. For a start it’s a page turner, a single sitting read, a truly satisfying journey undertaken with the author. You share in every emotion on display, from the depths of grief, up to the anger, the hopelessness, even into the ridiculous situations Streeton sometimes finds herself in, the ridiculous people she meets along the way.

There’s moments of quiet reflection, catharsis, psychiatrist sessions, “dead baby clubs”, memories of the event, near madness, intense guilt, terrible sadness. It’s all here, an avalanche of emotions and moments, all tied together in Streeton’s narrative. There’s a scattershot feel to it all, and quite rightly so, it just emphasises the unreality of the terrible events and the experience is one of sharing headspace with Streeton throughout.

How she does it is amazing, but there are even plentiful moments of comedy all the way through Billy, Me & You, moments where the insanity of the world takes hold and there’s nothing left to do but laugh along.

Streeten’s artwork is rough, you can clearly see that. But it suits the story she’s telling in the manner she’s telling it. The emotional intensity comes through her art, and its openess and roughness is endearing, welcoming, personal and real.

In the end, this is a hugely personal memoir that serves so many purposes. Most of all, it makes us move beyond trite clichés and see things as they really were for Streeten and John. We learn so much, we feel the sadness, the rage, the impotence, the despair. But we also see the moments of absurdity, the funny stuff that happens along the way to the healing Streeton talks of.

And strange as it seems with such a subject, it’s a hugely entertaining book. I think Streeten would be happy with that. And she should be. This is entertaining, original, thought provoking stuff.

Billy, Me & You is published by Myriad Editions on the 27th October.

26 October 2011

Pam Mcllroy AKA Pam Reader

Runs the monthly Nottingham book club at Broadway

I've read this book repeatedly since it landed through my letter box. I've cried, laughed and often found myself nodding in agreement while thinking 'that's so true'.

Billy, Nicola Streeten's beautiful little boy, was just two years old when he died following heart surgery for problems that were diagnosed only ten days earlier. She kept a diary at the time and thirteen years later began to translate her notes into this graphic novel.

It begins with a sketch of Nicola and her husband John leaving the hospital on 19 September 1995 carrying Billy's property in a few bags. Over the following pages she describes how she could only cry in front of John or the psychologist, and how she incorporated daily crying into her journey home. Nicola then confronts the limits of public grieving and begins to mark everyone's responses to her grief out of 10.

She also draws more emotionally harrowing scenes where both she and John become frightened by this huge sense of emptiness that has suddenly hollowed out their lives. They are lost for a while as they try to find reasons to blame themselves for what has happened and even contemplate suicide.

Every now and then Nicola pauses for a moment of reflection in a series of self-portraits where she talks about what made them laugh, helped them to heal and wryly acknowledges the arrogance of grief.

The drawings appear deceptively simple but they are subtly complex. For example, there's a scene where Nicola and John go to a group session at the hospital. Here Nicola has framed the page with a gradually fading circle of dark grey around a central clear point and placed the nurse and the hospital psychologist in it, this creates a sense of detachment and feels like they've come into view through a fog of pain. That dense fog of pain rests in the centre of the room on the following pages symbolically keeping others' grief at the outer edge of their own. Then when it's Nicola and John's turn to speak she reverses the effect so that they become the detached focus through another's fog of pain. Simple, yet painfully expressive.

Photography is also used to powerful effect: a shot of the last toys that Billy played with, the places that they went to while they waited for his operation to be over, and a discarded pine table that became a project for them both soon after Billy's death.

Billy, Me & You is extraordinarily unflinching and honest as Nicola reflects on the grieving process with compassion, humour and humility. You cannot help but respond to the deeply human insights that she sketches on each page; the fragility of life expressed through a vase of sunflowers, the reality that there is no time limit for grief and that moments of guilt, especially as the fog of pain begins to lift, can strike like a knife in the heart at the most unexpected times.

This is a novel that will resonate with anyone who has experienced the devastating loss of someone they love. It's completely unique as it graphically draws on the past to demonstrate that a future is possible as time eases the grief. That understanding and acceptance can be illuminated in the darkest moments, and that you will always keep the precious memories of your loved ones with you wherever your future lies.

Score 5/5

Published by Myriad Editions

IBSN: 9780956559944 £12.99

BILLY, ME & YOU Launch Party

2011-10-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

Corinne Pearlman very kindly agreed to host the launch party for Myriad Edition's 'Billy, Me & You' at her home literally next door to the British Museum. It was a splendid evening, with many dear friends and family rocking up. It was a rich mix of people, friends very new from the comics world and some from way back, including those I haven't seen for a couple of decades!

What made it perfect was the documentation by the talented photographer, Patrick Dodds. Below is a selection of portraits and shots he took during the evening. Visit his website to see more of his work http://www.patrickdoddsphotography.co.uk/

Frieze Art Fair 2011 - Highlights

2011-10-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

John, Sally and I got the train down to the Frieze Art Fair for the penultimate day...Thank you Sally for the photography, and for moaning slightly less than when you were 7, as we looked at the art. Aha is that The Saturday Guardian Family Section I'm reading?...see what I've done here?

ok at the bottom of this post I am including the article...or you can read it online here

I have also been reading JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye as homework for the Broadway Book Club in Nottingham run by the effervescent Pam Mcllroy aka Pam Reader. Next meeting is 27 Oct. It is the third time I have read this book. I think last time was about 25 years ago. The thing is, I still think it's brilliant. I had forgotten the death of Holden's brother hanging around in the background of the story. Anyway, this week I've been finding myself "getting a bang" out of things.

We arrived in Regent's Park and I just quickly sat on this penis bench to finish the article...I "got a bang" out of that.

The title of this piece is A Star, coincidently the grade Sally was awarded just the day before for her mock maths GCSE ...parental pride moment...Go Sally!

A Gavin Turk and then on we went, into the tents...First thing inside was to take a break at the cafe.

John and I were inspired by the use of corregated plastic as we presently have a double/secondary glazing challenge at the Chapel. We all liked the lighting too.

A detail of Michael Landy's Thomas Dane Gallery, brilliant credit card eating machine. Audience can donate a credit card for it to destroy as it draws a picture in return. I'm still currently engrossed in credit card abuse, so I had non to spare. One thing we all liked were the signs dotted around the place, part of an intallation project by Laure Prouvost.

At a certain point in the day, we had to admit that even John hadn't been stopped by any fashion students asking if they may photo him. Luckily we had previously discussed a strategy for if this should happen...Sally would pose as a fashion student and ask us....

Here's a detail of a Jake and Dinos Chapman piece, White Cube

And here's the chair they've used in the installation...WE'VE GOT A CHAIR LIKE THAT!

We love this work by Lucia Nogueira, Anthony Reynolds Gallery...particularly pertinent as John gave a talk on "hats" last week as part of a Lincoln Art Programme, symposium, Tomato Tomato

Exhausted.... there were spaces to nap..

And so we headed home.....and below is the interview that was in today's Guardian Family Section

The Guardian,
Saturday 15 October 2011

Coping with the death of a child

Nicola Streeten tells Jon Henley why she wrote a graphic novel, Billy, Me & You, about the death of her young son

Nicola Streeten: 'It’s no longer upsetting to talk about him.

But he is locked in that moment, locked with us in that time'

Photograph: Teri Pengilley for the Guardian

Billy Edwin Plowman Streeten died on 19 September 1995, aged two years and two months. That's where we have to begin. No point trying to fudge things. It is, anyway, the reason this article is being written. Or at least, not Billy's death itself, but the way people – family, friends, strangers, colleagues, his parents above all – dealt with it.

"It's OK," says Nicola Streeten, Billy's mother. "Honestly, it's completely fine. It was 16 years ago. We're all right with it now. We realised then we were going through something huge, something absolutely massive, but we knew that eventually it would transform itself into something else, and it has. It's OK. Really."

Part of that monstrous experience has been transformed into a remarkable book, Billy, Me & You, published this month. A graphic novel, or more accurately a graphic memoir, drawn from the diary that Nicola kept, it is searchingly honest, and desperately sad at times. At others, it is genuinely very funny. Quite a feat.

"My motivation," Nicola says, "was to tell a story people couldn't put down. Not just about me, but questioning people's responses, society's response, to trauma and grief. I wanted the laughing and the crying. Not a misery memoir, a book for people who've had shit thrown at them. It may be cathartic for some, but for me it was a work of art. Not therapy."

It would have been different if she'd done it at the time. We're at her friend and editor's house next to the British Museum in London. Nicola, 48 now, talks fast and laughs often. The day we meet is, by coincidence, the anniversary of Billy's death; she and his father, her husband John, 58, have come to London from their Lincolnshire home and had their annual commemorative lunch together. (By the same token, they place a small notice in the Guardian every 19 September: "Our equivalent of putting flowers on his grave.")

"We're not at all religious," Nicola says. "We couldn't do God. So we kind of invented our own superstitious belief system. And part of that is, every year, we come to London for lunch on the day he died, and John puts the in memoriam in the paper." But 16 years ago today, they were walking out of the Royal Brompton hospital, clutching their dead son's possessions.

Billy was born when Nicola was 30. The couple were living in Crouch End, London; she teaching English as a foreign language, he an established artist. "It's the greatest thing that can happen, when your baby's born," she says. "We just wanted to enjoy having a child. We shared the childcare from the start. Thank God – that meant we'd both had a fair innings."

All Billy's early tests had been fine; he was a normal baby. "Always on the bottom line of the graphs," Nicola says, "but he never dropped off. We thought the doctors were being fussy. You never really know, though, do you, when it's your first? You're never really sure."

When he was one, Billy got pneumonia and had to go to hospital for intravenous antibiotics. He recovered, but a shadow on his lung didn't clear. "Over the next year, they ran every test," says Nicola. "Cystic fibrosis, cancer, heart, the lot. And he was running around, fine. You could never have told."

Eventually, a consultant at the Whittington hospital concluded it was asthma. That winter, Billy got ill a lot; coughs, colds, trips to the hospital, lots of medicine. In the summer, just after his second birthday in early July, the family booked a holiday cottage in Orkney. There Billy got really ill. "The doctor told us he needed an air ambulance, to Aberdeen," Nicola says. "Billy couldn't believe his luck: a helicopter!"

Back in London, his case was transferred to the Royal Brompton. There, suddenly, the experts announced: this isn't asthma, this is heart-related. Three congenital deformities; Billy was suffering from pulmonary hypertension.

By early September, Nicola says: "They gave us our options. They could operate, in which case there was a 30% chance of success. They could try for a heart and lung transplant; not recommended. Or they could do nothing, in which case Billy would eventually die, slowly and painfully, because he would end up not being able to breathe."

The options weren't really options. "In any case, we'd latched on to the word 'success'," says Nicola. "Crazy, because you'd never get in a plane that had a 30% chance of landing safely. We all moved into the hospital, 10 days before. It was going to be a 15-hour op. In the evening, we went to the cinema. There were no mobile phones, of course, so I borrowed my sister's pager. I was looking at it all through the film."

Back at the hospital, Nicola and John were told the operation had been a success. Billy was in intensive care. "We were to go and get a good night's sleep and have a leisurely breakfast," Nicola says. "Then the next morning, when we got out of the lift, there were nurses running in the corridor. They put us in a waiting room. They said: 'We're so sorry.' And we – extraordinary, isn't it? – we said: 'Thank you.'"

The scene after that moment, Nicola and John leaving the hospital, forms the opening page of Billy, Me & You. The book offers acutely observed snapshots of the couple through the decade and a half that follows: their savage grief, deep despair, dreams of suicide; the wildly differing reactions of those around them; Billy's funeral; their return to work and, gradually, something resembling normality; group and individual therapy; the birth of their daughter Sally; the move to Lincolnshire; Nicola's new career as an illustrator. It ends with a publisher taking a serious interest in Billy's story.

The sum is probably more revealing – and certainly more affecting – about the experience of loss and grief than most self-help books. There are instants of crushing realisation ("Shall we go for dinner?" "A bit short notice for a babysitter ... Oh yes!") and of crucifying guilt ("Is it because I walked under ladders on purpose? Had an abortion when I was younger? Punishment from a God I don't believe in?").

Moments of dreadful self-doubt, too ("I'm not a mother ... But I'm not nota mother ... What am I?"); hopeless self-pity ("Nobody said anything to me about Billy ... all day long") and rage ("You want to put a bench in the park in Billy's name? So I can sit there and watch everyone else's alive children? Are you completely insensitive – or just an idiot?") And moments of absurdity (Billy will be going to the crematorium, the funeral director tells them in hushed and Victorian tones, on the front seat of what we call "a hearsette").

Nobody really tells you, says Nicola, about "the awful arrogance of grief. My capacity for intolerance, that was an eye-opener. I think you just felt like you have a ... a licence to be foul to people. There we were, in the middle of this lovely north London suburban life, all parks and mortgages and good schools and organic food and pensions, and I just got so angry with everyone's obsession with all this bourgeois, crappy stuff. Didn't they realise how unimportant it all was, compared with what we'd been through?"

The couple spent a year, Nicola says, "very consciously working on it. Just hanging on ... Grief and death affect everyone differently, of course. I was seriously worried that John might kill himself, really. We started therapy. I think we both knew very soon that our whole outlook on the world had changed. And then two years later, in 1997, Sally came along. There was life, after this. And things started to pick up."

But there's no limit to the extent of human awkwardness around death. Especially the death of a child. "My own pet hate," says Nicola, "is when people say, 'Oh yeah, John and Nicola – their baby died.' Because Billy was a four-year block of my life: the thinking about him, the pregnancy, the two years he was alive, the solid year or more of grieving ... That doesn't feel like a baby, it really doesn't."

Struck by the different ways people reacted to her news, she started judging their responses, sometimes silently awarding marks out of 10. The worst, she says, were those who refused, for whatever reason, to acknowledge what had happened. "It could have been worse," was bad; "Oh, really? My friend's baby died too," and "I can just imagine what you're going through," were pretty much the pits. Marginally better was "Would you like to come to dinner?" and "You must have another baby." Best of all was: "I'm so sorry."

An avid diary-keeper as a teenager, Nicola began writing one again soon after Billy died. She's glad she did, if only because returning to those journals 13 years later, when she began working with her teenage daughter Sally on the magazine stories that would eventually become Billy, Me & You, she realised the tricks that memory plays.

"I cried every day, for a year," she says. "In my memory, I only cried once. But it's in my diaries, written down. Every day. I cried every single day, for a year. Looking back now, it's clear we were pretty much mental for about five years." (She didn't cry once while she was working on this book, though: "It's the most pleasurable thing I've done, about the worst thing that's ever happened to me.")

So what is Billy for her, today? There is a fair chance, had he lived, that he'd be starting his first term at university. "He's there," she says, "if he comes up. It's no longer upsetting to talk about him. But he is locked in that moment, locked with us in that time. I can't really project him into the future like that."

John and Nicola have a cabinet of "old stuff" at home; a kind of informal archive. There's a favourite bib of Billy's; Nicola's diaries; a milk bottle melted in some long-forgotten sterilisation process; Billy's death certificate; Nicola's successful pregnancy test; a letter published, two days after Billy died, in the Guardian's Private Lives section, from a woman who had lost her baby daughter at three days. The reply that Nicola wrote, concluded: "There is nothing to say for the emptiness inside you, except that time will make the pain less acute."

In any case, says Nicola, Sally is their focus now: "We wouldn't want her to be overshadowed by a dead brother, whom she never met. Billy is a memory. But having this book, now, as a product of all that we went through ... That's nice."

• Billy, Me & You by Nicola Streeten is published by Myriad Editions, £11.99. To order a copy for £9.59 with free UK p&p, go toguardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846

See these: Phylllida Barlow + The Museum of Everything

2011-09-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

Phyllida Barlow RIG

2 September – 22 October 2011

Hauser & Wirth London

196A Piccadilly London W1J 9DY

Gallery hours:

Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm

If you can get to see this, you will experience sculpture at its best. Phyllida Barlow is the champion of producing artwork that deals with space, materiality and context...the key ingredients of great sculpture. This is a photo from the website, but it cannot do justice to the experiential nature of her work. Go see, go see now!

And from looking at artwork by highly trained artist Barlow, be sure to take a short stroll around the corner to visit the wonderful new exhibition from the Museum of Everything in their shiny new location. Here you will see the wide range of artworks by untrained, "outsider artists" that the Museum of Everything focuses on...it's brilliant. There's a seductive shop too.

2 September – 25 October 2011

Selfridges & Co 400 Oxford Street London W1U 1AT Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 9.30 am – 8 pm Sunday, 11.30am – 6pm

Barcelona in August 2011: The Family Summer Holiday

2011-09-16T02:58:00.000-07:00

The Sky

Imagine it...this is just a small snapshot, with no photoshop adjustment and it's what the entire sky looked like EVERY DAY...feel the heat...ahh distant memories already.

Barcelona has a great metro system (and the trains are air conditioned.) Anyway, I was greatly inspired by the doors to go in...I'm not sure if this vid shows it, but they do a little dance...well they do a little movement that has inspired my latest dance routine. I haven't filmed that yet though.

Yoshi Sislay at Vinçon

I'm not a fan of exhibiting illustration in galleries, but I thought this was really successful. And I loved the work by Yoshi Sislay This was on show at La Sala Vinçon a space upstairs at the amazing design shop Vinçon You can just see "a Gaudi" on the right. This photo doesn't do justice to the queues to get into the Gaudi though. So if you happen to visit and aren't in the mood for a good queue let me recommend a visit to Vinçon instead!

Vinçon, Barcelona

Advance copies of 'Billy, Me & You'

2011-08-09T03:25:00.000-07:00

Great excitement on hearing that the advance copies of my graphic novel, Billy, Me & You have arrived at the publisher, Myriad's office in Brighton, freshly shipped from the printers in Hong Kong. This was nicely timed with an arrival of a box of wine sent to me by my bank as an apology for failing to send me a new bank card on time...which is the oddest thing ever and will be added to my list of achievements for this year. Anyway... celebration time!

Jewish Wedding Illustrations

2011-07-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Sarah got married and my gift was some illustrations...here they are

The Chuppah is the Hebrew name for the canopy under which the bride and groom marry. At the end of the ceremony the groom stamps on a glass with his right foot.

Sarah is the queen of cake bakers so I predict she will often suggest this to her husband in their married life.

A delightful part of Jewish weddings is the dancing. As part of this, the bride and groom are hoisted up onto chairs whilst the friends and family dance around them.

And off they go to embrace their new life together. Mazel Tov!

allsorts drama for children new illustration

2011-07-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've worked with allsorts drama for children to create a new illustrated leaflet to remind people of the fantastic drama workshops and classes they run. Below, the same illustration was used as a basis for this year's allsorts banner. If you have children and live in London make sure they are signed up with allsorts drama

Graphic novel gone to print

2011-07-08T00:21:00.000-07:00

This is a unique and moving memoir of what can't be compared to anything else: the loss of one's child. Going beyond the usual cliches about grief, it is not only harrowing and disturbing but acutely funny: the reader will laugh and cry, as Streeten teaches us more about loss than any of the standard textbooks on this subject. A brilliant and original book that deserves a wide audience.

Darian Leader, psychoanalyst and author of The New Black.

Here's one of my favourite spreads from the final version.

The UK publication date is 27 October, with Myriad Editions

Venice Biennale 54....Highlights

2011-06-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

John and I went for three days to the opening week of the Biennale. There's something for everyone but here are my top favourites of what we had time to see. But first, the Axis team were compiling a Venice top tips piece here's our vox pop contribution

Axis at the 54th Venice Biennale - John Plowman & Nicola Streeten from Axisweb on Vimeo.

GIARDINI

Great Britain: Mike Nelson

OK what is it with the British Pavilion and queues...sat up on the top of the hill like that, insisting we wait in line to know our place. It must surely be a curatorial strategy, as how difficult is it to implement a timed entry system....
Here are reasons to queue:

P'raps it IS the art, or if not, it really should be.
We didn't queue to see Steve McQueen's film at the 2009 Biennale...and of course everyone who did promises us it is the best piece of his they have ever seen etc etc who needs regrets.
If you only see the art with no queues around it (USA, France, Germany, Japan also had competitive queues this time) There is the chance you leave with an unbalanced impression of the overall biennale.
Instant moral superiority gained, through proven commitment.
It may be worth it (for me it was).

So we waited. A helper informed us we should expect a two and a half hour wait in our position. Rumours abounded....only 2 people were allowed in at any one time (actually it's 40), it's worth it...Then we observed the extraordinarily creative queue scams. I will keep some to myself, to pull out next time, but here's one... A couple pushed in behind us and earnestly exclaimed, (when we gave them queue police eyes), "We're waiting for friends to come out!" They were still behind us as we walked around the installation (an hour later).

The upside was chatting to people. We had a great conversation with Bernard Liebov from the Judd Foundation who also runs Box Office Projects from his apartment in New York. He also writes a fantastically thorough boxoblog with great photos. Here's a good one of me from behind, leaving the Pavilion, showing the queue from the front!

The queue from the front. Photo: Bernard Liebov

We then luckily spotted our "brother", Simon Faithfull, near the front and brazenly pushed in. Simon was busy drawing for his fantastic newly launched App Limbo, for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella. The link is HERE from the iTunes store...it is brilliant!!...He drew the queue and later drew John over coffee, so look out for those ones. What next? Oh yes, the art.

Mike Nelson's sculptural installation

I have only ever seen Nelson's work in pictures and was bowled over by experiencing it for real. He creates spaces within a space, so for three months he has been reconfiguring this pavilion. It is a reworking of an earlier piece conceived and constructed for the 2003 Istanbul Biennial. Everything is fabricated and there is extraordinary attention to detail. So, it is a multitude of rooms and corridors, in a semi derelict state. As you walk through the space you become increasingly more disorientated. In one room, John and I weren't sure whether we'd been in that part. We realised it was the same, but different in a couple of minor details. In that sense, it captured the disorientation and experience of a dream where you are in a house which is your house but isn't. I also have a recurring dream where I discover derelict rooms in my house that I suddenly come upon...that's what this was like.

Here's a link to an interview with Mike Nelson and critic Ben Lewis

I have heard a criticism that his works are all the same. Actually they are developing. They are becoming slicker and better made. The question may be what is the difference between a slick Mike Nelson piece and the reconstructed scenes or tableaux commonly used in museums...or er...theme parks....which of course the Biennale could be argued to have become...Discuss (with your queue buddies)

[Total queue time: 1 1/2 hours with push-in.]

Switzerland: Thomas Hirschhorn, Crystal of Resistance

This was great, an overwhelming chaos of stuff. Crystals; lots of cardboard and tape - his trademark materials; plane seats; broken glass; Barbie dolls; stuff wrapped in silver foil and cling film; crash photos....the ones we don't get to see because they're considered too disturbing. I loved it. And wasn't sure why. It seemed to echo the way we live with all this stuff and nonsense around us. And the way we feel empowered to control it all, to cure all ills and prevent the awful things happening in the world by placing more stuff, such as crystals around the place with conviction. Reading the catalogue later, Hirshhorn says he wanted to create, "the conditions for thinking something new, a form that enables "thinking"."

France: Christian Boltanski, Chance

This work is about fate and destiny so it includes life, when Boltanski's work usually focuses on death. The conveyor belt of life from birth to death. One room with the changing number of births in the world, another with the number of deaths, both numbers being updated and changing as we stood before them. What distinguishes one person from the next? A bell ringing intermittently....for whom the bell tolls? I liked the structure of the conveyor belt and the experience of walking through it. Then I continued on my own little conveyor belt through the Biennale wondering what distinguished one art piece from another...

Germany: Christoph Schlingensief
This artist died of cancer shortly after being invited to create a project for this pavilion, so the pavilion is a sort of shrine to him, his illness and his work, including film, theatre, opera, installation, political happenings. His final project was going to be the founding of an "opera village" in a village in Africa. Here we get an insight into that. The pavilion is a mocked up church with pews. There are references to Joseph Beuys and Fluxus (a hare on the altar, a coffin with Fluxus written on it). It is also reminiscent of an old cinema with screens around the walls and above the altar showing excerpts from his film work. It is loud and there is a lot going on. It was an absorbing place to be.

USA: Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla, Gloria

Outside the pavilion is Track and Field, an upside down tank. The treads are intermittently powered by an Olympic athlete jogging on it as a treadmill. It is loud, very loud....reminding us that this must be a constant background noise in Iraq and Afghanistan. Loud and big and dominant, like the USA in the world I guess. Combined with Olympic level athleticism it conveyed the competitiveness of the individual and the focus on training for the purpose of winning...in war and sport. There was an accompanying queue to go into the pavilion to see timed acrobatic performances which we missed. However we did see the cash dispenser fitted within a huge organ. Members of the public could withdraw cash and were rewarded with a blast from the organ of a specially composed musical overture.

The Arsenale

Song Dong's Para-Pavilion

Rebecca Warren

Ryan Gander, We never had a lot of € round here

Haroon Mirza An installation for a traingular room in Monika Sosnowska's Para-Pavilion and a second version in the Arsenale, The National Apavilion of Then & Now.

Christian Marclay, The Clock This is definitely going to become one of those cult artworks. It is so good! It was exciting that it was shown in The British Art Show first, at The New Art Exchange in Nottingham.
Emily Wardill, Sick, Serena and Dregs

Collateral Events:
Montenegro Pavilion: A compelling film by Marina Abramovic, The Fridge Factory and Clear Waters, in which she is talking to camera about her project to build the Marina Abramovic Community Centre Obod Cetinje, a future international multimedia centre in a former refrigerator factory. She visits Cetinje to begin plans, reflecting on how it would have been, how it will be whilst remembering moments from her childhood in Montenegro.

Estonian Pavilion: Liina Siib, A Woman Takes Little Space in which through video, photography and installation she examines notions of femininity.

Artsway: Sophy Rickett, To The River stood out for me. A 3-screen HD video installation with 12-track sound, referencing a mini tidal wave, the "Severn Bore," that occurs only twice yearly in South West England. She captures snippets of conversation from the waiting crowd. As they wait and anticipate, so do we...to see something amazing, to experience something unusual...

We didn't have time to see and wished we had...
Scotland Pavilion: Karla Black

Liquorice 6: Extended Deadline for Paper Doll Costume Design Competition

2011-05-29T07:11:00.000-07:00

Liquorice has extended the deadline for the Paper Doll Design Competition in Liquorice Number Six to....21 June 2011 So enter NOW!! Tell any children, (it's a great half term activity) and grown ups you know and enter YOURSELF. No one is barred. And the prize is hard cash....£25 for each category winner.

Here's How: Draw and colour your design to fit the doll in ONE of the categories below, print it out from here....Then post your entry to: Liquorice, Reading Room & Chapel, High Street, Wellingore, Lincoln LN5 0HW. Don't forget to include your name and address. Unfortunately we are unable to return artwork.

If you'd like to buy a copy of Liquorice, you'll have the bonus of the card doll and tracing paper to help you with your design. Just visit the website and get one from there http://www.liquoricemag.com

RIBA Map Drawing Workshop at the Nottinghamshire County Show

2011-05-16T04:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the artwork produced this weekend by children who participated in drawing our city.....This will be exhibited at The Lincolnshire County Show at the RIBA Exhibition stand on 22 and 23 June. I will be running further workshops there.

ARC'S Hull and Beverley Road-ness project Illustrated Map Commission

2011-05-12T04:56:00.000-07:00

At the start of this year I was commissioned by ARC Architecture for everyone in Hull, to create an illustrated map of Beverly Road, a conservation area of Hull.

This is part of ARC's Beverley Road-ness project, which they are working on in partnership with English Heritage, to capture the unique essence of the area.

This is the fifth ARC map of Hull which I have worked on, they are all available free from ARC and the new one can be downloaded from the web page linked above.

On 5 March 2011 I took part in an interview talking about the project

BBC Radio Humberside Saturday Breakfast with Ruth Barcroft and Carl Wheatley.

On 14 and 15 May I will be leading a map workshop for children age 5-11 years at the RIBA East Midlands fifty50 exhibition stand at the Newark and Nottinghamshire County Show in the George Stephenson Exhibition Hall.

Paris in the Spring-April 2011

2011-05-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Postgraduate Conference Prize (ipad) winner....ME!!!

2011-03-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

The title of the annual postgraduate student conference at the University of Lincoln on Friday 25 February was

NETWORKING - MAKING YOUR ACADEMIC NETWORK WORK

The prize for the best paper was an ipad and I was delighted to win it.

Here's a couple of clips from the presentation I gave....

Recipes for the Intolerant – Recipe 2: Red Cabbage Salad

2011-02-08T07:14:00.000-08:00

This week's recipe is for a colourful and delicious side dish. I picked up a leaflet last month that said celery is an intolerable food (those weren't the words used).....really? Has anyone heard that? Also I'm not sure about the inclusion of mustard, maybe it could just be left out though...

Recipes for the Intolerant – Recipe 1: Celeriac, Mushroom & Puy Stew with Salsa Verde

2011-01-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

During 2010 I seemed to keep meeting people with lists of things they can't eat anymore. I like the idea of cooking food that everyone can join in with so I'm developing some supper ideas over the forthcoming months. I also need to make food that will fill us up properly, so non of your flimsy fodder!
We're finalising pages for Issue 6 of Liquorice Mag, and will be including some recipes in that issue and future ones as well as posting them here as we test them. Feedback really welcome!!
And here's the list of culprits I'm excluding so far...
Meat
Dairy
Eggs
Wheat
The deadly nightshade family, inc: aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes
Are there others? Let me know!

'THE WHEELIE THING' Kitchen Design Must-Have!

2011-01-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

For some years I've had problems with our collection of spices, They're stuffed in a cupboard and I can't ever find the ones I need. I hanker after a spice rack, but know too well the style police won't allow such a sin, even ironically. Over the Christmas hols, John knocked up this utterly brilliant "Wheelie Thing" which also holds our cleaning stuff too.

The Wheelie Thing ©John Plowman 2010

Like many things in our home, it's recycled from materials John has used in previous art installations. The Wheelie Thing is adapted from 'Twilight Shift' Shillam + Smith3, London 2005

See how easy it is for me to identify the spice I need

You want one? Bespoke...it will wow your friends and improve the quality of your life in the kitchen. Quickly view it in action below and then drop me an email to find out about commissioning one!

The Wheelie Thing in action

John is currently showing work in an exhibition in Nottingham, Not Ready Yet which runs until 6 Feb

Moments of Privacy, curated by John, (in which my work is exhibited as well as John's and Sally's) continues at The Usher Gallery, Lincoln until 6 March...see my December blog post for more on that.

Photos and Film: Sally

Christmas Presents to help the New Year

2011-01-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

I've got a lot of studio work to do in the next couple of months and the thing is, it's tempting to wear pyjama based outfits when you don't need to leave the house. So here's me in my lovely new Xmas pressie studio cardi and studio slippers ..... deliver your hearts out people.... I'm dressed ready to receive!....in an immaculately tidy studio ready to concentrate.

Another fine present was from Sally....Henry and Hettie, the perfect studio friends. It's important for creativity to take breaks. Here they are in action....

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

It's time for those resolutions again....so this is mine!

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas

A Wonderful New Year!

Interview at The Comics Bureau

2010-12-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

I was delighted to answer Dan Berry's questions for his latest ambitious project for The Comics Bureau interviewing comics people which is providing a fantastic daily read and inspiration for me and many others I expect.

So I used it as an opportunity to pepper my answers with pics from Billy Me & You, the graphic novel I am working on for publication in September 2011 by Myriad Editions

So here are some snippets....This is about starting out on my graphic novel project...

here I am later on getting involved in 'the comics scene'....

And this is from the chapter that covers Billy's funeral.....

The book is now available to pre-order from Amazon and Waterstones

"The Moment of Privacy has Passed" at The Usher Gallery

2010-12-19T07:51:00.000-08:00

This is one fine exhibition ...

THE MOMENT OF PRIVACY HAS PASSED
Sketchbooks by Contemporary Artists, Architects and Designers
The Usher Gallery, Lincoln
11 December 2010 – 6 March 2011

This is the newly built entrance to the Usher Gallery. Its opening coincided with a rehang of the museum's collection. We stumbled over packed ice on the ground through sub zero temperatures to arrive at the opening of The Moment of Privacy has Passed on 10 December 2010. An exhibition curated by our very own John Plowman. A pipe had burst the previous week at The Usher Gallery and although repaired in time for the opening, the building hadn't quite warmed up.

As you enter the exhibition, this is what you see, the 'library zone' including over 200 sketchbooks on loan from contemporary

artists, architects, designers and makers. Artist Gwen Tooke has made a performative piece of work, creating a categorisation of the sketchbooks. She will be present during the exhibition. Here is Maggie Warren, the Community Engagement Officer surveying the exhibits before the public came in.

The idea is that the audience can look through the sketchbooks in the library secion and we enjoyed doing this. Sketchbooks have been loaned from around the world, including America and Spain and there was a rich variety of styles to enjoy. I came across one dated 1955.

The exhibition incorporates the conventional modes of display of the cabinet too

Above are sketchbooks by artist Sarah Lightman.

This cabinet included a sketchbook by artist Grayson Perry

And artist Rebecca Scott

There was also a cabinet displaying historical works from the museum collection.

John curated the whole family into the exhibition, Here's the cabinet with my sketchbook, bottom image, officially our family travel journal from our India trip last Christmas, blog entry Feb 2010 Our daughter Sally Plowman's sketchbook is the concertina one exhibited at a diagonal above mine. It's a really nice little sketchbook from China. Sally has been making watercolours in it when we go on holiday. The first one was done in Venice in 2005 when she was eight years old. It's become a really lovely object.

Above is John Plowman's sketchbook.

Two of my favourites are by illustrators, Dan Berry, above and Tom Gauld, below. Their illustrations are also included in the digital projections in the adjoining room. One of Simon Faithfull's palm pilots is also displayed in there. Illustrator Jane Hienrichs' sketchbook is under Tom Gauld's.

Jane had braved the temperamental train service from London to attend the opening, here we are together, Jane on the left.

There was alot to see and enjoy and I heard a number of people saying they will come back, I certainly will. Also there's an Usher Gallery app which has been created and is just awaiting approval from Apple. As the exhibition continues, there are plans to host it on line and include exhbitors' biogs. I hope so.

photos by Sally

Mariage & Dessert

2010-12-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

I designed this logo last year for Marie Világhy's new venture, setting up a business around the perfect wedding venue in France. She recently launched her website and it will make you want to get married just to have the party there...just to GO there....and it's in France too!

Marie has everything set up to offer the whole wedding planner thing....SOOOO if you propose or get proposed to over the festive season....have a look....www.mariage-dessert.com

Xmas Cherubs for Children's Drama Workshops

2010-12-09T01:03:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for the best and most fun drama classes for your children (from age 4 - 18 years old) look no further than allsorts drama. This is the company which runs the most exciting and imaginative drama classes for children in London. I have illustrated for them for some years now and their enjoyment and enthusiasm knows no limits. Here are some of the Christmas illustrations I did for for their children's drama workshops running this Christmas holiday in London. For ages 4 - 11 years old.

And here is an interpretation of the 'disapproving grannies' who will feature in some of the Christmas productions put on at the end of the workshops. If you have children book them in now for a fun few days.....www.allsortsdrama.com

Book Cover Illustration

2010-11-28T14:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a book cover illustration I recently did for Summersdale Publishing
for a book by Rosie Millard to be published next year. It looks like it will be a fun read.

RCA SECRET 2010

2010-11-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here are the Postcards I submitted to this year's RCA Secrets...

Graphic Novel update

2010-11-14T00:17:00.000-08:00

'Billy, Me & You' is now available to pre-order....also from Waterstones
Here's the taster page we've been using. Now I'm working with publishers Myriad Editions on the book cover....it's hard.

Billy, Me & You, Chapter 1

What is Feminism?

2010-11-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

The Family Summer Narrow Boat Holiday 2010

2010-10-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

We went on a canal boat somewhere South of Manchester

Here's Sally's ideal narrow boat...

It was relaxing and the scenery was pretty

So we had some lovely walks along the canals with no hills

We didn't have wi-fi and the tv didn't work

But of course it was essentially an "activity holiday"

MARCH 2010

2010-04-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

We had a good 'research trip' to Crufts...

...and here are some people running around in circles

with Chinese Crested dogs on leads....

Then we did Spring Clean....I started with my studio

....so here's before...

and after.....can you spot the inspiration????

that's right...swiss miss I'm just like her now...

We also tarted up the "library" which is what

pretentious people call their tv rooms.

Behind this bookcase we found a nest where

an escaped hamster lived for a month or so

before it turned up behind the fridge...

that was about four years ago.

February 2010 Liquorice Number Four out now

2010-03-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

We were a bit late getting the winter issue of Liquorice out....but hey spring hasn't hit us yet. We're pleased with how it's looking, the front cover shows the origami family you can make with your free gift of origami paper in this issue! And there's more handy stuff like that inside. The back cover will help you casually throw a Japanese phrase into the conversation (or write a note to someone).

And there's still a CASH PRIZE for the paper doll competition, what are you waiting for!!!

Here's a bit of "see inside"....from Holly (the Stollie) click to enlarge...

Still with a Japanese theme, here's this issue's dogwoman...

It should be available on the website per issue or subscriptions..http://www.liquoricemag.com..or on amazon....

Now we're starting work on issue five..........

Dec 09 - Jan 10 Our Holiday in India

2010-02-28T06:11:00.001-08:00

John, Sally and I decided to keep a family journal while we were away and here are some extracts from it.

Some of the drawings included here are from a little sketchbook I also took along that

Dan Berry gave me to fill as part of a project. He has sent out 140 all around the world and is now waiting for them to return full.

SO ANYWAY...off we set, haversacks, moneybelts etc

Wording on an advert....

We went to "The Rat Temple", at Deshnoke, near Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Then we sat and watched the pigeon laps around the temple....I've added a comentary here you can just hear.

Sunrise on the River Ganges, Varanasi

Evening ritual on the River Ganges, Varanasi...

On Christmas Day we played the drawing game....you take it in turns to say what to draw and all draw it and compare....

John...

Nicola....

Sally...

The reverse of a business card we found.....

Bikaner, Rajasthan

A newspaper feature

A ride in a tuk-tuk

Episode 1 of Liquorice TV

2009-11-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

We've finally edited our first episode of the tv version of Liquorice...more family activity. Look out for further episodes....

Fermynwoods Seminar 12th Oct

2009-10-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

We went down to the Seminar Day at Fermynwoods Monday 12 October 10am-4pm NATURAL RESPONSES - TRANSFORMATIONS Artists speaking about their work in response to place

Main speaker: Richard Wentworth; with John Plowman, director of Beacon; Martin Prothero and Claudia Fährenkemper, artist in residence at Fermynwoods 2009 and X6 artists. Chaired by Craig Staff.

This was an event organised by MA fine art graduates from Northampton University, it was great to meet them all....they call themselves x6 and I hope they come and do something up in Lincolnshire next.

This was the last event to take place in the Fermynwoods gallery, which Ros will now reclaim as her living room. It's the most fantastic venue in Northamptonshire, we were glad to take Tom Cretney with us as well as Dan Warren.

The star turn was Richard Wentworth. He spoke for about an hour. It was a bit like a performance of a twitter account and was riveting. He started off saying something like, "I've been asked to speak about my work, fat chance..." and included subjects like his thoughts on awnings and their design....spiders....he sort of acted out how spiders make their webs....he was completely brilliant.

I found myself scribbling down things he said and when I looked at my notes I read things like, "I like crap" but for goodness sakes it's a Richard Wentworth quote so I can use in my academic writings!

He produced some other great quotes:

" We are all episodes"

" Art is about expressing an opinion"

"Nominating the world as having value"

"Artists make work based on a hunch and a prayer and a fluke"

It was one of the best talks I have been to, it was very funny but also thought provoking as is his artwork. It made me reflect on my own talk I have to give in a couple of weeks. It's so important to keep the audience awake really.

John talked about Beacon and did a good job, although there were a couple of towers he couldn't remember and looked over at me for help....?! I can barely remember my name. Plus I was having a day off to enjoy the day. It's interesting to see an overview of the past projects being presented, since I'm of course so familiar with it all I think people will find it a bit dull, but young artists who don't know the work really like it....which is nice.

We had planned that he would include something about the Postmethodists and the Broadcasters project since we're about to launch the next project "Expressions of interest" and Danica has now rebuilt the website- have a look! There was a lot of interest and questions which was great. The whole idea of the way the broadcaster project will work is a slow burn word of mouth style...

FREIZE ART FAIR

2009-10-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

John, Sally and I spent a long hard day looking at art.

We'd just entered Regent's Park and a group of students came up to John, saying they were doing some sort of project to photograph 100 of the most stylish people that day.....he was delighted...

Some nice works in the park included this ... just because it was a Louise Bourgeois really

but our favorite which we all agreed on was this piece... by Vanessa Billy. It was almost invisible at first having a certain quality of ambiguity. It is from the same gallery as Kelly Large is with: Limoncello

And then we went in...

No sooner inside and John was asked again by fashion students if they could take his photo..... I had no choice but to ask Sally if she could ask me if she could take a photo of me...I was delighted.

Sally's boredom was alleviated for approx 6 minutes whilst she used this close up from a painting as a background on her phone...

and the chocolate brownies offered her temporary respite

We all three really really liked the work of Thomas Bayrle

And the work of Susan Collis was perfect. What look like paint splatters on a dust sheet are on closer inspection embroidered areas...

and here what look like piles of discarded bits of wood, with peeling paint are embedded with rubies, mother of pearl and garnet..

This below shows mother of pearl in the piece of wood on the right..

so nothing is as it seems..

RCA Secrets 2009

2009-10-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

I finally got my contributions for this year's rca secrets postcards done...

This one was based on an image I woke up with one morning

I will send a copy of this one in response to Steve White's first letter in his "From my home to yours" project

And this is a memory of our trip to Venice earlier this year....as it begins to get darker, colder and greyer at my computer....

SEAS at Mablethorpe 20 Sept 09

2009-10-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

For the screening of HINTERLAND, artist Melissa Bliss's film, the dormitary had been cleared at The Leicester Children's Holiday Centre

and the audience enjoyed watching, scratching and sniffing....

The screenings ran throughout the afternoon and then we had the private view...

Here's Melissa with her partner Jez and behind, Adam the project director of SEAS

Everyone was pleased with the film...including the Mayor of Mablethorpe and Helen Eagle who runs the Leicester Children's Holiday Centre

So we had a hat party!

Michael Sanders: Performance at RAF Wainfleet

2009-10-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

This is a clip from Michael Sanders' performative piece he did as part of the SEAS Festival on 2 October

SEAS at Skegness Sept 26-27

2009-10-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at Skegness to look at some of the events which were part of the SEAS FestivalFirst we took in Skegness....

Then looked at some of the pieces...there was a sound piece-below which played recordings of prayers on the hour for five minutes...it really drew people in....

We met up with Charlie Pratley

who was reviewing the festival for that weekend...which can be found at www.nottinghamvisualarts.net

Fantomat on Skegness Pier was good....it spoke to you and you could ask it questions

(it was an artist some distance away with some technological device, but v successful in pulling the crowds)

I was delighted to see this dog....A French Mastiff...cute!

Melissa Bliss Review

2009-09-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.culture24.org have written a really nice review of the Melissa Bliss film commissioned by Beacon. John and I watched the almost final version tonight, it's a very beautiful and moving piece of work.

I spoke about the project on the Melvyn Prior afternoon show on BBC Radio Lincolnshire this afternoon. (2.38)

MA Fine Art Show, Lincoln University

2009-09-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

I was hugely impressed with the show this year, the work was fantastic and really well presented. Here's George Hardy's piece...

and Madelaine Richardson's work..

Gwen Tooke's piece was gallery production quality, it was quite overwhelming. Her info exchange had transformed an entire room into...well an info exchange. The detail and precision was phenomenal. She has set up an info exchange stall at Lincoln Market as part of this project.

RIP Dodger

2009-09-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

We were really sad to hear that my niece's beautiful and lovely cat got killed on the road yesterday....it's SO unfair.

Glam Party

2009-09-14T15:35:00.001-07:00

I keep forgetting to post the glammy party I went to in the summer with my sister, daughter, nieces and dad, loads of celebs!

Yup, me and Davina....

British Art Show Fringe Meeting

2009-09-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

I attended a short talk by Jennie Syson on The British Art Show Fringe 2010. The following is taken from the Nottingham Visual Arts magazine, newsletter and website she has set up

With the launch of Nottingham Contemporary later in the year, and with the British Art Show launching here in 2010, Nottingham will be under the visual art spotlight more than ever before with many well-known household name artists engaging with Nottingham audiences, and the magazine website will be on hand to see how the city rises to the challenge.

www.nottinghamvisualarts.net

The British Art Show will take place in October 2010. The British Art Show Fringe will start at the beginning of September and run through until the end of November. It will not be curated and will be an opportunity for artist led groups in Nottingham to do....whatever. Groups from outside Nottingham can also be involved so long as the event takes place in Nottingham.

The meeting was hosted by Moot Gallery and there was a good crowd of people there. Finally there is more Lincolnshire presence...with Amelia there, she, Alan and Anneka are working at full steam setting up interesting projects. They have three on the go at the moment:

www.exithere.co.uk www.lincolnartprogramme.co.uk www.prussianprojekte.com

It was good to see Charlie there Charlotte Pratley- Beacon intern and part of Backlit She has a show coming up at Backlit on 22 October and is working hard for that. She was also full of lovely stories from her recent trip to India.

She said she had just got some 'feet' implanted into her stomach...

now that sounds useful I thought....

euwww

Steve had got a couple done in his neck....

John at Cafe Artistique Cardiff

2009-09-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

John and I travelled to London on the train together, I went to the Hertfordshire meeting, he went on to Cardiff to an Axis event, an 'in discussion' with Alex Pearl. It looked brilliant. John was talking about failure as part of success. Find out more at www.axisweb.org

www.johnplowman.com

COMICS: Working group for NEW comics festival

2009-09-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

I met up with Sarah Lightman to go to the meeting so we had a chance to catch up a bit first. Her show is coming up and I'm really looking forward to seeing her new work. The one day conference on Women in Comics is accompanying her show. It's all on 25 October. I'm giving a paper there too....on Gender and the Graphic Novel.

So...on to the Art and Design Gallery on the College Lane campus, University of Hertfordshire

Here's Sarah trying to imitate this lump of sculpture

Sarah and I were invited to join the working group for setting up a new comics festival which will take place in April 2010 over several days. It will be a pilot with the aim to make it an annual event. Our friend Danny Graydon is in the group and it was great to see him again.

The UH Arts Manager is Natalie Fountain who has initiated this idea. Here she is giving me a tour of some of the venues we'll be using.

Here's the main auditorium.

The exciting outcome of today's meeting is the name....UniComics because it's starting at the university but it's also a reference to the universality of comics. We did more brainstorming.

Sarah and my involvement is going to be the launching of the Laydeez comics box. An evening of 10 minute presentations by artists involved with graphic novels, Pechar Kuchar style. This would be a good outcome of the presentations taking place at the Laydeez do comics meetings each month.

Mablethorpe preparation for Melissa Bliss

2009-09-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

Dan (Daniel Warren, Beacon intern) helped me in Mablethorpe on a sunny day last week, to continue preparations for the screening of Melissa Bliss's Scratch and Sniff film at The Leicester Children's Holiday Centre next Sunday (20th)

We stacked the beds in the dormitary

Then looked through these great old photos of the Centre and its visitors which we are planning to exhibit.

This is the Jabber Hut, which is the nearest landmark on the beach to the back entrance to the Children's Holiday Centre. Dan hadn't been to this area before, so I was keen to sell it to him,

how could anyone not like this view.....

And we did have lunch at Gerrado's Cafe in Mablethorpe with the best coffee and ice cream

Space illustration for allsorts

2009-09-08T15:54:00.003-07:00

I was really delighted to receive the sample from the printers of the latest commission I did in time for the new term for allsorts drama for children

The front (above) is inside the space rocket

when you open the card up there's the wild space scene

with pop star planet, moon babies etc

Then on the back is the sensible educational solar system.

It was fun.