Tiny Georgian windows, radical rewrites, and a fiddling frenzy

Story Street #13

I’ve finally got all my jumpers on and couldn’t be happier about it – I feel energised when the weather gets colder. I even caught a glimpse of snow on the mountain-tops when I went to the Highlands of Scotland for a wonderful fiddle week – read on for more about this later in the newsletter.

Just in case you’re thinking, “Tsk! This newsletter is supposed to be about illustration, and all Jane ever talks about these days is fiddles”, here’s a little illustration/work update for you…

What’s on my desk this month?

I’ve been busy making a map (I started life as a geographer, so this is always one of my favourite activities). It’s for Canons in Mitcham, and the team there wanted me to pick up on the collage feel from workshops earlier in the year, so I have been snipping tiny pieces of paper to make the Dovecot, the Bowling Club, and even the local Steak House (with many tiny Georgian windows) …and TREES! TREES! TREES! At Canons they are very proud of their trees – which include Mitcham’s Tree of the Year – so I’ve been making a little book of collage trees all ready to scan and drop into the map in pleasing clusters. Just call me ‘Capability’ Jane.

I was having a tidy-up recently and discovered piles and piles of picture book proposals that never came to fruition.

I had a melancholy moment looking at the vast amount of effort I put into so many projects that didn’t see the light of day – but that’s all part of the process, and I am sure I’m not alone in having a ‘drawer of sorrows’.

Here’s a little autumnal otter for you, from one of the ideas that didn’t work out…

Sometimes a radical rewrite can help – and this month I’ve done just that on three picture book texts.

They are all stories I originally wrote a little while ago and shelved for one reason or another – but I think the time they spent gathering dust has been beneficial. That distance has allowed me to be very ruthless, picking out just the juiciest bones of each story and building a brand new, much stronger, more connected structure.

The fact that one story is about singing, and I’ve joined a choir since originally writing it, means that I was able to put much more emotional heart into the writing. All three are now with my agent and will be flying out in search of new homes – fingers crossed there’s a welcoming perch waiting for them somewhere.

Invisible Palace award

At the beginning of October, I went to a very special ceremony at the British Museum. The Invisible Palace project I was involved in for most of last year, working with community groups to celebrate the sculptures of Crystal Palace Park, was a regional winner of the Marsh Award for Volunteers. It was such a treat to see all the volunteers again.

The Marsh Awards cover everything from climate change research to mental health peer support, and excellence in arts engagement. It’s a really inspiring programme.

Our Invisible Palace volunteers won the award for the board game and booklet we made together – here’s the game, which you can pick up to play in the park or download here. You can even buy it on a mug!

The pleasures of planing

Now I am sure you must be agog to hear the latest about my violin-making progress… maybe I have started carving my scroll, or I’m getting ready to apply my varnish? Not at all: this is going to be a s-l-o-w process and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It’s been a revelation how much I can enjoy an entire day peacefully planing one small block of wood to the smoothest, straightest surface known to humanity.

Each swoosh of the plane is a pleasure, and there’s something satisfying about the growing pile of wafer-thin wood curls (though I did start to worry I was going to plane my entire block away). I even have my very own plane now, a Stanley No 5. They are rather expensive to buy new, so I ordered a lovely old one by post from the Vintage Tool Shop in Dorset - here it is. I think we’re going to be friends.

I’ve also made a sanding egg – here it is in progress. The tiny pencil marks are where I need to sand a little bit more to achieve pure right-angle perfection.

My eyes went out on stalks when our tutor Laurie showed us a special ‘retouching kit’ – look at all those colours! Sadly I won’t be getting to use these for a LONG time.

Blazin’ in Beauly

I had a joyful week of total immersion in fiddle-playing at Blazin’ in Beauly, in the Highlands of Scotland, with the band Blazin’ Fiddles – “the Led Zeppelin of the folk world”. We had workshops each morning learning tunes and technique with a different member of the band, we created from scratch a giant orchestra which even had a small brass section, and each night in the hotel there were multiple sessions going on well into the small hours. It was GLORIOUS and everyone was SO friendly, with experienced players being really kind and supportive to those still lacking in confidence (that’s me).

I was very lucky to win a place at this year’s event with my logo design – it even got made into a birthday cake during the week! And here’s my design as a sticker on the legendary Jenna Reid’s fiddle case. What a proud moment for me… when I was at school, we had a craze for collecting stickers, and this has rekindled it for me. I need to go to Shetland Folk Frenzy next to collect some more stickers for my own rather sparse-looking fiddle case… did you ever start a sticker collection?

Before my time at Beauly, there used to be sessions there on a Thursday at the Caledonian pub – sadly it’s no longer open, but don’t you love that paint colour?

The sessions at the Caley were so legendary, Blazin’ Fiddles composed a special tune about them – you can listen to it here:

While I’m thinking about music, there’s a new album - Inish - I’d like to recommend by Irish cellist, composer and singer Naomi Berrill.

You can get a flavour by watching this beautiful video of the song Sea Warrior – which also includes glimpses of the making of the METAL cello Naomi is playing. Needless to say, I am VERY interested in this…

Help for children in Gaza

I’ve been very conscious that while I’ve been having a happy time fiddling away in the Highlands, elsewhere in the world terrible things are happening. The charity Save the Children is working hard to provide children in Gaza with essential supplies – if you’d like to help, here’s a handy link to donate:

A date for your diary

What could be better than doing all your festive shopping in one easy go, and supporting independent artists and craftspeople at the same time?

Get your diary out and put a great big fluorescent asterisk on Sunday 3^rd December – it’s the Putney School of Art Xmas Fair.

Very conveniently located just a short walk from East Putney tube station, South West London, PSAD will be packed with enticing stalls selling everything from pottery to screen prints at very reasonable prices. And I will be there selling books, zines, drawings and prints – here’s my stall last year. Save the date!

One last thing for everyone interested in children’s books – have you listened to the Island of Brilliant podcast yet?

Frank Cottrell Boyce has a very, very soothing voice and Nadia Shireen is lovely to listen to as well. Highly recommended.

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Until next time,