Meditations

I have a little book of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations and it always puts things in perspective. He was a Roman emperor at the height of its power but his philosophy is quite stoic, its about getting on with things and being true to your own nature and not letting bad things stop you from being a good person. I made this little book for my dad while I was in my 2nd year at Falmouth and I've just found it again. (Click on images to enlarge)

Blue Willow Alphabet

After drawing my china pig, I thought I'd try to make a willow pattern alphabet.

The pattern has quite a fascinating mythology behind it, containing varying stories about runaway lovers, an illegal society, and the burning of a monastery. (However, it is not clear whether these tales came from China or Staffordshire.)

Penny Pigglington

This is a little drawing I've just done of Penny Pigglington, the infamous moneybox pig. He lives in a cash register and jingles wherever he goes. Pip Chorley and I imagined him and his many follies during a conversation a while back and now he won't leave us alone.

from my sketchbook...

comic book front cover (development)

I've developed the front cover a bit, to relate more to the story. It still needs some tweaking, but I'm happy with the way its going. Any suggestions are welcome!

"If this isn't nice, I don't know what is"

And now I want to tell you about my late Uncle Alex. He was my father’s kid brother, a childless graduate of Harvard who was an honest life insurance salesman in Indianapolis. He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy. So when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, ''If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.''

So I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ''If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.''

- Kurt Vonnegut

Now my heart is full

A birthday card for Dan's mum

Silly One

A wonderful and very inspiring past few weeks with my man, which included:

2 nitrate film screenings at the BFI - one technicolour nitrate, The Yearling, (which Dan explained is considered true technicolour film) and one black and white nitrate, Brighton Rock, which really glowed, and has stayed on my mind for a long time. It was a shame that more people didn't turn up to the screenings because this was a rare chance to see actual nitrate stock.

A documentary on Jack Cardiff followed by Powell and Pressburger's The Red Shoes at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, and a stroll around Hyde Park, all spent with my dear friend Pip Chorley (who's work you can see here).


Original Beatrix Potter drawings from her first book The Tale of Peter Rabbit at the V&A


A thorough collection of Roman Cieslewicz' work at the Royal College of Art...(completely stunning, with not a weak piece in the lot).


A visit to the London Film museum, the White Cube and the BookArtBook shop.


Ozu's first talkie, The Only Son


A lovely day trip to Brighton, chips on the beach and lots of comic book buying (some David B, The Unwritten, and lots of TMNT for Dan)


A holiday in Morthhoe, Devon with lots of walks, rope swings, dips in the sea, jellyfish, jigsaws, tiny travel scrabble games, amusing sheep and cornish ale.

Say...

This is a poster I've been working on, for Alfred Hitchcock's Rope - a film about two men who kill another man with a piece of rope, hide him in a trunk, and then stage a dinner party using the trunk as the dinner table. 

(It also features James Stewart's voice, which is quite fun to imitate...)

On the subject of Hitchcock, the BFI is currently trying to raise money to restore 9 silent Hitchcock films: http://www.bfi.org.uk/saveafilm.html

A Fathers Day card I made last month for my Dad, featuring my brothers.

The other day I sat outside in the sun with the typewriter, away from all distractions, and made myself write the first draft of the first chapter of my comic book. I wrote it with the images in mind, rather than any dialogue, and when I re-read it, bits of it came across quite funny: (click to enlarge)

Emma Ridgway (c) Copyright 2010

Emma Ridgway (c) Copyright 2010