The Voice

My daughter has got me hooked on The Voice and the mesmerised by the judges. Here are Will.i.am and Jessie J. Some great contestants, too

Green Walk Arts and Crafts Open House Weekend

Lots of lovely people saying lots of good things about my work (especially the black and white local scenes) and buying my pics too. But I kept spending my takings, so much gorgeous work there!

Green Walk Open House Arts and Crafts weekend

I will be exhibiting at the Green Walk Open House Arts and Crafts weekend this sat/sun, noon to 6pm in no. 14 (front room). I'll have cards, limited edition prints plus some original paintings. There will be loads of houses open and lovely food to eat on the central green. Fingers crossed for some good weather, too. Hope you can make it.  See http://www.greenwalk.co.uk/home

Poster

Can you read the words on this poster? Answer is upside down below.

The Genius of Dahl

What a fascinating look at Roald Dahl it was last week. David Walliams had me hooked on his every observation, delivered with twinkly eyes. 

Dahl was an outsider, a Norwegian child living in Cardiff. His father died when he was 3.

He never lost his anarchistic spirit. he hated school and always kicked against the rules.

He had a fascination with extreme characters. His dealings with Mrs Prachett, the horrible sweet shop woman he played the dead mouse prank on, never left him.

Exaggerated characters can make the story less frightening. Quentin Blake also said this about caricatures.

Dahl was always wickedly funny ("...without the humour, it's child abuse...")

His work is believable, although not realistic.

He really relished things like worms and burps. His inner child never left him.

He never described horrors, he just says that they happened. 

"...and then it gets worse." He liked putting his characters in a stew.

In Dahl's world, a granny can be poisoned by a grandson, parents can be eaten by a rhino, and somehow this is acceptable. True genius?

Jungle Book colour

Full of good heart and bad behaviour

Did you hear this fascinating radio programme last Monday, What the Scandinavians know about Children’s Literature, presented by Mariella Frostrup (Radio 4)? She discussed Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren), the Moomin stories (Tove Jansson), The Wild Baby (Babro Lindgren and Eva Eriksson), and also work by Elsa Beskow and Gro Dahle. The Scandinavian approach, with it’s strongly expressive authors and illustrators, has the voice of the child at it’s centre. The books are for the pleasure of the child. 

Anarchic and free Pippi Longstocking came out in 1945, with a promise of a better future. The 9 year old character lives all alone, with no mum or dad, which is quite nice because there is no one to tell her when to go to bed... Lauren Child illustrated a recent version, and she explains how Pippi is a sassy adventuress with independence and endless money, which is a wonderful fantasy for a child (and adult, too).

The Wild Baby has a very tired and worn out mother, but the baby is never punished for his pranks and the mother always comes to hug him and play with him afterwards. 

The author Frank Cottrell-Boyce talked about how unusual The Moomins are, because the parents haven’t been killed off, and the whole family goes off on adventures. While there are no baddies, there is a huge emphasis on quiet, maybe born out of the long winters, dark nights and strong story-telling tradition. 

Scandinavian children’s stories tend to be full of good heart and bad behaviour, dealt with in a non-sermonising way. There are no cute animals wearing clothes. Difficult subjects, like abuse, are explored too, in books and animations such as The Angry Man (Gro Dahle and Sven Nyhus).