From the Bookshelf

This is a fascinating autobiographical look at the life and art of Nick Bantock A compendium of his life's work from early times through the publication date (2000). Nick tells of growing up in England, his days in art school, his first big break doing paperback cover illustrations, his immigration to Canada, and the world -wide attention and acclaim that followed the release of Griffin & Sabine in the early '90's. A must read and "see" for all Bantock fans.

And for those you close to Denver - a huge treat in store. MOA opens a Nick Bantock exhibition on Sept. 18, Griffin & Sabine ...and Beyond - A Nick Bantock Retrospective.
"The exhibit will consist of around 250 pieces, large and small, old and new and will fill the museum's 4000 sq ft galleries for six months. If you have the opportunity, please do go and see the show, it could well be the only time all of my works appear together."

Usually my Colorado buddies are wishing they were out here so we could go to the museums in San Francisco and Los Angeles together - but the shoe is definitely on the other foot this time!

From the Bookshelf

This is a wonderful book - full of delicious art by Nick Bantock. But - there's more! An intriguing story accompanies each piece of artwork and a puzzle runs through the entire narrative. It took me several times through before I figured out the answer. I'm usually not a big fan of puzzles (crosswords drive me crazy!) but when figuring out the answer requires deep investigation of a Bantock assemblage, I'm so there!

Assemblage drawers from The Egyptian Jukebox
at Nick's Salt Spring Island Studio, British Columbia, Canada

I was lucky enough to take a weekend workshop with Nick a couple of years ago and I actually got to see several of the pieces that were in the book. It was very cool to see them in person after having spent so much time studying them on the page.

Workshop with Nick

After yesterday's mention of the workshop with Nick Bantock, I thought it would be fun to show you a couple of the pieces I did there. The one above is a landscape collage, using tiny bits of torn postage stamps. It took most of us in the class awhile before we could rip with impunity - but once we got started, it was quite fun!


This collage had us working on layering, layering,layering - constantly covering up and painting over with just bits of previous layers showing through. This is a sticking point for me, so it was a good exercise. I know it's what makes a piece like this interesting, but it is hard to lose things under the layers. I have to keep telling myself that they're buried in the piece and giving it it's final form, even if they aren't visible.

Nick & me

From the Bookshelf

Urgent Second Class

Who amongst us doesn't love Nick Bantock? I remember how intrigued I was when Griffin and Sabine first came out almost 20 years ago. Not only the fascinating artwork and inter-active letters and postcards, but the mysterious story that left us wanting so much more. And even after another 5 volumes, still wanting more. This book is full of glorious eye candy of Nick's wonderful collages, drawings, and mail art. And, not exactly instructions, but more like hints and suppositions of how they are created. I had the great privilege of studying with Nick at his Salt Spring Island Studio off Vancouver Island a few years ago. It was very much like this book - filled with dry British wit, gentle guiding and unforgettable art.