Letters, more letters and a new -old- machine.

The last few days have been of utter happiness. My excellent sister Nini sent me a fraction of the mountain of wood type she got for me a few months ago in Mexico with the help of my excellent friend Acely. Thank you girls!!!

I've been sorting, cleaning and nursing them. They have definitely seen better days. Nini also sent me some more pictures of the place she went to buy them. I think there may be at least five complete fonts, along with loads of images. I can see in one of the photos some wrestlers and boxers.

The next day my excellent husband took me to Gravesend, a small town in Kent to pick up a beautiful little Adana 8X5, the next piece in my stationary project. The machine has also seen better days, but it was in perfect working condition and it came with loads of goodies. Chases, quoins, keys, etc. And -yeah!- more type.
You can see the new member of the studio here, getting acquainted with her studio mates, the proofing press and the mac.

Gravesend, by the way, is were poor Princess Pocahontas is resting. Such a sad story, her ship was on the way back to Virginia when she fell ill and died in that place. I HAD to pay a visit.

frames

The very fine people at the Rowley Gallery commissioned me to design a header for their new blog.

I commend you to visit it regularly. The blog and the gallery as you can find my prints there and Christmas is coming. Art may be a good idea for presents.

Carmela

Today I got in the post the third re-impression (is that how you say in English???) of the book Carmela Toda la Vida that I illustrated back in 2004 for Fondo de Cultura Economica publisher.

It must be a successful one and I remember that as it was very fun to illustrate.

FIL

These are some of the illustrations I made for the books "Manual Para Corregir Niños Malcriados" and "Espejos, Mocos, Cucarachas" for SM publisher.

If you are going to the International Book Fair, in Guadalajara, you will be lucky to get them fresh from the printer. I will have to wait to get my copies in the post. Oh, I so wish I could tele-transport myself. I can't believe its already been a year since I was there...

ready

These two portraits with embroidery -and other pieces- are for the Christmas show at Cambridge Contemporary. from the 26th of November to the 24th December. 

I remember I used to hate the embroidery sessions at primary school. We girls would normally had to make tablecloths but I was too slow and then my mum had to finish them. Now it gives me great pleasure. 

Reading the blog of the British Museum I saw THIS post and thus I discovered that there is a Royal School of Needlework!

Invasion.

Mental space invaders, you see?

Confusion.

portraits

I'm into portraits at the moment. So, I had to pay a visit to the National Portrait Gallery.

art everywhere 2

My favourite pieces at the Affordable Art Fair and in the British Museum were the ones made by children. So much to learn from them...

art everywhere

Days of falling leaves and art everywhere. This year I had time to visit both Affordable Art Fairs like a punter. Great things to find, loads of friends to talk to.

But now that is finished I commend you, nay, I order you to go and see Grayson Perry's exhibition at the British Museum. He chose several Mexican pieces to take part and as inspiration. I'm gonna have to go again.

he'll come tonight

This year I have a special guest in my Dead shrine. My beautiful friend Mario Corsalini who went almost a year ago to walk on a glacier in Patagonia and decided to stay there. Or maybe he just kept walking up and up and up.

I miss him. I wish I recorded all the witty and wise things he ever said, which was all the time. Then I would have a Witty Book of Wisdom or something like that. I will always remember and use those phrases, with his northern Mexican accent. And I will always try to think the way he did, always looking the brightest side of life. Honestly. Maybe he's singing and whistling and laughing with that great big smile of his.

Once I was preparing an exhibition with ex-votos and asked friends to tell me stories of miracles if such thing had happened to them. He came back with an amazing story. He told me with all technical details of a mountain he was climbing with friends. They checked the time when starting to climb and then at the top they saw the time again and to their surprise six hours had passed. But the three were sure just three hours maximum took them to get there!

His explanation -and he was sure of this- was that some UFO came to kidnap them but God fought the aliens and brought the three friends back to earth, placing them exactly in the same spot but deleting three hours in their collective memory. This is the ex-voto I made for him.

He was very handsome and lovable, once I was hearbroken and had to go to an event were the one who broke my heart would attend to so I asked him to come with me and pretend to be my new boyfriend. He refused at the beginning, couldn't believe that HE! Mario Corsalini would be used to lie! But of course he agreed and enjoyed every single minute as the trick worked perfectly well.

I have just good memories of him, but the one that describe him the best will be another time I was heartbroken -I was always hearbroken back then- and he told me to count to 3,000 so he would arrive to take me to dinner. We went to an Argentinian and ordered a couple of steaks. He couldn't finish his HUGE steak. Packed it and disappeared and was back after a little while. He had gone to find some poor person to give him the steak. I'm sure had the best dinner of his/her life.

He was like that. The world was better with him in it.