Launching Patternotion in Style

Blue Plaque walkers at Books For Free NW5

We launched the Patternotion book in style last Saturday (9th March 2013) with a Blue Plaque walk around North London.

Well, the style was mostly waterproofs and walking boots, but what do you expect with the threat of a 50% chance of rain.

We were hosted by some very stylish walkers (Jacquelyn Guderley and friends) though. Volunteers from Books For Free NW5 joined us too and sections of our procession resembled a fashion runway with these North London beauties in tow.

The artists and authors who started the walk we're Bill Mudge (with Gina and Harriet), NCRIPT (Steve and Victoria Cohen), Myself with Jessamy, Effie and Natalie Low, Mike and Gail Watts, Ella Penn, George and Sally Low, Peter S Smith, Melanie Ezra, Daniel Leek, Harvey Wells and Geraint Evans. And not forgetting Jacquelyn Guderley's BFF group of course.

The route (right) took us up hill and down dale and through some of the smartest corners of London. We picked up people and artists along the way including Tanya Kreisky, Katie Stone and Dawes Gray.

It was a strong pace so we could get round the full 9.5 miles of the walk and return to BFF in time so that the furthest travellers, Mel and Dan, could catch their train back to Swansea. In future though I'll be choosing a modest launch for next Sampson Low Ltd book. After this hot pace and tackling North London's hills we we're all glad of the 'breathers' we got when reaching each of the 17 plaques on our route.

We placed around 50 magnets along our route and you can view the whole day in the slideshow (right). If you'd like a closer look then click on the images and peruse at your own leisure.

Thanks you to everyone who walked with us and contributed all the photos (Peter S Smith, Harvey Wells, Mike Watts, Tanya Kreisky, Jacquelyn Guderley, Gerry Evans and Melanie Ezra). I'm going to have a well earned rest now because we have several Sampson Low Ltd books in the pipeline or at the printers including Harvey Well's Therapeutic interventions for mental health professions and Epsom UCA's The Future Bound Project.
But the one that will really test my stamina is SMartwalks' 'The longest Gallery in the World' book. They'll be putting out the call to artist's on April 1st, so keep your eyes peeled.

Hope you have enjoyed the Patternotion project and Blue Plaque walk. We'll be keeping up the reviews of artists work by our intern Philip J Deed and check out our latest reviews on our press page, including our most recent from Rainlore's World of Music, Art and Letters.

Goodbye,
Alban


Tanya Kreisky with her plaque and where she lived in 1971

Bill Mudge - Jazz's Renaissance Man

Bill Mudge Trio's
Skylight

 

Bill Mudge is reputed to be a highly creative player of jazz organ. When I googled his name I found (on Youtube) an animation by Alban Low which is meant to accompany Bill’s composition ‘Skylight’. I say “meant to” because I was in my local library and all their headphones had been filched. I watched Alban’s graceful black and white images glide around that screen and tried to imagine the enchanting sound sequences which had inspired them.

(if you're curious listen here)

 

At various times there seem to have been Bill Mudge Quintets, Quartets and Trios. No doubt he also plays solo as well as in duos, sextets etc. I shall definitely make a point of checking out his music at some stage but at the moment I’m meant to be focusing on his fascinating visual contributions to recent Sampson Low Ltd publications.

Freedbook
' Let Me Show You To Your Room'



 

The photograph in Freedbook ‘Let Me Show You To Your Room’ triggers all kinds of associations for me, I’ve spent a lot of my life in small rented rooms. Your first glimpse inside reveals the end of a bed, a chest of draws, a wonky lampshade and bright sunshine streaming through a window. The door itself is scruffy, its paint flaking off but I’m sure everything’s clean and very few of the tenants will turn out to be serial killers.

 

 

 In contrast his photocollage in Patternotion documents an entire house. Before the Mudges moved in it belonged to Albert and Betty. The Albert-and-Bettys of this world should definitely be celebrated I think before they go the way of 8 track cassette cartridges, pennyfarthings and the eohippus.

 

In Albert’s own hand we read the cheery message, “Betty and I still enjoying life/modern sequence dancing/allotment garden etc”. Above and below these words are thoughtfully chosen patterns and textures from their home plus objects such as a lightswitch, a clock etc.

 

This week I took a photo of a local building which is soon to be demolished. I recall it mainly as having been a shabby charity shop in the late 90’s but when my Aunt saw the picture she told me it had been “an important piggery” during the war. Memories such as this are precious (to me at least). I’m grateful that Bill Mudge has chosen to give us an impression of how Albert and Betty’s place looked and felt before, as he says “embarking on the journey to make this house our home”.

 

PJD

 

 

(If you would like to find out what Bill Mudge sounds like for real then he's playing with the Kelvin Christiane Big Band at The Bloomsbury, Staines Road, Twickenham on Tuesday 5th March,2013 at 8pm. Free Entry. AL.)