Day 3

London. Morning, breakfast and then blogging whilst Suzanne and Brigit performed morning rituals in the shrine room below and loved the sound of bells and owls and chanting, and the click clack of pushchairs outside. Then walking through the London Street in sunshine to the offices of Frances Lincoln where I signed books and we had a meeting about works in progress then on to Foyles and Hatchards to sign books.
Next to The Illustration Cupboard for the Amnesty International event to auction and sell artwork from We Are All Born Free. I have been to the gallery before but was really knocked out by how well the whole evening went. The auction, for seven pieces of work from the book, including mine, is a silent auction and the paintings are on display at the gallery in Bury Street.



http://vimeo.com/29703706 from Bellotheque on Vimeo.

I met Jane again, and haven't seen her for years. She is still as beautiful as ever and her image in We Are All Born Free must have been one of the hardest to illustrate and is one of the most powerful pieces. I think I can speak for all those involved when I say we are all proud to have been involved in this amazing project. The chief exec of Amnesty in the UK did an amazing short  speech about the project and I will try and get a transcript of it to post. One of the things I remember from it was how he spoke of a woman in Africa. She is a champion of human rights and has lived through terrible times. When people asked her what they could do to help her and her cause she asked for copies of this book so that she and her team of people could go into schools and educate children, teach them their rights and shape a new generation who will hopefully grow up with respect for each other. Powerful.
The auction will run until 10th December, International Day of Human Rights and you can bid online or go in to the gallery to make bids and 100% of all money raised will go to Amnesty International
It was a long day, but I was so pleased and impressed with The Illustration Cupboard and the beautiful work they had on the walls and also the books, signed that they had for sale. We were so well looked after by Brigit and Suzanne, where we were staying, and Cho Cho the butterfly faced cat and Haiku the dog with extraordinarily short legs!

Invitations, Amnesty International, Long Melford, Norfolk and Tanya Davis

With a new book out I have a busy couple of weeks ahead. Here are a couple of invitations. The first is for an auction of artwork to raise money for Amnesty International. I will be at The Illustration Cupboard, to sign books maybe on the evening of the auction. I am told that you WILL need an invitation or to be on teh guest list for this event so please email Amnesty if you intend to come. You can also bid over the phone I think. No bids in yet, so there is a strong possibility of getting a bargain.

Later in the week I will be at The Norfolk Children's Book Centre for a launch, on National Poetry Day of The Cat and The Fiddle. Then off to Suffolk for an exhibition and third 'launch' this time with artwork.

I will also be signing books around independent bookshops in London and will post a list of the shops for people who would like to get signed copies. And signed copies are always available from Solva Woollen Mill.

And one more invitation. I have been loving listening to Tanya Davis over the last few days. Beautiful. Hard to know which track to show, but the first I heard was this one.

Amnesty International, We Are All Born Free

Today a book arrived in the post. A small book with a big heart. In 2008 Frances Lincoln and Amnesty International published 'We Are All Born Free', the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for children. Now they are re releasing the book in a pocket format and it is just perfect.

The book was commissioned to raise money and awareness of the work of Amnesty International in the world and was published in about 42 languages. All the artists donated their work for free ( and I was lucky enough to be able to get in quick and request, not without irony,' the right to rest from work and relax' ). 

Many of the paintings will be auctioned on 4th October  at the Illustration Cupboard in London with money raised going towards Amnesty's wonderful work. Hoping people will be able to bid by phone and I will blog about it as a reminder closer to the time.

Meanwhile the letter said that the artwork has been wandering the world and was exhibited in Tel Aviv at the Gutman Museum in collaboration with Amnesty International Israel. Over 6 thousand people saw the exhibition which was linked to a lecture on UDHR. So pleased that Amnesty have been making the most of the paintings. Hoping to be at the auction, work permitting.

We Are All Born Free is a beautiful book and I think every family should have a copy, certainly every school.