Lorraine Cooke
I’ve been a volunteer at my local National Trust property,
Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire, since March 2013 and the art gallery there puts
on a number of excellent and popular exhibitions each year. This summer – from
19 July to 14 September - there’s a fantastic opportunity to see the work of
some of the best children’s contemporary illustrators, including Quentin Blake,
Helen Oxenbury and John Burningham in
a new exhibition.
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Quentin Blake – Chocolate Celebration
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Visitors to the exhibition will be able to see for the first
time 21 new drawings made by Quentin for the hit West End production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, full
of his usual wit and sharp-eyed observations.
“We are so excited to be showing Quentin’s work this summer,”
says Louise Govier, Visitor Experience Manager at Mottisfont and curator of its
gallery. “So many of us have wonderful memories of discovering his books and of
course of how he brought Roald Dahl’s stories to life. His new work is just as
fresh and funny – his drawings of people lusting for chocolate are hilarious.
He pokes fun at all sorts of things in modern life, but we find ourselves
smiling even as we sometimes recognise ourselves.”
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Quentin Blake – Mortimer and the home-made ice cream
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The original drawings and watercolours in the show have all
been lent by the Chris Beetles Gallery in London, and all of these unique works
are for sale. The gallery is also lending stunning watercolour illustrations by
artists including Michael Foreman, Emma Chichester Clark, John Burningham,
Helen Oxenbury, Rebecca Cobb and Oliver Jeffers which are also for sale. The
stories illustrated range from classics such as Treasure Island, Alice in
Wonderland and classic fairy tales to works by Terry Jones and Michael
Morpurgo.
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| Helen Oxenbury – Everything was still growing |
Visitors can take inspiration from the exhibition and set
off on an epic imaginative story adventure around the house and grounds,
creating their own illustrated books as they go.
There are also special event weekends in August with lots of
additional hands-on activities, including helping to make the biggest picture
book ever! You might even get some tips from Quentin Blake himself, and meet
some of the other authors. Special event weekends are on 2/3, 16/17, and 30/31
August, and feature storytelling, performance, and on the final weekend,
storytellers from the Roald Dahl Museum.
The last owner of Mottisfont,
Maud Russell, was a great patron of the arts and artists and I’m sure she would
have approved of the way arts have been brought to the top floor gallery and the
grounds of her home. Long before I became a volunteer there, I considered the
elegant house, which began life as a Medieval Priory, a very special place. When
I received a request to read some of Quentin Blake’s stories at one of
the special event weekends, I immediately said yes and am booked in for the
afternoon of August 3rd. I can’t wait.
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| Me practising my reading. |
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| John Burningham – Allow us to tell you what we’re thinking |
Lorraine has been a SCBWI member
since 2011. She writes MG and YA fiction. Her day job often involves nitpicking
the spelling and grammar of people under 12 and she takes her red pen
everywhere.
Have been resisting joining The National Trust for years (it's an age thing) because I usually only visit once a year - Mottisfont for the roses but that makes me sound old anyway! So this exhibition is making NT membership inevitable - denial is useless.
ReplyDeleteHope you really enjoy the reading on August 3rd - what a lovely thing to do! What time are you on?
Thank you for a great report, Lorraine.
1-4pm. Have big pile of books. And NT membership - go for it!
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