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Mates is a series of graphic art exhibitions run by Alex Sickling and Rob Goodall. Their first show focuses on the theme of Scouts and they put a call out to mates and future mates for contributions. I submitted my piece ‘Running Bowline’ inspired by the art of knots and was pleased to hear it was accepted.

At the opening I was happy to see I was in good company with lots of wonderful work, there was even a life size teepee and campfire. The exhibition is on at the Mexico Project Space, Leeds this weekend 12-14 April 2013 – be quick!

Illustrations taken from The Highway Code. Printed by Her Majesty’s Stationary Office for The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation London, 1954.

Red dot zebra crossing

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Headlights

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Parked car

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Rear view mirror

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Green dot transport

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Pelican crossing with traffic

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Island crossing

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Traffic policeman

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Catch-up is a lovely idea. Get people together, listen to a talk, look at an exhibition, have a chat, drink ale and eat peanut and jam sandwiches. It’s called a conference but feels a lot more relaxed and informal than that. The recent event looked at image making and art direction. Rob Low (aka Supermundane) was guest speaker, his work and talk was fun and interesting and set the day off to a great start. At the round table talk Rob was joined by Matthew the Horse, Nick Deakin and members of Nous Vous and Lord Whitney. I enjoyed hearing peoples thoughts on being creative and working on paid commissions. Drinks and entertainment followed with lots of Leeds Pale Ale and chatting. With a bag of goodies (real stuff – not a sponsor in sight) and just £5 a ticket – all conferences should be like this!

I picked up some slides in a junk shop in Brittany last summer. I bought them for the info graphics but while scanning them I started to appreciate the photographs too. Often harsh, sparse and beautiful, they remind me of 1970s James Bond films.

Full set of slides on Flickr

There are some exciting things happening in Leeds at the moment. The first of a few blog posts to share our finds.. The Village Bookstore. Newly opened in the Corn Exchange in a lovely bright and relaxed space. In their own words they are an.. “art book store, gallery and publishing house … We offer a curated selection of contemporary artist books, creative magazines and self-published zines from independent publishers”.

I have just written a new blog post for the Culture Vulture website about the Luke Drozd exhibition at The Sparrow in Bradford. Read the full post… www.theculturevulture.co.uk/blog/exhibitions/luke-drozd-at-the-sparrow/

I like to keep a pile of books handy on my livingroom sideboard. New or worth a revisit. These are the ones are the current beauties keeping me inspired and interested.

• Maus by Art Spiegelman. I’m late to Maus and not sure why I waited so long. Half way through it now. Wow it’s good.
• People by Blexbolex. I bought this is the children’s section in my local book shop, Little Apple Books, York. Not sure what the kids think of the dead body, demon and executioner. I love it.
• The Specialist by Charles Sale. I found this a few months ago in a charity shop. It took me a while to realise it was the story of a outhouse carpenter. Beautifully illustrated by William Kermode
• Space Race by Tom Clohosy Cole. Nobrow can do no wrong. I love the concertina format and story through bold illustration.
• Bricks and Brickwork by The Brick Development Association in 1974. I found this at my Mum’s at Christmas. An old architecture book that belonged to my Dad at the period when he was most inspired by his profession.
• Passages by Mark Steculorum. I picked this up in a supercool bike shop in Bruges last year. The photographs document crowds that gather to watch cycling in the spring.
• New York Drawings Adrian Tomine. A decade of Tomine’s illustrations mostly for The New Yorker. It includes some great comic strips based on his life.
• Wilder Mann by Charles Freger I’m a fan of collections and also photos that document and become a collection (think Bernd and Hilla Becher) Freger documents the costumes of people that traditionally dress as the ‘savage’. Beautifully photographed in a lovely designed book.
• The Pot Book Edmund De Waal. My brother bought a copy for my aunt, who is a potter. It’s so good went out and bought myself a copy.
• Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco. Spotted this one at Page 45 in Nottingham. It’s next on the pile to read, I’m looking forward to it.

I enjoyed York Book Fair this year. I treat it more of a visual indulgence than a shopping experience, an art gallery where I am allowed to handle the pieces of work. I came away with a modest Puffin Picture book and lots of photos of the unique book seller’s signs.

Richard J Hodgson told me that he went to get a sign made but after he left the sign maker thought that he could do something a little more exciting than the one ordered. When Richard turned up to collect his sign he found this wonderful book shaped one waiting for him.

This Christmas was spent at Kinghorn, Fife. Presents also took on a Kinghorn theme. Part of the fun was having Kinghorn as a saved Ebay search and seeing what came up.

Harbour Road Kinghorn. Woodcut print, 1974. Can’t make out the name – could be Dale.

Pettycur Bay Kinghorn. Postcard dated 1902.

Low Water by local artist Douglas Gray. Woodcut print.