My entry has been accepted into Blarney Books & Art Biblio Art Prize. When you enter the competition you get given a book title to interpret artistically . I entered in June this year and got A year of Wonder : a novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks. I purchased a second hand copy, knowing that I would draw on the page.

• 

• 

I read the book twice (and really enjoyed it) and have browsed through it numerous times in the last few months. My initial thought was that the drawings I would do in the book would probably be of the plague as it was described on various pages through the book. But in a moment of inspiration I noticed the references to plants in the novel. Looking further, I realised there were many references and knew that this would be my theme.

The novel is set in 1666 when the plague sweeps through England. It is based on the true history of the small Derbyshire village of Eyam that quarantines itself in order to prevent the disease from spreading further. It is written from the point of view of Anna and what she lives through in that time. It includes her observations of the reaction of villagers as they descend into social chaos with increasing fear, paranoia and suspicion. Anna’s resilience grows as she takes on a role as healer. During this time she learns about medicinal plants and they work to help the community at this time.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

This weekend I have scanned the pages I have drawn on. I will post the book shortly to arrive in time for the Saturday 7 December Exhibition Opening Night at Blarney Books & Art in Port Fairy. If you are Melbourne, It is about a three hour drive. I would love to know if you are going to visit. My friends Angela & Jodi also have their projects in the exhibition. I believe they have both done paintings for their titles.

You can view all of the above drawings on my Flickr site

I also entered last year, drawing on the pages of a book of my own choice .see my blog post about my entry Blarney 2018 entry

I realised last year that when people were at the exhibition looking at my book, which was displayed open on a bookstand, that they did not turn the pages to look at the different illustrated pages. This weekend I am working on a poster of all the images, which I plan will stand next to the book, and once again, all pages will be bookmarked with a ribbon.

Once again, it will also be available for purchase.