Bologna – Daisy Hirst

Napkin Bolognese II

Following on from last year’s snakes and skates, here is what a heap of illustrators, in Bologna for the bookfair, got up to during dinner at Trattoria Rosso (Bar 51 now has cloth napkins – pah!). First a shape game that turned into a story:
Then some shape-game people:

Then just some folks:

And some weirdery:

I don’t know why the class of 2012 (Zack, Trudi, Becky) are being so possessive of that second-to-last one – they were surely outnumbered by 2013 (Vic, Suzanne, Steve, Elena, Emily, Hannah, me), if not by staff and very welcome outlanders (Paula, Ariana, Saskia).

It was lovely to see Cambridge illustrators’ books – just published and not quite published – all over the fair, two graduates in the Illustrators Exhibition, and too many hundreds of other beautiful books to get excited about. And it is Quite Grand to see your own book there for the first time too. It is sometimes a bit intense though, and you worry that maybe someone has gotten hold of your squeegee and you better go home and see.

Napkin Bolognese

Further to my recent post on napkins, I have just returned from the Bologna bookfair, where collaborative drawing happened in a grand number of ways, including this three-napkin bonanza by Elena, Becky, Caroline, Emily and me in Bar 51 (click to see it bigger).
We also drew on placemats and on giant paper on the side of our stand at the fair, and we played a stunning game of telephone pictionary which I hope to share at some point.

In other news, I met hundreds of beautiful books and several beautiful ice creams; I also had an altercation with a wheelie-suitcase on the way to meet a publisher, which resulted in a split lip and an afternoon spent in hospital on a sugar drip. Many lovely Cambridge people looked after me and I am getting less scabby every day.

Oh and here is the suitcase I took (and didn’t trip anyone up with):

Oh my giddy aunt Bologna

I think I have got the bolognese out of my dress, but not the Bologna out of my head. Before unpacking or doing anything useful, I thought I would turn some doodles from queues to see publishers into a screenprint.

So, sometimes you queue for hours with two pigs and a sausage dog and then the Editor or Art Director says “ISNOTFORUS”, and sometimes you don’t queue at all and they say much more positive things. And this year we had a stand for the MA and the publishers really did come and see us and read our books.

And there were giant Sizos on the wall, and Elena‘s Toucan, and all manner of things.
The fair was even more manic and mind-boggling than last year, but whilst running around the four aircraft hangers between queues, appointments, exhibitions and our stand, I did manage to purchase some beautiful things: I particularly recommend Amiga Gallina which features some very fine willow-pattern cows.

To Bologna!

Eep, here we go again to the Children’s Bookfair – to be thoroughly overawed by what’s possible in picture books, buy some beautiful stories we can’t read, consume copious gelato from the hole in the wall, and be part of this Cambridge School of Art stand thing. Here is a stick-and-quink sketch from last year: