Barbara Hepworth retrospective – and how to buy her art for £75

I'm a little breathless about yesterday's news that a big Barbara Hepworth retrospective is coming to Tate Britain next year. 

I saw Hepworth's work some years ago, in a show at Tate St Ives (in the town so dear to me): the Tate Britain show promises to be very good indeed, but the Cornish branch was possibly the most spectacular building in which to view her curvaceous, earthy work – and not just because it was the mid-century sculptor's adopted home and workplace.

If you've been to the beach-side gallery, you'll know the central plinth inside the front of the building, beyond which you can see the waves crashing into Porthmeor Beach beyond, sand, sky and water lit up with that unique, luminous St Ives light. Imagine now looking at that view not just through the circle of the windows, but also through the void in the middle of a giant Hepworth artwork. Magical.

The Tate Britain show, opening in Summer 2015, will be the first Hepworth retrospective in London since 1968 and will feature more than 70 works, including rarely exhibited pieces, pre-war carvings that survived the bombing of her studio and the artist's use of photography and film. (Random fact unconnected to Hepworth, but connected to St Ives and the war: my dad was a small boy in the 1940s and, while in St Ives visiting his grandmother, had to hide behind rocks on the little beach next to Tate St Ives as enemy planes flew overhead and shot at him and his father.

I'm digressing wildly. And this isn't just an excuse to publish images of some of my favourite pieces of her work. If you can't wait until 2015 to come to the big smoke and get your fix – did you know that John Lewis is currently selling a collection of beautiful reproduction Barbara Hepworth prints (pictured above and below)?

They're £75 each and are exclusive to John Lewis as part of the celebrations of the store's 150th anniversary.

The artworks were chosen because one of Barbara Hepworth's sculptures, Winged Figure, commissioned by John Lewis and installed in the early 1960s, adorns the exterior of the flagship London branch. You can see and read about the interesting story behind the six-foot sculpture on the excellent My Friend's House blog.

But don't go yet – you can also see some of Hepworth's rarely-seen drawings in this archive post by contributing ed, Abi.

Happy weekend all – and I'm off for a couple of weeks, partly taking little break in the sun and partly obsessing over what DIY chores around the house I can get stuck into. That's just how some people relax. You of all people should understand...


The Barbara Hepworth retrospective takes place at Tate Britain next summer; also part of the Tate's 2015 programme are major exhibitions including Jackson Pollock, Frank Auerbach, Marlene Dumas and Alexander Calder, kinetic sculptor and inventor of the mobile. 

Images: John Lewis, Tate.org and Hepworth Estate for the photograph of Barbara Hepworth in the Palais studio in 1963 with unfinished wood carving Hollow Form with White Interior, taken by Val Wilmer.

Post by Kate

Object of the day: Kimmy Hogan's sleeping Dachshunds

This is pretty much the cutest illustration of a dog you will ever have seen. Right?

The print is titled The Dachshund. Appendix 4: Sleep Study and it was drawn by (no surprises) a Dachshund-owning artist named Kimmy Hogan.

Sleeping dogs, especially little ones, are particularly endearing and Kimmy has captured that aspect beautifully, in this very simple series of line drawings.

Kimmy, who is based in Australia, based the sketches on her own miniature dachshund, Rio.

And the good news? It may only be for sale in Australia, but Kimmy's stockist Elk in the Wood offers FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING. Woo! The print costs $40AUD (£22) for an A4 sized version and $75AUD (£41) for the A3 version.

Kimmy also has an Etsy shop, but she's on maternity leave at the moment. But you can still catch her at her beautiful blog, Whitewiththree.blogspot.co.uk. As I'm on a bit of a houseplants tip right now, I particularly enjoyed her inspiring latest post, on that very topic.

Post by Kate

Hatch Show Prints Nashville

I've already plundered a few of my holiday snaps from the recent US road trip (did you see the amazing Shack Up Inn in Mississippi? Loved that place!). There will be more plundering – we just saw sooooo much great stuff.

In today's post, may I introduce you to Nashville's legendary poster shop, Hatch Show Prints. Our friend Ashley used to live in Nashville and has some of their bright screen prints on her kitchen wall. When I admired them, she told me all about the shop. So while we were there we went to check it out.

This is the tempting wall that greets you as you enter the shop, which is also where the printing happens, as you can see lower down in this post.

I bought a postcard version of the cool Patsy Cline print, above (there's a clearer image below, too). Did you know that Cline was was the first female artist to headline her own shows in the late 1950s? I've been listening recently to modern Nashville singer, Caitlin Rose, who does a lovely cover of Cline's 1957 number, Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray. Gorgeous.

But back to Hatch.

Hatch began as a family-run business in 1875, when the two original Hatch brothers brought their letterpress skills from Wisconsin to Nashville.

They started pretty much as they continued, by advertising all sorts of southern American shows – from travelling circuses, to carnivals and vaudeville acts. The posters would be plastered up the sides of barns and city buildings. Meanwhile, the day-to-day work of designing advertising posters for filling stations, laundries, grocery stores, and movie theatres was the company's bread and butter (you can see the current range of advertising posters here).

And then, along came country music – which is probably made Hatch Prints (and, of course, Nashville) famous, rather than just busy – and explains why it is now owned by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, to which it was donated in 1992.

The company – by then, under the management of a new generation of the family – carved the faces of some of the genre's biggest stars into its woodblocks. Johnny Cash, the above-mentioned Patsy Cline and Hank Williams have all been immortalised by the store's inks and distinctive simple, graphic, bright designs – as well as legends from other genres, including Elvis, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. You can buy reprints of all the old favourites, as well as lots of brand new designs.  

And here are some of my favourite Hatch Show Prints. The good news is they recently opened an online shop and ship worldwide. And the prints are so affordable (they start at just a couple of dollars a-piece) that, even if you're outside the States, the cost of the postage should be off-set by the cost of your artwork. Probably best to buy a few then...

Above: Eat, Drink and be Married (good wedding present!) and Dolly Parton and her Traveling Band show poster.

I bought the Terrier on Duty print for Ashley, because as well as being our remote Nashville guide, she is also my Jack Russell Reggie's chief doggie sitter. It is printed from hand-carved lino blocks, with text typeset from antique wood typefaces typical of the Hatch archive, explains the blurb. It also informs us that the dog in the picture is Hatch's own hound, Finnegan, who is on duty at the shop Monday to Friday.

The other two prints are: Johnny Cash and a classic – but classy – tourist souvenir of Music City. And it really is a music city – you cannot walk more than a few seconds before finding another acoustic guitar and mournful singer covering Dolly et al, wafting from the next bar room window. God we loved it, even in the super touristy city centre where Hatch Prints has its home. Even the Civic Centre has giant speakers on the pavement, pumping out country tunes. Totally brilliant if country floats your boat – though, if it doesn't, you probably aren't going to be in Nashville any time soon.
 

And here's good old Patsy, along with a 1998 advertisement Hatch made for the Kentucky State Fair that I brought home for co-editor Abi (and, ahem, myself). We both do like an equine graphic.

Now, as they'd say in Nashville: have great weekends y'all!

Lovely Pigeon

Hello there; it's Abi posting today while Kate's still dusting off her her stetson and catching up after her recent trip to Mississippi. It's all about the very lovely Lovely Pigeon today though.

Lovely Pigeon is one of my favourite websites and it's not hard to see why. There are gorgeous prints, delightful stationery and even a smattering of vintage wares for sale. I found Lovely Pigeon when I was searching for Christmas presents for friends of a design persuasion and came across these pretty prints of birds and other things.

There's also a small but perfectly formed range of stationery featuring the eponymous lovely pigeons but also cute animal sets and a newly introduced range of geometrically influenced notebooks.

Lovely Pigeon is the creation of Kirsty Thomas who started producing the Mr Pigeon lino prints in 2009 from a studio in her home in Cellardyke on the East Coast of Scotland. Kirsty is a designer, illustrator and, as she puts it "an occasional shopkeeper". She makes all these lovely things (and jewellery too) and sometimes opens a shop to sell her wares and showcase the work of other Scottish and UK makers.

Kirsty is inspired by many things that we here at YHIL also like: “I love block colour and geometry, mid-century design, flea markets and typography," she says. "I am inspired by people like Charles and Ray Eames, Charlie Harper and Lucienne Day and their eclectic and inclusive approach to design. I am also passionate about interiors and my house and studio sees an ever-changing collection of vintage chairs and weird ceramic dogs.” And, below, you can see the space where she channels her inspirations...

But why the name Lovely Pigeon? “I didn't really have an opinion on pigeons until I set up the company," she explains. "But I've since developed a fondness for them – there are some good-looking country pigeons round here! The Mr Pigeon lino print was one of the first pieces to be launched and I still love it – he has a twinkle in his eye and is now the 'face' of the Lovely Pigeon brand.”

My favourites are these gorgeous blue bear and balloon set of two prints (£14) and the copper foiled Anstruther limited edition prints (£40). In fact, many of Kirsty's hand-pulled prints are produced in limited edition runs and are a very affordable way to kick start your own artcollection. There's also some brilliant upcycled teatowel cushions featuring holiday destinations that are as bright and bubbly as a pitcher of sangria (£18-£25)

And Kirsty tells me: “Lovely Pigeon is all about making people smile." I think this is probably why I want pretty much everything that's for sale at Lovely Pigeon...

Penguins!

I've written about the excellent shop Howkapow before and Kat and Roger, who run it (online and at its Bristol real-life version) have great taste and a fondness for colour and quirk that I love.

This print, Pinguinos, by the illustrator Abi Pickett, also based in Bristol, is another of Howkapow's great finds. Isn't it brilliant? It is signed and editioned and measures 28cm x 35cm and costs £45. (The shop also sells a rather marvellous penguin necklace, too.)

Abi is an illustrator, based in Bristol and describes her work as exhibiting her "own brand of humour, a love of pattern and an unhealthy obsession with her dog".

'Own brand', for sure. Prints on her own website include drawings called 'Koala Farts' and 'Smell Foot'.

But, being in charge of a four-legged pal, I like this...

Nice presents for nice small people

It's been a while since I featured any kid-specific stuff here (rather than just stealing children's things and appropriating them for adult use). 

But with my best buddy* shaping up to pop a little'un out in a couple of months, I have babies – and baby presents the parents will approve of – on the brain. Here are some of my favourite finds...

Clockwise, from left

'Have a nice day!' bear poster, from the Hambledon, £14.95. That's what the text – which is Swedish – means. Even though the print is Japanese. It measures a handy 50cm x 70cm, so fits into a standard, off-the-shelf frame.

Nanuk lamp, from a friendly-sounding Dutch company, Mr Maria, £149. No, it's not cheap. But LOOK AT HIS FACE. He also measures a sturdy 41cm, in case that helps justify a purchase. There is also a very lovely story about the glowing bear's origins on the website, which will make little ones love it even more. (Thanks, by the way, to my friend Vinnie, a big kid, who pointed me at Mr Maria through her love of their Floating Miffy lamp.) See some of the other designs, below...

Japanese paper balloons, from Papermash, £2.75. These are inflated by blowing through a hole, and will withstand being deflated and blown back up a few times. Perfect for party bags or for making a brightly coloured mobile. Papermash is a fantastic stationery shop that I have only just discovered, but which I will be writing more about because it sells so much good, colourful stuff to make presents look lovely.

Creative Creatures Activity Book for Children (Macmillan), by Donna Wilson, £12.99. My friend's eight-year-old loved making a sew-it-yourself stuffed owl when she came to visit a couple of months back. And this book is full of such projects, but with Donna W's excellently stylish and quirky take on what makes a good creature. Here are a few more images from inside...

'Last' wooden animals (below), from the FAO Shop. These beautifully hand-carved wooden animals, made by the Italian design studio, Alburno, are, arguably too good for sticky little fingers. Nearly forty quid for a toy that's 15cm high could be money better spent if these lovely things were displayed on a grown-up shelf. That said, the sentiment behind them is is perhaps designed with that in mind: each animal is an extinct species, and the idea is that this will help teach the importance of caring for the wooden versions. I think I'd stick to that high shelf.

* In case you remember the cushion sale I was on about last year... which was a fundraiser for my friend who'd had four heartbreakingly unsuccessful rounds of IVF and was selling cushions to earn some funds to help go towards her and her partner's final go... well, that's the same friend who is now sporting a beautiful bump. Isn't that nice?