birthday special

It has become a tradition to make an annual "special" for Jack from one of his poems on either his birthday or for Christmas.

During a recent visit to Christchurch I was lucky enough to find the most amazing notepad designed by Lyttelton ceramic artist Nichola Shanley and sold at Ng Space. Each pad (right-hand image above) has a unique hand-painted cover and I seized upon this one of a fantastical beast. There are eight gloriously baroque drawings in the pad and fifteen of each design. It couldn't have been more perfect to illustrate a short poem of Jack's about awakening and transformation. It is called "Malinche Dreams" and it was inspired by the painting The Dream of Malinche by Antonio Ruiz (1939).

I cut out the blank centre of each of Nichola's illustrations, mounted it on card and hand-coloured selected details. Then I turned it into a simple concertina book. It's a nice addition to Jack's growing collection of "specials".