For the past many weeks, I have hardly been in my printing office at all . . . rather I have been holed up with my computer, camera, Photoshop and InDesign wrestling with (but actually much enjoying) the putting together of the ‘sequel’ to our Bibliography, now ten years old. The photograph below is of a selection of spreads in rough proof form. I am hoping that my task will be completed in a few weeks so then it will be up to the printer and binder how long it will be before publication. I will keep you posted.
It happened that I was working on the four pages concerning the book, The Girl from the Sea that was published quite recently. This is a posthumously published “Play for Voices” by George Mackay Brown with wonderfully atmospheric woodcuts and wood engravings by the American artist Michael Onken.
On that very day we had the pleasure of being able to welcome Llewellyn Thomas and his family for a short ‘motorway stop’ in their journey from west Wales to their home in Kent.
The coincidence lay in that it was Llewellyn who had, way back in 1991, made the (fiendishly detailed and difficult to print!) wood engravings for In the Margins of a Shakespeare also by George Mackay Brown. This book (long out of print, sadly) was one of my favourites and we were all greatly pleased when George said how well he thought of it.
He was unable to see the ‘Selkies’ book of course but I hope (and feel) that he would have approved as much.
Recently bought a postcard in a charity shop because I loved the picture of the woodcut. The reverse of the card just says "HARVEST. Llewellyn Thomas", no publisher or date. Is this the same person you mention as one of your illustrators? If so can you tell me where I can see more of his work.
Brenda Keyte