Being a fly on the wall at 'Make York'

Make York is a body promoting young business proffesionals in York.

Last night, 12.10.10 Make York held a Question Time style event at St Williams College with all the great and good of York present, including the Canon of the Minster Dr Jonathan Draper, York's Lib Dem Councillor Andrew Waller, the senior partner from Langleys solicitors Adam Sinclair, an educational specialist from York St John Jessica Grant chaired by the Business Editor from the Yorkshire Post.

Asked to go along and record the evening here are some of the results - for the full set click here

Next stop Visit York's AGM meeting!

Is this the world's greatest Chef?

A portrait of Ferran Adria the head chef and owner of El Bulli in North East Spain.

If you've heard of him I apologise but digging around I learnt...

El Bulli has been voted the worlds best restaurant 4years in a row. He's the role model to Heston Blumenthal coming up with frozen nitrogen cooking, carrot air? plus loads of mind boggling dishes. He serves a 48 course meal and his waiting list is over a year, but he doesn't make a profit because of his research & the size of his team - his books, products & branding making up for it. To top all of this he's going to close his restaurant for 2 years to think up some new ideas!

I couldn't resist and thought it would be an interesting take to try create his portrait without actually showing any food - mirroring his idea of deconstructing food!

To view more like this click here

The Stone Festival - The Wonders of Nature

The title of the brief given to the stonemasons - seemed quite fitting!

Stone Festival in York Minster school yard

Developing my series of drawings on the Stone Masons, here is one more snippet from the Stone Festival - This week it is time to forgo the comfort of the studio and get back to the scaffolding on the Minster...

View the full series so far

Up on the top of the Minster

Some of my first drawings from the scaffolding and the roof of York Minster as the new grotesque carvings find their home

View the full series so far



The Old men of York




SShh!



View some previous work from the Minster

Aren't we blessed?!

A new addition to my collection of saints and sinners, which category he falls in to is your choice! Ahead of his visit to the UK, here's my own little comment on the Pope and his entourage in all it's pomp and bling! There's always hope that some day the Catholic Church might just wake up to the modern world.




To view more saints and sinners click here

Drawings from The International Stone Festival York

Continuing my drawings with Stone Masons at York Minster last weekend a rare event took place. Each year somewhere in Europe stone masons from all around come together to compete in a stone off! Who is the best European Stone Mason of his/her time?

Apprentices, Journeymen*, and master Stone Masons alike appear from Germany, Scandinavia and all over Britain to chip away using pretty much the same tools as used in medieval times, drink alot of beer and demonstrate their timeless craft.

Set in the school grounds of Saint William's choral school next to York Minster the subject was set to carve 'Nature's wonders' and the results were auctioned off at the end of the weekend with the proceeds going to the upkeep of York Minster. The carvings produced included grotesque frogs, magical griffins a fair few Yorkshire roses, a pea pod growing from a man's lungs (taken from a story published in the Daily Mail!), a monster designed by a York 7yr old school child winning a local competion and carved by the Minster's senior Mason and the winning piece by Nina Bildey, a beautiful and intricately carved snail emerging and twisting out from its shell.

Amongst the ale, healthy rivalry, laughter and music, limestone dust and bemused day visitors to York Minster I couldn't resist to view the full set click here.