Artful Readers Club - Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller

I read this book earlier in the year as I was pretty sure I would have no time to sit and read it this month. Busy busy as my daughter is getting married on the 28th of this month. I did save the art work to do though and picked up my Kindle to check the spelling of a name and that was it. I reread the book abandoning all else.
I have always loved the Greek Myths and legends even as a child, hence picking up this book. I know you will all know the story so will not be spoiling the plot for anyone this month. This story focuses on the love Achilles and Patroclus have for each other. A love that survives the brutality of war and betrayal. The book is sexy, violent and yet tender. Despite the cruel parts I loved it. It is one of the best books I have ever read. Beautifully written and totally engaging. Brilliant, a must read. I was crying , both times, by the end.

I used a stamp I felt was an image of Achilles goddess mother by his grave as part of my art work. The background represents the forest where Chiron, half horse half man teaches the young Achilles and Patroclus. Here they are happy and true to themselves. I used the gelli plate to create the background layer and then over stamped with the trees.

The second photo, sorry about the shadows, is the page in my journal.
Do check out the artwork at Darcy's blog here.

Artful Readers Club - Mariana by Susanna Kearsley

I just loved this book. I became totally engrossed with the characters and could not put it down. It is a romance in which the characters remember their previous lives. Julia is inexplicably drawn over a number of years to a cottage which she eventually buys. She hears stories of  the ghost of a "The Lady in Green" who used to be seen in the garden of her cottage but has not appeared for 30 years, Julia's age. Once in the cottage Julia is drawn into her previous reincarnation where she was Mariana. Mariana lived in the time of Charles the second. Others have also been drawn to the village and gradually the story unfolds and "the circle is closed". This is a quick read especially when you can't put it down and read into the night and I found it a very compelling.story.
For my art work I used water colours to create the cottage garden and the ghostly Mariana.

I mounted the finished piece into my journal on a page made using the Gelli plate. I die cut the name from some of the same left over card stock. Do take a look at the artwork of the other members of the club here at Darcy's blog and thank you all for your kind comments in previous months.

Jen x

Artful Readers Club - The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal

This book has been on my bedside for ages and I confess to not really knowing what it was going to be about, it was a recommended read. It is in fact the real life saga of a family going back to the 1870s. Edmund De Waal the author inherited the netsukes, small Japanese carved objects, from his uncle and set out to find out how they came into the family. I did not find this an easy read as there were many words I did not know and had to look up in the dictionary. It is easier when on my kindle. It was however worth the effort. It is a well written book and the history of the family is fascinating. This Jewish family left Odessa and travelled to Vienna and then Paris. They made their fortune and collected many art treasures among them the netsukes. The book charts the course of their ownership within the family and the confiscation of the families possessions when the Nazis invaded Austria. We know the netsuke survived this terrible period of the family history as Edmund inherits them. They ended up with his uncle Iggy in Japan. I will say no more in case someone wishes to read the book.
For my artwork I worked in Craft Artist 2 and made a collage of some of the elements of the book. Paris, the Ephrussi house in Vienna, Japan, Charles Ephrussi and three of the netsuke. The Hare, the Rat and the Barrel Maker.
Jen x

Artful readers Club - Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

It is hard to say I enjoyed this book as the trench warfare scenes are harrowing but it was a wonderful read. Beautifully written and totally unforgettable.The book follows the life and loves of Stephen Wraysford from his initial pre- war stay in France to the finding of his diaries some 60 years after the war. For those who may read it I do not want to give the story away but I was almost holding my breath towards the end. The characters, however briefly they appear, are so well described that I felt that I knew them and certainly cared about their fate. I have read stories of the First World war before but after reading this one I really understand why my Grandad would never talk to me about his experiences and why the poppy is such an appropriate emblem for the fallen.
I felt inspired to try and paint my piece this month and used acrylics on canvas. I painted and used a small poppy stamp with the red paint as a layer. I used a stencil through a mask to add the barbed wire and confess this was added through my tears, such was the effect of this book. I added a bird to reflect Stephen's last journey through the trenches and a larger 3D poppy.
I am so glad I finally got around to reading this book.
Jen x

Artful Readers Club - The Last train Home by Tony Wilson

I read and enjoyed this book as I sped along on the train to Scotland. The story is set on Christmas Eve and explores the lives and personalities of three very different men. Mysteriously they are all on the same, last train home with an unknown but clearly magical person. We hear about episodes in their lives and through the mists of time the stranger shows them various events that might or might not have happened. They are shocked and surprised at the ripple effect of their actions and this is the moral of the story. Seemingly small decisions we make can have a big effect on our lives and that of others with whom we are linked.
The ending is a bit Hollywood, there may even be a film with a not dissimilar theme,but I was so engaged with the characters I was happy with that and smiling as I read the last chapter.
My art work is a journal page again using silhouettes! Inspired by the description of the train stuck in the snow in the story.
Looking forward to reading all the other reviews and seeing the wonderful art work for this month, see it on Darcy's blog here    Jen x

Artful Readers Club - Site Works

This month my book was Site Works by Robert Davidson. I bought this book after reading the precise as when my Dad first came to England from Ireland aged 18 he worked as part of a team of laborers in the highlands of Scotland.
The book clearly portrays the daily life and toil of such a group of men working in the present day to build a drainage facility. I could hear echos of tales my Dad told me of his experiences and can appreciate the hard conditions these men work under but I did not enjoy this book. It was a struggle to finish it and only managed it by skim reading long passages. Not a book I can recommend. There was too much technical jargon and descriptions for me and not enough in depth exploration of what I felt could have been interesting characters. I was not really inspired by it but have taken my inspiration from having visited Scotland and the young surveyor in the book who came to love his job despite the problems. I made a journal page.

Page one of my new journal. I used a Gelli plate to create the background and a separate sheet from which I die cut the pine trees. I found a silhouette of a worker with his hard hat on and used this to create my silhouette. I used a number of stamps from my stash in the background. I journalled around the figure but this does not show up very well in the photo.
Do take a look at the lovely art work created by other members of the club here at Darcy's blog.
Jen x

Artful Readers Club - Purple

My book this month is Purple by Graham J Sharpe this is a fantasy novel set in modern day London originally intended as young adult fiction. It was an impulse buy off Amazon and I had to suspend belief to get started really but was attracted by some lovely descriptions.
In the story a purple mist has descended on the world and all the people aged between 18 and 65 have vanished. The under 18 and the oldies are left to run London. The oldies have been left pain free by the mist and they and the young people work together. The young assume responsibilities that previously would have been considered beyond them and everyone pulls together. Greed was only evident in one or two, unfortunately they made themselves leaders.The tale follows follows four youngsters who meet and try to unravel the mystery of the purple and find their parents.
There is a lot of food for thought in this vision of a less selfish society and it highlights the underestimation of the capabilities of both the younger and older members of society. It is a quick read and despite my incredulity at the plot and the coincidences, seems the energies where responsible for those,I enjoyed the read. I found myself smiling a lot while reading!
The young people are brought together by the finding of a purple rose so that is my art work for this month. I have actually drawn this rose not stamped or traced. I was tempted. This is a big first for me having found the courage to try to draw by reading The Creative License by Danny Gregory. A very inspirational book.
Here's my purple rose.

Do check out the other book reviews and artwork at Darcy's blog here.
 Jen x