Diary of a tyro art promoter

2011-09-27T15:58:00.002+02:00

HANNAH FRANK ART NEWS SEPTEMBER 2011

It’s been a hectic few months and I’ve been meaning to send a newsletter for about twelve weeks. So here it is. First - a Shana Tovah, Happy New Year, and well over the fast, to all my Jewish readers.

The main highlights of this newsletter are NEW cards and NEW notelets, NEW stockists, and an AUCTION – coming up TODAY Tuesday 27^th September!

AUCTION AT McTEAR’S I’m delighted to report that two Hannah Frank works are up for auction on TUESDAY 27^th September (probably ‘today’ depending on when you get this email) at McTear’s Auction House in Glasgow. The drawing, ‘Spirit of Delight’ from 1927 was untraced for many years. I found it though a chance encounter on eBay. I was offering Hannah Frank prints there when Adam Brawn Meek, an antiques dealer from Norwich, came forward. Adam was offered a set of Hannah Frank drawings in the 1970s. He bought four drawings and a set of woodcuts. ‘Spirit of Delight’ was one of these drawings and had been hiding in his attic for 30 years!

The drawing illustrates Shelley’s melancholy poem of 1824 and features a slender female figure in white with flowing hair and gown against a stark black background. Beneath the drawing, which is signed by the artist, Hannah has inscribed the words: ‘Rarely, rarely, comest thou – Spirit of Delight – Shelley.’ My aunt sold a number of drawings in the 1970s to a dealer who came to her front door in Glasgow. Several have since surfaced in the Norwich area. The minimum on all drawings at this auction is £1000. This is the first time an original Hannah Frank drawing has come up for auction for many years and we’re very interested to see what interest there will be. One of Hannah Frank’s sculptures, a bronze head from 1954, is also being auctioned.

The auction takes place at 6pm and you can either go in person, bid online or watch the progress of this auction - live on the McTear’s website. See their website for more info. (I’ll be watching live in Lancaster if you’d like to join me at my house....)

NOTELETS By popular demand – thanks to Beatrice Sofaer AND Arteria in Lancaster – we now have Hannah Frank NOTELETS. These are half the size of the normal cards, they come in packs of six assorted images, there are four different sets of assorted images, and each set costs £5.99 to buy (plus £1.50 p&p). They’re so new they’re not even on the website yet but you can see the makeup of the different sets HERE . If you’d like to order one or more sets, either print off an order form and send it back to me with a cheque, or just email me your name and address and how many of which sets of notelets you’d like, and I’ll send you back a paypal invoice by return (or you can post a cheque, payable to Hannah Frank Art Sales, to the address on the order form.) You don’t even have to look at the document – just email me if you’d like me to choose you a ‘lucky dip’ pack. These make lovely presents and can come as a special ‘gift’ set tied up with black ribbon – on request.

ARDGOWAN HOSPICE ART SHOW Sarah Nottingham got in touch and asked if we would be prepared to help out with an art show in aid of Ardgowan Hospice, Greenock, running from 18 to 20 November. You will be able to buy Hannah Frank notelets and prints at the Riverside Inverclyde Gallery, at the Ladyburn Business Centre, Pottery Street, Greenock, PA15 2UH.

BREAST CANCER CARE We have donated a signed print which will be auctioned at the Breast Cancer Care champagne reception and evening fashion show taking place at the Radisson Hotel, Glasgow, on Thursday 29th September, 2011. See their website for further information.

RIOT RAFFLE Hannah Frank art has also made a contribution to the clean-up after the recent riots that broke out across the UK. We donated a signed copy of the 1947 print 'Woman with Birds' to "riotraffle', the art and craft community raising money for the Retail Trust. All of the money raised will go to help small businesses harmed in the riots around the UK. Please visit the site and buy a raffle ticket! tickets are on sale until 30 September 2011.

HANNAH FRANK AT TRADE FAIRS We had stands at two trade fairs this summer, in Harrogate and Glasgow, with a specific aim to get Hannah Frank cards into new outlets – art shops, galleries and card shops. I had fantastic support at the trade fairs from Hannah Frank afficionados Wendy Moore (who helped to hang the exhibition at Lancaster City Art Gallery in 2004!), and longstanding Hannah Frank fan Tim Street. We have made many more cards available – a total of 27 are now on sale, including a beautiful ‘Girl With Menorah’, ‘Sorcery’ from 1929, and ‘Out of the Night a Shadow Passed’ (1928). See them on the website gallery HERE We made lots of new friends (especially at Glasgow, where I made myself very popular by taking round a Hannah Frank illustrated CAKE to celebrate my birthday!) We are very pleased to announce that cards and/or prints are now available from the following outlets with more (including Arteria, Lancaster) poised to join in very soon:

The Cat's Miaou, Edinburgh

Bookpoint, Dunoon

Glasgow University Visitor Centre

Calder Gallery, Lochwinnoch

Mosaic, Bishop's Stortford

Iona Gallery and Pottery, Isle of Iona

Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling

Darryl Nantais Gallery, Linton, Cambridge

Glasgow Women’s Library (at the Mitchell Library – Berkeley St)

BOOK COMPETITION At Harrogate we ran a daily competition for a copy of the book ‘Hannah Frank: A Glasgow Artist, Drawings and Sculpture.’ Among the winners were Les Skinner, from Euphoria, Whitchurch, Cardiff; Sheila Tennet, from Florin and The Glendale Gallery, Wooler, Northumberland, Tracy Goldsmith, Paula Manfield, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Carol Johnson from Daisy Jewellers, Mark Jessett of GF Smith paper supplier, Charlotte Strawbridge, artist and Claire Riley from the House for an Art Lover. . At Glasgow we had a raffle to win a signed and numbered copy of the print ‘Dream’ (1952) which was won by Christine Brown from the Calder Gallery in Lochwinnoch.

HANNAH FRANK features in Masters Thesis Earlier this month I was very moved to read Dawn Sinclair’s Master’s thesis, “Shaping the archive - Identity and the Acquisition and Processing of Archives”. Dawn was doing the post-graduate degree in Information Management and Preservation at Glasgow University. She interviewed me earlier this year, and wrote beautifully about the place of my aunt's archive in the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, and the role that the manager and housekeeper at Westacres Care Home had played in preserving the collection, as well as my own role as ‘champion’ of my aunt’s collection.

Please think about buying some cards, notelets, or prints, to help to bring Hannah Frank to an even wider audience. When just one new person sees a card then we have reached another potential fan of my aunt’s art.

Best wishes

Fiona Frank

Director, Hannah Frank Art

07778 737681

hannahfrankart@gmail.com

2011-08-19T09:02:00.001+02:00

There has been lots of Hannah Frank-related news in 2011 - I have submitted my PhD (finally) and spent six months living in Glasgow finishing that off. That has kept me pretty much busy all year so I haven't been keeping this blog up at all. But I HAVE done a trade fair in Harrogate, donated a print to a 'riotraffle' to support small traders whose businesses were damaged by the August riots, and printed up 27 new cards to add to what's available on the Hannah Frank website. The next thing will be NOTELETS - to come in September, in response to demand from card-shop visitors to the Harrogate stall.

I'm going to be doing another Hannah Frank stall at the Glasgow Autumn Trade Fair on 18/19 September at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre - stand K20. The show is free to the trade, go to the trade fair website to complete a free registration form. At that stall galleries, card shops and others will be able to see how the 27 stunning new cards, the signed and unsigned prints, and books, would look in their outlets.

The value and profile of Hannah Frank's work in Scotland is likely to be greatly increased this year. September will see a rare chance for discerning buyers to acquire an original Hannah Frank drawing. An early work, 'Spirit of Delight', dating from 1927 when the artist was only 19, has been lying in a Norwich loft for 30 years, and will be coming up for auction, together with one of Hannah Frank's first sculptures, a bronze Head 1954, at McTear's 'Fine Autumn Pictures Auction' in Glasgow on 27th September.

At the SECC there'll be a FREE DRAW for a framed, signed and numbered Hannah Frank print of her drawing 'Dream', 1952, which retails at £350. The draw will be drawn at the end of the show, Monday 19th September. If you won't be there but would like to be included in the draw, *post your business card or contact details* to Hannah Frank Art Sales, c/o Fiona Frank, 3 Dalton Road, Lancaster LA1 3PR, England, to arrive by Wednesday 14th September 2011.

Do get in touch if you want to stock Hannah Frank prints, cards, or sculpture, or would like to know more.

all the best

Fiona Frank

Director, Hannah Frank art

Klezmer Night 11th December 2010

2010-11-10T16:55:00.002+01:00

Klezmer Music, Dance and Story-Telling

Sat 11th December 2010

An evening Klezmer dance with a Yiddish story-teller - and afternoon

Klezmer music workshop

The Gregson Community and Arts Centre, Moorgate, Moor Lane, Lancaster LA1 3PR

7.30 p.m. - 11.00 p.m. Klezmer dance, with the Klatsch, callers

Judith Plowman and Sue Cooper, with interval entertainment from

spell-binding Yiddish storyteller Shonaleigh - official consort to the

Story-Teller Laureate.

£7.50/£5.00 (lower price for Gregson members, concessions, and people attending in the afternoon)

Afternoon workshop and film

2.00 pm - 5.00 pm in the main hall - Klezmer Music workshop with The Klatsch. All welcome, any instrument. Some tunes will be learned by ear, others with music.

£5.00/£4.00 (lower price for Gregson members, concessions).

6.30 p.m. A FREE showing of the short film 'Hannah Frank, The Spark Divine' - by Sarah Thomas, film maker who was based at Lancaster until recently. Hannah Frank, 1908-2008, was a Glasgow artist whose eerie

black and white prints are showing in the Gregson bar during December. Order a meal from the Gregson's varied menu and eat it in the hall as you watch the film.

Organised by Lancaster and Lakes Jewish Community and the WEA Folk to Folk class.

For further information email Fiona Frank at lancslakesjc@gmail.com or Sian Phillips on Siande_lier@hotmail.com or phone 07778 737681.

Get your tickets in advance for the evening dance from the Gregson on 01524 849959 or just turn up.

2010-11-04T21:20:00.004+01:00

These are seven (**six, sorry!) individually reproduced full size digital images of Hannah Frank's work which we had done for the poetry competition and which are 'surplus to requirements'. They're done on beautiful quality heavy art paper. Normally £75, I'm happy to let these go for £25 each plus £2.50 p&p in the UK. There's only one of each so first come first served!

If you'd like one email me with your preference and I will send you a paypal invoice or an address to send your cheque.

Fiona

UPDATE 7 DECEMBER: That was a flight through the air has gone. FURTHER UPDATE: O to the Rolling Heaven, Woman with Book, andSultan after Sultan, have also GONE.

fionafrank@gmail.com

Silent Auction at the Hidden Lane Gallery till 30 October

2010-10-23T23:07:00.005+02:00

A rare chance to acquire an original Hannah Frank: for drawings and a set of two woodcuts for sale silent auction at the Hidden Lane Gallery up to 30 October 2010. See below for more photos....

Hannah Frank at the Hidden Lane Gallery till 30 October

2010-09-30T14:08:00.001+02:00

Hannah Frank at the beautiful Hidden Lane Gallery - exhibition runs till 30 October, 11 am - 5 p.m. Tues-Saturday. Evening reception Wed 6th October 5 p.m.- 7.30 p.m. All welcome please pass it on!
1081 Argyle St, Finneston, Glasgow. G3 8LZ

Hannah Frank original drawings for sale by silent auction at the Hidden Lane Gallery -closes 4 p.m on Sat 30 October

2010-09-15T14:19:00.006+02:00

Four drawings and a set of two woodcuts by Hannah Frank - Al Aaraaf (1908-2008)- for sale by silent auction.

This is the first time that there has been a chance to bid on original Hannah Frank drawings since the 1970s. This beautiful set of four drawings and two woodcuts has been in a private collection in Norwich for 30 years. They are now on show at the Hidden Lane Gallery Hannah Frank exhibition which runs till 30 October. Closing date for the Silent Auction is 4 p.m. on Saturday 30th October. You can bid, in increments of £20, in person at the gallery, or by phoning the gallery during gallery opening times (11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday).

Gallery Tel no 0141 204 3139.

Hidden Lane Gallery 1081 Argyle St Finneston Glasgow G3 8LZ.

http://hiddenlanegallery.com

The four drawings are:

'Ex Libris Arthur Frank' 1929 Pen and ink. - this is a well-known image of a stylised Hannah Frank style woman, holding up a sheet of paper, with a mask by her feet - done originally in 1929 as a frontispiece for the GUM magazine. It is signed Al Aaraaf, the artist's pen name which she used for drawings in the GUM. The drawing and the image was used for many of the 1960s and 70s exhibitions posters, and covers for prints and cards catalogues. When the current owner bought it there were details of an Edinburgh exhibition from the 1970s on it - these details are on the back of the frame, but under those details were, in beautiful manuscript 'ex libris Arthur Frank' - a bookplate for the artist's younger brother, Arthur Frank (1915-2005). There are some 'whiteout' marks which you can see on the closeup photos and glue marks where the different exhibition information, etc, has been stuck on the drawing. Opening offer £2500. (10/9/10 - check with gallery for latest price)

'Head with diamond floor' - unfinished drawing, pencil and pen and ink, 1934. The drawing is of a woman, in front of a window with a tree and typical Hannah Frank dark, close-drawn sky, with diamond tiled window ledge. The drawing is signed 'Hannah Frank' in pencil, in capital letters. Opening offer £1700. (10/9/10 - check with gallery for latest price)

'Hopeless Love' - pen and ink drawing, 1929. This beautiful drawing is of a woman, facing the viewer, with a long dress, long pointed fingers, and typical eerie Hannah Frank trees and a closely drawn dark nightfall in the background. The words, in careful manuscript, are 'a lady murmuring low words of hopeless love'. Hannah Frank based many of her drawings on poetry - the original of this quotation is not known (please contact the artist's niece Fiona Frank if you have any information on this quotation). This is an untypical drawing of the period in that there is a lot of white in it - her early drawings of 1928/1929 are mainly in black with fine white lines marking the figures. Opening offer £2000 (10/9/10 - check with gallery for latest price).

'Spirit of Delight' 1927 - pen and ink drawing. This very early drawing is of a woman, with long flowing hair and a long dress with a flowing train, silhouetted against a black background. The quotation is 'rarely rarely comest thou - spirit of delight' - which comes from a 1824 song of the same name by Shelley. Opening offer £2000 10/9/10 - check with gallery for latest price).

The two woodcuts are mounted together. They were done between 1932 and 1934 when Hannah Frank studied wood engraving at the Glasgow School of Art.(She won the James McBey prize for wood engraving. They are both of the same image, at slightly different stages of the engraving. One is signed Hannah Frank in pencil. The image is of the artist's own bookplate - the wording is 'Ex Libris Hannah Frank - Al Aaraaf'. There is a representation of the artist, holding a pen in her left hand (she was, in fact, right-handed, but the engraving is done in mirror image), with, in the background the typical star, and double leafed tree that figures in many of her drawings. The poetry books and bottle of ink - the other tools of her trade - feature below - and the artist is holding a sheaf of drawings in her right hand. Opening offer £1500 10/9/10 - check with gallery for latest price.)

Sale price includes frame with acid free mount. Enquire for closeup photos of individual drawings Fiona Frank, the artist's niece - hannahfrankart@googlemail.com

Also at the gallery - many more original Hannah Frank black and white drawings and sketches and a set of pastel life drawings from the 1950s which were only discovered in 2008 (and which are all for sale). Also bronze and plaster sculptures and a chance to buy cards, prints (some signed) and sculptures.

Silent Auction at the Hidden Lane Gallery

2010-09-13T18:17:00.004+02:00

closes 4 p.m. on Saturday 30th October 2010. These are two of the drawings - bids already received for them at £2000 each. More photos coming of the other two drawings and set of two woodcuts. Bids accepted at £20 increments. Call the gallery during gallery opening hours (Tues-Sat 11-5) on 0141 204 3139 to give them your contact details and to obtain a bidding number, then phone in your bid - or go and see the drawings in person!

exhibition at the Hidden Lanes Gallery, Glasgow

2010-09-13T18:04:00.002+02:00

opened on 10th September with a lovely party. This was Jewish New Year (I read the calendar wrong when I agreed the start date) so we have another evening reception coming up on Wednesday 6th October at 5 p.m. The exhibition looks fantastic and there are more sculptures on show than we've seen before anywhere in the last ten years since I've been involved in this project. The space is wonderful. We have poetry workshops coming up - it's all going very nicely. See http://hiddenlanegallery.com and www.hannahfrank.org.uk.

Info on the poetry workshops -

POETRY WORKSHOPS AT THE GALLERY

The first Hannah Frank Poetry Competition attracted over 500 entries and the winning poems are exhibited at the exhibition, with the drawings which inspired them. To continue this momentum, we have invited poet William Bonar and creative media tutor Catherine Wallace and colleagues into the gallery to run a selection of poetry workshops for adults and children.

Free, all welcome. There are 16 places at each workshop. Please book your place by phoning the gallery on 0141 204 3139.

ADULT WORKSHOPS – open to all, no experience necessary

Tuesday 14th September 2-3.30 with Catherine Wallace and colleagues from the Routes Into Learning project)

Tuesday 5th October 2-3.30 with Catherine Wallace and colleagues

Saturday 30th October (Hannah Frank and the Scottish Border Ballads), 2-4 p.m. with William Bonar from St Mungo’s Mirrorball Poets’ Network

SCHOOLS WORKSHOP

Tuesday 26th October (primary schools 11-12, secondary schools 1-2) with William Bonar

Schools, creative writing groups, art groups and others are welcome to book a slot in the gallery for their group to do some creative work inspired by the exhibition. There is a seating area for up to 16 people.

To book your slot or for more information phone the gallery on 0141 204 3139.

See over for more information on the workshops and tutors

HANNAH FRANK AT THE HIDDEN LANE GALLERY

POETRY WORKSHOPS AT THE GALLERY

Catherine Watt and Routes Into Learning.

Catherine Watt will be working with volunteers Avril Graham, Sandra Holmes and Pauline Green. Catherine manages the Routes into Learning project on behalf of John Wheatley College and Routes Out Services. Catherine has an Honours Degree in Media specialising in Film and Art and a Post Graduate Diploma in Screen Studies. She uses her experience to support vulnerable women to engage in using a range of creative media. Since the project was established almost six years ago they have held a variety of exhibitions of art and photography, performances of poetry and published a book 'A rose by any other name ...' to great acclaim in 2006. The project has also won a number of awards, most recently volunteer, Avril Graham, won the Overall Regional Learner of the Year Award from Scotland's Learning Partnership. The group will be running two open workshops demonstrating some of the techniques they have used to create their own poetry, on Tuesday 14th September and on Tuesday 5 October both from 2pm to 3.30pm. They are also hosting a closed workshop for some of the women they currently support on Friday 1 October from 2pm to 3.30pm.

William Bonar from St Mungo's Mirrorball Poets' Network.

William Bonar’s poetry has been widely published, most recently in Gutter 02 and Anon Seven. His pamphlet, Frostburn Steel, was published in 2004 by Dreadful Night Press. In 2008 he was awarded an MLitt in Creative Writing by Glasgow University. He used to teach English and still works in education. He'll be running two poetry workshops: one, for schools, on Tuesday 26th October, and one for adults on Saturday 30th October.
The workshop on Tuesday 26th October will be in two parts - 11-12 (primary) and 1-2 (secondary). There are only sixteen places for each event so schools will need to book in. It's expected that a school might send two or three talented poets, with a teacher, to one of these sessions.

The workshop on Saturday 30th October, the last day of the exhibition, will be on the theme of the Scottish Border Ballads and Hannah Frank. 2-4 p.m. Some of Hannah Frank's drawings share with the Border Ballads a sense of the supernatural, and the oddness of existence. The workshop will explore narrative forms of poetry inspired by the drawings of Hannah Frank, in in the tradition of the Scottish Border Ballads. To close the exhibition some participants will be invited to read their poems.

Schools – and other groups - are also invited to book a slot to bring up to 16 pupils to work on poems or sketches inspired by the drawings of Hannah Frank, at any time throughout the exhibition.

To book at any of these events or for more information

phone the gallery on 0141 204 3139.

Poetry Presentation programme

2010-08-17T22:25:00.002+02:00

Just picked up the beautifully designed programmes for the Hannah Frank Poetry Competition Prize Presentation - which is happening next Monday.
Cover fabulously designed by Andy Hornby, inside fabulously designed by Lucy Lloyd. :-)

all welcome to the poetry reading and certificate presentation, 11 a.m. at Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, on Monday 23rd August - the day which would have been my aunt's 102nd birthday.

New poster

2010-08-05T13:17:00.003+02:00

Prints of this art exhibition poster from the 1970s are available from the Hannah Frank website www.hannahfrank.org.uk or by emailing Fiona Frank. £25 - or FREE with a signed print for a limited offer.

Secret Thoughts of a young artist!

2010-02-07T09:38:00.002+01:00

Ninety years ago as a schoolgirl my aunt started writing some of her diary entries in Greek script - so that her brothers and other intruders wouldn't read her most secret thoughts.
A few years ago I got my ex husband Will Huxham to transcribe the diaries for me, but of course he left out the Greek bits. About a year ago we deposited her diaries at the Scottish Jewish Archives and I asked him to photocopy all the pages which had bits in Greek letters, with an idea that one day I would get someone to decipher those bits.

In the autumn some students from the Archiving MSc at Glasgow Uni did some cataloguing of my aunt's papers, letters, and diaries. I was very excited because one of them was actually Greek and I had high hopes of her being able to read the bits in Greek script. However because my aunt had a special way of transliterating English words in Greek, the student wasn't able to do this.

Meanwhile, I had looked all over the house for the photocopies and hadn't been able to find them. AND LAST NIGHT (thanks to a 'flylady' [flylady.net] decluttering mission, I found them, neatly filed away in a special folder - and have spent half an hour this morning beginning to decipher my aunt's most secret thoughts! These early ones were all about going in for essay competitions, and how she was annoyed at her relatives reading her poetry without any emotion at all.... I look forward to communing with my aunt more and more over the next months (there are LOTS of Greek entries). There's something new in the 'Hannah Frank project' every month, as usual. In December it was the launch of the Poetry competition - last month the Children's Laureate endorsed the competition - this month, her secret thoughts! (also a lovely article in the Lancaster and Morecambe Visitor).

Children's Laureate endorses our competition

2010-01-19T21:44:00.000+01:00

Anthony Browne, the Children's Poet Laureate, said this week:

"The poetry competition is a wonderful way to both celebrate Hannah Frank’s astonishing work and encourage people to look at drawing and images in a new light. As Children’s Laureate, I am very keen that we encourage young people to learn how to look at drawings and illustration; in fact, to encourage everybody to value the act of looking. Looking is just as important as words and this competition shows the value of both."

the teacher pack - 7 gone so far and ringing endorsement received

2010-01-19T20:33:00.002+01:00

We have started receiving requests for the 100 'Hannah Frank Art Packs' - free copies of the 'Hannah Frank, A Glasgow Artist' and 'Hannah Frank, Footsteps on the Sands of Time' books, and the 'Hannah Frank, The Spark Divine' biographical DVD, for Glasgow schools. 7 have gone so there are still 93 available for lucky Scottish schools who contact us quickly.
Anyway, here's a note from a happy recipient who said she was very happy for us to use her name:

"Your beautiful pack has just arrived- it far exceeded anything I was expecting.

Thank you so very much (and thank you for increasing her profile). I'm a long time admirer of Hannah Frank and actually have one of her signed prints up in my class! I'm a huge fan of the wonderful work your aunt produced.
I'm a teacher and work with profoundly disabled young people at a special school and would love to have a go with them to do something creative based on Hannah's work.
I am a great believer in the power of art to touch even the most disabled in our communities in different and unexpected ways."

Margaret Vaughan
PT Braidburn Special School

Edinburgh

Hannah Frank poetry competition - teachers' notes

2009-12-28T20:19:00.002+01:00

Here's an interview I did with Mrs Wood, the teacher at Pollokshields Primary School, after she'd worked with six top primary children to come up with some poetry inspired by Hannah Frank's drawings. For more info about the Hannah Frank poetry competition (free for 18 and under, £3.00 entry fee for adults - first prize £200 adult, £100 16-18 (and prizes for three other under 18 age categories too) - plus a framed Hannah Frank print for the winner, and for their school if they're still at school - go to the Hannah Frank website www.hannahfrank.org.uk (if you have trouble opening it, use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome).

And see the photos of the launch, and of Mrs Woods' children's poetry display, on the next post down.

18th December 2009

Launch of Hannah Frank Poetry Competition

Interview with Mrs Wood, teacher at Pollokshields Primary School

Fiona Frank: I am in Pollokshields primary school and Mrs Wood has been working with six children on Hannah Frank drawings. So tell us about that.

Mrs Wood: Well, we looked at various drawings and we talked about how they were very related to the art nouveau theme, and they were monochrome. And we looked at the brush strokes and the lines. And then we decided to choose one, and interestingly they all chose different ones. And then we had to look and say what does this picture tell us, what story is this picture telling us, how does it make us feel, what are the emotions and what is the mood of the picture. And they had a couple of minutes to write that down personally, and then they paperclipped the picture to what they had written and passed it to the person next to them, and it went round the group, it was a wee carousel. After so many minutes passing it round, they read what the previous person had written and added to it, they took the picture and added their thoughts and then it went back to the original person, who then took all of what was written on the A4 sheet, sometimes two sides. And they did a sketch of a poem, and then we looked at them and then all six of us then condensed that further down. They started off with a wee bit of a story and condensed it down into how poems are more phrases and words and lines to make it more punchy and catchy, and we wrote the final result from that. It was very exciting.

Fiona Frank: And you did it just in two afternoons?

Mrs Wood: Two afternoons

Fiona Frank: With just the six children?

Mrs Wood: With just the six children, and we had three computers on the second afternoon, so some were on the computers and some were handwriting them so we had a display as well for the school and the typed ones are going into the competition in March and they just did it as a wee kind of swapping back and forth. So that was good.

Fiona Frank: And then the written poems have been illustrated in a Hannah Frank sort of way, haven’t they.

Mrs Wood: That’s right, when they were writing them they took their inspiration for the borders through the different lines that she was using, the geometric shapes, the thickness and the thinness of the lines, the waviness, how you could add texture just from using a pen to put marks down on a page. Some are more successful than others but I think they all turned out really well

Fiona Frank: Are you an art teacher or an English teacher?

Mrs Wood: Just a primary teacher – jack of all trades as they say in primary school

Fiona Frank: It’s good doing it in Primary as you have to know everything about art and everything about writing…and children…. And how old are these children?

Mrs Wood: Eleven - primary seven age, coming on twelve, so they’re going to secondary school in August. It’s been a very exciting experience for them. They really enjoyed it. I would actually have quite liked to – and maybe next year I will – do it with a whole class. I think it’s been so successful. At first I thought this was quite a tall order, this was quite difficult – and I was actually amazed at what the children came up with. And I think sometimes we underestimate children, that they can see and come up with things deeper than what we think, what we expect of them, I definitely think it could be a project to do with a whole class. Even if you had less able children you could do them in groups so that they had a chance to put something towards a poem that maybe they were working in groups of two or three, each putting a few lines or something into the poem, to give them a sense of success as well from having taken part in it.

Fiona Frank: And then some people who aren’t brilliant poets are artists aren’t they?

Mrs Wood: Well that’s right. They could maybe even try to do their own picture using black pen, in the same style. They could even research other artists that use that style, that work in a monochrome technique, other art nouveau, that would be interesting. I think it would be a great thing. We actually, in primary seven, do, for part of the art programme, it’s called ‘Headlines’, you look at hair, and you try to create textures and movement with your pencil line to show the waves in the hair, the thickness and thinness and bits of hair, I thought that marries that, as well, and it puts it more in a context, rather than doing this art thing that’s not related to anything. That can tie it in to a person and paintings – a person who actually came to this school as well.

Fiona Frank: Fantastic! My hope for this competition is that primary children all across Glasgow and Scotland and internationally start looking at this work, and that Hannah Frank becomes as well known as whoever else you look at all the time

Mrs Wood: …as well known as Rennie Mackintosh

Fiona Frank: And by closely looking at these drawings it’s making them really know the artist as well, isn’t it.

Mrs Wood: That’s right. And I didn’t know about her either beforehand either, so I’ve learned something. I’m quite arty and quite like her art. It’s been a revelation to me as well. So…

Fiona Frank: Fantastic. Thank you so much.

Hannah Frank poetry competition

2009-12-20T23:08:00.006+01:00

Emotional occasion on Friday 18th December, 2009, launching the Hannah Frank Poetry Competition: open for poetry from schoolchildren and adults across Glasgow, Scotland, the UK, and internationally, inspired by Hannah Frank's drawings.

The launch took place at Pollokshields Primary School - on the site of Auntie Hannah's secondary school Albert Road Academy. Six Asian children from Pollokshields and five Jewish children from Calderwood Lodge Jewish Primary School read out poems that they'd written over the past two weeks, inspired by different Hannah Frank drawings. David Kinloch read the poem that he'd written as the St Mungo's Mirrorball lifetime achievement award to Hannah Frank last year (he's judging the competition) and Barbara Spevack, Hannah Frank's great niece, read some extracts from Hannah's diaries, written about her art lessons which took place in the very room where the launch took place. The whole event was MC-d by William Bonar, St Mungo's Mirrorball poet who's organising the whole competition for me and Hannah Frank's family. Below are closeups of some of the Pollokshields' children's poetry. Closing date for the competition is 31st March 2010 - full details on the Hannah Frank website http://www.hannahfrank.org.uk/competition/ We have lots of help - the fantastic Poetry Kit website is publicising the competition and doing all they can for us. Please pass this on to all your teacher friends, schoolchildren friends, and adult poet friends!

Footsteps on the sands of time: Hannah Frank 1908-2008

2009-02-04T14:52:00.002+01:00

I've been inspired to look back over this blog recently, which doesn't quite set it out as it happened, but does give an idea of the "unfolding" nature of this project.

My aunt Hannah Frank (Mrs Hannah Levy) died on 18th December 2008. I was so privileged to be able to be with her when she died - together with her nephew David Samuels and his wife Jemima. My mission - to make her a "household name in her lifetime" - seems to have worked. Her death was announced on BBC Radio Scotland - and on BBC Scotland Ceefax. And Glasgow University had, the day before she died, written to her offering her an Honorary Doctor of Letters in honour of her international reputation.

I think this article in the Jewish Chronicle in August last year, by Julia Weiner (who also wrote a lovely obituary this month) is about the best one I've read about the "mission":

http://www.thejc.com/articles/hannah-frank-the-artist-who-%EF%AC%81nally-won-recognition-100

and this one by Moira Jeffrey is a beautiful one about her art:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/search/display.var.2452820.0.a_career_100_years_in_the_making.php

We're currently preparing for my aunt's Stone Setting and memorial service, to be held on 25th July 2009 at 10.30 a.m. at Cathcart Cemetery, Glasgow, and afterwards at Garnethill Synagogue, where some of her albums from the 1920s and more recent cuttings books will be on show at the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre.

100th birthday 23 August 2008 - more photos by Kush Budha

2008-08-30T22:38:00.003+02:00

After a special service at Garnethill Synagogue - where the Rev Aharon Soudry mentioned Hannah in his sermon, and family and friends joined the congregation for a delicious Kiddush where they were entertained by a fabulous speech by Miriam Margolyes - a VERY small family gathering was held for Hannah at the care home where she lives. We read her the fabulous article "Artist of the Century" from that day's edition of the Scottish Daily Mail -and Archie Hunter, Deputy Lord Lieutenant, came to read her the telegram from the Queen. And see the other post for the 'eminent visitors' who also came to see her on her birthday.

Present at the gathering l-r Mai and Jonathan Frank from Boston, Lynn and Peter Rankin from Preston, Fiona Frank, David and Julie Frank from Jersey, Rob Steen (in hat) from Lewes, Sarah Frank (currently based in Paris and Dublin). Bottom row Jen Rankin (currently based in London), Anna Huxham (Lancaster) and Evie Steen from Lewes.

After a feast of chocolate, Hannah went to bed... surrounded by at least 100 cards sent to her by family, friends and fans.

100th birthday 23 August 2008 - photos by Kush Budha

2008-08-30T22:05:00.007+02:00

Visitors to Westacres on Hannah's birthday included actress Miriam Margolyes - who'd flown in that morning from Chicago! The local MSP and MP Ken Macintosh and Jim Murphy also dropped in. Jim, who's Minister for Europe in the current Labour government, took time out of his own birthday celebrations to share some chocolate with Hannah - though he was born on 23 August 1967, shares a birthday with Hannah - though he was only born in 1967, nearly 60 years after our illustrious artist.

2008-08-30T22:01:00.001+02:00

photos by Kush Budha, Cathy Hornby and George Coupe

2007-10-20T12:46:00.000+02:00

Bill Laughlin from 2Canvas, Stockwell St, Glasgow, with Hannah Frank in her room in the Care Home in Newton Mears with a 24"x30" canvas reproduction of 'Mocking Fairy' (1931) next to one of Hannah's original drawings, 'I sought him but I found him not' (1935). You can see one of her 'double figures' in the background, and also 'Girl at window' (1946). For more info about canvas reproductions of Hannah Frank's art - available from 1st Nov 2007 - go to the 2Canvas website on www.2canvas.co.uk . Part of the proceeds of every sale come back to us to help to 'make Hannah Frank a household name'.#

More birthday pix 23rd August 2007, 99 today

2007-08-25T19:05:00.000+02:00

the sculpture is one that Auntie Hannah made of the next door neighbour, now Val de Villiers - nearly 50 years ago!

Hannah Frank is now 99!

2007-08-25T18:25:00.000+02:00

and a great time was had by all on Thursday, 23rd August 2007. Here are some of the photos of the day...

NOVEMBER IS HANNAH FRANK MONTH!

2006-11-22T00:14:00.000+01:00

so much to say, so little time! We've been on Woman's Hour.... we have our first London exhibition.... we have an 'at home' at a gallery in the West End of Glasgow where they're having a Hannah Frank experience inthe whole complex, not just the little gallery....the sales of prints and cards has taken off... everything seems to be perfect! Auntie Hannah is in great form and I'm really looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. I have just interviewed her by phone for the Glasgow Evening Times and although this is an 'exclusive' I'll just say here the answers to one of the questions which I thought was so great and reflected Auntie Hannah so perfectly:

'what advice would you give to a young Glasgow artist setting out now'...

"Ignore the whole lot of them, just do what you want to do and what you’re happy doing, and if it so happens that people like it, all the better, but don’t set out just so that people will like it. You do what you have to do and what you like doing. I can’t make it clearer than that. If something good comes of it, all the better. If people agree with you and like it, all the better still."

I'm doing a talk tomorrow at a Glasgow University DACE (dept of adult education) course about my aunt's life and work and how it fits in to the story of Jewish Immigration to Glasgow....

I'm hoping that the increased print sales will allow us to make a proper documentary of my aunt's life while she's still alive: I'm working with a wonderful visual anthropologist and we're planning a 'road trip' to the places that she visited on holiday when she was young. I've just had contact from a woman in Saltcotes whose dad remembers the Franks coming to stay in the house next door, when he was a young boy, and Hannah sitting drawing with his older sister Jane Platts, who died young. There's so much to find out about. There are still some 'lost' drawings here and there... so watch this space! and contact me on the email address on the website (http://www.hannahfrank.org.uk) for ANYTHING about Hannah Frank!

Woman´s Hour!

2006-08-10T00:57:00.000+02:00

The exhibition at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue started in July and has been extended as Hannah Frank and I were interviewed for BBC Woman´s Hour recently and the exhibition will run until the programme goes out! more news of dates when I have it...

onwards and upwards

2006-07-01T19:15:00.000+02:00

the RGI exhibition was wonderful - we had more than 600 visitors, we had loads of press (the Independent, the Glasgow Herald, the local Scottish evening papers...)

We've just packed up a load of artworks now to take to London for the summer and the autumn: it opens next week at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue wonderful Etz Chayim gallery and then goes to the London Jewish Cultural Centre for the autumn. And we are currently making plans for the works to go to Boston - and for me and my daughter to follow it to Boston for a few weeks too!

I will be at the private view at Northwood on Thursday 6th: hope to see you there. Let me know if you'd like an invitation...
best wishes
Fiona (fionafrank@hannahfrank.org.uk)

Royal Glasgow Institute show starts tonight

2006-01-26T08:42:00.000+01:00

Have spent all this week setting up for the Royal Glasgow Institute Kelly Gallery show - including being interviewed by all kinds of journalists for all kinds of papers who have also photographed and interviewed Auntie Hannah; she is very pleased about all this attention and I think I am definitely working towards my mission of making her into a household name at this stage in her life! i met a musician at the Burns Supper last night at the old people's home auntie Hannah lives in, and he had seen her on TV last year!
there was a fab article in the Independent on Monday - see http://www.hannahfrank.org.uk, click on on line shop, then follow the links at the bottom of the page
and it will be in the List and the Glasgow Herald and the Evening Times this week.
preview tonight
opening on Saturday
it's all go!

Midwinter news

2005-12-09T14:48:00.000+01:00

The Hannah Frank project moves inexorably forward, and my aunt is very happy that she is definitely going to be 'leaving footsteps on the sands of time'!

Lots of projects are on the go, not least, a wonderful new 'webshop' that has been set up linked to the main Hannah Frank site http://www.hannahfrank.org.uk Fiona Fahlin from Redpebble Web Solutions has created a great new SHOP where Hannah Frank fans can send a free Hannah Frank e-card as well as buy prints and cards, and order sculpture recasts.

I've done talks at Glasgow Limmud (a Jewish cultural festival) and at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery, to start a new show at the Riverside Gallery in Inverness. And what a beautiful city it was, if I may say so.

Now all is gearing up for the Hannah Frank major retrospective exhibition at the Royal Glasgow Institute Kelly Gallery in Glasgow, from 28th Jan to 11th Feb. I have a series of speakers booked - Peter Trowles, Mackintosh curator at the Glasgow School of Art, on 'Women at the Glasgow School of Art, from Jessie King to Hannah Frank' - Lesley Richmond from Glasgow University Archives putting Hannah Frank in context at Glasgow Uni in the 1920s: and Ann Marie Foster, a practising artist and teacher who'll be running sketching workshops for adults and children.

Ann Marie and I are also setting up a series of Hannah Frank Multi-Media Art Days for schools and are interested to hear from anyone who'd like one!

Please email me if you'd like to go on the mailing list to receive a monthly Hannah Frank newsletter.

lots has happened over the summer

2005-09-06T23:02:00.000+02:00

welcome back to the Blog after several months off. But that's only been time off blogging, not time off making things happen in the world of Hannah Frank art. Hannah Frank prints are still on show for a special extended period at Garnethill Synagogue, Hill St, Glasgow: the next open day will be an 'Open Doors' event on Sunday 18th September. Then there'll be an exhibition in Inverness at the Riverside Gallery.... then a big exhibition at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts at the Kelly Gallery, Douglas St, Glasgow; then one in the London Jewish Cultural Centre in their new premises in Golders Green.... and so on and so on!

Breaking news is that Andy Scott, the public artist, has been commissioned to make a set of panels in front of some public housing in South Portland Street in the Gorbals - the very street that Auntie Hannah grew up in before the family moved to Dixon Avenue in Govanhill. He's going to include one of Hannah Frank's images, and put information about her in an information panel by the side of the image.

I have lots of photos to put up on the site and we will do so very soon.
Try http://www.hannahfrank.org.uk for more info / and contact me by email if you want to go on an email list to get up to date info every three weeks or so by email.

London Jewish Book Week!

2005-03-10T11:07:00.000+01:00

I'm writing this at the internet cafe at the Royal National Hotel where I've been sitting on the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre stall at the London Jewish Book Week! I've talked to lots of people who hadn't heard of Hannah Frank before but LOVED the art...and I was interviewed by the Jewish Chronicle yesterday so hopefully there'll be something about Hannah Frank in there on Friday! off to the Ben Uri gallery now todrop offa pic for their auction and give them some books to sell,then back to the stall this afternoon to do some more 'schmoozing' - I love this part of my life! Please send me a comment if you read this, I hate to think that I'm writing to thin air.

love Fiona (now more commonly known as The Artist's Niece)

2005-03-01T00:01:00.000+01:00

Fiona Frank, the artist's niece (and blogger) and Sheila Whimster, Secretary of the Glasgow Society of Women Artists, with Hannah Frank at the RGI Kelly Gallery, at the private view of the Spring Show.

2005-02-28T23:59:00.000+01:00

Alma and Leslie Wolfson with Hannah Frank at the Glasgow Society for Women Artists exhibition, RGI Kelly Gallery, Glasgow, February-March 2005. You can see Hannah Frank's sculpture of her father's head in the background

Auntie Hannah on TV tonight!

2005-02-28T23:50:00.000+01:00

well - on Friday last week, the cameras came to Westacres, the old people's home - and interviewed me and auntie Hannah and took loads of footage of the drawings and sculptures.... then we all went off to the preview of the Glasgow Society of Women Artists exhibition at the Kelly Gallery, and they shot me and Auntie Hannah talking and walking, and Alma Wolfson talking about Hannah's contribution to Scottish art.... and it went out this evening at 6.30. I saw it later on tonight on the internet, but had had lots of texts and emails from people who saw it.... it's a great little short piece.... and we have already had three orders for prints by email!
Here's a photo or two of Auntie Hannah at the exhibition...

'who wants to be ordinary?!'

2005-02-24T22:43:00.000+01:00

The interview was fab - I've had loads of comments from round the world about how quirky, individual and special auntie Hannah sounded on Wednesday evening.

Today I travelled up to Glasgow in a train with a big sculpture sitting next to me, which is going down to Olympia....to the art fair (if anyone would like a free ticket to Olympia, worth £10, get in touch: I have 20 now...)

what else is new? well, I've got a long list of suggestions of where to place articles about my aunt. If you have any more, tell me!

Radio, TV and Olympia!

2005-02-23T13:59:00.000+01:00

To go with Hannah Frank's radio appearance today and Scottish TV appearance coming up on Monday - we've just been invited by Fiona MacSporran to send a couple of sculptures down to the Art Show at Olympia too! Fiona MacSporran has known my aunt for years and was involved in the production of the first edition of the book of my aunt's art (1988). So people in London will be able to see the pieces on the 'Decorative Arts at Doune' stand at Olympia all next week - and then come and talk to me on the Jewish Book Week stand at the Royal National Hotel the following week...

2005-02-23T01:08:00.000+01:00

Tom Flemons, Staffordshire County Council, at the Hannah Frank exhibition in Lichfield - which runs till the end of February.

Hannah Frank showing in England too!

2005-02-23T01:05:00.000+01:00

As well as the BBC radio appearance tonight - and a longer show planned for Easter Monday too - and TV coming up on Monday.... - there are Hannah Frank prints and sculptures on show currently in Lichfield Library, till the end of the month. Here's a photo...

Auntie Hannah and the BBC

2005-02-23T01:02:00.000+01:00

The first interview is going out on Wednesday 23rd February - LATER ON TODAY - in the Arts Show on BBC Radio Scotland - at 6.10 p.m. I'm very excited to see a link to the Hannah Frank website http://www.hannahfrank.org.uk on the BBC Radio Scotland website, so am quickly updating my blog to make it all worth while - I think the website is looking spick and span and I hope lots of new people find us and decide to buy some Hannah Frank prints and cards!

I had a call this morning from Scottish Television - they're going to come out and film Auntie Hannah on Friday morning, and tie it in to the opening of the Glasgow Society of Women Artists new show at the Kelly Gallery, where Auntie Hannah has 3 sculptures - including her favourite, the head of her father Charles Frank - and a signed print of an early drawing, Fairies in a Wood - done when she was 17!

2005-02-23T00:59:00.000+01:00

Clare English with Hannah Frank in her room at Westacres, February 2005

February excitements in the world of Hannah Frank

2005-02-23T00:53:00.000+01:00

On 2nd February Clare English came to Westacres to interview Hannah Frank for the BBC Radio Scotland Arts Show.... here's a photo of her having a cup of tea before the interview. Auntie Hannah has a great long term memory and the interview was brilliant... afterwards Clare's comment was 'I've interviewed Tony Blair, and I've interviewed Gorbachev, but you were better!'

2005-01-16T21:26:00.000+01:00

This is Sophie Kallin, who's the granddaughter of the cousin of Hannah Frank's husband Lionel Levy: and Jen Rankin, Hannah Frank's great niece - on a 'Hannah Frank' stall at Limmud, a residential Jewish festival held at Nottingham University in December.

2005-01-16T21:24:00.000+01:00

Here's a photo of the team who've been working with me on the 'Hannah Frank' project, when we met up recently in Lancaster. I'm holding the 'sorcery' print in the front. You can see Ed Horwich (photography) Andy Hornby (Graphics) Eddie Hams (Book design - he's holding the book); Judith Coyle (Press/PR), Gill Ormond (general support), Steve Landin (Website design), Bopo Phillips, MA Student, and Jan Windsor (Hannah Frank 'fan'.) Jen Rankin took the photo

Season's greetings

2004-12-12T14:40:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to wish all visitors to this site a very happy Chanukah and Christmas (insert the midwinter festival of your choice here).... have you seen the 'goodgifts' website if you're worrying about what to buy for the friend who seems to have everything? www.goodgifts.org
all the best
Fiona

2004-12-11T11:33:00.000+01:00

'Then to the rolling Heav'n itself I cried' (1942)

A new title for an old picture

2004-12-11T11:14:00.000+01:00

I have had various requests for 'new' prints of old Hannah Frank pictures during the year, and decided to get a set of them done recently. But what I didn't think would happen would be that Auntie Hannah would come up with a new title for one of the pictures! What happened was that when I showed her the proofs of the one she'd done in 1942, to which we had given the uninspiring title of 'two figures' in the book, she immediately remembered the verse from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam which had inspired the drawing:

Then to the rolling Heav'n itself I cried, Asking,
"What Lamp had Destiny to guide"
Her little Children stumbling in the Dark?" And--
"A blind Understanding!" Heav'n replied.

Here is the picture....

Bopo goes to Glasgow

2004-11-21T17:39:00.000+01:00

Bopo Phillips, Lancaster University MA Consultant to the Hannah Frank Project, with Hannah Frank, Glasgow, November 2004.

november news

2004-11-10T19:15:00.000+01:00

Lots of news since my last update.

I've just received the video of the booklaunch from my videoing friend who's done a beautiful edit on it. It made me cry, to see Auntie Hannah declaiming her poem, Faerie ... "I stood me there in tall trees' shade".... Phil has cut in some footage of her original drawings and artefacts in her room (which Ed Horwich photographed last year), and it finishes with a longshot on her selfportrait in 1925, when she was 17.... a lovely evocative piece of video.

We've just been offered an original Hannah Frank from an owner who has nowhere to put it - this is great news! the website is obviously doing its job.

But the biggest news is that we've been joined by Bopo Phillips, who's doing an MA (Consultancy) at Lancaster University, and she's going to be spending two days a week for the next six months, working on helping to make Hannah Frank a household name along with the Jack Vettrianos of this world.... we're going up to introduce Bopo to Auntie Hannah this weekend. Bopo is already licking me into shape (have a look at the improved website with info about costs of sculpture recasts, for example!) and I've been doing lots of filing and sorting this week ready for our next meeting.

In the meantime, here is a task for you all. Please go to your local LIBRARY, and ask for a copy of 'Hannah Frank, A Glasgow Artist: Drawings and Sculpture' - edited by Fiona Frank, published by the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, ISBN 0951320556

And email me when you've done it, and let me know WHERE! (fionafrank@hannahfrank.org.uk)

thanks so much....

a la prochaine!

Fiona

New feature in Kent magazine!

2004-10-30T22:56:00.000+02:00

I am ecstatic to find that last Sunday (24th October) there was a FRONT PAGE feature on a colour magazine - Kent on Sunday Review on Sunday - which is linked to a book review written by Brian Stewart, curator of Falmouth Art Gallery (where a couple of Hannah Frank original drawings were exhibited earlier this year). We have already had some orders and interest from Kent because of this..., the front page features 'Sea Story' - fabulous - and the WHOLE PAGE review gives lots of detail about Hannah Frank and says:

"This revised edition is magnificently produced and a joy to look at. It is a book you can return to again and again. The illustrations are just stunning".

So that's pretty good!!

Today we did the booklaunch in Lancaster, at the closing day of the city's Diversity Festival - on the 'Jewish Stall. ' I must say booklaunches and free food don't go very well together, but on the whole it was a great day.

goodnight!

Successful Speaking Engagement and Personal Appearance!

2004-10-27T23:37:00.000+02:00

Today, Hannah Frank, venerable 96 year old Glasgow artist and sculptor, and the last living link with the Glasgow Mackintosh and Arts and Crafts era, made a personal appearance at a talk which her niece Fiona Frank was giving at Newton Mearns 'Probus' speakers' club, about her life and work. She arrived, on the arm of local Probus member and cousin Mickey Green, five minutes into Fiona's talk. And as one, the 60 members present rose to their feet and gave her a standing ovation.

The talk was a great success and many of those in the audience purchased copies of 'Hannah Frank, A Glasgow Artist - Drawings and Sculpture' - which Hannah signed and dedicated for them individually.

Fiona accompanied her talk with many examples of Hannah's work - drawings, sculptures, sketches, and copies of Hannah's personal albums and diaries. She is now available to talk to speakers clubs anywhere in the UK about Hannah Frank's life and work, and about the story of the latest edition of 'Hannah Frank; A Glasgow Artist - Drawings and Sculpture' - but unfortunately can't guarantee a personal appearance by the artist every time!

2004-10-23T14:21:00.000+02:00

Miriam Margolyes with 'Hannah Frank: A Glasgow Artist - Drawings and Sculpture'

October update

2004-10-22T17:32:00.000+02:00

We're going to be launching the book in Lancaster at the end of the month, on Saturday 30th October at St Martin's College, and I was interviewed on BBC Radio Lancashire AND on Lancaster's Diversity Radio 87.5 about the book. I have talked to the Enterprise Unit at Lancaster University about some students helping me with the promotion of the book... and here is a photo of Miriam Margolyes with the book!

more and more

2004-09-11T10:51:00.000+02:00

Yesterday received a lovely big order for prints and cards from a gallery in Scotland - and heard that there's a nice article with a photo (of me and my aunt) in the Glasgow Jewish Telegraph - great! Packed up loads of books and cards and prints yesterday and sorted out a small binding glitch with the printers. Still sorting out a large Post Office Box glitch with Royal Mail (apparently about 15 letters got sent back to their senders between April and June... if that's you, they and I are sorry, and please re-send your order to the address on the Hannah Frank website!)

Mainstream Bookstores!

2004-09-09T17:33:00.000+02:00

I have just had a call from Gardners saying that they would like to order this book...that should mean that the mainstream bookshops (Waterstones, Ottakars, Borders, and Amazon) will improve their service and their stocking policies....
so that's good!

2004-09-08T09:22:00.000+02:00

Barry Landman, editor of Newark News, with Pamela Robertson, Senior Curator and Professor of Mackintosh Studies at the Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow University - at the launch of 'Hannah Frank, A Glasgow Artist - Drawings and Sculpture' - Westacres Care Home, 1st September 2004.

2004-09-07T11:26:00.000+02:00

Hannah Frank, August 2004, at the Glasgow Society for Women Artists' exhibition, Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh - with one of her drawings in the background

2004-09-07T11:25:00.000+02:00

Hannah Frank with Fiona Frank at the Torrance Gallery, Edinburgh - booksigning with 'Seated Figure' 1989.

2004-09-07T11:18:00.000+02:00

Hannah Frank signing one of her books in Edinburgh, August 2004

2004-09-07T11:17:00.000+02:00

Hannah's cousin Bobby Rosenberg, at 82, with the sculpture she made of him 50 years earlier in 1932.

Sunday Herald?

2004-09-05T13:56:00.000+02:00

Waiting to see if there's a mention of my aunt in the Sunday Herald today - this is a Scottish paper and I'm in England but I have lots of informants out there. If not this week, then next time perhaps?

Apparently I need to take a sample copy round to every single individual Waterstones and Ottakars and persuade them that there is going to be enough publicity that the books will sell.....

Hannah Frank pic of the week in the Sunday Herald!

2004-09-05T13:49:00.000+02:00

Yes - one of my aunt's pix, 'Dance', (my favourite!) is Picture of the Week in the Scottish Herald magazine today - page five - with a little writeup and a link to the website and to Amazon so people can buy the book - this is going well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bookshop orders

2004-09-03T16:34:00.000+02:00

I have just had a couple of orders from my first Bookshop.... though I presume that most will order from Gardners (professional book distribution company that deals with Waterstones and Ottakars). I have a nice poster to email to bookshops which will take the book... I wonder how to get libraries to buy it?!

adding a new post

2004-09-03T15:28:00.000+02:00

I am sitting in my PhD supervisor's office - he is a technophobe and I am showing him how amazingly quick it is to publish your thoughts on the web. Here goes!

Miriam Margolyes!

2004-09-03T10:33:00.000+02:00

I have just had an email from Miriam Margolyes - who played one of the Professors in the last Harry Potter film - saying that she LOVES THE WORK and the website, and wants to buy some cards....I asked if I could use her quote on the website, and she said I could..... so now beginneth the 'celebrities love Hannah Frank' section! Her late father comes from the Glasgow Jewish community, and she'd been emailed about the book by Harvey Kaplan from the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre who have published it.... good stuff! Now I want to find Shell from Big Brother UK 2004 and get a photo of her holding the book or meeting my auntie....any ideas?

Also - I met a friend on the train to Manchester this morning who suggested a solution to a problem that I've had with the printing of the book. There are some copies which are 'seconds' - there are small globs of glue on the inside back cover of some of the books, and I'm waiting to talk to the printer about them. But she suggested that I offer them at half price to people who couldn't afford the whole price book! And then, I realised, I could also offer the 'non cleaned up version' of the print The Mocking Fairy at the same deal! - and she said that actually, people might be interested in buying that one anyway, as it shows the artists' intentions - it's a version showing the ruled pencil lines underneath the black lettering and the moon, etc... you can see the cleaned up version of the print on the Hannah Frank website http://www.hannahfrank.org.uk (and go to 'see the drawings'). She being one of the people who can't afford the whole book but loves the art, was VERY pleased with this idea, as am I! I hope the MD of the printers will think it's a good idea too. I just have to make sure that they will manually check all the books....

2004-09-03T01:36:00.000+02:00

Hannah Frank at her graduation from Glasgow University in November 1930: aged 22.

Hannah Frank in 2003

2004-09-03T01:34:00.000+02:00

and here is a picture of my aunt Hannah, in 2003, with one of her sculptures (you could see it so much better if you bought the book, of course! only £21.50 for a 208 page book...) go to www.hannahfrank.org.uk for how to buy it, or www.amazon.co.uk and search for Hannah Frank - buying it through the 'marketplace' is best please!

2004-09-03T01:33:00.000+02:00

Here's a Hannah Frank exhibition poster from the Lancaster city exhibition which took place in May this year - which is going to be touring for the next four years....

Here is a 1925 picture, Fairies in a Wood, which was done when my aunt was 17 - and which was recently found on the Internet in a London gallery

2004-09-03T01:30:00.000+02:00

Fairies in a wood

my first blog

2004-09-03T00:53:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was the booklaunch of the book of the complete works - drawings and sculpture - of my aunt Hannah Frank. The book is:

Hannah Frank: A Glasgow Artist - Drawings and Sculpture - edited by Fiona Frank - published by the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre, available from www.amazon.co.uk (go to Hannah Frank Art Sales in the 'marketplace')and by order from Waterstones and Ottakars bookshops.

We held the event at Westacres, in Newton Mearns, where Hannah Frank lives. It was such a great event - loads of people came, and we video'd it and took lots of photos so that when Phil Keen the video man has done the editing, everyone will be able to see what happened. My aunt even said one of her poems at the event. The food and drink was lovely and after my auntie had signed lots of books, she went in for tea and everyone else went upstairs to watch a beautifully edited video of the Lancaster exhibition of my aunt's art. A great time was had by all!

I gave a speech: so did Harvey Kaplan from the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre (who had published the book)....so did Angela Ryan, housekeeper at Westacres; so did Malcolm Maddox, Chief Executive of Newark Care. I may include mine and Harvey's speeches later on this blog - but it's the first one I've done so I'm still learning about that sort of thing!

I've now listed the book for sale through Amazon Marketplace, and arranged with my printers that they will stick barcode labels on the book when needed for Gardners, who do professional distribution to Waterstones and Ottakars etc... there's lots to learn in this book publishing lark.