Klezmer Night 11th December 2010

Klezmer Music, Dance and Story-Telling

Sat 11th December 2010

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

Klezmer music workshop

at

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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