A little light reading
With the summer well and truly underway, I am seeing various online discussions about reading matter. Are you the kind of person who looks out a good (aka. possibly a bit trashy) novel to take to the beach once a year or, perhaps, you are more like I am, with more than one book on the go at a time all year round? (I should say, I never read more than one novel at a time, though I am usually reading some non-fiction in parallel, whether that is an art book or something more theologically-focussed). Over the past month, I have found myself delving into The History of the Book in 100 Books (Roderick Cave and Sara Ayad) and reflecting on humankind's relationship with the written word across times and cultures. This reading is in support of my ongoing completion of a Special Skills Award in Bookbinding, offered by the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society. Taken together with my involvement with Stroud Artist's Book group, I find myself pondering the question "What is a book?"
As a book artist, there are so many possibilities for creating a structure that can contain the written word. Books don't need to be rectangular, bound consistently along a single edge or made of paper. Different times and histories have seen tablets of clay, scrolls of papyrus, books of banana leaf, to name just a few. Books have been produced to be purely functional repositories of printed matter or with elaborate decoration and design choices that make them works of art beyond the written words that they contain. Think of the Book of Kells, for example. Yet the concept of a book, the identity of certain books can take us into a very different realm altogether.
As a Church of England priest, it is expected that I say morning and evening prayer every day. Each liturgy includes two readings from the Bible, often of quite significant length. Thus, whatever else I might be reading in my everyday, my life as a priest is shaped by the words of Scripture. The Biblical text underpins so much of the other liturgy that we use in church for every occasion and each season of the ecclesiastical year. These words have enormous influence in shaping our engagement with the Divine and to set the tone for our experience of a life lived by faith and as worship. Over the years, I have appreciated the enormous creativity that is possible within the liturgy, challenging myself to use these particular books and forms of words to invite participants into a space that is transcendent. Books cease to be simple objects but portholes into the spiritual realms. Sacred books thus hold enormous influence for adherents of a particular faith.
Yet my reading of the history of books has raised important reflections of a less-wholesome kind. Books, and the words that they contain, are conveyors of power and influence, both in a religious context and beyond. Verses from the Bible were used to justify the practice of slavery as much as they were used to argue for its abolition. Mao Tse Yung's Little Red Book was used as tool for mass propaganda and control of the Chinese people in the twentieth century. From antiquity, the destruction of books (for example, in the case of the complete library in Alexandria) has been a strategy of war, in attempts by rulers to overthrow not just the physical domination over land and people by a predecessor, but also their control of the world of ideas and thought. Banning books, burning books, have been methods of seeking to control or limit ideas that are considered dangerous or which challenge a particular viewpoint, from Copernicus' assertion of a heliocentric universe seen as a threat to the Church, to Lady Chatterley's Lover and its breaking down of societal mores regarding class and sexuality.
Thinking about books, therefore, takes us into a realm where text and language really matter. What we read has the potential to change our way of thinking, to alter or promote new ideas. For those who would wish us not to read a particular text, that potential becomes something to be feared, a source of power that must be limited or destroyed. When I shaped my MFA degree show works around the assertion that a book is "not for reading" (after Magritte), these were the thoughts I was playing with. To read in all its fullness is to open our minds and broaden our horizons. The act of reading is not simply about identifying lettershapes and working out the words and their meaning. At its deepest, to read is to "read, mark, learn and inwardly digest" (Thomas Cranmer, in the Book of Common Prayer), to admit to the possibility of being changed by what you have read and your future path altered accordingly.
I shall continue to reflect on these themes as I write up my MFA and my exploration of books and text remains central to my art practice. Meanwhile, if you do pick up a book this summer, choose wisely - it may not be 'just' for reading ;)
News
Yesterday saw me serving as a steward and demonstrating for a current exhibition of calligraphy by the Gloucestershire Lettering Arts Society at Nature in Art at Twigworth. The exhibition is on until 23 August and I will be on stewarding duty again on Tuesday 18, if you are in the area to say hello. Admission charges apply (which will also get you access to the museum and its diverse collections) so please check here for details.
I am also excited to report that I have just taken delivery of a large order from my printer. I have three new card designs now available, as well as a new print (mounted for a 11" x 14" frame) of my Last Supper icon. Do get in touch with me here if you would like to order a copy; it is £75 inclsive of P&P to UK mainland.
Cards of the Last Supper and Joshua are 7" x 5"; Micah is 15cm square. All priced at £3 and available from me or sellected suppliers.
My next Praying with Icons retreat at Launde Abbey is not far away, 7-9 September 2026 and there are spaces still available if you would welcome some time away with quiet reflection in the beautiful Leicestershire countryside. More details here.
If you enjoy reading my blog and wish to support my ministry in a practical way, I have set up a page with "Buy me a coffee". This website, designed with creatives in mind, recognises that a whole load of my time goes into maintaining a website, keeping up with social media and writing blog posts, time that is not then available for income-generating work. Given that my passion for good coffee comes not very far behind my love for God and art (!), if you feel so inclined, you can click here to make a donation towards my ongoing ministry (but without any obligation to do so). Huge thanks to those of you who have bought me a coffee in previous months - please don't feel you have to every time or at all!
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