I am very excited to announce that I will be exhibiting my set of Cock Robin paintings in Castle Gates Library in Shrewsbury from Monday 9th September! The paintings will be on display there until 19th October, along with a first edition copy of my book 'The Death of Cock Robin'.
The exhibition will then be followed by an event on Thursday 24th October at University Centre Shrewsbury which will feature a performance by myself, as I present my own interpretation of the rhyme; its histories, mysteries and meaning. This will be a new one-off performance that will provide a unique insight into the folklore, symbolism and emotional resonances that I untangled as I worked on the book.
The exhibition and event have been organised in collaboration with Mythstories Museum of Myth and Fable, now based at University Centre Shrewsbury. As the culmination of two years of work and a Fine Art Masters degree at Aberystwyth University, I am overjoyed to be able to show the paintings and share the book here in my home country of Shropshire, in a building dedicated to stories, and with the aid of such wonderful local storytellers!
Performance event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/966272107038409/
The performance at the University is free to attend but you will still need to book a ticket as space is limited, you can do so on Eventbrite here.
Find this and more story-telling events on the Mythstories site:
http://www.mythstories.com/evenlist.php
I hope you can make it!
Joseph
At last, my book The Death of Cock Robin, the culmination of my Masters Degree and almost two years of work and research, is now available to purchase!
The limited-edition volume includes the original text of the old English Nursery Rhyme ‘The Death of Cock Robin’ with my own additional verses, accompanied by a series of 15 watercolour and gouache illustrations depicting the animals in the story (reproduced at life size). To expand upon the illustrated story the book also includes my own texts on the historical and folkloric background of the rhyme and each of the animals involved in Cock Robin’s funeral, along with reproduced pages from the sketchbook I kept while developing my interpretation.
The book is bound in claret cloth with a cover design in gold foil, inspired by decorative bindings from the 19th century. This is a very limited-edition print run of only 25 signed copies, and one can be yours for £30. Alternatively, for £40 I will include an original pencil sketch of the animal of your choice! You are welcome to arrange to collect a copy from me personally, or alternatively I will charge £2.50 extra to cover the cost of postage.
I have had a lot of interest from people asking to be informed when the book is available, but due to the limited quantity I have only set aside a copy if you have specifically requested in advance that I do so. Otherwise I can only sell on a first-come, first-serve basis, with a limit of one copy per customer. If you wish to purchase the book now, please send a message to me via email at jecoyle@rocketmail.com or through Facebook at www.facebook.com/josephscrobb, including your name, postal address and how you would like to pay (as well as whether you’re going for the exclusive sketch option!). There is no ‘online store’ at this time, so I will take direct payments online with Paypal or a bank transfer, or off-line in cash only. Then I will get the book to you as safely and promptly as possible!
So just to clarify:
One book = £30
One book and a personalised sketch = £40
UK Postage = £2.50
I am truly very excited to be able to share this book with you and hope to have played a small part in ensuring that the story of Cock Robin is remembered and revived for many generations to come. But for my part, I am far from finished with that story, for there is much left to explore and discover. If you miss the chance to attain the limited-edition book, I am investigating the possibilities of producing a simplified, cheaper paper-back edition that would be more widely available in the future and am also working on ideas for several miniature chap-books based on the rhyme. The paintings themselves will also be exhibited further, and the spectre of Cock Robin is likely to haunt whatever project I embark upon next. To follow my work and find out about future events, products and performances, be sure to follow my blog at www.josephscrobb.co.uk or on Facebook @josephscrobb.
Yours faithfully,
Joseph Scrobb
My full set of Cock Robin illustrations, a preview copy of the printed book and details on how to order one for yourself, will be on show at the Aberystwyth School of Art as part of the 2019 graduate exhibition from 20th - 30th May. So to see the full project revealed make sure to come along!
