Tag: British Lop Pigs

Tree Book Break and Pigs in Amsterdam

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I printed the last text page of 12 Trees yesterday. Phew.. it was very tricky and time consuming, but all the text is now done!
I “just” have the 12 main images to print now but they will have to wait until I am back from Amsterdam where I am printing Chris’ “Salute the Pig” book with Thomas Gravemaker at Letterpress Amsterdam again.
I printed my Masters project, Hortus Medicus Seedbook with Thomas and so I know the results will be great.

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Proofs for the pig book

The book is a tribute to 10 favourite pig breeds with lino cuts and a short text by Chris. He is also preparing an accompanying recipe book, one dish per pig with a bit of extra info about these lovely animals.

I have cut the blocks and proofed them, made up a three section dummy for the pagination and a quick InDesign document as a guide to margins etc. However, letterpress printing, as I have learnt, in the last few weeks has certain constraints and so one has to be flexible about the design especially when hand setting the type.

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Part of the 3 section dummy pasted up with text and images.

As with the !2 Trees book we are just printing the body of the book. endpapers and binding will be done later.It will be a small edition of just 20 .. which I think is about all we can print in 5 days! It’s all so very different from pressing the print button on the computer.. and to be honest much more fun.
More from Amsterdam soon.I am also posting on Instagram now if you want to see some more snaps of pigs and trees and lovely type.You can find me here….@vallittlewood

The Big British Lop Pig: First Sketches.

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This is pig number two of Chris’ delightful pig and pork endeavour over at Salute the Pig.

A couple of weekends ago we went to Cold Overton in Rutland to meet up with Jan McCourt at his Northfield Farm and talk to him about his lovely and rare British Lop Pigs.
Chris has also written up some of their history here: “The British Lop Pig-As Old as Our Hills.”

More about Northfield Farm as I  make more drawings of the Lops, who we found blissfully snoozing in deep warm bedding. On hearing voices tiny buried  pink piglets burst out of the straw. I defy anyone not to find them utterly, utterly enchanting. Their capacity of joy seems endless.
I am still at the “getting to know you” stages with the pigs, and still researching and sketching the Mangalitzas and curly coats. Just as I found each bee has it’s own characteristics, so do the pigs. There are breed standards, different temperaments, talk of being good mothers, hardy, easy to feed etc.
Visually British Lop Pigs are big, long, white pigs with silky hair and, again, like the Mangalitzas, with the most fabulous ears. Huge, soft, floppy ears that lie like draped hankies over their faces, as long their noses, obliterating their eyes. And they have lovely smiles! Yes.. I know … its just the way their mouths

turn up … but it is still very endearing!

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More soon ….