Illuminate!

I suppose most people spend their Friday nights down the pub, not me. I go to libraries and gaze for hours at hundred year old books. 

Last night the House of Illustration organised Late:Illuminate! at the British Library. The BL is running an exhibition of Illuminated Manuscripts until the 13th of March, and if you haven't seen it yet I really recommend you do. They are beautiful. The exhibit is huge, and steeped in history and mystery. I was in there for so long a security guard eventually had to chase me out! 

The whole evening was part of the HoI's Spring Festival, and included refreshments, demonstrations, artists stands and workshops. Above are some of the things I was playing around with in the workshops, mythical beasts and holy relics. There was also workshops for life drawing, typography, calligraphy and medieval paint mixing. It was kinda like being a kid again, trying out all these new techniques, but there were no kids present. It was a mix of students, artists, and people with a genuine interest in manuscripts. I guess I'm a mixture of the latter two.