For the launch of Carol Ann Duffy’s new collection ‘The Bees’ (Picador), Stephen has made a colour print of his artwork which appears in black and white in the book.
These limited edition prints, signed by both Carol Ann and Stephen, can be ordered through the contact page. Some people have bought them to make ‘the perfect Christmas present’ alongside the gift of the book itself.
The prints measure 33 x 48 cms and are despatched in a postal tube. The print, the VAT and Special Delivery in total cost £108. Payment can be made by PayPal or cheque.
Stephen’s design for a new sixth-form College – Aquinas College in Stockport, Cheshire – has been ‘unveiled’ at the opening of the £40m building. He was commissioned by the principal to use the Julian of Norwich quote: “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
The 7 x 2.5m wall was manufactured and installed by Trafford Signs, Ma
Stephen’s design for a new sixth-form College – Aquinas College in Stockport, Cheshire – has been ‘unveiled’ at the opening of the £40m building. He was commissioned by the Principal, Ambrose Smith, to use the Julian of Norwich quote: “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” Stephen’s design used his own personal, distinctive lettering in a subtle design that reflected understated Dominican theology.
The 7 x 2.5m wall was manufactured and installed by Trafford Signs, Manchester, who also installed the Leeds West mural (below).
‘Rings’ was a poem written by the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, to celebrate the ‘unbreakable relationship between love and poetry’.
She invited 20 colleagues (including Ian Duhig, Jackie Kay, Roger McGough and Gillian Clarke) to write on the theme of ‘Vows’ on the occasion of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. These were published by the Guardian on 23 April 2011 – link below.
A watercolur artwork by Stephen Raw, reproduced below, has been made into a print with the full poem on the right. There have only been 500 copies printed which are signed by the poet and artist. (Number one was given as a wedding gift to the happy couple.)
The prints are 483 x 329mm and are despatched by Royal Mail special delivery.
To order a copy send an email from the ‘Contact’ page on this website with your name and address. Start your email with the words, “Re: RINGS”. There are two ways of paying: PayPal or Cheque. Stephen will reply with a PayPal invoice or the address to send your cheque to when you have indicated in the email which is your preferred way of paying.
The price is £100, plus VAT and £8.50 for the special delivery p & p: total £128.50. (Overseas purchases will be subject to an additional postage fee dependent on where they live.)
There are still prints available; so far many people have found them to make an ideal wedding / civil partnership present.
Judges Gillian Clarke, Stephen Raw and Jeanette Winterson have awarded the 2010 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry to Kaite O’Reilly for her extraordinary retelling of Aeschylus’ play, The Persians.
Now in its second year, the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry is awarded annually to recognise excellence in poetry. It is one of the only awards to acknowledge the wide range of work being produced by poets – not just in books, but beyond. The Persians is a beautifully poetic version of Aeschylus’ tragic play, retold by Kaite O’Reilly. Her masterly retelling of this 2500 year old story focuses on how war destroys people’s identity. Her use of language is contemporary but never loses any of the historical context.
“Poetry crosses time, the old play becomes the new poetry. Here’s the truth of language colliding with the clichés of politics and the advertisement of war. This verse play is entertainment, challenge and a lie detector.” – Judges of the Ted Hughes Award
Lord of the Rings cartographer and ‘language made visible’ artist, Stephen Raw, has designed a new medal for the British Academy.
The British Academy President’s Medal, unveiled for the first time at a special awards ceremony in London on 25 November 2010, is awarded “for signal service to the cause of the humanities and social sciences”. The first three recipients of this prestigious award are Dr Sarah Tyacke (formerly CEO of the National Archives), language learning advocate Professor Michael Worton and political journalist Peter Riddell.
The President’s Medal has taken four months to design and create, with the final drawings from Stephen Raw crafted into a 75mm bronzed metal medal produced by Spink Special Commissions Department. Up to five President’s Medals may be be awarded annually.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Lichfield Festival, the textual artist Stephen Raw was asked to work with a poem that was specially commissioned from the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. The poem is entitled ‘A Lichfield History’.
The people of Lichfield were then invited to paint large, individual letters in workshops organised by Stephen and Festival staff. From these contributions Stephen created a collage to form the first verse of the poem. The result was a glorious, seven metre high banner which hung in the Cathedral throughout the Festival.
Every one of the contibutors – of all ages and abilities – who participated in the project, can be seen proudly showing their works of art on the Festival Banner website:
Positioned near Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, Stephen’s design was unveiled at a special service on Tuesday 17 November 2009. His commission was to celebrate the four founders of the Royal Ballet: Dame Ninette de Valois, Sir Frederick Ashton, Constant Lambert and Dame Margot Fonteyn. Stephen has done this using his distinctive lettering style contrasting with formal capitals for the words THE ROYAL BALLET, THE FOUNDERS – see photo.
The stone’s ‘champion’ has been Sir John Tooley (past director of The Royal Opera House) who sought a fitting memorial to the founders in the Abbey for some years. He worked closely with Stephen and successfully saw the design through the many and various committees. Stephen’s design, cut in Cumbrian slate by one of Britain’s leading letter cutters, Annet Stirling of Incisive Letterwork, also has the added attraction of having the four names in gold. This is the first such use of gilding in an Abbey floor memorial.
The expectation is that many from the world of ballet, including people who just simply love the art of dancing, will go to the Abbey to pay their respects at the nation’s heart for such memorials.
Photos from the Abbey service can be seen on The Ballet Association site:
Dame Monica Mason, director of The Royal Ballet said: “It is a fitting honour that the founders of The Royal Ballet are recognised. Dame Ninette de Valois worked tirelessly to establish her companies and school. With Frederick Ashton, Constant Lambert and Margot Fonteyn, she brought ballet to a huge new audience. Through their immense contribution, ballet in Britain is now a thriving art form and The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School are known throughout the world.”
Annet Stirling, Stephen Raw and Sir John Tooley inspect the stone before it was laid in Westminster Abbey
The British Library in London have recently added a set of the Tolkien maps Stephen Raw drew for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to their world-renowned map collection. Stephen, commissioned by the publishers HarperCollins, worked under the tutilage of Christopher Tolkien who had drawn the originals for his father, J R R Tolkien. Why they came about can be seen on the special website as well as how they can look framed. The limited edition of the three maps, each signed and numbered, are still available to buy.
In partnership with artist Stephen Raw, the Scottish Poetry Library invited the Scottish Diaspora and those closer to home, to paint a letter which has now been collaged into the ‘BurnsBanner’. Stephen drove over 4000 miles around Scotland gathering letters from the numerous workshops he ran. From Orkney in the north, to Dumfries in the south, to Eyemouth in the east and Iona in the west (and everywhere in between!) folk were keen to take part. Showing two verses of ‘A Man’s a Man for A’ That’, this huge artwork was situated on Market Street, opposite Waverley Station in the centre of Edinburgh. The Burns Banner was unveiled on 6 August 2009 at the start of the Edinburgh Festival and formed one of the events for ‘Homecoming Scotland’ becoming a spectacular creation to celebrate Robert Burns 250th anniversary. The project was funded by the Scottish Arts Council. Many of those who made a contribution are on this DVD made by Juliet Rees:
The unveiling party – scissors at the ready!
Nearly down!
Jan Sutch Pickard, who organised the Ross of Mull workshop, points to her 'g'
The ‘BurnsBanner’ Project Manager for the SPL was Jonathan Meuli who can be emailed on:jm101@talktalk.net
STEPHEN RAW (born London 1952) has lived in Manchester for the last thirty years. He has been a self-employed artist and designer since he returned to Britain from two years teaching at the National Arts School in Papua New Guinea, during which time he worked closely with Archie Brennan.
Stephen’s work is varied, from paintings in exhibitions through to cover designs for Carcanet Press and his commercial lettering for a variety of clients, including leading publishers, architects and design groups throughout Europe. ‘Fundamental to all my artwork’ Stephen says, ‘is a love of language and how that language is given a visual dimension through signs we simply call letters: never-failing sources of inspiration. Letters are images in themselves and, for me, that’s more than enough to be getting on with.’ Recent commissions have been for a design for a stone commemorating the founders of the Royal Ballet and working on collaborations with the poet Carol Ann Duffy.
Stephen has exhibited his own work widely: Germany, Ireland the United States and Italy. One of his paintings, words by Nelson Mandela, is in the renowned collection of the Stiftung Archiv der Akademie der Künste, Berlin. All his book jacket/cover artwork, part of the Carcanet Press archive, is now kept by the John Rylands Research Institute, University of Manchester.
Currently he sits on The Royal Mint Design Advisory Committee, chaired by Sir Christopher Frayling.
‘Sweet Sister Death Has Gone Debauched Today’ (see ‘Catalogue elsewhere on the website) was exhibited at Parson’s School of Design, New York, in 2001 as part of a Glasgow School of Art travelling exhibition. Stephen was a visiting lecturer in Glasgow for 15 years and, until recently, was a part-time tutor on the MA Design Course, Manchester Metropolitan University. He occasionally lectures there still.
He is a frequent visitor to the Isles of Mull and Iona where the people and landscape have inspired many pieces including ‘Kilvickeon’ and ‘Isle of Mull Diary’. Perhaps this in part due to the fact that a branch of his family came from an unspecified part on the west coast of Scotland.
