There has been lots of Hannah Frank-related news in 2011 - I have submitted my PhD (finally) and spent six months living in Glasgow finishing that off. That has kept me pretty much busy all year so I haven't been keeping this blog up at all. But I HAVE done a trade fair in Harrogate, donated a print to a 'riotraffle' to support small traders whose businesses were damaged by the August riots, and printed up 27 new cards to add to what's available on the Hannah Frank website. The next thing will be NOTELETS - to come in September, in response to demand from card-shop visitors to the Harrogate stall.

I'm going to be doing another Hannah Frank stall at the Glasgow Autumn Trade Fair on 18/19 September at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre - stand K20. The show is free to the trade, go to the trade fair website to complete a free registration form. At that stall galleries, card shops and others will be able to see how the 27 stunning new cards, the signed and unsigned prints, and books, would look in their outlets.

The value and profile of Hannah Frank's work in Scotland is likely to be greatly increased this year. September will see a rare chance for discerning buyers to acquire an original Hannah Frank drawing. An early work, 'Spirit of Delight', dating from 1927 when the artist was only 19, has been lying in a Norwich loft for 30 years, and will be coming up for auction, together with one of Hannah Frank's first sculptures, a bronze Head 1954, at McTear's 'Fine Autumn Pictures Auction' in Glasgow on 27th September.

At the SECC there'll be a FREE DRAW for a framed, signed and numbered Hannah Frank print of her drawing 'Dream', 1952, which retails at £350. The draw will be drawn at the end of the show, Monday 19th September. If you won't be there but would like to be included in the draw, *post your business card or contact details* to Hannah Frank Art Sales, c/o Fiona Frank, 3 Dalton Road, Lancaster LA1 3PR, England, to arrive by Wednesday 14th September 2011.

Do get in touch if you want to stock Hannah Frank prints, cards, or sculpture, or would like to know more.

all the best

Fiona Frank

Director, Hannah Frank art

first of many???

Good evening....having eaten nearly a complete Terry's Chocolate Orange this morning I am full of happiness and energy. Hmmm. I should have been at Liverpool Airport meeting my lovely friend Jo and entourage there (who is currently, hopefully, somewhere between Geneva and Shropshire - with her uncle who has a 4x4 rather than with me who has a rather tiny Renault). So in the extra free time that I gained from the motorway being closed due to icy accidents and the trains all being cancelled due to signal failures at Oxenholme, I decided I would start up my blog again and see what happens.

The first thing I thought of is that I now have a connection with someone who has 12000 followers on her Twitter site - Kirsty Henshaw, who's my niece's best friend. After appearing onDragon's Den earlier this year she got sponsorship and has had the most amazing year - her allergy-free frozen desserts in every supermarket, she's in OK this month!, she opened the new Preston Sainsbury's last week, she's speaking at a national business conference next year, things are shooting sky-high for her.

So I asked her to promote my aunt Hannah Frank's signed prints on her twitter page - so we'll see what happens with that!

It's coming up to the end of the year and like Kirsty, the Hannah Frank art project has been going from strength to strength. My aunt died two years ago this month: at the age of 100. I was with her on the day that she died, a privilege that I will never forget. In the year leading up to her death she'd been present at the opening of an art exhibition of her work at Glasgow University, her alma mater, which opened the day before her hundredth birthday. Miriam Margolyes and Jim Murphy (Secretary of State for Scotland at the time) came to her birthday party. The Scottish Parliament honoured her with a reception (thanks a lot to ; and the University honoured her with a conference. The day she died, a letter arrived at my house, saying that the University of Glasgow had decided to give her an Honorary Doctorate - and in June 2009 she was given the very first Posthumous Honorary Doctorate that Glasgow University had ever awarded. (which I accepted on her behalf....)

This year there's been a fabulous exhibition in Glasgow at the Hidden Lane Gallery and there's currently an exhibition at the Gregson Community Centre in Lancaster (the photos show Andy Hornby and Paula Foster who hung the exhibition; and me being skyped in from Glasgow on the opening night when the snow stopped the trains....and lighting chanukah candles by remote control!)

What else has been happening this year? Well: future blogs will include updates on my phd till I submit, hopefully in early spring ..... Lancaster Cohousing ..... Lancaster and Lakes Jewish Community .... my Glasgow retreat .... last July's redundancy from the Dept of Continuing Education at Lancaster University (and what it's been like signing on this year) .... the things that irk me.... the things that excite me .... novels.... art.... poetry ..... the dismantling of the public sector and what on earth I'm going to do for a living when I've submitted my PhD this spring. ..... and as it looks like I'm going to be an educational consultant again (as there don't seem to be any jobs) I need to be KNOWN. I am excited that I might be doing a few partnership projects with Lucy Lloyd by the way - we've been shortlisted for at least one project and will be bidding for more. So WATCH THIS SPACE.

I wish I hadn't just had to donate my Season's Greetings card money to the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture but it looks like THAT organisation is going to be needed for many years to come.

love, Fiona.....