I started painting illustrated letters and sticking them to cork mats as gifts to friends' newborns, whilst waiting for my own baby to arrive in 1993. Many years later, on return from our children's primary school years spent in France, I decided to continue and illustrate the whole alphabet.  Letters A - Z  were drawn, designed, screen printed and exhibited in the Oxford Printmakers' studio in 2012 (see photo) .

There are hundreds of versions of illustrated alphabets in the history of book making! Mine is aimed to inspire curiosity in children, to be adventurous, turn to the great outdoors and get away from creative numbing screens!

Fresh from heady days on the continent, my desire was to remind myself through this illustrated alphabet's designs, of all the fun I had as a child growing up on the west coast of Scotland  with my many siblings, where we roamed freely and wildly:  chasing oystercatchers on sandy beaches; sailing on blustery lochs; skiing on the rocky slopes of Glen Coe; a rather large lobster I met on my plate aged six near Ullapool,  shell hunting or just hanging out in nature. The exotic animals here , I would have seen when the circus came to town! Or at the bear park, no longer there, where zebras were also found. The only animal whose whereabouts I cannot account for, is my yak -but how many animals begin with the letter Y?! And he is yachting, because that is what we did too. I never unicyled, but I do remember the clown at the circus of my childhood  who did!

I discovered the Duc du Berry's 15th Century manuscript,  Les Très Riches Heures, letters embellished with jewel coloured animals and flowers, whilst studying french and art history at Edinburgh University, many moons ago.  This is my version of that age-old art and I trust that, like a good fairytale, crafted to appeal to all ages, my illustrated Alphabet will bring pleasure to all and inspire children to be curious  and to seek adventure in the great  outdoors.

Sal Ashmore