Art & Architecture – The Bell Bookshop

Ink, Paper, Chisel, Grain

Emma — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

'A fascinating account of the hidden history of the humble woodcut' SUNDAY TIMES

Ink Paper Chisel Grain is a dazzling journey through 500 years of art, ideas and human imagination, told through one of the most enduring and versatile artistic mediums ever created.
At its simplest, a woodcut begins with a piece of wood, a cutting tool, ink and paper. Yet from these humble materials artists have created some of the most powerful images in human history. In Ink Paper Chisel Grain, artist and printmaker Paul Coldwell invites us into intimate encounters with the works and makers who transformed woodcut from a practical technology into a vehicle for beauty, revolution, protest and wonder.
Travelling across centuries and continents, Coldwell guides us from Albrecht Dürer’s apocalyptic visions and Hokusai's Great Wave to Käthe Kollwitz's searing anti-war prints and the monumental contemporary works of William Kentridge. Along the way we meet artists, printers, collectors, curators and craftsmen; step inside museums, archives and studios; and discover how a simple process of cutting into wood helped shape the visual culture of the modern world.
Part history, part travelogue, part meditation on art and making, Ink Paper Chisel Grain reveals how woodcut has survived every technological revolution thrown at it, celebrating the enduring human impulse to leave a mark.

Mosque

Emma — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A journey through the mosque’s history and representation around the world, its role in society and its forms – ancient to contemporary – through the eyes of a young female Syrian architect.

The mosque lies at the heart of any Islamic city – a place for group prayer, serenity and spiritual connection. Its exterior serves as a symbol of faith, a landmark and a point of gathering. Since the first mosque was built by the Prophet Mohammad in Medina in 622, mosques have been spaces where worship and social life flourish side by side.

In this book, Marwa Al-Sabouni – architect, Muslim, Syrian, woman – interweaves her personal experiences and reflections to bring the reader inside the mosque to understand its spiritual meaning, social significance and enduring cultural value. Though some 3.6 million mosques exist around the world, varying enormously in shape, size and design, we are reminded that thoughtfully designed mosques – like any communal space – can still feel intimate and personal. With the ability to foster community and connection, they take on particular significance in times of division and fragmentation – a fact felt keenly by Al-Sabouni, whose home country witnessed decades of war before entering a new period of hope, however fragile.

Twelve Churches

Emma — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

With his trademark reverence and revelry, The Revd. Fergus Butler-Gallie travels through time and place to get to the heart of the religion he is so passionate about.

In this book he takes us from Bethlehem and the birth of Christ some 2000-odd years ago, to the immediate present and future of Christianity. He brings together a Baptist Church in the segregationist American South with a medieval monastery in the heart of the Greek countryside; the Vatican – beautiful, imposing, vainglorious, the seat of Catholicism – with a sparse, tiny private church above the rocky coastline of Southern Japan.

Twelve Churches is a quest for a new people's history of Christianity, told through the stories of twelve churches scattered across the globe. Through a patchwork of interlinking and varied human stories, Butler-Gallie takes us on a physical and historical journey, exploring the role of hope, faith and beauty in Christianity, but also its fraught relationships with sex, violence and power.

The story of Christianity is, he shows, the story of our modern world: it's a story of who we should be, as well who we sometimes are.

About Looking

Emma — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The centenary edition, with a newly commissioned introduction by Berger’s biographer, Tom Overton. 'Instant readability . . . [Berger] makes one see [paintings] as statements or questions in a living language.' New Statesman'One of the most influential intellectuals of our time' Observer 'Berger is a writer one demands to know more about . . . an intriguing and powerful mind and talent' New York Times As a novelist, essayist, and cultural historian, John Berger is a writer of dazzling eloquence and arresting insight whose work amounts to a subtle, powerful critique of the canons of our civilization. In About Looking he explores our role as observers to reveal new layers of meaning in what we see. How do the animals we look at in zoos remind us of a relationship between man and beast all but lost in the twentieth century? What is it about looking at war photographs that doubles their already potent violence? How do the nudes of Rodin betray the threats to his authority and potency posed by clay and flesh? And how does solitude inform the art of Giacometti? In asking these and other questions, Berger alters the vision of anyone who reads his work.

Vintage Colour Palettes

Emma — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Rewild Your Drawing

Emma — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Reconnect with nature and learn how to draw beautiful botanicals through mindful, step‑by‑step practice.

Rewild Your Drawing is a calming and creative guide to drawing plants and flowers that blends accessible botanical illustration techniques with plant lore and the restorative power of creative mindfulness. Designed to help you observe more closely, draw with confidence and reconnect with the natural world, this book invites you to rediscover drawing as a gentle, grounding practice rather than a pursuit of perfection.

Artist and botanical illustrator Marta Glowacka provides:

Clear, step‑by‑step drawing tutorials for leaves, flowers, berries, plants and more broken down into simple, approachable stages.
Seasonal projects inspired by spring, summer, autumn and winter plants, encouraging you to work in rhythm with the natural year.
Guidance on materials and techniques, including coloured pencils and alcohol‑based markers, blending, shading and colour theory.
Plant studies enriched with lore and botanical facts, deepening your connection to each subject as you draw it.
Creative mindfulness prompts and observation tips to help you slow down, notice more and enjoy the process as much as the result.

Beginning with the essentials, the book builds skills gradually and encouragingly, making it suitable for beginners while still offering depth and inspiration for more experienced artists. Whether you draw at your desk, in a sketchbook on walks or from treasured plants at home, Rewild Your Drawing offers a slower, more mindful way to develop your skills.

This is a book for artists, gardeners and nature‑lovers – and anyone looking to discover or rediscover the quiet joy of drawing by hand.

Vintage Matchboxes

Emma — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Say HELLO to your new sticker addiction. Full of the very best contemporary illustration and vintage imagery, Skittledog’s Little Sticker Books are pocket-sized pages of pure sticker serotonin!

Add a touch of vintage magic to your creative projects with hundreds of illustrated matchbox stickers from around the world. Featuring beautiful designs from India, China, Japan, Sweden, Austria and the Czech Republic, this collection is perfect for junk journals, scrapbooks, planners, collages, snail mail and more. Full of striking artwork and retro charm, these stickers are ready to peel, stick and enjoy.

Part of the Skittledog Little Sticker Book series (sophisticated sticker books at pocket-friendly prices).
A beautiful little sticker book full of colourful matchbox designs from around the world.
Includes over 100 stickers.
A fun, affordable gift for stationery lovers.

Collect the whole set:
Grumpy Cats and Other Stuff: A Little Sticker Book
Stickers Against the Patriarchy: A Little Sticker Book
Vintage Colour Palettes: A Little Sticker Book
Bon Appetit! A Little Sticker Book
Crazy Medieval Dudes: A Little Sticker Book
Japanese Flowers: A Little Sticker Book
The Artist's Studio: A Little Sticker Book

How to Think Like an Artist

Emma — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An illuminating guide to history’s most influential and inspiring artists – from Michelangelo to Frida Kahlo – and how they can teach us to see the world more clearly.How did the greatest artists in history look at the world through new eyes? And what can we learn from the imagination, boldness and originality of their art? From the allusive frescos of the Renaissance to the cool irony of conceptual art in the 20th century, this is the ultimate guide to the greatest artists of the human age.Curator and writer Catherine Daunt interweaves the lives and loves of these great artists with moving and enlightening descriptions of their most famous and important works. This book takes the reader on a whirlwind journey through the greatest art of all time, and shows us how we can understand and interpret them.Daunt re-examines the canon, traditionally dominated by Western, white and male artists, and makes space for major figures from other cultures and traditions, as well as those who have been traditionally overlooked because of their gender or class. Every artist in this book has made a revolutionary contribution to art, changing the way that we view, depict and navigate our world.

Darling Buds

Emma — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Celebrate the timeless beauty of Shakespeare’s words and the natural world in this exquisitely illustrated anthology.

Pairing some of the Bard’s most evocative verse with the botanical watercolours of artist Harrison Dix, Darling Buds is the perfect literary gift. Inside this beautiful book, you’ll find each quotation illustrated, and notes on every plant’s significance, symbolism – and even medicinal or culinary uses.

Perfect for fans of The Language of Flowers and nature-inspired art.
Beautiful literary and botanical gift book for readers, gardeners and art lovers.
A charming gift package (with fine paper and delicate watercolour illustrations).
Features original, never-before-seen watercolour illustrations.