May 1997

My apologies for the late appearance ofthis newsletter which is entirely due tothe dearth of material I have received,hence its slim line proportions. Thanksmust go to those who have taken thetrouble to send in bits and pieces but Ifeel the general lack of more meat;articles, letters and information has putthis issue near the limits of viability.

While I appreciate that mostpeople lead busy lives and have tojuggle their time carefully, can I pleaseask all members to consider sparing alittle time to pen a few lines sharingsome aspects of your workingexperience with other members ofyour profession? Do you attendconferences for example? If so howabout sharing any aspect of it which isrelevant with other members by writinga conference report. Or perhaps youare developing new ground-breakingtechniques and methodologies inillustration and survey, a knowledge ofwhich could be beneficial to othermembers or on which you would likefeedback or comments. If so let's hearabout it. Book reviews, if relevant tothe association's field of interest,would also be welcome as wouldletters, comments and notes aboutequipment, materials, suppliers andforthcoming events.

I am sure this shortage ofmaterial is only temporary and I lookforward to a bulging postbag for futureeditions.

Phil Newman, Editor

AGM & Conference1997

Members may have been unaware ofthe situation but the Council has beendesperately trying to arrange for aconference this year in the absence of avolunteer to organise the festivities.Although it is very late we now have aconfirmed venue and a date for all yourdiaries. The Conference and AGM willtake place on the 5th, 6th and 7thSeptember 1997 at the SouthamptonInstitute.

The Institute has recently beenrefurbished and the lecture roomsare of a very high standard withfacilities for back projected slides,videos and computer imaging. Theaccommodation is a pleasant 10minute walk away through parklandand has been built within the last twoyears.

The accommodation is highquality single student rooms with en-suite facilities including a shower.Although there is no bar at theInstitute, wine can be provided atmealtimes and for those of you whowish to partake of a sherry beforeretiring there are three pubs within50 yards!

As this a relatively late start thereare no confirmed speakers at themoment but Amanda Patton, MikePringle and myself are attempting toput together an interesting range ofspeakers and topics. I will bring youup to date with progress in the nextnewsletter and hope to see many ofyou there in September.

Rob Read, 1997 ConferenceCo-ordinator

MI&S and theAssociation of

IllustratorsMembers may recall the questionnairelast year concerning the possibility ofdual membership with the Associationof Illustrators. At the time of thequestionnaire the proposal was that areduced membership rate for the AOIcould be provided for MI&S membersif we were prepared to accept areduced 'selection' of the services theAOI provided for its own members.Further discussions have taken placeand the AOI Council have come upwith the following proposal.

The AOI are prepared to discounttheir full membership rate by the amountof the MI&S full membershipsubscription. This would only beavailable to MI&S full members butmost importantly all the services the AOIprovides to its members would beprovided to MI&S members at thisreduced rate. At present rates thismeans that for the equivalent cost for aAOI full member -£85, MI&S fullmembers could have dual membership.

I hope to have AOI informationleaflets available shortly for those of youwho may wish to consider the benefitsof dual membership and if at all possiblea representative of the AOI to discuss itswork and services at the Conference inSeptember. Let me stress that theMI&S is not about to be subsumed andremains an independent body and thisarrangement is seen by Council asbeneficial to its members.

I need to be able to judge thepossible take up of this offer by MI&Sfull members so could I ask those whoare interested to contact me as soonas possible through the central mailingaddress.

For those of you who wish tohave further information about the AOIand its services please send a requestand as soon as I receive the AOIleaflets I will send them on.

GETTING AWAY fRO't\ ARCHAEOLOGICAL ILLU5TRATI0t'f.Readers of The Independent for Saturday 8th March may have noted thehappy tale entitled 'I want to be a ranger', in which after years of city drudgeand grind, a 44-year-old countryside management student was striving tofulfil his dream of becoming a wildlife warden, abandoning '..a well-paidcareer for a working life in the country'.. But what was his former (well-paid)career from which he so desperately had to escape? No, not an accountantor a stockbroker, worse than that, he was an archaeological illustrator. Itseems ironic that while so many people fight long and hard to get establishedin archaeological illustration that someone else is trying equally hard to getout. We wish him luck. Thanks to David Williams for spotting this piece.

Rob Read, Council member

Association of Archaeological Illustrators & Surveyors- 2

WHO VALUES THE ILLUSTRATOR?A REPORT ON THE 1996 TAG

CONfERENCEThe fol/owing coursesare currently beingadvertised by OxfordUniversity Dept ofContinuing Education:

Introduction to

ArchaeologicalPublishing8th -9th December1997

Health & Safety for

Archaeologists22nd -23m Jan 1998

GIS in Archaeology23m -24th March1998

Building Su!VeyWeek1st -5th June 1998(In conjunction withRCHME)

Field Survey Week22nd -26th June 1998(In conjunction withRCHME)

REQUESTS FOR INFORfMTIONHaving recently tried to replace our stocks ofgridded drafting film, I have been informed thatthe only company that printed it has discontinuedits production. Having used it for many years now,this news comes as a bit of a blow as there is noreal alternative I know of which is as durable orweatherproof. An alternative I thought of was touse Letraset gridded line paper (line paper 5000)and laminated. This should, I thought, supply uswith gridded material almost as hardy as thedrafting film. Guess what? Yes, you guessed:Letraset have discontinued this line and I seem tonow possess the entire stock for Worcestershirecomprising three pads of A2, kindly sold to me bythe nice man in PSW who was only too pleased toflog the stuff off cheap. Another alternative couldbe to arrange a print run especially for us. Thesewould have to be in large quantities which wouldbe overkill for our needs for the next few years. Ifthere are other illustrators/dinosaurs out therewho have come across this problem, have youfound an alternative? If not would anyone beinterested in joining forces to arrange a print runto supply us for a while? The printing would be onA 1 sheets which should be large enough for thelargest sites and the most enthusiastic siteplanners and should cover a reasonable area of adrawing board. Send your info to the centralmailing or phone me on 01905613877.

Laura TempletonFor further detailscontact:The ArchaeologyCourse Secretary,OUDCE, 1

Wellington Square,Oxford, OX1 2.lA.

Does anyone know whether drawing/tracing linenis still produced and if so where can it beobtained? I received a roll of the stuff as apresent, with a label showing it had beenproduced in the 1960's. Having tried it out usingvarious pens,inks etc. I must admit to beingimpressed with its properties, being far moreresponsive to the pen than either film or CSIO.Any information would be gratefully received.

Rob Read

In December '96, Liverpool hosted the 18thannual TAG conference. One of the finalsessions was entitled "Image and interpretation:the use and evolution of the archaeologicalillustration". Considering there were only aboutfifteen people there, two of whom were studentmembers of MI&S, the debate that followedbecame quite 'interesting' with a variety ofcontrasting points being aired regarding the twomain subjects under discussion. The two topicsconcemed were illustration as a discipline andthe future of illustration.

It was agreed that illustration is a valuabletool. This was followed by a discussion on therole of illustrations and of the illustrator. Theidea put forward by the session organiser, JohnSwogger (Liverpooi Uni.) was that the disciplineshould not be isolated as a separate discipline tobe carried out solely by professional illustrators,but that all archaeologists should be able to usethe skill and create their own illustrations. Thisraised the point that archaeologists, bothacademic and field, do not have the time andperhaps the skill to carry this out whilstmaintaining a high standard. It was suggestedthat increased 'education' of the archaeologistwould aid the professional illustrator by meansof maintaining a set of basic conventions. At themoment these are seemingly obsolete due tothe 'work' undertaken by the illustrator oftenbeing subject to. the specifications of theindividual archaeologist. It was also acceptedthat illustration tends to take a back seat in manydegree courses ...should we be encouraging'new blood' by means of workshops to perhapsset standards and encourage those new to the

discipline?The discussion touched on the different

forms of illustrations and for whom they areintended. This was quite interesting as somedeiegates clearly did riot undeistand the use ofdifferent illustrations to aid different groups andindividuals. This was especially noticeablewithin the art of reconstruction, somepreferring the more artistic approach andothers favoring the more interpretative format.This latter format being pushed by theincreased use of computer technology. One ofthe delegates who was very anti the newtechnology, having accepted that its use wasinevitable, was clearly not prepared to find outwhat the real advances and advantages are.

I have tried, in an impartial manner toconvey concisely and, I hope, precisely themain points raised. I now challenge you tovoice your response. Do we have any clearobjectives concerning the future of thediscipline, or its present day- to-day applicationwithin the whole sphere of archaeology?

Another member is seeking a supplier for a fine-pinned profile guage. This is not your common DIYprofile guage as found at your local Do-it-all, but aprec ;s.lcn ;nstrum a nt t" ha us a d fO,. "an, fine. ""' rk'" """"""""""'--'}"" '..The best ones apparently are manufactured inAmerica. Information please via Central Mailing.

Please note thatcourses arementioned here onlyas an aid to membersand that the MI&Scouncil is unable torecommend thecontent or standard oftuition for particularcourses. Further; we""' u '...I ""n"""';,~lo "nv

"... 'v ~t"'t"" ~ ~. '..

comments, criticismsor praise frommembers or non-members on coursesthey have attendedwhich putpOrt to teachthe disciplines ofArchaeologicalillustration & surveywhether advertised inthis newsletter orotherwise,

Whilst checking through members' banker'sorders, the treasurer came across a mysterycontributernamed S.M. Smith. However, we haveno-one with such a name on our data-base. Cananyone throw some light on who this benefactormight be? It may be that they are paying (£17,Associate rate) on behalf of someone else with adifferent surname. Can someone enlighten us

please?Richard Shepperd, Hon. Treasurer

The personal views expressed here byAssociation members and non-members maynot be those of the AAI&S Council.@AAI&S, May 19967

Louise D. Brown Edited by Phil Newman