A journey into the headspaces and workplaces of some of Britain’s most unique artists, from the co-author of the critically acclaimed Holloway.




‘Very good – up my street’ Sir Quentin Blake




‘A riveting chain reaction’ Simon Starling




‘A wonderful jigsaw puzzle of a book’ Observer



Bill Drummond. Richard Lawrence. Stanley Donwood. Jenny Saville. David Nash. Manic Street Preachers. Dame Judi Dench. Cally Callomon. Sheryl Garratt. Vaughan Oliver. Jane Bown. Steve Gullick. Stewart Lee. The Butcher of Common Sense. Robert Macfarlane.


Artists. Writers. Photographers. Musicians. A comedian. An actor. A printer. An airship.


The people interviewed in this book come from all corners of Britain’s cultural landscape but are united in their commitment to their craft.


At the beginning of this extraordinary memoir, Dan Richards impulsively decides to build an airship in his art school bar, an act of opposition which leads him to meet and interview some of Britain’s most extraordinary artists, craftsmen and technicians in the spaces and environments in which they work.


His search for what it is that compels both him and them to create becomes a profound examination of what it is to be an artist in twenty-first century Britain, and an inspiring testament to the importance of making art for art’s sake.