More fun ahead

Last year, four of us got together. We had a great time, sharing ideas and talking twenty to the dozen.

  

The next time a different four of us were together, creating art and talking twenty to the dozen. 

When three of us had a day to play, we made something to send to our friends all over the world. - in between catching up with the news and talking twenty to the dozen.

So, next week, when fourteen online friends from all over the place (Sal, Helen, Sara, Frances, Paulene, Maggie, Nita, Sue, Liz, Penny, Lynn, Dorothy, Myfanwy and myself) get together for five days of fun, who knows what tales there will be to tell?

One thing's for sure - you'll find it a challenge to get a word in edgeways.

Art and Elk

We knew, as soon as we spotted 160 mens jackets hanging in the trees, that we'd arrived at the Umedal sculpture park!  Actually, this proved to be one of our favourite images of the park for wherever we were, that interesting line cut through the trees and caught our eye.  Each jacket was different, each one connected to its mate by the sleeves, forming quite a chummy kind of conga party in the tree tops. (Kaarina Kaikkonen, A Path 2004)

 

Looking around in the area marked for an Antony Gormley figure (Another Time VIII, 2007), we ought to have known where to look.  As it was, it took us some minutes...

We weren't really looking for #1 on our map but Tra spotted it from afar and couldn't quite believe her eyes until it dawned on her that this too was an exhibit.(Lin Peng, A New Perspective, 2004)

So began the conversation.  Is this art or is it something left by a worker?  (Art: Roland Persson, Untitled painted bronze)

Spot the art here: the orange is art, the rest building work (Mats Bergqvist, Flip 2006)

The art didn't finish when we left the sculpture park, because the road to the Elk Farm was named the "Art Route" and we had a couple of items to look out for.  We nearly missed the first: a small brick built hearth in a wooded corner of a layby.  The second was somewhat easier to spot - not only did we now know how these things were signed, we'd seen plenty of images of the broken glass church and felt sure that this one qouldn't be so easy to miss.

As it was, the signs were almost larger than the church itself, which was pretty small and insignificant among the birch trees.  After such riches this morning, we ticked this one off pretty quickly and moved on.

To the elks.

To seven youngsters, less than a month old.  Very friendly and rather cute.

and four rather larger members of their family.  Gentle, slow and partial to a banana or two, they were surprisingly large and overpowering close up.  We enjoyed our encounter though.

Finally, at last, we got to see the Open Source Embroidery exhibition which offered loads of food for thought.  We had images bluetoothed to our phones, read 2D barcodes (remember this?) and saw plenty of things which set our minds reeling and, in my case, needing explanation from the more IT conversant partner.

It was a hugely thought-provoking exhibiton but both of us actually preferred the more conventional centenary craft co-op exhibit next door, which I got to see for a second time.

Home tomorrow with lots to think about, a few treasures from the trip and both of us ready for a dark night or two.

Treasures together again

I'm home from a weekend with the Textile Treasures.  After spending so much time together last year making an exhibition of ourselves, we thought it would be fun to spend a weekend catching up on the gossip and perhaps, learning a new trick or two.

I spent the weekend in Hertfordshire and learned a little of the County.

What I really mean was that I slept in the Hertfordshire room, of course, at our college in Oxfordshire. 

Best of all, one of my favourite pieces from the exhibition was right there on my bedside table.

I am so in awe of the technical skills which were used to create that fantastic piece of pulled thread work.  Every square inch of it is exquisite and there is not an end or a knot to be seen anywhere.

Believe me, I've looked.

We spent our time on more ephemeral pieces, beading bracelets and learning to crimp.

We learned a new stitch and hope to remember how it was done once we're home.

We also did strange things with silk cocoons - the treasures referred to this as a "cow's udder".  Thanks, friends...

Every time I visit the college these days, I wonder if it will be the last time I have the privilege of a close up view of this amazing piece of work.  Perhaps next time I go, it will have gone for restoration and a new permanent home.  So I took one or two more photographs for my collection.

As always, the worst bit of a workshop is putting it all away again afterwards.

Point Zero

Some time ago, I read a newspaper article that referred to Point Zero - that very special state needed for something to happen.  In my case, to begin a new arty project.  It's all to do with having the time, no distractions or obligations and the correct materials to hand. As the all-time mistress of displacement activity, I will admit this state has been pretty rare around here!

But with the ironing basket (almost) empty, a couple of free days in my diary and a new book (together with extra emailed ideas, thanks to the creative genius that is Maggie Grey) I gathered a few bits and pieces to play.

 Even though I happened to have exactly the right media, for some reason the results didn't turn out as expected and some further experiments are needed before I can claim total satisfaction with the outcome.

But the surfaces are interesting, the process was therapeutic and I'm looking forward to another go, maybe using a different brand of gesso.

Anyway, the blue and purple paint under the fingernails will be great at the posh do I'm going to on Wednesday!

Lucky girl!

 It's my birthday today and I'm having fun with a new toy - a GPS gadget which works with my camera so I don't need to remember where I took the photograph.

By the time I'd got the software loaded and felt ready to try it out, it was too late to do a great deal so I just stepped outside and photographed my Argos catalogue.  Fellow Catalogue Killers will understand!

When I came back inside, I uploaded the photograph and there it is - very nifty!

 Apologies for the poor photograph quality - I took a photo of the screen. 

No, I didn't log the location of that photo!