Back to school

Yesterday morning, there I was in the bathroom with Radio 3 playing one minute and the next, I was back at school.  More accurately, I was standing in morning assembly listening to my music teacher and virtuoso organist play the most thrilling and memorable piece as the headmaster made his entrance.

Picture the scene.

Not only did I stop and listen to the whole piece on the radio, I came straight downstairs and played it over again on Spotify.  Magic!

New toy

The internet is full of temptations for those of us who love to play.  Whilst in gadget girl mood last week, I stumbled upon this.  I read reviews of the complete Epic Letterpress set when it first came out and even spent time in a PaperSource store watching a demonstration, wondering if I might find one useful.  Back home, I’d forgotten all about it, the moment had passed and I managed quite nicely without.

But then I got an email from somewhere I’d bought one or two things, offering the “starter kit” for £14.99 and realising that I could use it with the Big Shot die cutter I hardly ever put to work, I hit “buy”.  Remembering some of those early reviews, I also ordered another plate.

Whilst I was working yesterday, the parcel was delivered, so this morning I had to play.

First results using the plates included in the set weren’t too bad, but the designs are crude and a little heavy handed.  I was glad I had the more detailed plate to experiment with.

Half an hour and a few test runs later and I’m pretty pleased with the result.  Okay, I can see why the letterpress afficionados are scathing about the outcomes, but for those of us who just enjoy the process and haven’t got the room or the budget for the real thing, this adds a new trick to the repertoire.  The “emboss” aspect of the print is well defined and even on the most basic heavy paper/thin card, gives a further dimension and adds interest to the design.

Could I have achieved the same result with just the letterpress die and the BigShot?  Did I really need the “starter kit”?  Well, in many ways, yes, the same result could be achieved using the BigShot and one of the “letterpress plates” on offer (which are hard plastic, not soft rubber like the normal rubber stamps).  But the £15 spent on the starter kit included the letterpress platform which is like another “sandwich” for the BigShot, a tube of ink, a brayer and a sheet of perspex to roll the ink out on.  Oh, and the set of pretty basic printing plates which I doubt I’ll ever use.  Still, not bad value, I think.  The Sissix plate is very good; well defined and didn’t cost a kings ransom.

Maybe something to add to your Christmas list, Maggie?

Lost in Lace

We've been in Birmingham, to hear the CBSO, but went early so we could take a look at Lost in Lace, the new exhibition in the Gas Hall of the Birmingham Museum.

What a terrific show! Fairly small but in both our opinions, perfectly formed. The definition of lace is stretched, for sure and in the Gas Hall gallery there isn't really anything at all conventional - but there's structure and holes and in most – but not all - cases, thread.

How’s this for starters?  Michael Brennand-Wood’s “Lace, the Final Frontier”

Or this, “juxtaposition” by Suzumi Noda, created from the cards used on a Jacquard loom.

We were so lucky to have the gallery almost to ourselves, so could stand back and admire this beautiful panel by Piper Shepard, made using hand tools and created especially for this space, I learned from the catalogue.  Breathtakingly beautiful and a stunning creative response to one of the exhibits in “the other” exhibition, over in the main part of the Museum.

This piece of point de gaze lace from the permanent collection here in Birmingham was once owned by Mrs W A Cadbury and it’s clear to see how it could inspire – well, anything!

We’d just walked past the new library construction and had commented on the decorative finish already in place on the lower floors,so seeing the display here in the exhibition brought the lace connection home. 

We especially enjoyed reading the background notes, which were concise and explained the artist’s thinking so clearly, in terms that we could understand and appreciate – no PCT here!  In particular, we liked the notes which accompanied the piece above by Katharina Hinsberg

(we loved the work, too!)

An afternoon well spent, we both felt (because although my Hero doesn’t normally go in for lace, he enjoyed the exhibition as much as I did.  His favourite was Nils Voelker’s “Forty Eight”, and if we install a living, breathing wall in our house, you’ll know where the inspiration came from!

Of course, we had to go and look at the original lace too, where beautiful pieces of exquisite hand-made lace from Mrs Cadbury’s collection were displayed alongside other treasures of similarly breathtaking quality. 

 

This exhibition has been so carefully thought through and so cleverly put together, that it’s hard to see how anyone couldn’t find something of interest.  There are lace trails for families to follow through the picture galleries and a space at the rear of the Gas Hall with resources and things to do.  Best of all, there’s an iphone app!

No, best of all, the exhibition is totally free of charge.  How lucky are we?

(the concert was pretty good, too)