Time has flown once again. Having spent the last three weeks of August in the UK and then been gainly occupied each weekend of September I have arrived in October without much to show stitch wise. While in the UK in August I went to the Festival of Quits for two where I stewarded for half of each day. I find that stewarding really forces me to look at quilts , which wouldn’t otherwise attract my attention, very carefully. I don’t chose the categories I steward so often see pieces I would otherwise by-pass. Shopping was kept to a minimum as the big suppliers I use weren’t present but I can never say no to threads…..
I visited the Rheged centre just outside Penrith a great place with a soft play centre for my 21 month old great niece and an exhibition space whose summer exhibition included Matisse: Drawing with scissors, his late works 1950-1954, featuring 35 lithographic prints of his famous cut-outs produced by Henri Matisse in the last four years of his life (a Hayward gallery touring exhibition). There were also around 200 artworks by 40 different British paper artists indifferent forms some of which are below
After Rheged we went on and I found the Celtic crosses in the graveyard at Lowther chapel and the rusting garden decorations in a plant nursery nearby, the ageing of stone and metal giving wonderful textures and patterns overlaying the carving shaping of the original material.
Back home I had a day collecting shellfish at low tide, actually more of a party day, in the September sunshine where the textures were abundant.
The following weekend was the art festival in nearby Nieul sur Mer where I exhibited in a friend’s house for the weekend; we had lots of appreciative visitors but the photos aren’t very good.
Last weekend I was in Bessines sur Gartempes for their Journée Valadon. Dress code was the turn of the century (18th/19th) and I had a table in the street. I was surrounded by street artists painting still lifes in competition, behind me was a very talented pastel artist who one the first prize, his work made me rethink my idea of pastels! The day was humid and turned to heavy rain, luckily I was prepared but it meant that I didn’t really show much of my work and visitors were sparse. It was a really good day despite the conditions and I had a couple of sales.
Somewhere during this time I also went to the quarry at Crazannes where we had a guided tour, amazing limestone, 98% pure, which as it weathers becomes impermeable and has been used in many famous buildings in France and elsewhere. Now disused one can see how the blocks were carefully removed from the rock face. I love the way the rock has such a organic look to it.
Meanwhile I finished my fifth artist piece for 15 by 15, still in the style of Georges Seurat depicting reflections. This time I really tried to use the pointillism method, my colours are far too dark and the net I used as a stencil clogged rather easily.
Then there were my first two of my last four journal quilts for the year. This time I have worked with changing the texture of the fabrics and stitching them differently although the shapes are the same in each of the four.
Work continues on my lino cut which will hopefully be completed by he next time that I update this blog.
Stitchery 