Divine Women

I've been watching Episode 1 of 'Divine Women'. It was wonderful to see the ancient sites I've only read about in books.


And the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has an extensive collection of Goddess figurines. It reminded me of the Goddess figurines in Malta, in the National Museum there. Museums are never friendly for us camera users, understandably. But above is one of the photos I took in Malta. They have case after case of goddess figures. It's quite astounding.



The programme is still on BBC iplayer at the moment. 

Hand-Made

Last year, I worked with a group to create hand-made bags. They were quite simple tote bags. We didn't have the space or time to do anything more complicated than that.
This was the one I made; I usually like to make the 'thing' that is being created in a workshop, whether that be books or bags. It gives me the opportunity to show different techniques, and use my object, as the 'sample'. After we'd made, and pinned the basic shapes of the bags, some people took theirs home to complete. Others, who didn't have access to sewing machines, gave them to me, and I sewed them all together.


I had a white cotton canvas tote bag, which I took home, and in typical artist fashion, painted! I was inspired by Peter Randall-Page's sculptures from an earlier exhibition at the YSP.   

Shadows & Light

Rain....rain....rain....
I feel I'm developing webbed feet!


I've been sewing stitches on some fabric I'll dye later, which is part of the textiles course.
And rinsing out a piece of fabric I've dyed (twice) on the course.


And just got tickets for 'Spem In Allium'; a '40-part motet' by Thomas Tallis. It's a concert that's part of Leeds University 'International Concert Series' .
That's something to look forward to, for June. 
The silver lining on these gloomy rain clouds!


The photo is from the March Artwalk at Westgate Chapel; tea lights in the grounds, and the lamp lights from Westgate Railway Station at the top. Marks of light; lines of light.

The Pinafore of Self-Esteem

The pinny of self-esteem is created out of flip chart paper used in  a self esteem course.
From the angle of this photo it has a look of a boat, complete with sail. I like that association; especially after the origami boats I created for the March ArtWalk.

the slits, and other stories.......

As part of a big clearing out here, I came upon this old badge from when I saw the Slits, way back in 1979! I think the silhouettes were taken from the 'famous' (infamous?) photoshoot with Penny Smith, then photographer on the NME music paper (back when it was an 'inky'!). The Slits played in mud in a garden, semi-naked, wearing only loin-cloths. Considering the images of women surrounding us now, the photos are quaintly chaste! But they created a furore at the time!


Good to find it again!


In the garden; the potatoes are in the ground; the peas are in; and I'm awaiting plants from....sunflower, pumpkin, sweet-peas, tomato seeds!
I'm looking out for some seeds of the WELD plant. I'd like to grow more plants that I can use for dyeing.


The fabric I dyed last Tuesday on the textiles course, is still drying. The bundles are plonked on the top of the fire. Am looking forward to seeing the results!


I've still got the packet of WOAD dye to experiment with; I got it as a Xmas present.

The summer will be a  time of experiment and change!    

Rob's tie-dye

My brother asked me to do a tie-dye design on one of his tee-shirts. This was the result; he said he'd be wearing it on his Northern Soul nights! 
The lines turned out to be much more delicate than I expected This was using the Dylon dyes; we're currently using Procion dyes on the textile course, which just started back on Tuesday for the summer term. Procion dyes are more vivid than this. I've wrapped a few bundles and dyed them blue/turquoise. I have an idea to use some resist dye-ing; so will hopefully use one of the fabric samples I dyed on Tuesday to experiment with that.
Get me some practice in for when the plants re-emerge and I can do more plant dye-ing!

Pi

Whilst browsing the t'internet, as you do; I came upon this
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6446891/what-pi-sound-like

It's really quite lovely; even though at times it does sound as though they will break into 'doh, a deer' from 'The Sound Of Music'!


They've put musical notation onto the number sequence of Pi. 
I came to this from listening to Kate Bush's song 'Pi' from her album (cd?) 'Aerial', where she sings the numbers.........take your pick!

Felt 5

Another piece of the felt I made on the C&Guilds course. 
The portfolio of work I put in gained me a Distinction; which was lovely, as I feel such a beginner in the Felting field. This example was 'nuno' felt; and so has some hessian there in the mix, for the felt to adhere itself to.
If I'd used a thinner open weave fabric, it would have wrinkled beautifully, and created a very textural surface.
I'd like to experiment with that a bit more in the future.

Fire & Fleet & Candleleet

 Before the dark fell, the boats could be seen in daylight, floating in the bowl. As the sun dropped, the tea-lights began to glow more evocatively, and crowded together, surface tension making them hug the edge of the bowl.

The weekend after the ArtWalk, we took the remaining boats up to the lagoon near where I live, and lit the tea-lights again, setting them sail with our wishes, and casting off those things which are no longer relevant to our lives.

We said our goodbyes to the tiny boats, and the wishes they carried.

catch up

Due to my computer monitor going on the blink, I'm unable to access the t'internet at home. So I can't upload any photos at the moment. This will have to be a 'read-only' post!

The ArtWalk was interesting; busy; and tiring, as always. 
I took some blurry and dark photos of the tea-lights, in their jars at Westgate Chapel. It looked beautiful.
My friend, Ann, and I went up to the local lagoon, and sailed the origami boats away in the dusk of Saturday evening; the final day of March. An ending, and a new beginning. We set sail our wishes; said goodbye to those things no longer in our lives.

I've got my City & Guilds Feltmaking portfolio back; but although I have been given the grade, I'll withold telling it, until I can illustrate the post with a photo. 

And have begun the process of growing plants in my garden, as Miro suggested! The potatoes are chitting; the pea-plants are in; the bean and tomato seeds are in. And so are some sunflower seeds; continuing Jon's tradition of planting sunflowers in the garden. 

Planting seeds is to have faith in the future.