Personal Artwork with Marion Michell and Carrie Scott-Huby

On Saturday I went to the Arthouse for a workshop with Marion Michell and Carrie Scott-Huby, called 'The Personal Artwork'.

Carrie had brought along some folded and sculpted brown paper 'Mantles', which caused me to think for a few moments.
I'd seen some photos of the Pace Egg plays at Hebden Bridge (?) and been really taken by the cloak/s made for one of the characters to wear. This was made out of strips of newspaper, and it occurred to me then that a coat like that would be fantastic......though I did wonder if it would be very heavy to actually wear!

I decided to use this workshop to make a mantle using strips of newspaper, and some coloured tissue strips mixed in. When I finished, it looked more like a neckpiece as worn by Egyptians, or South American Aztecs! Which also set a lot of thoughts running for me!

It was good to make a piece of work in one session/day, rather than spend days/weeks/months hard at work on a painting or knitting, which is my usual working practise.

There was some lovely objects made by everyone; I did take some photos, so when I get them onto the compooter, I'll try to get them uploaded.

I also took a couple of photos of Marion's croched work which is currently on show in the exhibition space at the Arthouse.
Don't be put off by that sentence. She is very inspired by fairy tales, and personal memories of childhood, and the work reflects these concerns.
She has croched a set of 'Hair Dresses'....say it quickly!....using hair extention pieces from a hair dressers in London. They look very strange, like doll's dresses, hung on the walls. And are very hairy...obviously.

Reminded me of the film 'The Company of Wolves', from the book by Angela Carter, where the very charming wolf says to Red Riding Hood, that 'Some wolves are hairy on the outside, and some are hairy on the inside'; i.e. their wolf-ishness is hidden from sight.

Sashiko stitches on hand painted calico

This is part of a textile project I'm working on at the moment. After visiting York Art Gallery last year, and seeing the Sashiko exhibition there, I was inspired to try my hand at this hand-sewn running stitich.

I have used calico as the fabric, and hand painted it with fabric paints. I then sewed the piece of painted fabric onto the larger piece of calico.

It has taken hours and hours of sewing! I used an embroidery hoop to help me sew, but I still had shredded fingers!

This piece is still on-going. There is sewing; knitted 'pelts'; hand-painting; and transfers included in this sampler.

Neolithic Carved Ball

Here is another example of the Neolithic carved balls that can be found in museums.

This one is on show in Hull Museum.
It's a wonderful museum to visit, and the archaeology on show is astounding. Included in the exhibition are copies of the Folkton Drums.

Very much recommended to visit, for anyone interested in archaeology.

Nest of Long-Tailed Tit

The nest of the Long-Tailed Tit.
Made from cobwebs and lichen! Lined with feathers.
There is a group of Long-Tailed tits who make a racket bouncing around the trees around my house.
They're like little round balls of feathers, with very long tails!
Despite them coming round to feed, I've never managed to see a nest. This one from Whitby Museum is the nearest I've come.

Wasp Nest

Here's a photo I took of a wasp's nest that Jon brought home for me.
It's extremely delicate, and fragments were falling off it as I carried it out into the garden to photograph it.
It's only small, it fits in the palm of my hand with room to spare.

Jon had found it in the shed at his mum's house. It's very beautiful, and the photo doesn't do it justice.
I have a book about how animals build, which I haven't read yet, but will dip into, and try to find out some information about wasp nests.
I believe that wasps 'chew' the structures where they attach their nests, and the spittle and saliva (if indeed this is what the wasps produce!) from the wasps, mix in with the chewed materials of wherever the nests attach to. This is then made into the paper-like material which the nest is made up of.

Morning Glory Give-Away update

The latest news is that 21 Morning Glory Plants have been passed onto gardeners/artists.
Out of this, 14 have so far survived the predations of SLUGS!!!!

I have 2 plants left which are recovering from the hungry chomping of slugs. So they'll remain here, and I'll plant them out in my garden, when they get a bit bigger.

I've handed out advice about the plants, suggesting that eggshells, sharp sand, organic/harmless slug pellets be spread on the ground around the Morning Glory plants.
Cut down plastic drinks bottles placed around the plants, to stop slugs getting to the plants, is another way of protecting them.


I've done a rough draft of how I want the page/s to look, so just got to do that on the computer. And do some more work on the cover and the back of the book.

'Morning Glory (IPOMOEA) flowers last only one day, but are borne continually, so there is the pleasure of being able to see new flowers open each morning. The foliage is not particularly dense which means Morning Glory is not an effective screening plant. Treat it as a decorative guest, not a workhorse.'

Neolithic carved ball from the Isle of Arran

Here is another neolithic carved ball.
It was in the museum at the Isle of Arran, which we visited in 2009.
Like the previous carved ball, its purpose is unknown.

I love the mystery contained in these ancient objects.