sliced slate

 

 

wall? bridge?

a line of slate slices, delineating space

The slices of slate create the boundary wall that encloses this garden. Undulating.
The garden is up near the council buildings in Wakefield. It was made for the Chelsea Flower Show (not this year) then subsequently re-created as part of the urban renewal of Wakefield and the surrounding District. The rusting metal question mark on the right, was, when installed at Chelsea, a sculpture by Barbara Hepworth, who was born in Wakefield.

 Some of the late greenery and poppies of this civic garden.

labyrinth

Wakefield Cathedral has had a refurbishment.

Within the structure of the building is now a labyrinth set out on the floor, in stone. Two different colours, to mark the path. 

Of course churches and cathedrals have a long tradition of using labyrinths as part of their christian practice. Chartres, in France, is perhaps the most famous. 

 The view of the labyrinth in Wakefield Cathedral.

maze for yorkshire; loose threads

A maze for Yorkshire; a bright red one. Made of MDF.

By the artist Richard Wood.

A maze for summer. Gone now, like the migrating birds.

Only here for the sunny, summer weather.

 But fun while it was here!

The maze; the Georgian building of the Orangery; the flags flapping beyond; and the backdrop of newbuild flats and offices.

A maze is not a labyrinth.

Why? Because you cannot get lost in a labyrinth; there is one way in, and one way out. It's unicursal. But a maze is something where you can take wrong turnings, and get lost. Ariadne didn't need to leave a trail of thread in the labyrinth to find her way back from the minotaur in Crete.

She would have if it was a maze. 

Even labyrinths and mazes lead to loose threads.



20:20 Print Exchange

Last week was the final date to hand in the prints for the 20:20 Print Exchange. Despite all the upheaval I've experienced with mum's death, then Ann dying, both happening suddenly and unexpectedly, I managed to complete this.
The prints were collographs; done in my home studio; I got them to the Arthouse. Before the final hand-in date. I surprised myself. I did wonder at more than one point, if I was going to make it. But I did.

The prints are on paper. And they have each got a small stitch, and a length of thread, within the print.

walnut dyed

My washing line of dyed fabric; last week when the sun shone. Today is cloudy, rainy, and dreach, as the scots say. Nearest is a piece of silk from a child's silk bridesmaid dress, that I got in a charity shop in Eyemouth in the summer. It's dyed in the woad dye-pot I've been using recently.

Here is the same silk, this time dyed using walnut husks. It's beautifully mottled.

 Here is the same silk dyed from walnuts.

And here are the walnuts! They were really easy to peel, though I did take the precaution of wearing rubber gloves. Boiled 'em up, and dunked in the silk. I managed to pop a couple of pieces of cotton in too, but I do admit that the silk has taken the dye so much better. I then went into a frenzy of walnut dye-ing; and put another piece of silk in the pot. And some more silk into what remains of the woad. I think the dress is about used up now, so I'm going to have to be on the lookout in charity shops for more second hand silk clothes.

washing line

more woad

Here's the silk from the child's bridesmaid dress, dunked into the woad dye-bath. Bought the dress in Eyemouth back in August. The silk is a 'slub' silk; which means it's uneven on the surface; the spin of the silk is uneven, creating thick and thin lengths of thread. Tiny imperfect weaves. Gives the fabric a lovely texture. I'm expecting the woad to exaggerate this texture, when I take it out, wash, and dry it.
The results I'm getting with the woad, are a very uneven colouration. Maybe that's because I'm using such a small dye-bath? I do like that effect actually, so it doesn't bother me.

This is a cotton top Jill gave me; me wearing it. The details of the string I tied around the cotton reveal a lovely pattern; hardly touched by the blue woad dye, it's remained white. As I took this photo myself, it was hit & miss getting an image that was anything like!