Out & About: Mitoraj sculptures at Pompeii

Sculpture by Mitoraj at Pompeii

The blog has been quiet for a few weeks as we were away on our summer holiday.  Rather than our normal family camping trip, we decided to do something different this year and we spent three glorious weeks in Italy visiting some of the major cities - modern and ancient.  

Richard standing next to one of the sculptures gives you a sense of scale - he is 6foot4!

We took rather a lot of photos - the numbers increased hugely increased whenever one of the children borrowed the camera.  Over our three devices I think we have around 4,000 photos.  The number is going down as I remove all the photos of the kids' feet!

Not one of the kids' feet!

One of the highlights of the holiday for me was a visit to an incredibly hot Pompeii.  The visitor facilities were sparse, which was a positive thing, rather than turning it into a theme park.  The main facility was plenty of water taps, which we made good use of refilling our water bottles.

Looking up at one of the Mitoraj sculptures

Fitting in with the ancient town were a number of monumental sculptures by Igor Mitoraj.  They fitted in so well that it was only on a second glance that I noticed they weren't from Roman times (maybe I was a bit hot and tired... or had had too much to drink at lunch prior to visiting!).  The sculptures were generally of parts of the body - never complete - and sometimes with an unexpected disconnected head, for example, in the fold of a shoulder blade.  

Another Mitoraj sculpture

I found these pieces intriguing and when we got back home, I tried to find out a bit more about Mitoraj and the exhibition.  There wasn't a huge amount on the web, but these are a couple of quotes from his 2014 obituary in the Guardian, which echo why I found the work so exciting:

Rupture & fragmentation became metaphors for the passing of antiquity, but could also stand for the nature of time itself and indeed the whole human condition.

Quoting Mitoraj directly, it said:

I feel that a piece of arm or a leg speak far more strongly than a whole body.

Given that I have spent so much time making work inspired by ancient sculptures, it is fascinating and exciting to see work which is interpreting similar ideas more deeply and in a totally different way. 

Another Mitoraj sculpture, this time besides the Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

 

Out & About: Glasgow Botanic Gardens

Each of the C&G Patchwork and Quilting courses I run have a four day summer school in June.  The two Certificate Groups each had a day out to the Botanic Gardens so we could be inspired, learn to look and to sketch.  

The weather couldn't have been more different between the two days.  For the first group it drizzled and wasn't very pleasant, making drawing outside interesting, especially if water soluble pencils were being used!  However, we spent some fantastic time in the green houses and the Keble Palace fernery. 

The second group struck lucky with the weather and I ended up with mild sunburn.  However, this meant that the glasshouses were not conducive to spending lots of time in them as they were so hot... and we are Scottish and not used to it.

The aim wasn't to create beautiful drawings, but useful sketches and ideas to then move into fabric.  And this was definitely achieved by both groups. 

Although beforehand some were a bit hesitant about drawing in public, I think everyone enjoyed it and we all agreed that you see so much more when you slow down and attempt to draw something rather than just snapping with your camera and thinking you'll do something with it later.  At least if you have tried to draw it when you come to do something later you understand it better.

The plants had been watered just before I took this photo

Having said all that, all of these images are photos that I took!  I did do some drawing as well, although, of course, I was there to teach the others, not to spend time coming up with new ideas myself.  I have already made some more drawings based on my photos and initial sketches and some thermofax screens of poppies.  So I've got plenty of ideas to work on over the summer when I'm having a break from teaching... not that I will have that much time as the kids are off from school!

Inspiration: Celts at the National Museum of Scotland

Tis the season of summer schools here.  With the first Diploma Group we had a trip to the Wemyss School of Needlework and the Fife Folk Museum.  Both the Certificate Groups are having a day at the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow (more to follow).  For the other Diploma Group, I thought long and hard about where to go, before settling on the National Museum of Scotland, because there is something for everyone there.  Everyone went their own way to explore and sketch and we met at lunchtime to exchange inspiration.  

Celts exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland

Whilst we were there, I went to the special exhibition on the Celts.  It continues until 25 September 2016, so there is still time to visit it if you can.  And you should!
The exhibition guided you through the idea of the Celts and their place in Europe from the earliest times right up to the revivals in the 19th and 20th Century.  The degree of interpretations was fascinating, from who viewed themselves as Celts and when the whole concept of the Celtic world was born.  The variety of objects was fantastic and there were many which totally fascinated me.  In particular, I loved the patterns and the repeats and how the shapes hinted at animals and objects without being totally explicit.  Unfortunately, no photography was allowed, although there are a couple of images on the website - http://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/whats-on/celts/ 

pages from my very rough sketchbook

As the aim in taking the students was to encourage them to sketch, I felt obliged to do the same.  

More pages of quick sketches

However, it is the patterns on one object that really grabbed me - one which I couldn't really sketch at the time as it was circular in nature and circles are notoriously difficult to draw freehand. So when I got home, I got out the compass and drew the interesting pattern.  I scanned it and reprinted a couple of variations to try colouring in.  
I know colouring in is very popular at the moment, but those detailed colouring in books would drive me nuts.  I can't stay within the lines and all that concentration, just to be ruined by not being accurate enough...  

Coloured in with felt tip pens

I didn't mind doing these, but I did realise it would be a lot quicker on the computer, so that's where the second lot came from.  And all the colour is within the lines!

Versions from on the computer - nicer colours too

I've now moved into fabric, but that is for another post as it is in early stages.  I know where it is going, but all you can see at the moment is the insipid under layers.  

Out & About: Wemyss School of Needlework and Fife Folk Museum

Log Cabin Quilt at Fife Folk Museum

As part of the C&G Diploma in Patchwork and Quilting that I am teaching, the students are required to produce an illustrated history of the past two hundred years of patchwork and quilting.  This is an area that interests me and I have a number of books on the subject, but no actual examples for them to examine.  And seeing real quilts brings it to life.  So the hunt was on to find some antique quilts reasonably locally.  Whilst Glasgow Museums has a great collection of embroidery, there are not many quilts in their collection and apparently it is very hard to get an appointment to view them (I'm willing to be corrected and visit the collection if I've got this wrong!). 

One of my students in the other Diploma class, Catherine Palmer, had been investigating where she could see quilts and had made a visit to Fife Folk Museum last year, where a lovely volunteer, Margaret, had looked out all the information she could find on the quilts in their collection.   So I got in touch and on Tuesday we went to see the quilts.  As it is a bit of a distance from here, we combined it with a trip to Wemyss School of Needlework, which is relatively close by.  Wemyss does not have a huge collection of quilts, but it is also good to be aware of other forms of stitching and they had some lovely examples of embroidery.  

Viewing at Wemyss School of Needlework

The sun shone and it felt like a bit of a road trip - especially when the sat nav on my phone directed us to the waste transfer station in another village 15 minutes away!  
However, when we finally got to Wemyss, there was a lovely sense of calm in the 

Workroom.  

More of Wemyss School of Needlework

On the huge table there were some examples of quilting laid out for us, along with some exquisite embroidery and records of the people who made them.  Fiona Wemyss gave a great talk, setting the collection in context and then we were free to look around for a closer examination.  Photos of specific textiles were not allowed, but general shots were, which is what I have here.  There was also a well stocked embroidery shop, which was raided by many of the students (and me!).

Enjoying the sunshine at Ceres

On to Ceres, to Fife Folk Museum, and they had not fibbed when they told me it had a great cafe!  The cakes were wonderful.  We had a private viewing of the quilts which had been specially hung by some of the volunteers.  We had a lovely session examining the quilts and the records in detail, sharing our knowledge of quilts with the volunteers, whilst they filled us in on the history that accompanied those quilts.  

Unflattering student photo at Fife Folk Museum

My photos are not great or numerous as my phone battery was almost dead by this point!  

Blurry photo of a lovely hexagon quilt at Fife Folk Museum.  I got very excited by the red fabric, which had lots of regular holes in it - where a different colour dye has eaten the fabric

I'd highly recommend a visit to either place and will definitely be revisiting the Fife Folk Museum soon - it had lots of other interesting things to see, but we ran out of time.  Well, actually, we chose to have coffee and cake rather than running round the other galleries!

This silk quilt at the Fife Folk Museum had a lovely paisley shawl as its backing

Out & About at Highland Quilters

The only downside about working from home now is that I don't leave the village very much.  It is too easy just to stay put, especially as most things are at least 30-40 minutes away.  So I was very pleased when Highland Quilters in Inverness invited me to give a talk and run some workshops for them.
Luckily the weather improved on Thursday as I set off, so I had a great drive and even managed to go for a short work near Aviemore on route.  I also had to have another break as I had forgotten to take shoes with me as I had put on old trainers to take the kids to school.  They really were not suitable to be seen!

A design in progress

The talk was appreciated and on the Friday I had the group painting to music, rolling dice and sticking tissue paper.  All perfectly normal quilting activities! 

Getting the fabric laid out

In the afternoon, we progressed to fabric, looking at how to recreate our designs with small pieces.

Stitched overnight

There were some lovely quilt designs as a result of this and one of the group had even managed to start stitching her piece before the next day's workshop!

Culloden Battlefield

As the hall Highland Quilters used was near Culloden, I managed a quick visit to the battlefield site after the workshop. 

Culloden Moor

It was very quiet and beautiful and much more atmospheric than my trip to the site of the Battle of Hastings.  The wind, the marshes and the lack of sight at points all added to the sense of place.

Stitching the scraps together

The second day, I shared my scrap piecing methods and we then painted the quilts with watery fabric paint to pull it all together.  After attacking the quilts will hair dryers to speed up drying, we then added details in Markal paintstiks.  

Highland Quilters at the end of the Scrap Piecing for Art Quilts Workshop

I did remember to take photos of this session, including my first ever cheesy shot of all the workshop participants holding their pieces at the end!

Spring Gorse

Pauline Burbidge Exhibition at The Bowes Museum

Honesty Skyline by Pauline Burbidge

As I mentioned in an earlier blogpost, I had a lovely weekend in the north of England at the end of November.  The highlight (in art terms at least!) was visiting the Pauline Burbidge exhibition at The Bowes Museum on its opening day.

Detail of Horizons of Puglia by Pauline Burbidge

I don’t think I have ever been to an exhibition where the visitors all spent so long looking at the artwork.  Apparently, the normal time a museum visitor spends looking an artwork can be measured in seconds.  All of the visitors I saw spent several minutes carefully absorbing each artwork on show.

Samples of Pauline Burbidge's mark-making on fabric

This exhibition is of Pauline’s most recent work.  Having moved to working in simple monotone, she now is adding a striking band of colour to her work through the use of cyanotype printing.  Her subject matter continues to be that of the nature which surrounds her.  She doesn’t make work of a recognisable place, more to give you a sense of place.  I felt as if I was out in a field, totally surrounded by tall grasses; the wild countryside and high at the top of my vision was a brilliant blue sky.  This was pleasurable viewing, especially given how awful the reality of the weather was outside – I had no desire to spend time in the real landscape that day – Pauline’s created one was much more congenial!

Samples of Pauline Burbidge's cyanotypes

To make the visit more encompassing for the viewer, there were two videos: one of Pauline’s awesome inspirational photos; the other of her at work in her studio.  The visit was also accompanied by specially composed, haunting music.  There were  her tools, sketchbooks and samples on view – all the things makers want to know about her working processes.

A selection of Pauline Burbidge's tools and equipment

It was my first visit to The Bowes Museum and all of us (R and the kids included) really enjoyed it.  There was a great kids trail and activities for them to do and we all wished we had had the time to sample the cafe. 

Starscape by Pauline Burbidge, with added reflections!

Pauline’s exhibition was in the Fashion and Textile Gallery, which was worth a visit in itself.  Tantalisingly, to accompany her exhibition, there is a display of quilts in the Glass Cube.  They were all overlapped, so you couldn’t see them properly, but apparently if you go as part of a group, you can arrange to gain better access.

Honesty and Fern by Pauline Burbidge

I’ve written articles about the exhibition for Popular Patchwork and The Quilter, with proper, high quality press images.  So you will need to read them if you want to see those photos and to read about my thoughts on the exhibition in depth.  These are just some snaps I took on the day.

The antique quilts on display at The Bowes Museum

The exhibition is on at The Bowes Museum until April, when it transfers to the Ruthin Craft Centre.

I would really recommend a visit.  If you are unable to go, there is a lovely catalogue which accompanies the exhibition, which is available directly from the museum shop website for £9.99.  If Santa is being generous, some of Pauline's quilts are also for sale there!

Out & About: Château de Haut-Kœnigsbourg

The view through one of the windows onto the tower

Last week was a big week.  After the fun of getting my work to Ste-Marie-aux-Mines in France and getting it hung, we had a lull of one day before the show opened.  For my one day off, we went to visit the Château de Haut-Kœnigsbourg, down the valley from where we were staying.  It was a beautiful castle, with a fascinating history.  It sits on the edge of France, but over the years, it has been part of Germany and then part of France again.  The last time it was in Germany was leading up to World War I, and to emphasise its importance and to show the world how far the German Empire had expanded, the Kaiser ordered it to be restored at the start of the twentieth century.  

The entrance to Haut-Koenigsbourg

Visiting today, a big thing is made of the restoration - it is not hidden, making us believe the castle was always thus.  As part of the restoration process, many photos were taken - a real 'before and after' and copies of some of these were displayed, making for interesting viewing.  

One of the door locks at Haut-Koenigsbourg

I was fascinated by the windows, locks and staircases, as my photos show.  We all really enjoyed our visit, and would definitely recommend it if you are in the area - visiting the European Patchwork Meeting, for example.  In my next post, I'll tell you about how the Show went for me - our broadband is running super slow at the moment, so I'm still waiting for all of the 1303 photos that were taken to upload.  Don't worry, I don't intend sharing them all!

Another of the door locks at Haut-Koenigsbourg

Yet another of the door locks at Haut-Koenigsbourg

View through a window

A final door lock at Haut-Koenigsbourg

The view across the Vosges Mountains from the top of the castle