Traces in Rochester

Traces by Cas Holmes

Had a expedition to Rochester on Saturday with Sue, Peter and Ian to see an exhibition/installation of work by Cas Holmes in Rochester Cathedral and Art Gallery. Many of her pieces incorporated the bright colours and motifs experienced on an Indian exchange visit.

Sue and I did a mixed media class with Cas in July at the Cowslip Workshops in Launceston, a busy 3 days of sunprinting, monoprinting, momogami, printing, painting and stitching on paper and fabric. In the exhibition were a couple of pieces based on Marigolds that Cas was working on during the workshop, using them to demonstrate techniques -it was interesting to see how they had developed. We had also forgotten just how complex her pieces are , with layers and layers of fabrics and papers stitched into and peeled back and rubbings of woodblocks.

Marigold by Cas Holmes

In the crypt, displayed against the stained glass windows, there was also a couple of evocative pieces made collaboratively with a community group using recycled Remembrance Day poppies trapped in tea bag paper , with rubbings of war memorials.

We finished the day at the largest secondhand bookshop in Europe - I bought a 1963 book on TieDye with very clear diagrams of shibori techniques. Ian shocked us by buying nothing!