Stewarding, Stitching and Spirit Stains

 I spent Saturday stewarding the TVCT group exhibition 'Whatever Floats Your Boat' at Gallery@49  in Bracknell. Perishing cold - just as well Sandy had warned me  and I came armed with thermals and layers of fleeces.  It's a nice space if a bit tricky to take photos although I rather like how the art pieces interacted with the environment.

 I spent most of my time stitching on my latest indigo piece ( usefully long enough to cover my legs!) and people watching out of the window, fascinated by what purchases people brought out of the emporium opposite. Black tinsel was popular, the display outside had to be replenished, quite tricky in the stiff breeze.

 Some interesting conversations with Tonia who came down from her studio periodically to thaw out and with the few people who ventured into the Gallery. Several artists who popped in to admire the textiles talked about their own work, including a man who worked in leather. A couple of weeks ago Ian's mum had given me an old box of leather 'spirit stains' that had been her fathers so this was the opportunity to find out a bit more about them.   When I described them, he said that they were probably aniline dyes which you can't get anymore (for H&S reasons of course!) but apparently they're the best - transparent but intense. This led to futher discussions about tanning methods and whether he had a stash of leathers equivalent to my fabric. A little hesitantly he admitted this was the case!!