Prism at Mall Galleries

I took the afternoon off from work today to go and see the textile work of 'Prism' group at the Mall Galleries and decided I should do this more often! The excellent  custard tart was a bonus as was buying book: 'Gerhard Richter 100 Pictures' - excuse my drooling!   I took copious notes - inspired by the notebooks of Bea Sewell with her dyeing samples and vignettes ( She even had tiny bundlesof fabric you could take. Who could resist? I didn't!)

 Inevitably I was drawn to the more'painterly' pieces of Janet Wain (above), Prinkie Roberts (below) , Amanda Hislop (who I did a workshop with at Art Van Go) and the atmospheric abstract landscapes of Liz Harding.

 But I also enjoyed some of the installation and sculptural work like these amazing structures made of basketry and cable ties by Julienne Long based on seedpods seen at Millennium Seedbank. I know just the ones - saw them last week at 'Bioscience Evening' at which I was lecturing/demonstrating techniques.

 With President Obama in the vicinity there was a very special atmosphere in the Mall and I don't just mean the massive police presence and the barricades. Those flags (alternating UK and US) are HUGE! There were so many tourists - but then I'm not often up in town.

Walked back via the Southbank to Waterloo to get the train direct to Brentford, there's lots on for anniversary of Festival of Britain. Have to save that and Tracey Emin at the Hayward for another skive day.

Sewing for Conservation

A few weeks ago I made several sizes of pollination bags for the nursery at work. At a meeting to discuss production of seeds from  rare plants in the collections for storage in the Millennium Seed Bank, staff were complaining about the difficulties with the pollination bags they currently use (to exclude pollen from other plants).In the tropical glasshouses, cockroaches eat through the paper!! Thinking of the polyester organza I'd used in the paper lamination class at Art Van Go, I offered to make some prototypes to try out.
I contacted Sarah Welsby to find where she got her polyester from and ordered a couple of metres from Bramble Patch. This alternative use obviously amused her as when Gunilla was on her course at FoQ, she mentioned it. I made them with French seams and a channel around the top with some robust string.

They were greeted with enthusiasm when I handed them over ( despite their similarity to wedding favour bags- now there's a thought!).  I had an email this week to say that Michele was currently trying a few out on the bromeliads so I  went to take some photos today. In one location she's done a direct comparison with their current paper bags ( above, polyester on right) They're looking good so far. If these prototypes work (they're also being tested out in the arboretum and at Wakehurst) then I'll have to source a lot more fabric (and calculate the cost of my time too ). Claire (at Committed To Cloth ) has also been helpful with wholesale sources although I'm not sure we'll need a whole roll.

After an example of  my hobby helping work, here's an example of the opposite!
There's been various discussions floating around about the use of  'Pinmoors' when basting quilts. They seemed a great idea but rather expensive. I was considering ordering some foam earplugs to try but then I saw  how the vicious spikes on this Agave had been dealt with.  I'm sure down in the cellar I've saved some foam chips ....

Art Meets Science

I've been involved in a small way in this new exhibition showcasing the work of the Millennium SeedBank , contributing some plant cultures in jars and some orchid seeds. I particularly like these sculptures made in willow by artist Tom Hare of seeds. Five have been installed so far and five more will be crafted on site over the summer ( with a chance to join in! )

In the Nash conservatory,three giant 3 metre long fibre glass devil claw seed pod sculptures by Tony Gibas hang from the ceiling. As a film set designer, Tony also made the mock growth room where some of my plants are displayed.

The exhibition also features some of the amazing coloured electron micrographs by Rob Kesseler . A few years ago there was an exhibition of his pictures of pollen, hugely blown up (shown below) I loved the idea of the trees and gardens showing through the images and it started me off thinking about how I could combine images in Photoshop and use transparency in my own work.