Taking Shape

 During a cycle ride  round Kew Gardens in my lunchbreak , I was  drawn to the sound of a chainsaw in the 'wood quarry' - David Nash in action! With some delicate manoevering of the Nifty Lift to get into the right position  it was amazing to see what precise work resulted from such a coarse tool.  

 So far my favourite work in progress is this split branch - no quite mirror images.
I don't think I'll be producing any 'David Nash' quilts in the way I did from the Henry Moore exhibition at Kew but it's certainly making me look at trees in a  different way

There were several dead trees in Syon Park that caught my eye.

Quilt University Virtual Quilt Show

Red Boats - Shades of Red Journal Quilts

I'd forgotten until today  that I'd submitted photos of  work completed  in online workshop on Working in Series with Elizabeth Barton to the Quilt University Virtual Quilt Show!  For some reason it's in the applique section (although mainly  pieced) - you've still got a few days to vote.......



The shapes between branches

Seeing  the sparse drawings that David Nash has made of  the bare bones of cork trees  sent me looking through old watercolour sketches. I've always been interested in the shapes between the branches, the negative spaces, from Majorca  to Malham via Nettlecombe.  

After Sea, Sand

After so many indigo  sea pieces recently time to move onto  different kinds of wave.

The colour theme for the next set of Journal Quilts is shades of yellow so I've been exploring sand ripples using scraps from older projects. The design wall  has got various potential bits of cloth marinating including the potassium permanganate arashi shibori from Summer School 2010 ( well I've used most of the indigo  I produced in that workshop!

 Not the first time I've looked at sand ripples - the top Journal Quilt uses left over blocks from 'Silver Threads Among the Gold' (Quilters Guild Challenge for 25th Anniversary) and the sample below was produced in preparation of Strindberg Shore

 The companion piece to that  as part of the 'In the Spotlight' display at FoQ in 2007 was 'Erg Chebbi' based on Moroccan sand dunes. It featured  on the cover of the 2008 Guild Calendar so altered in colour I didn't recognise it - and I know it well as  the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning, hanging opposite our bed.

David Nash Gallery

After all the excitement of the Jubilee River Pageant, it was lovely to go with Ian and Maggie to the tranquil green surroundings of Kew Gardens. We went in through Lion Gate ( near the Pagoda) which is always the quieter end of the gardens. The David Nash exhibition officially opens next Saturday but all the sculptures are in place now -  both outside and  among the foliage in the Temperate House.

The  exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery is also open with wonderful sculptures, drawings , prints and videos - of the Ash Dome and travels of the Boulder. It's a lovely atmospheric space enhanced by the view of the trees outside

There was a video of cork oak harvesting in Portugal which was used in this amazing scuplture. This was definately our favourite - the contrast between the colour of inside/ outside and that lighter edge . Wonderful! I look forward to further visits and explorations.

Jubilee Pageant

We went with Sue,Peter and Maggie to Battersea Park on Sunday to see the Jubilee Pageant . No chance to get anywhere near the river which was 12 deep with people armed with periscopes  but we placed our picnic chairs very close to one of the big screens. Unfortunately the sound wasn't working but the crowd made up for it with cheers , flag waving and a moving impromptu  singing of the National Anthem. A fantastic atmosphere.

Once the main boats had passed and the rain started in earnest, the crowds thinned out a bit and we were able to wriggle to the front to see the  last sections of the flotilla passing under Albert Bridge.

One of the music boats (above) and the beginning of the barges, where I tried to spot the boat of one of my work colleagues.

Train travel was rather challenging! We'd chosen to go by train as its only (normally!) a 20 minutes ride from Brentford to Clapham Junction. They hadn't laid on any more trains so there was only one an hour! We were lucky enough to be able to squeeze on (I've never seen so many people at Brentford Station) but at all the subsequent stops there were many disappointed people and an increasingly harassed train driver.
On the way back we just managed to get to the station  for the 17.00 train but there was no way we could get on. For an hour we tried and failed  to squeeze on every train heading to Richmond ( a more frequent service) - Maggie managed to get onto one but had to be extracted when Ian and I failed.  In the end we gave up, went for  a nice roast at a local restaurant ( Knights of St John) and  warmed up and fortified after a glass of wine, came back at 20.00 and caught a practically empty train. Good plan!
After such a big adventure we've been pottering around at home, taking it easy , with  a tranquil visit to Kew on Monday

In the last 2 weeks I have been....

Working Hard!!
Last weekend  with Ian at his parents, I stitched solidly Friday evening and all of Saturday , taking photographs very early Sunday morning (before coffee even!) and made my online submission to SAQA Horizons. Cross Fingers! With it being so hot , I took my lunches out into the gardens at work, cycling round to see  how the David Nash installations were going , see patterns in the trees everywhere, admiring this lovely sweet chestnut.

A week of contrast of scales. We had a staff photo in the giant olympic rings in front of the orangery - I'm  towards the bottom of the black ring ( actually dark purple violas). I'm the proud 'mum' of some germinating fern spores of the Anogramma ascensionis - Ascension Island Parsley Fern. They may be less than 1mm  in size but I'm thrilled.

Over the Jubilee weekend we've got Australian friend Maggie staying - we've got tickets for Battersea Park to see the River Pageant.  As she's sleeping in my studio,  just need to do a last check for pins....