Olympic Torch at Kew

 On  Tuesday the Olympic Torch came through Kew Gardens and I joined the hordes lining the broadwalk, watching Oli Golding carry the torch and the photo opportunity in the middle of the giant Olympic rings in front of the Orangery. It was a lovely atmosphere  with loads of families and minimal security needed ( a lady on a bike asking people politely to move off the Broadwalk and Kew staff as stewards.

 I followed the crowds following the torch out the gate onto Kew Green  where all the cavalcade of  noisy sponsors, buses , film crews and  more police then I've ever seen in one place were gathered - quite a contrast to the relative peace  within  the Gardens.

 Had a good view of the torches 'kiss' though

 Best of all, this morning (Friday) I dashed out of the lab (which overlooks the river)  and onto the tow path just in time to see Gloriana sailing by with the torch on the Thames. They'd been delayed for a while at Teddington Lock so with visitors arriving at 10 I thought I'd miss it . So special.

SAQA Auction Dream Collections

I was thrilled to find that my  donation to the SAQA Auction 'Indigo Waves' featuring in not 1 but 2 'Dream Collections' curated by different SAQA members! I'm particularly chuffed to be have been selected by Wen Redmond under the theme 'Painterly' - I admire her atmospheric works hugely.
Started me thinking what my own dream collection would be  - the piece I most covet is that by Deidre Adams and I see I'm not alone.

The online SAQA 2012 Benefit Auction will begin on Monday, September 10th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time and conclude on Sunday, September 30 at 2:00 PM Eastern. My piece is in Section 2 September 17 to 22 - hope it sells!

From the back.

Going through a difficult time at the moment, stitching on Red Flotsam has been therapeutic,  not thinking too much but responding to the fabrics. The rough back of homespun twill with its unconscious marks  contrasts with the bright colours of the front with carefully blended threads - the currents and eddies swirling beneath the surface.

Summer School Retreat

I set  off for  retreat at Alston Hall with several projects - rather ambitious since it was only for the weekend! I've been on  3 CQ Summer Schools there, it's a lovely location overlooking the Ribble Valley, with comfortable accommodation and excellent food.  I brought  back  the piece above started   in a Jae Maries workshop in 2009 and was pleased to see that the rusting, lichen covered gate post that inspired it was still untouched  

Likewise the peeling paint of the glasshouse door ( that featured in my Sketchbook Project Limited Edition 'Distressed Doors')

Not doing a workshop and being responsible  for my own timetable, I was able to spend a peaceful couple of hours painting around the grounds, accompanied only by lots of  birdsong.

Like one of other Margaret's I took advantage of the scraps and trimmings brought by Sally-Ann to compose a small fabric sketch - it felt satisfying  to do something responding to the local  environment .

Mainly though I made good progress on stitching my 'Red Flotsam' piece started at Summer School last year with Jo Budd, encouraged by the positive comments from my companions and a few glasses of red wine. A productive, stimulating weekend.

RA Summer Exhibition 2012 - Prints

One of the things I most enjoy about the Summer Exhibition is the diversity. With so much to see, I don't go with any preconceptions of what to look out for but go with whatever catches my eye, make a note of it and then frequently make some interesting discoveries when I do some research online. I usally find some rich pickings among the prints and this year was no exception.

The delicate fine lines in the untitled etching by Tooney Phillips( similar to above) reminded me of Gordale Scar so I  was gratified to find she's done a whole series of work based  on limestone quarries. Take a look at the photo-montages which reminds me of Pojagi.

The subtle variations, repetitions (including mirror images) and use of colour were what drew me to a couple of large pieces by Bella Easton. I'm interested in the combination of several units in one piece - each unit capable of standing on its own merits.

I was intrigued by this small print by Katherine Jones, a combination of etching and blockprint. I'm still exploring ideas around   having  an image of a whole structure superimposed on a detail  , started in Elizabeth Barton's Masterclass  and in these Journal Quilts . The mysterious background of the glasshouse in this print evokes all kinds of thing: plant cell, spiders webs, compost.

My next choice also has some mystery about it. This rather poor photo is all I could find on the web of  'Tower of Babel:Fire :Library of Babylon'  a digital print of flames and ladders constructed of miniscule words from printouts/ books. It is listed as being by Jackie Parry - I wondered whether this is a misprint for Jacki Parry? I found some wonderful links about this artist who also makes handmade paper - this is an interview about one of her exhibitions. If it's not the same artist, an intriguing work has led me down some interesting paths and  brought back memories of the Babylon exhibition at the British Museum  



'Mere' by Jason Hicklin also used multiple units to make up a larger work, part of a an ambitious project, the Canal Etchings .

 I don't normally like very realistic drawings or paintings but the composition of 'The Gamble' was so strong and the subject matter so unusual, making the ordinary beautiful. Then I found it was by George Shaw, Turner Prize nominee in 2011.

Finally, I couldn't resist this large woodcut 'The Torrent' by Martin Davidson. So energetic and so much skill.  

RA Summer Exhibition - Paintings etc

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We had our annual expedition to the RA Summer exhibition on Friday (working round there being no buses due to industrial action) . Over the past few days I've been mulling over what has stuck in my mind and doing some research online on artists - mostly new.
There was a lot to enjoy especially among the large selection of smaller pieces on display in Room III  and the prints in Rooms I and II ( subject of another post). I liked a lot of the work in the 'landscape' room V chosen  by Barbara Rae  and her work, along with a couple of Sean Scully pieces in Room V.
Picking out my favourites, I suppose it is inevitable that  I'm drawn to those intepretations of subjects that I'm attempting to depict in my own work.
Trees are a current obsession - I'm not normally a huge fan of Tony Bevan(1)  but I love 'Untitled (tree No5 )', it's so full of character and vigorous marks.  Each year a painting by Anthony Whishaw (2) always seems to  figure in my top choices - this 'Light interior' has a lot of the qualities of crumbly textures I try to capture and with its subtle colour  is so atmospheric.
'The Wave'  by Fred Cuming (3), with its cloud shapes mirroring the wave  warrants further analysis for my seascapes. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who sees purple in everything! 

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These 3 are all by Royal Academicians but my  choice out of the whole exhibition was this small painting (4) of boats ( another obsession!) by Peter Beeson for its interesting composition and the unusual  rich green with touches of red and white. Also in Room V ,other painters of note new to me were Mary Canty and Neal Greig

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After a few comments on CQ Yahoo Group about the lack of textiles in the Summer Exhibition, I kept a separate note of those works that included thread, fabric, wool etc and there seemed to be far more than  in previous year -18 in total  ( not that I've counted them before! ) .The selection of so many more small artworks probably helped although there were large pieces ,prominently hung: an embroidered drawing by Denise de Cordova  and the "Wearable Paintings"  of Lisa Milroy RA .Besides a piece by Miranda Argyle 'From where I'm  Looking' ( admired her work in previous years)  I wasn't  that struck by most of the textile pieces with  exception of  the painted embroidery 'Exterior'(5) of Nick Sargent ( more interesting work on his website) and the use of tiny stitched letters as marks in 'Holding myself together....' (6)by Effie Jessop

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Ian's favourite was  a small piece ' Peg Tapestry'  by Annie Morris - I preferred  her large construction 'Peg Painting' (7)of pegs individually painted with figures.  Quirky but satisfying in its textures, and overall effect with splashes of colour and wonderful details.

A Modest Haul

Well I didn't succumb too much to additional temptations at Sandown. Besides the portable daylight lamp ( left) I also bought a 5x magnifier for work (illustrated here but bought for half the price) . Ian bought me more indigo shibori from Changs (I've used up most of what I have already) and some 'mystique' cotton perle in sand colours from Out of Africa . Also in sand colours were some cheap FQ's of Egyptian hand dyed cotton which I will probably overdye with indigo and  a couple of small pieces from Alter Ego  a bit  more expensive, but worth it for the wonderful marks. It was  very nice to meet Jo at last!  Caught up with Susan Briscoe and it was wonderful to see quilts by Reiko Damon and Peaceful Hearts Quilt Group from Yuzamachi, reminding me of my trip there
Only took a few a few minutes to pick up my quilt - it was pretty efficient. As we'd just missed a train from Esher we had a beer at Cafe Rouge and mulled over our day. Nice little show with some interesting  work on display - I took some photos for my own reference but not allowed to put them on the web. It was good to see this isssue highlighted in the showguide and at various points around the show.
It's been off my radar for a while but I'm already thinking of entering  next year, it's good to support a local quilt show.