Things As They Are...

are beautiful.  People talk about portraits as 'warts and all', as if warts were not fascinating little things in themselves.  Scars are not blemishes, but rather signs of healing and change.

I found this piece along with the others.  It was the trigger for all the macro photography I've done over the last few years, the very first image I took and stitched into.

I didn't go out meaning to take pictures of flowers.  I went to a graveyard in Dereham, to take pictures of lichen (some of them were used in the depression photographs I showed you last time, manipulated).  There are always flowers in this particular graveyard, which is right in the centre of the town; they are usually in a little area beside the church door.  This tulip, and some of its companions, had obviously been kicked around a bit, before being abandoned where they fell, one or two in a nearby tree.  They were slightly bruised, and turning slightly limp.  This one was on the ground underneath the tree, covered in dirt.  I thought it was important to record it as it was, because despite all these things, it remained beautiful.

So, that's why there are little black speckles over the piece, and some interesting colours.  I do, however, still believe that it is beautiful as it is.  I could have removed the blemishes and the specks of dirt, but I really don't think that would add anything to the image... if anything, it would compromise its meaning.

A detail shot shows the specks of dirt...war wounds, or  medals.  Beauty spots.

Isn't This Amazing...

...a shot of the new Gallery.  This is the gallery space in the Memorial Hall at Dereham, which has been created from an alleyway next to the original building.  It is truly gorgeous, an ideal space for showing art.  The archway at the end is an original feature; the building is full of them, all carefully and lovingly restored.  Now, it leads through into the workshop space, which is flooded with natural light...windows everywhere.  I'm looking forward to teaching there.  I'm doing something new, for me, at least.  I thought I'd put together a set of classes about making your own cloth to use in your textile work.  Not weaving, I'm afraid, though we might work our way up to a little bit of weaving later on in the classes.  I thought, instead, we'd start with felt making and silk paper making.  One week we'll make the fabric itself, the second, a project using the fabric you made.  The classes will be held each Wednesday from 1pm to 3pm... email me if you want more information, or contact Judy at the Gallery for info about this or any other class.  This is a wonderful resource for artists and craftspeople, not just in the Dereham area, but throughout Breckland and beyond.

The front part of the gallery is home to a wonderful community quilt.  Next time I'm in, I'll take a photograph so that you can see it.  Meanwhile...enjoy the view!

Sometimes...

I do things for fun, like the knitting I'm doing today, using Rico Loopy yarn. It's fuschia coloured, and very fast to knit up...it's a bit like knitting with a band of crochet, and it produces flounces. I love it...though it was a tad expensive... but hey. I'm thinking about using it in a quilt at some point, would be fun...

I made the above piece partly for fun, partly for the Dereham Town Quilt (not sure of it's official title, so we'll keep to that for now). It is being made to hang in the Memorial Hall in Dereham, which is being renovated at huge cost as an Art Centre. It is going to be very big, with blocks coming from individuals, groups and businesses throughout the Dereham area. I took a picture of a tulip in the churchyard at Dereham, and that has turned into this little piece of work, which I'm quite pleased with. The block had to have both red and gold in it, as those are the colours in the town shield; I ended up using gold metallic thread to define parts of it. I'm going to make some more of these little pretties to put into my Etsy shop. I'm starting to plan what should go in there. I want to cut back on the variety of things I do, and concentrate on the textile and mixed media work...we'll see how long that lasts... but I have been dyeing recently, so hand dyed cloth is definitely on the list, some gorgeous autumnal colours.

Now...back to the knitting...

Collage Mania? Artist Mania, More Like!

Nobody but me spotted the deliberate mistake in my submission to Collage Mania... yes, if you read it carefully, Almost Four is, strictly speaking, not a collage. Oops. What a twit! So I wrote a grovelling note to Karen, who was accepting the donated pieces, and said, well...what do you want to do? She, thankfully, decided to keep the piece (which kept the peace, of course...ouch...). I did, though, offer her another collage, a PROPER collage this time, the one above. Like the other pieces, this is in honor of my lovely friend and fellow quilter, the late Lynn Bunis, and all the fabrics in it came out of her stash. The piece is called 'Like A Little Candle'. I do hope they all sell...

I just got back from our local gallery in Dereham, where I have some mixed media pieces on show; I'm fortunate enough to be one of their featured artists. I've agreed with them that I'll do regular weekly classes on their premises, one during the day, and one in the evenings; watch this space for more information tomorrow! I'm planning to mix and match textile and mixed media techniques, with a bit of painting thrown in. I may even knit... and you know I don't knit...just don't ask me to crochet, as I'm a crochet incompetent!