Firstly I did a one day "Wired wonders" class with Ray Slater at the local branch of the Embroiderer's Guild. The day went fine until we had a demonstration on how to stitch the head. 12 of us peered very closely across the table at the two inch high head in an attempt to see exactly what we had to recreate. A head the size of a football would have been better for demonstration purposes! We could just not see. I actually felt like walking out at that point, and I wasn't the only one to feel so frustrated. Then we were told we could only borrow the sets of instructions during the class, as they were copyrighted for a forthcoming book. Despite this, I did continue with my doll at home, and although she isn't quite finished, she looks quite fun, I think.
Then I did a two day Transfer to Dye course at Art van Go with Frances Pickering, which was absolutely fantastic. She is so generous with sharing her techniques, ideas and suggestions. These are the two main books I created, also not finished. I have a great pile of UFOs as I am sure everone else does.
Then I went to the Louise Bourgeois exhibition at Tate Modern with my friend Z, enjoying the use of her company's corporate tickets. Whilst appreciating the techniques used for the sculptures, I found the whole exhibition seriously disturbing. A review in The Guardian newspaper mentions "sinister sculpture of body parts" and "heads built of flannel or tapestry that softly scream". I couldn't even bring myself to buy a postcard, so serious was I in not wanting to be reminded of what I had seen.
Christmas came a little early with these gorgeous gifts from Z. A concertina book, some Christmas fabric and a sweet hand stitched tree decoration.
In the post a few days later I received these from C. in Dundee, as part of a swap. The leaves are exquisite and have been free machined on water soluble.
Then a Christmas postcard sent through the post. This has given me a few ideas!!
Have a good weekend everyone. Only 11 days to go to Christmas!
3 comments:
The books you made with Frances Pickering are lovely Lesley. Felt the same way about the Louise Bourgois exhibition - very disturbed mind I think.
The book made with Frances is looking good,mine is in much the same state as the workshop but had a very enjoyable 2 days.Nice to put a name to a blogger.
Will give the exhibition a miss then.
You sometimes wonder what is inside peoples heads that create this sort of image in others.
Enjoy your blog, Lesley! Merry Christmas to you and your family, too!
Love those books you made...and is there a way for me, over here across the ocean, to see a sample of the Bourgois exhibit? Don't even know what you could possibly be talking about otherwise. And you sound like you are staying busy and enjoying it too.
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