Pascale Hemery -french print artist's workshop at the Bowes Museum

Had great fun trying to produce lino prints at Bowes Museum today!!!!!

Pascale, a lovely french print artist, come to England, with her partner Luc, to take a workshop as part of the activities associated with the John P Eckblad 'Heart of Progress' exhibition. John a collector of imagery associated with industrial subject matter has a number of Pascales prints in his collection.

A room full of eager students, including a large french contingent, (consisting of members of John's family and friends) assembled at 10 am and began to create designs on an industrial theme. Having transferred them to lino we cut in to them and, after inking them up, produced large numbers of prints, with the help of Luc on the press!!!

Although I found it very much outside my comfort zone, being used to producing detailed fine line drawings, I really enjoyed myself. The medium isn't suited to fine detailed and so simple shapes/designs have to be created. So I made a simple factory scene with lines and stylised smoke. It looked very crude, on the lino, as I tried to carve out the lines for printing. Somehow the print looked ok!!!!!

I attended the session because I have wanted to try lino printing after seeing the beautiful prints on Mangleprints blog. I am even more impressed by them having had a go at the technique myself!!

I really enjoyed my day out. Pascale was a very good teacher,who was supported by a very enthusiastic , knowledgeable and helpful member of Bowes staff called Pauline. I met some very nice people, had a delicious lunch in the museum cafe, learnt a new technique and produced some 'art'. What more can one ask of a day?! Perfick!!!!!!

Blog fame!!!!!!!! THRILLED!!!!! (Bowes Museum, Naseem Darbey Exhibition)

Can't believe it....my blog entry about Naseem's beautiful exhibition has been given a link on the Bowes Museum official website!!!!!!!

When I recently contacted Naseem, about the possibility of attending one of her workshops, I told her I had written about her work and hoped she liked what I had written!! She liked it so much that she has given a copy to The Arts Council (who I think must have given her funding-very deseradly so in my opinion).  Today I discovered she must have also given it to The Boews Museum who have included it, as a link, at the bottom of their entry informing visitors about the exhibition.

I am thrilled!!!!! Firstly, because I am so pleased to help such a talented artist in any way I can ..... Secondly, because, as my very talented textile lecturer (claire.a.baker.blogspot.uk) will remember all to well, I was absolutely terrified at the prospect of setting up a blog for my PPF module. Like the 20th century Art History I am about to embark on, I felt the fear and did it anyway!!! In fact I became a bit of an addict. Although I have finished my degree and have not managed to do any design work since then I have continued to blog about Art subjects and events that I have found interesting.

So, for anyone out there contemplating blogging ....give it a try! If I can do it anybody can (after the initial registration it is incredibly easy. especially if you have used Facebook).  It has been a very rewarding experience :-)

OU Art of the twentieth century................

Can't believe it...have just committed to another year of being a student!!!!!!

Some years ago I did an Arts based OU general degree. For various reasons I did not carry on to Honours. Having enjoyed the academic side so much of my revent Textiles degree I decided to look at options available to me, including OU courses....To cut a long story short I am taking this third level course in order to continue my general to a higher level, as well as continuing to extend my  Art History essay writing skils-in order to be able to study for a higher level degree in the future. This was something that was only a possible option/on a back burner until I made various enquiries about various options and discovered I could only afford (just about) to do this THIS academic year due to fee increases. £2,500 for this module, in autumn 2012 puts it way out of my league

So with some trepidation, modern Art being very much outside my comfort zone I had to make a very quick decision to 'feel the fear and do it anyway'.  So much for a relaxed year following my artisic whims and extending my design portfolion (though still hope to keep my skills by doing drawings etc.) !!!!!!

Now the decision has been made and forms filled in I am beginning to feel excited, like I used to when studying abroad with the OU, waiting for all the lovely new and, hopefully, very interesting and thought provoking materials to arrive! I don't have to like a piece of Art to find it interesting and I do like Dali, Warhol and some of the modern artists work.....so fingers crossed I've made the right decision!!!!

The Bowes Museum

The Bowes Museum

This is the link for more information on the Naseem Darbey exhibition with a few images (as I wasn't sure if they were copyright and so did not copy onto my last post!!)

Naseem Darbey- textile shadow sculpture preview at the Bowes Museum

Last week, whilst my computer was away for repair, I visited Bowes Museum for a preview of 'Between the Lines'.

Naseem is a textile artist who trained in Bradford. She uses a  sewing machine, thread and water soluble film to produce the images she initially created in her sketchbook as lovely three D sculptures.

Using phrases from letters, written in french, by Mary Louise Roosevelt Burke Butterfield to her husband Henry Isaac Butterfield Naseem has created six beautiful black 3D lace sculptures. Four are recreations of garments of the period (nineteenth century). There is a black lace christening dress (Mary writes of her confinement), a pair of black lace gloves (Mary asks her husband to bring her gloves, when he joins her in Paris), an amazing recreation of an embroidered gown bodice (that is supposed to heve been worn by Mary) and a beautiful lace representation of the actual words taken from Mary's letters on a camisole. There is also a machine lace tiara. All these larger than life representations are hung in a darkened gallery and the spotlights that highlight them create shadows on the wall behind the black 'shadow'textile sculpture/drawings.

The last sculpture is a heart, lit with a red light from within and impaled on it's plinth.  This represents Mary's request that her husband should come and visit her if "your heart is not nailed to Cliffe Hall"

For me this exhibition was a great success.

Beautiful nineteenth century lacework and clothing is something I love (see vintage project). I am intrigued by the relationships of nineteenth century people (especially it's artists-see dissertation on Rossetti) .  I love history and the primary resources that still remain  (like these beautiful copperplate laetters). I am fascinated by the idea of unrequited and romantic love (a la Wuthering Heights) and romantic . I love the colour black, especially contrasted with white, as well as light and shadow. I understand the concept of a heart being attached to a beautiful building (my own was to my old house) Lastly,I find black gothic fashion very beautiful.

Naseem was present at the preview and was kind enough to find time to speak to me about her work. She is a very enthusiastic young artist who deserved the accolades she was given that evening.

The exhibition (20th August-20th November) is well worth a visit, being a small but perfectly presented/ display of  beautiful sculptures embued with many layers of meaning and guarenteed to impress by it's workmanhip alone, if nothing else.

PS The museum tea shop serves very good food and Barnard Castle is full of antique and junk shops!!!!

Some of the best things in life are free....

I finally managed to gather some of the wild flowers I discovered a few days go, for identification and ,if they last, possibly to draw! Some of the individual blooms are so pretty, my favourite is the purple vetch. As my designs over the years show I love orchids and lilies but this little bunch of wild flowers is so pretty it proves the saying that some of the best things in life are free..........

The Star Inn Helmsley............

Have just spent a lovely few days in the company of my best friend who drove all the way from Wiltshire to see me.

She loves Helmsley, so we went for lunch and a walk around the eclectic mix of lovely shops.  As it was raining,when we arrived (:-( ) we decided to have lunch in the lovely Star Inn, Harome. Not only is the Star a very nice thatched country pub, but it is also a Michelin rated restaurant! We only wanted a snack, so enjoyed our soup and sandwiches in the quaint beamed pub. They have a lovely little country garden, where I used to take James, as well as the restaurant and a delicatesson and B&B across the road, in a couple of converted cottages. Well worth a visit!