Until next week it's back to the print bench, there's still plenty to do!
Hazel & Terry
Where do you find your colours ? Flowers, fruits and natural landscapes are often used as inspiration, but have you ever thought about looking at the hard landscape - the buildings, the roads and man-made structures? From Wakefield to Bath via the Mekong Delta. The peeling, the rough and the weathered or the modern, the reflective and the graffic? You can see how we've been inspired in our new range of fabrics - Sticks & Stones, which will be available to buy on our stand at this summer's shows.
Until next week it's back to the print bench, there's still plenty to do! Hazel & Terry
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Hazel takes every opportunity to visit the Yorkshire Sculpture Park because its such an inspiring place , but last bank holiday, when spring and summer finally arrived all at once, I went to explore a different sculpture park. Set on the northwest corner of Portland in Dorset, Tout Quarry sculpture park is a fascinating place with views over Chesil beach and Weymouth to die for. Tout Quarry is one of only two remaining quarries where Portland Stone was extracted using the old methods. The last stone was taken from there in 1983 for the sea defences at West Bay (30000 tons of it) and since then the landscape has been left to nature. The Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust Project protects the site, and artists have created over 60 hidden sculptures from the stones left behind by the quarrymen. It’s a great place to explore and gives a sense of the geology and ecology of the area, as well as the history and of course the art. Works are carved into rock faces, extracted boulders or built from shale, and there is something to see around every corner of this magical landscape. Some are inspired by animals, with detailed carvings or simple line drawings. . . .. . .others by the human form: the work on the left & middle below, entitled Still Falling, is by Anthony Gormley, and is carved into a massive rock face of unquarried stone in the centre of the area. One recent sculptor took inspiration from the grizzly local folk tale of the Roy Dog, which hunted smugglers and ate them, weaving their eyes into its fur so they can still see. Look closely at the picture on the right and you’ll see the eyes! All around are remnants of quarrymen’s work - tramways, bridges, caves and the places where the spoil was tipped over the cliff. As you wander around the park you will discover a wealth of marks and lines to record and inspire you. (The ones bottom centre are known as Portland screws - fossilised shells in the rock - often seen when Portland Stone is used in building.) Nature has been left to reclaim the area and it is managed as a nature reserve. We had only intended to stay for an hour but ended up staying all day, walking to the local town centre (Easton) and buying a picnic from White Stones Cafe and Gallery, which is a gem with an artist’s garden and well worth a visit.
We’ll definitely be back to discover more in this fascinating corner of Dorset. Put it on your list if you’re ever in the area - you won’t be disappointed. Until next week Terry & Hazel Last week’s blog was about how we take inspiration from nature for our InStitches’ dyed fabrics and threads, so I was particularly intrigued to visit the exhibition, Fashioned from Nature, which opened recently at the V&A, London. The exhibition aims to explore the relationship between fashion and nature from 1600 up to the present time. Not only does it show how fashion has been inspired by nature but it also highlights the effects on the natural environment of the fashion industry. I didn’t have a enough time to view the whole of the exhibition in one go so in this visit I focused on the more direct and troubling interaction with nature, which is featured on the ground floor. Here are just a few of the exhibits which caught my attention. Thank goodness for female emancipation, it has spare generations of women from many things, not least the constraints of a whale bone corset and the dresses which required huge hooped underskirts. I just can’t begin to imagine how restricted and constrained life would have been wearing such garments. The clothes we wore reflected our social status so having such a tiny waist (just look at the female jacket modelled above!) was a way of showing the society that you were wealthy enough to employ the servants to do the work you obviously couldn’t given the clothing you wore! The production of the raw materials and the subsequent processing had huge social and environmental effects - think of the cotton plantations, polluted rivers and working conditions in the huge northern cotton and woollen mills. Many animals and birds were slaughtered, some to the point of extinction, in the pursuit of fashion. Most of this part of the exhibition was both sobering and fascinating in equal measure. Fans of Alice in Wonderland will recall the mad hatter. Mercuric nitrate was used in the felting process from the early 1700s and mercury poisoning was a common occupational hazard for hatters. To this day the V&A still keeps its many felt hats in sealed bags!
There are so many interesting and thought provoking exhibits that I think I’m going to have to visit several times to really get the most out of this exhibition. Fortunately it runs until the end of January 2019! Until next week, enjoy the (finger’s crossed) warm weather forecast for this bank holiday weekend, Hazel & Terry In the words of Art Fund Director Stephen Deuchar “It’s the place everyone would dream of having on their doorstep”. Lucky me, I don't need to dream. It’s on my parents’ doorstep and so is another regular haunt for my family. Suspended over the River Calder The Hepworth was designed by the acclaimed David Chipperfield Architect; I just hope no one decided to ‘tidy’ up the outside as the industrial buildings and barges are just as striking. The Hepworth is home to an impressive compendium of modern British artists including Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron, L.S. Lowery, Henry Moore and of course it’s name sake - Barbara Hepworth. But this day we scooted through the main galleries to the special exhibition by Anthony McCall. Solid Light Works is the first major UK exhibition by the artist in over a decade. The exhibition includes three new ‘solid light’ installations. At first I was with Alison on this one - a quizzical look and a “really?”. But you need to keep an open mind, so in we went. Wow! Yes, really - Wow! Equally fascinating are the many note books and related calculations which the artist need to make to realise the installations. If you are planning a trip to Yorkshire then the exhibition is on until Sunday 3rd June. In fact, why not stay a few days and follow the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle? You wont be disappointed. until next time, Hazel & Terry Have you one favourite place, come rain or shine, that the whole family likes to visit? With no dragging of feet, moans or whines?, no ‘I can’t be bothered’s, ‘do I have to’s or ‘no way’s? Ours, for over 20 years now, is The Yorkshire Sculpture Park; or to those of us who considered it our very own: YSP. Located just 10 minutes from my parent’s home (but for the rest of you - 7 miles outside Wakefield and 20 miles south of Leeds in West Yorkshire) it’s a given ‘must’ on all visits home. And that’s where we headed this Easter break. There’s 500 acreas to explore but given the rather inclement weather we just visited the main indoor galleries this time;although we were glad of our wellies as we trekked across the field to the Chapel! Outside the C18 Chapel stands the huge Iron Tree by Ai Weiwei but inside is something completely different... Chiharu Shiota, an acclaimed installation and performance artist, is known for her large-scale works made from elaborately entangled threads and found objects. For this installation at YSP, Shiota’s work ‘responds to and activates the unique architecture and heritage of the eighteenth century chapel, interlacing the physical with the conceptual to create a new visual plane - as if painting in mid-air.’ As you come into the Chapel you walk into the centre of the work which flows over and around you. You can’t help but be in awe of the vastness and complexity of this seemingly fragile thread structure. Shiota includes found objects in her tangled webs and in this installation it is copies of music, poetry and records from the Chapel's history - 'making poignant allusion to the bells that were rung, the songs that were sung, and the lives that revolved around it, from cradle to grave'. I love going to the YSP with my family, it’s a very special place. I also like asking my Dad what he thinks of what he sees there; he’s a quiet man and he’s not an artist, but as a Yorkshireman he’s always got something to say, so I wondered, what was his take on Chiharu Shiota: Beyond Time? I’d loved the sheer vastness and fragility of the work, the way it occupied the space and became at one with it. Also, there are no barriers: you can walk through, under and if you go onto the choir balcony, peer over the work. You feel as though you’ve become part of it.
And what did my Dad say? He said “ well, I wouldn’t call it art, but it is tremendous”. Classic Dad. If you’ve never been then click here: The Yorkshire Sculpture Park to explore what’s on offer and there’s also a video on how Chiharu Shiota made the Chapel installation. If you see the exhibition why now let us know what you thought of it? Until next week, Hazel & Terry I just can't help myself - I need to touch things! Looking is all very well but I find that I also have to touch and feel the texture of the surface. As quilt makers creating texture, both visual and implied, is an important part of our work. In a recent piece I wanted to create a section of an wall I had photographed in Pushkar, India. I used different paints - acrylic, Xpanda and screen printing inks, rusting using tea, Markal oil pastels and stitch to try and recreate the distressed surfaces of the wall and door. On our recent trip to Finland we were busy collecting inspiration for texture. But you don't have to travel so far to find inspiration for texture! Rummage around in the kitchen cupboards and photograph what you find... Until next time,
Hazel & Terry If you follow us on Instagram (InStitches2013) you’ll know we were in Helsinki recently(en route to Kussamo, but that’s another story for another day) and we had a busy couple of days exploring this design capital of the north. There’s lots to show you, so this week you’ll be treated to 2 blogs (because someone, naming no names, forgot to post this one last week....) We’re starting off with four Finnish churches. In Senate Square, dominating the skyline from land or sea, is the quietly restrained Lutheran Helsinki Cathedral. You’d be forgiven for walking straight past the next one, The Rock Church (Temppeliaukion kirkko) is below street level as it’s hewn out of the rock. It doesn’t look impressive at all from the outside but once you have heaved open the solid brass doors the transformation is quite amazing. Rising above the rough rock walls hangs the copper dome, which reflects the light from narrow slatted sky-lights. At the far end of the aesthetic scale is the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral. Situated at the far end of the harbour on a small hill it’s onion domes rise above the skyline. Highly ornate with much gilt decoration it has the most beautiful star studded domed ceiling. Finally, the newest and simplest church is the aptly named Peace Chapel sited just off Simonkatu. Sitting on the edge of the square this modern day ark is constructed from Finnish woods and at night seems to glows. Stepping inside the silent egg shaped interior you leave behind the bustle of modern day life. We hope you’ve enjoyed this short stroll around Helsinki’s churches, if you’d like to see more of our visit why not subscribe to our blog (there’s a link over in the side bar) and they’ll be delivered straight into your inbox.
Thanks for reading Hazel & Terry There is one place guaranteed to get ALL my family out and walking and that is a trip to the YSP. We love it. Always have. And being from Yorkshire, we also love the fact it is FREE! Unfortunately the day we chose to visit was in the middle of an exhibition change over, Emily Sutton's exhibition was being taken down and Henry Moore’s being put up: but that didn’t spoil the day. The sun was out, the day was crisp, the air bracing, and there was masses and masses of snowdrops in flower. Perfect really. We stopped by the historic and newly-restored St Bartholomew’s Chapel to take in 'Song for Coal', an immersive audio-visual work by Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson, which coincides with the 30-year anniversary of the UK miners’ strike. Once you have adjusted to the dark and tuned your senses in to the music it was just amazing. What initially sounds like Gregorian chant is the song of coal, and the kaleidoscope of images which makes up the rose window is quite hypnotic. Out side the Chapel is Ai Weiwei's Iron Tree (2013), the first project by the artist in a British public gallery since Sunflower Seeds at Tate Modern in 2010. Whatever the season, there is always something to see at the YSP, with at least 60 works on display across the estate at any one time. Artists featured in the open air include Roger Hiorns, Sol LeWitt, Dennis Oppenheim, Martin Creed, Anthony Caro and Magdalena Abakanowicz. But one of my family favourites is Anthony Gormley: One & Other (2000) Although the local free range highland cows are quite impressive too! But no mater where you look, there is always something to capture the eye at YSP! If you want to know more, or plan a visit to YSP take a look at their web site by clicking here. Enjoy your visit! |
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