Convergence

I flew out on Monday. Heathrow to Detroit to Milwaukee with four hours in Detroit. I am still suffering. My classes started and I have done all sorts of thingsthough most will not be ready till tomorrow. Stencilling, copier paper on to fabric using gel or white acrylic.the tutor is very good.

We had a happening at lunchtime. The sewers went on fire and the.ectrocity s up ply suffered so the centre was closed and we were all thrown on to the street where we hung around for 90 minutes. Then two firemen appeared looking like Darth Vader Stormtroopers only grey not white. Certainly they clanged. We all rushed back to our classes and got on.

Photos will be shown tomorrow. 

After the fire, HGA got on with hanging the yardage exhibit. There do. Or see to be so many entries this year, only 18.

Some of the yardage exhibit.

More of the same.

Some reflections across the street.

Back to Weaving

After a week thinking about nothing but lino cuts, I am back to weaving. After more real weaving, there is virtual weaving, that is, preparing to go to Convergence tomorrow. I have done one very important job triggered by Rosie Price commenting that Just Our Yarns would be at Convergence. Their yarns are very desirable but I knew I have a lot already. So I investigated the Tencel stash and found

These date back to 2014 and 2012. The problem is that I have not been able to source such fine yarns in self-colours which I need for weft with these. So I took a load of photos this morning and printed them on photo paper. These will go with me to the Convergence Exhibition Hall. Surely someone (Webs?) with have some self-coloured Tencel in 20/2 and 30/2.

Packing requires ironing and I took the opportunity to press the last of the lampas.

The reversed pattern is quite attractive.

And I have done some weaving! Starting with the skein of merino I dyed at the dyeing class a week or two ago, I made a striped warp with the other yellow skein. The weft is the pale yellow as well.

Woven in 2 and 2 twill. Must finish my packing now.

Back Home

We finished at West Dean this afternoon and came home collecting the dogs on the way. The car was very crammed with all the art stuff, two dogs, two people and their luggage and the car laboured going up hills.

The last two days have been very hard work. Which was all my fault. I have been thinking about a poem The Makar's Lament for some years and have actually set about it twice. I cannot even remember the first trial. The second trial was in April when I cut a load of linocuts, then destroyed the lot - deliberately lest any of you should think it was by accident. The trouble was that the last one I did had a recognisable story and it was easy to find an image to use with every pair of verses. The Lament is philosophical and about death and basically you need a skull on every page. I did not come with any idea of doing a third trial. In fact I had mentally abandoned that until yesterday morning. The tutor gave a demo of using two related blocks and with different colours on each you can get all sorts of colour effect. My idea (a Eureka moment) was that if I cut two quite different blocks, I could print them in all sorts of colours and used a coloured background, I could get a series of related images which could be used with every pair of verses. After working flat out from Thursday morning to Friday at 1100 am, I made 27 different images and I only need 13!! I am chuffed to bits.

Here are a few of the images.

And here is one I did previously

This weekend apart from having a weaving Study Day tomorrow, I must pack for Convergence. I leave on Monday. I need to find time to do the monthly accounts and plant some plants which we seem to have acquired. 3 fuschias, a rudbeckia and a sempervivum. Our sweetpeas are spectacular. I have never grown them successfully and here they are, producing a goodsized bunch of flowers every day. I note the purple French beans are ready too, Have I said we are eating our own potatoes?

West Dean Summer School

I am on my summer hols. At West Dean College doing a course in Lino cuts. A first rate tutor. I learnt more useful techniques in the first half day than I imagined possible.

A selection of prints.

I am now cutting a large block. I did yesterday something i would never have considered before. I was worried about what sort of marks would best represent the foliage of a little bonsai tree. So I did several possibilities on a very small test piece and went from there. Mind you the Lino cut above has been much improved.

The West Dean gardens are lovely  and I went early on Sunday and walked round one bit of it. I must get to the Victorian walled garden.

Today I am off to a swap over class. Everyone does something else for a morning. I am doing photography.

Designer Crafts

My niece, Cally Booker, is taking part in a crafts display in London

A Burnished Halo

Every year about May, my accountant sends me a severe letter setting out his requirements for submitting my tax return and every year I let it fester for a month or two. This year I am away a lot so I heaved a sigh and set about it. Now last year I was moving house and boy have I left a trail of destruction. I do not seem to have told any lies to the tax man but money seems to have got to some strange places and I have to doing some phoning to ask questions. However all is well and I have posted the bundle of documents. I wonder how long it will be before a letter comes back asking questions like What does Para 4 mean? In the meantime I feel virtuous. 

I also taxed the car and called the garage to sort out the servicing. 

On the textile front, I designed a weaving using the dyed merino of lastSunday and wound all the skeins into balls so that I can wind aware this evening at a Textile gathering. So a bit of everything.

Acid Dyeing

I taught acid dyeing on Sunday. Had real trouble getting everything into my little Bmax. I have a master list called Tutor Takes but that was for a Saab estate or a Mondeo ditto. And the Bmax is not like them! So shortcuts were taken. No extra kettle for example. Everyone had a good time and lots of dyeing was done. Even I produced something useful.

Hanging skeins out to dry - on anything handy.

A dyed skein for me

The lampas has been finished and washed etc as well. I have managed to clean the studio and the bookbinders room. It is too hot to work upstairs after lunch and so I have been tidying up downstairs as well. No point in trying to garden between 1000 and 1800 hours! Well that is my excuse anyway. We tried a new pub which is by the canal. Out in the garden, lovely food and a shandy based on 6X! And some good photos of the meadow flowers by the canal.

I think this is an orchid.