A time of reflection

it has been a busy few weeks. visiting the 'Knitting and stitching show' at Ally Pally and then a trip to Norfolk.
the highlight of the K&S show was Debbie Lyddon's 'Sluice Creake cloths' inspired by Wells on the North Norfolk coast an area i know well.
the trip to Norfolk was a complete co-incidence; a courier trip with three Fijian items to the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich and collecting my work from the exhibition at the Hostry in Norwich Cathedral brought everything back in a circle.
i arrived on the UEA campus on 12th October to be greeted by coaches full of band members for a gig at the Students Union. anyone who follows this blog will know that the piece i showed at Norwich was based on these guys

who i saw at the UEA in October 1977. if i had the rest of the ticket stub i could tell the exact date, perhaps it was the 12th who knows, probably Google!

 after a day at the Sainsbury Centre installing objects i met up with friends 

Henry Moore and reflections

 

beautiful stonework in the cloisters

it was great to meet Jan Miller again (my tutor at TSG Summer School year before last)who had helped organise the exhibition at the Cathedral and after collecting my work we went to the coast for a day which brought back more memories, Blakeney, Cley and Wells

View from the Blakeney Hotel where we had a wonderful lunch, it hadn't changed in 15 years!

the only thing that had changed which of course you can't see in the above photo are the wind turbines way out at sea. personally i think they are quite beautiful.

how many people have photographed this i wonder?

and these?
there is more work in progress, going back to proper embroidery!

Yay!

i am lucky to have have had my piece 'Blockheads' accepted for the Costume and Textile Association for Norfolk Museums exhibition in Norwich.

i have just got the poster and there i am! wow! i don't know if there are different versions of the poster but this is wonderful.
the piece inspired by printing blocks also stemmed from my life in Norfolk and quirky word associations.

i saw Ian Dury and the Blockheads in 1977 at the UEA as part of the 'Stiffs Live' Tour; almost 40 years ago. ironically the day the exhibition opens they are playing at RAMM (the Royal Albert Memorial Museum) in Exeter where i work. unfortunately not with Ian Dury but i am sure it will be entertaining.

 
some things i keep and this part ticket stub i have now put to good use along with other pieces of ephemera from my days in Norwich.

the piece is actually composed of two pieces 'woven' together from strips. i used a fine wire and a twining technique to replicate the leno weave of a Norwich shawl.

wire gave me the ability to mould the finished weave reminiscent of the market awnings in Norwich, if anyone is familiar with them and the metal strips used to make the printing blocks in the first place. 

the fuzziness is flock which was attached to some printing blocks to take up the ink more readily.

and here the finished piece. each about 20cm x 30cm. can't wait to see the exhibition now.
 

What on earth has this to do with Norwich Shawls?

in October 1977 Ian Dury signed up for the 'Stiffs Live' Tour, with Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric and Larry Wallis. Ian Dury and the Blockheads stole the shows completely.

I was there in Norwich and i have kept my half ticket ever since

i seem to remember Ian with a plastic fried egg on his shoulder, it was a great time in my life; art college and punk! what more could one wish for?

and i will leave you with that thought