Left or Right?

Left or Right?

I've been having a delightful weekend.  You know that question, 'Which famous people would you have at your dream dinner party?'.  Well, for me it would have to include Monty Don and Ken Robinson.  I'm so glad to have Monty back on Gardeners' World.  With his inspiration, I've been out there digging, pruning and redesigning the garden.  The delights of my lie in this morning were heightened by listening to educationalist Ken Robinson talking to Fee Glover on Saturday Live.  This man speaks nothing but sense on the subjects of education and creativity and I find him so inspiring to listen to.

The 'Left or Right?' reference may only be understood by those who have seen The Social Network.  Watching that this week made me realise just how recent are the social changes to the way we communicate.  I'm really looking forward to my workshop tomorrow and sharing my creativity and inspirations face to face!

ps.  I've discovered pinterest, and have added a pinboard for people I'd invite to my fantasy dinner party.   Who would you invite to yours?

This picture?

This picture in my studio is by my fantastically talented husband.  His website features his illustration work but he is an amazing painter and this piece called "Wales" is one of my most treasured possessions.  And you can see from the juxtaposition of our work what a strong visual influence he has on me.

                                   

I've been in my studio making slow and steady progress on my tapestry weaving.  In my "How, why, when" post I didn't deal with why I weave.  You have to be nuts to be a weaver, see Monty Don's excellent programme on weaving for evidence!  It's a slow, often tedious process but it is true that the amazing sense of creating cloth from spools of yarn is very rewarding.  And creating cloth that has a narrative, even better.

In response to featuring Scottish artists I was reminded of the work of George Birrell.  Again a strong sense of colour and pattern prevails.

Back to the loom .....not much left to weave now.

Cultural challenges

It has become very easy to get my creative inspiration from tried and tested places.  I love it when Selvedge drops through my door every other month, I know that in AN magazine I'll find work that's conceptually challenging and my guilty pleasure is Country Living Magazine.  Then there are the galleries; I know where to tap into my comfort zone and see a reflection of my own work.  More recently, unless something is going to look pretty on my blog then it's not worth looking at!

And so it was a New Year resolution to seek out new experiences and new places.  Following on from seeing a BBC4 documentary about the Cuban music scene, I got last minute tickets to see Danza Contemporanea de Cuba at Nottingham Playhouse.  Wow! What an experience! 

Contemporary dance isn't normally my thing and for a few minutes I did think I would get the giggles, as I did when I saw a contemporary opera.  But I was blown away.  It helped to be watching twenty one of the world's most beautiful and talented dancers.  I was taken by the mood, the colour, the strength and beauty of the dancers.  In three acts; the first was intense and discordant,  the second lyrical and passionate and the third dynamic and powerful.  Infused with global dance traditions, it was utterly compelling.  I've not felt a part of such a responsive audience for a long time.  A standing ovation was given to shouts of  "Viva Cuba!"

So now it's Monday and I'm back in the studio with the pressure of producing some new work for the Beetroot Tree Gallery.  In my minds eye there's the colour and movement from the dance, and also the colour and movement from the stained glass artists featured in Monty Don's BBC2 programme on Master Craftsmen.  One experience from the comfort of the sofa, one from outside of the box.