Friday, May 26, 2006

Excitements!
I went to a good exhibition yesterday at Letchworth Museum.

On the way back I called in at Art van Go! and discovered that they have their new brochure out now. So, on the spot I booked a two day course with Frances Pickering, called Textured Treasures. Little antique looking books. (she has a website)

Then this morning I booked a four day Summer School with Ruth Issett... I tried to resist but I just couldn't honest! I think I shall be exhausted at the end of all this. (I am already going to one with Maggie Grey in June!)

However... this is my Summer Holiday... I don't go on conventional ones any more!

The exhibition at Letchworth Museum was really good.

(When I finally found it that is! I rang in advance and was told to go into the multi-storey car park behind the Town Hall where there are disabled spaces. Guess what? No multi-story. It was an ordinary street level one. So I thought I was in the wrong place and went to another multi storey nearby. Duh! This didn't look right as they had said I could see the Museum from it. I asked a couple of folks who said there were two museums... which did I want? In the end a nice lady suggested that I tried the other car park again and she turned out to be right. Grrr! None of this would have been an issue if I could walk better.)

It was the work of the Images in Stitch Group, many of whom are members of our branch of the Guild but some from further afield as well.

Not everything was to my taste of course but I think the ones I particularly liked were those of Lynne Abbott whose stumpwork figures always make me laugh out loud when I see them. One called "The prayer of the 21st century Gran - Please, oh please bring back the pram". This is an image of a Grandma with shopping and a baby in her arms struggling to open a modern pushchair.The second one is called "Forty years on, the children are gone, peace and quiet, **** the diet". This is of a couple sitting relaxed in the garden with a glass of wine.Very comical.
Claire Wood's work a series of life poses was good too.
Sue Blake's work, who I don't think I have come across before was really delightful and different.
I always like Annwyn Dean's things which involve paper and stitch. (she lives partly near here and partly in the frozen north.. I think in Anne Honeyman's neck of the woods?).
Jill Izzard has done some really nice stuff based on messages I think in connection with a trip she made to India.
Liz Holliday has done a lot of work based on rock pools and fossils. She has previously done a lot of Mola work and I thought these showed the influence of that but she has moved it on a lot.
Liz McIntyre - Brown had some nice pieces there... although I have met her several times now, I hadn't seen any of her work and I liked it.
Rosemary Graver's Flower Studies were super.... very unusual.

4 comments:

Digitalgran said...

You are so lucky! I would much rather go to Maggie Grey, Ruth Issett and Frances Pickering than a conventional holiday too.

Dorothy Gibbs said...

Yes I am Margaret.
Funny that especially the Ruth Isset should come up so soon after yours too. Now I await the reqirements list for them both.

Liz Plummer said...

Wow, I'm jealous too - I saw Frances Pickering's work in Cloth Paper Scissors and love it! Roll on the kids leaving home!!!!

Dorothy Gibbs said...

Hi Liz,
Yes, it's lovely work. She has a Web site... if you want to look just Google her nema and it comes up