Monday, August 20, 2007

Northern Green Gathering

I know I have been back a week already, but I had such a good time at the Northern Green Gathering, I just had to share.

It has been 15 years since I have been to a festival, feeling the enjoyments of being free and watching bands into the night, wandering aimlessly etc. did not go hand in hand with small children, although many do take their children. This year, aware we were not going to get a conventional kind of family holiday, I thought this little festival would be a good substitue. I wasn't wrong.

It is situated in the non exotic Pontefract, Yorkshire, in mainly two fields. One has the stages and food, and craft yurts, showers, cinema etc.. the other is camping. What really helped was being blessed with stunning weather. having come back from Crete and the searing sun, I was foolish to think a filed in Pontefract offered no threat. The UV in England is deceptive, and both Madeline and myself ended up inthe First Aid tent for some aloe vera for sun burn.

I was most excited about being learning to quilt in a yurt! So relaxing, sitting with lots of women sewing. It looks easy and in theory it is but its not! getting straight lines with all that padding pulling the fabric in different directions. I have done further quilting since my return, and I think I will need a lot more practise.

Madeline had her 12th birthday at the festival, and was bought a large and very silly felt hat to celebrate. In fact festival hats were a must, Lisa had a cat hat, Rowan had what he called a Bobby La La hat, (don't ask).

There were fire jugglers, cabaret shows, bands, and all sorts in the evenings, and the joy of just sitting in a field in the sunshine with no electricity is always a joy of camping.

This last week has not been very exciting, and mainly about work, but today is the first day of the six week long summer holidays that I have really felt at a loss as what to do, and seem to have agreed to take various children swimming later. Not my favourite activity.

I will sort out getting some photographs on here to animate it some more- especially of those hats.

Until then

Monday, August 6, 2007

PINK

PINK- an exhibition.
So this Contemporary Womans Art Group I am in, eveArt, are having an exhibition at the end of September in the Sheffield Winter Gardens, with the theme of PINK. I like working to themes, as creating art work is such a daunting task, having some perameters is always helpful, otherwise there is the whole of my brain and its concepts of the universe to choose from.
Where to start. Well, dictionary definitions are usually helpful- but not in this case, its merely states the obvious. The theasaurus is no better really. So I come up with Liliy The Pink, In the Pink, Pink to make The Boys Wink etc.. Hardly a statement, or easy to represent.
So I come to girliness- pink, fluffy, light, silly, giggly etc.. and realise the colour pink is rather like a heavy mantle of frivolity, despite the infinite shades and tones that get called pink. So this is my starting point, a really heavy pink chain- as in ball and, only as a charm bracelet- with symbolic represenations of all manifestations of being feminine & girly.

Well thats the easy bit, collecting all the relevant bits together and making it look good is the fun bit. The really hard bit seems to be making the chain pink! Yes I have obtained a beautifully heavy and shiny chain, galvaised- which seems to be the issue. The plastcote pink enamel spray is not drying totally and little bits attach themselves to every surface, leaving little holes on the chains surface. Apparantly its the zinc reacting. Being a girl of pinkness how was I supposed to know? I did remove all grease and make sure the chains suface was clean and dust free, while using my rubber gloves ( pink of course).
So with this minor irritation in my head, I am now considering the presenttaion of my oversized and weighty charm bracelet. The board will have to be at least 1m square, and I think using pipe insulation to create a form, but covered in what?

Its very distracting making art- and takes up a great deal more time than most people realise, so if you ever look at the price tag and wonder why, well half goes to the gallery for starters and the rest barely covers the hours let alone the priceless inspiration.