Sunday, July 20, 2008

Reflections on Our Trip to England


(Click on image above to enlarge Steve and I being reflected in a giant, shiny pendulum under the Dome in Buxton!)

Steve and I went to England for almost a week. We've returned and I've posted three blog entries about the journey on My Family Blog.
Part One.....The problems of flying and the Manchester Museum.
Part Two....Our day trip to Buxton
Part Three....Ballet and Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry

I try to keep most of the entries on this blog about textiles, art, stitching, creative inspiration....basically, a journal of my creative life. To this end, I've included some photos here that fit the bill!

The picture above isn't particularly great but shows a piece of lacy fabric embedded into Girli concrete. The artist who made this is Trish Belford. Below is a sign that accompanied the work. Since then, I've found a blog with too much information for me to absorb.....but, one day, I plan to visit. It is absolutely full of new ideas for textiles.

Nearby was a Plexiglas display case in which Adrian Bannon's Thistledown Coat hung.

It was ethereal, meticulously made, and beautiful. Adrian Bannon's biography is here. These modern creations surrounded a large area of machinery, mostly late Victorian and early 20th century. A guide gave an impressive tour, ran all the machines, and made the visit more educational and entertaining than we expected. I posted images in "Part Three" (click link above).

Of course I saw many antique embroideries like the banner below. This hung in Buxton's St. Mary's Church. Also on this day trip, Steve and I went to Poole's Caverns, the Dome, the artisan center in the Pump House, a great old cemetery, and to Scrivener's antiquarian and used book shop. Click Part Two above for more images and details.

(Click on images to enlarge.)
I adored my time in the Manchester Museum too. I've always been drawn to anything Egyptian and there was plenty to see, like this fabulous necklace. I didn't take any photos at the Whitworth Gallery this time (earlier images of the textiles are here on Flickr!) but found one of the exhibitions totally captivating. It was a solo printmaking show by Anne Desmet. Her use of architecture as a means of expression was outstanding. Her ability to take traditional printmaking to a new, complicated and modern level totally amazed me. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Mathias danced beautifully. We returned with a day in Washington DC before Mathias flew in. Now, I'm back home....flooded with work but thrilled for the time away.

(Below: A wonderful piece of "bookart" that hung on the staircase at Scrivener's book shop in Buxton. Quite an inspiration for me! Click on image to enlarge.)

2 comments:

Judy Rys said...

Great reflection photo. It looks like a slight breeze would destroy the delicate Thistledown jacket. Stunning pattern.

Wanda said...

Welcome back! Sure missed your posts! The reflection reminds me of when Sonya and I went to the Oktoberfest...on a weekday in the morning before the drunks....we went into the house of mirrors and got STUCK in there! She had her video camera at her side, thinking it was off. But it filmed, in sort of a Blair Witch Project sort of way, all 45 minutes of us trying to get out! And how sad and pitiful it was because we were really worried we wouldn't find it!!