As we were

Sorting things out for the Turn The Page book fair - now some weeks ago! - made me realise I'd not produced any books since "The Seeing I" (aka Three Generations), quite a few months ago. Which got me back to thinking about this matter of "who was that person in the photograph" - especially as some old family photos serendipitously surfaced, some of them evocatively faded -

Brother Steve in his first self-built boat

My first car (a photo that survived the house fire - only just)

Brother and me with cousin Martin, in the house that burned down a decade or so later

The Oma and Opa of the cousins

Their son Paul (later the father of Martin), leaving Gersfeld for Canada - whereby hangs a tale... 

Art I like - Guiseppi Capogrossi

A chunky new book in the library introduced me to Capagrossi (1900-1972). He studied law before turning to painting, and went to Paris in 1927, the first of several trips there. His postwar "renewal of language" is an excursion into abstract painting - paintings mostly entitled "Surface", with a numeral added.

The Guggenheim had a major retrospective of his work in 2012 to "explore Capogrossi’s unique contribution to 20th-century art, tracing the evolution of his signature abstract style of grandiose orchestrations of mark and color, and its numerous variations over the subsequent decades. With his endlessly inventive deployment of his fork-like symbol, Capogrossi became synonymous with the Italian boom of the 50s and 60s, a period of optimism and rapid economic expansion."

About that distinctive symbol: "Capogrossi first exhibited works in his fully realized abstract idiom at the Galleria del Secolo in Rome in 1950. Two paintings from that show, Surface 021 (1949) and Surface 678 (Carthage, 1950), marked the emergence of the glyph which became essential to his style: a serrated arc, sometimes assembled in sequences and series, sometimes painted with a single dominant color. The originality of this formal syntax earned Capogrossi membership in the brief but impassioned Gruppo Origine, which promoted his glyphs as a primordial language that stood in contrast to the decorative tendency of abstraction. "

"Grandiose orchestrations of mark and colour" - indeed. See more here and here.

Pigeons keep away!

In the back garden (soon the grapevine will cover it)

In Norwich (look closely at the swan)

And then there's this, seen from the windows of City Lit

man and hawk

Going camping?

Inviting and ... cosy

It even has a wee kitchen (spider plant optional)

Art I like - Dorothy Napangardi

One of the most memorable moments of my visit to Australia (or rather, Melbourne and vicinity) was seeing paintings by Dorothy Napangardi in the art gallery. Seeing them in a book or on screen is simply not the same - you have to stand beside them and let them dwarf you - they are huge!

I was thrilled to find a book about her work to bring home with me, and today I'm thrilled to find this article. This image is from that article -

"Mina Mina" 2006

Be aware that the painting measures 168cm x 244cm. 

"Napangardi is noted for visually spectacular canvases of Karntakurlangu Jukurrpa, which focus on a number of Women's Dreamings passed down to her from sisters on her fathers side. They are paintings informed by her ancestral relationship to the land and her conceptual geographic view of its most prominent ceremonial sites," says the article at the start ... and at the end, emphasises that these works " are, of course, conceptual views of Napangardi's country and to see them outside of this context would be to lose an important cultural dimension."

And now, quotes within a quote: "According to European art historian Bernice Murphy, this work expresses a form of cultural coexistence. 'It shows both the depth of its cultural background (emerging from a continuing observance of spiritual connections to the artist's own land), and a powerful demonstration of capacities to express those connections in new ways. It extends tradition itself through experimentation and reaches out into the broad domain of visual language in abstract painting; a rich seam of continuing cultural production in the wider world of art.'
"From an indigenous perspective the work reflected a more experiential approach. Valerie Martin Napaljarri, Chairperson of Desart in Alice Springs, remarked: 'To me, Dorothy's work is like nganayi, like Yapa, running through the country, traversing their tracks on journeys over the land. That's what it reminds me of - Yapa crossing one another's pathways as they go travelling.' As Ms Nicholls points out, part of the appeal of Napangardi's work is that it can be appreciated on multiple levels."

The next painting isn't in my book - one of the "aerial views" of surface patterning on the cracked beds of dry salt lakes -

Dorothy Napangardi was introduced to painting in 1987 and started exhibiting in 1991, with naturalistic paintings that show the undulating movement that has become a hallmark of her style. She established her reputation with the "Digging Stick Dreaming" series; when she received custodial rights to paint Mina Mina, her style lost the figurative elements, exploring the visual dynamics of multiple, overlaid grids.

She has been making prints since 2001, often with master American printmakers, for example with Crown Point Press in San Francisco.

Watch her painting here -

Sewing kits, beta version

Unlike the Binders Keepers, the outside fabric is usually one piece, and usually commercial fabric (sometimes even "new" fabric!). The inside bits are salvaged scraps or recycled fabric. I've made it a rule to incorporate some of my own screenprinted fabric.

My aim is not to buy any new fabric - "shop the stash" - and what wonderful things I'm finding, especially among the screenprints. Plus, I have given myself permission to use anything and everything.

These So-So Sew&Sews were made a few days ago and it's interesting to see them afresh. The middle one feels too flimsy - next time, add another layer - but furnishing fabric works just fine. The bottom pockets (which extend behind the side pockets) work best as vertical stripes, but one shouldn't rule out other possibilities.  Can the side pockets be linen rather than wool - I see them as places to put pins and needles, would those come loose if stuck into linen, and in that case, could the flap be wool (and still accommodate the secret pocket underneath)?

The ties seem to have settled into an optimal length, and I like the weight of the bead at its end - but need more big, heavy beads with big holes. As for the ribbon - it's tricky to get the right one, in fact there's no "one" that will suit all situations.

Each has a minimum of nine pieces of fabric, a ribbon, a bead, a button loop, and a button - lots of choices to be made!

These will be available at the Open Studio, June 22-23. Eventually I'll put instructions on margaretcooter.co.uk.

Drawing class, week 3

The set-up - I would have liked to move the bones on the left.
Note the distribution of the bright areas - they go beyond the edges of the paper

The topic is perceived tonal qualities. The lightest tones
should be about 1/3 of the drawing

After a long time checking and rechecking visually, we were allowed to
measure - and continue revising

How did I not notice the angle of that long shadow?  Objects' shapes added in

Now the dark tones, in heavy charcoal strokes
(note the  waterfalls of charcoal below the dark areas)

Finally, black pastel for the very dark areas - and
rubbing-out for the highlights

We had a choice of a "lit" arrangement, or one that was unlit and had less contrast to start with - but an interesting swirly shape. When we turned our easels round at the end of the session, the drawings really did look good - and, among even only 8 people, such a variety of approaches.

Much as I love drawing with charcoal - lots of dark charcoal - this probably isn't something I'd do in the textile studio -- too many little black bits floating around, and bigger bits breaking off.

Also, it's fine "doing what you're told" in class, even with the artificiality of the still life and its zany objects, but I don't feel the urge to try this kind of "considered" drawing at home ... though having said that, looking around the desk area there are some potential arrangements already in place. I still have a brick wall to break through, with this drawing thing, tied up partly with my feelings about space and chaos/mess, process and product - and, how best to spend time.

Found art Friday

An unfinished bit of wall in Finsbury Park station

A blank canvas for writing music

A painting of the sounds it might make

Roman potatoes

A simple recipe, nice to make on a chilly day  -

Cut potatoes (the amount above is from four largeish potatoes) into 2cm dice, dry them, coat with flour, toss in an oiled pan, roast in a moderate oven for about an hour, stirring if you remember. At the outset, scatter some garlic cloves (unpeeled, for squeezing out when cooked) and rosemary sprigs among the potatoes. (Salt and pepper at your discretion.)

City Lit textiles exhibition

My work from Louise Baldwin's "Transform, change, disintegrate" course a few months back is currently part of the City Lit textiles exhibition, in the vitrines at the entrance. Other work from students attending textile courses is in the cases on the third floor.

Poetry Thursday - Midsummer, Tobago by Derek Walcott

Midsummer, Tobago

Broad sun-stoned beaches.

White heat.
A green river.

A bridge,
scorched yellow palms

from the summer-sleeping house
drowsing through August.

Days I have held,
days I have lost,

days that outgrow, like daughters,
my harbouring arms.

                   Derek Walcott 

When I read this in World Poems on the Underground, the image that came to mind was a painting of a drifting canoe - by Chris Ofili, I thought, but no - Ofili has painted tropical scenes, but more of a deep blue heat than a white heat. No, it was Peter Doig who painted "my" canoe - he lives in Trinidad now (as anyone who has gone through Canadian winters might want to do) - before moving there he had been in Trinidad together with Ofili on a residency, and Ofili lives there now too. 

The canoe I remember, or seem to remember, disappearing along a river that winds through a tropical forest, is not to be found (it's not this one; or these...). Instead, as a sort of illustration to the poem, here's "magic-realism" image by Doig that has a feel of the tropics -

"The Music of the Future" by Peter Doig (from here)

Read an analysis of the poem here. Walcott won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1992.

Once upon a time...

... there was an old lamp post ...

Sunday on Regent Street

Sometimes Regent Street gets closed to traffic for some event or other. Last weekend it was "The World on Regent Street" - a bit thinly populated in terms of exhibitors, perhaps, but leaving space to walk around. (And they brought in special benches for a bit of a sit-down - nice touch!)

Buses get diverted, and from the diverted No.6 (heading to Piccadilly Circus via Shaftesbury Avenue, quite a diversion) we saw a group of pearly kings and queens wandering off in the other direction -

Later, on the street itself, quite a mixture -

Caribbean indians?

New York comes to London

Pulled noodles, what a skill

Pink frills to give a little girl a thrill

Great place for publicity photos

Indian dancing drew a large crowd, and the baby especially enjoyed it

Desiderata at Collect craft fair

So many beautiful objects...! Collect is held in the Saatchi Gallery, in big white rooms, and most of the stands are sizeable (at £300 a square metre...). Here are a few of the many things that caught my eye -

Wood vessels by Ernst Gamperl

A rough but shimmering finish

Boxes included in the purchase price of Japanese crafts

Deeply-dyed indigo sculptures - but no labels

Peppers captured in Colin Reid's glass

New work by Hiroshi Suzuki

Detail of patterning

Subtle lettering on "96 Deep Bowls" by Rupert Spira

Hand raised Britannia silver vases by Ndidi Ekubia

"Bad Mother" by Freddie Robins

Pippin Drysdale's grouped ceramics (think "Australian desert")

Wonderful modern jewellery - in the foreground, work by Iris Bodemer
(for instance, this steel & string neckpiece)

Books carved from swirl-grained madrone burl by Michael Peterson

Other names from my notebook are Gesine Hackenburg (jewellery), Hanne Friis (textile), Katie Bunnell (ceramics), Agneta Spangberg (extrovert ceramics), Jean-Claude Legrand (ceramics), Chantal Delporte (glass), Ainsley Hillard (tapestry),  Mihara Ken (ceramics),  Millie Behrens (jewellery), Claire Malet,  Pamela Wilson (textiles and jewellery - the piece on show incorporated fishing line, sausage casing and red plastic tubes, wonderful).