Exhibition in Le Triadou

Last night was the Vernissage of the exhibition Anne Deckers, Liwanag Sales and i are having in Le Clastre in the village where I have been staying.I had taught near Valence so i was a bit exhausted when I got back  and unfortunately no sales ...sigh i wish there would be an upturn in the economy- it surely is tough if you are an artist trying to sell work and make a living. Some people said my work was expensive- but I dye and print and then stitch- i work all week, sometimes way more than that, and I don't think I am even earning a living wage or what is considered to be a living wage and yet living costs keep escalating whilst artists' income diminish.

Anyway onward and onward- I am doing a dyeing and printing demonstration later today and I have to get the stuff together for that- and then I have to start packing. I hope the TGV is running on Wednesday.

Anne Deckers, myself and Liwanag Sales

In front of my traveller's Blanket- there was an occasion recently when I was very glad I was a quilter and not a canvas painter. I drove around and around trying to find a hotel and they were all booked full- so i had to sleep in my car and the temperatures have been very cold recently- I was very glad to have quilts in my car and use those and my traveller's blanket was one of those because it is so soft and drapey.

Gallery view- I love the stone walls- textile and stone walls are just wonderful together!

Gypsy Blanket #2

It is finished! The sleeve is done and even the labelling is done!I even included a coqueclicot print. I feel that this work really represents a lot of how I feel these days and i hope it keeps up!There is a good rhythm to my daily endeavours- early morning walk with the dog through the vineyards in view of Pic St Loup, fruit for breakfast, work, lunch french style, more work,  apero's, dinner french style ( I love rocquefort!) some computer time or reading and sleep. I hope I can keep this rhythm up as I have also lost weight- all good things.

Now all i have to do is find a house to live in  back in Australia... I am thinking about Clifton Springs if i can afford it sigh...... I am also working on a book proposal so keep your fingers crossed for me. I have also been applying for jobs back in the legal world- but they don't even bother with a response...  I guess I have been out of it too long- as if you lose all that experience.

Penchant for Cathedrals

My absence has been due to teaching commitments- which I have enjoyed very much!

One of my favourite cathedrals in France, is the cathedral in Laon. I came upon it  some years ago whilst driving at night trying to get to  Holland. The cathedral was lit and sitting on a high sort of cropped hill- well that was enough, I had to stay in that town and see it in daylight. I have been twice before but today as i raced along the paege ( which is very expensive) I could not resist the temptation for another visit. It houses one of the black madonnas and really the facade with its three  porches and very fine towers, is   a wonderful exemplar of restrained gothic architecture even though it's quite ornate. It was damaged in the french revolution.  Building commenced sometime in 1155 and was completed in the next century and some of the animals that adorn the towers are a memory of the animals that helped build this cathedral. This basilisque and the one in Vezelay are amongst my favourites in France. I have not seen them all- the gothic ones I mean, but quite a few and somehow these two really  just capture my imagination.

Exhibition, Exhibition, Exhibition and Atelier Launch!

Atelier Printemps Sacré is the name of the atelier my friend Liwanag Sales, Anne Deckers  and I are setting up.If you are in the area on 30/31 October or 1 November please drop by at la Clastre in Le Traidou.

We are also going to be making one off art to wear as well as art textiles.

Oh and i did not miss seeing all the big tourist sites in Barcelona- just this trip - but I saw some wonderful other things!

Back from Barcelona

I had a wonderful time in Barcelona- and did  not really do any of the touristy things. First of all i was teaching so that took up time, but also because I stayed in Sarria, which once was a village in the hills outside the centre of Barcelona, but which is well and truly part of Barcelona now . I really enjoyed sensing the city as the locals might instead of the great tourist whirlygig. So i walked, drank coffee and the occasional glass of wine, ate food with the locals and looked. I did go into the centre so see La Pedrera, but there was a queue and I couldn't be bother waiting in the queue so I headed back to Sarria.

This was the little courtyard of the apartment where I stayed. I think the big citrus tree looked to be a clementine tree. The tiled water trough boasted tiles dating from the 17th century which had been rehabilitated form an old kitchen.

This photograph is of a building on Carrer La Provenca.I just happened to notice it when I walked past it and of course could not resist looking and taking a photo- I was very quickly told this was not allowed though I am not exactly sure why- possible to stave off the tourist hordes?

The footpath tiles near la Pedrera- inspiration enough even without the famous building!

And I have been sewing like the blazers since being back on the Gypsy blanket #2. Here you can clearly see the contrast of stitched areas as opposed to non-stitched areas.The stitching simply adds so much extra interest and texture.... Still a lot fo stitching to go and on Monday i have to drive to the Evry. There are still places in the class at Palaisseau- if anyone is interested.

Autumn- and Thoughts of Going Home

They say hereabouts,that  when Pic St Loup is shrouded in cloud it will rain. So far no rain and certainly not on my walk. How the colours have changed in just a few weeks. It was dark and gloomy when I went out this morning, I could hear the gunshot of hunters, and even encountered one. Would love to have taken his photo as he was all fitted out in his hunting gear including his dog with a bell.

I have to start packing everything up for my return to Australia- it's quite a task as I have gathered things in order to be able to work and luggage allowance is so limited that i can only take so much and I must admit to having gone on a bit of a catalogue craze at Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork- they may have to form the library of our Atelier Printemps Sacre. I will continue to have some of my work for sale Aat Centre Europeen du Patchwork in Salleles d'Aude.

I head back to Australia on the 3rd of November and if anyone in Oz is interested in any of my workshops please contact me. I will be adding some new workshops when I have time to revamp my brochure of workshops.I will be living in the Geelong area when I find a house to live in.


Workshops Place Still Available for Workshops near Paris
I also have to teach some workshops and there are still some places available in the  following:
14-16 October 2010
At MJC Palaisseau ( near Paris)- 3 workshops, Form and Variation ( Investigations and abstractions on a theme), Serigraphy, Breakdown Printing ( Polychromatic printing) contact details can be found on Christine Moulin's website, and the dates are 14-16 October. So if you are at all interested these will be fun classes, and yes my time in france is unfortunately winding down.
12 October 2010
At Best of Quilting, Marcoussis
Pique Libre- one place left
21 October 2010
at Best of Quilting, Marcoussis
 Working and Stitching with Ravissent Lutradur

Another Gypsy Blanket

When I was at carrefour Europeen du patchwork i  was asked so many times whether the gypsy blanket I made for Aurifil was  for sale that i decided I would make another one, as I also need some larger pieces for our exhibition at le Clastre  in Le Triadou at the end of the month.

So I have been printing fabric for use, stitching the  fabric down and then free hand satin stitching it ( with  the open toed embroidery foot). I am free handing it because I like the slight unevenness of the line and well it just looks a bit more hand made.But it does take forever to do- detail stitching will go in tomorrow. I made a total hash of the backing, not sure what i was thinking, but it wasn't good, so will have to trip the whole back away from the stitched lines and then put on a new back.In the image above you can see the difference in the way it looks before stitching.