Allepo and Syria

We loved Syria-for one I am besotted by textiles and it is still possible to find textiles worn as part of costume in various parts of Syria but mostly because the people are warm and friendly and incredibly helpful. It was nothing for a waiter who had served us coffee ,once, to walk50 metres out of the cafe where he worked to help us explain to a taxi where we were going ( though we had not asked him when having coffee)- plus negotiating a very good price for the fare which were incredibly cheap in any case.The souq in Damascus was amazing and the Souq in Allepo whilst not as captivating as the one in Damascus was also a delight.I am looking forward to returning to Syria next year .

Due to commitments with the exhibition we did not travel out of Damascus much or Allepo- but that is what curating is all about- being the public face of an exhibition and because people were so very interested we needed to be there all the time to talk and explain about the work and to stop touching- because of course these are textiles and like all viewers looking ( even those ones where there are white glove police on guard) at textile the instinct to touch is reflexive as far as I am concerned- to hold between your fingers and rub. So for future exhibitins I curate i think I will ask artists to make a small touch piece- for textiles is all about touch and to prohibit touching is like an act of denial.

We did see one small village of beehive domed buildings- but as this was on the outskirts of Allepo and the people favoured the more modern ( but very ugly) cement brick constructions it was in a state of dilapidation. I hope the pictures give some indication of the method of construction and some of the delight of their structure- they are entirely built of mudbricks without support apart from the mudbricks themselves- which means of course they are subject to the vagaries of the weather over time. We did visit one that was still inhabited by a family of 8 with mattresses neatly piled against the wall ( these are one room constructions) and otherwise furnished with that piece of equipment with which modern life can't seem to function- and I don't mean the fridge or washing machine- but the TV- the utter uselessness of the western propaganda and colonisation that this piece of equipment feeds into the daily lives of poor people whose cultural and social structures are so different to ours , leaves me feeling sad-it destroys so many things that are unique and wonderful and warm by the homegenisation of what tv moguls consider appropriate.

The installation photo of Across Australia is in Teeshereen Gallery in Allepo replete with a working fountain with soapie bubbles.

Damascus and Allepo

In a hurry- so here are photos of Crac des Chevaliers- aren't the arches fabo??- will write some more later....














And....

Last Call for Across Australia Catalogues

Sorry about the no photos- I can't load them from here so after I get back to Cairo tonight I shall be posting quite a lot of photos!

Ok I have two more days in Cairo and then head onto Dubai. The Across Australia catalogues I have left are too heavy to carry home in light of the textile treasures that have found their way into my suitcase. So this is your last chance to buy them. Email me on dcevaal@gmail.com or dcevaal@hotmail.com if you would like one. Cost inclusive of airmail from Cairo is $25 Aus, $20 US, 20 euros or 12 ounds sterling.

Also here is part of my report regarding the reception of the exhibtion in Syria
The quilts have been well received in Syria. In Damascus the DeputyMinister of Culture opened the exhibition and spent more than an houradmiring the exhibition , and was most complimentary about the work.Thevenue Khan Assad Pasha was spectacular- it is a 18th century caravanserai.Many of the leading artists and university fine arts lecturers were inattendance and continued to attend over the four days it was open. Jennyand I were invited to also deliver a lecture to the faculty of Fine Artsat Damascus University the day after the exhibition finished about thework and everyone was so enthusiastic. One thing we have noticed is theamount of time taken to study each and every quilt- and the enthusiasmwith which people respond- and I would say as many men if not more haveattended the exhibition as women.This is a country where people areknowledgeable about textiles and where men and women have a tangiblecultural connection with textiles and aren't afraid to show it.Sculptorshave responded to the textural possibilities and the tactile elements and others are responding to pattern and have been inspired to think of newways of responding to their own traditional patterns.They all without fail,thank you the artists, for letting your work come to their country.Likewise the response in Allepo has been enthusiastic and the setting wasa gallery belonging to the art academy. Allepo is the modern textilecapital of Syria so again people are knowledgeable about textiles. Openingnight had people spilling down the stairs of the gallery and cataloguesran out as they were in high demand. Fashion designers have come to lookat our treatment of fabric as well as other well known artists.The next leg is Kuwait the week after next. We are still negotiating othervenues in the region and Abu Dhabi now looks set.e exhibition in Syria.

From Syria with Love and without Pictures

Sorry no photos- tomorrow I hope.
In one word- Syria is fantastic! We spent 8 days in Damascus. It took about 2 days to set up Across Australia in Khan Assad Pasha an 18th century carvanserai and it was freezing inside the big stone building. We then spent the next five days taking turns sitting the exhibition and scouring the souq with Jenny. Damascus is a textile artists' paradise-and alas we are on a limited budget. Still the stall holders we met, kindly allowed us to photograph try on and touch- Syrian embroidered dresses, silk woven in Damascus, embroidered over dresses , hats ,scarves, tassels, threads and you name it- and then the Yemeny jewellery and ear rings and and....
Syrians seriously love food and sweets. The food has been wonderful and very affordable- the mezze table is a delight.We visited some wonderful restaurants situated in the old style houses in the inner part of the city- the ambience of these is just delightful and the fruit juice in one, Beit Shamy was just the best- seriously wonderful lemon and mint juice!

The response to Across Australia was also fantastic- quilters listen to this..... more men visited the exhibition than women ( and Syria is a very secular country, so women are out and about just as much as the men) and they looked very intently asked pertinent questions and were full of praise for our quilts. The deputy minister who opened the exhibition spent more than an hour and a half at the exhibition and asked to be told about each quilt .

More tomorrow!

Alternative Modes of Transport

Cairo is a huge grinding city with too many cars for a city which really is not large in area ,bounded as it is by the valley of the Nile and the desert which sits within sight from the Nile. However apart from cars there are still many horses and donkeys pulling their loads particularly in the poorer parts of Cairo and around the fresh food market areas, for the farmers bring their produce from the surrounding countryside. And of course there is the camel. The police out at Giza, Saqqara and Dashur ride camels, and Celeste got to ride one at the Red Pyramid inclusive of the machine gun strapped just behind her left foot. Its not often a girl gets to ride a machine gun toting camel!

Across Australia- those of you who wanted a catalogue can you please email on dcevaal@hotmail.com- as I tried clicking your links and they did not work.

Yesterday was my 50th birthday as well as the finals of the All Africa's cup. I have to say when I was 30 I dreamt of riding in a sports car through the streets of Paris in Lucy Jordan style ( Marianne Faithfull), when I turned 40 I was knee deep in small children under the age of 5 and now that I have turned 50 I got to sail on the Nile on a felucca with the name Paris. Jenny had arranged it all, so towards sunset we set off towards Maadi with picnic and wine with Celeste, Jenny's son and daughter and friends- the boats name was coincidental. Earlier in the day we had had an interview and photo session with the Egyptian equivalent of Home Beautiful about Across Australia and Jenny's wonderful quilts which look stunning on the large wall spaces in the residence- that took more than 4 hours ( even with us saying we had to leave by 3pm) and Jenny and I had to sit ,hand sewing, for photos ( how is this going to look???) Anyway the evening ended with Egypt beating Ivory Coast in a penalty shoot out- there was honking of cars well into the wee hours of the morning and no doubt many happy Egyptians. My one thought about all this was- excellent birthday, but does quilting make us as happy as football makes its fans? Perhaps we ought to be more demonstrative in our passion or inject the happy happy factor?

And last but not least on Wednesday night we gave a demonstration at the Sudanese Community Centre in Cairo- the day had been swirling with dust and sand from a dust storm that blew out of the desert. These women were so enthusiastic- they were smitten and took to free machining like nobody's business. We received, as present for our time, hand made leather whips-surely one of the more unusual gifts I have received and I can see many uses for it!

The Dyers Khan

Today the wind is blowing a gale and dust and sand is coming in from the desert- but Egypt won their semi final in the Africa's cup football match so the beeping of horns and estatic fans celebrating lasted well into the morning hours.

Today we pull down the Across Australia exhibition ready for it snext leg of travelling. If anyone would like a catalogue they are $25 AUS ( $20 US/20 Euros) inclusive of postage. I am not carrying these back to Australia they are too heavy.It is in full colour and showcases all 28 quilts.

We went to Bub Zuwela and the dyers Khan the day before yesterday. They were dyeing the most gorgeous blue in the dyers Khan as you can see from the photos ( and you can click on the collages and get larger versions) as well as orange and brown.The conditions for working are quite atrocious as you can see but the product is beautiful- like so much in Egypt.

I am fascinated by the mobile food carts and the beautifully stacked fruit stalls- these are often a riot of colour in a city that is dusty and is largely dust col0ured . Kushari is often the food prepared in these carts- a mixture of macaroni, rice , vermicelli, lentils and chick pies topped with deep fried onion and a tomato sauce.

And then there is chairs- there are many chairs in stalls and out on the street - to sit and drink tea, and when you go to a stall chairs materialise form nowhere so that you sit and have tea- you pass the time of day before the serious businessof buying occurs and then there is the nargilehs which are often beside the chairs.

Last Friday

Last Friday we went to a junk market on the outskirts of the City of the Dead.This is a very poor part of Cairo with all dirt streets and refuse on the streets everywhere. The people are also very poor. We had been warned that there was junk with the odd moment of treasure. Well there really was junk- some of which when you looked at it, no one could have any possible use for. The place was packed with people who were milling everywhere and the place was interspersed with mobile food carts and little tea huts where the men smoke the water cooled nargilehs.Often these huts are a couple of chairs under a ramshackle shelter on dirt floors and ingrained with dirt.The photos I have taken exude a certain charm and there certainly there was an element of that, with eclectic collections of all sorts of hotch-potch junk, and I as a photographer looked for the most picturesque arrangement, which is far from a true picture. People here are poor, very poor, their income almost nil and there are no social services in Egypt- the dirt here is the dirt of centuries, and the water is not the best. Donkey carts are still the mode of transporting most things as well as scooters which bip incessantly for foot traffic to move out of the road ( in fact most of Cairo bips its horns incessantly but it is not the insistent bang on, road rage type of endless beep ,of get out of my road or else ,but more a reminder that the car/taxi/scooter is there). The photo with the colours in it was actually things for sale- mostly broken toys- broken dolls heads and plastic guns and other plastic junk- it is hard to imagine that anyone would want any of this.This is also the place where all old computer monitors go- there were hundreds and hundreds.

Walking Today

Today we went for another walk through the Khan al Kalili area but this time through the area towards the North wall and much less frequented by tourists. I enjoy seeing what people who live in a place like Cairo themselves do- what kind of food do they buy- what kind of things do they cook in- how do they pass the day? We also visited Bayt Suhaymi a house dating from 1648 which was partially destroyed by an earthquake and restored with help from the United nations.It has wonderful mashrabiyya and a wonderful "blue"tiled room plus some pretty wonderful floor tiles in the public rooms.
I am also very fond of doors and arches- and some of the doors in Cairo are pretty spectacular- the carving intricate , and in the one pictured a finely crafted metal overlay which has green cast to it which contrasted beautifully with the rich brown of the wood.

Mere Ruka Dig

Yesterday we went to Saqqara and in particular the Mere Ruka dig. The photos I am sharing is the paraphernalia of a dig as the tomb and burial chamber is still largely unpublished.Professor Naguib Kanawati had invited Jenny and Bob Bowker and their daughter Tabbitha and Celeste and I to come and see the dig they are involved with. Professor Naguib Kanawati is one of Australia's foremost Egyptologists and what a delighful host he was. We felt incredibly privileged to see Mere Ruka's tomb ( he was the vezir to King Teti the first king of the 6th Dynasty- Mere Ruka married Teti's eldest daughter and as Teti had nine daughters the son of his eldest daughter- the wife of Mere Ruka- was to succeed to the throne ,that is ,until Teti had a 10th child late in life who turned out to be a son. It is also believed amongst some that Teti was assasinated ) through the eyes of a passionate expert- and with his words and descriptions he made the place come alive. We were fortunate to be able to visit the burial chamber which is not open to the public. It is a special burial chamber in that it shows the various stages of the creation of the artwork found in the chambers- so from grids, to red line cartoons, to blackline drawings and filling in to colouring on the back wall. We were also treated to some coffee and Egyptian pastries down in the chamber- never thought I would do that! The Mere Ruka tomb is only partly published and Professor Kanawati is writing a full catalogue of its contents ( 6 volumes)

They are also excavating behind the tomb and have found a cemetry of sarcophaguses- yesterday they found a partially intact one whilst we were there.There was still some linen from the mummy there as well as turquoise beads amongst the dirt- it was estimated that it was from the late period 500-700 BC. We then went onto some other tombs not open to the public- one a small three roomed one with carvings and painting still fully coloured. They were fabulous including an intact sarcophagus.The paintings are delightful showing many episodes of daily life. We came home feeling as if we had been given a very special treat indeed.

Yesterday

I was going to show some photos of the silk cord spinning we saw in the City of the Dead yesterday but then i came across the photo of this chap- and well really he is worth a photo all on his own! We encountered him just outside the glass blowing workshop we went to just outside of the City of the Dead- it is a very poor part of Cairo and people have difficulty finding money for their daily bread- yet we encountered courtesy and curiosity and this man, who is a water carrier, dispenses glasses of water to thirsty passers by. In the more well to do parts of Cairo these men are donned in picturesque garb and this man has tried to make do in the best way he could manage. Note the glasses under his right arm for the water, his jug adorned with fake plastic leaves and lemons- and the belt that holds it all ,made of various things twined around a central band which holds his water jug and which looks as if it has been built up over the years. I asked this man if I could take his photo- and he graciously agreed .

And yes cats are the same the world over- the ginger one in the basket lives at the supermarket close by to where we are staying- and she is very friendly- and loves to be stroked. I am not sure whether cats are still revered in the way they once were.

Some of the Cats of Cairo

This post is a lot for my youngest daughter Ynez who loves cats. There is a lot of cats in Cairo- poor mangy looking creatures but not without personality and charm and even a certain air about them. We have been wandering through the Khan the last few days looking for old berber jewelery ( and I have found some) and through the City of the Dead- a fascinating but very poor part of Cairo- really it should be called the Living City of the Dead as many people live amongst the tombs minding the tombs and earning a living in whatever way possible. Here also live the silk cord spinners who improvise their cording equipment from old bicycle wheels and all manner of contraptions.

From Cairo

Welll... where to begin. We have been here five days and so much has been seen and done. Firstly we installed Across Australia for opening on 26 January which is the Australian National Day. A large crowd of diplomats and other important people attended the celebration function which also included music by Freshwater and were most enthusiastic about the work. The exhibition stays open until 10 February. I have a limited number of full colour catalogues available for sale ( they are landscape A4 size- with 28 quilts) and they cost $25 AUAS inclusive of postage from Egypt- you can pay me via Paypla or if in Australia by cheque or postal order.

We have been to the tentmakers souk briefly ( they attended the opening and were most complimentary about our textile skills) and yesterday saw the Saqqara(stepped) pyramid and the pyramids of Dashur- the Bent pyramid and Red pyramid.We also visited the Wissa Wassef Arts centre which was fascinating - with a very interesting project to train children a couple of decades ago, without resorting to designs or drawings- but to just teach the technique and let the imaginations reign. All the children are now adults and still create tapestries at the centre ( in the Gobelin style of creating tapestries- ie on warp looms) which are just pure delight full of whimsy and improvisation. All the wools used are dyed from the garden of the centre.Today we visited a small portion of Khan el Khalili- and in particular beads and silver- and findings. Treasure!

Another one finished

I finished this quilt at 8 pm and at th emoment I don't care if I ever see another sewing machine again. I have used 10,000 metres of thread since Christmas , my arms and neck are sore but it is done! Even the sleeve is sewn down on this one. I will take another top with me in case I get any time to sew in Egypt and I am taking hand work but apart from that it is a relief to have them out of the way! And it has been stinking hot today- pushing around a big quilt with wool batting is not exactly the ideal activity for such a hot day!

Hellfire XVII

I am running out of time. I still hope to get this quilt done- all the background quilting stillhas to go in and it is quite a big quilt 135 cm x 135 cm (50 " x50") and I am using Matilda's Own wool batting which is my preferred batting ( wadding ) for quilting. It allows heavy stitching without stretching and is very stable but still retains nice texture with heavy stitching.It is hard working on this quilt today as it is 40 degrees celsius plus ( that's 100 degrees fahrenheit or more) and there is a northerly blowing- that is fire weather here and every thign is so dry that it will take any small thing to take off.Tomorrow is more of the same .

My ticket for Egypt has finally been issued- thank goodness i was starting to worry a little given that we fly on Sunday and the opening of Across Australia is 26 January. Sandy I will try and post an intinerary at some point. I am teaching in Dubai 1-5 march and Kuwait 7-9 March on the way home.Also Across Australia will be exhibited in Kuwait in the next room to where i am teaching.

Oops this photo was supposed to be there too!

This photo was supposed to be there too- but somehow I managed to delete it. I only have the sleeve to sew down and put on the label. It measures 80 cm x 145 cm ( 32" x 55"). I left more of the black showing compared to the photos I showed in December but did allow the leaves to go into the black space a little. When I left the black unimpeded by leaves it was somehow too stark but with a little overlap your eye wants to make the line straight but the effect is a bit gentler.

Gum Leaves

Another quilt done. I was playing around with this one in December. It is discharged cotton velveteen and the leaves have been created with Lutradur- they are dimensional. I quilted the whole background piece before attaching the leaves. This is another instance where the camera does not catch dimensionality or texture. The velveteen acquired a very pleasing texture once quilted- all the light areas are echo quilted and it puckered a little like the creases on a Shitzu dog face ( is that what they are called?)

But I am running out of time- argghh why do I always think I can do so much?? My kids were just playing a Roy Orbison song from the Travelling Wilberries album ( or was it already CD by then??)- when I was much younger I lived in a house where we used to have "Big O" parties- they were such fun,I also have a big "0" birthday coming up in february and yet again I won't be home ( 50- shhh) - ummm the Big O

Across Australia

The cover of the catalogue for Across Australia showing the work of Dianne Firth named " Over the Hills" which has been scanned in grey scale. 

Across Australia

Well after last weeks whine about the frustrations of funding ( which haven't gone away) Jenny Bowker ( the Australian Ambassador to Egypt's wife) sent me a report of the opening of Across Australia in Tripoli in Libya last night;

Four hundred and fifty guests attended the opening of the exhibition.
They were undoubtedly the intelligentsia of Libyan society and
included representatives at the highest levels of Libyan Government,
the academic world and the artists. We had the Libyan Minister for
Planning, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Deputy of the
Department of Economic Management, International Public Relations, The
Deputy Minister for Culture, the Cultural Attache for the Foreign
Office, the Deputy Minister for Tourism - in fact, all the senior
government officials from Tripoli. The heads of departments have moved
away from the capital in an attempt to de-centralise the Government,
so this is as senior as you can get here.

It is hard to imagine that an art exhibition could attract such a
brilliant crowd in Australia. We also had one of the most popular
television hostesses who runs a greatly loved chat show, and
interviewed me as a contributing artist on the spot. a major (The
major) fashion designer wanted to give us fabric to make quilts from
Libyan textiles to see what can be done.

The reactions - well, I am struggling to find words. Some that seemed
to sum it up from people who spoke to me were "I am open mouthed", "I
am astounded", "How can people make such brilliant things", "How can
we teach our people to do this art?", "I have never seen such
beautiful work", "My heart is pumping so hard I cannot even think
straight", and "What a gift Australia has brought to Libya tonight!"

This is why i curate- it is the aura that it creates when all the works hang together- it is special. This is why i also travel exhibitions- we have become a bit blase about what there is to offer - but people in other countries are surprised and delighted and appreciative.

Thank you Jenny for doing such a wonderful job over there! Some of you may not know but last week there was a dreadful bus accident near Cairo involving Australian policemen and families holidaying in Egypt. The loss of life was saddening but many were badly injured so the embassy has been working night and day to get the best care possible for survivors and to repatriate the injured once travel is possible and to reunite families with their loved ones. The embassy in Cairo is not big so the Ambassador and staff and spouses worked tirelessly and without sleep in the first 48 hours after the accident to get the injured to the best hospitals possible, even to the extent of giving blood for transfusions of blood matched severely injured indivduals. So for Jenny to go to Tripoli to represent the exhibition has come on top of an exhausting and sad week. It is often easy to imagine that the work of embassies is rubbing shoulders with foreign ministers and companies but unfortunately there is this sad side to their duties as well.

Sea Turtles

Another quilt finished- did I tell you I am on a quilting marathon for the next 7 days- that is the countdown for Egypt. Just the binding to go on bu tI like to do that early in the morning and sew it down before 9 - makes me feel I have achieved a lot befor emost people start the day. My shoulders are sore from all the sewing and I will be glad to get on that plane. I think I will try and take hand sewing as we have about 8 hours to kill in Dubai- I can't imagine there is anything exciting there.

I did do some playing around today trying to set up a power point presentation to send with my quilts to France- inspirations and then quilts as they can project onto one of the office walls. It occurred to me that it might be worth putting this on cd and selling it. I don't know the interest there would be for such a thing? Any thoughts?

I would really like to do another book but finding a publisher who will do what I want to do is the thing. I know what people in my classes want to learn and even though publishers say creative process books don't sell well most of the people I encounter in classes are really at this phase- how to harness it- how to develop it, how to subjugate the process to the power of imagination and bring to life what is in the mind. Ok off to relax with a glass of wine and stretch my sore shoulders and leaf through Jamie Oliver and see if he has a good recipe for pork....

Turtle

I am making another turtle quilt, because when I thought about it, I have never had an exhibition where a lot of my work is shown without a turtle quilt, so i didn't want the exhibition at the European Centre of Patchwork to be the exception.Plus I love turtles and i can kill two birds with one stone as I have to write an article for the German magazine Patchwork Ideen so i will use this quilt. I sold the little one I made in November- this one is slightly bigger and will hang next to the sea urchin one on which I still have to finish hand stitching.

The next week is going to be a marathon of sewing to try and get all the new work I want done done so i can send it to France. I may be able to do a little sewing whilst I am in Egypt but I am not counting on it.

I must admit when I sit and sew for hours on end on the sewing machine all sorts of thoughts go through my head- so today the thing that went through my head is ;
What is the most singular experience that has effected your art making? and what piece of art has most influenced your art making?

It is a question to you as well!

The most singular things ( sorry can't leave it at one there really are three things) for me has been dyeing fabric, the ability to free motion quilt, and Vliesofix ( wunder under). The artist that has provided me with the most aha, and has helped me simplify my own work is Matisse- particularly his cut out work, but most of all his drawing for the period leading up to this period- his gestural lines are fantastic. I would love to get a book of his drawings one day. Studying his work has taught me a great deal about assymetrical balance- to look at the tension it creates in the work to look at line as emotion, and to somehow make more with less but not pare it down to minimalism. His work also made me realise it's ok to be organic in the forms I use- not everyone is attuned to linearity and geometry