Serpentine gallery, pavilion and cafe

To the Serpentine, so see this summer’s pavilion, designed by Francis Kéré, a festival of triangles, so lots of resonance for a quilter. Superb blue colour, great shapes, wonderful shadows. Apparently it is designed such that when it rains, there is a waterfall of water cascading down in to the middle.

Then in to the gallery, after a short wait to see the free  Grayson Perry exhibition. Pieces in many media, and some that were on display recently at the British Museum. There are two small cases with his sketchbooks, which I always love to see. The largest piece is the tapestry “Battle of Britain”. Ten of these have been made. For the quilters reading this, there are several quilt designs in the background of this tapestry, but I can’t find commentary about why Perry has chosen to include these. Don’t look any further if you want to go to the exhibition and find them yourself. The subtlety of the weaving matches that of the colours in the Chris Ofili tapestry, but Perry’s tapestries are machine woven by Flanders Tapestries.

Finishing off with a walk across the bridge to a cup of tea within the sinuous curves of the Magazine restaurant, designed by Zaha Hadid.

 

 

 

Grayson Perry, see the tapestries if you can

So much has been written about these tapestries, I was worried I might be disappointed. Not at all. The sheer scale of these is incredible, and the colour blending is wonderful to see close to. An added bonus is a few of Grayson Perry's pots, that I always find very witty.


This visit included a stimulating discussion with a friend about whether it is important to see the hand of the artist in a final version of a piece of art. This was especially thought-provoking for me, having just been to see the Maggi Hambling "Scallop" sculpture at Aldeburgh. There, and in these tapestries, the technical input of the makers is equally as important as the eye of the artist.


I really enjoyed seeing the marks of the makers in this sculpture.

Week of London wonder, day 1

As I've said before, living in London can be a trial so it is important to do things that can only be done in London. In this spirit, I used up some leave this month to " do" some exhibitions. First up, Grayson Perry " the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman" at the British Museum. This exhibition has had lots of publicity, and it is well worth seeing. The selection of objects from the museum, and how they are juxtaposed with Perry's work was very interesting. It was wonderful to get such close-up views of the large pots, and to see that Perry has worked in lots of media, including iron, bronze and, better known to me, embroideries and tapestries.



Am I a philistine and a pedant to be irritated at two spelling mistakes on the amazing large tapestry? Or am I missing some artistic statement?



Lunch followed at the superb London Review Bookshop and Cafe. Lovely lunch and lots of more unusual books to browse from less well-known publishers. Some Xmas shopping done, and then on to the Contemporary Ceramics Centre for a drool. Designers who caught my eye were,
Lara Scobie, Emily Myers ,Merete Rasmussen, Sophie Cook, Matthew Chambers, particularly his incredible , seemingly nested bowls,

Anja Lubach's rather unsettling porcelain skull / rose bowls,

Sasha Wardell's astonishingly translucent bowls

Penny Fowler's graphic bowls


Ikuko Iwamoto's translucent pieces


None of these pieces are compatible for a small house, shared with two teenagers and an active dog, so no purchases.

More drooling back at the British Museum shop, where the buyers seem to have a more edgy approach than the V and A buyers this year.

Emma Jackson, cobweb felt


Margo Selby, beautiful, tactile scarves

Anne Selby, even more tactile scarves

And heading away from pure textiles
Yu Ping Lin, origami jewelery

Zoe Hillyard, ceramic patchwork


A visit to the Socialist bookshop, and a find of a second hand copy of the Alabama Studio Style book, with all templates and the pattern.

A great day, and almost too many wonderful things to digest and cogitate on. Day 2 , coming soon.

Home--made houses....crafted cards to come

Wet weekend, so lots of stitching done for the craft stall at our quilts group's upcoming biennial show .

Yet more houses, this time added to painted and fabric backgrounds.

Terrible photo, as daylight had gone by the time I had finished, and I was rushing to get a Sunday dinner on the table.

Combined with reading a very interesting article by Grayson Perry about the upcoming Quilts exhibition at the V and A , my multi-tasking was challenged.