Two terrific exhibitions in London, but be quick - both finish on14th September

Landlines, a free exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington is only on until 14th September. If you have any interest in man’s interactions with the land, and particularly the remaining wild land with which we live, this is a must. Fifteen artists - sculptors, painters, installation artists, drawings - who together form The Wilderness Art Collective.

The Royal Geographical Society also has one of those wonderful, almost hidden garden spaces in London. 

The hut is a recreation of the collapsible, portable accommodation used by Ginny Fiennes on her transpolar expedition.

In addition at The Menier Gallery, free, four artists respond to the River Thames.

The river Thames was glistening as I returned home.

Nature's bounty - cultvated and wild

Fungal foray

Incredible inspiration of form and colour from fungi during a walk this weekend

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Hidden inside the middle of a rotting fence post, waiting to be discovered, 

 

Kew Gardens inspiration

Do go and see Life in Death by Rebecca Louise Law, a mesmersing installation at Kew Gardens, on until March 2018.

In, and out of the greenhouses, the light was wonderful

Sculpture by the sea

One year I hope to visit “Sculpture by the Sea” in Australia. Until then, I make do with seeing sculpture in weathered shapes at British beaches

Cramond causeway, weathered U-boat defences, reminiscent of the cardinal sculptures by Giacomo Manzu.

Or with less sinister features

With a stretch of the imagination, beginning to resemble the Venus of Willendorf

Ogmore beach, wooden groynes weathered in to anthropomorphic shapes

These shapes are percolating through my mind as I have forgotten to bring any sketching or stitching materials on holiday.

Journal challenge continues - seeds

Having made my first six mini- quilts on the theme of  pollution, covering plankton and blue-green algae, I’m now moving on to seeds, taking a lot of inspiration from this incredible book by Rob Kesseler, and Wolfgang Stuppy.

The relationship to the overall theme of pollution in my journals this year is through two things.

First, 60% of the energy intake of the population of the world is from only three crops: rice, maize and wheat. Within these crops, biodiversity has decreased dramatically. If an untreatable plant disease, or an unknown pest damages any of these crops, many people will starve. With increasing levels of pollution, plants become less resilient and robust, and therefore less able to resist disease and pests.

Second, the Global Seed Vault, set up as a bulwark against catastrophic worldwide disaster, flooded this year, due to completely unexpected increases in temperature in the Arctic.

Trying to use my own source materials for this part of the series, I’m working on seeds that have parachutes, as it feels like the world needs a parachute at the moment. I think this is a Goat’s beard rather than a dandelion.

Stencilling with white paintstick and a freezer paper stencil to try to get the airiness of the seed head.

Detail

Stitching to come!

 

A week is a long time

What change in the world in a week. I don’t address politics much in this blog, but I fear for the future for all of us when truth is distorted so blatantly, and the only politics presented is the  politics of fear and division.

Inspiring then to find the words of Valarie Kaur.  Her speech is shown here, demonstrating that it is possible to be passionate without being opinionated, to be bold without being dismissive of others, and to be truly brave. Her closing words will resonate for me during 2017 - “ what if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?"

Walking with that thought in mind, a natural “womb” was photographed.

On the return journey, seen from a different angle, a hidden treasure was revealed to the camera.

Laughter and joy can still be found, we just need to look for them more closely.