The inspirational Dorothea Tanning

Way back in March I attended a six-session evening workshop at the Tate Modern to coincide with the surrealist artist Dorothea Tanning's solo exhibition. I only had limited knowledge of her work before visiting the exhibition and I was really impressed by the sheer volume and such a wide variety of media she explored during her career. The focus of the workshop was soft-sculpture inspired by the many 3D sculptural pieces Tanning had created and experimented with.

As part of the cost of the Tate workshop, you gained free, unlimited entry to the exhibition which was a real joy to be able to experience the gallery after-hours when it was quiet and empty.

The tutor who ran the workshop gave us templates to use to create body parts. I selected to hand-sew legs and the lower torso. Once they had been carefully hand-stitched together they were filled with rice or couscous to give them some weight.

Here are some photographs of Dorothea Tanning's interesting soft sculpture work below.

The following photos are my small soft sculptures inspired by Tanning's amazing large scale 3D pieces.

The scale of my sculptural pieces is about the size of your hand, so quite delicate in contrast with Tanning's work. Whilst attending the Tate workshop I met a wonderful artist called Alannah Currie, also known as Miss Pokeno. She had organised an amazing week-long collective exhibition in response to Tanning's work. It was at her Doyce Street Studios and showcased the work of feminist artists in the form of paintings, sculpture, furniture, photography and dance.

I attended the Friday evening event with some friends and were treated to Hibiscus cocktails and a live dance performance which was very 'London'. It was a truly memorable evening which has still left me thinking about the work of Dorothea Tanning and the new artists she has inspired!

Have you visited anywhere or read a book recently that has made you think and reflect?

North, South, East & West London Adventures

I have been enjoying a staycation and have had a few little adventures in London with friends this summer. Here is a summary of my many outings around London with maps and links so you could explore these places for yourself too.

3 mile walk
Setting off at Dalston Junction I explored the Dalston Eastern Curve Gardens for a pot of tea and then visited the outdoor market where I happened upon this rather shabby chic looking fabric shop, Dalston Mill Fabrics.
Next, a leisurely walk towards Stoke Newington where I discovered a gorgeous garden oasis just off the high street called Kynaston Gardens. A refreshment stop at an independent organic supermarket called Harvest N16 then down Church Street which is full of lovely artisan cafes, antiques shops, gift shops and the odd charity shop.
Finally, a chill out on a park bench at Clissold Park before a further amble towards Finsbury Park Tube station.

4 mile walk
I had a few friends staying at the weekend who wanted to see some different sides of London, so we started with a bit of culture at the Tate Modern. We perused the regular galleries and also saw the Alberto Giacometti and Fahrelnissa Zeid exhibitions too. My favourite was the Zeid show because of her beautiful use of colour and abstracted pattern.
We then walked along the Southbank towards London Bridge and took Fenchurch Street towards Whitechapel and the start of Brick Lane. On a Sunday Brick Lane is full of amazing food stalls and we ate huge portions of gorgeous vegetarian food from the Ethiopiques stall.

3.2 mile walk
Starting at Kensington High Street tube I walked towards Holland Park for the Design Museum. My friend Charlotte and I saw the California: Designing Freedom exhibition which has a 2 for 1 ticket deal on until the 28th August if you want to check it out for yourself. I really enjoyed it. It's full of colourful graphic design from the '60's onwards and chronicles the influence of new design and technologies from California (skateboards, apple macs, google) and how it has changed the world.
We had a komucha stop on a bench in Holland Park before walking through Hyde Park towards a cafe called Raw Press on Dover Street. The food was lovely but the service was a little abrupt and unfriendly which was a shame.

1 mile walk
The main reason for this visit was to taste the delights of breakfast at Farm Girl Cafe. Absolutely scrumptious food. Service is a little full on at the weekend because it is so popular but you can overlook that when your food arrives! I had the Buckwheat Pancakes and my friends enjoyed an Acai bowl. Both dishes were lovely!
To walk off the food we ambled down Portobello Road and watched the stall holders getting ready for the day ahead. A great vibe in this part of London on a Sunday morning.

2.2 mile walk
A solo adventure in Vauxhall and Pimlico to get to see some art exhibitions before they finished. First up is the free Newport Street Gallery owned by Damien Hirst. A lovely walk from Vauxhall through the gardens, past the City Farm and onto Newport Street. I saw the penultimate day of the Ashley Bickerton: Ornamental Hysteria exhibition which was a rather strange collection of paintings, assemblages, sculptures and mixed media work.
I walked to the Tate Britain along the river and across Vauxhall Bridge to see the Queer British Art exhibition. Which was pretty quiet on a Saturday morning. There is some great art to see here with a wide range of styles, genres and artists exhibited.

What have you been up to lately?

Me-Made Rejects #2

I try to regularly edit my wardrobe. I have noticed the more confident I have become at sewing the easier it is to pass on any home-made garments to the charity shop. My first few hand-made garments, despite their imperfections were saved from the charity shop bag on several occasions for sentimental reasons.

As I am getting better at fitting clothes for my body shape I feel happy to pass on my hand-made garments for somebody else to enjoy or at the very least get re-cycled. Also, having a blog means I have an electronic record of my achievements / learnings / disasters which makes the process much easier.

Here are the hand-made garments that hit the Cancer Research Charity shop last week:

Free-style Circle Skirt

Previously un-blogged on account of the fact I never wore it. I made it in a splurge of industrious sewing in April 2016 before this years Me-Made-May. I pretty much just free-styled the cutting of the circle skirt by folding the fabric down the centre and re-folding from the corner and cut out a circle. I then guestimated the waist-line cut too and attached to an elastic waistband.

The elastic waistband was re-claimed from a circle skirt I made in 2007 for a school pantomime performance and the fabric was a stash-bust polyester affair I bought from Goldhawk Road. The remainder of the fabric (about 1.2 metres) made it to the fabric swap on the 4th June and was picked up by Tamsin from Pimp my Curtains so watch that space for another make from this abstract fabric.

Hand-sewing the full-circle hem was a nightmare, even though I left it for two days to drop. It's a bit wonky in places! Hopefully somebody will find it and have a bit of fun wearing it this summer.

Black & White Scout Tee

As you know I LOVE the Grainline Scout Woven Tee but this version was made without really thinking about the weight of the cotton I was using. I think when you first start making your own clothes some of the most obvious things (like comfort) get over-looked when we fall hard for an amazing printed fabric. I adore this abstract monochrome print but as mentioned earlier it is much too stiff (even after lots of washes) and restrictive as a comfortable top. I had to say adieu.

Matisse Dolores Pocket Skirt

This was lovingly made as part of my art-work for a course at the Tate Modern during the Matisse: Cutting into Colour exhibition. I was inspired by his bold lines, architectural shapes and colour. I wore this on the final evening of the course when we had a group exhibition showcasing our art-work inspired by Matisse. 

You can read more about the construction here. The pattern was machine appliquéd with hand embroidered elements to pick out delicate details. It was such fun to make but I have not worn it for two years so it was time to share the love!

Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde Blouse

My Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde was a hard one to give away. This blouse was a result of a weekend workshop at Ray Stitch taught by Tilly herself not long after her debut on the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee in May 2013. It symbolises my renewed interest into garment sewing after a 20-year hiatus after art college.

Last year I re-fashioned the sleeves to make it more versatile as I did't wear it with the original blouson sleeves. Even that didn't help!

The main reason this lovely little top didn't get worn was again, due to poor fabric selection. The rather heavy-weight cotton just didn't drape and was too heavy for a blouse. A lesson learnt! I really should re-make this top in some lovely light voile or viscose.

I have passed on my me-made garments to the Charity Shop with a hope they may be re-worn or re-cycled into something more useful. Previous me-made rejects blogged about here. To date I have passed on or refashioned 16 me-made garments.

Have you given away or re-fashioned any of your me-made clothes?

O'Keeffe Inspired Art

I attended the third session of the Tate Modern Art Course linked to the current Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition last night and we had the chance to draw or paint plein air (seems to be a reoccurring theme in my posts lately). The options were to use the riverfront outside the Tate as a view or to visit the Community Garden next to the Tate for inspiration. As you can probably guess due to my rather garden-heavy posts during the month of July, I chose the garden.

A small but perfectly formed secret walled garden exists to the left hand side of the Tate Modern. Snuggled in a slither of land next to the terraced housing next to the Globe Theatre and the huge expanse of the Tate buildings lives a little oasis of community gardening.

These are the studies I made using the beautiful red flower (Dog Rose?) as inspiration. Despite enjoying sketching this I am not 100% happy with the outcome as I feel it is a little twee and too traditional for my liking. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of drawing and painting it.

What do you think?

30 minute pencil study (unfinished) and 30 minute watercolour version

Detail of the 30 minute pencil study

Detail of 30 minute watercolour study

The art work I have been enjoying over the past week has been an extension of the pomegranate studies I started last week. I have been exploring more abstracted compositions and limiting my colour palette as O'Keeffe did in many of her works.

Below is a selection of pomegranate studies starting with a more realistic image and moving towards more simplified and abstracted shapes and use of colour:

Watercolour pencils

Watercolour pencils

Two colours of watercolour: Windsor & Newton Orange and Deep Red

Watercolours (Deepe Red, Orange, Winsor Yellow) overlaid with blue watrcolour pencil

Watercolour paints (Deep Red, Orange, Winsor Yellow, Ultramarine, Prussian Blue)

Blended Watercolour Pencils (no water yet)

Next week at the final session of the Tate Course we are to select our favourite works produced during the course for a group exhibition. I am undecided as to which one to select but I'm hoping to get a chance to explore these abstract pieces further which may sway my decision.

Which art works do you think I should choose?

I will leave you with these stunning views around the Tate Modern yesterday.