The Silly Season
Maybe you’ve been waiting for the March hares to do their thing, for the weather to be more positive - or just for the never-ending saga of Brexit to end - before committing to a workshop with us, but with summer just a few months away, and places almost full, now might be the right time to just do it……
Only one place remaining on our
Laughter Lab Weekend with InstantWit 16th to 20th May
Only one place remaining on Åsa Tricosa’s
Knitting Im-Mercerie III 27th June to 2nd July
Three places left on Lori Seibert’s
Snippets and Stitches 16th to 19th September
Unless you’ve spent literally hundreds upon hundreds of hours with a tiny electric drill carving intricate patterns into eggshells the last few months, you may have yet to reach your Easter egg decorating potential. One person who clearly has is artist Piotr Bockenheim who uses a reductive drilling technique to transform goose eggs into slithering tangles of string and various geometric or floral patterns. You can see much more of his work here.
Dutch artist Vera van Wolferen imagines new designs for homes on-the-go, producing miniature balsa wood models of tiny houses that teeter on the top of sedans or contain wheels to propel themselves on the road. We love her tiny sculptures, which she refers to as Story Objects, are intended to allude to narratives, and are often built with the addition of cotton to serve as clouds or tiny puffs of chimney smoke. The rest of the miniature house is left as minimal as possible, van Wolferen focusing on the architecture of her Wizard of Oz-esque creations rather than a complicated colour scheme.
The lovely Celia Pym - who will be leading a workshop here together with Julie Arkell at the end of next month - is perhaps best known for her extensive knowledge of traditional textile repair , visible mending and upcycling techniques. However, you can’t confine a creative personality to just one skill (Celia studied sculpture at Harvard, has an MA in constructed textiles and is also a fully qualified nurse!) and she recently collaborated with artist, Jonna Saarinen, to produce a limited edition of 16 T-shirts, each one stamped with its edition number; print one is Egg, and print two is Teeth. For more information contact Celia directly.
Perfect if you are thinking of ways to entertain young children over the Easter break… Danish artist HuskMitNavn (which translates to “Remember My Name”) is a painter, muralist, and compulsive doodler who creates clever three-dimensional drawings. The simple constructions are made from paper and pen, and depict cartoon characters in humorous situations. “I have been making so many drawing on flat paper my whole life” says HuskMitNavn “and one day a few years ago I just started to experiment with the paper to see if could add another dimension to it. The idea is to make it very simple only using A4 size paper and a pen. No scissors or glue.” You can see a variety of the artist’s cross-media work on his website and dozens more of his ripped drawings on Instagram.
As the world's leaders turn their backs on the environment at this critical time, individual consumer choices are hugely important, but the world’s scientists, biologists and environmentalists agree it is collective action that will achieve the systemic change necessary to make a difference to climate change. So, bravo! to all those committed adults and children who have made the effort to protest peacefully in Central London and other cities around the world on our behalf.. If the capital is too far away to contemplate supporting the organisers, Extinction Rebellion, then visit their website to locate a local group. If you need persuading, take a gander at David Attenborough’s alarming Climate Change - The Facts programme which is available now on the BBC iPlayer.
Seen from space our fragile world is a beautiful blue planet so it’s not surprising the colour blue has a profound effect on our psychology. Rayleigh scattering, an optical phenomenon that causes the sea and sky to appear blue, forges a psychological association between the colour blue and the perceived qualities of blue in nature. For example, the ancient duality of the sea and the sky generates a visual relationship between blue and impressions of consistency and trust. Blue’s associations with water tie it to cleanliness and refreshment but also tears. Consequently, a person experiencing sadness is said to be feeling blue.
The cool light of winter and the blue tint of ice draws connections between blue and the cold. Clear blue skies have become synonymous with happiness, relaxation and tranquility. The blue tint of daylight helps regulate our As one of the three primary colours, blue’s greatest impact is in its capacity to convey strong emotion. Blue also lowers stress levels, stimulating calm. This has practical applications; hospitals are often painted in shades of blue to help ease patient anxiety. Additionally, many medications are dispensed in blue pill form.
