A peek forwards and backwards..
Who amongst us has never had a big idea to produce something creative - whether it be a knitted sweater, a video, a wire sculpture or opening a shop selling you art - the kind that keeps you up at night, excitedly planning its execution, only to have it plateau and lose steam before coming to fruition? And how do you handle that? Do you come up with a new idea, a shot of creative dopamine to the brain, and have that suffer the same fate?
One problem is that we tend to overestimate what we can do in a short period, whilst underestimating what we can do over a long period, provided we work slowly and consistently. The unglamorous habit of frequency fosters both productivity and creativity, and when you work regularly, inspiration strikes regularly. But that focus may often benefit from the help of someone who has already passed that way, and our hope at Les Soeurs Anglaises has always been that the workshop leaders we invite are exactly the right people to engage, encourage and support.
With that in mind, we’re slowly putting together our 2021 programme. Of course, much depends on travel restrictions and government directives, but our plan is to offer a fewer number of events to a fewer number of participants over the summer months of 2021. This, together with greater personal studio space and more one-on-one access to the workshop leaders, will allow us to maintain all the health and safety measures necessary; and in some cases an extra day will offerparticipants more time for a deeper immersion into their subject, whilst still offering the conviviality of community that we are celebrated for.
As we are head towards the festive season, without a clear idea of what exactly it will look like this year, it might be a good time to start thinking about gifts for a wine-loving partner, friend or family member who may have to celebrate in the confines of their own home this year. As I may have mentioned before, for many years my husband, Mike Armitage, ran the Interesting Wine Club in London which organised regular vertical and horizontal wine tastings . Our move to France put an end to that, but his collection of fine wines continued to grow over the following 20 years and he has finally decided to offer for sale some of his carefully selected vintage bottles, dating between 1918 and 2016.
There are red, white and sweet wines; French, Spanish, Italian and German. Let us have a preferred date (someone’s birth year?) if you have one and we will contact you with Mike’s considered suggestions and catalogued prices for you to choose from.. As a cherry on the cake, each purchased bottle will be presented in a beautiful box, hand-covered in fabric from our own collection, with your personalised message and a little history of the wine and its grape.
Hit the link below to read more about Mike and his wines, and to give us an idea of your preferences.
Dorothea Lange is best known for emotionally charged photographs of people in crisis. Whether she was capturing the effects of the Great Depression or documenting racial injustice, her pictures stir empathy, inviting us to connect with her subjects on a direct human level and reminding us how vulnerable we all are to austerity. Lange brought the same searching and empathetic eye to her portraiture and personal photography. Though not as well known as her social documentary work, her portraiture work is equally as impressive and it is now possible to see many of her photos at the OMCA website.
Between 1596 and 1647, art dealer and diplomat Philipp Hainhofer traveled around Europe amassing an incredibly rich collection of signatures in the “Große Stammbuch,” or “Album Amicorum.” Akin to an autograph book, Hainhofer’s register is replete with the marks of Cosimo II de’ Medici, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, and Christian IV of Denmark and Norway, to name a few. Covered in red velvet, “Album Amicorum” was part of a larger trend to record family, friends, and acquaintances that began in the 16th Century. Hainhofer compiled the signatures during the course of 50 years, beginning when he was a college student. As he gained religious figures and royalty as clients, he’d ask them to sign his book and commissioned about 100 detailed illustrations to sit alongside. The elaborateness of the illustrations directly corresponds to the signatory’s status and rank in society.
As our Recipe Boxes literally sold out within a week when we last offered them, we have put together a second batch, every one individually hand-covered in linen, cotton or silk fabric from our own vintage collection. Each Box contains 12 x A5 of our favourite sweet’n’savoury recipes, interleaved with more sample textiles because…. well, why not? The first edition were sent out with a complimentary face-mask (again, hand-made from our fabric collection) and whilst we are unable to continue offering these gratis with each order, you can now buy one as an addition to the Recipe Box, or completely separately.
“I remember well the wonderful meals we had at Les Soeurs Anglaises, and was thrilled when I heard about the Recipe Boxes (long overdue!). I have bought one for myself, and another as a gift, and can’t wait to try the recipes. They will be a reminder of the great times we had with you….” BC, USA
“ I have made several face-masks for family and Les Soeurs Anglaises’ is by FAR the nicest; both shape and comfort really spot on! LE, UK
“Thanks so much for my lovely recipe box. However, equally brilliant - the vintage fabric face mask - the first one I’ve worn that is actually comfortable and fits my face!” DT UK
OK, I admit it, I have always been a bit smitten with the actor, Ethan Hawke - not only because he’s gentle on the eye (and ear), but also because the movies he chooses to be involved in are always interesting and intelligent. So it was with great interest that I listened to his Ted Talk about art, creativity and the courage to look foolish. It's quite a short talk by TED standards, but I hope you enjoy it as much as much as I did; it might persuade you to watch one or two of his films if you haven't done so already..
Textile Artist Judy Martin is known for her traditional and delicate quilt patterns that are methodically and meditatively hand stitched, often using darning and mending as a drawing tool. Her pieces are defined by her own commentary on multi-cultural attitudes to birth, death and sexuality, making them a powerful and fascinating medium. For nearly 40 years Judy has been exhibiting her work in group shows across the USA, Canada and Japan and has produced countless solo exhibitions for which she won two awards for surface design.
Having studied fine art it’s no surprise that Judy’s fabric constructions combine traditional ‘women’s craft’ with conceptualism. Underpinning all of her pieces is the idea that the sense of touch is the most effective way to communicate and connect emotionally with others.
Any locals reading this newsletter might like to put a circle around the date Saturday, 21st November when the lovely, Martina Tomasello will be leading
A Chocolate Tasting & Making Class
Learn everything there is to know about chocolate. How it's made, how to taste it, how to cook with it. The class will start with a brief history of this beloved, incredible ingredient followed by a tasting & pairing session of some of the best bean-to-bar chocolate you will have ever tried. The second part of the class will involve some getting messy - so time to wear your apron and roll some chocolate truffles. You will learn how to temper chocolate, make your own ganache, infuse it with different unexpected flavours and much more.
€75/pp (max of 8 persons)
A light lunch will be served around 12:30 and included in the price..
MARTINA IN HER OWN WORDS: “Born and bred in Sicily, I tasted chocolate for the first time aged one- and it was love at first bite. I turned my passion into a job when I started working for one of the most famous chocolatiers in the UK - Paul.a.Young. In his Wardour Street kitchen, London, I learnt everything I know about chocolate - and it has entirely changed my approach to this incredible, mysterious ingredient; how I cook with it, how I taste it, and how beautifully it can complement other flavours. Join me for a session of chocolate magic”
Whilst Covid-19 continues to wreak it’s havoc, the extreme weather conditions including the terrible fires that continue to destroy huge tracts of the US, remind us of the consequences of global pollution and warming which may well knock the effects of coronavirus into a cocked hat.
ARK by Simon Armitage
They sent out a dove: it wobbled home, wings slicked in a rainbow of oil,
a sprig of tinsel snagged in its beak,
a yard of fishing-line binding its feet.
Bring back, bring back the leaf.
They sent out an arctic fox: it plodded the bays
of the northern fringe
in muddy socks
and a nylon cape.
Bring back, bring back the leaf.
Bring back the reed and the reef,
set the ice sheet back on its frozen plinth, tuck the restless watercourse into its bed, sit the glacier down on its highland throne, put the snow cap back on the mountain peak.
Let the northern lights be the northern lights not the alien glow over Glasgow or Leeds.
A camel capsized in a tropical flood. Caimans dozed in Antarctic lakes. Polymers rolled in the sturgeon’s blood. Hippos wandered the housing estates.
Bring back, bring back the leaf.
Bring back the tusk and the horn
unshorn.
Bring back the fern, the fish, the frond and the fowl, the golden toad and the pygmy owl,
revisit the scene
where swallowtails fly
through acres of unexhausted sky.
They sent out a boat.
Go little breaker,
splinter the pack-ice and floes, nose through the rafts and pads
Simon Armitage
of wrappers and bottles and nurdles and cans, the bergs and atolls and islands and states of plastic bags and micro-beads
and the forests of smoke.
Bring back, bring back the leaf, bring back the river and sea.
