Just in time....
….to wish you all a happy Christmas, j'espère….. Don’t know about you, but I have been inundated these last couple of weeks with emails, often duplicated or repeated at regular intervals, trying to sell me things for the festive season, but as we (adults) stopped buying each other presents quite a few years ago, I find myself deleting before even opening most.. If you are doing the same but have taken a chance and opened this one, then hopefully you’ll find something in it to enjoy over the next couple of weeks.
1 Thank you to Maria Popova of Brain Pickings for this great idea ……
The season of giving is upon us — a time to receive a lot of stuff we don’t really need from people we care about, give them stuff they don’t really need in return, and do it all graciously, dancing a dance of feigned stuff-needing. But what if we could pass those things we don’t really want or need along to someone who might? What if we could normalise regifting, remove the guilt that bedevils it, and bake it into the gift-giving process from the get-go as an open and beautiful expression of honesty? Find a free set of tools that aim to remove the social stigma from regifting, letting your loved ones know that you openly endorse regifting and encouraging them to pay your gift forward if there’s someone in their lives better suited for it than themselves.
2. If you are making gifts involving textiles, have your ever thought about adding fragrance to your stitching? Take inspiration from Pallavi Padukone, a New York based textile designer and artist. The sense of smell is a powerful catalyst to trigger memories and she uses textiles as aroma therapy to condense time and distance and create an immersive experience to reconnect with nature and nostalgia. A touch of jumpier or pine essential oil added to your stitched Christmas gifts will bring back sweet memories for years to come (warning: essential oils can stain so experiment on scraps of fabric before applying to your work).
3. My list of (new to me) favourite musical artists of 2021 - mostly folksy rather than festive - for a gentle end to the year……..
4. Nobody, but nobody, needs 7 pairs of jeans (unless you happen to be a coal-miner who can only do laundry once a week). The average number of pairs that Western women have in their cupboards is seven, and whilst we can argue that denim jeans are something we wear all the time, one pair alone carries a 915lb/416kg carbon footprint. According to the French Department of the Environment, “the production process is responsible for approximately 59% of their climate impact, while the use of the jeans and end of life process (i.e., heading to a landfill) accounts for the remaining 41 per cent.” One of the best ways to shop for sustainable denim is to buy second-hand, and perfectly good pairs can often be found at your local charity shops, as well as some great options for second-hand shopping online such as eBay, Depop, Vinted, Vestiaire Collective and ThredUp…. or maybe a clothes swap with friends?. Ultimately the most sustainable item in your wardrobe is the one that already exists, repaired, patched, re-invented and stylishly courant.
5. A stunning work of both social commentary and technical dexterity, “Migrants” explores the heartbreaking aftermath of a climate disaster. The animation—which is an impressive collaboration between fifth-year animations students Zoé Devise, Hugo Caby, Antoine Dupriez, Aubin Kubiak, and Lucas Lermytte, who are currently enrolled at the French Pôle 3D school—centers on a simple story: a mother polar bear and her cub flee their arctic habitat as styrofoam icebergs crumble into the water and their once-frozen home becomes unlivable. As they encounter insensitive brown bears in a lush, green climate, the duo struggles to survive.
6. We all love a bit of glitter, especially at Christmas, but anything that glitters is more than likely made of plastic. Today, the majority of commercial products that contain glitter, whether these are single-use items, such as greeting cards, drinking straws or false nails, as well a festive decorations use inorganic glitter which is usually layered with other materials like aluminium to give it an extra sparkle. Like everyone I store my decorations and bring them out again and again, but this year I’ve been making paper decorations from offcuts and old magazines and have been handing them out to unsuspecting family and friends instead of cards this Christmas, keeping a few back to decorate our windows and tree (Instructions for 5-pointed and 8-pointed paper star).
7. Two things that have kept this roller-coaster year on a even keel for me:
The first was our thrilling Collage Card Connection and the action that followed the generous contributions of over 100 participants, raising almost 4,000€ for the International charity womenforwomen.org. Not a mean feat, and with with all positive feedback we may try to duplicate the project in 2022 for this incredible charity.
The second was a subscription to MakersTechU, an online operation organised and delivered by tech-savvy mixed media artist, educator and mentor, Roben-Marie Smith, who created the website and service to help the many artists who have approached her over the years for both general and more technical IT help. There are a plethora of people advertising art techniques or website creation on the internet now, but few if any can offer both in such clear-cut and relevant ways for the artist/crafter who wants to increase their on-line exposure. MakersTechU is filled with useful short bursts of information, as well as a permanent library of helpful “workshops” for creating graphics, social media, and organisation, (and much more). Meanwhile, Roben-Marie is always professional, approachable and incredibly helpful and available to quickly answer questions.
8. OK, if you are still looking for the perfect gift for a dear friend, how’s about a Together Band? There are two variants - Classic and Mini - and each are sold in identical pairs in a choice of brilliant colours (each colour representing one of the UN's 17 Global Goals); so, one to keep and one to gift. The bands themselves are made from 100% Parley Ocean Plastic®️ created from up-cycled marine plastic waste whilst the clasp is produced from decommissioned illegal firearms from Central America, proceeds of which help tackle gun violence.
9. Would you just take a gander at these incredible appliquéd, textile “paintings by Emily Jo Gibbs. Emily is a British Artist who over the last two decades has established an international reputation for her delicate textiles art. In her current practice Emily creates hand-stitched Portraits and Still Lifes with a graphic quality, observing the quiet beauty of the overlooked. Gently advocating The Value of Making by creating work that celebrates the skill, dexterity and the creative problem solving of people who make things, her work is constructed from pieces of fine, coloured silk organza sewn together in layers with tiny meticulous stitches placed one at a time.
10. Susie’s 2021 favourites (bearing in mind that in Europe we lag behind the States) that you might enjoy over the next couple of weeks…..
FILMS: Roadrunner - Filmmaker Morgan Neville examines the uncommon life of world-travelling chef, writer, and icon Anthony Bourdain, who lived his life unabashedly.
First Man - Adapted from the James Hansen biography of the same name, this film focuses on the life and experiences of astronaut Neil Armstrong, who became the first man to walk on the moon during the historic Apollo 11 space mission
My Octopus Teacher - A filmmaker begins diving in a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa, and meets a female octopus who casts a spell on him.
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It - The remarkable life and 70-year career of singer, actress and dancer Rita Moreno.
Parasite - A struggling family sees an opportunity when the son starts working for a wealthy family. Soon, all of them find a way to work within the same household and start living a parasitic life.
BOOKS: Some of these have already been reviewed in previous newsletters, but are worth a second mention. Most are the latest in a series by a particular author or the whole series, downed like alcohol in a few gulps and continually satisfying. Ones that stand out are: Mick Herron’s latest Slough House, witty, clever and devious. Then there is Lissa Evans trilogy about England pre-2nd World War and the actual war as experienced by non-combatants. Old Baggage, Crooked Heart and V for Victory. I read them reluctantly, having been put off by the covers, but find her a delightful writer and she certainly engaged me in the characters’ lives and experiences. I discovered David Downing this year (or was it 2020?) and really enjoyed his 7 books of life in Berlin (all with German Stations in the titles) in the 20s/30s and during/post war, from the perspective of an English journalist. Both Evans and Downing’s books are full of information and insight, obviously thoroughly researched, about the periods and the personalities who lived then. One more and then I’m done – Loved Clothes Last by Orsola de Castro, – factual but very enlightening and it has certainly made me view the fashion industry with clear glasses on rather than the usual misty ones!
Whilst this Christmas may not turn out to be exactly how we all planned, I do hope wherever you find yourself that you manage to see those dearest to you, and are able to enjoy the peace and affection that is at the heart of this season.
See you in the New Year