Thinking about postcards.....

I went up to St Davids today to see an exhibition and whilst there came across a couple of postcards of the work of Welsh artist Tim Davies. It reminded me of this programme which I watched recently. It was only broadcast here in Wales so I hope it will be new to you. At the time of watching I was thinking about the Postman's Knock swap. This may only make sense to my fellow PK'ers but I remember thinking how apt this might be as a way to interpret 'concealment and revelation'. What an intriguing way to use postcards? It works for me.

PS I am having the same problems as Jane at Marigold Jam. Cannot leave comments no matter how hard I try. Apologies to the blogs I follow. I am experiencing technical difficulties with Internet Explorer 9 and Blogger but I will prevail.....

Not more books....

'Not more books!' was a phrase I heard a lot growing up. My Mum used to say it every time I came back from the shops but if you love them, you love them and there's nothing you can do about it is there? So when I read this post last night on Jane's blog 'Things to Make & Do' I thought I'd share a couple of recent purchases. Perhaps it's because we're involved in

Postman's Knock that postcards are featuring large in my life at present. So when I saw this book by photographer Martin Parr, reduced to half price in the shop at the Fox Talbot Museum last week I just had to have it. If you're interested in social history there is nothing like the postcard to chart changes in society and culture. Parr has a collection of over 20,000. They start from the time when they were mass produced and when thrice daily postal deliveries meant one could be sent in the morning and a reply received on another by late afternoon. They were perfect for writing that short note. I suppose they were like early e mails, but made much more enjoyable by their choice of visual.

The book covers different themes and eras. I particularly loved the holiday camp postcards and had not realised there was such a collectable market out there. One of my favourites was the photo taken from the services at the Severn Bridge crossing. Living so close to it I remember being driven down there for a cup of tea to look at the view. It made me smile and brought back great memories. In fact the book also made me more aware of the postcard boxes at my local boot sale so when I went down there this Sunday I had a good rummage on one stall and bought about 15. They were only 20p each and then the stallholder said 'Have the lot for £2' so of course I am now hooked and want to go back again next week.... but my husband reminded me that I already have a postcard collection that I started a couple of years ago when I kept picking up cards of weddings. Oh dear,I thought he'd forgotten about those......

Anyway, moving swiftly on, let me recommend a book I read a review of last week. It's called 'The Lost Album' by Basil Hyman and charts Britain in the 1950's. Again, as a child of the 50's I had to have it and it has raised many a smile already. It is Basil Hyman's photograph collection of black and white film he shot all the way through the 50's as he grew up. He developed them himself and they have sat in a loft for years until someone persuaded him to publish this record of a fabulous decade.

The photo spreads are interspersed with photos of other memorabilia. Who knew there were 25 ways of serving oatmeal? But it has to be remembered that this was still a time of food rationing and the book has a facsimile ration book inserted into it as well as replica tickets and booklets put into pockets on the covers.

It is a fabulous record of the decade of change and coupled with my postcard book it has made me a very happy woman! Of course I also had the book by Peter Blake to read and that was wonderful too. There was a key line in the latter that came home to me.Peter Blake asserts that you only have to have two of something for it to be the start of a collection. It made me realise how many collections I must have! If you go back through Jane's blog you will also see that she was recently guest editor on a blog posting a daily photograph of some of her collections. Made me wonder if we shouldn't have a 'Collection Day' when we all post at least one photo (or more) of mini collections we are all hoarding. Anyone game? Shall I start with my collection of wedding postcards?......

Busy days

In recent weeks I seem to have been offline more than I've been online. That's been down to a combination of things - a new laptop with gremlins and teething problems and other creative commitments. My husband had a week's holiday booked ages ago and we had no concrete plans but we decided to take off on the spur of the moment last week and catch up with relatives in Bristol and Bath whilst taking in a couple of exhibitions that I'd earmarked as wanting to see if I got the chance. Well, in a whistle stop two days we crammed in lots of things and I don't want to bore you with lots of photos so here are a few highlights.... (believe me, you've been let off lightly...)

First stop was the Fashion Museum in Bath, somewhere I'd always hankered to visit. In truth I was a tad disappointed but I think that had a lot to do with the hoards of screaming French school children that were running all over the place. It served to remind me that I don't like too much noise in a confined space. It was hard to concentrate on the information panels and the low light didn't help matters much. The main exhibition focussed on wedding dresses through the ages not surprisingly and some of them were very beautiful, but also very much of their time. Also on display is a previously unseen archive collection of sepia photographs of 1930's wedding dresses by the Paris couture house of Worth. These were beautiful and displayed wonderful designs and workmanship. They certainly did things in style then.

As far as style goes however, I think I missed that gene when it was given out at birth. The museum holds the 'dress of the year' from way back when and they are all displayed in their glory. The dress above is 2010's offering but the only one I remembered seemed to have a lot of shoulder pads in..... now don't tell me that doesn't put me in a very clear 1980's timeline.....

For the first time this year the museum is showing some of its historic collections in a 'Behind the Scenes' display. There were a series of chronological installations showcasing fashions from different eras and the thing that struck me most was how petite the wearers must have been and how much effort they put into their daily dressing. The clothes clearly showed that most people, particularly the ladies, were quite short. They also had very narrow and very small feet which they forced into some very glamorous shoes.

Although I am not a shoe lover , in that I do not have Imelda Marcos sized collections of them, I do find their design and construction quite fascinating. There were lots of beaded and embroidered designs to pore over and I took loads of photos. Sadly, I must have had the shakes when taking a photo of my favourite pair and I cannot share the image of a stilettoed open shoe made with the thinnest, clearest thread by Ferragamo back in the 1950's for some famous actress. They were amazing but probably ruined her feet!

Fighting through the crowds on the streets of Bath (I do not jest....) we headed off to the newly re-opened Holbourne Museum, the main object of our visit. After a three year re-fit and the build of a new extension the museum re-opened last weekend with an exhibition of the collections and work of Sir Peter Blake. This was quite simply, wonderful. I bought the accompanying book to the exhibition and I am saving the pleasure of opening and reading it. As an inveterate hoarder of what other people see as 'tat' I realised that I am a mere amateur in comparison to Sir Peter. Years of accumulated items were on display alongside recent and earlier collage and sculptural works. If you love the unusual this is a must see exhibition . It made me feel it was OK to keep all those things that other people would just throw out.... like my collection of Coronation memorabilia, all my Ladybird books, those empty tins of boil plasters I've been saving to use for something 'one day'.....etc , etc, etc

Before we headed home yesterday we visited Lacock, the National Trust village that has doubled up as Cranford and Merriton for the BBC. Who can forget Colin Firth as Mr D'Arcy striding down the main street in that memorable Pride and Prejudice of 1995? Well, I knew I wouldn't see Mr D'Arcy or Miss Matty but I did want to see the exhibition that is currently on in the Fox Talbot Museum by Jessica Ferguson who creates small vignettes and then photographs them with a pinhole camera. This is something I long to try. I was booked onto a workshop last year which was cancelled due to a lack of interest. I was so disappointed about that and this has just whetted my appetite to look for another somewhere. I so want to try this.

Images can take up to a few hours to be exposed and they are then printed using traditional methods such as cyanotype or salt printing. The images on display were so intriguing. If there had been any sun here today I would have got the solution out and made some cyanotype prints but we are enjoying some of the rain that the garden needs so I'll have to put that plan on hold. Besides, I am tired after all the activity of the last few days. Why does life have to be all famine or all feast? - just like this blog.... nothing for weeks and then 'War and Peace'! If you've fallen asleep by now I apologise!

Back to school

I go back to college today for the last module I'm taking this year - 'Abstracting the Landscape'. We're going to start with re-visiting the photo montage work of David Hockney so I've been keeping a note of things I come across that might inform my understanding of the process. This marvellous film does not meet that expectation but it does fascinate me on another level. If you follow the vimeo link to the rest of the work by Philip Scott Johnson there are some great examples of how he morphs photos into almost 'stream of consciousness' films. Another favourite was the self portraits of Van Gogh but this is a great one to start with.

By the way, if I seem to be posting nothing more than films recently it's not that I am idle. Most of the things that occupy my day are making postcards for the Postmans Knock project and they cannot be shown for obvious reasons or lying in wait for the rabbit that is destroying my strawberries..... and when the sun shines the garden calls.....

Women In Art from Philip Scott Johnson on Vimeo.

Now that's a good idea.....

Came across these photos by designer Pete Dungey. What a great idea for all those potholes that abound on our roads. Frost damage round here last winter has left us with too many places to choose from however. I couldn't possibly produce enough plants to fill them all. It's a bit like guerilla gardening isn't it ? I quite like that.

Sensory overload

Apologies for this but it's a grey day here and this just brightened it up and made me smile.

Weekend activity

I've just spent the weekend at a workshop given by Tilleke Schwarz. Organised as part of the Stroud International Textiles Festival I met up with friend and fellow blogger Cathy of Menopausal Musing and we joined 13 others in a design led programme of activities directed by Tilleke in her signature style. We collaged, drew and stitched and listened to Tilleke as she explained how she creates her textile art. It was fascinating to hear how her pieces are constructed and how they evolve from random thoughts, overheard conversations and unusual found images. My stitching did not please me and I unpicked it all this morning but I have a head full of ideas that I can use so watch this space.....

It seems ages since I posted anything but I have been very busy producing postcards for the Postmans Knock swap I am involved in. This week I had to do mine on the theme of tea but they were for Cathy so I hand delivered them. In the end I did four variations of a theme and could not stop making them! In Stroud, Cathy and I also met up with Chrissie of Niminy Fingers so I handed over the postcards of 'New York' that I was due to send next time. Now I am in front of myself and don't have to produce anything for a month but want to crack on with the next one. The next theme is 'overhead' and it is taxing me but I have a few ideas brewing.....

When I arrived home late last night I found the above postcard waiting for me from Jo. It is lovely and a perfect offering for my theme of 'Taking Flight'. Please take a look here at all the others. There is some great work being produced - clever ideas very skilfully developed and delivered.