Wells Art Trail II

We pottered off to Norfolk after seeing a video clip on Facebook of the Lifeboat Horse sculpture by Rachel Long here.  The cottage we stayed in looked out over the marshes and we could see the horse from an upstairs window.

The tide only covered the feet on our last day as the tides were all very low while we were there. 

I've still not managed to see the Anthony Gormley metal sculptures in Lancashire but I'm delighted to have seen this Lifeboat Horse.  You can really feel the wight of the horse and I have been fascinated by the rendering of the head which is a beautiful shape.

The other work I really wanted to see was View From the Shipwrights by Debbie Lyddon whose work I have followed on't internet for some time.  I got rather carried away trying to capture the piece in various lights and in many states of movement, especially as the wind was trying to rip it from its masts.

You can read more about Debbie's work for the Art Trail here.  Do click on the photos in this post to see them in a larger format.  There's also an interview with Debbie Lyddon here.

Seeing Debbie's work and the way she has used spaces in the fabric has sparked off potential thoughts for weaving techniques and ways of making see-through areas in my cloth.  I've already experimented with something called cool cross which enables you to open out the fabric and create movement so there may be more to come.   (Excuse the vibrant colour in this otherwise calm post).

Watch this space (no pun intended).

The cottage we stayed in was right on the quay so we could enjoy the changing views from our bedroom window.  You can't beat Norfolk skies.

 Not exactly from our cottage but the iconic Wells view across to the Granary.

Edinburgh and Wool

We've just come back from a few days away in the beautiful city of Edinburgh.  My motive for going was to attend the Edinburgh Yarn Festival which I had found out about recently.  I lured my long suffering husband along with promises of lots of photo opportunities.  Actually he didn't take much luring and he even came to the Festival with me to act as pack-horse, but more of that in a bit.

We let the train take the strain and had a very pleasant journey up, enjoying the views of the Northumberland coast.

We caught a glimpse of the Angel of the North as we passed Newcastle and Gateshead.

We'd no sooner arrived at our hotel than we all had to troop out as the fire alarm went off.

Happily it was a false alarm but we still stood around in the cold for about quarter of an hour.

Friday found us at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival, or rather, queueing to get in.  The organisation of the show was excellent and there was a good atmosphere in the queue with everyone being very patient.  I think it took about half an hour for us to get in but the queue moved steadily so it wasn't a chore.  The organisers did a great job all round.

Ironically, I went again on the Saturday, having a weekend ticket, and the queue for ticket holders was longer than the queue for non-ticket holders.  If you click on the photo above you can see the little finger post announcing the Festival.

Hubby, who has little interest in wool, amused himself taking a couple of videos,

Since I had Mr Muscle with me I bought the heaviest items on my list on Friday.  I bought an art flyer for my Louet Victoria spinning wheel and an inklette loom for making straps and narrow weaves on.

The art flyer is a different colour from the original wheel but I'm not bothered.  It is really simple to change over to this larger flyer and I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of it.  I've had a treadle with it this afternoon and it doesn't affect the stability of the wheel.  Happy, happy!

There wasn't a lot of fibre available at the Festival as it's set up with knitters in mind but John Arbon of Devon were doing a roaring trade as ever.

The cafe was extremely busy and I didn't bother fighting my way in.

Hubby very generously suggested that I go back on my own on Saturday so I gave up fairly quickly on Friday as it was very busy.  Saturday I had a lovely few hours browsing the stalls and getting way too tempted with all the beautiful yarns on offer.

Eden Cottage Yarns, Ripples Crafts, Watercolours & Lace and A Yarn Story all tempted me.

The lovely textured pack is by Añañuca and I'll enjoy either weaving or spinning it.  The mohair was a bargain at £2.50 and may get some dye added to some it.

The Threshing Barn not only sold me the Inklette loom but also tempted me with a sumptuous batt and some ribbons that will appear in some art yarns soon, to be spun on my new gadget.  I was delighted to find some Colinette bulky yarns in a shop on the way back to the hotel (as if I hadn't bought enough yarn already!).  Colinette no longer produce their beautiful yarns so once the available stocks have gone that will be it. (sad face here).

Edited to add a YouTube video of the show:


If  you're really interested there are several more on YouTube (you might want to turn the soundtrack off).

Once I'd worn myself out at the Festival on Saturday I headed back into Edinburgh to visit the Dovecot Studio and gallery.  To quote their brochure, they are "a landmark centre for contemporary art, craft and design built around a leading international tapestry studio."  I have an interest in tapestry weaving so I was keen to visit, especially as the viewing balcony was open.  I'll make a separate post of the visit so I don't bore you to death if you're not interested.  More to follow too of meanderings around Edinburgh and a visit to the Rosslyn Chapel.

Brittany

Have I really not blogged since July?  That'll be because I've been struggling with my poorly foot and I've stayed fairly close to home during that time.   I finally got to see a podiatrist who set me on the road to recovery so we were able to go on a planned holiday a couple of weeks ago.

Many years ago when I was a mere schoolgirl I had a French pen-friend who lived in Brittany and I spent 3 weeks enjoying all the beautiful country and culture that Brittany had to offer.  This month we went back courtesy of our local coach company and were able to visit Concarneau, Quimper, Benodet  and Pont Aven.  En route to our hotel at Concarneau we visited Mont St Michel, the sister to St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.

The last time I was here you could walk across to the Mont but recently a footbridge has been built across the sands and access is by foot, push-me-pull-you bus or horse drawn cart.

Looking back from the Mont to the mainland the footbridge feeds thousands of people across the sands.  The tide here moves at an alarming rate when it comes in and you wouldn't outrun it if caught out.  I heard that it comes under the sand and saturates it to the point where it breaks the surface and rushes on.

After a security check by police we had a bit of a wander.  We didn't get far because of my gammy foot but enjoyed this amazing structure.

I have my DH to thank for this photo of the beautiful turrets atop the abbey and the following ones too.

You can't see from this photo but the streets go up very steeply.

 We gave up trying to walk on cobbles and took to the walls for a short walk.

Our base for the week was the Hotel de l'Océan at Concarneau.  It is placed right on the bay and we were lucky to have a sea view.

We were treated to some lovely sunsets

Our first day was spent in Concarneau and we rode a little road train to get to the old town.

Behind the town walls are beautiful gardens, cobbled streets, town walls to walk round and interesting back yards.

Going back on the little train (let down by my foot again for a longer visit) I took a chance pic of the beautiful flower beds in the centre of the road,

My pen-friend came from Quimper and we paid a visit here the next day.  Blustery showers took us into the cathedral which had some amazing stained glass, some of it from the 20th century.

This window was designed and made in 1993 by Hungarian Anna Stein and recalls the life of Santik Du (The little black saint) or Jean Discalceat a local Franciscan who looked after the poor and plague-ridden residents in the 14th century and died of plague himself.  

 This building above is the Cafe Des Cariatides with its beautiful stone carvings.

The Anna Stein window in full above and below a part of a window by Hubert de Sainte-Marie which is dedicated to the life of the Breton missionary Maunoir. (Dates from the 1950's I think).  I really like the style of this window.  The figures have a primitive look to them.

I'll have to come back and add links for the glass artists. (now added).

It was lovely to be in Quimper again and the area around the cathedral certainly brought back memories.  It was lovely to be able to speak some French for a while too and mostly I was understood and understood what was said to me.  I'll be back with the rest of the trip in a few days.