Saturday 28 September 2013

just a few things

Well, I survived the second exhibition of the year, more importantly, we survived the taking of our last child up to university or rather, down to Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh. Which shall I talk about first?

 Lets talk about the above pic first. What is it?!! do you know?

Above is a pic of one of my favorite paintings in the Lochalsh Art Fair which I was involved in again. A wonderful show as usual. I put 3 pieces in; my 3 fish, the monoprinted & rusted hanging & one of the Curlews. They fitted in well but no sales this time. 

 This was Eilean Donan Castle when we came out of Dornie Hall after the opening. What a sight.

 I was involved in another exhibition down in a room turned into a temporary gallery in Sleat. It featured beautiful pieces by Heather Macdermott who is a jeweller but also paints evocative images of the trees left behind by the felling of commercial forests, a subject that is also close to the heart of my arty buddy Janet Soutar. Above is inspiration by Heather

 & above here are Heather's pieces, below x 2 are samples from a 2 hour workshop that Heather ran before the exhibition using inspiration from the forest where the wood was cut.




 This is my piece; 2 hours of fun, chat, playing with wood & wire - I found the rust in the garage next door, they said they had more if I wanted it ;) - & just making something for the sake of making. Can you see I'm using the same color pallet?

 Another guess the image, above. Something to do with our Middlest celebrating his 21st at sea. He came back for a couple of weeks, went of on a visit to Spain, came back for a weekend festival & has gone back to sea again for about 6 weeks this time. We didn't get to see much of him then, so it really is empty nest now (well, a few more weeks of B&B to keep us busy!)

He brought these back for me specially, saw Flamingo feathers, thought of Mum, just lovely!


 Parliament in Edinburgh. I'd like to hear the reasoning behind these bars all over the building. Is it to keep the masses out or the decision makers in do you think?

 As a sop to me, to keep me from crying about the removal of my apron strings from the Youngest, we went to have a look at the beautiful embroideries that happened to be hanging in Parliament for 3 weeks, just when we were visiting! It was a very quick visit & didn't do them justice at all, grabbing quick record shots of a few of the 160 panels but we had to get back for B&B guests.....




 This below is Kyleakin by the South Skye Stitchers, I had the honor of seeing it just before it was sent off, such lovely detail.

 Not sure if I got the panel that the words below belong to but they were interesting anyway....I was a little stressed & emotional ;(





 Above is the Battle of the Braes, in the North of Skye - we stayed there for many wonderful holidays, just look at those women fighting for their men! I think this was the one done by Skye Quilters - I somehow missed hearing about either of these stitching events going on, so I really must become a member of both groups so I can join in next time ;)



I had a lovely visit from Anne of Chocolatefrog
who was up here on holiday. She said some lovely things about my work so my ego was wonderfully stroked, thanks Anne!

She gave me a beautiful package wrapped up in delicious sari silk ribbon & I gave her an envelope of 'inspiration bits & pieces' including a bit of rust & 'coral' from the place she was staying; coals to Newcastle! In the package was this beautiful book mark which as you can see I used immediately, so lovely & such detail. You can still see the fern clinging on to the walls around here. I love it!


This a piece of fabric I made at the exhibition, I'll show you next time what I made out of it & who I gave part of it to.......

19 comments:

Jill said...

Your first mystery picture could be a bit of interesting rusting, or a lovely pancake with a bit of foamy topping, the second one definitely looks like hazelnut roulade mmmm! You can see how my mind is working. As for the rest, lovely looking work from the exhibitions and fascinating social history at the Scottish parliament. It is great to think it is an ongoing tradition.

Heloise said...

Beautiful photograph of the castle. I saw short piece on television about the work on show at the Scotish parliament building. It is an amazing body of work. Not sure what to say about the bars, they seem on tend for buildings as new visitor centre at Stonehenge has some too. ( saw a picture today)

Rustic Vintage Country said...

Yes, the picture of that castle is gorgeous. The first picture reminds me of yummy cheese on toast but as there are bubbles up the corner it can't be. I guess it could be one of your lovely creations in the making? x

Anonymous said...

Wow no clue on the mystery photos, at first I was thinking saffron something in the first photos but the second, no clue, then I went back and saw the foam and thought beer, or the sea foam somewhere, okay I give up. Fabulous catch up post. Love everything you showed. xox

chocolatefrog said...

Lovely bits of everything! No idea what your mystery pic is though. Glad you like the bookmark, and thanks again for all my goodies. It was fantastic to be able to visit you and your exhibition - great timing for my holiday!

My Creative House said...

What a wonderful post Emma, so many beautiful photos of different creative things, the first photo is a pancake, if not, I don't know what it is.
Hugs Anni

Maggi said...

Another wonderful post. The embroideries at the Parliament are a fascinating slice of history. I give up on the mystery photos, please enlighten soon :)

Robin Mac said...

What marvellous embroideries and what fascinating history. I love all the photos of what you have been doing and give up on the mystery photos, except they look like rust to me. Can't wait for your next post to find out more. Cheers

Carole Reid said...

No idea about the first pic, was the angel cake chocolate? What a treat to be thought of when a son thinks of you! They always come back for visits that become sweeter each time they leave. xo Carole

PS come by and join in the chance to win my Giveaway! I think you might like the little cotton bag which I dyed with walnuts from our tree.

Living to work - working to live said...

Hello - that first pic must be a pancake!!

What a lot of photos - you have been busy!

mano said...

it's such an interesting post! your beautiful work, the castle, the great embroideries, the flamingo feathers...
wish you a wonderful creative time!
:-) mano

sue said...

Gorgeous pics! You have been keeping really busy and I love that you find the time to share all your doings with us - thanks!

Unknown said...

Ok so I am gonna guess that the first pic is all about rust marks on metal that has been created by things resting on it - maybe from the beach? Second pic looks like a faro cake - a rolled up one with yummy filling and there is definitely chochie involved ....

Jan said...

I gave serious consideration to your mystery photos but am unable to come up with any ideas. I do like the various photos you showed of other things and your recent work. always fun to see a bit of rust incorporated.

Fibre frenzi said...

Hope you are coping well with the empty nest....sounds as though you have a lot to keep you occupied!! Love looking at your blog ...

jackie said...

A whole garage full of rust, should keep you from feeling too deserted; we all know that they soon bounce back when they need something.

Linda’s Textiles said...

Have enjoyed catching up with your blog and all the wonderful pics of your doings!
Sounds like you've been busy & productive.

Laura said...

Wonderful post Emma… good to see what you've been up to.

Please consider yourself officially invited to participate this year's 5th Annual Gratitude (word) Quilt. Instructions (it is very simple) and a link that explains the origin of the word quilt can be found at the top of my blog. In past years there have been participants from every continent except Antarctica.It wouldn't be the same without you:-)

Linda Vincent said...

Lovely to see all the different kinds of artwork here...
But the photograph of the castle is the highlight for me.....what a superb shot!!! XX