Hello folks, as this post comes out to you on the third day of Diwali, I thought I'd wish those of you who celebrate lots of love and light in the year ahead. I lit a couple of diyas in my porch, just in case the Goddess of Wealth comes a-calling - who knows, this year, it might be our turn for a visit! I spent most of this week in London and while I was there on business, I managed to use some of my time off having fun and seeing some interesting sights. Mike and I had as afternoon wandering around Camden Market, eating at the colourful food stalls and looking into all the kitschy stalls, trying on hats and generally having ourselves a great time. We ended up in a restaurant and bar called Shaka Zulu - the place was so overrun with artefacts, even Africa probably doesn't look so determinedly African. Kitsch never looked so good (or should that read bad??). I felt that I needed to photograph almost everything, everywhere I turned, there was yet another image waiting to be clicked. In a way I'm glad the lights were dimmed low - the place probably needs hundreds of people to dust it and a ray of sunlight illuminating a cobweb would have taken the shine off it somewhat. Camden High Street was colourful too, I love the quirky vibe of the place and that one might see almost anything, anytime! A Mad Hatter was having his own little tea party and anyone who fancied herself in the role of Alice was welcome to join the fun and see what happened. And then on to the Jazz Cafe, where they had a fabulous show called Sunday Soul. We got there when doors opened just before six and found a little ledge to sit on and rest our weary legs, tired from tramping around Camden. The other people at the cafe didn't seem to mind standing around for hours and hours, but I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to. It was certainly a fabulous band and they played some great music that night. Historians are still arguing about the major cause of World War I (better known as The Great War or WW1), thought to be caused by a great many elements, some long-term and some short-term. Together these reasons created a brutal war involving many countries across the globe and killing a vast number of the world’s population. England, Germany, France and Russia, along with others, all wanted to expand their 'Empires'. The murder of the Archduke and heir to the throne of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, was the putative 'spark', because it gave Austria an excuse to attack Serbia as it tried to increase its borders by annexing another nation. Historians have maintained that the word MAIN summarises the main issues surrounding the cause of the First World War:
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red was a display in 2014 marking one hundred years since Britain entered into the First World War. Each poppy represented a fatality during the war and throughout the summer they added more and more poppies to the display. The poppies were ceramic and handmade using techniques which were used by potters during the First World War. Every year, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, people fall silent in the UK to mark Armistice day. For a month before, red poppies are sold to benefit the Royal British Legion which cares for war veterans and the words 'Lest We Forget' are used over and over. And then, the arms barons rub their hands with glee as we go off and join yet another war, bombing Iraq or Afghanistan or Yemen, murdering and killing in the name of good - yet the mnemonic MAIN more or less still holds good. There's never been a war fought over principles - they have always been about the accumulation of wealth and power and all the jingoism in the world cannot hide that fact. And yet, year on year, people let their kids join armies around the world, poor kids who know no better, set to become pawns in the game of 'Supremacy' and no more than cannon fodder. For all the rhetoric in the world, I'm afraid we've still gorn and forgotten!! As the nation commemorates the centenary of the end of the First World War, a new installation at the Tower of London, Beyond the Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers will fill the moat with thousands of individual flames: a public act of remembrance for the lives of the fallen, honouring their sacrifice. We got there too late to watch the lighting ceremony, but in time to see the lit torches and the poor Beefeater left out in the cold, lit up to cast a strategic spooky shadow on the Tower - Lest We Forget. I felt sorry for the poor Beefeater shivering in the cold November night as we took ourselves off to Coppa, a really cute restaurant around the corner from the Tower with little warm pods under a netting of lights. SeascapeIntarsia is a term that is used to describe stone inlay, where pieces of similar thickness are cut and shaped to fit closely together without spaces or gaps, forming a pictorial or geometric design. The Latin term, pietre dure, is essentially stone marquetry, which first appeared in Rome in the 16th century and reached maturity in Florence. The stones are loosely assembled and then each one is glued in place to a base, typically of marble, obsidian, onyx, jade, granite, quartz, or even ceramic. Intarsia differs from mosaics and micromosaics, where small piece of glass, stone, shell, or bone are set into a mortar with grout in between the pieces. With intarsia, the pieces are different shapes, sizes, and material; no grout or mortar is used; and the cutting must be exact so that there are no spaces or gaps between the stones. How amazing is that!!! I just love the idea that this little piece of stone in my hot little hand has been cut and set by a lapidary's nimble fingers into a piece of one of a kind, intricate art, and I am humbled to be able to use it in my jewellery. I set one in a bezel of tiny beads and proceeded to turn it into a seascape. The pendant will be triangular with lush fronds of a 'coral' reef dangling from it and I have some very interesting beads that are earmarked for the necklace. Having spent quite a few days in London this week, I haven't had time to finish this piece, but I'll have it for you next week. Here are some preliminary pictures of the work in progress. That's me for this week, folks. It has been a fun, but exhausting week and I have yet a few more days to go as I have house guests over the weekend to celebrate Diwali mainly by stuffing ourselves silly with food and drink. Have a fabulous week, and I shall catch you next week, same time, same place.
Until then xx
2 Comments
Good day to you readers, I trust you have all had a great week. I certainly have - but more about that later. People in the UK awoke to find a fine covering of dust all over their clean cars this week - a sandstorm in the Sahara desert had picked up fine particles of sand and blown them all the way overland to us, and a light rain had deposited them on cars and other stationary objects. People had loads of fun writing on car windows - the favourite witticism was 'I wish my wife was as dirty as this' and the newspapers coined a new term 'Sandageddon'! It seemed just right that I should make 'Dune' - a little pendant I made out of a composite or Intarsia cabochon and wire work. Derived from the Latin word Intersere, meaning 'to insert', Intarsia is a form of marquetry in wood or stone. The composite is made of a number of pieces of stone, each one cut and faceted to fit exactly into an adjoining piece. Sometimes areas of the pattern are raised to create more depth. Once the individual pieces are complete, they are fitted together like a jig-saw puzzle and fixed to a stone backing which is sometimes cut to the outline shape of the image like a border. The cabochon in the piece above contains jasper and amazonite, surrounded by onyx and marble. As the cabochon is a work of art in itself, I framed it simply, with wire curls embellished with turquoise and coral. The artisan who cut the jasper and amazonite to fit the pendant probably had a picture like this one I took in the Sinai desert last year in his mind's eye. The amazonite sky in the pendant has to my eye, the beginnings of a sandstorm, due to a smudge like marking in the amazonite - but I'll bet the artisan who cut it didn't imagine this uniquely British reaction to a sandstorm. I saw this van in the car park of my local supermarket and was compelled to take this picture. I wonder what his wife thought when she read that?? The wire frame was antiqued and embellished with a little wire rose containing a red coral at the top right corner and turquoise beads down one side. I had a fabulous birthday - I was treated to a long weekend at the Savoy in London as part of a theatre break - we saw The Jersey Boys which I enjoyed very much, ate our weight in food and sweets, wandered hand in hand like young foolish things (ageing by the minute) in Covent Garden and the West End, met friends, had drinks at the American Bar, were treated to lunch - all sorts of fabulousness - I hope it was a harbinger of the year to come. What do you give a jewellery maker?? Why, jewellery that she can't/wont make herself, of course. This necklace is from Tibet and is embroidered onto a backing of cloth, with a sash to tie it around the neck - I love it - thank you Michael! The Savoy of course is lush, as one would expect and we enjoyed being waited on hand and foot, and then some. Breakfast, which is a meal I do not usually eat, was a must have and we sat down at the American bar both evenings - their mocktails, and they have but two - the Cucumberland and the Savoy Ice Tea are both to be recommended. We were there at Earth Hour, and the whole place was lit up with fairy tale candles - who needs electricity?? Earth Hour at The Savoy Pearls are in this season as a hot jewellery trend, but I've never really been a pearls person. Being a bit of a trend watcher I have now decided after a bit of soul searching, that actually I do like them, just not in grandmotherly mode - growing old gracefully and wearing age appropriate jewellery - what's that all about?? There are tons of modern ways to wear pearl jewellery - and none of them prissy. I have made it a personal mission to look for different ways to wear pearls and create looks that even the most non grandmotherly Caprilicious woman will love. Baroque or misshapen pearls have a more contemporary look and the design possibilities are endless. In this necklace, I have put together five strands of pearls and interspersed them with raw uncut nuggets of garnet. The clasp is pretty too, and can be worn to one side - it is a blister pearl, which is a pearl still attached to the shell of the oyster. The necklace can be worn twisted into a rope, or with the strands still separate, with the clasp in different positions - on the back, to one side or to the front. Pearls and garnets are a well known combination, the twist in the tale here being the raw nuggets which give the piece its Noir Baroque look. The rest of the week was spent making little earrings while watching television of an evening - I seem to always have a project on the go, and when I don't, making earrings are a fall back way to enjoy an evening! That's all I had time for this week folks, have a good week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place
xx |
Follow
|