Friday 22 November 2013

I have been cutting pieces of eucalyptus bark into strips for basket weaving. I did a weekend workshop with a wonderful basket maker Mary Butcher http://www.marybutcher.net/ a few years ago, but I've not had a chance to do any basketry since. So today has been about reminding myself through trial and error, and, through that trial and error, how to play. Play is so important, for me it is almost always from that free space that the work I love the best comes about. I'm not saying the pieces I made today are works of art by any stretch of the imagination, but, after a few weeks of feeling stuck I can begin to feel a little movement. It is a testament to Mary's teaching that the methods she taught us were still in my head, and close enough to the surface for me to remember. 




Friday 15 November 2013


My last trip to Cley before I submit my proposal for the NNEP annual summer exhibition. I went with Colin Johnson again, and we spent the main body of our visit taking photographs of the church and exploring the village. Pathways are always interesting to me, where we as animals run. Our bodies over time forming tracks like water in the creeks of the marshes. We picked a small quantity of sloes for my dyeing experiments, and admired the clematis and the spindle berries. 
The beach drew us at the end, and we walked a little way along the tideline, picking up scrap and, in Colin's case seaweed for inspiration. 
For me, whether my application is successful or not, I feel as if I have taken steps along a journey that I am enjoying too much to give up, so expect to see more of Cley over the next few months whatever the outcome of my submission.

   

Friday 8 November 2013

So this is my work for the American Craft Council Vintage Photo Project.

http://craftcouncil.org/post/vintage-photo-project-rebecca-clifford

I feel very honoured to have been given this opportunity but also quite shy. It's strange, quite exposing, to see my work on someone else's website. "Is it good enough ?" "Did I do enough ?". Some of the other projects are really good I loved Rebecca Seimering's Star Light Cape and Matthew Courtway's prints.


Wednesday 6 November 2013

This is the website address of a fascinating documentary film-maker that I met on my return journey from Cley last week. I wanted to share because I have been so inspired by our meeting. I hope that in passing it on anyone who reads my blog will have a chance to be inspired similarly. There is something about internet exposure that has a chinese whisper quality which is fine but I want to direct anyone who reads my blog directly to the source because I think she tells her stories well. http://socialfilms.org/

Tuesday 5 November 2013

And the other thing I've been doing is getting my loom set up. I bought it secondhand some time ago but while I was at uni I used the studio ones and I got a little scared of mine as it was a different make and design. But, my friend Aviva http://www.avivaleigh.com/, came and had a look at it, and with her help I now have a short lambswool warp ready to go. I am letting myself play while I get accustomed to the quirks and foibles of the loom. And actually, although it is a little bit wobbly on it's stand, in all other ways it is lovely to use, soft and quiet. And, it is a joy to be weaving again.






I'm all behind times with my blog because I was writing up my trip to the Dordogne. But just for the record I've taken couple of trips out to Cley-next-the-sea, Norfolk researching for a submission. A submission is not the same as getting the gig so I am going with hope, and a resolve to enjoy the process of applying because it may not come to anything. Anyway, Cley was beautiful on both days. The first visit was on Oct 22nd, I went with my friend Colin and we happily spent a couple of hours beach-combing the tide line towards Blakeney. It was sometimes grey, and sometimes rainy, and sometimes the sun broke through. We saw a seal and ate our lunches, looking inland, next to the Watch House, a victorian cottage built on the edge of the Blakeney marshes.
On Nov 1st, my second trip, I caught the train to Sheringham, and then the coasthopper bus to Cley. I'd thought to look at the church, and the lanes around it, but my instincts drew me back to the beach. I walked in the opposite direction towards Salthouse, along the seashore and then back on the path between the beach and the marshes. 
One of the highlights of the walk was seeing a small flock of snow buntings grazing and low-fluttering on the grass by the side of the path. I had not seen them before and one of the birdwatchers said they were probably migrants from scandinavia. The light is quite low now that it is autumn and I got a couple of quite nice shots of the marshes I think, given that I am an amateur. Also one of a sock on a post which I just liked.