artist

Last weekend we had a girls weekend in Newcastle a bit of shopping, good food, a sprinkling of culture and lots of chatting and laughter. My friend Susie owns a flat in West Jesmond and kindly invited Daryl, Amanda and I to stay. The good food started as soon as we got off the train, a very tasty tapas in a Spanish restaurant. The next day we went to the coast, Tynemouth, and had classic fish and chips. Before our lunch we had browsed around the flea market, held on the Victorian station platform at Tynemouth.

I have a soft spot for 'soft' sculptures, the kind made popular by the American artist Claes Oldenburg, it's the mixture of art, fabric and crafts I like. Claes Oldenburg's sculptures confuse our expectations of how ordinary objects should “behave.” Using ordinary, everyday items, he developed “soft” sculptures using pliable materials such as canvas and vinyl to create flaccid objects. I've included some photos of his work below, the light Switch, French Fries and Ketchup and Soft Toilet.

One of the artists, participating in the Open Studios, we visited over the weekend, was Christian Marsden. It was really nice to meet and chat with him, very personable and easy to engage with. Christian is in his early twenties and not long out of Art College. I really appreciated his artwork as it appeals to me on different levels. I am a townie at heart and love urban culture so can identify with the 'everyday' subject matter Christian is using in his work. He has taken mundane items and turned them into objects of desire.

Last week, in a charity shop, I noticed some vintage linens, tray clothes, napkins, table clothes. All were pre printed in blue, with floral designs ready to embroider. The colour of the blue used for the printing reminded me of the blue dye used to print the fabric Toile de Jouy*. Holding this thought I decided to embroider on a piece of Toile de Jouy, just enhancing part of the print by picking out flowers, hats etc with beads and embroidery.

I like to try any craft and the opportunity to try batik couldn't be missed. I spent the afternoon at my friend Susie's, she has the batik wax set up. Being a novice I found it difficult to be precise drawing with the wax. I found simple bold shapes were easiest for a beginner like me. I had one or two mishaps, wax going where I didn't want it to go and spillage! I think now I have tried it and know its possibilities and boundaries next time I would do a better job. I am quite pleased with my first attempt, mistakes and all.

On Wednesday we were without home phone or computers, a branch from a neighbours tree fell on the telephone wire and severed it. This morning BT engineers came promptly at 8 am, we are back online! Good service BT, well done.

The photograph, above, I took in the garden, it's the seed pods of a very unassuming iris (its flowers are brown and purple), but its berries look like strings of shiny orange beads.

I received my Artist Trading Card swap, it arrived in the post from Kathie in Massachusetts. I love it! It only measures 67cm x 89cm, but it's a work of art in miniature.

I went to the market early this morning and saw this 'lost' glove on a wall, covered in a hoary frost. I like to take photographs of 'lost' items, a mitten, shoe, sock, scarf, hat or a toy. Usually a kind person has put it on a wall, railing or seat, in a prominent place waiting to be reclaimed and reunited with its owner. I then saw the artist Tracey Emin had the same thought. She had taken it a step further by having the 'lost' items cast in bronze and cold painted then placed around Folkstone.

I love these paintings of my expresso coffee pots Ashley painted. Below the second painting is an ash tray we bought in Las Vagas. We don't smoke but we couldn't resist how kitsch it was. I framed it to remind us of our family holiday. We bought it from Bonanza, The World's biggest Gift Shop. What a lot of tat in one place. They had armed guards at the entrances and exits, madness!

I first saw Caren Garfen's work at her degree show in 2007 at Hertfordshire University. Caren was doing the same Applied Arts course as my friend Chris. Looking round the degree show Caren's work stood out for me. Her display area looked like an ideal of domestic bliss. I saw it as a laundry room with clean crisp white embroidered cotton tea towels. I think because my background is in graphic design I was drawn to the simple linear designs she employs to illustrate her work. Outlines of familiar domestic appliances silkscreened on to cotton.