From Gaultier to Mexico

I love the outrageous, witty and totally bonkers designs of Jean Paul Gaultier so I was very much looking forward to a trip to the Barbican last week to see "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to Catwalk"

 

 

The exhibtion was staged with the same wit as you can find in his designs and from the moment we walked in Gill and I were entranced by the mannequins with the moving faces of real models projected onto their faces... including one of Gaultier himself introducing the exhibition. We both found ourselves grinning back at the somewhat unerving dummies!

 

I took so many photographs it was difficult to choose what to share and what to leave out because I absolutely loved it all. There was this wonderful denim collection with a full length coat covered with the most exquisite beading.

 

Each of the scales on this mermaid dress was individually crafted and embroidered.

There was a fabulous full length gown made entirely from ties joined with beautiful insertion stitches.

 

Lots of outrageous underwear, including the famous Madonna corset which was so beautifully constructed. The bodice is made from woven satin ribbons.

 

One of my favourite dresses was this knitted gown which had a full tulle under skirt.

 

A corset made from straw, woven and twisted like traditional corn dollies.

 

But perhaps my favourite dress was this gorgeous gown covered with lace, embroidery, jewels and religious iconography, part of Gaultier's "Homage to Frida Kahlo" collection

 

It really is an amazing exhibition. Gill asked what I would like to wear if I had a choice... but it was impossible to choose. If only I was young, thin, brave and rich enough... I think I would wear it all! can you see me going down to Sainsburys in a satin corset or a knitted ball gown?

 

We then made our way to the Fashion and Textile Museum to see "Made in Mexico: The Rebozo in Art Culture and Fashion"

 

The Rebozo is a type of woven shawl or scarf, seen as a symbol of national identity in Mexico.

 

You might think an exhibition about shawls would be a little dull... but this was far from dull! The Rebozo themselves were stunning examples of woven textiles but there was so much more on display.

 

There were wonderful colourful shrines, artwork and fashion inspired by the Rebozo...

 

as well as a marvellous display of work which was the result of a cultural exchange between Mexican students and students from Chelsea college of Art. Another stunning exhibition from this gem of a museum.

 

It was a tiring day out but so inspirational too. I can thoroughly recommend both exhibitions and think I may well go back for a second look to both.

In My Kitchen

I should know better by now.

Busy exhibition week is over, my last week of teaching including a weekend at Missenden Abbey finished for a couple of months and my plan is to catch up with jobs around the house and garden and get things ready for Open Studios next month. Instead, what do I do? Spend the best part of two days in my kitchen, trying all sorts of new recipes as well as some old favourites!

 

 

It is several years since I last made elderflower cordial. The elderflowers always seem to be at their best when it's my busiest time... most inconvient of them! I thought I'd missed them again but on an early morning walk on Monday, although most of the flowers were starting to wither,  I still spotted several of the fabulous frothy heads good enough to use.

 

A swift bit of foraging, a quick trip to the farm shop for some lemons... and after not too much effort, I've got three lovely bottles of elderflower cordial. Perfect for a refreshing summer drink, diluted with ice and sparkling water.

 

There was about half a bottle left so I used most of it up and made some elderflower cupcakes.

 

Elderflower Cupcakes

 

110g unsalted butter, softened

110g caster sugar

50g ground almonds

4 tablespoons elderflower cordial

2 large eggs, at room temperature

75g plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

 

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Line eight holes of a muffin tin with paper cases. Beat together the butter, sugar, almonds and 1 tablespoon of the cordial. Add the eggs one at a time with a little of the flour, beating well. Fold in the remaining flour and baking powder. Divide between the paper cases and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Pierce each hot cake several times with a skewer and drizzle the remaining cordial over the cakes. Leave to cool before adding topping.

 

To make the topping, whisk together until stiff, taking care not to over whisk:

 

200g marscapone cheese

100ml double cream

90g icing sugar

3 tablespoons elderflower cordial

 

Pipe or dollop onto the tops of the cakes and eat!

 

They really are rather extraordinarily good!

 

Now I really must stop faffing about making cakes and trying to take arty photos of food and start getting to grips with the huge backlog of chores around the house and garden.

 

For more good ideas for using up elderflower cordial see Sue's post here.

Five on Friday

I've seen some "Five on Friday" posts on a few blogs recently. I did a quick search and it would seem there is more than one source, some have slightly different names or themes, so I'm not going to try to link up to them. I don't want to do it every week but today it seemed like a good way to round up a week of random bits and pieces.

 

1. Knitting

 

 

I finished another Little Cotton Rabbits bunny last week, as a Christening present. It's amazing how much knitting you can do on the train journey up and down to London... and also amazing how much space it gets you on the train. People don't seem to be keen to sit next to a woman knitting. Maybe they think I'll stab them with my needles!

 

2. Sewing

 

My first job this week was to complete this commission for a tea cosy. It has been on my "to do" list for quite a few weeks but as it is meant to be a Father's Day present I thoght I'd better get on with it. It is in the post and on its way to Devon.

 

3. Gardening

 

I've not been gardening this week but we were out all day on Saturday and when we came home we were greeted by this scarecrow guarding my vegetable patch. Joe wanted to try his hand at at some veg growing so I let him have one of my raised beds. He has grown corn from seed, planted it out and has now made a scarecrow to keep the pigeons off. He thinks he's a farmer (Joe, not the scarecrow)... bless! I only hope it grows.

4. Baking

 

There have been two cakes this week. A lemon drizzle for us which I spruced up with some good shop bought lemon curd, a dollop of creme fraiche and a few blueberries. It made a good pudding.

 

The second cake was a commission. A smallish chocolate cake for a 50th birthday gathering... but it turned out enormous. I hope they don't mind. No one's going to complain about too much cake, are they?

 

The plan was to decorate it with fondant ribbons but it was so warm in the kitchen last night they kept collapsing. So there was a quick change of plan and I taught myself how to make fondant roses instead. Serendipity!

 

5. Reading

 

I'm a bit late with this month's "Year in Books" post so I'm tagging it on the end here. I finished last month's choice, The Lacuna and loved it even more in the second reading. This would be my desert island book of choice - there is so much in it. The main character, Harrison Shepherd is one of the most believable fictional characters ever. And there will definitely be more artwork inspired by this book.

 

I also read Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down about four totally different people who meet on top of a tower block on New's Eve with the intention of jumping off. I found it to be most disappointing with totally unbelievable characters... one review says "Jump and take the book with you" I tend to agree!

 

My Year in Books choice for June is Dear Life by Alice Munro, which also happens to be our village bokclub choice this month. I'm not keen on short stories generally so we shall see!

 

Joining in A year in Books with Laura at Circle of Pine Trees.

A Celebrity Post

I'm not one to be much impressed by fame and celebrity - not of course that I'm in the habit of hobnobbing with the rich and famous. But I did meet and speak to someone rather lovely last week. When I was thinking about writing this blog post it brought back another celebrity encounter from quite a few years back that I thought I'd share with you first.

 

I was having a spa day at Henlow Grange. In those days they sat everyone together around large tables for lunch and when me and my Australian companion, Melanie, turned up for lunch they sat us down with none other than the footballer George Best - probably one of the first "celebrity" footballers. Now I admit to being just a little star struck but my friend, whom I'd just met that day had no idea who he was. She merrily started chatting, introduced herself and asked his name, to which he modestly replied "I'm George, lovely to meet you". He stayed and chatted to us through lunch and I can honestly say that he was polite, interested, charming and the perfect gentleman, not at all what the papers would have had us believe at the time. But the funny part was Melanie had no idea and didn't recognise him at all, and he certainly didn't let on... you should have heard her squeal when I told her after he left!

 

 

Last Tuesday when I was stewarding at the exhibition there was a little bit of a buzz as we noticed Una Stubbs wandering around. She is probably best known these days for her role as Mrs Hudson in Sherlock but those of you of a similar age to me will remember her for so much more. Originally a dancer she has been a presence on British TV and stage for several decades

 

As I said, I wouldn't normally be impressed and probably would have left the poor lady to look around the show uninterrupted but given that it was a textile show... and I did have stitched work exhibited... I just had to tell her that it was her book "In Stitches" that really got me started in embroidery.

 

It was published in 1984, which was probably when I bought it, and really is the most delightful, quirky and personal book about embroidery. You have to love someone who encourages you to unpick the "Porche" logo from your man's sweater and re-embroider "Cortina". Self taught, Una Stubbs became an accomplished needlewoman, producing the most exquisite pieces of work.

 

I longed to be able to make a little whitework and drawn thread brooch cushion like the one featured in the book but alas my skills  and patience do not extend that far. However, I did used to make several of her card designs for friends and family and as I said, that was what started my interest in embroidery... thirty years ago!

 

So I spoke to Una Stubbs and told her all this and she was delightful. She thanked me and told me she doesn't stitch any more because she can't see to thread the needle. She complimented us on the exhibition and then carried on looking around. And it felt really good to meet her and be able to thank her too.

 

Have you had any good celebrity encounters?

Showtime

Coded:Decoded

Prism at the Mall Galleries

What a wonderful show... but what an exhausting week! Three full days in London spent mostly on my feet. I've met and chatted to so many people, old friends and new friends and it has been fantastic.

 

Julieanne Long

 

We've had so many people visit the show over the week, there has been such a buzz and so much terrific feedback that I thought I'd give just a tiny flavour here.

Tansy Blaik-Kelly and Diana Barrett

 

The work at the Prism shows is always so varied that there is something for everyone, from the profound and thought provoking to the amusing and quirky.

Judith Hammond

 

There is always a wonderful range of textile inspired techniques ranging from embroidery, basketry, feltmaking, digital print and video to name just a few. I can't really begin to describe it all so I'll let the photographs speak for themselves.

Anita Bruce

Catherine Dormor

Helen O'Leary

Jackie Langfeld

Beverly Ayling-Smith

Alice Fox

Liz Harding

Nithikul Nimkulrat

Lois Woodger and Consuelo Simpson

Celia Stanley

Jackie Langfeld

Jacqi Adkins

To quote from the catalogue it is a group that is "passionately committed to showcasing high quality fine art textile practice and craftmanship" and I feel honoured and humbled that my work has been part of this show.

 

It has been a busy week followed by a busy weekend - my uncle and aunt's Golden Wedding anniversary party yesterday followed by a Christening this afternoon (Really must go and get changed!). Any idea I might have had for having some quiet time for relaxing and contemplation has been forgotten... maybe next week!