Category: Art
Colourscape x
On Saturday we headed up with friends to Clapham Common to experience ‘Colourscape’ – walk-in structures originally created by artist Peter Jones in the 70’s to celebrate colour and light.
We had no idea what to expect..to go in you’re given an overall to wear. The practical purpose is to keep track of the number of people inside, but there’s also a transformative effect, blurring everyone away from normality as if you’ve stepped into another dimension…
The first thing that happens is you lose everyone as they’re swallowed up by the multiple spaces and lured away by the colours..adults slow down..children scatter like birds..
There was also live contemporary music, adding to the air of other worldly..
In the centre was a sort of meeting point of white curves and elliptical wonder.
Where there were games on the floor for the kids to play with..
You could wander, you could sit and just be..or you could just lie and go to sleep like the husband! But slowly everyone comes back together again..
The closest thing I’ve ever come to it was the permanent light installation exhibition at Villa Panza in Italy..one of my most favourite exhibitions ever..
Totally mesmerising. It was a rarified thrill to do something utterly engrossing for the whole family involving all the senses..I loved it!
Laters, Kate x
Photo Shoot x
Many, many , many years ago (when I was seventeen: Long time) we were staying at my Grandparent’s house on the Greek island of Spetses when there was a terrible forest fire. The sun was blocked out by the smoke and falling ash and our only escape was to be evacuated by boat from the beach to the safety of the mainland where we sat and watched the island burn.
Our biggest regret was that we hadn’t thought to rescue the family photographs…my Grandmother had died in the Easter and my Grandfather had been killed in a car crash when I was two so these were some of the only photos we had, virtually everything else was replaceable..
As it happened, soon after we left, the wind blew back on itself and our enclave was saved. The fire started up again at dawn but by that time the sea planes had light enough to see and could put out the flames with sea water, although it took another 10 days for the fire to really stop burning – Spetses is a pine island and the sap in the trees keeps on burning.
But what it taught me was the value of photos – that moment caught in time? – utterly priceless.
Which is why, each year since Bella was eighteen months (the months before passed in a haze..) my Mother’s day present has been a family photo session with the highly talented photographer, Alexandra Joseph. We even did a session of me pregnant with Charlie – and then him at just 5 days old, all curled up and pink. How precious?
Charlie looking at our previous books – this one when Bella was a toddler..in a world of digital everything to be able to hold something tangible has it’s place.
Him as a baby..
These are from this years session..the books they’re turned into rank amongst my most prized possessions..
Alex has this utterly natural, spontaneous way of not only taking beautiful photographs, but of capturing moments.
This is how Charlie will look when he’s a bored teenager telling me I’m wrong again!
She works without lights or any paraphenalia with simple honesty and incredible skill.
She’s so peacefull and relaxed, you have no idea what you’ve got..
Till she sends you her tantalising previews..
I’ve learnt my lesson – once lives our safe, the next thing to save would be my photo books – and I can’t wait to hold my next one.
Laters, Kate x
SS15 x
Narciso Rodrigez..
Jason Wu..
Philip Lim..
Suno..
Diesel Black Gold..
Edun..
J.Crew..
Tome..
Delpozo..
Jenny Packham
All tantalising split-second sneak peaks of the inspirations behind the coming performances that is the circus of NYFW SS15, courtesy of Style.com.
Which ones tempt the saliva buds?
..And will they live up to expectation? All to be revealed…
Laters, Kate x
Monkeying Around x
One of those pieces with instant and timeless appeal…the Articulated Monkey ring by Marc Alary..
Like wearing a playable antique of the future..j’adore
Laters, Kate x
Oddities..
As a child I loved to collect small ceramic animals..the sort of thing I’d scream in horror at now with their suggestion of forgotten, dusty shelves in a down-trodden garage somewhere far away and remote. Which is one reason I find Debra Broz’s Oddities so fascinating..
A rural girl, Debra found her love of all things small and sweet whilst growing up in central Missouri.
Using restoration skills she combines various parts of vintage and commercially produced animals to create her own breed of beguiling art.
They’re fun, they’re witty…they say don’t take life too seriously..and yet look below the surface and there’s something else going on..
With their pastel colours and cutesy looks they deftly question the line between high bow and low brow..when is a piece the last thing to be sold at a jumble sale? And when is it on a pedestal in a feted Exhibition?
They gently flutter their long lashes and weave their magic, concentrating the power of sentiment…and suggest we are all prey to nostalgia..even when something is rather amiss..
In our modern world, the authentic and the virtual have grown almost indistinguishable just like the smooth, smiling lines of Debra’s creations.
The truth is, it takes verve to be so ‘every day’..but she has grabbed it with both hands and transformed kitsch into poignancy, with a little walk back into reality.
Maybe I need to start collecting again…
Laters, Kate x
De-light! x
A new website for me: Re-foundobjects.com, courtesy of a good friend who knew it would be right up my alley. I’m in love…
Laters, Kate x
I Dyed.. x
Like the lifespan of a butterfly, the summer term is flying to it’s end. For Bella’s class it’s quite a poignant time as her year get re-mixed into different classes for September so after three years together it’s a real time of change. As a little hurrah for the mums of her 2B class I held a Shibori tie-dye day..with all the essentials….
Joy of joys..the sun shone!
Is that a stick I see before me?
Our patriotic dye bath..previously used for mixing concrete for the patio. The union jacks come from cut up passport covers from the 99p shop – they were perfect for holding the material in place to create the square shaped tie-dye pattern.
The magic starts when you unwrap..it’s a bit like Christmas..you have no idea what they’re going to be like..
But the results were pretty spectacular!
Each one different and unique! My washing line has never looked so cool!
OMG – It actually looks like the tutorial photo!
This beauty was the result of ‘stick’..it’s like looking up at the sea whilst diving..
Now I have the kids home and dying everything in sight! But honestly, I can’t blame them..it’s addictive..for a wonderful day with friends, it’s surprisingly easy, wonderfully effective and thoroughly recommended!
Laters, kate x
Mightier than the Sword..
I so need to up my penmanship skills…but my tie-dying skills might improve today: Have 6 friends round to to transform everything white into beach-ready Shibori..pictures sure to follow…
Laters, Kate x
Swarm x
Over the next few months The Husband and I are planning a little re-vamp of our house: We bought it over ten years ago as two flats and have spent much of that time doing various pretty major structural projects whilst juggling two babies. Now it’s finally the time to give it a bit of a silky lustre and add those finishing touches – the fun bits I’ve been waiting oh-so-long-for – like finding a stained glass panel for the front door where the council security glass still remains..oh joy unbounded!
It means I’ve been spending far too long in our downstairs toilet where the old interior design mags live – I’m following the principal that if it’s old and I still like it, it’s passed the ‘test of time’ test with flying colours and will last forever more. It was in a 2011 edition of Elle Decoration I found a small article about the artist Leslie Oschmann which caught my eye – she uses old canvases to make bags or to cover vintage chairs before sealing them with protective lacquer..
I love her whole aesthetic..taking something and making it more beautiful and useful. Each piece exuding character and warmth. These chairs make my heart sing.
Leslie originally came from the States where she worked with Companies such as Anthropologie before she took a complete life-style change, moving to Amsterdam, buying a bike and starting her own studio Swarm.
‘I learnt that I needed to get back to touching objects, not just trying to display or sell them..I missed the tactile’
What she does epitomises everything I love and want to embrace – classic, timeless quirky ideas with a touch of age used with care to make something both practical and beautiful that serenely stands out.
Shouldn’t be too hard then………
Laters, Kate x
THE RESULTS! x
Pray silence for the Grand Announcement: This vintage lipstick case plus my favourite red lipstick will be travelling off to the talented and amazing Winner of the inaugural Design Your Own Espadrille Competition. The judges found the decision incredibly hard – the competition was fierce and the standard high and many had sleepless nights agonising over their choice…but we do have a result…the design with the most votes was……..drum roll please.…..
No. 4! Which was by………me! So I’m handing it on to the next successful original entry which was…..roll those drums..
No. 5! By the lovely Vasiliki Machaira at Delightfully Peculiar! Huge congrats to you, you are our first ever winner!
To reveal the identities of the other entrants…No. 1 was made by none other than the irrepressible Julie at Vintage Attitude! Who else?!
No 2 was made by…me again!
No.3 was made by the wonderful Amanda at Sew Deputy who I hope has signed up for the next BBC Sewing Bee..
No.6 was made by me, Bella and Charlie.
And No.7 was made by the talented Virginia Romo at virginiaromo.com – I still want to know how you did your design – was it with a bleach pen? But then how did you do the colours??! I think this design got swamped by all the larger photos as the beauty is in the very fine detail…
A Big round of applause and a huge thank you for all those who took part – you are all stars! And congrats and a flowing bottle of champagne to Vasiliki! Now…who’s for a large, cold, bubbly glass?!
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 