Yesterday, it was ridiculously hot for England. The temperature reached 38.1 Celsius. As a result everything I did was at a snail's pace. In the afternoon I just sat and read, and every so often I ran to the fridge for iced water. At some point the weather has to break and I am so looking forward to rain! I did manage to get the neck band sorted out for the red blouse I'm making but I didn't start on the sleeves. I was hoping to have finished this today but it will be done by the end of the weekend - hopefully.
This morning, John and I braved the underground again and went to the Courtaulds Gallery to see the Barbara Hepworth exhibition. Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English sculptor. Along with other artists she set up a colony of artists who lived in St Ives in Cornwall during the Second World War. Her work fits under the Modernism title and she is mainly known for her sculpture. The Courtaulds Gallery is well laid out and is a beutiful space for viewing art. The sculptures on display are her smaller works. I have only included 4 of the works on view but you can find more online.
This first one is titled Sea Form (Porthmear). It was created in 1958 and is Bronze. I love the colour of this piece.
This second one is Tides II made with Plane wood and paint. I really like the colour of the wood and the shape is fun.
The sculpture on the left is titled Single Form and was made in 1937 - 1938 and painted around 1963. It was plaster and paint. The motif is of an upright figure and was originally exhibited as a white sculpture in an exhibition held in Paris in 1939. It was eventuually returned to Hepworth in 1961and she had it cast in bronze and painted in mottled blue tones.
The piece on the right is titled Oval with Black and White, it was made in 1965 using Swedish marble and paint.
This last piece of Sculpure with colour was made in 1943 using wood, paint and string. This piece was saved from going into a private collection by major support from a range of organisations and individuals. It is on loan for this exhibition from Wakefield Permanent Art Collection (The Hepworth Wakefield.)
Having finished the exhibition we decided to go home as the day was getting very hot and I was not enjoying the heat. We walked back to the underground station via Embankment Gardens. I don't ever remember walking through these gardens before but I might have done. I've lived in London for 54 years so it's easy to lose track of where you've gone walking. As we walked through the garden we came across two more of the Lion trail. I'd seen a third earlier but it was further down the road and I didn't have the energy to walk that far.
The petunias in the borders were beautiful.
There was a fountain with colourful impatients planted round it.
This statue was to commemorate Robert Raikes who is known as the pioneer and founder of the modern Sunday school movement. In 1780 in Gloucester he organised free weekly classes to teach poor working class children to read and learn the bible. This helped to reduce juvenile crime and provided the children with a basic education..
At the station we had to use the stairs to get down to the underground as the escalator was being held due to a medical emergency on a train. Once on the train the journey was quick and we were soon back home.
Today it is time to start my willow weaving. The kit comes with a video showing and telling you exactly what to do. Yesterday I had to check that the willow had the right amount of bend and then I could drain the water. It needed to be left for a day and so today it is ready to start the weaving. The first stage was to pull six wands, 3 to make the basket rim and 3 to make the handle. There is a video shows you how to complete each stage. I collected up 6 wands and sat and made the two hoops. They have been drying in a very cool oven and are now ready for the next steps. Here is the start of my first hoop. It looks wonky but it was a nice circle by the time I'd used the 3 wands.
In a short while I had created two hoops,one to be the rim and the other the handle. Well that bit was easy but now I needed to learn how to fasten the handle to the basket rim. This was more fiddly than I would have liked but at the same time it was fun to do. The join involves weaving using the thinist rods in the batch. Having watched the video I found this fairly easy except an extra pair of hands would have been useful when I did the first side. The second side was much easier. I'm enjoying this trying something new!
Tomorrow I'll start inserting the ribs of the basket and I'm hoping I'll be able to finish it in a day.
Today has been a fun day but I'm really tired. I'm finidng all the heat very difficult to deal with. When I had the chemotherapy back in 2017 it unfortunately damaged my body's ability to keep my temperature properly regulated. Sometimes I can cope with the heat but this morning I was having major problems. However we managed to visit the exhibition, travel on the tube and generally enjoy the day.
A long day but a fun day. I now need to sleep.
Take care
Lyndsey
