Sunday 3 March 2013

M is for ...

March


Here I am pottering around the kitchen this morning with some of my feathered friends.

Okay it's the March page of my calendar - a detail from Hanns Anker's 'Cinderella'.



Manchester

On Saturday we decided to hop on a train and visit a dear old friend in sunny Manchester. It was great to catch up and while we were there we decided to visit the City Gallery. Sadly I'd missed the fabulous First Cut exhibition but was blown away by the weird and wonderful art work of Raqib Shaw


A taste of what is to come in the foyer

He uses mixed media, including enamels and sequins, to produce incredibly decorative pieces.



The rich jewel like colours draw you in until you realise you are staring at part of a particularly gruesome tale - some more obvious than others.

!

And there's a fascinating video watching Raqib at work describing his reasoning and technique.

To lighten the mood a little we had fun in the interactive space.

Pressing buttons to activate an eerie scene.
 

And Little Sis becoming part of a kaleidoscopic image.
(Not sure where the little fella came from - spooky!)

I loved the luggage tags on the walls.

It's been years since I visited the gallery but have promised myself that I must try to visit more regularly.

Mad idea

The clear blue skies on our day out were producing shadows all over the place so I got a bit carried away and before I knew it I had an idea for a blog post - all about lines. Fortunately for you within about an hour I realised how incredibly boring this would be so I cut it short. Here's a few photos:





 Thank you. I have now got that 'out of my system'.

Mooch

No trip would be complete without a good old mooch around a gift shop. This time I returned with some sweet little things to help me organise my stuff.


Essential - no?

Merry March.
Jane x

16 comments :

  1. Wow, you've been busy! The art gallery was interesting. I was looking at the lobster and then realized there are legs and arms coming out of it. How individual is that?! My favourite is the luggage tags, reminds me of Victorian stuff, simple. The lines idea, I call it making as much as we can when the sun comes out. I kept looking at shadows yesterday and realised just how much I have missed them. Have a wonderful week. Chel x

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  2. Essential,yes,the first one is me.Kind regards Pam.

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  3. Was the dear old friend our mutual friend. Hope he is well, we saw A a couple of weeks ago when she visited Erin in Oxford. She was on really good form which was lovely to see. There is a flea fair in Malvern on Easter Monday - do you fancy a trip south this time? Drop me a line or email me x

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  4. I love going to Manchester city Art Gallery.My OH has just given a talk on Adolphe Valette to our Art Appreciation group.They used to have a room full of his pictures but sadly a lot of them have gone in store.He taught L.S.Lowry.

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  5. Lovely photographs Jane! I especially love the colorful artwork, such fantastic detail, and what an imagination!
    Angie x

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  6. Amazing artwork ... but a little disturbing too ... nice lines pictures ... not boring at all :) ... Bee xx

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  7. Great post! Some of the art is quite...different! Although I don't know a thing about art anyway. Love the little deer trinket box, so sweet.
    M xxxx

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  8. The colours look amazing in the art works, but my favorite is defiantly you in the kitchen with your friends ! I like your comment about going to galleries more often, I find whenever I do something like go to the theatre, or even the cinema – something I might do occasionally , I always say to myself that was great why don’t I do that more . . . but will I ?

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  9. Hi there ... thanks for following and commenting on my blog ... I'm glad it led me to yours! I love whiling away an hour or two in a good gallery. I look forward to reading more of your blog later ...
    M x

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  10. I do love going to an art gallery. You never know what you will see! A bit disturbing, that one, but the colors and details are fantastic. I do love your photos of 'lines and shadows'. Very interesting and your gift shop finds are sweet. xx

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  11. As an art student I used to spend hours and hours in Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth Art Gallery on Oxford road, too (I did some work experience there many years ago now)! I'm afraid I've got out of the habit though in recent years and your post has reminded me I really need to start going to exhibitions more.

    Love your photos of lines and shadows... almost as much as I love that little trinket box!! ;) xx

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  12. Ah yes - I too have a house full of non-essentials
    Thank you for telling us about your artist 'find' - reminds me of the work of Grayson Perry I think.

    Lines are good and calm the mind

    Best wishes
    Jenny

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  13. i LOVE this post! What a marveous exhibition too. And the way you open your post is so wonderful too, have not seen the Conders illustration before, it is a delight. Very you I think! Minerva x

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  14. Nice portrait of you and your birds... and I thought I had my hands full. ha ha ha
    A fun place you've got here in Blogland! I don't think essential and gift shop (or thrift shop) have any business in the same sentence! Essential smacks of milk and tea bags ~ while gift shop spells "fun"!
    Love your great finds...
    oh and those first pictures of the scary art(?) ~ well, I'm going to shake my head around a bit until the images go away..... Yikes!!

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  15. Hello! What a lovely blog! I wish I could visit the show! Raqib Shaw's work reminds me of old Japanese paintings, which are seldom seen out of the country. I love the photos of 'lines'. In my case, when I go somewhere modern(!), I get excited with straight lines (I live in old Canterbury). : ) I have also enjoyed the pretty photos of the mood board. So pretty! We have similar Hellebore, but I have been too busy to have a close look. I will do today, thank to you. : )

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  16. Great photos - I love the ones of the shadows. I love the little trinket too, so sweet! Elisabeth x

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