Home to Pushkar

Finally heading home, I have been on the road for nearly 4 months and am really, really looking forward to getting back home.
It is not the same all this travel when I have someone waiting for me, in the past I have always been heading to Ptaveen so it seemed fine to be on the long hauls, now we have a home together it does not have the same alure....life is always changing.
It is not travel I am over just the way that I do it.
Looking back this trip has been very satisfying, I have had many stimulating students in Ireland and the Uk, people have been kind and shown be around their local areas, Lichfield and Salisbury cathedral stand out as well as the Dales of yorkshire and the rolling hills of Kent, being with a local alwas adds something special to a view.
My Moroccan tour was really good fun, great travelling companions, the family holiday in Siouth Vietnam excellent as well as catching up with friends on my flying visit to OZ,
looking back the thing that really touched my heart were the fragments of embroidered tetiles in the museum in Damascus, dated at 83 AD i could almost see the hand that stitched them.
Embroidery is so reflective of the maker, tiny precise stitches, slightly boulder grafic stitches all lead you on to imagine she who stitched.
Standing in that museum looking at the fragments I felt a hand a sisterhood stretch out through nearly 1000 years to another person, we both stitch we have much in common, yet what were our world like?
I have stitched with ladies in many places across the world it is uncanny how similar we are.
That lady in Syria...she must have used a bone needle? not steel in those days surely?
how di she cut the thread?
did she weave the fabric herself, did she spin and dye the threads, amny things to wonder about and yet her work is not unlike something I could produce. Well probably not so neat but you never know.
Amazing things to ponder...


these little amulets were in the same museum, beautiful to hold in your hand and poor your dreams into...
and the little convent in Maluula [that place where they still speak the same tongue Christ used] had icons similar to these
all really magical places
and in a few short days I will be back in my very own magical place- Pushkar!! yippee!!

whew!!

My head is in a bit of a whirl!

I have been to so many great places just lately my shadow has yet to catch up!!

I am stepping back in time to a few short weeks ago and going to work my way through some wonderful experiences.

Salisbury cathedral, one of the most lovely in England I think [York Minster is also up there and Litchfield]

the structure is delicate, the integration of ancient and modern is superb, the first pic is of their new font a rimless pool, perfectly reflecting the ceiling

the cloisters,

with the enclosed garden lead to a copy od the Magna Carter- the document that lead to what we now call democartic government, the first agreement in the modern wester era to recognize the rights of all citizens [well really those with the money] in their land and not the arbitary rule of whom ever is top of the pile.

a wonderful collection of old and modern textiles as well- the church has ever been a great consumer of textiles especially embroidery, there are some great pices scattered throught out along modern sculpture and ancient tombs.

cushions for the comfort of the faithful....

The windows had the richness of ancient diamond necklaces such as the ones in the Nizam of Hydrabad's collection

just found this link- interesting it tells a little more of his history- he had enough pearls to fill an Olympic swimming pool!

hard to get a good image with my little camera, but this certainly gives the feel of them

I am inHo Chi Minh City, in 2 days my family and best friend arrive for a holiday.

Praveen and I and the gang!! Yippee!!

I am so excitd I could not sleep last night [OK a little jet lag and exhaustion are in the mix] so am a bit vagues today, need to get stuck into some office work as I have a lot to do before the holiday, but i might use blog writing to daydream amongst it all...we'll see

bye

England coming to an end...

I have had a few lovely days R&R with my mates Anne and Steve amidst a very busy time teaching...lots of invites to teach again when I am in the country, which is very gratifying.
Anne and Steve are lovely, gentle souls with a really cheeky streak- so lots of giggles and laughs, and they always organize the most delightful mystery tours for me.
Their great eye for detail, sense of history and enthusiasm for places makes things seem magical, and as it is always a mystery where we are going I generally feel like a kid witha bubble of excitment in my belly- thanks Guys!!
We explored Leeds the other day, an old industrial city re-inventing itself in recent times with stunning modern architecture, re-vitalisation and an urban use for its canals and some fine museums.

The Royal Armory
was one port of call, as you can imagine they house the nations collection of arms- not usually my cup of tea but I did find the top floor fascinating, housing the oldest pieces in the collection and many of their oriental pieces...the detailing is what caught my eye, and lots of ideas for projects.

The assemblage of a japanese suit of armour suggested a way of assembling textile"postcards" for display....

this suit of armour is similar to ones used by the Saracens at the time of the Crusades and it is postualted that that is the entry path of quilting into Europe....one of the many things the returning Europens took back home with them.

The armour is made by quilting straw between fabric to create a flexible, protective garment, this one has lovely surface embroidery as well...

How to dress an elephant, wouldn't it be scary on a battle field?

Especially for the first foreigners to see one, when they had previously only been a creature of scary stories around the fire, perhaps real but you would tell yourself something that big must be a phantasy -until your saw one that is!!.

War and warfare does make sad- I could not face the lower floors where much of the dispaly is set up 'in action' so to speak- what a way to face the world,

I do like Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence seems a better way to approach problems.

I am so happy to be leaving, I am meeting Praveen in Damascus, and I do miss him now we are doing the old married couple thing of living in the same house, it is hard being away....but I have really enjoyed spending time with my friends here and the students I have taught...oh well life is all about change, and there is no use hanging onto the past, the future is there waiting to be stepped into.
Enjoy what and where you are NOW...is my moto.

Birminghan, Yorkshire,

Just at this moment I have arrived at the home of Maggie and Bob of African Fabric Shop fame and am quietly amusing myself whilst they finish off this mornings orders...this is the first time I have visited their home so am sitting politely not poking my nose into things but I am also waiting internally impatiently for a promised guide tour through their amazing house which I can see is brimful of African things!!
We have been putting our heads together for a joint effort Safari to Ghana, as I was almost passing it was a prime opportunity to meet up and hang out some more.
In between reminising over my recent Safari I have been very busy in the UK, exploring and polishing details for future Safaris as well as teaching. Last week it was off to Birmingham to check on hotel locations, restaurants and other attractions for my forthcoming tour Textile Taster- Europe and UK . A rather wise old Bull near the Bullring, perhaps he is so perky because he has exscaped the ring? Birmingham is an interesting mix of fine old buildings and cutting edge modern- startling different and yet that seems to bring the best out in both styles, all of one style and it could be dreary.Birmingham is also home to a large Indian population and home to some fabulous restaurants, yum...

Found some of the signage amusing..



Bought an interesting book at Shared Earth- the autobiography of its founder, Jeremy Piercy.
He tells his story and a lot of the development of the Fair Trade movement, for me it just reinforces how powerful we are as consumers to change the world simply by choosing the sourse of the supplies we use. Good on you FAIR to all TRADE!!
An a Birmingham Landmark- The Flousie in the Jacuzzi. There is usually a fountain gurgling around this luscious lady and some enterprizing youth in the past added bubble bath so the city awoke one morning to fing her in a bubble bath!!

Work has taken me to my favourite end of England - the north, I feellike I can breath when I get further north, the country flattens out and big skies start to take over. I have been in Thirsk, just up the road from where James Herriot's Vet surgury was [Do you remember "All creatures great and small"?], and the lovely Sheila Smith who was looking after me treated me to a drive up through the country side, the greens of new leaf are gloriuos,

and old stone fences snaking across the land

and an abandoned Cistercine Monestary, Rievaulx

I am so exhilaratred vising places like this, only hints left to imagine the story of the place, built in 1132 it is still persmerising and gigantic!

a few hints f the original floor tiles, I want to work some pieces inspired by the colour and texture, look forward to getting back to my studio in Pushkar...

can you see the small white dot lower right near the big wall half way up the picture- that is a man...these arches soared overhead...imagine coming into there, dark from the outside light and the sense of magesty the structure would have commanded in one's heart.[and I guess the aim, by association God]

My friends in England are always a treat to visit,
I like the place but really the weather scares me, cold and dark and rainy so often spring to mind- my mates cheery good humour throws a lot of sunshine around- here is a quote Anne sent me recently that she found in a novel set in Roman times England- love the humor of it.

Here is that quote from 'Ruso and the Demented Doctor' by R.S.Downie. "Ruso had now been in Britannia for eight months, most of them winter. He had learned why the province's only contribution to fashion was a thick cloak designed to keep out the rain. Rain was not a bad thing, of course, as his brother had reminded him on more than one occasion. But his brother was a farmer and he was talking about proper rain - the sort that cascaded from the heavens to water the earth and fill the aqueducts and wash the drains. British rain was rarely that simple. For days on end, instead of falling, it simply hung around in the air like a wife waiting for you to notice she was sulking."
Gorgeous Lichfield on a late spring day....says it all
the clouds are so low as to almost sit on the spires- truely!

Lichfield, UK and Fair Trade

I have just had a lovely few days in Lichfield an hour from Birmingham in the UK.
I have really fallen in love with their Cathedral, so pretty , quite femine in decoration, I found it mesmeriezing and kept wanting to go back again to look at the details.
Her are a few snaps form clos up to a bigger view.

and great moss or lichens on it as well!

One thing I really admire about England is the way it has embraced Fair Trade [here is a definition, if you have not heard of it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade]- an example of how our small choices [this coffee or that? type thing] can be done with thought and make a real difference to other pepole's lives.

Lichfield seems to have really embarced it with both arms, one lady was saying they have a Fair Trade Church stall each month and the city is designated a Fair Trade city as a large percentage of goods used in restaurants has been bought making that choice. Good on them , may more places follow their good heart!

Viktor and Rolf

Just one day in London on my way to India, and what a surprise- sunshine!!!
I was there through supposedly the hotest months of summer and needed a raincoat and jumper...and here one day in autumn, I only needed to wear a Tshirt- took me a while to realise it was true so kept wondering why I was sweating in the usual English clobber of shirt and cardigan?!
A blue sky photo to prove it!

My one day was put to good use, catching up with friends we made our way across town [Sunday with some tube lines closed for repairs it was a major planning procedure to get the right connections to get there]

We headed for the Barbican Centre http://www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery/event-detail.asp?ID=7272, fabulous complex and The Viktor and Rolf Exhibition.

Very interesting Haute Coulture designers...more Fashion designers meets Installation/ Performance artists...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_&_Rolf

Very interesting fellows, stimulating exhibition...

they have managed their image very well to get notice and break into a very competitive field as well as comment on their observations of Fashion...elements in a design, the ephemeral nature of fashion, icons of style, the layers we use to 'cloak' the body....lots of ideas -clever guys

http://www.viktor-rolf.com/index.htm

Westhope College

12 September, 2008 Back in England, the contrast is so great!They have had the least amount of sunlight ever in the month of August, so fruit and vegetables are not ripening properly, bugs and butterflies are not hatching, bees are staying back home in the hive and not pollinating plants as they should….Our food actually comes from out the in the fields -these weather changes will impact on what is in the supermarket!

Morocco felt home like in a way because the landscape is the type I respond to – many areas are large, flat and empty. I like the dry heat, the bright light, the sense you can walk out and see what is coming…. Being out in the countryside of England is exotic in a way- I feel like I could run into a Hobbit at any moment. I am at Westhope College this weekend deep in the heart of the Shropshire country side. Above is the view from my bedroom window... http://www.westhope.org.uk/ So green, although the trees are just starting to change and golden hues, deep claret red and all shades in between are starting to show. Walking the hedge sided lanes, unseen but close is the plaintive bleating of sheep, honking of geese and an amazing repertoire of tweets from on high…oh for sound-o-rama to share it.The smell is “green”, fresh, full of moisture and life, occasionally you step upon some fallen leaves and get a burst of sweet humus but generally the memory of summer life is still around.

The entrance to the college has this etched on the windows
"Let the handiwork of the hands be their prayer"

My friend Anne has this idea "If their is enough blue in the sky to make a pair of sailor's trousers- it must be a good day"
After the greyness of yesterday I was happy to see enough to make him a mini-skirt!

Then later in the day it came out full sunshine- how glorious it is.
Just here a few weeks and I am becoming quite English- talking about the weather all the time.

canada, london and Paris

this is the lovely Rose, with our stone friend at Writing on Sone Park in the middle of Canada,
all along the river is a whole forest of this remarkable weathered stone.
i spent a number of wonderful days with Rose, we explored and spent time in her studio making Felt[ along with Cindy and her Mum- Canadians are so friendly and kind]
next I crossed the country to visit Pamela Allen [check her out on the web- i really enjoy her work, having the chance to get up close to some of her art quilts I found some really moving- such a strong feel to them- very enjoyable]
and meet the Kingston Creative Textile group
I have finally hit London, or been hit by London more like.
It is amazing- so big, so busy so many people.
On the news on the way in on the train– I had to laugh- they said “Paris Hilton, long thought to be a waste of air and water was now realized to be a waste of air, water and margaritas after her recent drink driving charges”
I thought it set the tone immediately of English humor.

I am putting up a few images of Canada, I visited this park where the rock formations were extraordinary,
I enjoyed the Canadian countryside- beautiful and so much water- flying over there are as many lakes as land. So different to Australia, you never see large bodies of water as you fly across.
I enjoyed my teaching the participants were hard working and highly skilled so we seemed to cover a lot of ground and had a lot to learn from the examples each person produced.


Great place Canada- friendly people, beautiful landscape, cute rodents- squirrels all over the place
now i am finally getting this up i am actually in Paris for a few days.
Paris wraps me up like Delhi- I imediately feel at home and happy just to be here.
i walked so far today though that my feet nearly fell off!
still i am sure i will muster the energy soon to go out and sit in a cafe, watch people passing by and enjoy dinner.
In Paris you just realise life is meant to be enjoyed and criused along with.
Boy are the local people good to look at here, apart from Asia you don't see so many trim people and the locals are sssssoooooooo stylish.
australians- we should be pleased with the anti-smoking campaigns in our country- looking around over here and esp Uk so many smaoke[ and boy does it stink] as well as every ones health. oh well that's life
bye