angie lewin

Angie Lewin is a printmaker inspired by spiky, architectural plants and the austere style of post war British design. She has an interesting blog covering all things design related - all things considered and you can find her work here and here. Another new blog worth a visit is the pondering potter.

exhibition

I have some work on show at Victoria Fearn's gallery near Cardiff until the end of August.

millefleurs (a thousand flowers)

At the moment, driving to town is like driving through the middle of a Millefleurs tapestry. I had never seen so many wildflowers before we came to France. The first year we were here I used to drive/walk around gasping and shrieking. It starts with snowdrops in January (whole valleys full) and works it's way up to the glorious carpet of flowers in the picture. I stopped yesterday to examine it all more carefully and take photos. It was windy so please excuse the blurriness.

beautiful

This beautiful tapestry was made by my sister in law, Cecilia. The weft is wool and raffia and includes plain weave and whipping or binding of the warp. It's about 6 by 8 inches.

excuses....

Here is a picture of my current project and the reason why I have so little tapestry to show you at the moment... This is our bedroom to be and I've been doing the joists for the new floor. The middle of the room is 6 centimetres lower than the sides so it's been a finicky job. I am very, very, nearly, almost ready to start laying the floorboards now!


This is a view of the same room this time last year which gives you an idea of how far we've come (with a lot of help I should say!)



Here is an even slower weaver than me! We went to Aubusson for a day last year. It was strange to be in a place where everything revolves around tapestry. There is a big tapestry museum and numerous workshops large and small to visit - also a very beautiful 16/17th (?) century weaver's house with the weaving studio on the very top floor to benefit as much as possible from the light. The cartoon painter had a room in the cellar, clients were received and business transacted on the 2nd floor, the family lived on the 3rd floor and then the looms right at the top.



Tomorrow we're off to Ireland (Connemara) to celebrate my Mum's 80th birthday. Here is a picture of her aged about 25/26. She's the first woman from the right. Back next week.

packing

I sent the four felts off at huge expense at the beginning of the week - I've got to find a courier firm who would take on an occasional customer like me (any info from other French residents gratefully appreciated) as €67, yes really, is out of the question... I was in a right blue funk, as in addition to the expense I checked out the galleries website with a view to linking to it only to discover that my name wasn't even on the exhibitor list. Plus the price I can charge for the felt pieces makes me virtually nothing when you take off the galleries cut, the cost of the frame and postage. So I really do have to knock the felt pieces on the head.
There you go, sorry to rant... on a positive note my 3 hour intensive carpentry course with my friend Paul seems to have taught me something as I think I'm doing the upstairs floor more or less right. I sincerely hope!

felt #3

Here is the third one (in progress) - one more to go. I've got to admit my priority this weekend has been hammerdrilling a hole in the stairwell ceiling to take the water and waste pipes to/from the new upstairs bathroom. Sounds simple doesn't it? It wasn't! This week we start laying the chestnut floors upstairs and then we may even get to move up there!!

Have a look at Judith James work. I like the order, layers, texture, colour.