Catch up 1
Dear neglected blog - I never meant to be gone so long. I know blogs aren't the go-to place that they used to be but I still value mine and use it as a diary of events often. So with that in mind I intend to catch up on the last 4 months beginning with China..
Back in November 2018 we visited Beijing for a week to see our daughter whose studying there.
What we were told to expect was not at all how we found it ourselves. I enjoyed the straight-forwardness of the Chinese. Loved its food culture, historic buildings, paintings, metro system, the fact that it's totally acceptable to photograph anyone/anything/anytime - even in commercial art galleries selling private artwork, they have a shared love of people watching but without needing to be candid about it and a cultural agreement about the value of the handmade, hand painted. And of course the group dancing in the street to keep fit!
Everything was beautiful, inspiring for painting and pattern and simply new to my eyes and knowledge about Chinese history.
I bought a big stack of rice paper back to emulate the beautiful Chinese painting I saw.
And some textile treasures from the markets beautifully embroidered.
And we were well placed to go see the best remaining section of The Great Wall-cold but fun.
Of course though the very best part was a week with our girl. (more…)
Thread Bearing Witness exhibition, The Whitworth
A couple of weeks ago I was in Manchester and made the opportunity to go to The Whitworth Museum to see the Thread Bearing Witness exhibition and it was awesome!
 My first contact with it was through the Stitch a Tree Project where anyone could stitch a small piece of fabric with a tree to show their support for refugees. This project grew from work done in a Dunkirk refugee camp with children using the Tree of Life as a motif to think about strength and resilience.
Our stitched tress were collected and stitched together to make a forest as a symbol of support and togetherness for all displaced people around the world. It's just a photo here but it has a big impact in real life. It makes a statement and in the under-stated way that only fabric, textiles can because it appears so domestic and unthreatening but then you consider the strength of it's message.
Not a brilliant photo of me but unbelievably one of mine was at eye level so I could spot it! And it meant something to have taken part and put my voice to a chorus.
There were also 3 big panels Sky, Ground, Sea undertaken by Alice Kettle- huge machine embroidered works of art made with refugees contributions in the form of drawings mostly translated into stitch.
Big sweeps of stitch and fabric expressing the broad big spaces that refugees have to cross and inhabit to survive.
These can be view in purely aesthetic way as they are simply beautiful pieces layered with lustrous stitches, colours and pattern.
One can also feel good work has been done giving people creative inclusion and opportunity in the workshops that the project supported such as Pipka camp and elsewhere.
But I think the message broader and stronger and more urgent and seen most in Sea.
 This had the biggest impact on me; this is not just art, occupation, awareness raising - the floating bodies ethereal in gold thread spoke very clearly of life and death.
The brochure begins with this beautiful writing by Choman Hardi which says it all and says it very beautifully;
"I have come to learn your pain, fill me up with your words, I have not been gassed, nor imprisoned, nor mothered children to watch them starve or wither away, don't know what widowhood feels like. I have not lived in a shack, nor worked hard in fields to bring food back...
I want to document your suffering, make sure your voice is heard. I cannot promise redress or direct help. But I promise to listen with all that I have, stay true to your story, not distort or edit your grief"
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Anni Albers exhibition
When I was in London this week I also went to see the Anni Albers exhibition at Tate Modern.
Anni Albers (1899-1994) was one of the first to move weaving on from being for purely practical purposes to being seen as an art piece for itself.
I found all the technical diagrams as fascinating as the finished pieces.
And enjoyed seeing what can be made with only a few colours when they are manipulated in certain ways.
I loved the hand painted design sketches made in preparation before weaving - just as an artist would sketch a quick study.
And I am determined myself to master some of these twists and turns into actuality.
This piece is almost where weave and embroidery meet and so effective with just 2 colours.
Thoroughly inspired and if you follow me on Instagram you'll know I just started my first big weave pattern so I am stacking up the possibilities now and can't find weaving-time fast enough!
Oceania exhibition RA
This week I got one of my much-liked London fixes by popping down to see a couple of exhibitions.
First up was Oceania at the Royal Academy which was equal parts inspiring, educating and humbling.
The show is made up of ethnographic collections dating from the 18th century to the present with a free audio guide explaining the thought behind practises which go much deeper than simply surface decoration or use.
I thought it was a clever idea to look at what else was happening in the world when the RA was being founded... the answer was Captain Cooks discovery of the island civilisations from Tahiti in Polynesia, to the scattered archipelagos and islands of Melanesia and Micronesia - all collectively known as Oceania.
The indigenous populations they met came with their own histories and practices of social and artistic traditions. There is a rather sobering (and very well done) video graphic of the impact European adventurers had on these communities that we are now re-evaluating without the assurity and self righteousness of previous generations.
So there is a lot to wonder at, understand and learn in this exhibition and of course there is always pattern to be found!
Winterbourne House and Gardens residency
I thought I'd just pop in today and update my blog on my first three weeks of residency at the University of Birmingham Winterbourne House and Gardens.
I have been blessed with great weather and tried to make the most of it by painting outside as much as possible.
I have a room on site to call my studio and it leads out onto a flat roof with a magnificent birds-eye view of the walled garden (you can see where in this photo below)
I threw myself in lock, stock and barrel with a huge painting which is taking many hours and many layers to bring to fruition. I find there is a magic to painting outside 'en plein air' - the way I perceive colours in the daylight is brighter and more vibrant and I can see other colours in the shadows as the light changes during the day. However good a photograph is it doesn't beat reading real colours and textures from an actual scene in front of you.
That said I'm not a massive fan of painting at an easel, preferring a desk, and I feel that this piece is about ready for a finial bout of finish which I find easier to achieve at home in the studio on a table.
This was the first piece I finished - the Urban Veg Plot - started above on site and finished from photos. There is so much inspiration around I can barely keep up with all I want to do!
If you like, follow along in real-time on my Artist in Residence Instagram page - click here -where I post more regularly.
Artist in Residence at the University of Birmingham Winterbourne House and Gardens
I am absolutely delighted to share the news with you that I am Artist in Residence at the University of Birmingham Winterbourne House and Gardens until May 2020.
 Winterbourne House and Gardens was a charming family home built in 1904 in the Arts and Crafts style. The last family to live in it bequeathed it to the University of Birmingham who used it for accommodation, offices and to teach botany from. In 2006 it got a new lease of life and has gone on to become a Grade II Garden of National Importance and now the house has full museum status. It is a treasure hidden away in the center of urban Birmingham.
 I feel very lucky and privileged to be able to spend the next 18 months walking the public and private paths painting and drawing what I see. I am trying to ease into the project without giving myself too many restraints on what I make of it (painting, patterns, textile work) there is abundant inspiration - but for now I'm seeing where the work leads me by letting the grounds inspire what I do first .
And this was the first little plot that made my heart beat faster - this cute little shed hidden away from public access (unless you study with the RHS) It was used by the BBC for a gardening programme years ago.
Yesterday I sat in the sunshine and got most of this piece sketched in - the hardest part is always beginning, so that's done now!
My residency will evolve to include all kinds of offerings at Winterbourne during the 18 months and finale with an exhibition in May 2020.
I will be sharing this journey on my new Artist in Residence (artist_winterbournehg)Instagram page : www.instagram.com/artist_winterbournehg/Â
 and also on my personal Instagram page: www.instagram.com/claire_leggett/and here on the blog
I'd love you to join with me in this exciting chapter; I will be working on site regularly – so please come up to the studio above the bookshop or say hello if you spot me around the grounds - below is my Artist Statement for good measure.
