Monday 20 June 2011

Westminster Hog Roast


A fun relaxed evening spent in one of the gardens in the grounds of Westminster Abbey for a bbq with people from the Home Office, Foreign Office and friends. One friend was visiting from Hong Kong (who I stayed with when I was stranded due to the volcanic ash last year) and a doctor from Shanghai. Of course I had to try out a little sentence in mandarin. I was kind of understood - but at least I tried.... Finding the word order difficult to get right. We talked about China (in English) and I heard about the biggest bridge in the world - near Shanghai of course, where else? It is 26 miles across.  Can that be true? Apparently it has a hotel in the middle so you have the sensation of being in the middle of the sea.
Sometimes I get vertigo just hearing these things about China.


To reach the hog roast, we walked through the cloisters, past private gardens and off the usual tourist track to arrive in this secluded part of the Abbey, so it felt really special.


We had umbrellas up occasionally. Great British BBQ weather: but the fine mizzle, which is all it really was, didn't dampen the mood. In the twilight with Parliament towering behind us, the Abbey on the other side and live music, including plenty of Irish and Scottish ballads, it was atmospheric.

Monday 13 June 2011

Waterfront@Belfast

I'm back in London from a busy weekend at the Waterfront in Belfast - at the conference Focusfest. Great to meet so many friendly people on home territory - customers and fellow stallholders!

                                                                               


Looking forward to returning to Northern Ireland soon.


Eden Jewellery
 












Spoon collections


Sunday 5 June 2011

Floating

 I like the way objects are suspended on walls and in glass at the V&A, from small coins to entire house fronts.



C17th house front


'Floating' building reflection


C16th carved stairwell

Thursday 2 June 2011

Mindful of Silver

I love living in London, especially on a day like yesterday.

Goldsmith's front door


After meeting friends for lunch at sunny Southbank, I walked over to Holborn to the Assay Office at Hatton Gardens to have some Hallmarking done: then I headed to the Assay Office at Goldsmith's, Foster Lane, to speed up the hallmarking process so my work is ready - for next week's show in the Waterfront in Belfast.



So of course I had to go back for a second visit to the 'Mindful of Silver' exhibition and spend more time looking at Theresa Nguyen's ethereal silver sculptures. It is fascinating to see the drawings and models, getting an insight into the thinking behind the finished piece. I'd like to see that more often in shows.
Theresa Ngyuen
 I stopped by the Goldsmith collection, recognising more of Suzuki's Aqua Poesy vases, having sketched one at the Ulster Museum in December.


My Suzuki sketch with some Irish pots!
 
It was wonderful to see, for the first time, the work of  Adi Toch. Her sublime spherical containers seem to float on the glass surface. They are incredibly tactile and the titles such as Red Sand and Oil Drizzler evoke associations with desert travellers in the Middle East. Beautiful. 

As I headed for Baker Street to meet a friend, I just had to (!) stop in at Selfridges to check their wonderful array of contemporary jewellery. I spent quite some time at Shaun Leane's display, trying on gorgeous pearl rings and chatting to the very helpful assistant. His jewellery is as smooth as silk next to the skin -  refined, poetic sculptures. I can see how he is an award winning designer. Wonderful to at last try on his jewellery after reading about him in association with Alexander McQueen and seeing his work from pictures.

I met my friend at 'Croque Monsieur' on Baker Street and we headed to the grand Daiwa Foundation next to Regent's Park to hear a talk on Sino-Japanese relations (my friend is a fluent Japanese speaker and so he hears about these things.....!).  The speaker, Dr Yoichi Funabashi, is a well known and respected Japanese journalist, author and academic who has also lived for many years in China. The talk was informative and gave a balanced overview: it makes me want to find out more about how countries are getting along in the Far East in the light of China's 'Peaceful Development Strategy', especially as China is becoming so economically powerful. How might it change in the future?

I enjoyed hearing stories such as this little snapshot of the history of relations between Japan and China. In the early 7th Century, in connection with the tobacco trade with China, the Japanese Emperor addressed the Chinese Emperor using these words:

'The Emperor of the Land where the Sun rises sends greetings to 
the Emperor of the Land where the Sun sets'.

Needless to say, this greeting was not at all well received in China - and so the struggle over protocol and status continued on for centuries.

So, after yesterday's action-packed day, I can truly say I now have more than enough to reflect on as I head back to my studio in Camberwell this morning..........

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Have one's cake and......


.......ok, we didn't eat it, but here it is - a slice of cake from The Wedding.

cute tin
Owned by a friend's flatmate who works for Prince Charles.
Wondering just how long will this piece will last........