Dulwich Festival ... Artists Open House

I took myself to explore a few of the artists' open houses as part of Dulwich Arts Festival.  I love the pot luck and pick 'n' mix nature of tracing a route round a neighbourhood.  In honesty, I my lucky dip approach didn't leave me as inspired this time as it has in the past, but I did enjoy the work of Eleanor Winter, an illustrator with a particular heritage focus, who has been recreating some of the stories around the Holy Island of Lindisfarne ...

Collage Friday

Having left a trail of freelance projects for adults, I wondered how I might continue something creative and sociable once on maternity leave, with various of the people I've gathered along the way ... and so last Friday, I turned our house into a workshop space and hosted Collage Friday. An afternoon to delve into the collage boxes, mix and match papers, decorate boxes, create pictures, finish old projects. And, open to all, ages 0 upwards. I wasn't sure what to expect of the 1 year olds, but they managed to enjoy their own papery mess on the floor!

Above ... collage by Eleanor Salter-Thorn.

Artist Textiles

My latest dose of inspiration was from the Artist Textiles Exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum.  There's something quite amazing about seeing how artists whose styles are really quite famous and familiar adapted their work just slightly for the reproduction of domestic and fashionable textiles.  Never a particular fan of Dali (well, theoretically yes, aesthetically no), I found some of his textiles were among my favourite for the bold intrigue of his patterns.  This one in particular:

More predictably, I was mesmerised by the illustrative textile of the artists who worked for Piazza Prints - Saul Steinberg, who's work I've admired previously, and John Rombola, who I've never come across before.  I'd happily have either of these guys decorate my nursery!

Above, Saul Steinberg's Paddington Station and below, John Rombola's Circus.