News, big news and a mega lecture by a true great

I have some really big news. An artist I truly admire is coming to the UK and is gracing me with a day in her company!!!!! Susan Lenz is coming over to the UK and was planning some time in Bath. I managed to entice her into coming on down to Cardiff to meet me with the promise of Cardiff bay, Crafts in the Bay and a trip to the Museum of Welsh life in St.Fagan. You must be able to picture me typing this while bouncing up and down in my seat at the prospect of this! I hope we live up to her expectations now! So why am I telling you this well if you are in spitting distance of Cardiff on Saturday the 21st of Feb then you can meet Susan and I at Crafts in the bay. I will confirm times a bit nearer to the time, depending on interest. So anyone close enough to be up for it?????????? Leave me a comment and I will get us all together!
It could be a great chance to meet up with all the people we now regard as friends! Hoping there are a few others who can make the day even more special.


Now the other half of the heading was a lecture by a true great, well tonight I went to a lecture about her life's work by Audrey Walker. She is one of Britain's pre-eminent stitchers and has a fine art painting background for any who have not come across her work before. She talked about her background in painting and the story o finding her way into stitch.
Her work is amazing considering these images can be totally hand stitched and HUGE. They are sometimes machined, sometimes hand stitched, sometimes both. I loved the purity of her work, and her thought process, what I loved was how she talked about choosing a whole wedge of different stitches, she mainly chooses straight stitch, she makes the mark that she wants, by building up layers she achieves such tonal excellence. It is just fab, it is like mixing paint but instead it is mixing stitches straight on the canvas.

She talked about this continuing desire to show that elusive look on someones face, the top picture is capturing that look that passes between two people who are just getting their relationship together, that furtive look, isn't it just delightful.

Towards the end of the talk she talked about finding her voice and advocated to the clutch of students at the back, not to worry it can take years to find your voice. This felt like she had whispered directly into my ear, that comment was for me, just like all your comments have been! So that's what I am doing, finding my voice. Wat have I learned, it is ok to use the thing that makes the mark for you, it doesn't have to be wedged full of technique, it can be simple, if it does what is in your brain. A very interesting night and a timely as it really has made me think about my path.