Walking in Liverpool

Recently I had the opportunity to spend 6 weeks on a residency in the City of Liverpool.  

One of the things I enjoyed a lot was that I could walk at any time of the day anywhere in Liverpool. And a lot of walking I did.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the intricate use of a variety of materials when it came to streets and paving. There are beautiful brass knobs to indicate a street crossing for blind people, patterns in cobble stones, mosaics and the most beautiful drain lids from cast iron.

All these different textures, patterns , materials as well as the warm colours of autumn leaves everywhere had me sight seeing on the ground for the fist few weeks.

My residency was based at the Hope University of Liverpool and I could use all the Universities facilities from the metal studio to Lazer engraver to drawing to print.

I experimented with etching on copper, nitric acid, Lazer engraved Perspex plates, ferric chloride,  colouring paper with tea bags and inks, dry point on plastic, printing leaves, oil based paints and colouring in prints.

 All this information is saved in numerous photos, drawings prints, experiments and waiting for me to put it into some work of art.

So far I got to photo compositions and I’m looking forward to put this into print as soon as I get my printing press( my x-mas present to myself) in January.

I will keep you updated.

I wish you all a beautiful x-mas time with your family and friends and I'm looking forward to see you again in 2012.

Swimming at Silvermine

...it was perfect. We went early, just after 7, so it was not too hot, nor were there many people. The vegetation is beautful; not yet scorched by heat, drought and wind. Still spring green. At the far end there are waterlilies. They were just opening, the lush massed white petals glowing in cupped sepals, shell pink on the inside, pink-green on the outside. Long stems trailing below the suface. Bronze-green leaves curled against each other for lack of space to lie flat. Dark relective water.

I love Cape Town!

Recently my sister and I have been swimming in the dam at Silvermine, in the Table Mountain National Park.

The fynbos is beautiful. The leaves of the King Proteas are edged in carmine. We have seen Egyptian Geese with goslings and scaly agamas sunning themselves on rocks. This morning we saw a Cape Batis cupped in her exquisitely woven and camouflaged nest, almost invisible in a stand of slender trees. There are swathes of a delicate sedge with downy puffs of blue green flowers, and at one end of the dam, a large patch of waterlilies.

A few days ago I spent a few minutes doing an experiment with a milk bottle from my recycling box, then started on some more careful ones...