magpie of the mind-cas holmes: December 2014

I have had a busy Autumn as we head into winter and as the days grow colder we see the lacy lines of trees and plants more clearly 'etched against the skies' and shadows of trees strongly cast against the sides of buildings.

I was delighted to exhibit in Memory Cloth at the Museum of Kantfabriek in the Netherlands. This exhibition included installations along a collective theme of lace and textiles with the artists Glenys Mann (who originally devised the exhibition), Els Van Baarle, Cherilyn Martin and myself creating their own pieces in relation to the theme and to the space.(exhibition ends 4 January)

Cas Holmes

Els Van Baarle

Glenys Mann

Cherilyn Martin

General view of space

Images of lace making machinery and lace in the space and even on the roundabout near the museum.

And a video of lace being made

I was fortunate enough to be invited to run a workshop in their wonderful studio space and we looked at ideas relating to lace, lines and layers. A few details of work in progress below by kind permission of the students, including making rubbings in the factory and cutting up lace scraps.This workshop was full. I am returning to the Netherlands with Zijdelings in Tilburg in mid March with full details on my blog

Thinking of the lace and the way it reels its way out of the machines I created some new pieces: Lace Flowers unfolding forms combining an old book on lace making with Kantfabriek lace and lace floral curtains. (These are new pieces and are not on exhibition.)