Free as a Bird

I have just returned from a week in  St Marie aux Mines in the Alsace as part of the European Patchwork Meeting. I spent most of the summer flying around and doing 'my stuff'.(more about that later) It makes me realise that freedom to be who we are is often taken for granted which is why I am delighted to support this fundraising event organised by St Peter's Church  at Boughton Monchelsea village Hall. You can own an original Ralph Steadman or even a Cas Holmes You can send closed bids by email to stpeters.church@btinternet.com  (with your contact details)

So thats the most important event. 
In was delighted to be in Alsac. The European Patchwork Meeting was amazing and the team brilliant. I was drawn once again to the back of things and spaces where weeds grew up in empty building spaces.

 

Works by other people (I only managed a brief visit to other galleries and events)

 Kate Dowty On the left her exhibition was next to SAQA exhibition Wide Horizons  with a detail by  Sophie Furbeyre, on right

Mirjam Pet-Jacobs SAQA

A couple of details from the Japanese Kimono show

  Norwegian Group Sting

The prizewinning piece by Monika Schiwy,Breaking Through for the competition Imagine left and
Marianne Burr (USA), Cosmic Communication who won the
Apliquick's Prize

You can see more on Gudrun Heinz Bernina blog

And of course, I exhibited as well in Spaces, Places and Traces. A glimpse of some of 40 yards and Flowers of the Field, plus Tea Flora Tales





and an animated version of Tea Flora Tales

An Imperfect World?

At this time of the year after the longest day as passed,  I am drawn to think about what is new and what becomes a memory. I have spent the last few weeks working on pieces from my future exhibition in Alsace and for the Art Textiles:Made in Britain at the Festival of Quilts later in the week. This is a significant time, when we need to mark the events over 100 years ago but the one thing I have discovered whilst travelling is how alike, rather than different we are. In Freiburg, I spent last Sunday walking around small allotments where families, gardened, children played and just relaxed in the sun. I did the same with my grandfather who would keep one row of veggies in his garden just for us to do pick and eat when we wanted. Most were beautifully kept but my eyes were drawn to one with a lonely bench and weeds growing through. I wondered who gardens, or had gardened there?

Each of the gardens were little home form homes reflecting those who worked and relaxed in them. Conversely, outside these garden spaces, wildflowers and 'weeds' are allowed to grow down the middle of the road and roadsides. We live in an imperfect world..thank heavens and no amount of gardening will keep 'tidy'.

Rake and Magpie (private collector)

I ran a workshop in St Ulrich with Quiltstar which explored the notions of imperfection in 'New from Old Textiles' each student used an old fragment of cloth and reconstructed it anew in a short exercise

 

 Before starting exploratory projects in reconstruction. (thankyou to the students for permission to use the images of work in progress)

                                                              Annett Andersch

                 Sophie Maechler (left) and Eliane Schurgast (right)

                                                    Karin Thalicker.

and they made some more contributions to Tea Flora Tales..please join me and add to these piece at the European Patchwork Meeting.

Finally, snippets of the exhibit 'Common Place' in Quiltstar including a 'selfie' in the window

More details on exhibitions and events  and workshops can be found one www.casholmes.blogspot.com