This is the work of Valeria Nacimento shown by Contemporary Ceramics at Collect 2013.
The paper-like porcelain is made from slabs and rolled into shapes, much like pasta. The whiteness looks great in the white cube space that is the Saatchi Gallery. (Good to see the folks at CPA again, though we worked out it was 13 years since I worked for Ceramic Review.)
See more of her work on her website or more about Contemporary Ceramics at the CPA blog.
It was always going to be a challenge to fill the whole of the West Wing (of Somerset House that is, not the White House). The space has been beautifully designed by the the Campaign for Wool and highlights the many commercial applications for wool. It’s said that farmers find it more expensive to have their sheep shorn (is that a verb?) than the price they can get for the fleece, so anything that can be done to encourage use of this queen of yarns has to be a good thing.
Wool is shown here being used for some technologically advanced reflective cloth from Dashing Tweeds , with a matching pair of Converse trainers, for cycling.
Apart from a little tailoring most of the rooms were given over to high-end interior design. The elegantly proportioned rooms of Somerset House being dressed by big names like Ashley Hicks and Fox Linton Associates. The room by Kit Kemp featured an upholstered sofa with delightful blanket stitch details and Donna Wilson produced an effortlessly whimsical nursery.
A highlight is the more contemporary room by Josephine Ryan. This room includes a montage of sheep paintings by artists in residence at the Irish Cill Rialaig Project as well as some rare antiques and a settle fit to settle down on.
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The Campaign for Wool has excelled itself in keeping the artisan side of the project lively. The day I visited there were two spinners demonstrating from the Lewes branch of the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and dyers. Plenty of lovely yarns
were on display, though it wasn’t clear if these were just for show, or if punters were allowed to have a go. Similarly the weaver Jason Collingwood was practicing his craft next door. Demonstrations are great, though many of us have seen other people doing these things before. The real thing is to get people to have a go themselves and get their hands on the material itself. There is full list of events for the short time that the show is up, so hopefully plenty of scope for a little hands-on experience. It’s through getting stuck-in that people will begin to appreciate the nature of wool and what it can do, turning them into better informed customers for the industry. For more info visit www.campaignforwool.org/wool-house
Tapestry humming birds designed by Alexander McQueen for The Rug Company
Kaffe Fassett has an exhibition coming up at the Fashion and Textiles Museum
this March. It’s curated by Sue Timney, she of the black and white textile designs. Should be an interesting mix. You can read my piece in Crafts Magazine.
Kaffe Fassett – A Life in Colour is at the Fashion and Textile Museum, Bermondsey SE1 3XF (020) 7407 8664, from 22 March – 29 June 2013
So it’s official, the most powerful woman in the UK is the Queen: well according to the Women’s Hour panel anyway. In fact 3 out of the top 5 women had inherited their position rather than working their way up the ladder. Chaired by Eve Pollard, the panel had the tricky task of deciding what constitutes ‘power’: money, control or influence. Oona King pointed out that Britain may talk a lot about multiculturalism but is still a monoculture at heart. Heather Rabbatts said that rather than quotas, what we need is to support people by putting in ‘floors not ceilings’. Her mum was her best champion telling her that she would ‘always need her own knicker money’.
Good advice.
There were no knitters on the list. I was saddened and surprised to have my knitting confiscated and sealed in a plastic bag. For the 2 hours that we were sat in the audience I could have done a lot of rows. Perhaps they think knitting is powerful after all?
There is a lot of weaving in Africa but not all of it is quite as organised as the government started Manufactures Sénégalaises des Arts Décoratifs (MSAD). Set up in the 1960s by President Senghor, it is now host to many famous artists who have their work made up into tapestries by the skilled workers here.
The MSAD specialise in tufted rugs that command high prices on an international market and hang in prestigious places like the UN HQ in New York.
Léopold Sédar Senghor – poet, politician and cultural theorist – was Mayor of the small town on Thiès (pronounced ‘chess‘) before becoming first president of Senegal. He was educated in France and the techniques used at Thiès owe more to the Gobelin traditions of Paris and Aubusson rather than local weaving. They also make flat woven tapestries that have great graphic impact.
I wasn’t allowed to photograph any of the finished items, but have tried to document the process. Top is my favourite image. These are the colour keys, one 
for each tapestry, that makes a ready-reckoner for the weaver following the artist’s cartoon.
The specially built MSAD gallery