IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

I found myself in the heart of London the other day just a stones throw away from Liverpool Street Station.  I had a lovely cup of tea at Jeanette Winterson's cafe and grocers, Verde, admiring the way she has preserved this beautiful Georgian shop. I was struck by how there is a real mixture of old and new in the area and I was encouraged to observe this with more attention, inspired the wonderful BBC-2 series The Secret Life of London Streets. The series draws on the fascinating maps created by Charles Booth. Starting in 1886 his ambitious plan was to visit every one of London's streets to record the social conditions of the residents. His project took him 17 years and once he had finished he created a series of maps colour coding each class.  Yellow for keeping a servant to black for the vicious and semi-criminal.  Years ago I used to travel very late at night though Commercial Road, returning from work, past the Ten Bells Pub in Spitalfields on my home to the very edge of East London.  It was not a place to linger.  Poverty was there for all to see as the ladies of the night plied their trade openly all along the dirty road. Today it could not look more different with trendy bars, restaurants and up market shops.  Modern Booth's map would look totally different from the old one!

FLOWERS FOR KRISTINA

This summer I have been enjoying myself on a photography course and although I have been taking photos since I was bought an Olympus 0m-10 by my parents over 30 years ago my technical knowledge has had quite a few holes in it! I now have a few more tricks up my sleeve and my allotment at The Royal Paddocks in Hampton Wick is a beautiful photographic canvas.  These flowers are for my dear friend Kristina who always appreciates things of beauty and introduced me to the world of blogging.

YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO BE ARTY

On Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting The Baroness Carrie Reichardt. Her title is used ironically and has a connection with the last Tsar of Russia, who made her grandfather an honorary general for helping the allied forces in WW1. Carrie studied fine art at Leeds Metropolitan University. Much to the horror of her tutors she was awarded a first by the external examiners. Carrie's artistic talents took flight in the form of mosaics and in 2000 the Baroness decided to transform her home into  a living work of art called the Treatment Rooms.  It was really great chatting away to Carrie and her enthusiasm was infectious. She told me she is a craftivist. She is certainly passionate and we both bemoaned the demise of the Stoke-On-Trent pottery industry, destroyed by cheap Chinese imports masquerading as made in England, under the banner of old pottery names. Carrie even showed me her bathroom which was like the most beautiful ceramic museum, each tile in the room with a transfer long discontinued. It was stunning. She is also well known for her anarchic crockery where vintage pieces are given a new twist often with radical political statements.  One powerful recent commission is dedicated to Mary Bamber a radical suffragette. It is a truly moving piece and Carrie explained it records the contribution of many suffragettes who otherwise would be forgotten and lost forever. Thank goodness for people like Carrie who are using art to help bring about positive change and keep the stories of brave and important people alive.

STARCH GREEN

This weekend I had a wonderful time visiting artists who were taking part in the open art house event in Shepherds Bush in West London.  I made an exciting discovery because just a few streets from where I work every day Kate Fishenden and Jonathan Mercer are creating beautiful things from their tiny studio. The exquisite art works are created using wood cutting, a technique which requires enormous skill, patience and creativity. We were given a tour of Jonathan's shed, shown the wood blocks which are pieces of art in their own right and given a demonstration of the magnificent Albion press. Kate was so welcoming and she has a wonderful blog at http://blog.starchgreen.com/  I am now a proud owner of a few lovely things from the Starch Green studio including jam labels, a wonderful print, a mug and a jug! Kate says that  "We only make or sell things that we love and feel would make our home  (and hopefully yours) a more lovely place" . My home is certainly more lovely with these things in it.

DREAMING IN COLLIOURE

I was lucky enough to return to the beautiful French seaside town of Collioure last week with my son.  There is colour everywhere.  Colour on the doors, windows, walls and even on some stairs I just spotted on my wanderings.  Collioure is home of the Fauvism movement literally meaning Wild Beasts. This short lived movement used deep and brilliant colours and exaggerated perspectives.  Derain, Braque, Picasso and Matisse were all inspired by the harbour, quaint streets and castles of Collioure. My mother loved it here so. She was with me in spirit on the wind across the sea, in the waves and in the chorus of the song birds. 

MORE MUGS PLEASE

These wonderful mugs are handpainted in Stoke On Trent and designed by Sarah Cole. In fine bone china not only are they a joy to drink from but you will also learn a little bit about British history written on the side of the mug. There are lots of kings and queens to choose from!

SHIP IN A BOTTLE

I have always been fascinated by the intriguing art of placing ships in bottles. I treasure my ship inside a Haig bottle because it feels part of my childhood. It sat on a shelf in my grandparent's house, a present from my father returning home from one of his merchant navy voyages. I often wondered how that ship with all its masts and rigging could have possibly got into the tiny neck of the bottle. Stephanie Cole's bold prints capture the spirit of the ship in a bottle perfectly. She clearly also has a interest in this unusual craft. People have been putting things inside bottles since the mid eighteenth century. From human and heavenly figures to wooden puzzles. Some of the earliest examples come from monasteries where the quiet hours of contemplation were also spent carving tiny miniatures. Ships started to be put into bottles in the second half of the nineteenth century. Sailors were encouraged by the improvement in glass bottle production giving thinner glass and less bubbles making the ship more visible inside. The most common method of putting a ship in a bottle was probably the flatpack approach so that all the masts could lie flat ready for insertion into the neck. Once it inside the ship would be placed gently on a putty sea. The masts were then raised by pulling the rigging. It all sounds so simple but it is a very meticulous process and difficult to achieve. I could sail away in my ship in a bottle right now....