Thursday, 28 April 2011
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Twelve by Twelve at Midsomer Quilting
Today I went to visit the Twelve by Twelve exhibition at Midsomer Quilting. Quite fascinating. And the classroom has been completely transformed to show the small quilts. It is well worth going if you are within driving distance, as it is such a friendly quilt shop, and the exhibition is very user-friendly - you can also have a cup of tea and sit comfortably to drink it at your leisure and talk to other visitors.
Unfortunately it is only on for four days - until Saturday - open from 10 am to 4 pm.
Fortunately it will also be shown at the Festival of Quilts, before travelling to Houston.
You can find lots of information about the group and their challenges in their website: Twelve by Twelve
The book is excellent as well.
Unfortunately it is only on for four days - until Saturday - open from 10 am to 4 pm.
Fortunately it will also be shown at the Festival of Quilts, before travelling to Houston.
You can find lots of information about the group and their challenges in their website: Twelve by Twelve
The book is excellent as well.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Monday, 18 April 2011
St Vitus Cathedral, Prague - Mucha stained-glass window
I'm finally getting back to posting more photos of Prague. Just too busy making quilts! so blog posting gets postponed.
St Vitus Cathedral is within the area of the Prague Castle, perched above the town. It is Gothic in style, although in fact was not finished until quite recently - some time in the 20th century.
It is extremely large and very beautiful. But what struck me most when I went inside, was the stained glass windows, which are modern, as the original ones were destroyed in the 17th century.
There are a number of windows, some constructed with a very interesting mosaic technique, with amazing colour combinations, which I will post at a future date. But the most striking of all the windows is the one designed by Alphonse Mucha, the famous Czech Art-Nouveau artist. It is quite extraordinary, and most unusual for a cathedral.
The detail of the figures are best appreciated in close-ups; below are the top and bottom areas of the window photographed separately:
Even so, the above are not close-up enough. Luckily, I had with me my amazing new Canon SX30 IS, a so-called 'bridge' camera (bigger than a compact, but smaller than a DSLR) and which has this extraordinary zoom lens that goes from a 24 mm wide angle to an 840 telephoto lens. So the following pictures were taken from the same place as the above pics - I did not have to climb onto ladders to get nearer the spots!
This group is in the lower part of the window, and also contains an ad for the window's sponsors - a bank.
This is the figure at the very top of the window - I presume it is Christ - I would guess a likely 10 metres away from me and my camera.
This is my figure figure, right below the other one - I don't know who it is supposed to represent - but it definitely has the look of an Art Nouveau figure, and it is not at all like the sort of Virgin representations one expects to find in churches.
The whole design is amazing, but what really left me breathless was the colour - not only of this window, but of the others too - just one of those experiences where you whole body and mind feels like WOWWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! and you can't bear to leave the place.
Hope you enjoyed the images!
Good night!
Alicia
St Vitus Cathedral is within the area of the Prague Castle, perched above the town. It is Gothic in style, although in fact was not finished until quite recently - some time in the 20th century.
It is extremely large and very beautiful. But what struck me most when I went inside, was the stained glass windows, which are modern, as the original ones were destroyed in the 17th century.
There are a number of windows, some constructed with a very interesting mosaic technique, with amazing colour combinations, which I will post at a future date. But the most striking of all the windows is the one designed by Alphonse Mucha, the famous Czech Art-Nouveau artist. It is quite extraordinary, and most unusual for a cathedral.
The detail of the figures are best appreciated in close-ups; below are the top and bottom areas of the window photographed separately:
Even so, the above are not close-up enough. Luckily, I had with me my amazing new Canon SX30 IS, a so-called 'bridge' camera (bigger than a compact, but smaller than a DSLR) and which has this extraordinary zoom lens that goes from a 24 mm wide angle to an 840 telephoto lens. So the following pictures were taken from the same place as the above pics - I did not have to climb onto ladders to get nearer the spots!
This group is in the lower part of the window, and also contains an ad for the window's sponsors - a bank.
This is the figure at the very top of the window - I presume it is Christ - I would guess a likely 10 metres away from me and my camera.
This is my figure figure, right below the other one - I don't know who it is supposed to represent - but it definitely has the look of an Art Nouveau figure, and it is not at all like the sort of Virgin representations one expects to find in churches.
The whole design is amazing, but what really left me breathless was the colour - not only of this window, but of the others too - just one of those experiences where you whole body and mind feels like WOWWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! and you can't bear to leave the place.
Hope you enjoyed the images!
Good night!
Alicia
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Monday, 11 April 2011
My visit to Prague
I haven't blogged for a while mainly because I went to Prague. I attended the Prague Patchwork Meeting, where I showed some of my quilts, and taught a couple of workshops. It was a wonderful experience. Czech quilters are very talented, they produce beautiful work and are interested in what is going on in the rest of the quilting world.
Then, on my return, I have spent the last few days working very hard to finish some quilts for my exhibition at the Carrefour du Patchwork in France - there was a deadline for sending images for the catalogue.
Here are some first impressions of Prague. We were very lucky with the weather, which was mostly warm and sunny - just like the last few days in Britain.
Charles Bridge is one of the best known features of the city. It was the first, and for a long time the only one, bridge over the river Vlatava. It is adorned with statues of saints, and has a tower and arch at each end. It is also full of tourists and street sellers!
Trams are a great form of transport. In general, public transport in Prague is first rate.
We walked along the small crowded streets of the Old City to the main square. The towers of St Mary's Church are beautiful.
The Astronomical Clock is quite a magnet, attracting crowds of visitors.
On the other side of the river, Prague Castle is an important feature of the city. We spent quite a lot of time there; within it is St Vitus' Cathedral, a fascinating gothic building with the most amazing stained glass windows.
Next time I will show some stained glass windows and their amazing colours. For now, I leave off with a view of Prague from the Castle.
Then, on my return, I have spent the last few days working very hard to finish some quilts for my exhibition at the Carrefour du Patchwork in France - there was a deadline for sending images for the catalogue.
Here are some first impressions of Prague. We were very lucky with the weather, which was mostly warm and sunny - just like the last few days in Britain.
Charles Bridge is one of the best known features of the city. It was the first, and for a long time the only one, bridge over the river Vlatava. It is adorned with statues of saints, and has a tower and arch at each end. It is also full of tourists and street sellers!
There are beautiful views from the bridge.
We walked along the small crowded streets of the Old City to the main square. The towers of St Mary's Church are beautiful.
The Astronomical Clock is quite a magnet, attracting crowds of visitors.
On the other side of the river, Prague Castle is an important feature of the city. We spent quite a lot of time there; within it is St Vitus' Cathedral, a fascinating gothic building with the most amazing stained glass windows.
Next time I will show some stained glass windows and their amazing colours. For now, I leave off with a view of Prague from the Castle.
Good night, and thanks for visiting.
Alicia
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