On my three month over winter trip to Western Australia I
carried with me one small back pack that passed as hand luggage. Within I had
enough tweed and wool to keep me occupied and an absolute minimum of clothing.
Fortunately in the shocking heat of Australia little in the way of clothing is
required. WA was fortunate in not suffering the massive fires that raged for
months in the east but the support and aid sent was impressive. Now the world
has changed and the human race has other things to occupy its mind. Corona
virus meant little to me when I first heard of it in mid-January, then I
assumed it would be just another one of those Asian flu things that would
probably be over before my due date of return on the 4th March.
However by then it had already become pandemic and during my flight back via
Singapore we were all masked up. I was a couple of days in London and little
seemed to have changed although I made sure I touched nothing while on public
transport. Each day brought more foreboding news of Italy being closed down and
the epicenter now having moved to Europe. Two days after arriving back in
Brittany I had a small local exhibition of my work opening on the Saturday
afternoon and a workshop to follow on the Monday morning. It never happened
since lock-down was imposed and we passed into a period isolation, which just
happens to be my norm so little inconvenience. After only a couple of days I
realised my only form of outside entertainment had been seriously polluted by
the virus and so contented myself with creative exploits and the resurrection
of my sadly neglected garden. It was also obvious that there would be no way of
returning to the Isle of Lewis and that I must resume a life in Lezele for this
summer.
On the creative front I have launched into another long
project, this time to stitch a book. I’m on the eighth page, each measuring
30x40cm and in no particular order, they will cover a miscellaneous variety of
images and subject matter. Things that I find interesting amusing or simply
transfers well into a stitched form. An example of this was the two images
inspired by a friend’s six year old daughter. I find it fascinating that when
children visit my studio and see me at work they are never intimidated but
rather inspired to create something. Then they do what no adult would do and
give me as a present the picture they have produced, assuming that because I
create so many I will be delighted to accept theirs. I this case Georgian had
depicted two images of herself in a fantasy world and with a little
manipulation they transformed well to applique embroidery. The first shows
Georgina with cherry red lips and two fluffy white dogs. Those dogs have blue
glass bead eyes which proved all important when it came to the second image of
Bill-Linda. The angry man seems more upset by the fact she didn't shut the gate than that all his fluffy white dogs have been savaged. On close inspection you wil note that Bill-Linda is carrying an I-bag.
