CLAIRE PASSMORE blog

Leaving on a jet plane

30/3/2015

 
Tomorrow I leave South Africa, flying back up to the northern hemisphere summer. Yesterday I saw two big groups of flamingos flying over my roof in the classic V shape. By the time I had grabbed my camera they had gone. Sorry. If any more come over I will try to be more prepared.  So thanks to 'MarioM' for posting this picture on wikimedia commons, (free for all to use). These curious birds are perhaps even more fascinating to observe from below than when they are treddling, heads down, in the shallow water. Their huge wings are black on the underside - not the pink you might expect, and their long gangly legs and necks stretch right out, front and back. They also make quite a lot of noise - had they not I might have missed them. I think they are leaving too - heading north to warmer places.

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Picture courtesy of MarioM, wikimedia commons
To prepare for the trip I have obviously packed my suitcases full of my sketchbooks, art supplies, finished quilts  and the new thingamajig I have concocted to help making stitching on the plane easier. You may recall I experienced a little turbulence on the last plane trip I took and ended up spending too much time stopping my quilt-tin from ending up on the floor.
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The sketch I drew of my idea on the last trip I took. The only piece of paper I could find on the plane was the (unused) sick bag. Yuk!
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And here is what I have made to try out..... pockets for storage, a pincusion and some elastic to attach some bobbins of thread.
So here it is - I will take some pictures to show you how I get along with it, and let you know what refinements are needed once it has been tried and tested. I am just hoping it will fit over the tray table!

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Sue's idea: a pocket which I can attach to the tray or other fixed surface. A magnet inside will hopefully stop the tin from moving about.
I also need to thank a lady named Sue who follows my blog, who came up with a great idea. She suggested I made a small fabric bag with a magnet inside and stitch this to a piece of elastic with a popper at each end. This can be stretched around the tray - or other items  - to hold the tin in place.  Sue - I have made one - and am going to try that out too! I did not have any elastic or poppers (they are all packed!) so I used the sleeve of an old shirt, a fridge magnet, a piece of tape and an odd bit of velcro I found in a box. It isn't pretty, but I hope it will be good enough to test the idea.

I'll let you know how it works!

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The story behind the quilt 'Forced Removal'

23/3/2015

 
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I made this quilt for the Contemporary Quilt Group challenge for the Festival of Quilts 2014. The title of the challenge was 'Dislocation' and is possibly the most difficult quilt I have made. Not because of any technical aspect, but because of suffering of the people whom it concerns. 

Almost every person you care to talk to probably knows of, or is aware of a policy called Apartheid that was practiced in South Africa up until 1994. As a teenager in the UK in the 1980's it was part of our RE classes. From those lessons I learned that people in South Africa were treated differently according to the colour of their skin. On the TV news I saw people being beaten with sticks and police treating large angry groups with a harshness so severe it was barbaric.  I knew that we did not buy apples or grapes in the shops with the word 'Cape' on them as they had come from 'that' place and we were not supporting 'them'. I listened to Peter Gabriel sing about a man named Steve Biko who died in police custody from terrible wounds inflicted by the police and to Simple Minds singing about a man named Nelson Mandela who was in prison for having the audacity to demand equal rights for all people within his own country. Knowing all these things I knew 'about' apartheid - but I had not the smallest idea of what it actually meant in real life. 

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So when I came to live in South Africa in 2005, knowing that it was eleven years after the official end of apartheid, I was shocked by what I saw. We lived in the most beautiful home I have ever lived in with incredible sea views and someone to clean it for me. Compared with my regular life in the UK it was sheer luxury.  However, just a few miles away there was a hillside that spread for miles, covered in tiny tin and wooden shacks, each of which was smaller than my bathroom, with no formal roads, electricity or sanitation to service them. It looked like living in hell. It disturbed me greatly - and even now, in 2015, the situation is little better for so many people.

As I settled in to my new home I began to research how South Africa got itself into this tragic human mess. I began volunteering with different groups to try and make a small difference in people's lives. I made many friends with people from all parts of the city and listened to the stories of their lives - so different from mine. I learned about how the Apartheid regime controlled their lives with things like the Dompas, The Population Registration Act, The Group Areas Act, The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, The Immorality Act and the Natives Resettlement Act. It is a lot to take in.

One of the most visually striking places that helped me better understand the impact of apartheid on people's daily lives was the District Six Museum in CapeTown. Situated on the edge of District Six (a suburb close to the prime location of the CBD that is now bizarrely a mixture wasteland, a few isolated clusters of housing, a church, a mosque and the Cape Peninsula University) it is an extraordinary place. Visit their website and learn more for yourself.


Images from District 6 Museum and a new friend, Mr Noor Ebrahim


In 1950 the white-ruled South African Government brought into being two very significant Acts of parliament which had severe implications for the lives of the vast majority of South Africans. The Population Registration Act required every inhabitant of the country to be  be classified and registered in accordance with their racial characteristics and the Group Areas Act, that assigned these different racial groups to different geographical locations - effectively prohibiting non-whites from certain desirable or potentially urban areas. If an area was occupied by persons of the 'wrong' racial group they were forcefully removed from their homes and 'relocated' to an area designated for their racial group. There was no option - and sometimes even families were split apart.  There was obviously huge opposition to this, so during the forced removals armed police and lorries arrived, often accompanied by bulldozers. With little notice people often bundled their belongings into the back of lorries and watched as their home was raised to the ground. They were then taken to the new 'location' - always far away and with few, if any services or amenities.  

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The destruction of District Six . Photo taken at the District Six Museum.


Forced removals on a huge scale were commenced in the 1950's onwards across the country; from Cato Manor and Warwick Junction in Durban, District Six and Crossroads in CapeTown, Fietas, Prospect Township and Sophiatown in Johannesburg, Lady Selbourne in Pretoria, Bethany in Bloemfontein to name a few. 

In CapeTown, District Six was one of the areas that became an issue. Historically it was an area close to the port where freed slaves had settled and had then developed into a vibrant, if rather run-down area where a mixed community of around 60,000 people all races lived. Mr Noor Ebrahim (the gentleman in the pictures above) at the District Six Museum remembers the day it finally happened to his family. A few days later his father returned to the pile of rubble that was his home, for a last look - and found his homing pigeons quietly waiting for him. They clearly had not understood.

In Johannesburg an area known as Sophiatown was an area where black South Africans had bought properties and lived in a multi-racial community of over 60,000 people. Over the years new suburbs grew up around Sophiatown which began to be occupied by white middle class workers and in the 1940's the perception arose that the multicultural suburb was far too close to a white suburb and plans began for the relocation of the entire population of Sophiatown. On 9th February 1955 the armed police arrived and the residents of Sophiatown were forcefully removed. The entire suburb was then demolished, rezoned a whites-only area and then reprehensibly renamed - Triomf. 

The repercussions of these forced removals added to the already difficult lives of the majority of South Africans. Their lives were turned upside down. They were moved to smaller homes, often without amenities, further away from their work and the city.  If they had animals they were usually not allowed to take them. Those who were classified as 'surplus to requirements' (yes - that is true) were relocated to the rural areas. Here they often found the land infertile and with no jobs nearby they were left virtually destitute. Far away from their communities and support systems people had to let go of their history and start afresh elsewhere.   Those old communities now remain only in the memory of those who were once residents, like Mr Noor Mohammed.


The Quilt
I gathered my understanding of all this over my time here in South Africa, and when the title 'Dislocation' was posed for the 2014 challenge I immediately knew what I wanted to create.  Having spent time with Mr Noor Ebrahim and so many others who have suffered because of the policy of forced removals  I wanted to tell the story of their experiences. It is not something many people feel comfortable talking about, but to ignore it or hide from it means it is more easily forgotten. And that would be terribly wrong too.


To read more about how I made the quilt, click here.


However, please do not misunderstand my post. I love the New South Africa and its people. It is a most beautiful place, filled with delightful people who, despite much adversity, are positive, friendly and more often than not, go out of their way to be kind and generous. I will be leaving soon and will do so with a heavy heart. 


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Thank you for reading

Upcoming Exhibitions

16/3/2015

 
As I am returning to the UK in the next few weeks I have been looking around for some good exhibitions to visit. Here are a few that struck me as being interesting (mine included). It is a purely subjective list! They all cover the next few months and some have already started. I am not sure whether I will manage to visit them all, but I am certainly going to try.

If you manage to visit please do leave a comment - it would be great to hear what you think.


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'Murmuration'
A collaborative exhibition  by Donna Vale, Jackie Curtis and Matt Bjerregaard.
On now and continuing until 10th April 2015
at For Every Cloud, Bow Street, Langport  TA10 9PR
http://www.jcurtisart.com/

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'Fabric of Nature'
An exhibition  by Gordano Textile Artists.
March 31st to April 12th 2015
at Wallworth Hall, Twigworth, Gloucestershire. GL2 9PA
http://www.gordanotextileartists.co.uk/Exhibitions.html

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'Drawn Threads'
  Exhibition by Donegal Textile Artist Caoimhe Friel.
2nd April 2015, 6pm at
 Cafe Blend, Letterkenny. 

http://caoimhefriel.com/
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'Here and Far'
An exhibition of art quilts and textiles by me, Claire Passmore.
1st to 11th May 2015
at Midsomer Quilting, Chilcompton, Somerset. BA3 4RR

http://clairepassmore.weebly.com/here-and-far-exhibition.html

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'Ten Plus @ The Silk Museum'
An exhibition by 10+ Textiles
14 Mar – 30 May 2015
(closed Sundays and Good Friday)
Heritage Centre, Roe Street, Macclesfield, SK11 6UT
http://www.tenplustextiles.com/exhibitions.html
'Textile Treasures'
An exhibition  by The Living Threads Group.
8th to 17th April 2015
Obolensky Building, Trent College, Long Eaton, Nottingham NG10 4AD
http://www.livingthreadstextileartists.com/

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'NOW!'
An exhibition  by The Sixty Two Group of Textile Artists.
17th March to 10th May 2015
Upfront Gallery, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 9TG.
http://www.62group.org.uk/exhibitions/

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'Framed Embroideries'
An exhibition  by Tilleke Schwarz.
14th March to 10th May 2015
Craft in the Bay, The Flourish, Lloyd George Avenue, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4QH, Wales
http://www.makersguildinwales.org.uk/whats-on/exhibition/event/395-tilleke-schwarz-solo-exhibition

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'Tech Styles'
An exhibition  by Textile 21 Group.
14th March to 13th June 2015
Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire, CA11 9TG.

http://www.textile21.co.uk/

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'Thinking Thread & Octet'
An exhibition  by Sara impey and Anglia Textile Works.
26th March to 29th May 2015
Braintree District Museum, Manor Street,Braintree,     
CM7 3HW
http://www.braintreemuseum.co.uk/whatson/exhibitions/

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'Unsung Muses'
Solo exhibition by Gillian Cooper.
21st March to 10th May
The Howgill Gallery, Farfield Mill, Sedbergh

http://gilliancooper.blogspot.com/2015/03/solo-exhibition-at-farfield-mill.html

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Stitching on a plane

9/3/2015

 
My parents are visiting us at the moment - so we have had a lovely time doing all those things you only do as a tourist. Probably the best thing we did was to travel to a part of South Africa I have never been to before named Pilansberg. We went in search of the 'Big 5' - and we were not disappointed! The most memorable part of the trip was when around 15 or so elephant came to play at a waterhole we were sitting near. They stayed and played in the water for about an hour, and we were captivated.

However, this has nothing to do with quilting! So on to that now.....


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Elephants just having fun
As we travelled to Pilansberg by plane I decided that those two hours of forced inactivity could be best spent with some therapeutic stitching. Once you are actually on board, stitching on a plane is easy. You just need to be organised so that microscopic space that is 'yours' for the duration of your trip is used to the max!

The hardest part is getting your potentially 'lethal' weapons onto the plane. You know what I mean! 

That is where my little Quilt-tin comes in very handy. You can read a little more about it here.

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Aeroplane friendly sewing equipment
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Once you are settled into your seat and everyone around you has stopped trying to jam their most important items into the box above your head, it is the perfect time to break out your little Quilt-tin and settle down to some quality time with your work. No phone calls or any of those other pesky interruptions to get in the way. Enjoy the moment!


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Quality time with a little 20cm x 20cm quilt I am working on for Quilting Arts magazine
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So far, so good. No turbulance yet!

It was all going so well, until a large patch of turbulance gave me some time to reflect on the merits of balancing the tin on my knee. I was glad of the magnets and velcro I had put into the tin to hold everything in place - but keeping the tin from the floor needed more concentration than I wanted to give it. Which set me to thinking about some improvements to this stitching on a plane business.

As I sat in my seat I pondered how to make things even easier and looked around to see what I could utilise. The fold down tray and its little hook are really about the only things I could see that I would consistently be able to make use of. As I had no paper I needed to make use of the handy sick bag to scribble on and draw the plan I came up with. 


My idea is to create a small pouch arrangement to suspend from the seatback in front of you. I'm not exactly sure how it will turn out yet, but in a few weeks time I will be returning to the UK, so I will make a prototype of my idea and write another post to let you know how I get along with it. If you have any ideas or suggestions I would love to hear from you!

In the meantime, I couldn't resist posting a few more pictures of the beautiful animals we saw. Thanks for reading.


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More elephants at play
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Bambi!
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Mother zebra and foal
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Rhino at the waterhole
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A boar emerging from the mud
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Giraffes on their way to drink
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Festival of Quilts 2015 Challenge 'elements' Part 3

1/3/2015

 
PictureThe sample of my quilt for the Contemporary Quilt 'elements' challenge.

Hi!

I have been busy with this quilt for a few weeks now, and it is now finished!
I have really enjoyed developing this design and now have more ideas than time to create a new series.
Using the fabrics I created a few weeks ago (see here) and the ideas from my sketchbook (see here) I have been exploring different ideas for the 'elements' quilt - and this is it! I can't show you the whole quilt at the moment, but this is the sample I am going to submit to the jury, which demonstrates the fabrics and techniques I have used and gives you a flavour of the overall quilt. The sample measures 20cm by 20cm.

The title of my quilt: 'chrysopoeia'
which, I have discovered, means transmutaion into gold


The symbol I have chosen is very old. It is one of the many used by alchemists thousands of years ago to represent the metal gold. For alchemists gold was a very special and important metal and its creation was one of their many aims, as was the discovery of 'the elixir of life' that would cure all ills and prolong life.

The alchemists of old were part artist, part scientist, part magician. By pursuing their studies they often walked a tightrope between the favour of the rich and powerful (who wanted their gold, secrets and discoveries) and persecution by the very same people who feared the alchemists. However, what the alchemists even meant by the term 'gold' is also complex and confusing. To them gold wasn't just the shiny yellow metal we know today. To them it was much more than one thing. There was 'astral gold' which had its centre in the sun and penetrated everything; then there was 'elemental gold', the purest thing in the whole universe which could not be changed or surpassed. All living beings have this elemental gold at their core. This elemental gold was also the famous 'philosopher's stone' - a powder (not a solid stone) which would allow the owner to create the last kind of gold, 'common metal gold' or 'vulgar gold' from other metals. This is the flashy yellow stuff we know.

Much of what the early alchemists believed and discovered has since been found to be wrong - but much is also incredibly accurate, and given the tools of the time it is astonishing that they were able to deduce so much from simple observations. Personally I find it fascinating.






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Alchemical Symbols
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An Alchemical Laboratory
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Cornelis Pietersz. Beda: The alchemist, 1663
If you would like to create a quilt for this challenge you still have plenty of time.

You do need to be a member of the Contemporary Quilt group of the Quilters Guild of the British Isles  - a great organisation which is open to all and is run by its members. 
Their stated aim is to bring together quilters in a spirit of friendship and learning, promoting quilt-making in all its forms across the UK.

As an educational charity it preserves the heritage of quilting and work to ensure a vibrant future for the craft. 


If you enjoy stitching and quilting it is a very supportive and worthwhile organisation to join. You can find more information about joining the Guild here. 


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To find out more information about the challenge, visit the CQ challenge website here

If you decide to participate you have until May 31st to create your quilt and submit a photograph of it to the jury. You will also need to make a sample, showing the techniques and materials you have used. 

The jurors remit is to provide a balanced, colourful display of contemporary quilts to be hung at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August 2015.

I have no idea whether my quilt will be selected - if it is, then that will be lovely, but if not I really don't mind as I have enjoyed making this quilt very much, and it has set me off onto the path of my next series.


Good luck with yours if you do decide to participate!

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