A Day with Friends in Barcelona

My previous post was labelled "First Day in Barcelona", when actually it was our second. I confess that on our first day I was a tad tired and engaged in some retail therapy. Our hotel was situated right across from a wonderful shopping centre called Las Arenas. It even had a fantastic food court and grocery and health food store in the basement.

Did I mention that we did a lot of walking in Barcelona? Before we learned how to take the subway we walked everywhere. These are just a few photos I took on the walk into the old part of town.

We were very fortunate to spend an entire day with friends Cecilia and Merce Gonzales. We met these two textile artists (also sisters) in 2013 when they and I were both exhibiting at Quilt en Sud in St. Jean de Luz, France. Their shared web site is Desedamas. Cecilia and Merce live just outside Barcelona.

From left to right in both photos, Merce Gonzales, Cecilia Gonzales, and me.

We were guided on a walking tour through part of the Gothic quarter. The arches you see to the right date back to Roman times.

We walked through the El Born region, a charming quarter housing many artist studios, shops and restaurants The streets here are much quieter than in the tourist areas.

We saw the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, built in the 14th century. This church is built in the Catalon style.

We ended our day in the seaside neighbourhood of La Barceloneta. This is the area on the waterfront that was once known as fishermen's wharf. Now it is a place to surf and sunbathe in warmer months. It is also in close proximity to where the 1992 Olympics were held. We had a fabulous and leisurely meal at a seafood restaurant in that area.

International Exhibition Group: My Other Big Project

During my exhibition and workshops at the Quilt en Sud Textile Art and Patchwork Biennial in France this past spring, I received an email from Textile Artist Jane Rollason, who lives part-time in the UK and part-time in France. The email invited me to become a member of an international exhibition group. At first I hesitated because I am pretty focused on what I want to do, and if the themes or challenges involve creating work outside my realm, I feel it is not a good use of my time. However, the theme of this show is going to be NATURE. Right up my alley! It means I can still continue with the series I had in mind. I still hesitated because of my busy teaching schedule, but then I thought about my goal of seeing more of the world through international teaching. Jane plans to pitch the exhibition to the large shows in Europe. Each of us must submit six works by September 2014. One can be any size; the remaining five pieces must be one of the following: 24"x24", 12"x24" or 24"x12". OK, I'm not great at working to size, but I think I can do this. At this moment we don't have a name for the group, and I am not completely sure of the final list of members. So whatever happens, this will be time well spent because I get to do the work I want to do. The only parameters are size. I am planning a review or retrospective of sorts of all my hosta styles. Maybe four pieces that are 12" wide and 24" long, that can hang side by side. Not a diptych, not a triptych, but a group of four. Does anyone know the word for that? So here is my first piece, created this week, a hosta unfurling. A piece I've always wanted to make. It is 12"x24".

Initially I had cropped back a photo to the composition below (the entire photo, not just the section within the black lines)..

I went ahead and drafted the pattern. That was a few weeks ago, but just as I was about to start the piece it occured to me that I could do better with the composition. I got out my cardboard viewfinder and brought the spiral in closer. The new composition was contained within the black marker frame in the photo above.

Here is the final design. I didn't like that the spiral in the first version was so centred. I also wanted the piece to be a little more abstract, so zooming in closer and not depicting the edges of the hosta leaf help to achieve that goal. I am much happier with the final design and am glad I took the time to re-draft the pattern.

Looking at the design now, it very much reminds me of the Golden Ratio. 

The Golden Ratio looks at what proportions are naturally the most visually appealing. It has been used in design, architecture, and mathematics for hundreds of years. It even corresponds to what we find most attractive in people's facial features and body types, and it is displayed throughout nature, in the spiralling of seashells, sunflower centres, and leaf growth. To be a more perfect Golden Ratio, however, the rectangle I placed my design in would need to be wider. In fact the ratio of height to width should be 0.618, whereas mine is 0.5. But hey, I have parameters I need to follow for the show. Still I think the final design is more appealing than the initial one. 

Stay tuned as I create more works in this series in the next several months. I am finally back in studio mode, and it feels good!

Some Favorite Sites in France

This week I intend to finish blogging about our recent trip to France. This post contains some of my favorite pictures from a variety of locations, mostly small villages in the Atlantic-Pyrenees region of France.

I think the photo below is a classic for Europe! It is common practice to bring dogs everywhere, including to restaurants. North Americans would freak, but I think this really adds to the ambiance, allows dog-owners more freedom, and helps socialize dogs better. All of these dogs were a lot more well behaved than many children I've seen in restaurants. This photo was taken at a restaurant in St. Jean de Luz, during the Quilt en Sud Textile Art and Patchwork Biennial. This is a small and beautiful coastal coastal city where many Europeans come to surf and spend time on the beach.

The village of Irouleguy has some beautiful weathered medieval buildings. 

It also happens to be a wine-growing region.

The village of Sare has, to me, one of the most beautiful churches I saw on my trip.

All around the region you are surrounded by the Pyrenees Mountains. One day we took a train to the top, and here is the beautiful vista we experienced.

What an enchanting town Sauveterre de Bearn is, with a castle, a cathedral and "the bridge of legends". The legend is that a young woman had a stillborn child.  She was accused of killing her child, and was put through a pretty grueling test to prove her innocence. Her hands and feet were bound and she was thrown in the river. Legend has it that she survived the ordeal, thus proving her innocence! 

There was actually a quilt inspired by the Bridge of Legends at Quilt en Sud. It is created by artist Marcelle Orban. 

The Castle.

St. Jean Pied de Port: A Beautiful Meander

We reached home in the wee hours on Thursday morning. Our last day was fraught with a bit of stress due to an Air France labour dispute that caused many internal flights to be cancelled. Fortunately we made it home as planned despite the strike. I am now getting ready to teach my "Dye Another Day" class tomorrow at the Country Quilter in Richmond, Ontario. It will be an outdoor class on the very same day and site as the annual Richmond outdoor quilt show.

I have a few more blog posts about our trip that I will publish in the next week. For today I am going to talk about possibly my absolute favorite village on the trip: St. Jean Pied de Port. The name literally means "St. John at the foot of the mountain pass". This town is the last stop before taking the arduous mountain crossing on the pilgramage to Santiago de Compostela, along the Camino Trail. It is believed that the remains of St. James lie at the Compestela in northern Spain. Today both religious pilgrims and extreme sport pilgrims walk the 800 km Camino Trail to reach the Compostela. The gate of the town is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I was in love the moment I walked through the gates of St. Jean Pied de Port. Steep narrow streets, well preserved ancient buildings, and a medieval wall surrounding the town charmed me.

In several locations there are stairs to ascend to a walkway that encircles the entire town and provides a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside. 

This photo looks like a ladder to the heavens.

Here's the walkway around the wall, that allows unobstructed views into the backyards and gardens of town residents.

The Nive River runs through the town, and there are several beautiful bridges crossing it. The Nive River is the same river that also ran past our hotel property in St. Ettienne de Baigorry (see my last blog post).

Another walkway runs along the river.

A beautiful location to meander for a day.

A Beautiful Stay in a Sleepy Village

After our fantastic week at Quilt en Sud, in St. Jean de Luz, we moved into a country hotel in the sleepy village of St. Etienne de Baigorry. This village is located in the Southwestern Atlantic-Pyrenees region of France, near the border to Spain. On the first day of our vacation (after a week of rain) the weather turned glorious.

As with any ancient European village, the church is the focal point of the village. We can hear its beautiful bells ringing throughout the day, and this morning there was sweet music wafting out its doors.

Our hotel (building on the right) is situated on a property along the Nive River. There are several bridges crossing the river that I am sure Monet would have loved. We wake to bird song each morning.

On nice days (which we now seem to have run out of) we eat breakfast on the beautiful patio beside the breakfast room, with the Nive flowing beside us.

When it happens to be cooler or raining, we eat inside. 

The glorious view from our room.

We had about four days of good weather, and then it began to rain again. It has been raining for two days and the Nive River is getting high. If it doesn't stop soon I fear we'll need to build an ark!

During a little break in the rain this morning, we took a walk through the village once more. This is the "Roman Bridge", dating back to the 1600's.

It is very green and lush here, with moss, ferns and ivy covering bridges and walls. There are also a lot of flowers creeping along and tumbling down walls.

Some beautiful gates, fences, and doors.

It is the time of year when flowers are bursting into full bloom.

Calla lilies are common here. 

The rain is beating down the rose petals, but they look lovely lying on beds of moss.

There are chickens on the outskirts of the village.

Sheep graze in the fields around the village. Brebis cheese is made in this region.

Down the street there is another hotel and restaurant, where a cat named Estee lives. On evenings when weather is good and we can eat on the patio, Estee greets each table and waits for a tip. That's probably how she got to be so substantial and huggable. 

Here's hoping for better weather in the next couple of days.