Packed and just about on weight!!   Right, I am all packed and my cases are just about borderline weight wise! Gulp!! I am off to Dublin airport to fly to Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand. Let's hope it has stopped shaking. I dont fly til 8.30pm, but I need to park etc.   I will be staying with my good friend Denise and her hubby on their farm for 4 days then I will be flying up to Auckland on the North Island to start 3 weeks of teaching. I hope to be able to drop in on Alysn Midgelow Marsden and inspect her new home and her new aircraft hanger of a studio, jealous?? ME??  Denise hiding in the foliage on her verandah. Gore Bay. Close to the farm, great for long walks.   Denise lives in Cheviot and has been coping with almost continual shaking of the ground since the big earthquake earlier in the year. They had a 4.9 shake 2 weeks ago. Scary. Cheviot was cut off for several weeks until the roads were cleared. I hope to be able to have a

 Beautiful inspiration for design . . and colour. This is a quick post to keep you all up to date with what is happening teaching wise.  I have now finished teaching Experimental Textiles at IDC and will be offering modules from it online from January 2018. They are likely to be 6 week modules, but I will see how everything goes this year. I am going to start online teaching at the end of May this year, but they will short courses. More technique based. As my first book Hot Textiles had been withdrawn from print - I thought I might start with that!  I have so enjoyed teaching my course Experimental Textiles in various forms over the past twenty years or so, and of course, there is also the book of the same name. It is time for me to cut down on my teaching and get on with my own work. All the time I am teaching, I can't concentrate on my own work. And it is time . . . *** It was the last weekend of ExTex as it is called in short form. It was odd - seeing the group wh

A cupboard door made up of all kinds of off cuts of old damaged furniture. Fabulous layers of design. This is my last post about our amazing trip to Jaipur - life is marching on!  While the holiday was a specialist block printing one - we did so much more. Jamie certainly knows how to show you a good time, usually with some special extras. like elephant painting, a trip to a special block printing village and 2 rather special dinners. if you are tempted - here is the link to the Textile Holidays - colouricious.com/textile-art-holidays-trips The block printing was great fun and most of the group are now quite experienced printers. It was a wonderful opportunity to work in so many different workshops and factories.  Having the factory workers on hand to help was a special treat.  There were various trips to all kinds of delights. My favourite was a visit to a salvage yard - just heaven. such a wonderful mix of colours, design and texture. I could have spent a week t

  Wonderful colours and shapes. As you can imagine, India is full of the most stunning images. The colours, forms, shapes and patterns just make your head spin. Here are a few of the shots I took on the 11 day trip around Jaipur. Whilst the trip was a block printing extravaganza, we also got out and about, in an air conditioned coach, to enjoy the local area. One of the many great things of going on a trip with Jamie is that she is so enthusiastic about showing you 'behind the scenes' of life in India. There is nothing Jamie enjoys more than exploring the back streets of Jaipur, finding new factories and workshops and other delights to share. Discovering new experiences for her guests. Each trip is different. Just look at the trips that are on offer - colouricious.com/textile-art-holidays-trips Our holiday included the Amer Fort, just out side Jaipur. A stunning building.   One of the highlights of a visit to the fort is to travel up the hill t