And so to Bath for a belated birthday mini break sans enfants. Main reason (other than loveliness of Queensberry Hotel and Bath in general) was of course the Kaffe Fassett exhibition up at the American Museum, and it was as expected completely fab. I particularly loved the use of giant blown up photos of his work on some kind of vinyl as flooring, which coupled with his work and the intense wall colours made it a very immersive experience. It is so difficult to describe his use of colour in particular adequately to those who haven’t seen his work, so here is a link to a video about the exhibition on the American Museum site and some of my snaps instead so you can experience some more chromomania. Apologies for quality of photography, my iPhone seems to find his exuberant use of reds in particularly quite hard work. Wimp.
My quilting mother and I have both loved and been heavily influenced by Kaffe’s work since he came to prominence in my teens, and although beading has largely replaced patchwork, tapestry and knitting for me, I still find him incredibly inspiring. As well as two huge Persian Poppies shawls I knitted at Uni, posters, insane cardis, scarves and hats using his wools for Rowan, and various other pieces designed by him including a divine lobster needlepont, Mum’s vivid patchwork pieces scattered round the house are a daily reminder of his influence on us. So the exhibition has wound me up nicely, and on my return home the colours will be out in force for both textiles and beading …….. I’m wondering if I can do a Jean Power faux cro rope tribute to some of his early knitting designs, and how about something ridiculous with those neon pink spikes that have just arrived?
Whilst in Bath my tolerant husband also allowed me to amble round the Fashion Museum which was as always fascinating, and we had some stunning food – very interesting tasting menu and wines at the Olive Tree (below the hotel), Sushi at our old favourite Yen Sushi (behind the Assembly Rooms) and a wonderful fishy experience at Blunos. Yummy.
The Indecisive Beader 