'There are now many Portuguese whose original focus of employment was the services on the m40'
+ ideas of Portugese embroidered napkins +
+ ideas of Portugese embroidered napkins +
“Lenços dos Namorados” (Sweetheart Handkerchiefs) are handkerchiefs made of linen or cotton and embroidered with several romantic and love-related motifs: flowers, birds, hearts, verses from love poems. Sweetheart Handkerchiefs have their origin in the 17th century, when they were used among the Portuguese nobility as “marriage proposal handkerchiefs,” but later became popularized as a way to start dating someone. This piece of handcraft is part of typical clothing from the Minho province (in Northwestern Portugal) and used by young women of marrying age. These young women would embroider a handkerchief and give it to their sweetheart as a sign of their love just before he would leave on a sea journey, normally to Portugal’s former colonial provinces. The men would then wear the handkerchief in public to show everyone they were in a committed relationship"
+ Cherwell Valley
+ Oxford +
+ Warwick +
+ Beaconsfield
journeys
+
maps
+
embroidery
+
service station napkins
m40 migrants
I didnt think I would ever be blogging about service stations but here goes ... apparently the Portugese community made their way up to Leamington as a result of the M40 and work in the service stations along the route.
Beginning in 1997, the motorway was widened to dual four lane between junctions 1A and 3 (High Wycombe East) under a Private Finance Initiative. It was completed by a Carillion-John Laing joint venture in October 1998, less than the original plan which would have included widening the section between Junctions 3 and 4. Oxford services and Warwick Services opened in 1998.
In 2009 the Highways Agency extended the Active Traffic Management (ATM) system that was previously introduced on the M42 motorwayonto the northbound carriageway of the M40 from junction 16 through to the junction with the M42. Beaconsfield services (near the site of the original proposed service station almost 40 years earlier) opened in 2009.
Cherwell Valley + Oxford + Warwick + Beaconsfield
I didnt think I would ever be blogging about service stations but here goes ... apparently the Portugese community made their way up to Leamington as a result of the M40 and work in the service stations along the route.
M40's first service station opened as Cherwell Valley services in 1994 on the site of temporary toilet areas which had been created when the motorway was constructed.
The M40 had been expected to be the last major motorway constructed in the UK, but during the final stages of construction the Conservative government announced a major new road building scheme (Roads for Prosperity); much of which was later cancelled after major road protests.
Beginning in 1997, the motorway was widened to dual four lane between junctions 1A and 3 (High Wycombe East) under a Private Finance Initiative. It was completed by a Carillion-John Laing joint venture in October 1998, less than the original plan which would have included widening the section between Junctions 3 and 4. Oxford services and Warwick Services opened in 1998.
Work to separate local and long distance traffic at junction 4 was completed in 2007. The work included a new dedicated left turn slip lane between the A404 Marlow Bypass and the Oxford-bound M40; additional lanes to the M40 slip roads entering the roundabout; an additional lane between the A404 Marlow Hill and the London-bound M40; and a five lane cross link to assist traffic movements between the M40 and the A404(S).
In 2009 the Highways Agency extended the Active Traffic Management (ATM) system that was previously introduced on the M42 motorwayonto the northbound carriageway of the M40 from junction 16 through to the junction with the M42. Beaconsfield services (near the site of the original proposed service station almost 40 years earlier) opened in 2009.Cherwell Valley + Oxford + Warwick + Beaconsfield
Leamington : a multicultural town
"The town is diffuse and divided, but not in ways that are deep or bitter; yet the parts tend to come together over time and they share a discernible pride in the place. In this club, for example, it says Cead Mile Failte in large letters over the stage, but I haven't heard an Irish accent, let alone any Gaelic. Although the people look Irish and have parents or grandparents mainly from Cork they tell stories about visits to Ireland as if it were an exotic other, just as the Punjabis who are 20% of the town talk about India and the Sicilians talk about Italy. If we took demography seriously those notices would not say that we were twinned with Bruhl and Sceaux, but with Cork, Cimino and Amritsar. The Punjabis and Corkonians came mainly for the Ford foundry which now lies derelict at the other end of town, the Ciminese to run restaurants and hairdressers. The Poles came as refugees and in such numbers after 1939 that the old town hall became the Polish Club. There are now many Portuguese whose original focus of employment was the services on the M40" via The social affairs unit 'Portugal has a longer history of migration to the UK. Portuguese migrant
workers have been a substantial group in the UK labour market: one wave of
migration occurred in the mid-1970s and continued when the country joined the
European community in 1986. According to Rutter (2006), a more recent migration
wave started after 2000. Despite the lack of reliable data and official figures, one
study has estimated the number of Portuguese migrants in the UK to be at around
300,000 people (British Educational Research Association, 2008). The
geographical distribution of Portuguese migrants has become more fluid in recent
years. ' via policy studies institute
So many ideas are floating around for my Making Moves residency with Craftspace. I have been reading about Leamington Spa and its history as a spa town . It was a popular place to 'take the waters'
'more and more visitors came to Leamington, paying to drink the waters and take a bath in the growing number of establishments'
Patients were instructed to drink a pint of the nauseous tasting water in the morning , followed by a walk and breakfast'
Spa treatments were for the wealthy but some provision was made for the poor.
Spa treatments were for the wealthy but some provision was made for the poor.
'Leamington was popular with fortune hunters in the 19th century - 'gentlemen' were drawn to the town because of many of the rich heiresses living in the spa. Equally, mothers with marriageable daughters also set eyes on prosperous male visitors in the town! '
gold digger
n
1. (Mining & Quarrying) a person who prospects or digs for gold
2. Informal a woman/ man who use their sexual attractions to accumulate gifts and wealth or advance her social position
gold-digging n
I am about to begin my residency with Craftspace and in working with Los Amigos Hispanic group in Leamington Spa. The group meet together as a way of passing their language and culture onto their children and myself and Stewart Easton will be working with them on the creation of 'mantel mas grande' ( big tablecloth ) over the next few months. In developing ideas for the project I felt it was important to create something together which would have a use by the group in future get togethers and celebrations. I sensed that the group liked to party so this went down well in our initial meeting!
I will be based in a studio beside the temperate house at Jepsom Gardens and will also be creating work myself and am very interested in the idea of making work which explores the idea of passing on language and culture from migrant groups to their children. I came across a lovely exhibition curated by Kevin Murray called Joyaviva which relates well to ideas generated already to my Kildas Project and my Making Moves Residency with Craftspace
'Joyaviva is an exhibition of ‘live jewellery’. Each of the
objects you see on display has its own life as a device for sharing
hopes and fears. They have been carefully designed and made by a new
wave of jewellers whose focus is the world outside the gallery. Each
object functions as a witness that links people together, transforming
private wishes into shared stories.'
Not only do I have a residency in Mull later in the year but am also involved in a project Sea Change with Cape Farewell with An Tobar in Mull. Exploring the effects of Climate Change on birds, the project Bird Yarns will begin in March.
'Sea Change is a four year programme of research and art making across Scotland's Western and Northern Isles. Sea Change involves over 30 UK and international artists working collaboratively and independently to consider the relationships between people place and resources in the context of climate change. The project culminates during the Glasgow 2014 commonwealth games. In 2012/13 artists will work with local communities across Scotland's mainland and the islands to produce workshops, work in progress presentations, community events and exhibitions of new work across all art forms. Each project draws on local materials and local knowledge and collectively the projects develop the themes of stewardship and local agency in a celebration of community resourcefulness, ingenuity and resilience. "
The works will be presented on their originating islands and mainland venues London Science Museum, Glasgow Science museum, Eden Project, SAMS festival of the sea, Dovecot. (to be confirmed)
Ruth Little ( Cape Farewell)
I have been revisiting work from my residency on Handa Island 2006 and in particular investigating artic terns.
The works will be presented on their originating islands and mainland venues London Science Museum, Glasgow Science museum, Eden Project, SAMS festival of the sea, Dovecot. (to be confirmed)
Ruth Little ( Cape Farewell)
I have been revisiting work from my residency on Handa Island 2006 and in particular investigating artic terns.
2012 has started really well with being successful in applying for a Making Moves residency with Craftspace at Jephson Gardens in Leamington Spa. I will research and develop new work , work with a local group and mentor recent graduate Stewart Easton .
Later in spring I will be starting a residency on the Isle of Mull in Scotland with An Tobar and creating new work as a result of research into contemporary communities on Mull .
I also have started one to one jewellery making sessions at The School of Jewellery with Alison Macleod and am beginning to experiment with ideas relating to a project 'The Kildas' exploring St Kildas in Scotland, Melbourne Australia + Dunedin, New Zealand.
Watch this space for recycled silver coins and saintly medals!
Gin socks
Shetland wool, silk
2005
Gin Socks and Football will be on exhibit at WOW at Gallery@Rheged 14th January - 15th April . The concept for the WOW was developed by artists, Trevor Pitt and Rachael Matthews and the WOW exhibition has been curated by Trevor Pitt.
Gin Socks : In Shetland in 1700's women knit socks in winter and when the dutch fishing boats came in they would barter their knitted socks for gin.
3 socks = 1 pint of gin.
Gin Socks : In Shetland in 1700's women knit socks in winter and when the dutch fishing boats came in they would barter their knitted socks for gin.
3 socks = 1 pint of gin.
My 'Emotionally embroidered shirt' ( patience ) is now on exhibit in 'White' at Porte Peinte . Burgundy. France December - February 2012. "when I saw Deirdre Nelsons cabinet of emotionally embroidered shirts I laughed out loud. for anyone craving empathy, it was a delightful surprise: three exquisitely hand embroidered shirts – a blow against corporate uniformity and the machine age – decorated with hidden flowers inside the collar, daisy for patience, rosa eglanteria for compassion, pasque flower for empathy. and in many ways it was an emblem for this show"
Dovecot Studios 4th November - 26 November
An exhibition celebrating the work of all of the makers who have received craft development bursaries from the Inches Carr Trust since it was established in 1996. Including a diverse range of work and showcasing many of Scotland’s leading craft practitioners.The purpose of the bursaries is to help established artists develop their skills or research a particular aspect of their practice.
While on residency in rural Western Australia in 2008 , I became overwhelmed by the scale of things ; the landscape ,land use and troubled social history of such a vast country . My focus turned to the 'small' things such as the leaves and flowers of Eucalyptus , a tree which retains enormous cultural significance to the Indigenous traditional owners of the country. Sheep, wheat farming and gold mining are referenced in material choice and those materials are affected by salt ( salination ) , rain and sun to express the extremes of both weather and land use. The embroidered and written work presents commentary from both resident and visitor to Australia.
They say this is the wild west.
They say this is the back of beyond.
They say this is Out. Back. The back of Bourke. My friends and I joke, Nah, it is the back of Bulgaría.
But it is not.
This is not my country. I am fearful of this country. I am scared but I am also awed.
This is not my country, whatever my passport says. My citizenship is not enough to make me feel at home.
Country, they say, is the land that is home.
Country is a defintion for land that is not urban.
Country is a synonym for the nation state.
Country is the blackfella word for ‘my place’.
Country is a whitefella term for myth of origin.
Country is Hank Williams breaking my heart singing I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.
I am fearful of belonging to this country.
But any other sun, any other light; they’re not mine. The smells here are mine, the harshness of the wind and the vastness of the oceans.
Somewhere between the desert and a Hank Williams song on the radio, that’s my country.
Christos Tsiolkas
aran 0.5
re purposed Ebay aran jumper
re purposed Ebay aran jumper
Modern Languages Exhibition is now at National Craft gallery of Ireland . Kilkenny until 11th February 2012
'Modern Languages presents the work of five international artists and designers with varying relationships to Ireland. The exhibition focuses on the adoption and corruption of traditional craft practice and repositions the Irish vernacular to convey meanings that are dictated less by historic provenance and more by the personal objectives and narratives of the makers.'
Curated by Katy West
barántúil blog http://barantuil.tumblr.com/
Irish Times Article HERE
PDF catalogue HERE
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