Art, art everywhere

There are fewer music performances in late summer than at other times during the year here in London. However, I stumbled across some decorative arts over the past few days.

 Expressions in Chalk, Wortley Village, 2nd August. 

Susan Boone's work

One of the In Good Company ladies by Susan Boone

Perfect quilts at Cotton by Post in Arva - is that the point of quilting?

The Quilts of Gee's Bend, an exhibition at the Convention Centre, 11th August. 

Higgledy piggledy - every strip of material finds a place.

Jeans in a second life

A different kind of aesthetics demonstrated by those quilting ladies from Alabama. Museums around the USA are exhibiting this collection of quilts. I wondered why. "Art critics worldwide have compared the quilts to the works of important artists such as Henri Matisse and Paul Klee. The New York Times called the quilts 'some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced'." I had trouble seeing the beauty, with the exception of a few pieces which I took photos of. I didn't get on with the garish colours, the unevenness, the "un-planned" approach, the combinations of yellows and pinks. 

My idea of quilts is neither the Arva nor the Gee's Bend way. Somewhere in between: with colours that satisfy my eye, some sort of mirrored geometry, hand stitched (by all means), and a few straight lines - especially around the edges.