Bodhisartva ..... Art/Spirit/Life

A dream come true - finally

The last time I was in London, I was very excited because I knew there was an art installation I was longing to see.  Sadly, it turns out that it opened the day I left!  I had not planned on staying in London this time out, but the volcano had it's own plans and you know there is a reason for everything, right?  Happily, it turns out that the installation was still going on when I was stranded.  I was not allowed to take pictures, but you can watch a video here.

It was absolutely delightful!  Just a few people were inside and walking very quietly through the pathways.  The birds were landing on the strings, pecking on seed piled on upside down cymbals, trying to build a nest among the frets.  One landed on the purse of a woman near me and stayed there. 

A group of schoolgirls in uniform came in carrying their sketchbooks and began...very seriously...to ponder angles and draw views of choice.  Most of them were really quite good.The Barbican Centre is huge and includes music venues, galleries, shops...and food - thank goodness; I was starving at that point.  Out the back is a wonderful promenade with a view of a man-made watercourse.  And what do you know?  Across the water is the very school of those artsy girls.  Nice.

Click Your Heels Three Times....

Backtrack alert!!  I could never get my images to show up as I blogged from London.  So, I'm catching up starting now.  Sorry to confuse you :-)

My London adventure is coming to a close.  Tomorrow morning, I will be winging my way back to Los Angeles and the bosom of my family.  How I have missed them.

Today, I went to the Spitalfields Market and browsed among, as usual, lovely things too dear to acquire.

However, I jumped at these little books because they were just the right price. In fact, I couldn't believe my ears!

The white one has this inscription inside. What was it like to be a 21 year old young woman in 1881?  Whatever happened to Bessie?

The larger one is french and each page has these lovely illustrations. Between some of them are pressed flowers.  Oh, I wish I knew the stories they would tell.

From the Market, I walked a mile or so to the Barbican Centre to see something I have looked forward to for months and months and months. Tomorrow, you can see it too!

London Adventure - I don't even know what day this is

At the prompting of my dear Gina, I finally did what I should have done the second day I was stuck here.  She found a store called Cass Arts and after trying to find them, I ended up in their flagship store, which is very lovely. 

This evening, my hotel room looked like this. A stop at Tesca for paper towels and freezer paper...and they will never know I turned my room into a studio :-)

Yes, that is a glass of champagne from dinner and a knife I borrowed from the restaurant to use as a bone folder.  Working in the journal I brought, with the kit I carry, just wasn't cutting it under the circumstances.  So, I am making a larger one with the papers I made tonight.

THIS is what I like to see.

London Adventure - Day 4

I'm going backwards, which isn't unusual for me.  I've been stranded in London since Thursday because of the volcano in Iceland (what are the odds?).  More about that later.  Day Three tomorrow...

This is Bea. Isn't she fabulous? Because of her, today I am here -

Naturally, that is not looking too exciting to you yet.  But, inside, there is THIS.

And MORE.  I haven't seen this much truly old clothing since my days in Oklahoma 40 years ago.  Victorian dresses and shifts, buttons from the 1800s, linens, purses - it was wonderful.  I ran into Bea at her shop in Gray's Antique Mall off Oxford Street and she gave me an invite to this event. 

My first stop was a lovely couple who specialized in buttons and taught me a lot.  Here's a sample of their wares, some of which I acquired.

I found some oversized studs to use as clasps on my books and these tiny shoe buttons in great tones for jewelry.

For that matter, I bought a slew of black shoe buttons because they were so inexpensive.  I have more for you, but Typepad is not cooperating with image upload for some reason.  After 4 days of being stranded, I'm getting used to things not working.

Pasadena City College Flea Market Sunday