pretty pictures, fine lines.....

Easter is upon us, Spring is in the air - and not a day too soon - and we are getting into gear for our first workshop, experimenting with new recipes and tidying up the garden after the Big Freeze.    

  

Meanwhile, photos of the beautiful stitch work inherited by some of our "followers" continue to trickle in, and as Julie Arkell won't be able to chose a winner until she arrives down here  at the beginning of July to lead her workshop for us, we have decided to extend the deadline for the competition (the winner will be offered a free place on one of our courses).  Not that it's entirely unselfish of us - we get enormous pleasure looking at the entries and reading the fascinating stories that go with them.    So please keep them coming...... 

 Rebecka Ryberg Skott's Grandmother's cutlery roll, Sweden

"This was made by my dear grandmother and it now belongs to me.

This little lovely memory of her somehow symbolizes my background.

I grew up in a family who were abstainers. My very personal theory is that they had to compensate a quite boring life by drinking huge amounts of strong black coffee and eating various delicious homemade cakes. They had to amuse themselves somehow, right!? A family dinner ended always, with a huge table of different cakes set with the finest china and silver spoons. This tradition affects me still, I can´t imagine a life without great coffee and tasty cakes, it is the essence of life if you ask me."

Carol Pietrasanta' paternal Grandmother's crochet and pulled stitchwork.

"My grandmother emigrated from Italy as a young girl and lived in Erie, PA.  Although she lived through the depression and probably did not have an easy time, she said that she and her family were happy.  She had a sewing machine that I would used, when we went back to visit, that was operated by the knee.  When she died, my dad brought back a box of her crochet work that was a complete surprise.  I wished she had shown this to me when she was still alive, but she probably thought it was not a big deal.  To me it is...I have sewn my whole life and became a patternmaker 25 years ago.  With computers aiding a lot of the creative work today (I use the computer, too, for my work), I value the idea of handwork and what our hands/minds can create."

Our photographic enthusiasts will soon be packing their sunglasses and filling their suitcases for the five day workshop with Jasprit Singh at the beginning of next month.  

 

And then there will be all those big knitting ideas with Patricia Roberts in June to look forward to.  Can't wait!

Picture Perfect........

Our first workshop, The Fabric of  Photography, is only two and half months off and we are so looking forward to introducing for the first time Jasprit Singh, a curator from the VandA museum, London, our charming and enthusiastic workshop leader.  We had an opportunity to catch up with him during a recent visit to The Big Smoke and question him about his views on photography:

Felice Beato

What is your first memory of taking a photograph?  At the young age of six.  The image was of my grandfather in his garden picking plums.

What was your first camera and how old were you?  My father owned a PentaxME Super which is the first camera I learnt to use.

Who are your all-time favorite photographers?  Bill Brandt, Felice Beato, Ragu Rai and Bourne and Shepherd.

Bill Brandt

Which photographer has had the most influence on your work?  During my academic life I spent most of my days looking at Beato's work on Amritsar.  Since then I have had a number of influences, including colleagues, Justina Burnett and Simran Kaur.

Justina Burnett

Where do you think the future of photography lies?    Sadly, the digital SLR camera seems to be becoming more of a fashion statement than as an apparatus for creating images.  My greatest fear is that quantity will win over quality, so my golden rule in teaching is to, "capture an image with your mind not your eye".

Ragu Rai

What is it that you enjoy most about teaching photography?  Every student has a subtly different agenda.  I take great pleasure helping each individual master their cameras in order to produce the results they are looking for, and at the same time demonstrate the infinitely flexible and creative possibilities of DSLR photography.

Why are you particularly interested in Macro photography?  There are many reason for my interest, but the main one would have to be the obvious one of its ability to reproduce subject matter in minute detail.  Apart from images generally being incredibly beautiful, the Macro invariably allows us to further understand the subject's construction and mechanics. 

What single piece of photographic equipment would you recommend as a useful addition to the DSLR?  A 50mm 1:8 Legend lens reproduces precisely what the human eye sees.  I have taken some of my favorite images with my 50mm, and the best part of it is that it is the cheapest lens I own.

What are you looking forward to most about your workshop at Les Soeurs Anglaises?  From a purely selfish point of view, I am anticipating meeting interesting and creative people who are serious about learning how to make the best use of their DSLRs.  I expect to be exposed to new and challenging attitudes to the various arts and crafts whilst in the supportive ambiance of Les Soeurs Anglaises, cradled in the inspirational landscape of S W France.

Thank you, Jasprit for sharing your views.