Day :: Eight

On Tuesday I took a train into London.

A chance for some uninterrupted reading and knitting.

First stop, the V & A...

where I popped in to see the exhibition "The Power of Making" which is branded as a snapshot of contemporary craftsmanship. I was in awe of some of the exhibits which demonstrated extraordinary skill in a wide range of crafts but did feel it was a bit of a mishmash of objects. And there were one or two things that were really grotesque... like the lifesize marzipan baby!

Whilst there I also took the opportunity to wander around the Postmodernism exhibition. I didn't expect to be interested in this, although I'm not sure why, but I was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't exactly say I enjoyed it, but it was engaging and I especially liked the section dedicated to music and performance although I'm still not entirely sure what postmodernism is all about... although anarchy and subversion seem to feature quite heavily.

By now it was lunchtime so I stopped in the cafe and enjoyed my lunch in the wonderful blue tiled Poynter room. It always feels so civilised to eat in such beautiful surroundings.

Then I headed across to town towards Regent's Park for the main reason for my trip into London - to see the exhibition "Bite Size" at the Daiwa Anglo Japanese Foundation. Curated by

Lesley Millar, this brings together artists who first exhibited together 10 to 15 years ago and have been involved with various projects curated by Millar during this time. It shows the work of some of the most eminent textile practitioners currently working in both Japan and the UK, but what is most exciting is that each of the works is only 25cm square or less. Exqusite miniature textiles, which I found particularly interesting because so many of the exhibitors also had work in the "Lost in Lace" exhibition in Birmingham where the scale is vast! The contrast was wonderful. There are 51 exhibits, all quite beautiful so these following are not necessarily what I liked the best but just a small selection from so many fascinating works.

Michael Brennand Wood, Flower Heads

Reiko Sudo, Polygami

Kyoko Kumai, Whisper of Wind

Chiyoko Tanaka, Mud Dyed Cloth - Twig and White Dots #279

Freddie Robbins, Michael 1998

(unbelievably tiny and perfectly knitted!)

Diana Harrison, Damaged (work in progress)

Naomi Kobayashi, From Cosmos (sorayori)

The exhibition only runs until 19th December but is well worth a visit if you are in London. I was also fortunate enough to stay for a talk by Lesley Millar, after which I meandered along to St. Pancras station for a rendezvous with John Betjeman...