Week in review

It's been a week of (over)indulgence in tulips - 

Sunday finds three vasesful, in various stages of aging, dotted around the room. And in the garden, these little joys -

Now a change of scale - in the back garden, view from my window of the tree in full fig -

With the CQ newsletter sent to the printer, I've had time to go to see some things -

Beautiful pulkharis and other embroideries

18th century architecture at 63 New Cavendish Street, and temptation at Asia House Fair

Popping in to the October Gallery and finding work by Brion Gysin

... and Tian Wei

At the Estorick Collection, Sydney Carline's drawings and paintings as a WWI war artist
(drawn in the cockpit of his Sopwith Camel, finished once back on the ground)
and modern work by Keith Roberts, here, "Caporetto" - a punishing and brutal battle in which the
Italian army suffered tremendous losses; a word which is still used
to mean an utter disaster

Roberts' cardboard "replica" WWI plane

A concert - with photography - in the tunnel shaft at the Brunel Museum

And quite a lot of Tate-ing about ...

Thursday: over the footbridge to Tate Modern on an errand,
without enough energy to indulge in some art

Sunday: to Tate Britain for an early-morning viewing of the Hockney exhibition;
in the main hall, some big but airy sculpture is being installed

In-gallery and augmented-at-home versions of "Man running towards a bit of blue", 1963

I spent as much time having coffee, and then in the bookshop, as in the exhibition.
Came home empty-handed but with a headful of colours and words

Now (Sunday afternoon) I'm preparing more "pots" for Monday evening's ceramics session - three quite large ones are ready to dip, and there are 24 hours to make more - I'm aiming for six more -

After three sessions, a total of only five pots have gone into the kiln. 

No metal on the left (straight into kiln); with metal on the right (goes into sagar first)

My timing for doing this course isn't right; still too much else going on! 

And then there was the Incident of the Beer Forgotten in the Freezer. Ever wonder what happens if you leave it too long? Freezing expands the foamy liquid, and pushes the cap off. Thawing lets the trapped air expand and pushes the foam out, and out, and out, leaving a frozen core which gradually releases its brown liquid.

The result, as you will have guessed, is undrinkable.