margaret-cooter: Studio Saturday - research online and in person

Of course you can't just go into a room and Make Something, there has to be a starting point. I find myself bedevilled by too many crazy ideas for woodblock printing (and not enough time for working on just one) and very few ideas for ceramics (and not enough energy to start working on just one).

So it's a matter of Yet More Research, waiting for the Vital Spark ... or tracking down the whiff of woodsmoke that leads to the smouldering embers of an old fire...

Meanwhile, exhibitions were seen -

Sunday, Crouch End open studios, with a "big show" in the town hall -

... including prints inspired by the town hall - for instance, the steps -

Large prints by Ruth Selig of mirrored symmetries

And interesting things in the individual studios -

Small prints by Ruth Selig

Monday, woodblock inspiration at the woodblock + bookbinding course -

Tuesday, drawing at the Horniman museum -

...reflections...

Wednesday, a close encounter with the Bawden murals at Morley -

So many lovely details!

All day Thursday at the Draw art fair ... finding some familiar artists...

Marino Marini

Susan Hefuna

Miro - on a manky bit of cardboard!

Isamu Noguchi

Rebecca Salter

And some new ones -

Nicolas Momein

Sergei Tchoban's drawing for his architectural drawing museum in Berlin

detail from an architectural drawing by Tchoban

Techniques for "works on paper" and intriguing mark-making -

Not to forget the display of work by Linda Karshan, and the gallery of a grand variety of architectural drawings "Drawing Ambience".

Friday - quick visit to "Contemporary Art + Ritual" at the Crypt Gallery (till 21 May) -

Big, beautiful paintings by Nneka Uzoigwe

Small, intriguing metal boxes by Sally Tyrie
(footnote - in the process of adding the link, I discovered that
the piece I bought at A Letter In Mind in 2017 is by her! No.183)

Saturday -

Sketchbooks on view at "Dreaming in Cuban" during "meet the artist" at
Westminster Reference Library - exhibition is on till 25 May

On the way home, later, a quick visit to the Estorick's small-but-satisfying drawing exhibition ... more about that later ...

So, lots of art inspiration this week, especially with all the links in the Guardian's art e-bulletin to follow up on. I started reading about Lee Krasner at 8am and still haven't finished that article, what with all the diversions offered by the links in it, and the links in the links, and a thought of my own here and there...

Finally, some sparky ideas for ceramics -