Another Stratford

We spent a lovey 4 days in Stratford, Ontario with superb weather which allowed us to walk everywhere.  There is a small lake on a dammed portion of the Avon river which is quite lovely to walk around.  

 We saw outstanding productions of the Merchant of Venice and  Fiddler on the Roof.  And enjoyed Romeo and Juliet and Tommy.  The latter was a little on the loud side, but the choreography and costumes were great. 

The town hall

 A tow path along the Avon.  Just kidding - nothing ever got towed here, but a nice walking path between the water and the houses.

 And of course there are swans!  And Canada geese.

 The Festival theatre

Chihuly, a close-up look

I spent an hour with a new camera taking close-ups of some of the glass on exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art.  The Chihuly exhibit will be there until Oct 5th and is worth seeing for the unique way the glass is manipulated and displayed, and for the explosion of colour.

These first 2 shots are from the enormous structure that sits, outside, in front of the museum.  It's shown in the third shot.

Chatsworth House

 Chatsworth House was built in the 17th Century and has been in the same family for 16 generations.  It was used as Pemberly in the most current movie of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  In this and other photos, all you can see belongs to the estate!

 As well as the old masters lining the walls in the house, each generation has added contemporary art.  The dogs above, the wicker sculpture in the garden below.

 This overlooks the back of the house with the vegetable and flower gardens in the forefront.  Both are huge! 

 These two pictures are of the stepped fountain.  Each of the steps is built differently, allowing the water to make a different sound as it cascades over each one.

 Some of the modern art that was on exhibit in the garden. 

Canal Boating

 We spent a lovely week travelling on a canal boat in England with our friends Linda and Mick.  We did a loop south of Birmingham starting in Alvechurch.   I left the excitement of steering the 66' boat to the others and enjoyed sitting on the bow watching the world go by.  I did do my share of locks and found muscles I didn't know I had!

 We went through a number of tunnels and it was always fun to see the end with a lovely picture framed by the walls and reflection.  Sometimes we went over things - as this roadway leading into Birmingham, below.

 It was quite a contrast to go from the tree lined canals right into the heart of a bustling city.  Birmingham has done a great job of making the area attractive and accessible.  It was fun to moor up and go for a walk-about.

 Our first lock.  One of many that we did.  On 2 days we had over 30 to open and close.  Since the boat barely moves, we basically spent the day walking. 

 And the rest of the time enjoyed vistas like this.  Very calming and peaceful, even though we knew that roads and towns were just on the other side of the greenery. 

Mick put together a little utube clip of our trip if you'd like a sense of what it was like.  Just click on the link below.

http://youtu.be/eI9GcaIRixA

Comments are always appreciated!  Thanks for reading.

Stratford-Upon-Avon

At the end of July we arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon to see some plays, visit with friends that we knew in South Africa and just generally be tourists.  An added bonus was that Sarah, our daughter was able to join us for the weekend. 

 

 We walked all over town, along the river and down some interesting side streets.  Great restaurants, all catering to the early show time. 

The plays were superb productions.  All's Well That Ends Well, Titus Adronicus (a little too graphic for me but gripping nonetheless) and It's a Mad World.  We stayed at the Arden hotel across the street which served us well as it was pouring one night as we left the play. 

 

The Swan theatre

 Some of the costumes displayed inside.  This one was made with old kid gloves and beautifully stitched as a bodice.  Fitting as Shakespeare's father was a glove maker.

 A sample of some of the old houses.  The one on the right with the flag pole is owned by Harvard University and was at one time John Harvard's mother's house. 

Part of an existing school on the left and what were once alms houses.  Most of these timbered houses date back to Shakespeare's time in the 15th century.

 The Holy Trinity Church as seen across the river Avon.  Parts of it date back to the 10th century and it houses Shakespeare's grave which is up near the altar. 

 The gardens where Shakespeare's house once stood. 

 A room in the house that he grew up in.  The coloured walls were a sign of wealth, and the string on the trundle bed is what gives us the saying "sleep tight".

What we did at the retreat

Before the retreat we prepared collography plates.  Our version of them.  Mostly we glued bits and pieces on cardboard, knowing that we wouldn't have a press to run them through.  These were then painted over with house paint to anchor things more firmly and to provide a waterproof surface.  

In the picture below the "plate" is the bottom left item and the 3 pieces of fabric show the results.  We tried putting the fabric below the plate then using a brayer to rub.  Tried putting the plate down then the fabric on top and using a brayer.  Eventually I just patted the fabric on top with my hands.   I used ProChem fabric paints. 

This plate produced a rather Picasso-ish effect that was unexpected.  

 The plates themselves are almost works of art!

 The two pictures below show the effects of starburst salt and Setacolour.

Text'art Retreat 2013

Once again we had a lovely 3 days at the cottage playing with collography and sand resist.  The weather co-operated and we were able to be as messy as we pleased outdoors.  A long swim in the lake went over well after standing in the sun!  Food was delicious as always, and of course the company and conversation keep us going until well into the night.  

Our days started with a 20 minute yoga DVD, then homemade granola, yogurt and fruit.  How healthy can you get!!

 Helena and Colleen

 Michel

 Colleen and me

 Heather with some of her oeuvres.

 Colleen's

and mine.