London Artists exhibit in Pitshanger House

This morning, and very early it was, I opened an e-mail from a friend working abroad who caught some bad bug and has to abandon the long anticipated visit to a photography museum. I wrote her a comforting e-mail not revealing my plans, just in case, but then mentioned them to a compatriot who got hold of me on Skype. And guess what? It turned out that it's not possible this week due to some unforeseen circumstances!

And I owe you  weather and nature update! ;-) Sunny with some clouds and wind today and ... different birds on the shrub outside, too swift and small to get my phone ready and take a picture of these cute winged   chirping creatures.

I thought I will ask my dear readers a question testing their knowledge of or curiosity about London:

Which place in London is referred to as Ally Pally? 
(I may even offer a prize to the first one who will come up with the correct answer in the comments section!)

Let's have a lovely day!

Mine is turning out all right, yours?

On the culture side, I attended a guided tour of The Centenary Exhibition of The London Group at Pitshanger House and Art Gallery.. It was great to hear the artists speak about their works and how they are related to this location and talk to some of them afterwards. Having had a brief look at the works on the way home the other day, I decided to join the tour and hear what the artists had to say.

I stood outside the gallery chatting with a friend and thinking that I will see through the glass door when the tour takes off from the gallery room. It turned out a mistake, they started upstairs. And a costly mistake, because not only did I miss the beginning, but also had to stand in the hall as the floor in this room with plastered ceiling and golden wallpaper could only accommodate forty people at a time. Luckily, someone departed and I was allowed to step inside. Only then could I hear what was said.

 Not all the artists spoke about their works, but after the tour we could chat to those you revealed themselves. I was interested in this Japanese style work featuring a human and a pig, but it was not possible. Somebody told me: 'The Dame wouldn't come here.' Well... I wish I'd taken a picture from a different perspective so I could decipher the name of The Dame...

However, not all hope is lost, I may look into the little free guide to the exhibition.

In the main bedroom we were shown a video installation who recorded many scenes at the house and adjacent walled garden which has recreated Sir John Soane wife's kitchen plots.

That's the work that commemorates the artist's mother who worked at Ealing Studios and walked past Pitshanger House on the to in from work in the 1940s and 50s, at the peak of their greatness!

The main room of the gallery has this spectacular ceiling:

Mr Soane's Breakfast Room is decorated with objects related to... death. Hence, so are the works displayed here. A charming French artist told us how she created these drawings at more spacious and better lit rooms of The British Museum on realising that it would be hard to achieve a task at filled up to the brim proper Sir John Soane's residence in Lincoln's Inn Fields :

 That ceiling is my favourite one. I got infatuated  with it many years ago when I made a special trip to Ealing to see the architects' retreat. What a nice idea to ensure that you enjoy breakfast under the blue sky. Not so often can it be arranged in Albion, but I'm sure he would eat al fresco while touring Italy to study architecture.

The lady who made this red dress imagined it worn by a female ghost that Sir Soane encountered living in this house. The dress is all hand made and even the little linen pictures of the house and Walpole Park were hand stitched! Susan Swale also spoke about the Victorian stand she used to display the dress. At the time she remembered having seen it some two years before at, as she said, a junk shop in Hampstead, and told her husband  that she would go there in the hope that it would still be available. He laughed at her convinced that the stand would be long gone.  Amazingly, it was there! Not only that, but she managed to get a good discount. Well, I tried to chat with her about this purchase afterwards, but somehow she disappeared before the conversation reached this point. Hence, she may not know that it might be even more extraordinary! I think it was me who sold her the stand that Sunday. I was on the shop floor that Sunday, only because my friend asked me to stand in for her at The Octavia Housing Charity Shop in Hampstead as she had some emergency at home. She gave me the keys and I remember what a struggle it was to open the door in the morning. Finally, I gave in and asked a passer-by for help. The kind man agreed and trusting me to hold his coffee, fought a victorious battle with the stubborn lock before the beverage got cold! Here is my gratitude, dear unknown saviour! You also contributed to the London Group Centenary Exhibition! If you hadn't helped me, the shop would remain closed and who knows how it may all have turned out... Back on track, now! A few words about Octavia shops. They sell donated previously loved goods as well as some brand new items and actually, the stands were the ones straight from the wholesaler. As they were quite pricey and remained in stock for a while, they could be sold at a discount price at the manager's discretion. It was the only day I worked at the Hampstead shop and since the moment I heard the artist speak, I keep thinking we met there and then.

Susan Swale made another artistic dress which can be seen at The London Group Exhibition opening this Saturday at Mottisfont, The National Trust property, but the picture below is the design for Sir Soane's ghost's attire.

I wish I had taken a picture of The Squid, an interactive work by Nicola Schauerman as it was pure fun when it reacted to the colour, movement and whistling! I tried and seems like everone else had a go as well. I chatted with the artist briefly and,  given her lovely colourful card, found out that she operates with a partner, under the name of Genetic Moo!

I'm really pleased I went on that tour.