Summertime to shine

This Summer seems to be swiftly speeding by, I had a short break in London where I was able to go to a few galleries and enjoy the faster pace of life. It was brief but refreshing and I have come back to my studio a bit more excited than I have been for a while. I have also been able to visit and attend a workshop and exhibition with my daughter Selena at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The workshop was given by Kandace Chimbiri a British / Barbadian author and historian. She is truly inspirational and with a soft spoken voice delivered the information to the children taking part in an interesting and exciting way. Selena and her friend Miriam really enjoyed themselves. I highly recommend her book as an excellent source of information as I am sure most people would not realise that there is so much to learn about the afro comb.
I was unable to get to the Festival of Quilts regrettably but I will try for the knitting and stitching show in a few months.  Yesterday I began looking through some of my older sketch pads for inspiration and discovered a collage with my oldest daughter Krystal dancing.

 I found these movements really interesting and thought that maybe I could create more work inspired by them, it was as if I was seeing the piece with different eyes. As well as this collage I found a sketch dated 2006 which I thought I could use. I gave this collage a name " dancing to our song with my ancestors" as the larger female figures looming in the coloured background seem strong and overpowering. In addition to this I also enjoyed seeing the sketches and love the way that I managed to capture the movement. I will use  these as starting points for new work.

Krystal dancing 2006