doris

Spinster hunting/haunting in Wirksworth Cemetery. I'd like to find out more about Doris. Her memorial is added to the side of a tall obelisk type headstone with a stone urn on top. 

I'm always struck by wife/mother/grandmother and husband/father/grandfather text (understandably) on headstones... but what if someone is none of those things? I've seen sister/brother, daughter/son, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew and once (heart swelling and wonderfully), friend.

Pondering those without family behind or in front of them. Who will remember them and who decides the text on their headstones in a pronatalist world?

I'm intrigued by the labelling of Doris as spinster in 1967. Was she one of the generation of women who lost their potential partner in the First World War? Will do some digging.

Spinster

Wirksworth Cemetery, Derbyshire

Sister, Aunt, Friend

St Pancras and Islington Cemetery, East Finchley, London

fred

Fred, 2019

clean slate

As I walked through St Pancras and Islington Cemetery my eye was caught by the erosion and resulting texture of these now blank headstones. Running left to right across the surface, harder strands of rock gave the effect of fluttering draped organza. 

Over a century of weathering has done to these gravestones what I achieve with knitting in Close Knit: A body of work. The interred are concealed, any clues withheld. What remains is a shaped slab of memorial stone, a presence, a solid form.      

This natural effect reminded me of Victorian carved drapery and I marvel at the trick of transforming stone to gauze. Gauze led me to think about Halloween drawing near, when the veil between realms becomes thin.

mum

I have a soft spot for these aged floral tributes, showing their guts in some cases, fading, becoming brittle. As I walked to mum's grave to give her a birthday spruce up I searched for MUM on others graves. Plastic font, plastic flowers endure, real, live flowers die, their stems cast in pierced green oasis - showing that once there were flowers, once upon a time there were flowers.  

row upon row

These paths invite, eyes led to their vanishing point. The last people to visit these graves are long gone, they, their interred anonymous. What lush green, what growth! Years marked by ivy, bramble and branch. 

uncle fred

Since beginning my Close Knit project in 2009 I've been searching for my Uncle Fred's burial place. Yesterday I visited his grave in East Finchley Cemetery! 

Fred was the oldest son of Frederick and Ada Furmage, there were three daughters before him, two sons after him and my mum, Doreen was the youngest. 

Fred had a mischievous twinkle in his bright blue eyes, always ready for a quip or joke. I remember him as a neat and dapper man with carefully combed dark hair. The life and soul of the party. People liked Fred.

Every now and again I'd have another try at finding Fred. In March I joined Ancestry.com for a month and discovered a family tree by a man named Kevin which had Fred's wife, Auntie Marge on it. I emailed Kevin and hit the jackpot - he knew where the grave was!

I'll finish Close Knit: a body of work this year. I'm currently re-knitting George's yellow gravestone cosy after it got damaged, and have Henry and Fred to knit for and then Close Knit will be complete. When I began knitting in 2009 I never imagined it would be a decades work, I'll think about next steps when I've completed the knits - how to share the project? Where? With whom?   

frederick

Family lore is that my maternal grandfather was buried in a communal grave. Mum was 9 years old when he died in 1945 and I wonder if she ever visited her fathers burial place, I imagine not.

My intention is that Close Knit comes to a end this year, a decade after I began hand knitting 'gravestone cosies' for my ancestors. I've been searching for the site of my grandfathers burial, wondering if there may be a distinct area, a marker. Unable to find any record and with the end of my tether fast approaching I enlisted the help of a friend who's brain works in a distinctly different way to mine - she is the most un-dyslexic person I know!

The evening of the day I asked for help an email appeared with information that led to the discovery that my grandfather had a grave! Grave 360 in area Y6 at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery. 

74 years after his death I found a forest, undulating with burials without marker or headstone. Checking the backs of the headstones framing the forest I attempted to understand the sites layout, wondering if I could get near to where grave 360 might be... It was impossible, the passing of time erasing any order.

Maybe it is appropriate that my grandfather rests in a forest, my dear forest. Canopied in green, amongst his London contemporaries.   

Frederick/Forest

stitch by stitch

Slowly, slowly my Close Knit project is nearing completion. The knit for my uncles grave was finished a couple of weeks ago and soon I'll revisit Slough and photograph it on the headstone. I've hesitated over beginning the piece for Mum, but have cast on 107 stitches and made a start. The colour I selected for her is Sailor Blue, she had a jumper in that shade that suited her.    

King Cole Pricewise DK - Acid (038)

 Paintbox Yarns Simply DK - Sailor Blue (139)

close knit update

During the last few months I've located two of my Mum's brothers graves, traveling to Slough and Gloucester to photograph, measure and make rubbings of the gravestones. This information enables me to create knitting patterns that replicate the surface dimensions of the stones. I've almost finished George's acid yellow cosy, a nod to the graveside flowers on the day of my visit.

It saddens me that my Mum is now a part of this project. In 2009 I knitted a pink cosy for the grave Mum now rests in, she joined her mother and two of her sisters. The stone was straightened and cleaned before the burial of Mum's ashes in October, so I've retaken the measurements and selected a royal blue acrylic wool for her cosy, a colour that really suited her.  

To complete Close Knit the graves of my Granddad Frederick Furmage, and his first son, also Frederick Furmage remain to be found. My Granddad was buried in a communal grave and I'm hoping to discover its location. My Uncle Fred is proving to be a challenge to trace, but I understand he is buried in East Finchley. The project continues...

 George

 Doreen

Henry

summer term - year 5 at drew primary

My final half term at Drew Primary School was spent with the y5 pupils, so I ended my year as I began, in their classrooms. The city of London inspired our art exploration and Drew's young Londoners studied the iconic Tube map, considered our connections to the rest of the world from London City Airport (situated next to the school) and used memories and experiences to add depth to their work. We drew, painted, mark made, cut, collaged, looked, listened, learned tricks, short cuts and creative techniques, rising to the challenge of each activity.

My two years at Drew Primary have been full of learning, I've enjoyed working with the whole school and it's been a privilege to open the doorway into art/thinking/expressing/connecting with these precious children, the future creators of our city, our world. Thanks for having me!

 The London Eye in vibrant ink

 Firework!

 Tuning into our surroundings

 Mass drawing of London City Airport DLR station

 London landmarks

 Bold painting

PLAY / GROUND

During a chat about creativity and its nemesis, the inner critical voice, Siobhan Davis and Karen Logan spoke of childhood play and exploration, of becoming absorbed in process rather than focused on outcome - and the idea for PLAY / GROUND was born. The artists have created two outdoor workshops that compliment each other and consider playfulness, with a sprinkling of mischievousness and a desire to connect with kin.

Part of the Leytonstone Arts Trail our workshops take place on Sunday 3rd and Sunday 10th of July, they are FREE! Join us! 

states of mind

States of Mind was an engulfing and disorienting experience. The day I visited one of the invigilators commented, 'We have a good mist today'. I was one of the first three people in the installation that morning and was glad we had seen each other before entering, it helped me feel safe. When other people entered I felt intruded upon, and when one of the disembodied voices loudly announced how the mist was formed and that there was infrared lighting to locate bodies the magic and mystery was altered for me.

The space asked that I focused upon myself, my perceptions, my consciousness, orienting by pacing the rooms edge with an outstretched hand. Breathing to keep relaxed, noticing the effect different colour light had on my thoughts, my emotions, my body. When brave I walked through the centre of the space, submitting to the mist that appeared thick enough to bite. I paused for a while, leaning against a wall, looking down to where my feet should be. Grey specks floated in my eyes, are they always there? Was it my eyelashes? I was reminded of being high in the hills as mist descends, (the word haar came to mind - a sea fog), and how in these outside spaces it is possible to feel simultaneously comfortable and so alone. It was my first experience of such limited visibility and I couldn't stay long.

  

autumn term - year 6 art at drew primary

The first half term has come to a close at Drew Primary School. My focus with the year 6 classes was drawing and model making, our inspiration came from Ice Trap! Shackleton's Incredible Expedition. These were challenging classes to teach as the listening skills of the groups needs developing BUT, together, we achieved wonderful outcomes the pupils are proud of.

 Drawing with ink on coffee stained paper

 Map inspired by the journey of the Endurance in the Antarctic 

 Practice diorama

 Four layer diorama incorporating pastel, laminated collage and drawing

 Bold and detailed drawing of the ship - Endurance

Diorama showing blocks of sea ice

autumn term - year 5 art at drew primary

The first half term has come to a close at Drew Primary School. My focus for the year 5 classes was drawing and print, our inspiration came from within the pages of the book Skellig. We had a great time together, the classes were a pleasure to teach.

 Printing with acrylic paint

 Painted collaged block

 Drawing using carbon paper

 Printing with inks and rollers

 Print of Skellig

Beautiful design, art books were hand made/bound by the pupils

over and under

Thrilled to be exhibiting with Lucy Williams during the Leytonstone Arts Trail which began today in various venues in E11, London. Over and Under is showing at The Stone Space until the 13th of July. We both haven't exhibited for a couple of years so the trail provides a perfect opportunity to tentatively open up practice and meet local folk.

This is our joint statement:

We met at an Arts Trail meeting earlier this year and found a connection with our practices, the cross overs are the materials we use and thought processes and concepts behind the work. We use time consuming methods, working by hand to stitch and knit exploring issues such as belonging, absence and place. We also shared that finding time for our practices was a challenge and hoped that setting this goal could provide a springboard into making more work.

We decided to use the Leytonstone Arts Trail to begin a conversation between selected works. We wonder how meanings may alter and new ideas emerge from this staging and the possibilities of future conversations together. 

Over and Under at The Stone Space

Selection of works from my Close Knit project

Lucy Williams, Worn Jackets (detail), 2014. Jackets, wool and buttons