I have had a few wonderful days emerged in my project.

My idea comes from the Nordic saga about Kraka, who was challenged to by a Viking King to return to him ‘Not dressed but not naked, not in company but not alone, and not fasting but not having eaten’. So she returned wearing a fishing net, with her dog and she had bitten into an onion. I wanted to create a piece which is halfway between fabric and net with an ephemeral feel to it and also using the images from the saga.

I worked on the hanging seriously in February, and it has been more or less dormant since then. But I made a big leap forward in May when I went to North Devon for a few days, I found a piece of wood, weathered and also worn by the sea, that made the perfect hanging frame for the net/piece. This meant I could move forward with construction, sizing it to fit the branch with all its bumps, twists and turns. And then I started stitching, and I have spent the last three days creating the net-effect, which I now feel is complete.

I have reached an interesting stage, I hadn’t anticipated that another layer of colour or stitch would be needed, but looking at it, it clearly does. I am also toying with the idea of adding shells and stones, which were used as weights on fishing nets. So any ideas and comments very welcome.

A quick preview of Sandy's work in progress: 'Cloud Puppy'. Sandy is working on an intricate fused piece that is a development of her earlier small pieces about dragons. This is a quick post as a prelim to Sandy adding more of her own words about her piece - she has been very busy of late. (posted by Jane)

We spend a lot of time on the canals and I have hundreds of photos of the canals, the locks, the "furniture" around the locks and other items of interest. I really like many of the images I have saved but making them into a quilt has never happened before.

A while ago I painted bleach on some black fabric and it looked just like the wooden gates on many of the locks - so finally, I have made a quilt which is inspired by the canals.  The rusted strip represents the gap between the gates, where the water leaks or gushes through.

Black fabric, bleached fabric and rusted fabric.  The fabrics have been improvisionally pieced and then quilted by machine. I have managed to dove tail the abstract way I like to work with images that I love.

Looking forward to the exhibition - Chrisse

I really liked that side – and I don’t generally like lime green!

I wondered what it would look like with a bit of glitz so I repeated my experiment with red fabric and silver thread.  

This is Jane Edmond's work in progress towards Halfway Between. Here's what she says:

"It is inspired by 'Halfway between the gutter and the stars', a song by Fat Boy Slim. I hope this quote doesn't contravene some copyright. I have been working on the gutter, picking up the litter I find on walks with the dog. It will not be a quilt, but applique on hessian. The figure is an outline from a life drawing class. I'm having fun doing it, even though I have got to the stage of hating it!"

Thank you Jane - more photos and comments of your work in progress - please email to [email protected]

Following on from my research into "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus" I decided to make a mock up of a box with a drop down flap, like the wagon in the film - only without wheels!  

I made a simple box and then added an upstand.

I realised that I would need some means of holding the front flap up when the box was closed.  I thought of a swing catch that I'd used before on a corset, these catchs came from Vena Cava.

Then I had to think of the decoration on my Imaginarium so I thought of various things that had stirred my imagination:
Lord of the Rings
Alice in Wonderland
The Arthur legends (Avalon)
Narnia books
Winnie the witch

Then I drew some symbols inspired by the above list.

Then I started thinking about the background for the symbols.  I found a picture I had taken of Brighton Pavilion, the designer of which must've had a marvellous imagination! I love the look of the Pavilion but wanted a more colourful look to my Imaginarium so I used some the effects in Photoshop to achieve this fabulous red colour.  The colour was inspired by the interior of the Mad Hatters Tea Room in Margate.  Here is a photo of the altered photo stuck to the front of my mock up.

who wants to be average?
flash of delight/wonder/excitement
Halfway between the real and the unreal is the surreal. 
Neither one thing nor another

So I did some research on eccentric people as that covers the first 3 of these ideas. 

whose exhibition at the British Museum I saw last year.  Here is an interview with him.

who I've always admired for her fantastic clothes.  Here is some information about her.

Who springs readily to my mind on mention of Surreal.  Here is a biography.

Motorhome – halfway between a vehicle and a home; actually not so much neither one thing nor another as both things.
Gypsy Caravan
Travelling theatre.

I did some research on Travelling Theatre and found “The Triumph of the Archduchess Isabella in the Brussels Ommeganck of Sunday 31st May, 1615” which is in the Victoria and Albert museum (my favourite museum).
Annual processions similar to this took place all over Europe, and had done since at least the 14th century.  In earlier processions, all the wagons were based around religious themes.  In England, Bible stories were presented as short plays, numerous wagons taking a section each, until religious drama was suppressed during the Commonwealth.  The Brussels procession was a series of tableaux with the performers all holding a pose.  By the time this painting was made in the Renaissance period, the procession also included secular scenes of famous people from life and literature well as the religious elements.

I also found some information on Spiegeltents (mirror tents).

I like this film because it is a fantasy opus set in London.  The theatre wagon and the performers are out of time with modern London.  The wagon is fantastically decorated and the costumes are rich and draw on all sorts of countries and times.

I like the familiarity of London and the allusion to travel conferred by the exotic clothing and the symbols on the wagon.  I like the fact that it is a vehicle, a home and also a stage. 

Here are some of the original drawings for the wagon. 

I'm really taken with the idea of an Imaginarium.

I'm off to let my imagination flower, grow and take me places!

Now logged in as Sandy ... and posting a quick line.
Apologies this is not very interesting! But I'm getting to the bottom of it :)

Having some teething troubles adding to the blog ... but am getting to the bottom of it. This is Jane - but logged in as Merete, now up and running.

I could have put in some puns in my title ... 'Eggciting' 'Eggcetera', but I decided I'm not going to go there. However I do know it seems funny, but there is something in my mind that is telling me that I need to use eggs in my piece for Halfway Between. 

A couple of months ago I went on a PGL activity camp with my children, and in the evening we had an egg dropping competition. You had to package your egg in someway, so that it could be thrown off a 2nd floor balcony and still be intact when it reached the ground. 

Since then, the image of the egg has stuck in my mind. There is the 'Which came first?' question of course. But that is not what sprung into my thoughts. Beyond that there is halfway between life and non-life. A fertilised egg or a non-fertilised egg. Potential or no potential. Real or fake. Strength and fragility.

I am aiming for an egg suspended in some way. An egg cosy and yet not. How will this unfold? I must take the next step and find out.