On my own doorstep

I can hardly believe it's November already! I've only just got home from my summer holiday and I spotted over on Planet Penny that the Pick'n'Mix Maker's Market is "in just over 3 weeks time" – yikes! Yes, on Saturday 26th November I'll be driving up to North Norfolk to set out my wares along with lots of other lovely creative folk, so I'd better get cracking and up the productivity rate! Mrs Bobo Bun will be on my tail asking for jpgs of the new and exciting things I promised there would be on my stall – next week Lisa, I promise! 

But I did take a little break from my studio this morning, to pop into town to do some errands . . . there's nothing like travelling to far away places to open your eyes to the wonderful things on your own doorstep – like this . . .

King's College Chapel seen from The Backs, the iconic view that tourists from all over the world come to see; it's on my walking route from parking places that us locals know about to the town centre, and it's easy to take it for granted. But today I was stopped in my tracks – the light, the colours were straight from a painting by Constable – it may be a cliché, but it struck me how beautiful that view is.

My first stop was to order prints of our holiday photos – not something I would normally do, but I'd treated myself to a new camera in September and the shop had given me a voucher for 300 free prints!
Then I popped into the shop next door to look for a warm winter jacket – and found one for £45 (like this but black) – BARGAIN! :-)

On my way back to my car I had time to call in to Cambridge Contemporary Art to see the exhibition of prints by Angie Lewin and Rob Ryan, which of course was as full of lovely images as you'd expect from two such talented artists; I particularly liked Angie Lewin's pencil and watercolour studies of flowers and Rob Ryan's 'Countless Moons'.

As if that wasn't enough, there was another exhibition I just had to see today, 'Wild North China – an exhibition of woodcuts by Yu Chenyou'. This wasn't on show at one of the smart galleries in the centre of Cambridge, but in an exhibition space at the St Barnabas Press which is located 'the other side of the tracks' (literally!) on an industrial estate behind the railway line on the northern outskirts of Cambridge.

Yu Chengyou is a leading Chinese printmaker, and he's in Cambridge at the moment working with the St Barnabas Press, he was teaching there last weekend (I wish I'd been there) – but the exciting thing is, I have got a place on the afternoon workshop with Yu Chengyou at Kettles Yard tomorrow afternoon – and I'm even more excited about seeing him work, now that I've seen his prints 'in the flesh'! I actually had a sneaky preview of what's in store, because while at St Barnabas this morning I was shown some of the wood blocks and had a chat with James Hill about the techniques Yu Chengyou uses.

The 'Prints of Yu Chengyou' catalogue on my very cluttered desk!

I'll be back soon to tell you all about the workshop and the another exhibition that's also at Kettles Yard this month, 'Bridget Riley: Colours, stripes, planes and curves'.

Celia

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