A blast from the past

The Unit 9 group of artists met last night for one of our periodic get-togethers, at the South Square Centre. A major item of business was the determination of our programme for the coming months. One of the things we are planning is a re-run of an exercise we have done before which produced interesting results. Each member puts into a box, anonymously, a wrapped item of personal interest or value. Each of us then takes out of the box an item left by somebody else. We then have to go away and produce a piece of art inspired by the object we have acquired, and these responsive pieces then become the material for an exhibition. We did it several years ago and the result was interesting.*

To my surprise and interest, last night, I pulled out something I know as a djezva …. one of the little pots in which coffee is brewed in the Balkans. Driving home I began immediately to have a flow of associations from my earlier work experience in the area. I am toying with the idea of making this little pot the centre-piece of other items of Balkanalia which I have, such as a set of “worry beads” or a little woven mat. I might even include the leaves of a musmulo, which I gather is the Greek name for a loquat. I picked up the seeds of this on a visit to Crete many years ago and it has flourished in my garden in Bradford.** I don’t want to overload this project, as draw attention away from the central object, but I have the germ of a picture here. For some reason or another I am already convinced that it has to be done in pastel.

Incidentally, the object I put in was an old pair of climbing boots, which have worn through at the toes. I can only hope that the stimulus to the imagination which the recipient enjoys is comparable to mine.

*My piece on that occasion was the picture entitled Doll, which you can see elsewhere in this web-site.

** In a sheltered, south-facing corner, I hasten to add.