Start with the Heart

Last year, around this time I think, I was in a bit of a dilemma. I was being flooded, like many of us, with images of hearts and various 'valentine' related images.
I for one, never subscribed completely to the Valentine ethics, or aesthetics for that matter.  Too obvious, too cheap, too cheesy and so on. At the same time, I like the heart as a symbol, I like the colour red, I was dying to use its shape and anything that hints at love doesn't fail to attract me. It can only be a good, positive thing. Or can it?
So it set me thinking about how we women (especially) are kind of easily fooled by the concept of love, how we easily trade, status, dignity, possibilities and lots of other things including freedom and independence all in its name. And I am basically referring to romantic love here.  So caught  between these two poles, I started a collage

to elaborate on the subject and the imagery.  So this is the first part which is then actually followed by what seems to be its natural progression

The need to take the symbol and dissect it just as the multiplicity of illusions do to the 'real' thing when they reveal the less appealing (sometimes downright ugly) reality beneath.

...To be continued...

The King's House:what goes around comes around

I, for several reasons, do not believe (much), in 'New Year's Resolutions'. One of them being that there are
 lots of NewYears according to different cultures and countries and that even in 'our own Western'
convention, the beginning of the year hasn't always coincided with the 1st of January.

Nevertheless, I do believe in new beginnings, in giving yourself the chance to start all over again, even if just for a day.
A chance to reconnect with the past, reflect upon it and carry it forward towards the future.

All this to say, that I have been away (from the blog) for a while, and that I am taking the occasion of the New Year, or to be more precise, of the Epiphany (an occasion as good as any) to pull the threads of my thoughts together and tell you yet another story.

I was meant to update you on the Black History Day jointly organized by Barnet Council and the African Cultural Association http://www.africanculturalassociation.net/ that took place in the Hendon Library on the 29th of October, in which I had the pleasure and the honour to take part. Being October, it was the Autumn as well as last year.  So now that we are in the deep mid-winter and at the beginning of a new year it may be pleasant to be reminded of that:

It was a quiet (well, apart from a few drums being played loudly at times), joyful occasion, with people from different backgrounds meeting together. Above you can see a member of the staff library dancing to the rhythm of the drums alongside a member of the public to her right and an ACA member to her left.

And below you can see the talented drum player, performer and African dance workshop facilitator

Grandmother Ine, ACA Trustee,dressmaker and embroidery student, busy dancing 

Obviously there was much more to the event (including talks by British-African authors), but here I am concentrating on the bits most relevant to me.

My being there was due to having joined the association first as a trainee dress-maker, and then as a volunteer embroidery-craft teacher.

My little stall where embroidery demonstrations were being held

It was truly a multicultural, inclusive event without any rhetoric, and I was lucky enough to experience some very peculiar moments, such as when  I learned an 'Indian' technique of doing 'satin' stitch whilst trying to teach embroidery to a boy of South Asian descent (via Africa and Britain) who wanted to have a go.

I believe that this is akin to 'rumanian stitch,' as you fix the satin stitch in the middle with a little slanted straight stitch, to try and keep the tension even.
http://www.webindia123.com/craft/asp/craft.asp?c_id=228
The whole family could not stay long as they were off to celebrate a party they had been invited to (It happened to be Diwali too, on that day).

Traditional African Hair-Braiding stall run by the brilliant Komkom

Traditional craft and mask-making classes for kids being advertised

The 'embroidery desk' was also run by the extremely talented African Embroidery artist Carolyn Akullu-Ocwet, whose work was also on show

www.embroidered-africa.com/

Some more of the traditional crafts display, which included dresses and bags

The dresses and bags on show, included the ones in the picture above (displayed over a kente cloth background) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentecloth which were recently brought back from a trip to Ghana, showing new techniques being applied to traditional crafts/fabrics), a trend that goes both ways and it has been highlighted in its diaspora dimension in a piece of research  by Textile Museum's curator Dr. Diana N'Diaye.
http://www.textilemuseum.org/education/Afric anArtCulture.html

which brings me back to the title of this post:

One of my first attempt at dressmaking was a gown which evolved from the traditional kaftan model

details of the fabric with traditional printed motifs

http://www.stlawu.edu/gallery/education/f/09textiles/adinkra_symbols.pdf

And a pair of pijama trousers, also made with a fabric printed with traditional motifs

That wasn't a deliberate choice. I bought the fabric from the lovely array of  African material available at the ACA at very reasonable prices.  And later on I realised that the 'flying ducks' motif ('A hen fye' or 'The King's House') is the same that can be seen on the leaflet cover produced for the exhibition 'Fabric of a Nation' that was held first at the British Museum to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ghana independence as a country, in 2007 and then went on to tour Britain as a travelling exhibition.  It focuses on the importance that cloth  has in Ghanaian Culture
http://arttattler.com/designfabricofanation.html

The thought that one of my first humble attempts at making clothes implied using fabric that was being displayed and celebrated in a museum's exhibition made me feel proud and at the same time think about how truthful is the process described in James Clifford's book ' The predicament of culture' in which objects acquire value through becoming 'museum's objects.' I wouldn't be able to afford a designer's fabric, but I was able through the vagaries of post-colonialism, cultural policy and my life to wear a piece or two, from the 'kings house'.

Flower Entropy

I haven't been idle, a bit confused yes, but still in activity!

There are so many 'old things' I want to post about, but life goes on quickly and makes it difficult to catch up!

There has also been  an event I will post about shortly (Black History Day held at Hendon Library within Black History Month, with the African Cultural Association).

Meanwhile, I have been experimenting with a design that I want to use on a series of garment and accessories and have been wondering how best translate it.

The starting point is some ink experiment for a design exercise with 'line' that I did some time ago.  I like the end result though, the colours and the flowing line.

Inkjet print of a coloured ink experiment about 'line'on paper

I have noticed, though, that I tend, or the design tends, or both of us do, to turn the abstract into something flowery.

It looks like there is a' flower entropy' within my work.

I have previously made conscious attempts to go the other way, i.e, from flowers to abstracts, but whether these have been successful or not, I have realised that there is definitely a connection between the two.

Watercolour on WC paper, flowers into abstract 

Detail 

Detail as above

This is probably partly due to the nature of the medium involved: whereas watercolour tends by its very nature toward dissolution and detachment from materiality, another experiment, that goes back to many many years ago, shows how the connection is still there but in a more material way (the medium was mainly oil paint and pastels on a pastel paper background)

I had pondered in fact, whether to translate the design into a counted thread technique, that would best show the transition between the floral and the abstract line elements, but in the end I decided to use free-style  hand embroidery.
So, with hand stitches, thick thread, the use of the circular frame and the addition of some applied organzas, I have steered towards flowery materiality again, leaving the linear behind!

Linear design evolving into flowers with various stitches (including running, chain, feather, whipped running, short and long blanket stitch, stem,) being worked in an embroidery hoop on a calico base painted with Markal paint sticks 

Detail

Anyhow this is why I have decided to call this series Flower Entropy, which is probably what my garments and accessories bearing this embroidery will be called

The design showing its evolution and the addition of coloured organzas applied with isolated cross stitches

Detail

Detail

My Quick version of Thick Iranian Vegetable and Noodle Soup (ash- e reshteh)

I promised that I would post some recipes of my 'pasticci culinari' that I was keen on, and here we are, the first one.

The first reason for this is that it is very very good: good for you as well as delicious.
This is called ash-e-reshteh, meaning noodle soup in persian.  It is a hearty soup that you may not want to eat all the time but it's very comforting especially when the weather gets a bit chilly.

The second is because I am quite proud that it seemed to me unconquerable and now not only can I make it, but also came up with my own version. I don't know if it would pass the scrutiny of a 'proper Persian Cook', but my Persian husband likes it and it doesn't taste that different from the one that I have tried at Iranian restaurants, or more recently, in Iran.

The third reason is that I really need to record the recipe and method before I forget, so that I will be able to do it again without being confused as to what steps to follow. The quantities are enough to feed 4 reasonably hungry people as a main course and there may be some left over.

Ingredients :
Sabzi : herbs and vegetables, in this instance, spring onions, dill, fresh or frozen (I tend to bulk buy dill, freeze it and use it when needed, and once frozen it is also easy and convenient to chop), parsley, coriander, chives if you have them, spinach, I also like to add some leeks, one or two, again if any of these are frozen, or dried, it's fine too.
They should be about one or two bunches (market size or supermarket packets) of each depending on taste and preference
One onion, garlic

Dried mint and/or dried Ashe (soup) herb mix from Iranian grocery shops (again this is not absolutely essential as it is basically the dried version of what we are already using) but it gives  the dish more flavour.

Pulses/ Beans:
Red Kidney Beans (one can or equivalent)
Chick peas (one can or equivalent or less if using the bean mix as well)
Lentils (Green/brown variety), freshly cooked or canned, some
One packet of ready cooked bean mix (possibly the Epicure brand 'Mediterranean' variety) as it contains broad beans and chick peas that are both called for in the recipe)
Spices:
Black pepper, freshly ground
Turmeric powder, one teaspoon

Other:
Kashk (salty whey product, that comes in a jar, from Iranian grocery shops or in a dried, powdered form), this can be omitted, if not found or liked but I absolutely love it. Some people substitute it with yogurt, but the taste is more similar to some salty strong sheep cheese except it is like a thin curd like paste.

Reshteh or Persian Noodles (you can substitute them with dry pasta or some kind of other wheat noodles)

If you are using any fresh beans/pulses soak and or cook them beforehand. I normally only do it for lentils, which are the easiest to cook and do not require soaking nor much planning ahead. Chop and brown the onion in a little oil or butter or a mixture of the two.

Take the sabzi, and roughly chop them up and add to the pan.
Next add salt, pepper and turmeric, transfer everything into a medium/ large sized pot and put everything to the boil with 6cups of water approximately. Let it cook for a while (30-45 min ca).

Now the cheating bit:
Add some ready cooked/ canned pulses, such as red-kidney beans, lentils and a packet of mediterranean mix of pulses or another mix,trying to include something with fava (broad) beans and optionally navy beans

Let it cook for another while, adding some more oil, if needed, adjusting the seasoning, adding may be some more dried herbs, or sauteed garlic and mint, and as the last step the Reshte or Persian Noodles. These should be cooked  for about 15 minutes, as they don't need to be 'al dente' and the whole soup has to become quite thick and not much watery. I also add the kashk at this time and then bring some more on the table to be added at will. Sometimes people (or even I, when can be bothered) add some garnish made of thinly sliced fried onion with garlic and mint on top.
And I don't feel adding any more comments really, after all, in Italy we say that when you eat you are not supposed to talk (I must say though, that I have never witnessed this piece of advice being followed!) and in Southern Italy also that when you eat you are fighting with death.