A river named Trevor

Well, that’s what you get when you attempt to play a game with a child born post 2000, reliant on the general knowledge of a child born in the 1960s or 70s. News flash of the day; my kids’ have appalling general knowledge. In fairness, Harriet is only seven (Trevor was one of her witticisms) though perhaps what was more telling was the fact that neither she nor Jacob could name a household chore beginning with any of the letters that the wheel landed on, after multiple spins. Hmm.

So, the premise of the game ‘Tell Me’ – the grand quiz game’ (found at a charity shop, as reported here) is pretty straight forward. The preamble to the instructions calls it ‘a jolly party game – for young and old alike. Instructive, humorous and altogether enjoyable’. Any number of persons may take part. A ‘leader’ is chosen to operate the spinning wheel and take the role of ‘Impartial Questioner’ (sounded terrifying). Each round is conducted by the Inquisitor selecting a card, reading the question out to the players (like q. name a river, name a fairy tale) and then spinning the wheel to see what letter the answer must begin with (a. Trevor, Edwina Currie). You get the idea.

Actually,  this game, in spite of all the difficulty, was a roaring success. The kids LOVED it. The fact they couldn’t answer half the questions (what child under the age of 47 can name an opera beginning with the letter ‘e’ anyway?) didn’t stop them from laughing their socks off at every silly response they came up with.  No tantrums, no petty squabbles, not even any complaint when the question master effectively cheated by allowing Trevor to pass as correct, just because it was the more entertaining of the possible responses.

We award this game 5 stars. Certainly it was instructive, humorous and altogether enjoyable.

Why I love vintage glass

As I’ve previously blogged, a love of vintage is something that has been with me since a very early age.  That enjoyment I hope comes across in all my posts, and encompasses a wide area of interest, from board games to random street furniture (though that’s probably a post for another day).  Vintage glass though, seems to have captured my imagination more than anything else and I was pondering upon why this might be last night.

First of all, glass has got to have some of the best green credentials of any material known to (or at least created by) man.  It is produced from 100% natural materials and once created, is infinitely recyclable and reusable.  According to the organisation Friends of Glass, one ton of recycled glass saves 1.2 tons of raw materials, and saves 700kg of CO2 emissions.  Always a good start and part of the reason that I do what I do.  I’m afraid what really pleases me about vintage glass though, is much less worthy than that.  It’s because it is beautiful.

Souvenir glass from Queen Victoria’s Jubilee celebrations of 1887 – recently discovered at a car boot sale.

I am constantly amazed by the sheer variety of colours, forms and patterns that can be found, not just in vintage glass but going back over hundreds and even thousands of years.  I’m always fascinated by the painted Roman glass found in places like Vindolanda (scroll through the photos in this article to see the piece I mean) but almost equally enjoy the cheap pressed souvenir glass produced by the ton in the Victorian period.  Here’s one I found earlier (inset).

Moving into the 20th century, and especially looking at Art Deco glass, the designs just explode with colour and shape.  Just looking at my collection of trinket dishes (and it’s an extensive collection), virtually every one is different.  I do feel I should be cataloguing all the different types, but that’s probably just the archaeologist in me.

Just a small selection of the myriad colours and forms found in vintage glass trinket boxes.

Oranges, pinks, greens, blues, cranberry and amber, white glass and smoky glass, pressed, cut, bobbly and geometric, pedestalled, flat-bottomed, circular and square.  The beauty of it is that I never know what I’m going to find the next time I step into a junk shop or call into the local car boot sale.  The difficulty is, knowing when to stop!

Crafted for You – exhibiting now!

Well – we officially have our upcycled vintage glassware on display at Worcester City Museum & Art Gallery!  This time, it’s not just a handful of items in the craft case, but a space in one of the main galleries.  It’s been such an enjoyable year getting to this point, and I’ve been developing my ideas rapidly, trying new things and exploring new ways of displaying material.  The Crafted for You exhibition which runs until early January, feels like a fantastic end to what has been a very busy year. I’m excited to be sharing the space with gorgeous ceramics, silver work, scrap metal sculptures, felt work and textiles.  Well worth a visit (alongside the World War One: In the Words of Worcestershire People exhibition, also on now at Worcester City Museum) and one way of getting ahead with your Christmas shopping, as all items are for sale, and all unique!

A view towards the Decadia Designs glassware display, with Alison Dupernex‘s beautiful, wearable art in the foreground.

On the countdown to Christmas.. already!

Upcycled wine glass tealight holders

Christmas comes early in the life of a crafter.  We still have a whole 55 days to go as I write, but if I’m honest, I’ve been preparing for a number of weeks already.  It’s the busiest time of year for my upcycled glassware, partly because I give away plenty of them myself to friends and family, but also because, they are so bright and festive-looking that they lend themselves well to Christmas fairs, candlelit house parties and the like.  As a result, I have to build up rather a large amount of handcrafted items in readiness; I’m literally burning the candle at both ends!

The good news is, that following on from a successful Craft case exhibition at Worcester Museum and Art Gallery over the summer, I was invited to exhibit again as part of the annual Christmas craft showcase – Crafted For You – running from the 8th November, to early 2015. This is rather exciting as we will be upstairs in one of the main galleries alongside all sorts of other fabulous craft displays!

Arthur, the feline silhouette

Three large boxes of glassware have been loaded into the car, ready for delivery, and I’m really pleased with the variety that I’m able to display.  2014 has been a year of trying new ideas and honing techniques, and I hope this will be evident in the range of quirky pieces that are being exhibited.  I’ve included a few here, to give you a flavour, but would be so pleased if lots of people called in to the Art Gallery for a mooch!  It’s always worth combining with a trip to the Balcony Cafe while you’re there, and of course, having a browse of the fantastic museum displays, which include archaeology, geology, natural and social history.  If you’ve got young children it caters for them too, with an activity space where they can get stuck in with the Duplo or be inspired to do a bit of drawing.

Please do get in touch and let me know what you think!

Upcycling vintage furniture

Before

Watching Kirsty’s Fill Your House for Free the other night, I was minded of some of the furniture items that I’ve produced over the past year.  One of the pieces produced was a lovely new desk for a teenager’s room, with the top covered in old sheet music.  I used a similar technique to upcycle this very tired old table, which I’d found in a charity shop and upcycled for a friend.

 

 

It’s all win, win as far as I’m concerned; save something from landfill,

…and after!

give something to charity, produce something unique and beautiful.  It’s good to see reuse of old items becoming fashionable again!