Wednesday, 2 March 2022

Marching Along

 

As we March toward Spring
a little madness
here and there
 helps the time to pass!

I am a member of the South Delta Artists Guild and Gallery co chair and our new show "March Madness" has just started (on until March 27).

https://southdeltaartistsguild.com/show

The show name is not inspired by sport but by the Mad Hatter's Tea Party from the "Alice in Wonderland" story. 

Since I have spent quite a bit of time recently on this I decided to feature it in this months blog.

The hats were out, in the display and atop heads. Here are a few pictures from our demo day:

This is a top hat I made from papier mâché: 



It's always tea time.


Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland began as a story told to entertain three little girls on an afternoon trip in a rowboat. One of the three, ten-year-old Alice Liddell, asked to have the story written down, perhaps she was the inspiration for “Alice”.

The book commonly called Alice in Wonderland is an 1865 English children's novel by Lewis Carroll (a pseudonym of Charles Dodgson) in which a young girl named Alice falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. The original book included 42 illustrations by Sir John Tenniel.

Alice journeys down the rabbit hole into a world of wonder where oddities, logic, and wordplay rule supreme. She encounters characters like the grinning Cheshire Cat, who can vanish into thin air, the cryptic Mad Hatter who speaks in riddles and the harrowing Queen of Hearts obsessed with the phrase "Off with their heads!"



How did the Mad Hatter get his name?

The name the Mad Hatter and the phrase "as mad as a hatter" relate to the 19th century use of a mercury-based compound in the making of fine hats.

After long-term exposure, hatters would often develop symptoms of mercury poisoning, such as tremors or mood-swings: thus they would appear "mad" to others.



Me (in the hat) and Lea Price and the take home tea we offered:


Susan in a great hat!


Judy in a hat:


Deborah in a fascinator:


Hats as 3D Art:

Mad Hatter


Mrs Hatter


love this quote:


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My paintings in March Madness show:
(all are varnished watercolours)

Wind Swept


Back to the Earth in SGang Gwaay


Dancing Tree


Sun washed


Cat Whimsy


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News from my Studio:

New Watercolours:
 
Paisley Watcher (varnished)



Shell Blues
I will be mounting this one and varnishing it


More Shells coming too:

At the Tide Line (Watercolour) is finished (I think), shells at the tideline with a few water bubbles after the tide has receded. 



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Art Videos:

In the Age of Recycling - Cutlery to Artwork: 




Video from South Delta Artists Guild demo day:


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and lastly a bit of music:

Jefferson Airplane - Go ask Alice


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That is all for this week,
 happy Wednesday, with whimsy,
 
Gillian.