27 January 2012

BORDER MORRIS: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE


Border Morris is a style of folk dancing which involves black face, tattered clothes, big sticks and decorated hats. I saw it at the Sidmouth Folk Festival, when Flag Cracker (top), a side from North Yorkshire (they are called "sides", not "groups"), came down in a big coach and performed, madly dressed and horrible looking, with amplified music and electric guitars, terrifying shouts and a crashing of sticks.  They were the Morris dancers from Hell, far removed from the prissy, white-shirted, hanky-waving, tinkling sort of Morris dancer. I am actually not a great fan of Morris dancing or even of English folk music, but I have been making images of this sort of performer ever since I first saw them.

10 January 2012

DESIGNER CRAFTS AT THE MALL

Photo by Kath Bonson

My work is on show in the Mall Galleries, London, as part of Designer Crafts at the Mall, the Society of Designer Craftsmen's annual show.  The Society was founded in 1888 as the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society; it was at an early committee meeting that the phrase "Arts and Crafts"was first used.  The Society still continues to show the best designer crafts, in glass, textiles, furniture, ceramics and jewellery.