Lee Thomson

There was a special exhibit of works by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui at the Wellesley College art museum. I loved it. I came home with six new ideas to try, and I've been up in my room trying to decide where to start. I was not allowed to take pictures, so I cannot show you how they looked to me, but pictures of his works are around on the internet. Several different media were shown, including pen and ink, paintings and some wooden pieces that felt very intricate and rythmic.

My favorites were the big pieces made of bottle caps, bottle tops and the metal parts that wrap around the neck of liquor bottles.  The pieces felt like fabric, with drape and character. The little parts wired together made for acres of textured surface that the curators of the exhibit pinned into folds and waves to emphasize the fluidity of the large pieces. 

further reading

A picture here shows the fabric made from long thin parts wired together, and here that shows the different textures he gets from using different parts of the bottle closure. This is one of my favorites here; I like the way the silver goes across, and the lines that look like rivers go down, and the bulge of the red on the left interrupts the lines of silver.

There is also a nice site for the  Wellesley College museum website itself, and an  interactive site developed by a student for the exhibit.

Before I went to the museum, I visited my mum. We spent all the time talking, as well as driving about, and sitting about, and talking. I dropped a flyer off with a gallery in Ipswich that carries some fiber arts and would be a nice match.