The Whitworth and the Snow

It's been a busy weekend. Unusually for us, we've been out both days and then, of course, there has been the added excitement of snow! But more of that later.

On Saturday, we headed into Manchester to meet up with some friends. We arrived to blue skies, sunshine and bright splashes of red from Chinese lanterns, all ready for Chinese New Year on 8 February.

Terminal by Bernard Schottlander

There was more red at the Whitworth Art Gallery where we were having lunch. It underwent a major renovation project in 2014/15 which included building a lovely new cafe/restaurant with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the park. Needless to say it's very busy and we had to queue a little while, particularly as there were 9 of us.

Well worth it though as the food was delicious. Here's my pastrami sandwich, taken with the 'food' mode on my camera. No, I'm not sure what it does either but I did think the detail and colour came out really well.

Then it was time for a walk around the Art_Textiles exhibition. There were works by some famous names like Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry but I preferred some of the other exhibits. These are a few highlights. Mind you, I had to be selective as some of them weren't suitable for family viewing!

I loved these 2 quilts by Risham Syed and particularly the one on the right because of all the little characters - you would never tire of looking at all the details.

Ghada Amer - Sunset with words

Lyn Malcolm - Why have we so few great women artists?

 This was one of Chickpea's favourites. She liked the way the name of the work was carried through the different objects.

Mary Sibande - Sophie-Velucia/Madame CJ Walker

And we all thought this was one of the most thought-provoking and interesting of the exhibits. If I remember rightly, the Sophie of the title represents the artist's mother. The woman in the portrait is Sarah Breedlove who was a self-made millionaire and the first in her family to break from domestic servitude: her fortune was made from hair care products. There's an article about Mary Sibande and her 'Sophie' works here.

Lastly, nothing to do with textiles but I really liked this 'mobile' and the lovely colours and patterns it reflected on the wall. I'd definitely recommend a visit to the Whitworth if you're in the area.

After arriving in those blue skies, it was a surprise to get off the train at home to find the car covered in snow! What is it about snow that's so thrilling? Chickpea couldn't stop breaking out in excited giggles as we drove home.

This morning it was still there. Hurrah! We were going out again but I couldn't resist a quick walk beforehand, so I pulled on my boots and headed out around the lake.

Cute!

I hope these aren't the last of the snowy scenes this winter :)

I couldn't stay out long though as we were going to the cinema to see Room. I loved the book and have to say that the film didn't disappoint. The child actor was amazing. Highly recommended.

And that was my weekend. I also have my kirigami update to show you but will save that for another post. We have another busy weekend next week as it's my annual Burns Night supper.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend in the snow or otherwise. Have a lovely week. x