Deep Sigh…..
LOAF has been amazing.
I don’t know if it is because I’m tired, but I could lie in a darkened room and have a little bit of a cry before I fall asleep.
I feel so grateful for these people. My life drawing group, the Rebellious Quilters, my friends, and my hard working, long suffering family, who have spent the last month supporting my shed-related activity, culminating in the mini arts festival that is LOAF.
The exhibition of artwork was better this year than ever before, the standard of work just gets better all the time. We have had so many compliments and kind comments, offers of help, support and so on.
The quilts were indeed, rebellious. I have realised that our happy band of stitchers are quite unusual: We have part of the group that are wonky and spontaneous and hugely creative and inventive, and we have part of the group who are precise, particular, and hugely skilled, and some of the group do both. We swap skills and ideas, and the result is a collection of quilts and other related textiles that are not of the mainstream at all. We are quite an unusual group, but I don’t think our members realise it.
The tea and cake display was extraordinary! Highlights being Niky’s really gooey ginger cake, and Tess’s brownies, and Moira’s bread.
Thank you to everyone who helped and who visited, you made our weekend!
But for me, the astonishing thing is the contribution the musicians make. In my next life I’d like to be a musician instead of an artist I think.
Some of them had come hundreds of miles to play for us. For nothing other than the fun, the cake and just the opportunity to play in our lovely little venue.
A group of people told me they thought the music was amazing, and they hadn’t expected such a high standard from a little festival. A rare treat, they thought.
What was evident between these musicians was the support they gave each other, the prospective, possible collaborations, the swapping of cards and cds, the playing together, the offering of a guitar to the youngest musician of the lot that snapped a string, an offer of a tuner, and SuperDan, who swooped in to set up a mic quickly for Anja, so that her gorgeous voice could be heard over her gorgeous accordion! Heather had written poems especially for the occasion, and dipped in between to read an extra snippet about a double bass, after seeing Anja’s band. They were all brilliant, and I am proud and privileged to know them all. Thank you all.
I told my son on the way home that it felt like they were all playing just for me, an incredibly self indulgent affair… special people, chosen by me to play for me. It’s as if the rest of the audience are just added extras.
Lucky, exhausted, exhilarated, over-caked, me!
