Lmst

I only attempted one rendering of #faience - beads from a broad collar described early on in #NefertitiLivedHere, in a report inexpertly typed by the director then on site, the year before #MaryChubb joined the expedition to Egypt. As I've said, embroidery has such strong textural and visual personality that something like a direct rendition of a broad collar as you see in the watercolour would be terribly congested, visually confusing, and probably rather dull. The spiral of embroidered beads is lighter, more playful - more fun!

#DreamsOfAmarna #HandEmbroidery #FaienceNecklace #SilkThread #watercolour

I ran out of steam so I'm just playing. There's nothing extraordinary about these sketches, except that I'm doing them, and feeling relaxed doing them.

And I think the #LotusFlowerCoat may drift a little away from Ancient Egypt. It will still be reminiscent, but also wandering outward geographically and forward in time.

But it will still remind me of #DreamsOfAmarna and #MaryChubb..

#DesignersLife

Rough sketch of lotus flower and bud, and leaf.

Colour experiment for a lotus flower head.

Different leaf shapes, roughly sketched.

This little fishie is a representation of a glass vessel in the form of a #NileTilapia, which was found in Egypt before #MaryChubb's time, and which she therefore probably knew. I discovered from one of Alexander Sooke's programmes about the history of art that modern glassworkers find it tricky to reproduce, so it seemed a perfect choice to represent the skill of the ancient Egyptians.

#DreamsOfAmarna #HandEmbroidery

Close up of the Glass Nile Tilapia, brightly stitched in blue, yellow and white. The combed pattern is represented using stacked fly stitches.

The whole Nile Tilapia, lips and gills in blanket stitch, dorsal fin and tail in stem and chain, body in stacked fly stitches.

This little fishie is a representation of a glass vessel in the form of a #NileTilapia, which was found in Egypt before #MaryChubb's time, and which she therefore probably knew. I discovered from one of Alexander Sooke's programmes about the history of art that modern glassworkers find it tricky to reproduce, so it seemed a perfect choice to represent the skill of the ancient Egyptians.

#DreamsOfAmarna #HandEmbroidery

It's astonishing, what huge enterprises can grow, entirely by accident, from the tiniest of starting points. #MaryChubb found a fragment of tile, which brought her two new professions, first as (the very first!) archaeological administrator, and later, writer.

I read her books, and embarked on a creative adventure which has lasted nearly three decades, and lead me into all sorts of new creative adventures afterwards...

#DreamsOfAmarna #HandEmbroidery #FlatSilk #Embroidery #Watercolours

Embroidered version of the lotus flower tile, in flat silk outlined with a fine metallic thread. The flowers are "faintly lilac-tipped", as Mary describes, and they have a pale blue background.

Small watercolour painting of a fragment of plaster with blue flowers and green leaves against a cream ground, with a vague brown background. The flowers might be cornflower or lotus, the colouring is completely invented!

One of the incidents that really struck a chord with me was when Mary Chubb was excavating a necklace, and thinking of the person who'd lost it all those thousands of years before, and of a necklace of daisies she'd had as a child, and lost. I made her a daisy necklace in response

I am more fortunate than she: this little necklace of plastic hearts on brass wire was given to me when I was about seven, and it is still charming.

#DreamsOfAmarna #MaryChubb #MemoryLane #Beadwork

A necklace of small plastic hearts in pink, dark red, mustard yellow and olive green, worn against an orange T-shirt.

Several multishaded strings of green seed beads interrupted by daisies made of seed beads.

Today has been A Day. I gave the manuscript for The Book to @ColinTheMathmo, asking for feedback and suggestions. I've spent today putting them into action. They've improved it considerably, but it's been a frustrating day, tied to the laptop.

I am trying to emphasize the contribution of the artisans, labourers and excavators to the story of Egyptology, something that Mary Chubb was also conscious of.

#DreamsOfAmarna #AmWriting #AmEditing
#MaryChubb #NefertitiLivedHere

Watercolour painting of workmen setting up a doorway in Amarna. Clear blue sky, but the other colours are umbers and siennas.

In honour of today's #DreamsOfAmarna photoshoot, here is my parlour dome for #MaryChubb, #VioletsAndDaisies, for the #ArtAdventCalendar.

#MaryChubb

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