Alchemical reaction

So yesterday, the word "alchemical" cropped up on Words & Fixtures and today, totally by accident, I learnt more about alchemy. Alchemy, so I'm told, is both a philosophy and an ancient practice that attempts to change base metals into gold.

Upcycling also converts worthless tut into wonderful trinkets, as mentioned in this post here, and earlier I swung by the Royal Exchange to see the Craft Shop's Upcycled exhibition.

Supported by the Crafts Council, the Royal Exchange Craft Shop commissioned students from the MA Design LAB at MMU's Manchester School of Art to transform defunct objects into objets d'art, and these are now on display (and for sale) in the voluminous lobby until Thursday 31 March.


I'm particularly taken by Lorraine Otoo's crocheted creations re-using metal and cotton (necklace pictured above) and Catherine Chester's reworking of old watch components and vintage photos into unique jewellery. Other jewellery includes Sharleen Marius' recycled steel pieces, and work by a number of established makers invited to complement that by the students - I've got my eye on the button brooches and earrings courtesy Lovely Pigeon; the fabric flower corsages by Lucy Smethurst, and Chain Of Daisies' vintage gem earrings and bird necklaces and bracelets (I can't stop buying things with bird motifs at the moment).

There are also plenty of homewares and tablewares. Bethan Jones offers up ceramics, while Hannah Lovett, Emily Jackson and Geoff Hall have all worked with recycled glass.

Geoff has also created a special display using recovered glassware, recycled scrap window panes and flameworked scientific glass tubing, and it's worth the trip for this alone. Called "The Alchemist", this three-tier exhibit makes full use of one of the three-sided cabinets near the bar, so each face reveals one of the three stages in the alchemical process: Nigredo, Albedo and Rubedo. The craftmanship, attention to detail and even historical link to the Royal Exchange demonstrated is amazing: go see!

Crafty idea

Upcycling is a word I'm hearing more and more, although it doesn't seem to have made its way into the Oxford English Dictionnaire yet - at least not the free online version anyway. Never fear, Wikipedia is always on hand to come to the rescue in times of missing popular culture references crises; indeed here you'll find that upcycling is defined as: the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. In other words, it just goes to show that one man's trash really is another man's treasure.


As if to prove this, an upcoming exhibition at the Royal Exchange Craft Shop sees up-and-coming contemporary craft makers showing and selling homewares, jewellery and accessories inspired by upcycling. The special commissions are by students on the MA in Design at MMU and include Catherine Chester, whose intricate and interesting earrings (pictured) are made from recycled watch components. There will also be pieces for sale by established makers and local craftspeople, so if you didn't even know the Royal Exchange had a craft shop, this gives you the perfect opportunity to bob along and check it out.

The Upcycled show launches with a special preview 12-3pm on Saturday 5 February and then runs until Thursday 31 March, with a special free workshop event on Saturday 5 March. It is part of the Take Stock project which the lovely Craft Shop ladies, Rachael and Gail, are running in conjunction with The Crafts Council. More info can be found on the website, blog, Facebook and Twitter, and you can expect a review here once it's all underway.

Button it!

If you were at the Beech Road Festival a couple of weekends back, you might have had the pleasure of perusing Ophelia Button's pretty little pieces on the Manchester Craft Media stall. Miss O is a founding member of this collective of creatives first spotted at Whitworth Art Gallery's recent Midsummer House Party, where the lovely ladies, all bedecked in vintage tea frocks and cute cardies, held a Yard Sale.


I bought a funky button ring, which has been drawing oohs and aahs ever since. As well as button rings, necklaces, earrings, brooches and bracelets (how gorgeous are these examples?), Ophelia Button's range includes unique pieces lovingly crafted from felt, tulle and wool.


As well as selling accessories and knick-knacks, the Manchester Craft Mafia gang organise events to promote craft as a career and also as a pasttime. This Saturday, I note, Ophelia Button is hosting a workshop from 2-4pm as part of the regular Crafternoon Tea slot at the Whitworth Art Gallery - it's £3; call 0161 275 7450 to book.

Living in a parallel universe

As the title of this blog suggests, we're all about words here, however tenuous the link may sometimes be. We don't often do maths; it's not really our strong point. But every now and again, we like to make an exception. Mix it up a bit. Keep you on your toes.

So today's lesson is all about geometry. The weekend before last, I'd been enjoying the Bridget Riley painting with the wibbly-wobbly edges in the permanent collection at Manchester Art Gallery, so I decided to check out a bit more of her stuff while I had the chance: Bridget Riley Flashback is currently on at Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery, and runs until 13 December.


I'm glad I bothered to make the trip coastwards: I wasn't disappointed. I'm a fan of optical illusions, and the effect of Riley's work on your eyes and brain is both mesmerising and disorientating. The exhibition isn't vast, but accompanying the finished artworks is a handful of sketches on graph paper and mock-ups using paper-weaving techniques, and these serve to offer an extra dimension to the retrospective, along with a fascinating insight into the meticulous, almost mathematical, methods behind Riley's compositions.

Ecclesia, 1985, Bridget Riley Flashback. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London.

As well as optical illusions, I'm also a fan of stripes. I guess this is a given if you're going to a Bridget Riley exhibition under your own steam. Anyway, earlier that afternoon, I'd treated myself to a fantastic stripy plastic ring, all black and white and retro, and very Mary Quant, as me mam pointed out. It was something of a bargain, so imagine my delight when I found similar pieces in the gallery gift shop alongside the art cards and coffee table books accompanying the show. Fashion fabulous, darling!