I thought you might like to see photos from my recent visit to England, not 
lace related but inspirational.  My sister took me to see an unusual circular 
chapel on the outskirts of the village of Compton between Godalming  and 
Guildford.  The interior was done under the guidance of Mary Watts, wife of 
renowned Art Nouveau artist, G.F.Watts.  The outside is decorated in terracotta 
made locally in what became the Compton Pottery.  Older English people may 
remember seeing the Interludes on TV in the fifties with a potters wheel.  The 
hands at the potters wheel belonged to George Aubertin who ran the pottery 
later. 
http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg146/jblace/Watts%20Chapel/?albumview=slideshow
The interior looked to me like carvings but was actually a relief work made of 
gesso duro, (gesso mixed with felt and applied to the walls).  The work was 
then painted by the local villagers and the school children painted the flower 
frieze. Mrs Watts "believed that anyone with a real interest and enthusiasm 
could be taught how to produce beautiful decoration.  If in the process it kept 
them away from the gin palaces of Guildford, this was surely a good thing." 
Even with the light on, it was very dark in the chapel so I was surprised at 
how colorful the photos are.  The graveyard had lots of art nouveau graves but 
I was limited to what I could upload to the photobucket album.
Janice


Janice Blair
Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA
www.jblace.com
http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org/
www.landoflincolnlacemakers.com  Check convention news here for daily 
teacher/class info updates!!

To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

Reply via email to