Alone with research- Friday 9th of August.

Friday 9th of August; I walked husband and son to their return boat this morning. We absorbed silently an empty San Marco and the quietness of Venice.

I am now on my own, very conscious of the research. 

On my retunr to the flat, I open my VELUX this morning and discovered that the sculptures  at the top of San Marco basilica somehow are looking straight at me. They're so close they are my nearest neighbours it creates the sense of really into me.

I realise my priviledge comparing to the crowd at the bottom, but also from all those who can not be here in Venice to embrace the art and this opportunity. This makes me wonder how non-democratic the Venice art biennale is and how we could expend the benefit to others.

It's about now 9 and I can already see people at the top of the tower taking photographs with their phones and selfie sticks but I'm here. I'm safe. I'm in my flat having a coffee and this is me now, the research really begins.

Now that I am in the flat on my own I'm very conscious of everything I  have laid out my materials on the shelf in the bedroom so I can see everything I have available and I have fabrics, I have a paper making frame, this also doubles up as a screen printing frame and I have three little sketchbooks tiny little sketchbooks that fitted in my suitcase.

 I have a box of wooden letters, I have some  photographs of Venice 4 years ago on my last visit  I have loads of samples of dyed fabrics which very strangely totally reflect the colours of Venice I'm gonna take them downstairs take pictures of these Colours against the buildings across the road I have a yellow ochre building in front of me and a terracotta building 


I'm going to lay my fabrics in the windowsill in front of the buildings which are terracotta and yellow ochre the fabrics I have laid there are dyied  with onion skin, the others with madder plants which were from my last project; they wrapped up the roots the madder roots in a little bag tied and were put in the bath to disperce the colour. 

The light is so bright in Venice it is difficult to take a perfect picture of colours in the middle fo the day, but  it's a match, an overlay of strong colours. It even is more than a match it enhances the colours of Venice. The fabric, the walls, the floors, the food, everything is enhanced. I'm trying not to drop my things in the street. I can hear the noise of people, and the bells as well. 

Here, we don't need to go out for dinner, we just open the window and cook. the ambiance, the heat, the smells all enter the flat.