Trip to England, part one

I am finally getting over jetlag and able to think back about what I saw in England. When I arrived, I went to Wolverhampton, not far from Birmingham, where my friend Janet had arranged for me to talk to her embroidery and quilting groups. The next day Janet took me and another friend to Wightwick Manor. The house, built at the end of the 1800 was meant to look much older.

As you can see from these few pictures, the building itself from outside is an incredible experience as far as lines, textures and proportions are concerned. Inside, the house is decorated in the style of Arts & Crafts Movement and many of the well-known artists from area are represented: wall-papers, rugs and textiles by William Morris, tiles by William de Morgan, stained-glass windows by Charles Kempe. I could go on and on. There are also a number of paintings by members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood such as Gabriel Rosetti, Edward Burne-Jones just to name only these two.

"Love among the ruins" by Edward Burne-Jones

It was such a treat because I am so partial to the Arts & Craft style and seeing the artwork in person was really something else! On any given day, selected rooms are opened to the public and they alternate to preserve them better. The rooms we could see that day had so much history, so much to see that I really wanted to be able to come back and see all the other rooms.
The gardens are also in the Arts& Craft style and very beautiful. The weather was on the cool side and somewhat rainy (which I really enjoyed after the heat-wave and drought that we’ve had in North Carolina this summer) and there again, there was so much color and textures all around that it was difficult to know where to look.

So I am just sharing a few images with you. If you are ever in the Birmingham area in England, make sure you stop by the Wightwick Manor, which is situated 3 miles west of Wolverhampton and part of the National Trust.
And I hope that one of my future pieces will have been inspired by what I saw there.