Inspired by a visit to the Ballet.

On Thursday I spent three magical hours at The Albert Hall in London, for Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

I was completely mesmerised, and cannot get the wonderful music out of my head. I decided to try and make a couple of sketches of the dancers from the programme, and made the above two using black biro onto some pre-prepared pages in my sketchbook. I find it less intimidating to sketch onto pages that have been painted or printed on beforehand. Pristine white paper can be so scarey, and as I haven't done much drawing of the human figure for a while, it helped me to have a more relaxed attitude.

Although I find it even more difficult to 'sketch' with my sewing machine, I also felt compelled to try and make a small textile piece. I found some Gelli prints I made some time ago on Abaca tissue paper, and a couple of them had a watery feel about them which was perfect for my interpretation of the Swan Lake. It's a little bit abstract, but I wanted to try and catch the mood of the ballet.

Funny how you can spot imperfections when you see your work in a different light. My dancer is by no means perfect, but I have really enjoyed making this piece, and I'm still humming the beautiful, and very moving music by Tchaikovsky. I think I will have to go and buy a CD now, then I can listen to my heart's content!