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Hanecdote School of He(art) in my handwriting is framing above and below my classic skull. The left side has a pink mechanical pencil and the right side has a red skein of thread. On the skull there is a blue tear drop and a red love heart on the cheeks as well as two gold teeth.
Cork board with art on it. Each corner has two tulips, photo of me with Ginger on my lap, Art is my Heart and Soul embroidery of needle, mechanical pencil and red pencil. Wallace washing windows, hand with henna, Tatreez heart, Anyone Can Fly poster by Faith Ringgold. April 2024 calendar page, me and Francesco by the sea, NB no borders, me in a swimming costume, too cute to care patch, Hello Kitty doing yoga, Tabitha tapestry of UAW Volkswagon production line. Genocide Joe on American Flag, book with grey typewriter on cover, green and pink tatreez heart, Jane Seymour painting in small gold frame, Western Hypocrisy Clear As Day in blue with eyes around. Painting of rainbow outside prison cell and inside it turns to Palestine flag.

April 2024

At the beginning of April we visited The Cartoon Museum to see The Wrong Trousers Turns 30 exhibition which was really cool and later that week we went to Hampton Court Palace to see their tulip festival. I was also lucky to get to visit my cousins in Italy, my first time visiting them and Italy in general. We had a few days in the Sasssi of Matera and then a roadtrip to Polignano A Mere and Alberobello. I got to see so many new and beautiful sights which blew my mind. Me and Mum tried our hands at henna, I drew a skull, flowers and hearts on my left hand and mum made a more traditional design with a flower, dots, paisley, stripes and triangles. 

After spiralling because of the reality of my health, and the likelihood of there being no medicine to help ease my pain, has given me a renewed commitment to trying to improve my diet and trying to move my body more. Its so hard, stressful and literally painful to move my body in general, so exercising with chronic pain is very daunting. I have started by stretching in the mornings, just 10 minutes for a full body stretch as well as a shorter vid with some hand and wrists exercises. I try to take it slow and listen to my body, which is hard beyond the usual internal screams of pain and fatigue. Im proud of myself for keeping consistent (so far) and will just keep trying to move my body bit by bit. Ultimately I feel my mobility and flexibility diminishing, and Id like to be kinder to myself and invest in myself more. Its not easy, most people wouldnt want to move if doing the bare minimum causes them pain, but I have to try something new. I hoped biologics would be able to take the edge off in order for my to start moving again but I realised thats just not going to be the case for me unfortunately. I also went swimming, although Im anxious about being unmasked, swimming is THE best thing for me. I even dreamed about it a couple nights before we went. It felt so good to be back in the water. Mum ended up watching us and she said my form was as beautiful and graceful as ever. That made me feel so so good, before I was confident with art I was confident with swimming. I swam competitively, yet for years after I quit (due to Endo pain) I had a mental block towards it for so long. Since swimming in Guyana I wanted to make the effort to do so when I got home and it took 4 months into the year but we did it! It felt good to be tired from an activity and not just from drying my hair or lifting my duvet over me, for example. I smoke weed (no tobacco for three years) so I know my breathing isnt the best and I hope to see improvement there. I was really tired and took breaks when needed and managed to do 12 laps of a 33m pool. 

April marked 10 years since a major high street store stole my artwork and printed it on a children’s tshirt alongside a couple of other artists. With my Mum’s help and support, as well as a “No Win No Fee” lawyer who had previously won a case against the same company, I was able to get some kind of justice. I still don’t name them publicly because I cant exactly remember what the settled terms were but it definitely included not mentioning their name. They made £53,000 from the sales of that tshirt, and I got about £1,000 compensation and they had to pay the lawyer £14,000. Im so lucky to have be able to get any accountability at all. The company tried to put down my ideas and abilities, but my Mum was a Trading Standards Officer and had experiencing documenting purchases and cases, so we documented everything. Plus growing up in the social media era, I took pictures along the way and could easily provide a timeline of the design process and creation of the patch. Mum stood up for me, and wasnt going to allow a big company to get away with stealing not only my intellectual property but also my actual photograph. I learned that instead of investing in artists and creatives, these brands invest in their legal department to squash and dominate independent makers. 

The Genocide and Apartheid against Palestinian’s has continued with the support of USA, UK, Germany, France and other Israeli allies. While students protest on campus, mass graves are uncovered outside hospitals. Its a disgrace to humanity. Western hypocrisy is on full display. I’ve embroidered more tributes for Threads of Solidarity to four children who were murdered by Israel, it makes me sick to my stomach that these deaths are justified and funded by our governments. 14, 12, 9 and 8. Shame on you. There are thousands of Palestinian hostages inside prisons who have been detained indefinitely without trial, facing torture, abuse, medical neglect. I have shared more art by Sliman Mansour which commemorates Palestinian Prisoners’ Day on April 17th. Palestinians face indefinite detention and military court while Israelis face civil or criminal court, thats Apartheid. Its always been an Apartheid. When you see the student encampments against Apartheid South African in the 70s and 80s and you see students at those very same campuses with the same demands now, its screaming at you in the face. 

Photo of light brown hands with henna And pink nails. Left side is traditional with flower, paisley, triangles, dots and lines. Right side has a skull and hearts, with more hearts and flowers on the fingers.
embroidery of sewing needle, yellow mechanical pencil and red pencil on calico with Art is my heart and soul border is Log Cabin with bottom right corner light blue, medium blue, dark blue and purple strips of tie-dyed calico. Top left corner is light blue, medium blue, dark blue and purple paisley bandana.

As I was updating my new website in reverse chronological order I started to look at all my embroideries and feeling a sense of sadness and grief (again). I decided stop feeling sorry for myself and to come up with a solution. That solution was to embroider something onto calico like I have always done, and then to add a patchwork border. I draw this on my ipad a while ago and decided to stitch this into a trio, adding a sewing needle alongside the mechanical pencil an red pencil. The needle is included for obvious reasons, but I like to include this kind of mechanical pencils in my artwork because they are my Grandma’s favourite. I also like the nostalgia of crayola like pencils and crayons as they remind me I have always made art throughout my life. I thought this would be a cute embroidery to start with. I chose to add a Log Cabin border after having fun with this style earlier in the year. This time I cut much thinner strips in a limited colour palette of blues and purple. Im really happy with how this turned out and Im excited to keep working on embroidery/patchwork combinations, developing my style as I go.

Making of Heart and Soul
Photogrid of 5 pics on white background. Top two are Shire Horses outside Hampton Court Palace, one pic has Mum smiling next to them. Bottom three are of tulips, me and mum smiling in front of tulips and mum and da. D next to huge pots of tulips.
Digital illustration of Hampton Court Palace entrance, tulips which look like flames, framed picture of Jane Seymour, 6 different tulip plants in dark pink, red, yellow, dark purple, red with yellow edge and white. Yew tree with lifter skirt and Henry and Tom the Shire horses. Red grapes captioned “The Great Vine. Biggest in the world”

I had my first visit to Hampton Court Palace to go and see their Tulip Festival. Its a Royal Palace built in 1415 in Richmond-Upon-Thames by Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey was Henry VIII’s chief minister and when he fell in popularity he gifted the house to Henry. Funnily enough, on my Dad’s side of the family we are distantly related to Jane Seymour who gave birth to Edward VI at Hampton Court Palace. She is my 14th times Great Aunt. We are descended from her older brother Edward Seymour who was beheaded in the Tower of London. When I tweeted about being related to Edward Seymour and random person who follows me said they are too, which just goes to show how many thousand people are also distantly related to royalty too! Makes me laugh. 

Anyway, it was so beautiful and full of colourful arrangements of all different types of tulips. We went outside and saw a horse and carriage ride and decided to go on it. IT WAS SO WHOLESOME AND FUN! We sat in the front and the coachman was a lovely Irish man who was telling us all about the Shire Horses taking us around as well as about the Palace and grounds too. We learnt that there are around 2,000 Shire Horses remaining in the UK which makes them an endangered species. During a World War, 25,000 were taken to Europe and none of them were returned because it was apparently too costly. Last year the first Shire Fowl in living memory was born in a London stable, usually they are taken to other farms to give birth. We learnt that Yew trees touch the ground until they are more mature which is when they “lift their skirts”. You can see what I mean in my illustration. We walked around amongst children who were on an easter egg hunt around the grounds, it was sweet seeing them engage with the building and the gardens surrounding them. 

 Photogrid of 5 pics on white background. Top three are massive sealing and wall murals featuring allegory and mythical creatures including angels and cupids. Bottom two are details of textiles in paintings, on being Henry VIII.
Hampton Court Palace: Tulip Festival and Horse Carriage Ride
baby pink oval card with palm tree leaf design in dark red, bright red, hot pink, baby pink, pale orange on aida.  Black oval card with hot pink and lime green heart design.

This month I made Tatreez cards for Princess Zaria which was the design of Palm Trees from Hebron, Palestine. I chose this design because shes a Caribbean Gyal from Jamaica and Antigua, so I thought it was perfect. I used four different colour variation threads ranging from dark red, bright red, orange, pink, pale pink and pale orange, all within a baby pink card. 

For Aunt Shil’s 60th birthday I wanted to repay her for all the cards she has made us over our lifetime. She always made us customised cards with all kinds of cool techniques and personalised details. I asked Gina what her favourite colours are and she told me green and pink so I chose this heart design from Beersheba, Palestine, to show her my love. Shes currently in South Korea with Dan and Gina having a big 60th Birthday celebration and Im soooo happy for them on their adventure. Shil loves K Pop and K Drama, has been learning Korean and its just her wildest dream to visit there. 

Digital illustration of Feathers McGraw stuck in a bottle, overturned box of Meatabix with Gromit hiding inside, two storyboards from the train scene, The Wrong Trousers in green with Turns 30 in yellow star. Grey brick wall with WANTED Feathers McGraw poster, Wallace and Gromit plasters tin with Gromit and Shawn the sheep on, Wallace holding bucket and sponge, and the Wrong Trousers as a pen holder.

I have always been a fan of Stop-Frame Animation since I was a child. I even took part in two workshops, one we made a video about the Paralympics and it was shown in the Phoenix Cinema in North London. This love 100% stemmed from growing up watching the classic Aardman Animation’s Wallace and Gromit shows and this year The Wrong Trouser turned 30! I guess 1994 was pretty iconic because I also turn 30 later this year! To celebrate the event, the Cartoon Museum put on an exhibition showing the making of and behind the scenes from the short film. There were sketches, story boards, interviews, behind the scenes photos, clay models, props and Wallace and Gromit memorabilia, some of which we have had for decades. It was really cool to see those sketches, pencil ideas which would transform into the most incredible, detailed and personality filled clay models. Even as an adult, the sinister expressions and coldness of Feather McGraw give me chills. Its an amazing achievement to create such emotion from clay models, many of whom don’t speak with words. The sense of nostalgia was also heartwarming, as they not only remind me of my parents who introduced Wallace and Gromit to me but also my Grandma who enjoyed them too.

Digital photo-collage of a story board, clay model of Feather McGraw (Penguin) in a bottle, clay model of Feathers McGraw (Penguin) with a remote control, Gromit sitting and thinking, Aardman version of Mona Lisa and photos of behind the scenes of the train, Wallace and Gromit eating breakfast and Wallace scaling a building.
The Wrong Trousers Turns 30 Exhibition @ The Cartoon Museum
digital illustration of a skull with open brain, bright rainbow is bursting out with Endless Art Ideas is golden yellow. Spewing out of the mouth is a grew shape with I Cant Even Make 5% Of Them in different shades of grey with an apple pencil.

I made this illustration as part of my Daily Drawings project where I try to doodle on my ipad every day. It pretty much explains itself and is just a pure expression of my frustration and pain. I recently compiled all my random lists of Art Ideas into one Mega List, and then I got upset because I probably wont have enough energy or break from my pain to be able to make much of it. Thats not even to mention all the new ideas I will have and want to make too. Drawing ideas onto my ipad is one thing, but not being able to bring them to life, in the real world through textiles is where my pain and grief comes from. Im a textile artist, that is what is important to me, so although Im grateful for my ipad it never feels like enough for me. It never gives me the same satisfaction of making something from thread and fabric. I will keep trying to adapt, keep trying to find ways to pace myself but its a hard journey and Im still struggling with it after five years. 

Photocollage of three tapestries. 1) These Hands, 2024. Workers in blue assembling cars, workers protesting, workers surrounded by flames in a factory with workers holding a bridge with cars above. 2) Picket, 2021. Workers in a line in yellow. Other workers with banners “Labor is entitled to all it creates”, postal vehicles and trash collector, people holding megaphones, planes flying with angels, workers combined into a big red animal with factories in the back. 3) Hot Labor Summer, 2021. Light blue workers together, yellow workers holding union banners, a train crashed and on fire. Delivery drivers, angels, construction vehicles and trees in the background.

I wanted to give a shoutout to Tabitha Arnold who creates incredible tapestries, many of them about protest and workers rights. After 224 hours she just finished a piece called These Hands, which supports Volkswagen workers whose UAW union were about to vote. These Hands references a quote by Philip Agnew from 2020 “With these hands we will rebuild our communities. With these hands we will free our people from prison. With these hands we will fight for a nation that makes our grandparents and our grandchildren proud. With these hands we will build power and transformation. With these hands we will do miracles.” As well as a campaign video made by other UAW workers from Missouri Toyota “our hands, our backs, our knees, our work”. I find Tabitha’s work extremely inspiring and energising, it makes sense of workers needs and goals. You can read more about These Hands HERE.

These other two works are called Picket, 2021 and Hot Labor Summer, 2023. I love the style, medium and vibrancy of the colour palettes Tabitha chooses. 

3 artworks. 1) Peace Dove, with skin looking like keffiyah scarf, breaking free from behind prison bars. 2) rainbow outside prison window, inside is the colours ofPalestine flag. 3) men with sacks over their head in a small room with hand cuffs on.

“Palestinian Prisoners' Day Is commemorated every year on April 17. carries an even heavier weight amidst the harrowing reports of brutality and inhumanity inflicted upon Palestinian detainees within Israeli prisons.

As Palestinians and the world commemorates the struggles and sacrifices of these prisoners, the chilling reality of torture, loss of limbs, and tragic deaths within the confines of Israeli detention facilities casts a dark shadow over the day. Each account of suffering serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing injustices faced by Palestinians, igniting global calls for justice and accountability. Amidst the pain and despair, the resilience of Palestinian prisoners and their unwavering resolve to endure such atrocities stand as a testament to the enduring spirit of resistance in the face of oppression. On this day, the world bears witness not only to the atrocities committed but also to the unwavering determination of the Palestinian people to reclaim their dignity and rights.” - Quoted directly from Sliman’s Instagram

1) Prisoners' Day , egg tempera, 1980

2) Colors of Hope, egg tempera, 1980

3) Prison, oil on canvas, 1982

hand embroidery on calico with black hand written names “Rawan Saeed Youssef Al-Mutawq aged 14, Youssef Saeed Youssef Al-Mutawq aged 12, Zakaria Khabbab Muhammad Nabil Al-Mutawq aged 9 and Raneed Abdul Rahman Maher Al-Mutawq aged 8” and red gradient thread Tatreez hearts.

In January I shared my post about the Threads of Solidarity digital tapestry project where names of those killed in Gaza are being embroidered to commemorate the tragic, unjust and premature end to their lives. Im so proud of my community because so many of you reached out to them to request names, to use your embroidery skills for an important cause. They reached out to me and thanked me because you not only asked for names but i think some offered other skills to help how you could. Im so proud to have grown a community of such caring and empathetic people who want to do an action, even of it feels small, but represents so much love and passion for justice. For these people to not be forgotten, for them not to be another statistic in Israels relentless violence and Apartheid, for love, sorrow, pain, anger and compassion to be poured into the memories of these people we don’t know but feel so deeply disgusted and heartbroken for their loss of life. For these names I used black thread and for the first time I used waste canvas to put Tatreez red gradient hearts next to each one. I wanted to put extra love and care alongside each persons name. Its so heartbreaking sitting and sewing these.
RIP to Rawan Saeed Youssef Al-Mutawq aged 14, Youssef Saeed Youssef Al-Mutawq aged 12, Zakaria Khabbab Muhammad Nabil Al-Mutawq aged 9 and Raneed Abdul Rahman Maher Al-Mutawq aged 8. Their lives were stolen from them by an Apartheid State and their international backers. 

Threads of Solidarity is a memorial project organised by Indu, Kamil, Rahi and Taab to embroider the names of people Martyred in Gaza and put together in the form of a digital tapestry. You can contact them via threadsofsolidarity@gmail.com to be given names and information about the format to submit. They want us to use gauze (medical material originating in Gaza) and thread the colours of the Palestinian flag.

6 infographs on black background showing Anti-Apartheid protests in the 1970s and 1980s side by side 2024 Anti-Apartheid at university campuses. “30 years ago South Africans were liberated from the Apartheid Regime. Today, students are carrying the legacy of the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement for Gaza. 30 years later and universities are still profiting off of crimes against humanity.” “Ive been deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us Black people in South Africa” - Desmond Tut in 2002. “30 years later and students are occupying the same spaces.” “ The UN took a strong stand against Apartheid and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians." - Nelson Mandela (1997)” “30 years later and the demands are still the same”

Students in over 120 universities in America and many more across the world have set up encampments and protests on campus to demand their universities divest from investments in weapons manufacturers and surveillance technology, for them to stop profiting off wars and genocide across the world. Why the fuck are these institutions invested in those things anyway? Might be connected to why STEM has been pushed so much while Arts and Humanities departments have been cut and destroyed. While students are being attacked by media, police and zionist antagonists for protesting against this genocide, mass graves have been uncovered with over 400 bodies of women, men, children and elderly people. Many restrained and tortured. Many wearing hospital scrubs or still with drips and medical equipment attached to them. While the media classes and politicians talk about the “violence of protest and encampments” on college campuses, Palestinians face the worst, targeted violence from IOF and Settlers alike. We are living in an upside down reality. When I saw these pictures of students protesting against South African Apartheid, side by side with students of the present protesting against the Israeli Apartheid, I cant think of a better illustration for the situation at hand. 

Disgusting Zionist antagonists are allowed to beat up student protestors, pepper spraying them and sending fireworks into the encampment, wishing death and rape on people while disgusting cops in riot gear, with shields, batons and rubber bullets, beat up students and faculty alike. The media demonises them, labelling Pro-Palestine protestors as violent and Antisemitic when they are the victims of racism and violence from the state but also Zionists. Professors, many of them Professors of History, and even a previous head of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth, Annelise Orlick was arrested and banned from campus (her place of work). A tenured Black, Queer and Disabled professor I follow called Sami Schalk was dragged to the ground by riot police and they ripped her dress. Another professor somewhere else had 9 broken ribs and a broken hand from police brutality. Over 2,000 people, mostly students have been arrested since April 19th. One student was shot in the face with a rubber bullet and had staples and stitches. Its a disgusting world we live in where people can be slaughtered, starved and displaced on their own land, and the people who stand up for them on the other side of the world are called evil and violent. The violence arrived when the riot police arrived. The violence arrived when Pro-Israel antagonists arrived. If people cant see this fuckery for what it is, students have been arrested for protesting when ZERO IOF soldiers or Israeli government have faced consequences for their slaughter of Palestinians. This is an unjust, fascist, racist and imperialist world we live in. Zionists are saying these students are worse than the racist thugs who marched in Charlottesville, saying theyre worse than Nazis. Words dont have meaning anymore when they are thrown around and weaponised like this. 

3 x 3 collage of Faith Ringgold’s Narrative Quilts. Faith Ringgold in patchwork at the top and 8th October 1930 - 12th April 2024 in patchwork at the bottom. Colourful quilts showing African American version of Western artists such as Matisse and Picasso, and the Louvre. African American woman and band playing jazz music. Civil Rights figures all sewing a quilt covered in sunflowers together, A bloody USA flag with a mother covered in blood protecting two children. New York skyline, a wedding for an African American couple.

I cried when I found out that my favourite artist Faith Ringgold died. She lived till 93, having a career spanning over 50 years. She was born in 1930, during the Harlem Renaissance, a time in the NY suburb where African American’s including musicians, writers and artists were making and thriving. She created so much over the decades but it still feels surreal that she is gone. It sounds silly but I wish I could’ve met her and told her how much she meant to me. I know she was greatly appreciated, loved and adored but that wasn’t always the case. She faced so much racism and sexism throughout her career, so many set backs but she never gave up and she never took no for an answer. Instead she pioneered her Story/Narrative Quilts, which featured her painting skills alongside the patchwork skills she inherited from her maternal family. She wrote and illustrated children’s books, she painted, made textiles, made sculptures and even created a quilt inspired sudoku app. 

She was so unappreciated by the wider Western Art world, that her first European retrospective was as recently as 2019! You can look at some of the pictures I HERE. How insulting for such a prolific artist who made powerful and important works throughout the Civil Rights and Women’s Liberation Movements. I wrote my final essay in my Fine Art Degree on how she was under-appreciated due to Racism and Sexism. Im so grateful I got to see her exhibition in London in 2019. It was an honour to experience her paintings and mostly textiles up close and personal. I stood and stared, breath-taken by the details and raw stories she was telling. Stories of loss, death, joy, pain, racism, sexism, childhood and maternal bonds to name a few. Shes not only my favourite artist but a massive inspiration to me on so many levels. I hope to be able to find my own iconic visual language combining embroidery, illustration and patchwork in the same way that she created her painted Narrative Quilts. 

When I first saw her artwork called Dancing at the Louvre, it perfectly illustrated my politics and attitudes toward to “Fine Art World” as I was working in Tate’s Young People’s Programme. Our goal was to bring in young people of diverse backgrounds who have been alienated and pushed out of art institutions, and to create engaging, fun and interesting events. We had DJ sets amongst the oldest art in Tate’s collection at Tate Britain. This brought my love of historical paintings and my love for Black Underground Music (Grime) together is such a meaningful way. Dancing at the Louvre (middle bottom row) has this same energy, while a group of African American girls and women dance in front of the Mona Lisa and other classics. It shows that art galleries are for life, for joy and not meant to be boring and exclusionary, despite them being built by old european colonial wealth. They belong to us all now. 

If you are able to watch BBC iPlayer, its well worth checking out this documentary from 2019 when her exhibition was at the Serpentine in London. Faith Ringgold: Tell It Like It Is, about her and her life’s work.

Digital illustration of Faith Ringgold in a colourful dress, sunflowers below, her name in colours to the left. American Flag Quilt covered in blood, her character Posey flying with braids above, cloud text says ANYONE CAN FLY “"When I see my work from all the different series + media assembled together I feel a great deal of satisfaction that I was able to produce so much and that l had the freedom to find my own voice, against all odds. It's deeply, satisfying,- I hope my story can be an inspiration for all artists" - Faith Ringgold, 2022
Faith Ringgold Exhibition, London 2019
Digital illustration of Boeing 737-800 plane. Map of UK and Italy with red dashes for journey. London to Bari. First time in Italy! Wild fennel. Shy Maya the orange, brown and cream cat. Mum a brown woman hugging a cream scruffy dog. “Scared, Soppy Benny”

Before the holiday had even begun, I woke up in the morning crying to Mum and saying I dont think i will leave the country again. The pains, aches, fears and anxiety was too much to deal with. This was me being dramatic but not really, its just how I felt in the moment. 

2 x 4 grid of photos of Sasso Caveoso in Matera. View across the city, detail of carved stoned weave, arches, metal artwork of Crucifiction in the stone walls, view of valley with greenery and river below, garage for motorbike carved into the stone, graffiti with old buildings behind and green door with steps and cacti on them.

On the first full day of experiencing Matera in the South of Italy, we started the looking right out over this whole side of the Sasso Caveoso. Amy is a tour guide so she gave me the whole history of the area which I loved and appreciated, she made the whole place explode with life and history. The following points are paraphrased from her poetry book called Se I Sassi Potessero Reccontare (Is Stones Could Tell) which I have included her youtube video narration of below. In the hills are caves which were used 150,000 years ago by Nomadic Palaeolithic people while they were moving and herding their animals. In the Neolithic Period 8,000 years ago humans began to build homes and domesticate animals. In the Bronze Age 4,000 years ago humans were using metal tools to dig and further construct and develop these caves into homes and buildings. This area was influenced by Greeks, Romans, Lombards, Byzantines, Saracens and Normans from the 8th Century BC to 11th Century AD. 150 Rupestrian Churches were built into the rocks, including the Santa Lucia alle Malve the first female monastic settlement of the Benedictine Order. It was really cool to go inside and see remnants of religious artworks painted on the stone walls over centuries. When Italy was Unified in 1861, Matera alongside much of Southern Italy were experiencing stagnation and poverty in comparison to the Industrial Revolution in the North. In 1872, Archeologist Domenico Ridola proved that there has been a human presence in Matera since the Palaeolithic Period. In 1945, Painter, Writer, Doctor and Anti-Fascist Carlo Levi wrote a book called Christ Stopped At Eboli” Eboli being a town South of Naples. He was saying that the Church and State had neglected the South of Italy causing extreme poverty and high infant mortality rate. By 1952 it had gotten so bad that the Prime Minister Alcide de Gasperi signed a law which meant the Sassi were evacuated and most of the population moved into new homes with the help of grants. In 1986 another law is passed, this time allowing for the restoration and rebuilding of the Sassi so much so that in 1993 the Sassi of Matera is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 Digital illustration of Carlo Levi, Painter, Writer, Anti-Fascist and Doctor. Cacti in terracotta pot, Chiesa de Purgatoria, wooden door with 6 skulls, 3 wearing crown and religiousware. Stoned carved weave, barn swallow, TAM Tower Art Museum with grey crying boulder. Cave painting of Santa Lucia alle Malve. Two types of pasta: finger cavatelli and orecchiette? 3 different views of Sasso Caveoso, all buildings, half buildings and half valley, and all valley with caves at the top.

It felt like something out of Game of Thrones, with churches and houses built into the rocks. We walked around and I noticed how many beautiful details there were in the light stone walls, my favourite being ones that look like woven structures. The winding streets and alleyways were covered in cacti, beautiful ceramic pots, cats and dappled sunlight. There were many small museums which were created from the cave houses, showing how people lived there with their families and live stock. The people worked with the caves and created cisterns for water consumption. We stopped by Amy’s friend Lela’s shop/gallery/studio called Materia. She makes cool jewellery and her husband who died a few years ago made art from wood, both studios set up on the ground floor. Me and Mum showed our art to her and Mum bought some of her jewellery, stylised girls made from silver with a brass heart and a brass cat above head. Lela is Amy’s longest friend in Matera and you could feel the love they have for

For lunch I tried some different types of pasta (as seen in my illustration), cheese and cured meats which were delicious. Wandering around was a challenge for my hips but I had a disposable heated pad on which alleviated some of my pain. Amy said we were going to look at the skull and cross bones church so I was intrigued. We turned a corner and there it was, the Chiesa del Purgatoria (The Church of Purgatory) where the massive wooden front door had skulls with crowns and religious wear. This showed that no matter who you are in life, death and judgement comes to us all. After we checked out the contemporary art museum called Tower Art Museum which was showing an exhibition across many spaces called Everything Went Fine, a tongue in cheek use of the phrase commonly used during Lockdown. The video flashed footage of historical events throughout Italy’s history. I liked the graphic design elements of the artworks as well as the use of inspiration from Ghanaian Asafo flags. I pointed to the boulder crying and said that was me this morning and Francesco looked so empathetic. Bless him, what a good kid and a great first day it ended up being despite the fears and tears.

Sasso Caveoso, Matera, Italy 🇮🇹

5 photos from Sasso Barisano, Matera. Zoomed in view of city below, old fort wall with apartments built in, wider view of city with grey sky, archway alley with city in distance. View of city from other city with Matera Cathedral on the horizon in the distance.

The second full day we checked out the other side of the Sassi known as Sasso Barisano. I had my first cream cornetto pastry for breakfast and then we walked around taking in the beautiful streets, houses and details. Matera Cathedral was where we began our walk and by the end of the day we could see it in the distance from the other side of town. We went to Amy’s friend’s restaurant called Malatesta, named after an Anarchist and Revolutionary Socialist, Ericco Malatesta who was exiled numerous times in his life for his work with unions and workers strikes. I loved seeing the different anti-fascist stickers on the door outside. We were at the “family table” so random family friends showed up and the tradition is to bring bags of olives and a bag of roasted almonds and pistachio for the table which were so damn tasty! After we got gelato (pistachio for me) and then headed home as the weather was quite cold and windy!

Digital illustration of Cornetto pastry, Italian Anti-Fascist stickers, “no borders, no cops no nazis, Antifa Area, Associati Malatesta, Combatti La Paura and Distruggi El Fascismo”.  Errico Malatesta, Anarchist and Revolutionary Socialist. Matera Cathedral. Cheese and Prosciutto platter, small clay bird, pistachio ice cream, Osteria Malatesta logo with red star and hand holding fork. Two views of Sasso Barisano of arches and cream stone.

Sasso Barisano, Matera, Italy 🇮🇹

Digital illustration of Prickly pear cacti, rainbow cloud and smiley face. Spider web “good luck”. Cream stone arched bridge with sea in the distance. Polignano A Mare a small cove iwth turquoise water and buildings and rocks on each side. Cave with water on ground and sea in the back, black crocs in water “Croc life”. Tall cacti in a terracotta pot, tube pasta called Strozza Preti (Strangle the Priest). Big olive tree with 40% of Italian olive oil comes from Puglia. Trulli of Alberobello - white round buildings with grey roofs. Panzerotto pastry with love hearts.
6 photos of Polignano A Mare with bright turquoise water and creaming white stones.

After an hour and a half drive we arrived at Polignano A Mare, a beautiful seaside town in the heel part of Italy. I have never seen such crystal clear yet turquoise blue water before in my life. It was stunning! We walked along a lovely trail surrounded by cacti to a small cove, framed by a beautiful stone arched bridge. There was a cave which you could walk through a puddle to get to the sea, me and Francesco braved the cold water to go have a look. I actually put my crocs to good use! We headed up to the town and walked around the beautiful streets filled with restaurants, plants, pottery and shops. I was craving some seafood pasta so we found a place to eat outside (a bit chilly as we were in the shadows by that point) but it was just what I needed. I got a seafood pasta and the type of pasta was called Strozza Preti meaning (strangle the priest), we had some delicious friend seafood and then for dessert I finally had a tiramisu. I was stuffed and so happy. We carried on walking around town, the blue waters drawing us in as we passed by street after street. 

6 photos of Alberobello, a town made of Trulli (circular white houses with grey slate roofs).

Amy took us back home via a scenic route driving past really old olive tree farms, and after seeing wildflower patches and rolling green hills, we arrived at a town called Alberobello. This town is distinctive because it is made up mostly of Trulli, which were circular buildings, originally built without mortar so that they could be deconstructed and moved easily. This was in the 1400s and for tax purposes. The sun was setting and this town looked surreal, like a model village. It truly looked like a postcard around every corner. there were ancient symbols, some for fertility painted in white on the roofs, pretty flowers and cacti outside and we even saw two ginger cats chilling too. There were Indian people in beautiful saris doing photoshoots during golden hour. It was just a spectacular end to an already beautiful day. Before we got home we stopped off to get some more food, mozzarella with prosciutto inside and Panzerotto, a folded bread with ham and cheese inside. The Panzerotto was soooo good, and it was fresh and warm too. 

Day trip to Polignano A Mare and Alberobello. 

Picnic at Parco Regionale della Murgia Materana

4 photos, me with arms stretched out with valley behind me. Skull shape in rock cave, view from rock cave. View of valley and river below.

On our final day, Amy was working so Francesco took us on a tour of his local park and for a picnic. He made us triple cheese and double prosciutto sandwiches before we set off. Parco Regionale della Murgia Materana is about five minutes from where they live. Immediately Francesco took as to a cave, where we were going to have our picnic but we werent ready to eat yet and it was sunnier outside. The cave was cool, you could tell people hang out smoking and drinking up there with the amazing view. We carried on our walk along the edge of the cliff, stopping to look at the different wild flowers and even saw a small green lizard and a kestrel flying above trying to find some lunch of their own. We picked Amy up from work and then went back for more prosciutto and cheeses before it was time to head to the airport. It was hard to say goodbye, but made easier by Francesco’s smile and him saying “I wont be sad because I know we’ll see you again soon”. Its such a blessing to be united with family, we only met for the first time last July, and have had four visits in total in less than a year. Francesco is such a sweet and smart kid, seeing him and Dad bond is so heartwarming. Even though I struggled with pain I cant wait to go back to Italy and see some more beautiful sights with our wonderful cousins. 

HERE is Amy’s website with her narrations and below is her reading her book Se I Sassi Potessero Reccontare (If Stones Could Tell).

Digital illustration of the valleys with rocks in front, view from cave, 5 pretty flowers, teeny shells, lesser kestrel and Italian Wall Lizard.

Se I Sassi Potessero Reccontare (If Stones Could Tell) by Amy Ann Weideman

8 photos on a white background. Top row: blonde dog cuddling into me wearing a pink hoody, orange, white and brown kitten sitting by a window. Mum with Benny blonde dog and me scratching Maya cats neck. Bottom row: Tabby kitten on a chair, ginger kitten Mango in a pile of fabric, Mew a torty on my cutting mat, Mango with lil tongue sticking out.
 A dark grey background which matches the bottom border. My bubble hand writing which says “Thanks for Reading” in a pink, orange and yellow gradient with pink hearts and sparkles around it. A skull has hearts coming out the eyes in three shades of pink, with happy tears falling from them.
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