Jardin en Ville + Other Things

*before I start, I've been trying to write this post off-and-on all day, but my power keeps cutting out. Oh the joy of rural France*
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It just feels like spinning plates. I've got just under 4 weeks to get everything I started on for Artistes à Suivre finished.
So instead of knuckling under I've been oot and aboot; a trip to a photography exhibition in Toulouse, snooping around a circus(!) teaching the man-child how to develop b&w film, lots of cake-eating in cafés, all or some of which I may or may not blog about, depends on just how panicked I get about my looming deadline. All the time wishing to make papercut artworks like these, and to take black and white photographs like this, distracting me from the job in hand.

One evening last week we went to Jardin en Ville in Carcassonne. Part organic restaurant, part art gallery, part 'concept store' (whatever the hell that means) for the private view of paintings, illustrations and ceramics by Claire Hemery. (Even if you don't read French, click on the Jardin en Ville link and go and look at the photo gallery, it's a damn good place) Love.
So I flitted about surreptitiously taking photos here and there

accompanied by a string duo

all Olympus OM10/Fujifilm 200

The evening ending  in a lovely courtyard garden in the old cité, eating pizzas underneath the nightlights and twinkling stars. This is how fantastic the ramparts look at night. Kind of makes crappy internet connections not seem such a heavy price to pay after all.

wandering about

OK, so here's some of the photos I took, when I got my free pass last Saturday. All these were taken with my Yash GSN.

I've just picked up shed loads of new pictures from  labo-lady, and another load due to be picked up on Monday. So next week I'm guessing will be a scanfest. See you then!

there is no map

Praktica PM3/Solaris 200

Do you, like me, ever feel that you never get the opportunity to lose yourself? Mostly I'm never alone. Well, except during the day while everyone is at school/work, but that's different. I'm always working, or doing something for the good of the family. When I go out, it's nearly always with at least one other person. Very rarely I get to be all on my ownsey, and then it's to go shopping, or meet someone; always en route, always with a deadline. The closest I usually get to 'me' time (I hate that expression!) is walking the dog, but that's generally done when there is a small window of opportunity between other crap that needs doing and my mind is usually full of that crap that needs doing.
Saturday was really warm, and I had that rare chance. I had to go to look at a venue, en route to a meeting, after which I had to go to Carcassonne to pick up Joe. You know, the usual drill.
When I came out of the meeting Joe had left a message on my voicemail that he would be an hour later than we had planned.
'Not worth going home first' I think to myself 'Haha! Have cameras (3) check. Have sketchbook, check. Have coins in purse, check'
Carcassonne is so familiar, but we always go to the same places. This time I parked the car in a part of the city I've not been and just walked. Like many French towns and cities, it is built on a grid, so it would be impossible to get really lost. It was the best fun, I tell you. Warm evening sun and a wander. I went into an artist's atelier; some very strange shops, one full of Moroccan food, cookware and smells, another full of decorations where you can sit and have tea; an empty church; an Amnesty International book sale; a chocolaterie. All the time looking, snapping, scribbling, soaking it all up and not having to chat to a companion or think about anything, just be in the moment. Peering in open windows, trying doors, listening to music, snatches of conversations.
When I found Joe, we sat and had a cold beer and a people watch. Heaven.

experimenting with coffee

and not even for drinking.........

That litttle glimpse I gave you of a strip of negatives?

I heard you could develop black and white film in coffee. No way, I thought, how the hell could that work? So I dug a bit deeper, found  homemade soup on flickr and got very, very curious indeed.

I put a cheap-as-chips Fomapan into a very old Pentax. 

Shot the film, then into the bathroom fully-equipped, state-of-the-art darkroom with spiral tank and developer made with coffee, washing soda and vitamin C tablet.

It worked!

I gave the negs to the labo lady for printing, who just gives me a gallic shrug now.

The prints come out much grainier, far less detailed and pretty scratched and knocked, but......

not april fooled, just a bit baffled

The thing is, I need to solve a couple of head scratchers.......maybe you can help?
Firstly, I'm trying to make these little lightbox/shadow frame type things, inspired by the beautiful shadow puppets of Stephen Mushin

and a little bit of Dante

based on this

So when I hold the frame up to a natural light source, it works how I want it (bear with me, it's still a work-in-progress)

but without light (and now with added trees) it's like this

I've tried using a little LED inside the box to light it, but the light is not dispersed or diffused enough, just a white central intense light. Any suggestions on how I can light them better? Electricity isn't an option and if I haven't resolved this by the end of the weekend, I'll have to redesign them completely, without lighting, which would a) be a bummer and b) any idea how I'd make them look dramatic without using light?

Are you still there? Sitting comfortably? Then here's my next problem.

As you may well know, I always carry, on average, 3 cameras + around. Ask my sister, when she came to visit she thought it was a touch over zealous, me humping all my gear up a mountain. I have a roomy enough bag and all my old film cameras have cases, so I just chuck them in. But I have just bought a new dslr, which has no case. I probably won't take it out and about with me much, but when I do, I don't want it getting bumped and knocked in my bag with the others. I want to know where I can either find a handmade, natty and cool case, not a boring techy one and not a camera bag; or how to make one, bearing in mind I'm not much of a seamstress, so no piping, or funny curves or pockets, please!
All suggestions gratefully received.
I promise not to be so needy next post, which may well be a lightbox progress report, or a show n tell about my other project, of which here is a sneaky glimpse

and before I go, in the very unlikely event that anyone is in New York during April, could you pop into the Climate Gallery's Artful Scriptorium and photograph my books exhibited there, please? Many thanks!