Notes from Isolation Week 8 & 9

Make:

Matisse cut-outs with The London Drawing Group – in their Painting with Scissors class led by artist Frances Stanfield. A pay what you can class, suitable for all creativity levels and you only need some coloured paper & scissors. Link to the zoom call is embedded in your ticket. The London Drawing Group offer various other classes have a look and book a class here.

“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter – a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue." – Henri Matisse

Read:

This is lovely and reflective piece about life outside. Mike Carter’s Stranded in paradise: a spring awakening amid the Welsh hills – for the FT. Link seems to redirect when I click through, so you may have to search for the article (name above).

Stanley Tucci sent fans and famous friends into a frenzied thirst when he did an Instagram live of him making a Negroni. He’s since uploaded more videos of his cocktail hour as well as a how to video for his ‘Simple Gnocchi’. He’s also written this charming piece for the Atlantic about his Life in Quarantine which you can read here.

Adored in equal measure is Andrew Scott who shares his experiences from his acting career. Read his interview with GQ here.

I love this list of archaic and forgotten words: an A-Z of calming and inspiring words for troubling times by Paul Antony Jones for the Guardian. Here.

Listen :

To Helena Bonham Carter on Grounded with Louis Theroux

Watch:

The Last Dance on Netflix. Here.

A Streetcar Named Desire is one of my favourite plays and The National Theatre are showing this 2012 production with Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Kirby and Ben Foster. It’s brilliant and if you find yourself with a few hours to spare and would still like to support the theatre during lockdown you can watch and donate here.

Came across this gem again – Callum Turner for ES Magazine’s This or That here.

If you enjoyed Helena Bonham Carter on Louis’ Grounded, her episode on Channel 4’s programme My Grandparents War comes highly recommended by my friend Eliza. A fascinating exploration into the lives’ of her grandparents. Other episodes discover the ancestries of actors Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas and Carey Mulligan. Watch here.

Follow:

Taika Waititi and watch his series with celebs reading Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach here, to raise money for Partners in Health.

Emilia Clarke has also created another charitable initiative whereby she asks friends and actors to read a poem of their choosing from William Sieghart’s collection The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind and Soul. Each poem in the collection has been prescribed for various ailments, such as; fear and loss, loneliness or inertia when alone. So far readings have been Emilia herself, Idris Elba, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Fry, Andrew Scott and Thandie Newton. As well as choosing the poems, each reader has also chosen a charity to donate to. It’s a wonderful idea and so popular there’s a waiting list to order your own copy of the anthology. Watch all here.