Drifting

It's not like nothing is happening and I haven't been doing stuff,

 it is just that, well I don't really know.

I am kinda just drifting along and

actually sitting down to blog has just been to hard

I have been playing with more paint rag pages

different ideas

and I made a book

which has gone up to an exhibition

in Mission Beach

A Book Of Xanth

full of experiments

and fun

My trip to Melbourne has been and gone

Saw the John Wolsley Exhibition 

which was awesome

But was very disappointed 

that they sold out of catalogs

in the first week

and will not be printing any more

I spent some time with Robyn out at Open Drawer

and talked about maybe doing a workshop there

next March

I ate and I shopped and had thoroughly lovely time

The Triple Sec Hot Chocolate at

Monsieur Truffe

was delicious

Went to Neil Wallace

and Tesutti Fabrics

So all is well as I settle back into my routine

prepping for a workshop in Ingham

in a week and a half

and playing with 

paint rags

though I will have to get some more paintings done

as my supply is getting very low

But that is how it goes

x te

Heading West

I am off on Tuesday 

trekking West

I am teaching a 

1day workshop

On Simple Paints and Tape Bound Books

here

on Saturday Oct 25th

Then I am off to SA 

to be a student in a workshop with 

Sandra Brownlee

Then to Melbourne

where I will be teaching at 

Open Drawer

Nov 5 & 6

details here

and then finishing up

with a 1 day workshop

again on Tape Bound Books

Friday Nov 7th

details here

I will be shutting up my Etsy

tomorrow afternoon

I am very much looking forward

 to the planning to be over

and the doing to begin

x te

Workshops in Melbourne

Workshops at Open Drawer

1158 Toorak Road
Camberwell (Hartwell Village) 3124

Natural Dyeing

Tutor: Trace Willans

Date: Wednesday November 5th & Thursday November 6th

Time: 9.30 – 3.30pm

Cost: $295.00 

Spend 2 days learning to dye using plant material gathered from your home and local environment. Whether that is from the leftovers from last night’s dinner, leaves and flowers growing in your garden or those gathered from your street or local park, never purchase dye again. Create cloth and paper which is truly local and seasonal.

We will be using a bundling technique with boiling and steaming which prints the actual plants onto the fabric, giving excellent detail.

Expect to go home with many individual pieces of fabric to incorporate into your work.

You will also have the option of dyeing your thread/wool in the pots or in your bundles for great variegated thread or you can spend some time stitching into your cloth before dyeing for a wonderful integrated look.

There will also be the opportunity to lay some papers out for rusting and I will set up a small indigo pot to play with.

 More info here

Making Simple Paint and Tape Bound Book

Tutor: Trace Willans

Date: Friday November 7th

Time: 9.30-3.30pm

Cost: $165

Begin the day by learning to make two simple paints from milk, flour, sugar and natural pigments.Then use them to paint a large sheet of watercolour paper on one side. While this is drying make a small sample tape bound book in preparation for tearing your painting into smaller pieces to make a one of a kind artist’s book which you will work back into using encaustic techniques.

More info here

Catching Up

Student samples (Melb)

I have been home for a little over a week now

so thought it was time I got around to

telling

student samples (Melb)

I taught workshops in both Melbourne for

Beautiful Silks

and In Kingston south of Hobart in Tasmania

student samples (Melb)

I believe my students enjoyed themselves

They certainly were heard to comment

that they had never made so many samples

student samples (Melb)

student samples (Tassie)

everybody enjoyed playing with the

Xanthorrhoea resin which I take (unmixed)

to all my workshops

It gives such great colour 

Student samples (Tassie)

1 student who loved it

but thought she would be

unable to obtain it for herslf

wondered whether shellac and

puffball ink might be

an adequate

substitute

Student samples (Tassie)

So we tried adding sumi e ink to the

xanthorrhoea resin

as an experiment

we got some fabulous results

Seafood Bisque

And then not long after returning home

I had a significant birthday

one with a zero on the end

Tasting Plate

and a 5 at the front

Yes 50

Bubbles

So I was taken out to lunch

at Pepper & Salt Restaurant

located at Matilda's Winery

in Denmark

By this lovely man.

Thanks Dan

x te

Eucalyptus Cinerea

Yes I did it.

Eucalyptus Cinerea Paint

I haven't yet cracked the rich red colour

but I will get there.

i am so excited to have finally

made a paint

with leaves gathered from my property

All will be revealed at my upcoming workshop

in Melbourne

x te

In the studio

all natural mixed media 10 x 10cm

all natural mixed media 10 x 10cm

These are two of my latest pieces and they will be off to the market with me on sunday. They are all framed up and under glass so I won't be putting them in my etsy shop but I might be able to some unframed pieces in real soon.

A large wrap vest in process, all the stitching is done first

a close up

In the pot

Finally I am strating to settle down and get some work done in the studio. And about time too!!! Has been very unsettling being home and in a studio that has been only for holidays for the last 3 years. As a consequence I have been acting like I have been on holiday instead of getting work done. And my calendar for the year is looking far too full for that kind of carry on.

I will be participating in A Letter A Week over here

and in a moment of complete insanity I said I would do an edition for Book Art Object over here

Never mind I am supposed to be writing a series of articles for this magazine first one due out in the february issue probably about the same time my deadline is for the next one!!!!

Then I will also be popping east on 3 seperate occasions, to the Blue Mountains in April and to the Dorothy Caldwell workshop in QLD early May. (My husband is not best pleased that I will be away for a month)

In July I will teaching a two day workshop at Beatiful Silks Natural Dye Symposium and doing a side trip to Hobart to teach as well and possibly a day in Launcseton as well.

Then I will doing a little something in SA in October.

Never mind actually trying to get some of my own work done.

I fee exhausted just looking at it.

Maybe I will go have a nice sit on the deck a cold drink and a good book.

Dog it's good to be on holdays

Jiggety jig

Home again, again!!!! I arrived home from Melbourne last week did my washing and was back out the door to the Basketry Conference held at Port Sorrell.
I had a great time and now am back and hopefully this means after wading through the mounds of washing and sortiung and shopping I will be able to get back into the studio full of enthusiasm and inspiration and get some work done.
Oh and of course preparing for next months trip to Melbourne where I will be teaching here and marketing here and here. Last month at my market I collected addresses for my mailing list and as a prize there is a small piece of my art which will be drawn ans sent at the end of the month, I will be doing the same thing at my April appearances, though it will be a new peice of art. So for a chance to see it and maybe win come along and visit.

Because I said I would

I made it even though it is now monday morning not sunday.
I had a wonderful time in Melbourne. And I was going to put in lots of photos, well a few but have just seen that the format has been changed and I have to learn to use Picassa by the looks of it if I wish to use my own photos. So no pics today.
One of the highlights of my trip was to see the John Davis exhibition at the NGV. It was absolutely awe inspiring, the feelings of reverance when surrounded by work that was so simple yet profound reminds me yet again that I do not need to use fancy materials or compicated images to convey meaning. Standing in front of his wall of fish and then the need to look at each one individually. Well just wow really. Black and white and sticks and cloth, thats all you really need.
And then off to a workshop to make my own art. Of which I can't show a picture for the reasons stated earlier. I made a concertina book form heavy paper which I dyed by placing inside eucalyptus leaves, onion skins and oxalis flowers, I then wet it thoroughly and placed inside a plastic bag and then horror of horrors I microwaved it, more than once!!! Yes I succumed to the use of the devils machine. Time was short and I had no equipment with me and I won't do it again, unless I really really have to. But it did work very well.
While this was drying out, painted some pieces (10) on very heavt watercolour paper, these slotted into the pockets of the book. Then the whole thing was wrapped in some beautifully dyed matt silk. Not I must mention the lovely silk that I had been stitching all week as the colours were all wrong but the alternative cloth which will now need to be stitched. And then it was tied with a nice length of silk string. I wish you could see it.

In Melbourne

Just catching up, I am in Melbourne this week and then next week Geelong. Yay. So far I have op shopped, had dinner with my beautiful son and his partner who were in town for the weekend been on a picnic in Seymour, Marketed at the Abbotsford Convent and generally been having a really good time. This is of course all just a build up for the fun and exciement of the Fibre Forum in Geelong next week where I am doing a workshop with Sandy Webster. So much fun. There will also be a bazaar open to the Public, Friday evening October 1 and Saturday morning October 2 where I will have a stall with lots of lovely buttons, as will many of the tutors and students. So any one in the vicinity would be well advised to leggit down there and grab some gorgeousness.

Home

Well and truly home now, I have rested and done a veritable mountain of washing, mostly I must admit lengths of lovely fabric. And tempting as it is to stay home and do some cleaning (yeah right) I think I will head into the studio and start preparing for my next markets which will be the Barnmarket on Saturday June 5th and The Eastside makers Market on Sunday June 6th.

This is a lovely new vest I will have for sale. The front and this is the best colour likeness.

A close up of the top.

And the back though it is not this blue. This is a longer vest with not so much wrap at the front.

And my lovely stall at the Abbotsford convent.

The other end of the table.

And a nice shot of the buttons under the counter at Buttonmania in Melbourne. Heres hoping they are really popular and more need to be ordered.

And this is Miss Polly Dolly-Button. She will be exploring Melbourne with my friend Naomi, here she is at Craft Victoria. She would dearly have liked to have been photographed inside with koalas but that kind of thing is frowned upon.

Here is Miss Polly at the old Collingwood football grounds, while out walking the dogs.


And no day out would be complete without a little shopping in Brunswick St Fitzroy. Lucky Miss Polly got to be part of the window display at this fabulous frock shop.

Check it out next time you are down that way. They had wonderful stuff in wool and some lovely Australian made as well.

I will be bringing you more pictures of Miss Polly as they come to hand and soon there will also be pics of her sister Miss Molly Dolly-Button out and about in Tasmania. This weekend she is off to Hobart.

More relatives will be available in my Etsy Shop real soon.

Post Market

It's a very chilly Monday morning here in Melbourne, but thats ok. The heater is on, the work is over and today we go shopping. Or more likely is looking and lusting without buying. But thats fun too.
Ivanhoe market was pretty darn dismal this time, hardly any people came to visit and of my two sales of the day one of them was another stall holder, so sadly I won't be going back there again. Though I did have a lovely chat with a woman who was interested in me running some classes, so that was good.
You can't just take money off people and have a venue available, there needs to be some form of marketing or it's all going to fizzle. A darn shame really as there were some nice people with some very nice stuff.
The Abbotsford Market on the other hand went off. It was wonderful, saw lots of people who said lots of nice things and some of them even gave me money to take some of my treasures away. So this morning its not just the warm glow from the heater I am feeling.
Today I am off into town to flash my wares at Buttonmania and fingers crossed they will be interested in stocking me. Also going to buy some fixings so I can have some lovely new pendants ready for the next market.
So next month I will be back at the Convent in Abbotsford onSunday June 20 but at the moment no venue for the saturday, so if anyone knows of a great market in the Melbourne area where I will be loved please let me know. I do so want to be able to keep coming back.

Melbourne

I am off to Melbourne again today. I will be at the Ivanhoe market on Saturday and the Makers Market at the Convent in Abbotsford on Sunday. I hope it will be much better than last week. I have two new vests finished that I will be bringing up with me, a new journal and heaps of new buttons which I have just finished cleaning ready to pack. Once all the goodies are settled into my case then I will be able to pack just a few clothes on top, which is a bit trickier now the weather is starting to cool down and I am wearing more layers.
And just wait till I put up the pictures of the currypunk fungus (Pitosporous Australiensis) dyeing it has been so giving yeilding the most amazing fluro yellows/oranges.

Twitter

Yes folks I have succumbed. I have a twitter account. Not really sure what it means but apparently it is a must have. Soon I may even figure out how to put a link on the side. But I wouldnt hold my breath.
Did the homespun market today and depressingly didnt even cover the cost of my stall, sometimes I wonder why I do it all. On a brighter note I am off to Melbourne next week fingers crossed there will be more eco friendly buyers up there.
Oh and my cube paid for itself this month so thats gotta be a bonus.
Now for a relaxing day tomorrow for Mothers Day.

Melbourne

Well I've made it to Melbourne once more. Sorry, but there will be no photos till I get home as my camera is incompatible with my computer and I don't have a converter yet.

Today I have been for wander down to Victoria St, I have been to the Asian Supermarket and gazed in wonder at all the products that i have no idea what you do with them and so many I would like to try but they just wouldnt make the flight home. But I did buy some new tea to try, Red Date Koji Berry and White tea and some soy milk powder for painting and some little bamboo whisks for making the soy paint. And I had the most delicious Vietnamese Tofu Bun for lunch.

Tomorrow I will visit my cube at Incub8r http://www.incube8r.com/home.aspx it will be the first time I have seen it with my stuff in it.

On the weekend I will be at the Invanhoe Market on Saturday and at The Makers Market at the Abbotsford Convent on Sunday. I have the new Encaustic (beeswax) pieces with me plus lots of the Smoke Fired Ceramics and the odd bit of Natuarally dyed cloth.

Finally Eggs on Etsy

I have just finished uploading 6 of the Egg Brooches onto my Etsy Shop and here they are.

All different all lovely

They have a soft gentle sheen because of the beeswax coating.

18 of them have gone Melb to go into my Cube.

The rest will be available at the markets. Civic Homespun in Launceston this Saturday. The Barn in Rosny Park near Hobart on Saturday the 10th of April.

And the Makers Market at the Convent in Abbotsford in Melbourne on Sunday the 18th of April.

And yesterday I went down to Hobart to visit some people and maybe just maybe these babies will be in a store down there very very soon. Oh I do hope so coz they are so lovely.