After Forum

Ballarat Fibre Forum was the best ever this year. I guess I have a tendency to say this each time but I had the most wonderful tutor Alison Withers. It was machine embroidery as I had never done before, intense stitching using a small zigzag. Alison explained that there was less distortion with zigzag than straight stitching. She asked, for our first exercise, to put paint on our fabric and make a' kind of' grid to experiment with the technique here are the examples from the class of our first test piece. I found them really exciting. I will show our final pieces in another post. Glenys Mann who runs these forums has a great 'wholistic' approach to the experience as well as our fabulous classes she has 'artists in residence' This year there were several. I walked out into one of the quadrangles at Ballarat Grammar to see Dr. Pamela Crofts installation and I just laughed when I saw it. As an indigenous artist she wanted to work with 'found objects' her solution in the rather pristine environs of a prestige school was to repair to the local $2.00 shop. Also her gentle soul felt she had deprived the birds of their due when she had left out empty plastic plates, so the next morning she left a tiny nourishment for them on the plates. They were little bothered however by the knives and forks. Another extraordinary member of the administrative team is a truly 'renaissance' woman with an imagination which very modestly and quietly, travels at the speed of light. Her name is Deb McArdle. I suspect she never sleeps because appearing each morning were the most wonderful delights in strange places and configurations. More of the installations later.The most wonderful wire work by David Dickson miraculously arrived in a quad. This are fasioned in barbed wire and despite the harsh connotations and reality of the medium, they managed to be so delicate, especially with the sun shining through the lacework of the wire. There were more instalations and artists in residence..later. Each time I go to these forums...I have a little prayer."don't let me buy anything" That is one prayer which disappears into the ether......... for there is "Trades" A great tradition which Glenys has initiated is the 15x15 Here is an opportunity to make a small piece and it is then for sale for $15.00. You can not imagine the enthusiasm for these pieces, it is often a way to buy a piece of work from a tutor for only $15.00. The money raised goes towards a scholarship fund, which is so very worthwhile. Not only young people are recipients of this opportunity and there are full and part scholarships. A wonderful idea. So much more to tell...next time.

Book Pages Ro's class

I went a couple of weeks ago to another lovely class at Ro Bruhns. I always have a lovely time at the class but I am still a little bit confused as to the place of these scrap/journal/or whatever they are. I must admit for them to have some verissimilitude I do put meditations or quotes on the pages. Ro very sensibly describes them as "play" and "doodling". I am not sure why things need to have some gravitas for me to justify them....it seems very silly really not to just play for yourself. Certainly the idea of making "ART"(!) in books does resolve the storage ploblem somewhat. This next is one of those "book/boxes" for a new group challenge. Actually it is only small and the books were all proper books in the top and then I found I had to glue them in or they would fall off the shelf. The background is some tapestry based on a persian rug......it was all about "Indulgence so it was all the things I love. In the corner are balls of wool and knitting needles (tiny) knitting needles

Preparation

I am getting ready for the Fibre Forum in Ballarat. I am doing a machine stitching class with Alison Withers, it was to have been Carol Shinn, however she was unable to come. I have seen Alison's work and it is truly brilliant. I thought I would like to use some sections of my own paintings, and peraps incorporate them into the original painting. These are some of the paintings I am thinking about. This is a mola I had to do for Uni work, but I quite like it the best of the ones I did. This painting is an extravagent version of the laneway opposite. It is as yet unresolved, quite a small painting, but as I have said before I am quite excited by the lanes around the inner city. This last is my most recent quilt, for Kate who was my neighbour, for only a year, but I miss her a lot as she was a bit of a regular at the predinner drink time. Anyway she went off and married a lovely man and they have bought a house at the beach so this is for the beach house...nothing spectacular, but made with love. These little creatures are for little Hugh, another 'new' neighbour. I made the one on the left first and a friend told me it was scary so I made the other, took them both to Hugh's parents and they wanted them both....so there you are. Feeling a bit glum at the moment and wondering how a week of stitching will go. I am doing things until I get sore as I am going mad not "Making" I am getting there but it is taking such a long time.

Buckets

Here are some of the buckets for the assignment. What do you do with 3D things when they are finished with?.........

here I am again

I am back after a very long time and realise I miss the blogs, I am back because I can not use my right thumb and you can imagine how distressing that is for a craft/art person....you try it! I thought I could share how of late my art work has changed. I realise how very fortunate I am and I have decided to work in the volunteer world. As a result I have begun a small group and we are making things for the less lucky. We are knitting for KOGO which is an anachronym for" Knit One Give One" and making toys for "Mirabel" for children at risk. I am also working for a group called "Stitches" (nothing to do with sewing) working in after school programs for kids in the highrise inner city flats, mostly non Australian born kids. I am setting up a worksheet and the whatever is required from our craft stocks, for a craft "play" in the park. This is a "crown" for the yong kids with straws, pipecleaners and balls....we have lots of these things to play with. More of that later in the meantime...so we can have some pictures I will show you what other things I have been doing.I have stopped Uni for a while, but we had to do 10 things with buckets and here is one of them This is a recent painting, it is not quite finished, I think the balance is not quite right and I want to do some stitching when I get my hand back. It is quite large but I am fairly pleased so far.