Skip to main content

Did I lose a week?

I feel very honoured this week to be featured in the Coffs Coast Polyclayers Newsletter Winter 2010 edition, the brainchild of creative friend, Hector Vera of Vera Designs.  Hector makes fabulous jewellery and teaches interesting and innovative workshops in his Bellingen studio. I met Hector when we completed the Contemporary Clay Instructors Program and we often meet at workshops in Sydney. Hector is far more productive and creative than I am with polymer clay and precious metal clay. I recommend visiting Hector’s blog and I am sure you will agree with me.

I am not sure where the last week disappeared… perhaps days of grandchildren-sitting, Rotary volunteering, organising farewells to our exchange student and ambassadorial scholar who are going back to Canada and Japan respectively in the next few days. At least, we have been doing “out of the ordinary” things like packaging up a didgeridoo to be posted, ensuring it met the under 105cm limit. (At least, that was better than paying the $225 quoted to take it as part of our exchange student’s luggage).


However, I did manage to do a few little creative “jobs” which were on my “to do” list. The head belongs to a doll in a round robin for one of my groups.  I hope the head I made is regal enough?  It is a cloth covered clay head, with a mauve astrakan fleece and gold braid hairpiece. I am a member of a doll makers’ group which is hosting a “body in a bag” with the theme “Queen”. We started off by making a body, and then it travels around from person to person each month, when arms, legs, head and hair, clothing and accessories are added. I now have another  doll in a bag ready for clothing this month.


I also signed up for a handmade gift swap for the DUST team (Down Under Street Team) which is a group of Australian artists, craftspeople and artisans who support Etsy and wish to promote independent handcrafted goods in Australia and worldwide. For my swap friend, I have made this little felted bowl – a dragonfly bowl - in dusky blue/grey/purple tones. I made a small polymer clay dragonfly and embroidered leaves on the body of the vessel in stem and fly stitch to create another bowl in my “nature bowl” series. I hope she likes it.
I also made my grandson, a towelling cover up for him to wear after swimming lessons. The requested ‘monster truck” motif presented quite a challenge, but I managed to find the perfect fabric for an appliqué and a matching swimming gear bag. Always worth the trouble when so gratefully received by a special person – my oldest grandson, Brandon.

PS Hope you like the new blog template for the winter months.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Too Precious to Waste

 Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons  More than a year ago, a decision was made.  The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2]  A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that
Post a Comment
Read more

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as wrapping str
3 comments
Read more

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to come.  Follow thi
Post a Comment
Read more