...drink the wild air

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. ( Ralph Waldo Emerson) … I chose this quotation as a theme for last weekend’s workshop at the Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists Retreat. The air was “wild” with inspiration, activity, enthusiasm, fun, friendship, colour and creativity – such an invigorating atmosphere for all who love working with textiles and fibres. The talented textile artists, Jan Clark and Trevor and Beth Reid were also tutors at this retreat.

I had a wonderful group of women in my class who created dolls from found objects, polymer clay and upcycled fibres and fabrics to produce really imaginative and meaningful creations. We each started with a quotation to inspire our work and from then on, there were no restrictions … a stick in the garden will never be looked at in the same way and a shapely bottle will never find its way to the recycling bin again. Here are a few images of my students' creations.... very satisfying to see such brilliant work produced.

I have had other wonderful weekends this month – is it so long since I have posted on this blog? The previous weekend’s theme must have been “Live the moment” - what a whirlwind weekend!

On the Friday and Saturday I was the Secretary General at the Model United Nations Assembly, where young delegates changed the world. We managed to resolve the Middle East crisis, develop plans to cope with Climate Change,deal with terrorism, refugee processing and the reform of the United Nations itself – no wonder I was exhausted! The Model United Nations Assembly is a Rotary District 9670 event, and it is a really amazing experience. Youth delegates representing United Nations member nations debate global issues and attempt to resolve world problems using individual nations' viewpoints and alliances taking a peaceful approach. Perhaps the real politicians, world leaders and decision makers need to follow these young peoples' example.

Then on Sunday, I managed one day of the two day class with visiting doll maker , Patti Culea. - so interesting not only to learn new techniques, but also to chat about the inspiration for this doll - the bound feet of Chinese women in the past. How privileged we are to be able to access the talents of such inspiring artists. Then, just to finish the weekend on an even higher note, that was followed by a magical musical evening of Andre Rieu and the Seekers

The weekend before that we celebrated Mother’s Day. We spent another great day with our wonderful family on the shores of Lake Macquarie, first having an outdoor breakfast and then a visit to the Lake Macquarie Art Gallery to see a textile exhibition.

And of course, great presents, especially hand drawn and handmade cards from children and grandchildren

I know it's often said bad things happen in threes ... with these three fantastic weekends, I can only conclude good things must come in threes, too.

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

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

May I Present Mrs Chalumeau...

Finally Mrs Chalumeau takes a bow …She is a Pearly Queen … 695 buttons on the doll and 10 on the journal.(I think – could be more). I would like to thank Paula from Antiques and Collectables here in Hamilton, Newcastle and Raku Buttons ETSY seller for supplying me with about 500 of the vintage mother of pearl buttons, and the rest I had in my stash. I think they look great on my pearly queen, but I am truly tired of sewing on buttons. It made me think however, how many buttons must be on the elaborate clothes of the real pearly Kings and Queens! I drew my inspiration from the lovely lady pictured here, and the following description from Wikipedia. ... A Pearly King ( feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional Cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. These costumes were treasured heirlooms, hand made and sometimes representing much of a family's wealth. .... This doll is all cloth – a little different from most of my other dolls which generally h

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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