Looking without SEEing

I've been in Melbourne for over 4 years now and have only today discovered the strangest statue. This statue is in a park which is on my tram route - which for the past 4 months I travelled at least 3 times per week . It is also a park which we pass everytime we go to the city and in my first year here would have passed at least once a week.

The statue I speak of is about 8-10 feet tall brass statue of a man. What's so strange about that I hear you ask? Well this man (I'll have to take a closer look to find out who) is upside down. Yes, the entire statue, including the square block is completely upside down, with his head on the ground and the square block at the top. It has not been tampered with and does not appear to be a new addition - so how on earth did I miss this!!!

Just recently I have been reading Grabrielle Swain's blog Handmaiden. Gabrielle is currently in Melbourne teaching at the Australasian Quilt Convention and has been sharing her journey with us. It reminds me of when I first cam to melbourne 4 years ago and the way I walked around with my eyes wide opening seeing all of these wonderful sights. I'm not talking tourist sights but buildings and graffiti and streetscapes. My parents do the same thing when they visit. Instead of seeing what's in a shop front, they look up and see whats above and around it, or down to look a the paving and mosaic tiles. Reading Gabrielle's blog has urged me to open my eyes again and SEE the world around me, instead of just living in it.

Makes you wonder what else you miss when looking without really SEEING!!!

January's postcard

Burning Embers

Materials: Nuno felt, wool and silk fibres

Techniques: Needlefelting, Free-machine embroidery

This postcard started from experiments with a needlefelting kit that I purchased from the Thread Studio when at the Quilt Convention on Friday. Then I layed it onto a backing fabric and started machine stitching randomly over it. I was using thicker threads in the bobbin so I was working blind - I'd work a colour, turn it over, and decide on what colour and where to go next. It was completely random but the end result reminds me of smoldering embers - reminiscent of the fires that raged through Victoria this week.

Update on fires

The fires nearest us were contained yesterday and are today marked as controlled after we had rain last night and more today. There were more than 430 fireys working for a week to control it so I can imagine they're all ready for a well earned break. Other fires in Victoria are still burning but the immediate pressure has eased for most. It is now a matter of staying alert for new flareups.

Machine embroidery Heart and other AQC news...

Here are the results of yesterday's workshop with Morgan James. I'm not absolutely wrapped in my finished product but I am pleased with the skills I learnt and enjoyed the day with other creative people.

Close up of my stitching

I nearly didn't show this cause my stitching is anything but smooth but blogging is about puttingyourself out there so....

And my samples (some of which I am quite happy with)...

Not so wrapped in this but it is a definited improvement and hey, there's room for improvement

A quick review of the quilt exhibition - I'm sorry, I took pictures of my favourites but can't work out how to get them from my phone to my puter so you'll have to make do with my descriptions...

There were a couple that really caught my eye. Two were by Gloria Loughman who uses a fusing technique to develop her images. This is a picture of one of the ones at the show, the other was like sitting in a forrest and looking up - you know how you get a glimpse of sky framed by trees, with the trunks radiating from the centre of your view.

There was another from an artist that I don't know (and I really can't remember the name - how awfull of me). It was an image of burning trees with the flames creeping up black tree trunks towards the crowns (which were also black - silhouette like). The background was handpainted in black/greys.

Two of Tommy Fitzsimmons quilts were in the INternational Touring Exhibition - COLORCOULEURCOLORKULOR. This is one of them.

But my favourite was this quilt In Living Colour by Mary Beth Bellah...

I think this is the second quilt of the same name (titled In Living Color II on the website) but it's very close. It takes the concept of quilt to a new level and I love it!!! When hanging you can see right through it and as you walk past the colours change (although the had hung it in a corner so it was difficult to walk past but I got the idea). It is made up like a grid of what appears to be individual peices (3 layers of course) joined to form 4 sides of a cube with the ends open so that you can see through. Sorry the description is a little lacking but check it out here to see what I mean.

Today's workshop

I've had a fantastic day today at the Australasian Quilt Convention. Will post pics of my work and my purchases tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Australia!!!!

Today is Australia Day - the day we Aussies celebrate th birth of our nation. Traditional we celebrate with a day off from work, BBQ's and alcohol - predominantly beer!!. Where I group up Australia Day was celebrated with a street parade which culminated in the "Beef 'n' Beer Festival". This usually entailed a spit roast, the beer tent (as we kids knew it), the Lions Club Merry go round, face-painting and a talent contest.

This year however Victoria is threatened by major bushfires burning out of control and with a warm and windy weather predicted the fire services will have tough day ahead.

We went for a drive yesterday to see where the fires have been but as they were still burning many of the roads were closed. We did get to one area where they were mopping up and it was quite amazing to see the destruction - I can never quite fathom the power a fire has.

Several houses and sheds had been destroyed and for most of them all that was left was the corrugated iron roofs bent and crumpled on the ground and the brick fireplace and chimney. Then there was what was left of the bush. The fire had swept through with such heat that much of the bush had been completely burnt - I liken the remnants to a bald head with a few spikey hairs (tree trunks) still standing.

This article tells more. Hopefully today will not bring the devastation that they are expecting (fingers crossed)

Oh and I can't leave without commenting on the champion effort of those out there fighting the fires for us. On our drive yesterday somebody had made a sign that really summed it up - it gave me goosebumps. It read:

Thanks Fireys!! You guys ROCK!!!!

I had to share this with you....

With the recent fires around us we were browsing the Country Fire Authority website and looking at how to become a volunteer or career firefighter.

We had to giggle at this statement :

"CFA (Country Fire Authority) is a smoke free environment"

I know that fires aren't funny but the thought of firefighters trying to fight fires without coming in contact with smoke had B and I in fits of laugher!!!!

Australasian Quilt Convention

This weekend is the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne. I registered today for a Machine Embroidery workshop on Friday. I know, I know, I can do machine embroidery but I need to build up my confidence so I want to learn some more skills.

Update: Ooops!! I should mention that my tutor will be Morgan James I've not seen her work before but I'm ooking forward to it all the same

Play day

Marbling

I had a great day yesterday. I got together with 3 other girls who I went to school with at Mels place and she taught us marbling. It was a very pleasant day and a great chance to play with a technque that I've admired but not tried on fabric before (did it at highschool once but not very successfully). These samples are all about 6x4 - perfect for postcards!!

Today I was going to do some dyeing however the heat (currently 42 degrees celcius - 107 degrees farenheit) and seeing that I would need to do it outside or in the garage, I opted to stay inside. It's the type of heat where breathing is difficult and the air feels like it's burning your skin even when you're standing in the shade. But being Melbourne, it shan't last long, with a cool change expecte this evening. As a result I have done nothing but reading. I'm going to turn the puter off now and perhaps do some drawing using one of my new books for inspiration. Perhaps when it cools a little this afternoon we might go to the beach for a swim but not til the temp drops.

Edit - it finally did cool down enough to go for that swim. The water was cold even with a wetsuit!! On our way out we listened to reports of fires in the area and could see the plumes of smoke covering the whole sky. On our way home we detoured out to a spot where we could see them (from some distance away), and could see the red glow rise as the flames rose from behind hill crests and peeked over the top. Bushfires spark an interest in me. It's a combination of aware for the flames and power and fear of the destruction. I've worked near/with bushfires in the past but B had never seen once so we sat for a few hours just watching (at night you can actually see the flames)

6 X 4 Lives

Sharonb at inaminuteago has started a postcard challenge for the year and I've signed up. There's no swapping involved, just post pics of your postcard on the Flickr site and/or your blog and provide a description about the techniques, inspiration and design issues.

This is something that I talked about doing this time last year but it never eventuated. I did a few for swaps and a couple for myself but nothing recordable. This time, with 6 x 4 lives, there might be a bit more incentive to do it.

I've got some reading to do!!

I arrived home this afternoon to a wonderful parcel of books I ordered from Jackie who was clearing out her book collection. I was surprised at how quickly they arrived. They were sent from Virginia and arrived in a week!! There are still heaps of books available - if you're interested the website is here. I bought

Experiential Drawing (Robert Regis Dvorak)

and How to keep a sketchbook journal

I also dropped into the Newsagent and Artisan Book Shop on my way home from work and picked up the latest....

Cloth Paper Scissors

Surface Design

New Zealand Quilter (because there were some interesting contemporary designs in it)

and finally Australian Artist (just 'cause!)

Now I needed all these distractions like a hole in the head but I'm a sucker for books and magazines. To try and curb my habbit, I've selected the magazines I'd like to read this year and placed a subscription. That should avoid frequent trips to the newsagent and therefore spending on magazines that I don't need. The exuse this time was that the subscriptions all start with next issue, so I had to buy this months mags to keep up.

I'm off to bed now with a pile of books and mags. Tomorrow is play day with the girls. Apparently we are doing marbling - sounds like fun!!

Thanks....

Thanks everyone for your feedback and comments - it's been a real boost. I even took it to work to show the staff and residents who of course showered me with compliments

Caitlin (princessandthepea) I think you are right, I should have changed the needle to a larger one. It was the thicker areas that were a problem so it makes perfect sense... Now... (DUH!!!)

Sandy at Dangling by a thread asked about my textile arts course:
I finished it in November of 2004. It ended with a group exhibition which we all felt was quite successful. The posts about the final part of my course and pictures from the exhibition are here

Jen from Jens Footsteps a fellow Queenslander as I have jsut discovered asked whether I had intentions of doing more of the spinifex pieces, suggesting a series would be good.
I agree - As I was doing the latest one (after the first turned into a template), I've been imagining the same scene in different colour combinations, with the grasses blowing in different directions. It's definitely something that I intend to explore some more.

Now I feel the need to dye some more fabrics so that I can do a series of these. I will have to make a few decisions first - like what size I should work and how to finish them - as hanging art quilts or framed peices - I think I'm leaning towards art quilts as I won't need to worry about framing and costs...

Today I got up the courage to stitch into my grasses from yesterday. I think that it's coming along quite well. Nice smooth (mostly anyway) directionaly lines.

I took Debra's advice and used the first pieces as samples to test the stitching. I'm glad I did too as I quickly decided that black thread did nothing for it - even though there are black fabrics on it.

I don't have a walking foot so used by darning/free motion embroidery foot and tried my best to keep the speed relatively slow. There was a bit of breakage particularly in the lower left corner where the layers are quite thick.

Here's the sample that I did on the first piece. Not sure if you can see the black thread but it looked as though somebody had drawn over it with a black marker.

Oh, and I thought I show you my studio... It's a temporary studio - goes up on the weekends and is packed away during the week. The sewing machine is set up permanently in the office along withthe books, threads and the rest. But this is where I sat and cut and fused all weekend. THe ironing board is lowered so that I can sit and cut and place and iron, without disturbing anything.

Spinifex take two...

Today I made another attempt at interpreting my spinifex drawing in fibre. I'm not sure which picture I like better so I offer you both (the top is with the flash so the sheer organza's sparkle a little, and the other using natural light so the reds look a bit pinkish)

I'm much happier with today's efforts. I did a couple of things different this time:

1. Purchased some new double sided interfacing (not heat'n'bond - which I don't normally buy, but did recently as it was all that Spotlight had). This was much better to use;
2. built my image up gradually, fusing and adding and fusing and adding
3. used a clean peice of baking paper every time I fused (yes, bought that too - a BIG roll)

There's still no stitching on it and again I'm not sure how to approach it. I don't want to ruin it and as yet I'm not all that confident that I could get nice steady lines - even though some simple straight line stitching not following any particular grasses, but using the same shape.

Looking at it now (it's pinned to a board and leaning against the television cabinet for contemplation), i could see it built up (3 dimensionally), particularly in the lower left-hand corner.

Perhaps I could do both....

Edited: Thanks for the encouragement - it really helps. I should not also that this piece is not all that large. It measures 10" x 16". The size, and the fact that they grasses are already overlayed means that stitching around individual grasses is not really an option, but sewing over them randomly is, and it will also serve to hold any flyaway grasses down. Besides, it will only be a wallhanging and won't be subjected to washing or general ruffing up.

Today I discovered that...

Sheer fabrics don't take kindly to fusing!! Especially using Heat 'n' Bond Ultra Hold.

With the day to myself I pulled out trays of fabrics, and got to work.

On Monday B and I went to the beach where I managed to get in a bit of sketching. Nothing flash but enought to get an idea.

I was particularly inspired by the image of spinifex grass waving in the breeze with the ocean as a backdrop.

I had a few different concepts in mind about how I could Transfer this image to textiles (TTT - Transfer To Textiles) TTT is a phrase that our tutor used frequently. He taught design and image making skills in our textile course and often after working through a technique he'd ask us to TTT. Anyway, on the way home yesterday I spyed a handmade greeting card with an image a bit like this...

It struck me that this was the type of image that I was looking for. It portrayed the movement of the grasses in a very simple way which was what I wanted to do - why is it that others always manage to come up with it first??

I figured that this image lent itself to fusing - layers of sheer fabrics overlapping creating depth and movement.

This is where today's lesson comes in. When fusing sheer fabrics...

1. Don't use Heat'n'bond Ultra hold - lightweight is more than enough
2. don't use ordinary paper as an ironing sheet - unless you want to fuse fabric to the paper. I ended up using the backing paper (didn't have any to start so hence the paper)
3. make sure that your ironing sheet is clean of all gluey residue - it leaves ugly marks on your fabric and your design.

It's not all bad however. After my first trial - and it was just a trial to see how the fabris would look layered up - I created this...

I was quite impressed! - except for the ugly glue marks. So I've cut it up, cutting out the marks and leaving some interesting images (IMHO).

The colours aren't quite what they are in real life - more vibrant and those lines aren't really there.

At the moment there is no stitching on any of them and I'm not sure where to go from here. The single one is postcard size and the other is made up of 3 pieces about 3" x 5" (layed out on cardboard for presentation). I'm thinking that if I were to stitch on them i'd have to keep it simple, otherwise I might destroy the image and the layers created. If it were bigger (say wallhaning size) then stitching would be alright...

The Artists Way

My Artists Way (TAW) exploration has fallen a bit by the wayside this week. I can get motivated to do the morning pages (a 3 page dump of anything that comes into your head) on the weekend, but can't seem to make them happen on the days that I work. On those days I get up and have only one thing in mind - getting ready and at the station on time! Perhaps I need to adjust my schedule a little. I can't get up andy earlier (already 5am and dark as it is), but maybe I could do the MP's on the train or look at doing them in the evenings on work days.

The ugly submission - explained

The curious one in Perth (hiya Maureen ;)) has asked what the submission was all about... It's not really that exciting, but I should probably fill in the gaps.

I work for an Aged Care Hostel. Our residents are people with low care needs who have their own rooms and have meals in a communal dining room. They can all get around on their own (sometimes with frames or walking sticks etc) but might need some assistance with showering and medications. I don't do any hand's on stuff, I work in the office and make sure that what we do meets the requirements of the government and industry bodies.

That's where the submission comes in. We are accreditated by the government and must renew our accreditation every three years. Ours runs out in March and therefore we had to submit our application stating what we do to meet our objectives and our results. This ugly document turned out to be just over 100 pages, 80% of which I wrote. The interesting part is that aged care is not my forte and so I did a pretty good job of making it up as I went along. Now we have the next 2 months to make sure that we continue to do what we've said before they turn up on our doorstep to go through our files with a fine tooth comb looking for ways to catch us out (oops - do I sound negative here???). Not that they will, 'cause I'll have everything top-notch by that point!!!

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy working here, just don't enjoy the audit process. I like to be able to go downstairs at morning and afternoon tea and sit with some of the residents and have a chat. There are a few who are interested in seeing my artwork and frequently ask about it (which is good as I have them to push me along when I'm not getting anywhere). That side of it is good. What is not is the fact that this is eating into time that I want to spend creating and getting "Artstitches the business" happening.

Work is done, and artist date

So glad this week is over. I mentioned that it would be busy and that it was - starting at 5 and finishing somewhere around 11 each evening.

Despite this I did manage to start and keep at the morning pages and I must say that even though it was work and not creativity, they were helpful. We were writing a rather important submission and with the morning pages I could clear my head before I started.

Anyway, after a week where work was the primary (only) focus, I desperately needed to me time. After a good sleep in and a lazy morning browsing blogs and websites I took myself off to the National Wool Museum (after a spot of shopping and lunch). There was an exhibition of Melbourne artist Ilka White titled Whitework. As the name suggests it all white. I'd hear reviews from when it was in Melbourne but had missed out so was glad to catch it now. I really enjoyed it. Without the use of colour, the focus was on the design and composition. She had quite a few banner-type hangings using sheer fabrics with images both sandwiched between and stitched onto the outer layers. It was great to be able to walk around then and view them from different angles.

There was also a knitting exhibition on at the same time. Not knitted articles but large scale installations. There was even a basket full of work in progress and visitors were invited to 'knit a few rows'. It's vibrancy and colour was a big contrast and also very inspiring.

Then it was onto an artshop, just 'cause I love them. For me an art supplies shop is what a lolly shop is for kids. This time I came out with a new sketchbook for 2006, a nib-pen, and 2 bottles of ink. I've already used them all.

So inspired was I that I came home and started a new journal for the year making notes of my visit. This is unusual for me, usually I collect info and make notes in my head, but not often do they make it onto a page. I have a tendency to buy new journals and sketchbooks without putting them to very good use - this year I'd like to change that.

Now that I've caught up with myself a little, perhaps I'll try to do re-acquaint myself with my sewing machine tomorrow.

Busy week...

This week there's some major deadlines at work which explains my absence from blogging and commenting. But come Friday (deadline day) I want to get in and do some serious creating. I'm rearing to go. I've signed up for 2 online classes at Joggles for early February and have bought a Fabric journal (thanks Arlee for the inspiration) on Amazon and expect it to arrive towards the end of January. In the mean time I've started working through The Artists Way, doing my first morning page this morning and hoping that it will help me to get a wriggle on with thing - particularly my new business. Back to work now. Talk more on the weekend.

Happy New Year!!!!

I wish eeryone who's reading, a very happy new year and hope that it brings greaqt things for you. I've just realised that 2006 is actually a rather scary for me - it see's the end of the 20's and the beginning of the 30's (ewww!!!!).

B and I have had a lovely night. We both worked today and so it was about 7.30pm-ish when we got home. Instead of going straight home we bought a pizza and took it up to the foreshore with all the other families and groups celebrating New Year (still light til about 9ish). It was really lovely and mild after our 43 degree day, and the bay was nice and calm - a perfect evening.

After that we came home for a few hours and then headed out on the bikes (the new bike's virgin ride - apart from the trip home) back to the foreshore for the fireworks. Despite my doubts, I made it in plenty of time and I was still able to stand-up!! The fireworks were OK, but what I really loved was the boats. As the fireworks started, the boats all let of their flares and started their horns, the sound was incredible - you could hear them all around the bay (and it's a rather large bay). To me that was even better than the fireworks!! Oh and the atmosphere was really greattoo!!

I'm off to bed now, to rest my weary muscles - muscles that I'd forgotted existed. Night all!