Another Stone Angel Panel

 

I have to make work for the Magic Patch Quilt Expo in Lyon for later in June of this year. A lot of my work is on display at Sophie Gelfi's Gallery in la Bourboule and still some more work at Centre Europeen du Patchwork in Salleles d'Aude ( only about 4 pieces there) . This means I am a bit thin on the ground for actual work I can send. I also want to send pieces involving lutradur as Marion Barnett and I are working on a book on that subject and what better way to show the variations possible with lutradur than in exhibition pieces. Marion has also created pieces using lutradur which you can see on her blog.

So when we got home to lots of ill health with parents I sort of felt like I had been hit by a bulldozer and it was very difficult to find the wherewithall to do any work whatsoever.However tucked amongst some lutradur pieces I worked on last year I found a long stone angels panel which had not been quilted. So of course it asked to be quilted- and not only that, I happened to have exactly the right coloured background piece at exactly the right length- so I think this piece was asking for itself to be worked on , to soothe the spirit and carry hopes to the cosmos.

I also have to write some articles about Across Australia this week- the deadline is 1 June. I had hoped that Across Australia might travel to the US-one Museum has given its yes approval but another museum is not so forthcoming. Unfortunately there are not the funding opportunities here, that could support the project travelling to the US- as always I am stuck in a difficult place because I chose to curate as an individual rather than as an organisation which limits the funding I can apply for. And then today I have to have an interview with centrelink about Newstart- they think I should be looking for a job- I have tried to explain before that I do run a business, that yes it's income is not great( how many artists have a living wage income? for starters the daily teaching fee suggested by Ozco- the national body for visula arts and crafts has not altered for 20 years- how many other professions have had no pay increase for 20 years?), and the exhibitions I travel overseas bring much goodwill and indeed Across Australia's travels in the Middle East did much to open eyes to the sheer beauty of Australia- all this without a cent of government funding!! Sense of Place likewise did much to promote good will and certainly has created an opening for rapport between Syrian and Australian artists- again without a cent of government funding.I think sometimes I need my head read as to why I continue to do this, because though I have been fortunate to be able to privately fundraise ( with the help of a grant from Victorian Quilters for Across Australia and a scholarship from OZquilt Inc for Sense of Place) the costs of airfares, much of the time I spend with the exhibitions is all unpaid work.Yet so positive is the response to the Australian work that I have curated that it becomes its own kind of enthusiasm generator and before I know it I have said yes to another project.Anyway how do I explain all this to a public servant tied to a desk?