France Here I Come!

This really is your last chance to hop on board my tour of France starting 11 April ( there is a land only price for those outside of Australia). It's going to be 19 fab days starting with a taste of Beaujolais and quilts and textiles in Lyon- then onto Paris and museums for 6 days and Versailles and it's gorgeous gardens the design of which i am reading about at the moment, shops, and some walking tours I am planning, based around themes and ideas, then onto Giverny and Monet's garden- where it will be springtime, then Lumiege Abbey, Rouen and the Catherdral, WW2 landing beaches, Bayeaux and the fabulous tapestry- Mont St Michel and the abbey, Chateau du Blois and Tours. So take a leap in this leap year and join me in France where i can show you some of my favourite things.I will have a few little surprises for you along the way to help you look and see perhaps a little differently when you travel.Let me know if you are interested.

It's been incredibly hot this past weekend and the weekend was the hottest of all- nothing to do but lie low and move little. I also am involved in a project called Voyageart with fellow textile artists form all parts of the world- the link is to our blog. We are working to themes to do with travel and the first subject was "where I am ". I found this theme hard to explore because even though I am beginning to enjoy aspects of Geelong it is not my preferred place to be living. I miss the  Otway bush, I miss Pic St Loup- I miss the countryside , I miss the inspiration it gives my work, but my daughter has to finish high school and she is enjoying her school and enjoying her schoolwork and we are close to many things, so here I have to stay.( any walking buddies would be wildly appreciated!)

I was trying to be literal in "where I am " but could come up with no visual clues- I made a mind map but I only came up with positives and negatives. In the end  I decided to think about my work and I am immersed and in the middle of my Sentinelle work. A couple of weeks ago I made a small Gocco screen of a small face drawing I had made as a sentinelle variation, as I wanted to create medallion shapes  to  link with middle age/byzantine pilgrimage. So the photos below are what i came up with. The first shows a section without the hand stitching-  I just love what stitching does to the surface of a piece and the second of the finished piece.I stitched it all by hand because it was too hot to sit at my sewing machine and sew. I really enjoyed making this piece in the end and found just the right coloured skerrick of tie dyed silk fabric that had the right colours- just as well I keep scraps sometimes :-).The blue background was just the right blue- and dare i say it - this piece makes me quite quite happy.....

If you look on the left of the photo- you can see there is no stitching- the stitching just adds so much texture and really interest. I used DMC perle 8  for the background.I think the starry background is being influenced by the fact that I am reading the letters of Vincent van Gogh and also the  most brilliant night skies of the Otways which are no longer in my orbit.

I still haven't decided for a name for this piece.

 And below one of my favourite madonnas from the Musee des Augustins in Toulouse- why is she looking away from her child with such sadness, does she know what the future will hold - do any of us? I made the decorated border for the image- she is living in my bedrooom at the moment- I really want to make her into a sanctuary piece.