Reflections

I had intended to double my blogging output this  year but at this stage I have blogged slightly less than last year. I still like the platform in that it allows more discussion than the instant quicks of Instagram and even Facebook, comments are less these days but that may simply be because what I have to say is not so very interesting.

I have been busy but I cannot exactly say what with. I have been down to Gellibrand a few times- to organise my shed a lot better so that I can actually do some work in there, though I am still without power. There will be a solar panel going in in the next few weeks, so that I can charge my laptop and phone, and hopefully in the next year I can put in another panel so that I can use a sewing machine. The area is still digital blackout- so without a land phone line there is no internet.Needless to say the grass is long, we have had so much rain, but at least it keeps the fire risk at bay!

I have had a friend  from France ( well actually she is a Kiwi, Margo Bimler, living in France) staying last week- and we did a fair bit of sight seeing around Melbourne and the Otway region. It's been awhile since I have been down to the coast.

The photo is where  the ocean meets the land close to the southernmost point of the Australian continent- the ocean is very cold along this part and there are times when whales can be spotted- but not on this day.

We went to the State Library , and of course saw Ned Kelly's  armour suit, which was somehow smaller than I imagined it. Also saw a lovely exhibition on books - Mirror of the World - some beautiful beautiful books in this exhibition and has fuelled my desire to make more hand made books. I loved this page form a William Morris decorated book.

My goodness can you imagine finding  such treasure in a second hand bookshop or trash and treasure market? And I did earlier this year- not as beautiful as the William Morris book ,but treasure nonetheless and quite rare as only a small number of copies were printed. Unfortunately I do not have the book to hand to tell you its name but here are some images from the book- made with hand carved woodblocks.The text was also carved on a woodblock. It is a devotional book of Belgian origin- I can't wait to spend more time with it.Some of the images in it are beautiful.

We also indulged in a very touristy  rail journey. Gembrook is the end station of the Puffing Billy line, a steam train ( weather permitting- on high fire danger days they run diesel engines due to the risk). My children have been on the train, but I never have and it was rather fun really. It is one of Victoria's big tourist attractions. The train is manned by volunteers , the tracks maintained and wood to run the engine collected, all by volunteers. The rather interesting cart with vintage suitcases and baskets creating a lovely display remembering slower times.

Aussie Bush Project
It is full steam ahead with the Aussie Bush Project which will start it's exhibiting life  at the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair  in June 2017. It will tour around all the states and also New Zealand. I am still negotiating a venue in Europe, which is likely to be in 2018. If you would like to join the  project please check out the Aussie Bush Project  page on my blog. I still have many prints available ( there is a choice of 4 different linocut printed fabrics) and will be dyeing more fabric for printing after Christmas. The due date for pieces will be mid June.

On-line Linocutting class
This class will commence after the first week in January, and has been designed for you to learn linocutting and to build your skills at linocutting and printing fabric ( especially) and paper if you are so inclined. The course consists of a number of exercises to build your skills with the tools and to create effective designs,  and guides you through using your own photographs to create linoblocks. The course material is delivered by way of pdf files and I set up a private Facebook group for discussion and interaction. Linocutting is such a fun medium, and it is exciting to see the developments in recent years with many young artists using the medium because it is inexpensive and can be done on a kitchen table. It is also a wonderful way to create unique fabric . I often use my linocut printed fabric as a base for stitching or embroidery. The cost of the course is $60AUS- you work at your own pace, and lessons, which contain  a series of exercises , are delivered fortnightly ( 4 times- 8 weeks total)
You enroll by emailing me ( and using internet banking if in Australia) or using the Paypal button below;

The photos below are all of work I have created  using hand dyed fabric and linocut printed trees. The pieces have been machine and hand stitched to create texture and contrast.