Textile Pomegranate Variations

 I have been trying to sew small pieces for sale for the weekend. The first image is a pomegranate  applique- I did this for the chapter page in my caravanserai book. I had only cut it out ut decided it would make a nice piece on its own with a counter balance border that I had made out of the same fabric and painted at another time. It measures 12 inches by 11 inches ( 30 cm  x 27cm) and is for sale for $125.00US inclusive of postage.

The second image is another pomegranate variation-  8 inches square iand is also for sale for $50 US inclusive of postage.

I have been trying to clean up around the house- there are many deciduous trees and so many leaves to rake up, it was tooo wet to do it before- I have to burn them all before Novemeber the 1st as the burning off season ends on Saturday- hard to believe the fire season is already upon us when we have had so much rain. We have also been cleaning up the block of land- getting it mown- the grass has leaped- unfortunately no one seems to be in the mood to buy it- it would be so nice to seel it before we go away.

How Fast Can Grass Grow???

Teapot and Rosewater Jug                                           Boabab Tree SOLD

The teapoit and Rosewater Jug is for sale for $55US inclusive of postage ( it measures approx  8 inches square- 20cms square)

The Boabab Tree is for sale for $125US inclusive of  postage it measures 11 inches by 18 inches, 27 cm x 45 cm)

It seems like i only mowed the lawn the other day and now it has to be mown again! I am trying to do some sewing, but the car debacle has left me a bit blegh! I intend to do lots of small pieces in this next week as well as getting the fabric ready for my next waterways piece.  I am tempted to make a big linocut also reflecting waterways so I can make a number of different prints , using different fibres.

As Laura mentioned in the comments of last post- I am teaching a masterclass in Belgium  in Essen on 13- 15 April 2010. You can see details on her website, but we will be dyeing fabric, printing and painting on day 2 in order to make original one off pieces ont he last day. There are not many spots so if you are interested let Laura know via the website link I have given- just click on workshops.

I am also teaching in Switzerland  16-19 June 2010 at Leysin- for residential workshops. If you are interested just follow th ewebsite link I have given..

If anyone else in Europe is interested in workshops please contact me . I have updated my workshop list ( i have actually included images and one or two new classes- why didn't I do this before???) We will also be doing residential workshops  at Le Triadou- near Montpellier- these will take the form of masterclasses where you will spend a week developing work-  class numbers will be  small ( no more than 8) so it will be intensive and  it will be a great opportunity to explore your creative process  and vision!.

River Red

It is turning into a horror week with very little work to show for it and plenty of anxiety. I seem to be having a bad bad run with cars- first my white Nissan Micra died at the end of last year just before Christmas, i then bought an old car which  was driven into a ditch during a driving lesson by miss youngest, and then I bought a replacement good car, thinking my eldest daughter would have it when I left- it's now blown a head gasket- don't know how bad it is- but it's not going to be pretty ,or good in fact I am dreading what it will cost. It is just what I neeed at this time!Argggh

Then I was booking airfares- I was getting one quote of fares from Singapore  Airlines website ( and bear in mind that  when we fly from Australia it is much dearer than for Europeans to fly here)- but the site wouldn't accept my card- and I had to contact  my bank, did all that, re booked and still payment wouldn't be accepted. I  re did it several times- over a two and a half  hour period- each time the fare quote was the same but in the end I had to go through a travel agent ( whom I usually use) and they had been quoting the same fare early morning, but after I had wasted several hours  trying to  go in through my Frequent flyer program, the fares had gone up by $200- so I wasn't happy. Singapore Airlines said because their quoted fares go fast- but that doesn't excuse about 2.5 hours of trying and getting the same fare quote each time. I bet their response would have been different if I was flying Business class- sometimes it's frustrating how powerless you are when you always fly economy class- it's like you are a meaningless number! And despite  having had sufficient points on various occasions I have never yet managed to get an upgrade either.

Anyway i did dye the silk piece above- thinking about river red as part of my waterways system- I am still thinking about it- the lighter colour is not quite as orange as I wanted it- I can repaint it, but I will need a nice sunny day for that- and none of this timewasting runnign around for bad news!

Pomegranate lino cut

I am slowly getting my head around the idea that I have to pack up everything and that there is a mountain of stuff to do- three more pieces to make for my waterways series for Southern Lands( I did dye the silk yesterday but I am still thinking about it- whether I like it enough or whether I do it again)- and what to do for the smaller complementary pieces. I also have to make a coloured 72 MORE Ways piece for my book which will be published in french.I also have to make a lot more small pieces. I am trying to track down a machine hwne I am in Europe but at the moment I will not have a machine.

Anyway in some of the desultory packing I have been doing a found a half finished pomegranate lino-cut and decided to finish it. It is for sale ( as I already have a number of lino cuts of pomegranates :-) ) for $60US inclusive of postage. It measures 6 inches square, is hand carved, and the resulting print is on the red fabric. If you look after it carefully you will be able to use it again and again. I simply wash them in water with a small scrubbing brush .

My Place, Fabric and Dreaming

Autumnal tones- For Sale ( 1 metre of fabric) $40US inclusive of postage

Multi Colour- For Sale ( i1metre of fabric ) $40US inclusive of postage

I spent the weekend at Craft Expo- minding the My Place exhibition which was much admired. I also caught up with a number of people from Finley High School- for years I never see s soul from this school and then suddenly on one weekend I run into three different people who all  hail form the Riverina.

MY PLACE- Last  Chance to see it!!


There is only one more opportunity to see this exhibition in Australia when it will be shown at COPACC in Colac ( which is my local biggish town) on 31st October and 1 November. Entry is a gold coin donation. There will also be a champagne Opening on Friday 30 October at 6 pm and I will give a floor talk as well. There are still a few place left in my master class I am teaching on Saturday and Sunday- we will be transfer painting and printing on lutradur and will sttich the pieces thus created. This will be the last workshop I do in Australia for quite some time- at least until 2011 and possibly until 2012 ( unless someone pays my airfare back to Australia :-) ) I will also have some of my own work there- for exhibit and sale.

I did quite a lot of handstitching on my small waterholes piece- it's just about finished- as you can see from the photo a lot of stitching has gone into it and I really wonder whether it is worth it ?

Unfortunately I have had to raise the prices for my books for British pounds/UK buyers- our dollar is riding ridiculously high- and i realised with some alarm that with the postage costs also increased and printing costs I am barely breaking even in the sterling currency- sorry about this .

On another note- it looks as if the Syria Tour and the Arts& Craft Tour of England Belgium and France that I am doing with Creative Arts Safaris will go ahead. so if you are at all interested please contact Creative Arts Safaris and book a place we are going to have a lot of fun and hopefully will inspire you!

More Forest Fabric

Forest I For Sale $ 40 US inclusive of postage- 1 metre of fabric SOLD
ForestII For Sale $40 US inclusive of postage - i metre of fabric SOLD

I have been dying fabric these last days and did some forest pieces. I have done very little dyeing since moving to a rented house as I am petrified of getting dye on the white grouting in the laundry and  well the whole set up to dye is a bit convoluted- so it is not as easy as it used to be. And then there is the issue of moving to Europe at the end of Novemeber- I don't want to have to store too much dyed fabric- so I don't carry the stock I used to ( all of which imapcts on a small business like mine) Anyway I don't think I shall be dying too much forest fabric in the next few years so here is your chance to get some.

I am off to Melbourne in half an hour- to install the MY  PLACE exhibition at the Craft Expo to be held at the Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne. I shall be there for the next four days ( October 8-11) minding the exhibition, talking about it and I might deomnstrate how to do some printing and maybe lino-cutting. It depends  how tired I am as I am driving to and from Melbourne everyday ( that's about a 25 hour drive each way)

Then I have to come back and do soem serious work on my waterways work for Southern Lands and pack up a house and life!

Busy Busy

My goodness October crept up without warning. here was i thinking I had plenty of time to  write two articles  but they are due this  coming Friday. Then I will be installing and  minding My Place at Craft Expo which starts later this week in Melbourne - and all of a sudden the week is totally chock a block full. I also have to dye loads of fabric for the one and only shop I supply with hand dyed fabrics in Melbourne- Patchworks Unlimited. I guess it is a good kind of business but i really thought I had an extra week up my sleeve. It doesn't help that it has been school holidays these last two weeks- it inevtaibly means less time to do things.







The two pieces are for sale. I had to make them for the book Ravissant Lutradur. The piece above is a Stone Angels variation  and it measures 10 inches by 14 inches ( 25 cm x  36 cm). It is forsale for $120US.

The piece below is a Boabab tree variation- it measures 11 inches by 15 inches and is for sale for $125US. Please email me if you are interested.

Travelers' Blanket Blue

The time has flown- where has it gone ?? We are still finalising the Carvanserai book- I know it needed to have been done at least a week ago but we had a few tech problems and photo problems- and now I will have to find someone in Melbourne who will digitally print so that at least it can be presented in the folio.We have also been in Melbourne for 4 days as my eldest daughter was doing a folio preparation course, and I wanted to show our French exchange student some of Melbourne's sights. I think many of the sights are over priced and the focus of everything  is to shop for rather kitsch tourist goods, which are often just bits of trashy plastic and  fake furry animals produced offshore- surely they can do better than this?

We also went to the Dali exhibition which had  rave reports but I have to say i was rather disappointed. Yes i did enjoy seeing some of the earlier work but much of the later work was not there. They did show some of the film projects he was involved with but as I had two young teenage girls with me I wasn't sure of the suitability ( the first movie with Luis Bunuel , Un Chien Andalou,has what is  still considered one of the most gruesome opening scenes ever) and  it wasn't as if you could get a glimpse- the exhibition was packed to the rafters with visitors- it briefly crossed my mind that if there was some kind of emergency the end result could be a disaster- you could barely move. And I have to admit by being spoilt- seeing Cap Reus and Cadaques and the Dali Theatre in Figueres two years ago- and on a different but much  less high art note....

I have been working like the blazers trying to finish the blue travelers' blanket, it's a long  slow process with such dense hand stitching- I still have quilting to go- but the end is in sight and I still have  some  squares to embroider.The quilt will be for sale when I finish it- so if you are interested email me. It is entirley hand stitched- layers of musling with hand dyed bump ( heavyweight flannel) as the batting ( it measures 35 inches wide x 56 inches long- 90cm wide x  145 cm long)

This travelers' blanket  like its predecessor is a form of  visual and haptic storytelling. It is of a traveller in search of new cloth and fibres and new inspirations, collecting snippets and scraps for  reuse and  refabricating  into another whole, which is like an aide de memoire, one which can be seen and which can be touched. Little moments of time captured in stitch with leftovers form all kinds of older and other projects , given a different meaning . The cloth has all been hand dyed and printed.