Embroidery and Bower Bird Bower

I have ben making small embroidered brooch pieces these last few days. As i don't really have anywhere to work except what i can carry in my hands. Obviously big pieces are not selling so i thought I would see if little teeny  tiny pieces would sell. Each little hand embroidered piece measures 5 cm square and is entirely hand stitched. They come with a brooch pin and cost $17.00 Aus inclusive of postage.I think I shall call them travellers badges- to be donned by all travellers both in the real and in the imagination! If you would like one please email me.

                                                      The Turquoise brooch is sold
This morning when i got up I found this very close to my caravan door- a bower birds bower.This one belongs to the Satin Bower bird . The male bird builds his dance hall out of twigs and then decorates it with all manner of blue things- whatever he can find and  drag there.The idea is to attract the female bird. Whilst it seems incredibly charming bower birds have become a bit of a nuisance- they are voracious eaters and will destroy vegetable gardens and anything vaguely edible.

And my daughter got accepted in the course she was hoping to get into! Her interviewer thought she might have real flair for fabric design/fashion design......

Here is a photos of a canvas bag she made. Would you buy it?

I am getting very frustrated at not having a home- I feel homeless and whilst I know in reality I will find something eventually and I have places to stay ( I could even live in my shed if I had to but i would rather sell it) , it makes me acutely aware of how really homeless people must feel- not belonging anywhere, not having a place to be creative , having no warm bed or warm meal, having nothing but the street- I can't imagine how alone and futile things must feel.......and the numbers are growing.

Fabulous Syria

I am hoping that there will be another Creative Arts Safari tour to Syria next year- there is so much more to see. I spent some time this morning working through my photos of the last trip and am longing to go back for these reasons:

Food- the food in Syria is really seriously  good- great dips, salads, and traditional dishes ranging from kebabs to wonderful aromatic casseroles:

This repast was a "quick" lunch with our friend Samir who owns a terrific shop at the Roman gate at the entry to al Hammadiya souq( upstairs)

History- layers and layers of history. Agatha Christie wrote a book about her adventures in Syria with her husband Max Mallowan. I have also seen the best Roman  ruins I have encountered- and I have seen ones in Italy, Algeria, France etc.These images are the long road in Afamia- 2kms of collonaded road that once housed 200,000 Romans ( I don't know whether this included the slaves)

The basilica at St Simeon- was named after Saint Simeon the first and probably most famous stylite- he is said to have lived on a column 40 metres high for years and years in order to get away from it all- but he became a subject of devotion for many and indeed a celebrity. The bottom photo shows a black robed figure who was a christian orthodox monk  atop the  mounting stone  said to have housed St Simeon's column- you could have been forgiven in thinking he might have been a bit of a stylite himself except that he was with a large group of young spanish women.

Riads, palaces and the second most sacred mosque in the world the Ummayed Mosque to which all visitors are welcome- all in Damascus

Textiles- ancient Roman ones, 2000 years old- fragments found in burial chambers, cross stitched Syrian dresses, silk  and raw silk, felted rugs for Bedouin tents

And people- the very friendly and charming Syrian people.

Ohh and rugs lots of wonderful rugs...

Come join us....... I am dreaming.

Still No House

Well that week has flown by and I still haven't found a house to live in which also means not a lot of work is getting done either. I could do a lot of hand stitching whilst I  wait , but it makes the finished piece too expensive for todays' market seemingly. So I need to reinvent what I do in some way enliven it , make my mark. If  I have a style what exactly is my style? I would love to hear what you think.

I have also been thinking hard on the idea that I would really love to set up a print workshop somehow- in a space. I have always loved printing and this week I have spent some time with my eldest daughter helping her with some of her printmaking- it's got ideas bubbling, but I also find that a one day workshop really is not good for exploring printmaking and the design of printmaking.

 The following photos of some of the printing my daughter has been doing:

She has combined linocut printing with gocco printing and tried different papers.I  really like the contrast between the two forms of printing.

Isn't the colour green in this photo just the best.......... light on the leaves.

And some pieces for sale- they are $45 AUS inclusive of postage. Email me if you are interested. More pomegranates- Persephone's forbidden fruit.

And I have only recently realised but my blogroll is gone- what do other people use- obviously blogrolling was causing a problem with google search engines- any suggestions?

Back in Oz

I arrived back late last Thursday and the first few days  went by in a bit of a blur-was quite tired from all the travel (early  train from  Montpellier  to Paris and then 22 hours flying with a two hour stop in Doha and then arriving late at night in Melbourne).

Househunting is the pits because I don't fit any of the little square holes on a real estate tenant application forms- but I have to find a house in which to live sigh.... yes I am self employed  and i don't earn a squillion.Plus Australia has become very very expensive even in the 11 months that i have not been here. I have been putting in job applications but in all reality my age counts against me but I will keep trying, maybe there is an employer out there who thinks a fifty plus employee is actually able to do things. So I need to sell some work! Most of my small pieces have been sold but most of the bigger pieces are still available.

This photo was taken at the dyeing and printing workshops we gave at Atelier Printemps Sacré during the exhibition the weekend before last. We had quite a number of young people come and do the workshops and only one quilter. I hope the younger people will be inspired to continue to do some creative things with textiles. And of course in the future we will look to do more work with some of these young people- perhaps getting them to jazz up clothing or some such things.Anne Deckers also did some pottery workshops again for young people- who really enjoyed getting their hands into the clay and building pots. I think in the world out there there are those of us who build and construct things and there are others who deconstruct- both processes are valid as a means of expression but for me construction contains an element of optimism whereas deconstruction and destruction  seem to contain an element of  pessimism- who knows?

My mothers garden is in full bloom and I always love the very sculptural shapes of the grevillea and they are so very Australian.

And jazzing up a Ikea  polar fleece throw- they really  are quite stable for embroidery and it gives my hands something to do whilst i try and find a house in which to live.

Pic St Loup

I dare say this will probably be my last blog post from Le Triadou for awhile- I leave for Australia early on Wednesday morning, and have to go house hunting on arrival, Anyone have a house to rent in the Geelong area???

I am posting another photo of  my friends with whom I am exhibiting this long weekend at Le Clastre, mainly because I think it is the only photo of myself that i have seen in the last  who knows many years that I am smiling ( I hate photos and so always look so serious when in all reality  there is nothing like a good laugh)

And this is my last collage of my le Triadou year- the late autumn vineyards of Pic St Loup and a bursting pomegranate after all the rain, and ripening quinces.