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.

Exhibition in Le Triadou

Last night was the Vernissage of the exhibition Anne Deckers, Liwanag Sales and i are having in Le Clastre in the village where I have been staying.I had taught near Valence so i was a bit exhausted when I got back  and unfortunately no sales ...sigh i wish there would be an upturn in the economy- it surely is tough if you are an artist trying to sell work and make a living. Some people said my work was expensive- but I dye and print and then stitch- i work all week, sometimes way more than that, and I don't think I am even earning a living wage or what is considered to be a living wage and yet living costs keep escalating whilst artists' income diminish.

Anyway onward and onward- I am doing a dyeing and printing demonstration later today and I have to get the stuff together for that- and then I have to start packing. I hope the TGV is running on Wednesday.

Anne Deckers, myself and Liwanag Sales

In front of my traveller's Blanket- there was an occasion recently when I was very glad I was a quilter and not a canvas painter. I drove around and around trying to find a hotel and they were all booked full- so i had to sleep in my car and the temperatures have been very cold recently- I was very glad to have quilts in my car and use those and my traveller's blanket was one of those because it is so soft and drapey.

Gallery view- I love the stone walls- textile and stone walls are just wonderful together!

Gypsy Blanket #2

It is finished! The sleeve is done and even the labelling is done!I even included a coqueclicot print. I feel that this work really represents a lot of how I feel these days and i hope it keeps up!There is a good rhythm to my daily endeavours- early morning walk with the dog through the vineyards in view of Pic St Loup, fruit for breakfast, work, lunch french style, more work,  apero's, dinner french style ( I love rocquefort!) some computer time or reading and sleep. I hope I can keep this rhythm up as I have also lost weight- all good things.

Now all i have to do is find a house to live in  back in Australia... I am thinking about Clifton Springs if i can afford it sigh...... I am also working on a book proposal so keep your fingers crossed for me. I have also been applying for jobs back in the legal world- but they don't even bother with a response...  I guess I have been out of it too long- as if you lose all that experience.

Penchant for Cathedrals

My absence has been due to teaching commitments- which I have enjoyed very much!

One of my favourite cathedrals in France, is the cathedral in Laon. I came upon it  some years ago whilst driving at night trying to get to  Holland. The cathedral was lit and sitting on a high sort of cropped hill- well that was enough, I had to stay in that town and see it in daylight. I have been twice before but today as i raced along the paege ( which is very expensive) I could not resist the temptation for another visit. It houses one of the black madonnas and really the facade with its three  porches and very fine towers, is   a wonderful exemplar of restrained gothic architecture even though it's quite ornate. It was damaged in the french revolution.  Building commenced sometime in 1155 and was completed in the next century and some of the animals that adorn the towers are a memory of the animals that helped build this cathedral. This basilisque and the one in Vezelay are amongst my favourites in France. I have not seen them all- the gothic ones I mean, but quite a few and somehow these two really  just capture my imagination.

Exhibition, Exhibition, Exhibition and Atelier Launch!

Atelier Printemps Sacré is the name of the atelier my friend Liwanag Sales, Anne Deckers  and I are setting up.If you are in the area on 30/31 October or 1 November please drop by at la Clastre in Le Traidou.

We are also going to be making one off art to wear as well as art textiles.

Oh and i did not miss seeing all the big tourist sites in Barcelona- just this trip - but I saw some wonderful other things!

Back from Barcelona

I had a wonderful time in Barcelona- and did  not really do any of the touristy things. First of all i was teaching so that took up time, but also because I stayed in Sarria, which once was a village in the hills outside the centre of Barcelona, but which is well and truly part of Barcelona now . I really enjoyed sensing the city as the locals might instead of the great tourist whirlygig. So i walked, drank coffee and the occasional glass of wine, ate food with the locals and looked. I did go into the centre so see La Pedrera, but there was a queue and I couldn't be bother waiting in the queue so I headed back to Sarria.

This was the little courtyard of the apartment where I stayed. I think the big citrus tree looked to be a clementine tree. The tiled water trough boasted tiles dating from the 17th century which had been rehabilitated form an old kitchen.

This photograph is of a building on Carrer La Provenca.I just happened to notice it when I walked past it and of course could not resist looking and taking a photo- I was very quickly told this was not allowed though I am not exactly sure why- possible to stave off the tourist hordes?

The footpath tiles near la Pedrera- inspiration enough even without the famous building!

And I have been sewing like the blazers since being back on the Gypsy blanket #2. Here you can clearly see the contrast of stitched areas as opposed to non-stitched areas.The stitching simply adds so much extra interest and texture.... Still a lot fo stitching to go and on Monday i have to drive to the Evry. There are still places in the class at Palaisseau- if anyone is interested.

Autumn- and Thoughts of Going Home

They say hereabouts,that  when Pic St Loup is shrouded in cloud it will rain. So far no rain and certainly not on my walk. How the colours have changed in just a few weeks. It was dark and gloomy when I went out this morning, I could hear the gunshot of hunters, and even encountered one. Would love to have taken his photo as he was all fitted out in his hunting gear including his dog with a bell.

I have to start packing everything up for my return to Australia- it's quite a task as I have gathered things in order to be able to work and luggage allowance is so limited that i can only take so much and I must admit to having gone on a bit of a catalogue craze at Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork- they may have to form the library of our Atelier Printemps Sacre. I will continue to have some of my work for sale Aat Centre Europeen du Patchwork in Salleles d'Aude.

I head back to Australia on the 3rd of November and if anyone in Oz is interested in any of my workshops please contact me. I will be adding some new workshops when I have time to revamp my brochure of workshops.I will be living in the Geelong area when I find a house to live in.


Workshops Place Still Available for Workshops near Paris
I also have to teach some workshops and there are still some places available in the  following:
14-16 October 2010
At MJC Palaisseau ( near Paris)- 3 workshops, Form and Variation ( Investigations and abstractions on a theme), Serigraphy, Breakdown Printing ( Polychromatic printing) contact details can be found on Christine Moulin's website, and the dates are 14-16 October. So if you are at all interested these will be fun classes, and yes my time in france is unfortunately winding down.
12 October 2010
At Best of Quilting, Marcoussis
Pique Libre- one place left
21 October 2010
at Best of Quilting, Marcoussis
 Working and Stitching with Ravissent Lutradur

Another Gypsy Blanket

When I was at carrefour Europeen du patchwork i  was asked so many times whether the gypsy blanket I made for Aurifil was  for sale that i decided I would make another one, as I also need some larger pieces for our exhibition at le Clastre  in Le Triadou at the end of the month.

So I have been printing fabric for use, stitching the  fabric down and then free hand satin stitching it ( with  the open toed embroidery foot). I am free handing it because I like the slight unevenness of the line and well it just looks a bit more hand made.But it does take forever to do- detail stitching will go in tomorrow. I made a total hash of the backing, not sure what i was thinking, but it wasn't good, so will have to trip the whole back away from the stitched lines and then put on a new back.In the image above you can see the difference in the way it looks before stitching.

New Linocut and Autumn

Doesn't this paella look so yummy!I saw it at the St Gely market on Saturday.

Olive trees- still looking at how I might make an olive tree quilt- i love the shapes of the branches

The last of the grapes of the season- most of them have been harvested.

Yes that is my trusty friend the dog, on our daily walk this morning- she sat to wait for my whilst i took yet another photo  of Pic St Loup.

And last but not least- I have made a coqueclicot linocut- still playing with that idea, but it's getting there .

I have some  new books available of 72 More Ways- the french and coloured version- the cost is 30 euros inclusive of postage. I you are interested email me and I will sign your copy.