Winter Salon

This is a new work that is accompanying Mem Fox to a wonderful little group show that I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in.

It is opening today (the 17th of July) at 12pm - 4pm at LOT 19 Castlemaine.



Unfortunately I am not sure if I will make the opening - Kd had a bad night with the beginnings of a sore throat - let's see what the day brings....

Recent Drawing inspired by the Dunkeld 2010 International Tree Drawing Competition

Join in the Dunkeld Tree Drawing competition for National Tree Day






Yep they really need to be scanned before submitting - and remember it must be in black and white...

But these works are directly from a Sampler in the Kyneton Museum - by a young woman back in the 1800s.

Plently more drawing fun there and also stitching these works up for my Kyneton exhibition happening in September!

She has arrived!

A little while a go I posted about a doll I started to make for Hj and I am proud to say that I have finished it - although the sewing is not the bestest of all bestest I love her & I hope Hj does too!

Here she is sitting in a doll crib that my Grandfather made for me & now Hj's Great Grandfather. I am also giving this to Hj for her fourth birthday. I made a little quilt for her and today I found some doll blankets that my Great Grandmother made for me!

Today she started playing with my old barbies - I am so glad Mum saved them. I would have thrown them out for sure. We spent quite a bit of time playing together today - didnt get any of my household chores done!

Observation of Design Elements

I have to admit making jewellery is a new adventure for me and Places and Pieces is just the push I needed to try out this addictive form of making.

This post is a tutorial about using observation of design in landscape to create a body of work. It is aimed at year 11 students and is to be delivered as a hand out to complement class discussion.

In future posts I will provide tutorials on making paper jewllery using two techniques!

Selecting line, colour, tone, texture, shape, sound and form to create new jewellery that reflects place in a geographic, cultural and personal sense.



This is a native ground cover I discovered one day on my regular walk. I have been walking along this industrial path next to a factory and train line for nearly a year and never spotted this brave hardy plant before. It was a joy to discover in an area so dominated by industrial activity.
I was taken by the sweet, round petite shape of the leaves, the bending, yet reaching form of the braches and the mono, flat and blending tones of the bush. Picking a stork I popped it in some water and took some sketches. My drawing is dominated by line and shape.



As I worked drawing I reflected upon another artist’s work that I recently viewed, by David Neale. As I drew I thought about ways I could replicate these elements in 3D



I thought about using:
- small stones
- clay
- paper
- fabric and leather


I thought about these materials because they are familiar to me and I have a great deal of confidence and pleasure in using them.


The resulting works from my drawing and playing I will post in the coming days.

An Enlightment update

My residency with the Kyneton Museum is kicking along and I would like to share with you the most recent fabric donations!

These donations are unfortunately anonymous. (thank you!) I am eagerly awaiting further pieces to come on in with recent local media activity.



These scraps are left over from my children's pinafores and some patchwork pieces that were never made. Anonymous Donator



Memories of a life when there was time to sew! Fabric from favourite times which never quite made it into a quilt, and some that did. lovely light and flowery fabrics from little girl's dresses made throughout the '70s and '80s for my friend's children. Hard to believe that I have held onto these scraps for so long! Anonymous Donator



Lace from my outfit when I became Godmother to a darling girl now 26 years old! Anonymous Donator

Online I have found some projects that I find inspiring and add a to the context of this project - I really like Craig Walsh's (Australian) project Digital Odyssey. Check out the patchwork screen that was made to show local stories from people who have donated items about the idea of home.

The second project is Passage Quilts by Sherri Lyn Wood (USA)who I think works on a commission basis to put together "grief quilts" and also within a community arts project.


Craig Walsh: Digital Odyssey, A Museum of Contemporary Touring Project is a two-year tour and artist residency, which brings internationally regarded Australian artist Craig Walsh’s distinctive artwork to locations throughout the country. For this innovative and ambitious project, Walsh is travelling around Australia in a mobile living and working environment, developing and presenting temporary or semi-permanent large-scale public projection works that are responsive to regional history, local stories and the surrounding landscape.





He is currently in Cairns, and we are inviting the local community to get involved in the construction of the collaborative screen for the Cairns installment of the HOME project.

Craig and Hiromi will be setting up in the artist run gallery Crate59, and we would love Cairns locals and visitors to visit the gallery to contribute materials and get involved in the making of the screen. Your participation could be as brief or as long as you want. You can even just drop in for a coffee to have a chat and find out more about the Digital Odyssey project.

Items donated can relate to what ‘a sense of home is’, or could be textiles and objects constructed specifically for the project. When the screen is complete, it will be hung and large-scale videos of people discussing what home means to them them will be projected onto its surface.


Passage Quilts : An active bereavement & transition process utilizing the clothing and materials of life by Sherri Lyn Wood

French Hand Sewing

Last week I attended a great little morning stitching workshop at the Bendigo Art Gallery - all about French Hand Sewing.




I learnt how to pin tuck as above - I think I will be using this one quite a bit
fun, simple and effective.

I am hoping to get into sewing some pretty nighties for summer soon

Attended a fantastic show of drawings at La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre on the weekend by Philip Hunter

I love seeing drawings for joy, lines for love. I like also how his drawings are so silent and speechless. Inimate nothing - just like the place I came from and carry within me.




Philip Hunter
Untitled (Acheron) 1997 charcoal and conté on paper

tees on me and him and an Ep cover commission

The famous Gossling presented me with her tee shirt yesterday - one for me and one for him!

Last year I helped Gossling aka my famous sister in law with her first album cover and lucky for me she has transformed the design into a t-shirt!



Dont' we look like chubby rockers!

Luckily for me she has asked me to do her second album and we have started tossing around ideas.

This image is by Birdy & Me



Image for Kate Vigo



I really like the work by Luci Everett


Somehow I am also thinking that the work of Alphonse Mucha will play apart in the concept development.