See - High profile now!

A dreadful quality scan of a little promo write up in this month's Art Monthly for Handmade Landscape. Opening in less than four weeks ARRRGGGHHHH!

Really I am quite excited - it is a complete joy to be working with the Ararat Gallery and I am fortunate enough to be taking workshops at the gallery with children and teenagers.

Pumpkin Eaters

A few Saturday nights ago a wonderful thing happened - I turned on ABC2 and came across the film, "The Pumpkin Eaters". An extraordinary film from 1964 about a mummy, and her life. LOVED IT!!!! - I loved it because she was just making her way through life and finding strength after strength to give love to her husband (who was a real pill) and her children. (oh her poor darling boys at boarding school).

Oh did I add that she always looks fabulous and so does her home!

A blog I found writes "By my lights, a "pumpkin eater" is a gullible person, one who (figuratively) can swallow most anything, and doesn't seem to be daunted by whatever the pain of doing so is." But you know I don't think you are gullible for swallowing pain - I think Pumpkin Eaters is really exploring the notion of unconditional love.

Here is a photo of my special place that heals me and helps me build love and understanding inside me.




And here is a source of pure love - a drawing by my son - the source of inspiration for my recent embroideries.

Childfriendly

Last week I put my hand up to join a local committee the child friendly city working party.

Did you know that Bendigo is the first city in Australia to be recognised as a Child Friendly City by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 2007. That is pretty exciting!

Not long ago I had a job interview with the Children and Family services with the local council to be one of their project workers and put together their children's festival. At the interview I experienced total memory recall of a past life working in a local government setting and it wasn't the greatest! So I decided to stick out my current job, despite working within unrealistic hours and goals. - but then who isn't?

So I hope through joining this committee I still have the opportunity to focus Council's activities more sharply on children.

There are a lot of things happening with children services and schools here that make me cross - this concept of SUPER schools, the one stop shop for childcare, kinder and maternal childhood services - madness - completely kills community, culture and simply builds a bigger bureaucracy for people to wade there way through - forget encouraging exceptional children, families. This is one reason that we are selling up and leaving the community we are living in. I am not keen on my children growing up in a SUPER sized community.

I have been absent for awhile - not sure what happened there; maybe the school holidays?

School started again on Monday - which Kd and I are very disappointed about - I really can't work out why children need to go to school 5 days a week - We had wonderful holidays with sleep overs at Grandmas (so J and I could have our own little children free holiday - and of course J got food poisoning...), a trip to the beach with cousins, socceer, friends over for plays and plays at friends houses - bliss really. - But not much time in the studio and online.


Here is a new work I have recently completed for a fundraiser for a Artist Run Space getting itself set up in Warrnambool - called the "F Project".





This work is called piece2 (which is an OK name - struggling to get at the bottom of what I am on about.) I ended up settling on piece2 to relate to another recent work called piece - Animals are starting to appear in my work!

The fabric I worked the "bull" up on is a treasured find from an op shop - I think the lace is hand made. The stitch I used is called Holbein or double running stitch - "...it is worked in two stages and creates the same effect as backstitch, but gives a much neater appearance on the back of the work. Holbein Stitch is traditionally used in blackwork..." from The Needlecraft Magazine of Embroidery Stitches. - my little sewing bible!

I must also add that the "bull" is copied from a darling drawing that Kd did a few months back - the bull is grazing and looks like a creature that lives in the sky - timeless. I have been scanning a lot of Kd's drawings and will be setting up his own flickr account soonish(!) to share his amazing creations.

After my next show is over I really want to focus on not only sewing for the kids - but teach myself Blackwork. Ah YES after the show is over I am going to....

Handcrafted landscape

Last week I finally organised a photoshoot for promotional images for my next show coming up (next month!) at the Ararat Regional Art Gallery. It was a pleasure to spend an hour or so with the wonderful photographer (and not to mention mother) Gail Hardy.

In the weeks leading up to the exhibition I am putting together a post series on topics related to Handcrafted Landscape.

inside a caterpiller

Latest Music

Remember that embroidery for that music star I did - well her Cd is now for sale.

And here is the latest film clip coming out of Sailors Gully, Eaglehawk. Critics have called labelled it laid back beats, underscored with a consistent ferocity engaging hoo-la type moves.