Stacker beads and Surprises

One day last week, I woke up early, and decided to play with some polymer clay . I had been intrigued for some time with stacker beads (ovenfried beads) and so tried to make some. I did eventually after many attempts, and was happy I had managed to get the technique right. Then, of course, I looked at the mess of reject clay I had from all of the failed attempts, so thought I should on the spot use the clay rather than store it, so I made lots more beads. So now I have lots of other beads just for two stacker beads. Some of my Dolly friends said they thought the beads made out of reject clay were just as good anyway.

Besides clay play, it’s been a big week. My Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Wallsend-Maryland, District 9670, held its annual community awards last Tuesday. Six people in the community were recognised for their service to the local community. My husband , Jim, was also presented with a “fun” award for services beyond the fall of duty , referring to his accident in Papua New Guinea while on a Rotary volunteer project. I now realise that this was a diversion so I wouldn't guess that he was also being recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow – a big surprise for both of us, but especially for Jim. Occasionally, Rotary Clubs recognise the service of non-Rotarians so our family feels very proud that he has been recognised for his untiring support for humanitatrian projects. The award reads ' in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.' Thank you to the many many Paul Harris Fellows around the world for their service to their communities.

It was also Jim’s birthday last week, and a good time was enjoyed by all.

#SeptTextileLove26 Day 7

#SeptTextileLove #STL26Day7 ‘Historical’ ... Family history is often a source of inspiration and information for my work. This stitched work featuring a photo of my great grandmother also acts as a commentary on the Chinese historical practice of foot binding, hence the inclusion of an x ray photograph of a female bound foot. It looks painful and undoubtedly was , but it was considered 'beautiful". What contemporary body shaping practices do we still engage in for the sake of ‘beauty’? Historical body shaping practices included tight-lacing corsets, foot binding, and neck elongation , all used to mould the human form into culturally defined ideals of beauty. (AI overview) Foot Binding in China Starting from Song elites and eventually popularized and ended in the Qing dynasty, foot binding was seen as an idolized representation of women's petite beauty, and the practice was referred to as "三寸金莲" , 'three-inch golden lotus' Wikipedia . This practice...

#SeptTextileLove26 Day8

SeptTextileLove #stl26day8 ‘Inspiring Exhibition’ … earlier this year , the Wednesday Makers Group at Timeless Textiles ( Newcastle, Australia) celebrated International Women’s Day with their exhibition, “Inspiring Women in Stitch’ - congratulations - inspiring women honouring inspiring women . link to video

#SeptTextileLove26 Day 4

#septtextilelove #stl26day4 … Story-telling … making ‘art dolls’ gives wonderful opportunities to tell stories … This matriarch’s story is intertwined with the cicadas which form part of the soft sculpture and emphasises what appears to be a contradiction about nurturing life and inevitable death... Cicadas spend years underground as nymphs feeding on root sap, emerging en masse as winged adults for a few days, perhaps a week, to mate and lay eggs in tree branches, then die, leaving the eggs to hatch into new nymphs that burrow underground to restart the cycle. The dormant underground phase of the cicada’s life can be from 2-17 years! In my interpretation, this forest matriarch offers a safe place for cicadas to lay eggs, only to cause their own demise … but the continuing life cycle is ensured.

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog