With a Stamp

 Art Tags - Your Crown :  Wilma Simmons 2019 

I love creating with postage stamps... so this week's Tag Tuesday, hosted by Sandie made me happy. The theme is Mail, Postmarks or Postage Stamps.
I made three small tags, each with a British stamp, depicting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. I thought this saying about wearing your invisible crown  went very well with the stamps and  just couldn't resist using this stamp  with a stamped border ( its source is unknown as it was a gift). The background is Tilda decorative paper.
For my other tag, I made a collage of envelopes, a magazine page and an Australian Postage Stamp, commemorating  National Stamp Week. I machine stitched a few lines to add to the touches of colour contrast.
I hope to make some more tags using more of my favourite paper material , postage stamps.

Art Tag - My Post: Wilma Simmons 2019 

Walking a different path

We walk through 
each day, with a 
restless wandering. 
Deep down craving 
a different path. 
A shining light. 
A dream to hold on to.” 
― Susan Bocinec Terry, Moods and Musings

 To start off Tag Tuesday for 2019 , our team leader, Valerie has chosen the theme "New Beginnings", so I decided to work with  a new technique and create a new "path" .... The background of this tag is watercolour paper, spattered with three colours of watered down  acrylic paint ( blue, yellow, red) . Leaves and garden debris had been placed over the paper, creating masks. The "path" was where a branch had been placed. The idea is when the paint has dried, patterns seem to emerge. Using ink and coloured pencils, I defined the image. Shadows and lines were created by smudging the ink and drawing with coloured pencils.

  Here are a couple of  images of the background without any work on it, and the beginnings of another little drawing  suggested by the background. 

Black and White

Mandala XIV - hand stitched mandala - Annette Tubnor 

Classic theme inspires Newcastle artists ... 

Source : Timeless Textiles website 

The artists and makers who are members of the Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists (NCEATA) were challenged to respond in “Black and White”for a new exhibition opening this month at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery. 

Black and White Art Works  by Ruth Spence, Anne-Marie Kelly and Karen Murray 

For many of the textile artists, who typically love to explore the richness of colour in their work, the “Black and White”theme led them to previously uncharted territory. Wilma SImmons said the NCEATA artists had worked creatively with the black and white palette.“When black and white take centre stage, an artist’s message, and their emotions, shine through” she said. “Stripping out colours adds clarity and depth to their chosen subject.”

Detail of "Is it Just Black and White" by Lee-Ann Deegan 

The exhibition displays the artists’ observations of nature and showcases their skills and textile art techniques.

Willy Wagtial - ttextile sculpture by Bronwyn Greive 

They have  also examined and added different layers of interpretation. “Some of the works are artistic reflections on the idiomatic usage of the words ‘black and white’. They include historical and literary symbolism, cultural connotations, and psychological states represented by these contrasts.”  

Diffusion  (  machine and hand stitching using pojagi techniques  ) - Rhonda Porter

 NCEATA artists use their textile art to deliver strong messages and emotions in the Black and White exhibition. They tell interesting stories, share detailed observations, and convey clear thoughts and concepts.

Artist Ruth Spence with friends of the gallery 

“Black and White”exhibition will run from 27 December 2018 to 13 January 2019 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays and public holidays).  The exhibition was  officially opened by Dr Diane Volker at 6pm on 3 January 2019.

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Being creative in 2018

Some art work from 2018 - Wilma Simmons 

Reflecting on 2018, I would like to thank everyone who supported and encouraged me and assisted and taught me during the last year. I think it was a really wonderful year - I enjoyed teaching in new places like the Grampians (Victoria)  and the Central Coast as well as in Sydney, Canberra and locally.  I  learnt so much in  workshops with wonderful artists from overseas and within Australia like Jette Clover, Sophie Munns, Gaye Nieuwenhof, Patti Culea  and Bobbi Oliver.  I  was privileged to exhibit at the Embroiderers Guild of NSW and Timeless Textiles Gallery. I have also had  so much fun participating and contributing to groups like NCEATA and Gumnut Dollies in Newcastle and online with Art Dolls Only and Tag Tuesday. 

Sometimes, the creative process looks like this for me, but with the support of family and so many talented friends, it all works out well in the end! Best wishes for a creative 2019... 

It's Christmas - Christmas tree #25

Advent Blog Day 25  - MERRY CHRISTMAS 
Here is my own contribution to the unusual Christmas trees. My tree this year is a wire tree with all 193 stick dolls I made for the "Stitched Up" exhibition, celebrating the lives of 193 girls, inmates of the  Newcastle Industrial School 1867-1871 (a NSW government welfare institution).  The safety pins as hangers  are deliberate  as the girls had to work at "stitching" while they were at the school, so at Christmas they have some time off - no sewing, safety pins will do. 

Thank you for following this Advent Blog these last 25 days....