Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

It's a Wrap   is  my newly devised workshop to be offered in 2011... wrapped art dolls. During the last couple of weeks, I have been busily trying to create a few samples for the workshop promotion. My ideas behind the concept for this workshop were: 1) make an art doll without a sewing machine; 2) use found objects and 'recycled'and 'upcycled' materials; 3 ) use  one or more wrapping techniques: and 4) include a surprise or something unexpected as part of the doll.  All of the dolls also use polymer clay and some have air dry clay bases as well. And so here is  the first of the samples "Unravelling" - no sewing at all, an armature made from sticks, wrapped with leftover wool, and an old bead sample, and for the unexpected, the doll is starting to be unravelled by a little bird nesting on her head. Sample 2 " Clearing away the Cobwebs" is made the the same way ... This one is my own favourite, although I took ages to make the cobweb. A reworki...

Congratulations to winner, Gill who will soon receive her own traditional bilum and wooden wall hanging from Papua New Guinea.. The selection of a winner was a serious process, with all entries' names placed in the bilum and one chosen. Thanks to the eight followers who entered – perhaps the prize wasn’t to everyone’s liking, but these items were made with love, pride and generosity in far more difficult conditions than we can imagine. Please remember that this week is International Anti-Poverty Week. Congratulations too to all who participated in the Hunter Homeless Connect Day Sleepout and event this week. I survived only because I had a really great swag to sleep in – it was a very cold night. Thanks to fellow Rotarians who joined the District 9670 team in the sleepout and to my wonderful club, Rotary Club of Wallsend-Maryland who fed all the homeless pretenders on the night. Special thanks to all my family, friends and the Lemon Grove Hotel, Wallsend who spon...

A bilum is a string bag made by hand in Papua New Guinea, using a string looping technique. Traditionally, the string used was hand-made, from plant material – the bark of a plant called “lepa”. Now, however, most bilums are made from store bought brightly coloured yarn and many contemporary patterns have become popular, even those generated by computer. Bilums are used to carry a wide range of items, from shopping goods in large bilums to personal items in purse-sized varieties. Mothers often carry their babies in bilums, and the bilum is said to be “womb-like” and associated with security and reassurance for a baby. In the past, bilums were used to carry food home after gardening or hunting. Bilums were also used to decorate an area where a dead person would be laid for viewing. Another really important and significant use of bilums was as contributions to the payment of the bride price. Bilums remain as a prized gift to exchange with friends or visitors. As I have recently retu...

Rotarians from Yea, Victoria clebrate the installation of a water tank at Mando village, PNG. It is said that the Mando spirit moves mountains. However, it takes a team of Rotary volunteers to complete a project job list. In the last threee years, we have provided free primary education by building new classrooms, reduced the infant mortality rate by encouraging mothers to have their babies in the hospital or medical centre by providing maother and baby packs, began the process of including students with special needs in the school, supplemented family incomes by teaching living schools and establishing pig and chicekn breeding projects at the school. Here is a video summary of what has been achieved our recent trip - MANDO 2010 VIDEO Thanks to our intrepid leader, Wendy Stein for the production of this clip to highlight the achievements Clean water on tap Village men help unload new tank  Teacher housing upgraded  Replacing the floor of the principal's house Interior d...