...drink the wild air

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. ( Ralph Waldo Emerson) … I chose this quotation as a theme for last weekend’s workshop at the Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists Retreat. The air was “wild” with inspiration, activity, enthusiasm, fun, friendship, colour and creativity – such an invigorating atmosphere for all who love working with textiles and fibres. The talented textile artists, Jan Clark and Trevor and Beth Reid were also tutors at this retreat.

I had a wonderful group of women in my class who created dolls from found objects, polymer clay and upcycled fibres and fabrics to produce really imaginative and meaningful creations. We each started with a quotation to inspire our work and from then on, there were no restrictions … a stick in the garden will never be looked at in the same way and a shapely bottle will never find its way to the recycling bin again. Here are a few images of my students' creations.... very satisfying to see such brilliant work produced.

I have had other wonderful weekends this month – is it so long since I have posted on this blog? The previous weekend’s theme must have been “Live the moment” - what a whirlwind weekend!

On the Friday and Saturday I was the Secretary General at the Model United Nations Assembly, where young delegates changed the world. We managed to resolve the Middle East crisis, develop plans to cope with Climate Change,deal with terrorism, refugee processing and the reform of the United Nations itself – no wonder I was exhausted! The Model United Nations Assembly is a Rotary District 9670 event, and it is a really amazing experience. Youth delegates representing United Nations member nations debate global issues and attempt to resolve world problems using individual nations' viewpoints and alliances taking a peaceful approach. Perhaps the real politicians, world leaders and decision makers need to follow these young peoples' example.

Then on Sunday, I managed one day of the two day class with visiting doll maker , Patti Culea. - so interesting not only to learn new techniques, but also to chat about the inspiration for this doll - the bound feet of Chinese women in the past. How privileged we are to be able to access the talents of such inspiring artists. Then, just to finish the weekend on an even higher note, that was followed by a magical musical evening of Andre Rieu and the Seekers

The weekend before that we celebrated Mother’s Day. We spent another great day with our wonderful family on the shores of Lake Macquarie, first having an outdoor breakfast and then a visit to the Lake Macquarie Art Gallery to see a textile exhibition.

And of course, great presents, especially hand drawn and handmade cards from children and grandchildren

I know it's often said bad things happen in threes ... with these three fantastic weekends, I can only conclude good things must come in threes, too.

Bilby Infatuation

Wrapped wire and fabric bilby sculpture : Wilma Simmons 2016 Over the years I have been fascinated with the plight of the bilby and it has inspired quite a few of my cloth creations... With long pinkish-coloured ears and silky, blue-grey fur, the Bilby has become Australia’s version of the Easter Bunny. Unlike the rabbit, bilby numbers are falling rapidly. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s... Bilbies are nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage for food. Using their long snouts, they dig out bulbs, tubers, spiders, termites, witchetty grubs and fungi. They use their tongues to lick up grass seeds. Bilbies have poor sight and rely on good hearing and a keen sense of smell. To minimise threats from predators they’ll mostly stay within 250m of their burrows, but sometimes roam further afield depending on the food...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Non-Committal Collage Anything Goes

Have you heard of non-committal collage? I hadn't until one of the other participants of the 100 Day Project started doing this each day and showing the results.... Here are Peggy's rules : 1. S elect 9 scraps of paper from collage box/stash 2. Make three different compositions using each scrap at least once. (some pieces can be used more than once) 3. Do not alter the scraps of paper in any way. 4.Do not use glue. 5.Take photo, disassemble and return scraps to box. I thought this would be a fun and quick exercise to do for Tag Tuesday's theme , Anything Goes... so here are my "non-committal collage" tags.... Did you spot the nine pieces? Would you like to suggest some titles? And I repeated the exercise before putting back the 9 scraps of paper, so these are different items. Hope you will try this exercise - it is lots of...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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