Skip to main content

Student Dollmakers and Jam

Is there any connection between student dollmakers and jam? I guess both can be sweet? The real connection is these were two of my activites this week.  I went back temporarily to high school teaching this week in inner Sydney, teaching in a Links to Learning program - a program essentially for high school students having some difficulties either at school and/or at home. Although I was a high school principal, I have always thought that schools are not always the best places for learning for everyone, so it was good again to teach outside a school setting and doing something involving personal development. We made wrapped stick dolls and it was designed to be both a fun  and serious exercise, with the girls writing personal messages inside the doll, and then wrapping them with fabric and embellishing madly. I thought the results were great, and the exercise uplifting for all of us.






So, back at home, with an abundance of home grown mandarins from my sister-in-law's tree, I set out to look for recipes using mandarins. I found many including mandarin martinis, mandarin curd, mandarin syrup loaf, mandarin and chocolate muffins and a myriad of almond and mandarin cakes . However I settled for the "Exquisite Mandarin Jam" from Sally Wise on the ABC site. If you like the look of what I made ... here's the recipe.
Exquisite Mandarin Jam  ( Sally Wise)

Degree of difficulty: Low
You need: 8 mandarins, Water, Sugar, Juice of 1 lemon (optional but advisable)
Method:
Place (whole) mandarins and lemon juice in a pot and barely cover with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer till mandarins are tender. Remove from liquid, then chop or puree. Return the fruit to the pot. Measure the fruit and water mixture, then add equal part of sugar. Bring back to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil till setting point is reached (about 20 minutes) - the seeds will rise to the surface during this time, so they are easy to remove. Pour into sterilised jars and seal when cold
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 31, 2011 at 1:45 PM

    Lovely of you to work with these "troubled" girls.I agree, school is only for the very "tough".I don't know how I lasted 30 years in schools.Kids who fall outside the "norm" are usually ignored until they start to "act out". Thank goodness for lovely people like yourself.Thankyou on behalf of those girls.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wilma Simmons (Empress Wu Designs)August 5, 2011 at 10:00 AM

    Thanks Judy
    I have enjoyed working with the girls. Although it is hard and unpredictable work, it is satisfying and challenges the grey matter.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...
3 comments
Read more

"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 ...
8 comments
Read more

From my workshop page....

  Current Workshops  Offerings  Thinking of a workshop for your group in  2022?    Art Doll Workshops : -  Garden Thread Dolls  (one day workshop   -  WoW -(Woman of Wisdom)    - embellished stump doll with either cloth head or clay head.  This is an a rt doll workshop .... either offered as a series of workshops or  2 full days  days!   -  Message/Story  Stick doll  - doll made with found objects and upcycled cloth.  ( one day)    -  Elemental totems  - stick doll variation , with sculpture  ( one or two days, depending on surface decoration of fabric)  TEXTILE AND MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS    Temari - embroidered wrapped balls in traditional style.    - Dipping Into Tea  - tea and embroidery on canvas with photo transfer on fabric.  ( two days)  work by Judith Bee, workshop participant.  - Tea Bag sculpture : ...
Post a Comment
Read more