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

Comments

  1. 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. 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

Connecting and Interpreting : Story #3 from the ATASDA Collaborative Golden Cape

  Connecting and Interpreting : Story #3 from the ATASDA Collaborative Golden Cape  Background : The Golden Cape is a collaborative project for ATASDA members and it celebrates the 50th Anniversary of ATASDA in 2024. 50 present day members have  received  an image of one of 50 yesteryear members artworks, to use as a muse, to create new artwork based on the past. Inspiration can come from textures, colours, style, design, subject, culture or history of the original artwork.  The new artworks have become panels stitched together to create a Golden Cape - an anniversary art wearable .   The Golden Cape will be displayed at various venues around Australia from May 2024.  Vine  (Exotica 2009 ATASDA exhibition ) : Norma Warnecke Meg Buchtmann chose Norma Warnecke's 2009 artwork shown in the ATASDA  exhibition "Exotica" as her inspiration for her contribution to the golden cape project .  Golden Cape panel 2023 : Meg Buchtmann Taken with the colour combinations and the 3D natur

Wednesday's Child /2

Work in Progress - 3 of the 193 for "Stitched Up"- Wilma Simmons   The work for the "Stitched Up " Project  continues. See the previous "Wednesday Child" post for the background to this art project celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Newcastle Industrial School. I have been documenting the progress of my work, so I thought it might be interesting to share some of the early stages of the "stick dolls" ... Here are some of the beginning steps.. Sticks collected while walking the bushland in my neighbourhood  Drying and getting rid of any insects - oven heat 75 degreesC for approx 1-2 hours.  Trimmed and cut if necessary  Ends sealed with matte sealing solution.  Drying  - solution goes on white but dries clear.  First wrapping - foil to create a body shape  Second wrapping - stretch fabric.  Third wrapping - fabric strips  Some stitching - more stitching and embellishment to come.  Follow thi

May I Present Mrs Chalumeau...

Finally Mrs Chalumeau takes a bow …She is a Pearly Queen … 695 buttons on the doll and 10 on the journal.(I think – could be more). I would like to thank Paula from Antiques and Collectables here in Hamilton, Newcastle and Raku Buttons ETSY seller for supplying me with about 500 of the vintage mother of pearl buttons, and the rest I had in my stash. I think they look great on my pearly queen, but I am truly tired of sewing on buttons. It made me think however, how many buttons must be on the elaborate clothes of the real pearly Kings and Queens! I drew my inspiration from the lovely lady pictured here, and the following description from Wikipedia. ... A Pearly King ( feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional Cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. These costumes were treasured heirlooms, hand made and sometimes representing much of a family's wealth. .... This doll is all cloth – a little different from most of my other dolls which generally h