Weekend : Work or Play

Model United Nations Delegates and Secretyary -General

My schedule for last weekend:
Friday and Saturday : Secretary -General, Model United Nations Assembly, Muswellbrook ( in the upper Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia)
Saturday night: Miriam Margolyes Performance, Dickens' Women in Civic Theatre, Newcastle
Sunday : Workshop, teaching an updated version of the message stick art doll. Newcastle.
Much of this may be considered "work" but it was all so enjoyable, I think it could be said I have had a weekend of "play". . However, it was still an over-scheduled weekend and I still felt tired....

Model United Nations Assembly 2012

The Model United Nations Assembly is an initiative of Rotary District 9670 where senior students come together, as representatives of member nations of the United Nations. The delegates debate world issues from the point of view of their designated countries - a very difficult task, but executed with great knowledge, understanding, some diplomacy and a lot of lobbying and negotiation. As Secretary- General, my role is to moderate the debates and I was certainly "kept on my toes" throughout the Assembly with many well - constructed and strategic approaches, some complicated amendments, and always keen debate, discussion and argument. Congratulations to the delegations representing Timor Leste and Cyprus for outstanding debating, and although it seems hard to believe , the winner of the Peace Prize was Russia, for their efforts in promoting world peace . In this assembly Russia articulated some strong proposals as resolutions to difficult global problems. I always come home from this, thinking perhaps we should hand over governance to young people?

We then drove a couple of hours to get back to Newcastle in time for the theatre. At midnight, after coming home from the performance, I was still setting up for Sunday's workshop, so I was hoping that I had done enough for the day to run smoothly. What a wonderful day it turned out to be. We started off by having a stroll in the bush near our place to find some sticks to create message sticks art dolls. It was a beautiful sunny and crisp Autumn morning ( by the afternoon, it was wet, windy and cold...) And then we talked, laughed and created for the rest of the day ( and of course,we ate a cake or two! )

Workshop demonstration supplies

Workshop set up - participants' kits.

Workshop assistant preparing morning tea.

Wrapping - concentration+

Unique dolls created in the workshop

Each participant created in her own style.

As a footnote, I must also recommend experiencing the highly acclaimed Miriam Margolyes' performance of Dickens' Women - outstanding, entertaining, fascinating and intriguing . As another critic puts it " ...her unique ability to deliver everything she promises is without parallel. Margolyes has been pretty amazing for decades, these days superlatives are inadequate." - Stagenoise.com.

Phew ... what a great weekend!

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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