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!

Stitched Gardens and Magpies

Magpies are always around in our garden , strutting, poking about for insects and having a splash in the birdbath. They often call if the water is at a low level in the birdbath until one of us replenishes the water supply. It is no coincidence then that they have figured prominently as part of recent little works in the stitched garden series. I also like to include human figures in my gardens, especially taken from old photos of family members. This "impressionist ' stitched garden features my husband's great aunt, Sarah Ann Bath. I like to think of her in this abundant garden , when in reality, she grew up in the early 1900s in rather cramped living conditions in Birmingham UK See more and read more about my stitched gardens - other posts: How does your garden grow with stitch? How does your garden grow with crayons?

Dotee Divertissement

Dotee by Wendy Anderson What is a "dotee' doll? ... A dotee is a mini art doll, meant to be traded or swapped. The dolls 6 inches /15 cm tall or smaller, but the hanger or tail can exceed that measurement. They have a face, but do not require arms or legs. Dotees have a loop for hanging, and come with tails (tails are fibres, ribbon, charms or other string-y things that add to the theme of the doll). Dotees can be made from a variety of materials - fabric, felt, paperclay, yarn, beads, gourds or any other material/media that you can make a doll from. Most dotee makers add buttons, beads, sequins, embroidery, or charms to embellish the doll. Dotee dolls by Wilma Simmons At the February meeting of Gumnut Dollies Newcastle, the group activity was to revisit these little dolls, which were very popular for doll swaps around the world about 10 years ago. As our theme for 2020 is The Twenties, the little flapper girl face buttons were a good start.... Dot...

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...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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