Skip to main content

March Madness


 'Mad as a March Hare" ... so the saying goes - describing the  excitable behaviour of hares in March.
I must admit I am feeling a little "hare-brained" this month with so much happening.
The first big March event was the culmination of 'Spreading Wings' the community art project I coordinated for International Women's Day. The concept was to work collaboratively to create a fibre sculpture in a series of free textile art workshops. Eight workshops were held and over thirty people participated, learning textile art techniques and contributing to the sculpture. The unveiling was held on the eve of International Women's Day. The following photos tell a little of the story...
Sculpture framework -  the beginning... 
Workshop Preparation 
Happy workshop participant 
Busy workshop participants

The "unveiling" : Happy International Women's Day!

Then the next day off to Hervey Bay, Queensland to lead a Wise Woman workshop. What a keen and talented group of doll makers and welcoming hosts,  so it wasn't all work 
Wise Woman workshop in Hervey Bay. 
Wise Women Works in Progress 
Sightseeing in Hervey Bay with my generous host
Postscript: The bird sculpture was named Adelina ( Spanish name meaning 'noble and winged') and was auctioned with the successful bid being announced this week.  The proceeds of the auction will be donated to support the work of Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo who is a spiritual leader and teacher of young Buddhist women.  (Learn  more about her life in the biography and film, Cave in the Snow). 
Thanks to all contributors to the project which in turn will help so many more women in less favourable circumstances than ours. 
The project was sponsored by Timeless Textiles and Newcastle City Council with support from the Rotary Club of Wallsend-Maryland, Huntington Estate Wines and LamboArt. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"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 ...

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...

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.   Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.    Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...