Skip to main content

International Women's Day 2015 - Newcastle

Some of the fabric tiles with the small drawing of Elsie Randall's design for the entire mosaic. 
Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery will mark International Women’s Day on 8  March with an innovative and collaborative exhibition – Letting Go – which will include the placement of a large-scale art installation outside the Lock-up Gallery and Curve Gallery, Hunter Street , Newcastle East. 

The installation, a 72-square metre fabric mosaic designed by local Aboriginal elder and artist Elsie Randal, will be placed on the footpath outside the historical gaol to symbolise the need for Australians, and people from other nations, to cleanse and heal historical pain.

The Letting Go installation is inspired by a community ritual held in a small Italian village each year, where townsfolk colour bark chips and scatter them in the square. A respected community elder then leads a walk through the chips, scattering them as a symbol of cleansing and letting go of old enmities.

Over 350 people have created approximately 1800 fabric tiles.. printing, mark-making, stitching and felting, by attending workshops, run by local fibre artists Naomi Wild, Wilma Simmons and Ruth Spence.  NCEATA- Newcastle Creativ e Embroiderers and Textiles Artists- have  also spent many hours stitching creating part of the design.

“Layers of stories have emerged as people explore their creative expression in the workshops,” Anne said. “Individual life experiences, a strong local sense of place and a collective of thoughts on the global issues facing women today have all been represented by group members.”

The resulting works will be on exhibition for a walk-through on Sunday, 8 March as part of the Letting Go International Women’s Day celebration at 2pm. Individuals, families and community groups are invited to participate in Letting Go – collectively, creatively and meaningfully. The walk with be led by Lord Major, Nuatali Nelmes and Elsie Randall.
NCEATA working on the project 

Lisa from Curve Gallery assembling part of the installation. 

A sample of the 1800 + fabric tiles. 
If you live in or near Newcastle NSW, I hope to see you at our International Women's Day art  event. Celebrate the achievements of women all around the world. Protect  and the support the women and girls who are still living in the shadows of others in fear.   Make it Happen !  Happy International Women's Day to all! 
Make It Happen : IWD theme 2015. 
PS Watch this blog space for photos of  Sunday's event. - 8 March : 2pm
Labels:

Comments

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

12 Days .... festive or not?

Days 5 & 7 - the Gold Rush Era Stamp Series   It seems so long ago now since we were celebrating Christmas and New Year.... hope you enjoyed a great festive season. I took some time out, not doing much at all but I did set myself a little challenge of doing some tidying up which meant spending a little time each day using scraps of fabric and paper  to create something a little playful or as the mood took, useful!  Unlike the long projects I usually undertake, this was a 12 day project ( 12 days of Christmas ) - completely random, but finishing half done projects or recycling.  For example the first photo shows some collages  I did on days 5 and 7 to use a postage stamp release, the Gold Rush Era series, first issued in Australia 1981 ... yes I probably have had it in my stash since then!   Completing some other little projects was very satisfying .... On Day 1, I assembled a folded  paper folk cube from a kit my daughter gifted to me las...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

Too Precious to Waste

 Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons  More than a year ago, a decision was made.  The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2]  A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that ...
Post a Comment
Read more