Birding with Abigail Brown

Close up of fabric owl - Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs 2015.

Abigail Brown is described as a creature textile designer extraordinaire, and having met Abigaill recently, I would add a very talented, generous, spirited and beautiful artist. Her vibrant work rejoices in the amazing beauty of nature ... here is what Abigail says about her stunning soft sculptures ....

I am excited by the opportunity to create life from these flat pieces of cloth, working with their weave to mould shapes, fraying their edges to form feathered breasts, creating stiffened tail feathers from something that was limp. That final placing of the eye and a new life is born...The Animal Kingdom is the inspiration behind all my work. I am fascinated by its rituals and language, a world of mystery and secrets on which we can but speculate. My fabric bird sculptures are a celebration of textures, patterns, colours and forms that delight me in nature.

Abigail Brown with workshop participants' birds

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop with Abigail at Timeless Textiles, Newcastle ( NSW Australia) and created a simple bird on the first day under Abigail's guidance.

Green bird - Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs, 2015

Basic bird in progress - Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs. 2015

Basic Bird in progress - Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs 2015

When it was time to create our own pattern, I chose a woodland owl, because my owl collector sister's birthday was imminent, and I had recently dyed some wool with eucalypt leaves which I though would look good as an owl body. So with other hand dyed fabrics and a batik shirt abandoned by my husband, an owl is born.....

Early stages of owl in progress - Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs, 2015

Sample of feathers, and various fabric feathers - Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs, 2015.

Some close ups - Owl by Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs, 2015

'Owl in garden' by Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs, 2015

Happy Birthday Owl - Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs, 2015

Owl in new home with a previously created owl woman (circa 2009) Wilma Simmons, Empress Wu Designs, 2015

And as a post script.... many thanks to Anne Kempton from Timeless Textiles who organises fabulous artists like Abigail Brown to visit Newcastle to inspire many like myself to create....

Anne Kempton, Timeless Textiles with her little owl created in the Abigail Brown workshop, March 2015.

#the100dayproject : Inspiring Women Days 1 - 4

#The100DayProject is a *free* global art project that takes place online 🎨 E very year, thousands of people all around the world commit to 100 days of creating. Anyone can participate . The idea is simple: choose a creative project, do it every single day for 100 days, and document and share the process online. 2026 is my 8th year of participating. I have stitched daily observations, painted my egg cup collection, collaged postcards and envelopes, written poems, explored colour palettes .... this year I am researching, sketching and stitching 100 inspiring women. Fortunately I purchased a piece of beautiful linen, with preprinted outlines of 100 women ... just one issue - the figures are tiny (height 6cm /2.5 ins) My first week started tentatively ... I thought I would start with Empress Wu, after whom I named my creative activity. This is when I discovered how difficult it is to applique and stitch on these very small figures - I used tweezers to put pieces of fabric down, tried t...

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...

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 ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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