Skip to main content

The Joy of Having Time....


Earlier in the year, I enrolled in a creative embroidery course. This means that each month, I receive a parcel in the post - fabric and threads with an instruction to create an stitched design according to a theme and/or type of stitching. Inevitably, I run short of time - stitching right up to the last moment, and sending off my completed assignment by Express Post for it to reach the Guild Headquarters on the day the assessors meet.
NSW Embroiderers' Guild 
Last month, no parcel came and my completed assignment from the previous month  was not returned. I thought perhaps because I had two incomplete assignments still on my work table at home, my assessor decided I wasn't to receive another until I had finished and handed in the outstanding two. totally understandable! So I worked hard to complete them.... still didn' t make the last post on Friday!
Theme - Bottles, Technique - Distorted Applique 
Theme - Seed Heads Technique - Texture 
 So I decided not to let that enemy 'time' beat me.... my new plan was to travel to Sydney , take my finished assignments with me, apologise for my lateness, and hope I could locate my missing piece of work and receive last month's assignment.  All went well - caught the train at 7.45am and arrived at the Guild Headquarters by 10.15 am. Oh no - my assessor was away, but  all was not in vain . I spoke to others, found my lost  work (together with my last assignment)   thanks to a little sleuthing from the course coordinator, It all happened within fifteen minutes of my arrival and as I had planned to take a train home  at 12.15pm,,,, I had time to spare!
Goldwork - lost and now found! 
So  with the luxury of having time, it was easy to enjoy  morning tea  with the creative course group - chatting to  the packers of the kits, and some of the assessors and understanding how the course actually operates; early lunch at the  Love Life coffee shop next door and then even time to wander and take some photos. 

Embroiderers' Guild Headquarters 
Love Life Coffee Shop 
Concord West looks just like a main street of a country town and I was so impressed with the cleanliness of the street  and the inviting area near the station to sit and just take time to look at passers by, or enjoy the sunshine - which I did.
Concord West - quiet main street 
What was even more positive about the whole day was that I used public transport  which ran on time to schedule, and not a single hiccup regarding changing lines either way - and all this for only $2.50 fare, at least $10 cheaper than posting my assignments!
Railway Station, Concord West 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Fragments

 Some days are just your lucky days - today I was very fortunate and privileged to open the first ever Australian exhibition "Fragments" by  UK  Fibre Artist  Sue Hotchkis .  Here is a little about the techniques of this amazing textile artist from her own website  ...  Working intuitively with print and stitch, marks, textures and colours are exaggerated, intensified to reveal the detail and complexity within the images. Materials are deconstructed using modern methods, ripped, burnt and dyed. Time is invested in their reconstruction; pieces can take from a week to several months to create. Whilst being aesthetically pleasing the work can also act as a metaphor for deterioration and ruin, associated with urban decay and ultimately death and loss. They evolve organically, built up with layers of print, cloth, paper, and stitch into three-dimensional abstract forms that hover between object and image; to create a unique, visual and tactile lan...

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 ...