Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Today, 28 January is Data Privacy Day, an international effort to promote awareness about respecting privacy, safeguarding data and enabling trust. While I am surprised to hear that such a day is celebrated, I am not surprised that it exists given the breaches of online security and data theft which one hears about daily. I only need to look in my Junk email folder each morning to see the number of scams overnight that have invaded my privacy.  There seems to be a lot of bogus emails at the moment which offer 'unbelievable'  prizes in exchange for your email address and other personal details! Beware! There are many sites which give good advice about protecting your personal data. You can search yourself and you will find a myriad of links to follow.  Today I read a few  and all it did was scare me witless. It is obvious that hackers and cyber criminals are far more cunning, more intelligent and more daring than I could ever be!     The last thing I want to be

from Soft Scape -  Olivia Parsonage I have been a big fan of Olivia Parsonage's work since I discovered her soft sculptures a few years ago, and  since revisiting the  wonderful wall narrative Olivia created for her exhibition at the Newcastle Art Space in 2014, I  have become more enamoured with her people and sense of whimsy too.  Last week, I went to Olivia's exhibition at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery.....  Soft Scape  is an inviting space of colour and texture created by a multitude of fabric scraps. These remnant pieces, often small and destined for disposal, are made important and useful by becoming part of a bigger picture. The different patterns, textures and colours of the fabric appeal to the senses of sight and touch and interaction with the work is encouraged on the floor space, with the movable blocks. ( from the MRAG website) from Soft Scape - Olivia Parsonage  It was exciting to participate in Soft Scape.... there were lots of young

Art Tag 2012 - Wilma Simmons January 20 is Penguin Awareness Day - a great opportunity to learn about and appreciate one of the few natives of Antarctica. Spend a little time learning about them.... a pictorial book or internet site is fun. Perhaps watch a documentary of these cute and popular, grounded birds?  Today is  also a time to wear black and white---penguin colours. However, wearing a tuxedo in their honour is optional. It is also popular today to tell a penguin joke or two, but  I think it is worthwhile considering what wisdom can penguins impart to us?  1. EMBRACE CHANGE While gradual change is easier to process, sometimes change comes suddenly and unexpectedly. Instead of shedding feathers here and there, penguins molt all at once and must stay on land for two to three weeks as their new coat grows in. If life brings you sudden change, embrace it, give yourself time to process, and get ready to return to life renewed and restored. 2. BE SOCIAL Most penguin

Today,  January 13, is Make Your Dream Come True Day  It gives you the opportunity to do something to realize your goals and dreams. Whatever your dreams are, they usually don't come true without some effort on your part. So, today is the perfect opportunity to do something about it. On this day do something, anything, to move in the direction of achieving your dreams  I am a great believer in self talk, so here is some that I am happy to share with you.  Here are ten easy suggested steps to making dreams come true   1. What's your dream? This is honestly the trickiest step. Don't complicate it..... Start with the easy stuff. 2. Decide and believe. Many of us will pick a delicious dream for ourselves and then immediately start pecking furiously at the edges with a list of ways it can't, won't, or shouldn't work out for us. Stop that! 3. Release fear. This next step isn't a one-time event. It's probably something you're going to

"Scientist" - art tag by Wilma Simmons free form machine stitching with coloured pencil.   Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done                                                                                                                    ( Robert Heinlein) 

 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