The Birth of the Textile Towers #3

The Birth of the Textile Towers #3 - Prudence

"Prudence is a virtue that has two eyes, one that foresees what one has to do, the other examines afterwards what one has done." ... Telemachus, the son of Odysseus displays the characteristics of caution yet good judgement in the classical tale, and this textile tower is a validation of discretion and sensible reasoning in decision making. Recalling the above quotation, it is ironic that I created a figurative depiction of Telemachus, with both eyes closed yet the symbolic 'armour" is covered with a pattern of eyes. Telemachus appears as a smaller figure than the sculptures of Penelope and Odysseus, his mother and father as if his development is incomplete. The tower has three vertical poles and is the least complex of the three in construction and detailed work.

The tower "walls" feature images of maps and stitched directional aids to assist "careful planning" and the avoidance of unnecessary risks. Ancient hand drawn maps were copied onto organza, layered and stitched over hand dyed and waxed cotton.

I also chose green and earthy tones to indicate balanced efficiency and secure harmony. Some of the features of this tower are a piece of hand embroidered linen, which was then manipulated and layered and restitched by machine to create "land contours" and a motif made by pooling hot glue and then stamping into the shape while it is still warm.

Like the other figures, Telemachus is a essentially a cloth "stump" doll with a clay head, created from paper clay and them covered with butter muslin (cheesecloth) and coloured with acrylic paint.

The three towers, Perseverance, Patience and Prudence are by far the largest works in a series I have completed, and together display many different textile and mixed media art techniques. They are great resource material for any textile art student, and I hope that my explanation h=of how the towers were born has been useful. ... Please scroll down the blog posts for explanations of the other two towers.
To acquire these art works either as a series or as a stand alone art work, please contact Timeless Textiles Gallery, via the website or at 90 Hunter Street, Newcastle NSW Australia.

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 ...

29 Faces

"29 Faces " is an online art challenge - blog and Facebook . The challenge is to create a face each day of September ( with one day for catch up) .... I decided to take up the challenge to practise drawing faces for my dolls and to practise techniques with coloured pencils. I received a set of 60 pencils from my daughter last Christmas so I wanted to be sure I used them before next Christmas! I love making tags so I combined tag making with "29 Faces", so I will also have some unique Christmas gift tags for gift giving this year. Here are the first 9 faces for the first 9 days of September

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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