Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

The  Stitched Up in Sydney  exhibition showcases the work of 19 contemporary textile artists in response to the history of the Newcastle Industrial School and Reformatory for Girls. It brings to life the tragic stories of 193 girls sent to the school between 1867 and 1871, an era of poverty, hardship and discrimination. Girls under 16 were sent to the school when they were destitute, homeless, in the care of criminals or had been arrested for a crime. In a mandatory 12-month stay, they were taught basic literacy, along with stitching, and set to sewing clothing and household items as a cost recovery exercise. Timeless Textiles Anne Kempton and Wilma Simmons co-curated the Stitched-Up exhibition at Newcastle’s Lock Up Contemporary Art Space last year. The contributing textile artists used materials reflecting the cloth and colours that would have been used by the girls to make functional items during their time at the school. Some of these items would have been used, reuse

It was  very exciting  to celebrate  International Women's Day 2018 with the launch Timeless Textiles’ new community art project, “Out of the Wood” for International Women’s Day 2019. Here is the launch live...  “Out of the Wood” is a creative mixed media community project using recycled timber, textiles and fibres to create small works of art, to raise funds for a community organizations supporting the homeless. Building on the success of previous art and fundraising projects like   “Letting Go “ and ‘Flying Free” , participants are invited to come together at Timeless Textiles ( 90 hUnter Strret, Newcastle NSW , Australia )  on Wednesdays, 10.30am - 12.30pm to work collaboratively, share ideas, learn new   textile art techniques and be inspired and inspire others.   The Wednesday workshops are free and lots of fun and the basic materials are provided.   Special thanks to Round 2Timbers Pty Ltd for the donation of the timber for this project  The maj

Photo transfer collage - marker photo transfer, fabric, eco dye, tea bags,stitching - Wilma Simmons  Happy International Women's Day to strong, accomplished and beautiful women everywhere.  The theme for 2018 International Women's Day is  PRESS FOR PROGRESS .... Last year, the World Economic Forum 's Global Generation Gap report indicated that gender parity is over 200 years away. There has never been a better time for women and men to strive towards gender  equity.  And while we know that gender parity won't happen overnight, the good news is that across the world women are making positive gains day by day.  International Women's Day is not country, group or organisation specific. The day belongs to all groups collectively everywhere ...Let's all  Press for Progress . Today at a personal level, I'm celebrating the achievements of women before me and the progress in the status of women. I acknowledge there is still a way to go, but today let's c

These beautiful phalaenopsis orchids are happily blooming, growing in a pot on my dining room table. Sometimes they are referred to as moth orchids, because apparently a botanist from Sweden first saw them through binoculars in Java in the 1750's and thought the orchids were a cluster of moths ( probably not this colour). Such a mundane name for such an exotic flower, I think, but then moth lovers may think differently?   Coincidentally, I am currently researching aspects of Chinese art for an essay, and it appears that the orchid traditionally, of all flowers, has had a significant impact on Chinese culture and society. Confucius particularly had somewhat of an obsession with orchids. He gave the orchid a noble character, drawing a connection between his own personal situation and those of wild orchids  ....  Confucius was shown to have developed a special love for the orchid from an early age. It happened that he had been seeking a ministerial job with the emperors of the

Unseasonal Spring Flowers #1 - tea stains and stitching : Wilma Simmons  I am sure this is not what Tag Tuesday followers will be expecting for the theme of Spring Flowers. My tags this week aren't the popular beautiful interpretations of favourite Spring garden flowers - they are monochrome tea stained canvas tags, with hand stitching. I think it is amazing when you put wet tea bags onto canvas, the shapes of the tea stains are so like flowers and  when the tea stain from the string makes a line,  it looks just like a stem. Unseasonal Spring Flowers #2 - tea stains and stitching : Wilma Simmons  While those in the northern hemisphere are really looking forward to Spring and a burst of floral colour, we in the southern hemisphere are experiencing the end of summer and depending on where you live,  perhaps a little Autumn breeze and a slight drop in temperature. So, my tags represent Spring flowers-  out of season. Unseasonal Spring Flowers #1 and #2 - tea stains and