A Week of April Days

April 21 - Tea Day - Amy pouring herself a cuppa.

Sometimes, it is just fun to celebrate a week of special days when nothing very special is happening. This last week was one of those weeks for me. Starting off last Saturday, 21 April was "Tea Day" - a celebration of the amazing drink tea is. Tea is a wonderful drink that comes in a wide variety of different flavors, each of them having a distinct personality and character. It’s been used for everything from a simple morning libation to the central element of certain social and religious rituals.

April 22 - Sunrise at Hall's Gap, The Grampians , Victoria

22nd April was Earth Day which is not only a celebration but a call to protect our natural environment. it is customary for groups and individuals to mark the day with community environmental activities.

April 23 - English Language Day - Watercolour drawing and collage: Wilma Simmons

Monday 23 April was the United Nationals English Language Day English was a quiet language that began on a small cluster of islands off the coast of Western Europe, it slowly developed and spread through a few different permutations until one day, in an explosion of colonialism, it suddenly spread across the world like wildfire. It became the language of what was once the most powerful nation in the world and has since become the language of commerce in countries all over the world. English Language Day celebrates this language, its history, and its oddities! (from daysoftheyear.com)

April 24 - Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day - stitched tea bag sculpture : Wilma Simmons

Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day commemorates the day in 1915 when hundreds of Armenian intellectuals were arrested in Constantinople (Turkey) under government warrants. They were sent to exile and killed. The annihilation of the Armenian intellectuals was a part of a plan to exterminate Armenians in their homeland. I chose the image of a tea bag sculpture also to pay tribute to Armen Rotch, an Armenian artist who creates amazing tea bag installations to raise awareness of the one and half million Armenians killed in the last years of the Ottomon Empire.

April 25 - Anzac Day - Red Poppy and Nest - textile art : Wilma Simmons

ANZAC ( Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of men and women serving in wars, international conflicts and peacekeeping operations. The day was originally the day when the Anzacs attempted to take the Gallipoli peninsula against the Ottomon Empire in 1915, World War I

April 26 : Hug an Australian Day - Watercolour and ink drawings : Wilma Simmons

26 April was Hug An Australian Day. This is an annual event , founded by Thomas and Ruth Roy of the Wellcat.comwebsite. Though the origins of this event are unclear, Hug An Australian Day has quickly become popular over the last few years, and is celebrated by sending the likes of greeting cards and e-cards to Aussie friends.( from daysoftheyar.com)

April 27 - Tell a Story Day - BNeedle felted doll and teabag book : Wilma Simmons

27 April - Tell A Story Day . This is a special day celebrated in USA and the United Kingdom. The aim of the day to get participants telling, sharing and listening to each others stories. It is a celebration of the art of oral storytelling in all of its many forms, whether it be fiction or non-fiction, a tall tale, or folklore.

And so at the end of 7 very interesting days, I kept wondering tonight if I should continue ... well, at least until the end of the month - such good celebratory days coming up "Save the Frogs Day, then "Zipper Day" and "World Jazz Day" . N0 ... you just enjoy the remaining days of April!

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 ...

Lilly Pilly

Today is Australia Day. I chose a photo of some Lilly Pilly berries as a celebratory image for this national day. Lilly Pilly is a common name for a plant, Syzygium smithii which grows mostly in Eastern Australia, from the northern rain forests of Queensland, throughout NSW to the southern Wilson's Promontory in Victoria. In New Zealand it is called "monkey apple, but other names used in Australia, besides lilly pilly, are Eungella Gum and Coast Satinash. The largest Lilly Pilly recorded was found in Dingo Creek Flora Reserve, near Tenterfield where I once lived. The tree now growing in my garden was once a small seedling which I was gifted when I left Woolgoolga, a small coastal town in northern NSW. Its name is said to come from the Aboriginal word 'weelgoolga' describing the lilly pilly which grows in profusion there. It is probably no surprise that the lilly pilly berries are edible as bush tucker, and make a beautiful jam or jelly. I have even seen re...

Stitched Faces

I 've always enjoyed that imperfect line of "not quite in control' free motion machine stitching.... I think it really suits creating portraits , giving them some character and even a quirkiness that hints of personality plus. These ones below are from my " Red Cheeks" series from a couple of years ago, and are amongst my favourite stitched portraits. The current Stitch Club ( textileartist.org) workshop, by Batool Showghi has inspired me to stitch more this week. Batool , of course, is in complete control of her machine stitching and her works are exquisite and they tell a moving story. ... " Working with paper, print, paint and stitch, her textile art bears witness to displacement, silenced women and the damage that authoritarian regimes impose on ordinary lives. Batool’s mixed media wall pieces are incredibly striking, but her artist books truly set her apart. Printed imagery of family photographs, birth certificate documents and her o...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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