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!

Too Precious to Waste

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

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 wrapping str

May I Present Mrs Chalumeau...

Finally Mrs Chalumeau takes a bow …She is a Pearly Queen … 695 buttons on the doll and 10 on the journal.(I think – could be more). I would like to thank Paula from Antiques and Collectables here in Hamilton, Newcastle and Raku Buttons ETSY seller for supplying me with about 500 of the vintage mother of pearl buttons, and the rest I had in my stash. I think they look great on my pearly queen, but I am truly tired of sewing on buttons. It made me think however, how many buttons must be on the elaborate clothes of the real pearly Kings and Queens! I drew my inspiration from the lovely lady pictured here, and the following description from Wikipedia. ... A Pearly King ( feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional Cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. These costumes were treasured heirlooms, hand made and sometimes representing much of a family's wealth. .... This doll is all cloth – a little different from most of my other dolls which generally h

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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