Being creative in 2018

Some art work from 2018 - Wilma Simmons

Reflecting on 2018, I would like to thank everyone who supported and encouraged me and assisted and taught me during the last year. I think it was a really wonderful year - I enjoyed teaching in new places like the Grampians (Victoria) and the Central Coast as well as in Sydney, Canberra and locally. I learnt so much in workshops with wonderful artists from overseas and within Australia like Jette Clover, Sophie Munns, Gaye Nieuwenhof, Patti Culea and Bobbi Oliver. I was privileged to exhibit at the Embroiderers Guild of NSW and Timeless Textiles Gallery. I have also had so much fun participating and contributing to groups like NCEATA and Gumnut Dollies in Newcastle and online with Art Dolls Only and Tag Tuesday.

Sometimes, the creative process looks like this for me, but with the support of family and so many talented friends, it all works out well in the end! Best wishes for a creative 2019...

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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...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Ethereal Threads : Textile Art

Meredith Woolnough is a beautiful talented young artist. Her current work is exquisite, stunning, engaging and awe inspiring. As you can see from the images, Meredith reproduces the beauty of nature in stitch – literally thousands of metres of embroidery thread stitched onto a background which is later dissolved. What remains is like a delicate “skeleton", but somehow with depth of colour, movement and strength. I think what is conveyed in Meredith’s work is overwhelmingly the love and reverence for her natural subject matter and her intimate knowledge of its structure. Meredith’s latest exhibition is called “Ethereal Threads”, superbly presented at Timeless Textiles. It is a collection of framed fine art which demonstrates Meredith’s attention to the details of presentation – each of the large pieces is pinned to archer paper and the play of shadow on the paper enhances the beauty of each. There are finely detailed delic...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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