Fearless Flowers Support Funding Fairness for Ovarian Cancer Research

Since 9 May this year, the Wednesday Group - Fearless Flowers has been busily creating beautiful hand made textile flowers to thank donors who support the Pink Meets Teal campaign for ovarian cancer research in Australia, and advocacy for funding fairness and equity for ovarian cancer research and treatment advancement.

We have received excellent media coverage on television, radio and in print and electronic media

From the ABC News 8 June 2019...
The Fearless Flowers project, launched a month ago, is already gathering momentum, with national and international artists making a commitment to get on board.

Newcastle's Timeless Textiles gallery, Australia's only commercial textiles gallery, is home to the community art group, which is driving the national campaign.

Situated at the historic Newcastle Lock-Up building, in the former women's exercise yard, members of the group are working industriously every Wednesday.

A woman in an orange cardigan holds a completed felt flower.

PHOTO: The hand-made Fearless Flowers, made by members of the Timeless Textiles Wednesday group, will be sold on International Womens Day in March 2020. (ABC Newcastle: Anthony Scully)

Coordinator Wilma Simmons said the handmade flowers, made by members, would be sold on International Women's Day in 2020, to support ovarian cancer research at the Hunter Medical Research Institute via Pink Meets Teal.

"We have received flowers from international artists and we are hoping that people will gather in their own communities — get a small group of friends — and perhaps create flowers for Fearless Flowers as well," Ms Simmons said.

At the launch of Fearless Flowers in Newcastle on May 8, Ms Simmons said the group was motivated by a desire to give back to the community.

"We think, as a group, we're very fortunate," she said.

"Most of us have had very successful careers in the past and we also think that we need to give back to our community as well."

A lady with silver hair and a green cardigan with a group of textile artists in the background

PHOTO: Wilma Simmons says the group is motivated by a desire to give back to the community. (ABC Newcastle: Anthony Scully)

Here is more of the ABC news video coverage of Fearless Flowers.

We are often asked what an individual can do to help ....
1. Come along to the Wednesday group at Timeless Textiles and create a flower (s) - any week, 10.30am - 12.30pm
2. Make a flower at home and either give it to someone who will donate to #Pink Meets Teal or send the flower to us. ( Timeless Textiles, 90 Hunter Street, Newcastle East NSW 2300
3. Gather a group of friends and make some flowers together and hold you own fundraising and donate the proceeds to #Pink Meets Teal.
4. Think of other innovative and creative fundraising events you can conduct in your own community.
5. Sign the Petition for funding fairness for ovarian cancer research.

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...

Countdown to Christmas 15 - Diamonds Forever!

How much would you pay for a Christmas fruitcake? The world's most expensive fruit cake has been estimated at $1.65 million. Yesterday, I wrote about the less than positive term "Christmas cake as it is applied to unmarried women, so again it amazed me that in Tokyo, this most exquisite and expensive Christmas cake was created. It took six months to design and another full month to construct. The beautiful cake is fully edible ... that is except for the 223 real diamonds used as decoration. This cake was part of an exhibition called Diamonds: Nature's Miracle and was one of 16 exhibits showcasing creative ways with diamonds . Apparently, the cake was auctioned, fetching $1.65 million US. While there have been other very expensive diamond encrusted cakes since this one in 2005 with estimated values of up to $75 million, this Japanese designed cake was the forerunner of the extravagant diamond studded wedding cakes in the higher price r...

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...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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