When the garden takes over ....

Stitching a 'garden' background - Wilma Simmons

Using gardens as inspiration for art is long established practice in the fine arts, including textile arts. Monet's painting are amongst my favourite artworks and there is no shortage of treatises about the gardens in art.

https://www.booktopia.com.au/monet-s-garden-in-art-debra-n-mancoff/book/

Some of my favourite textile artists ( like Anne Kelly) turn to gardens as a source of unending inspiration.

https://www.textileartist.org/small-worlds-recycled-textile-art-by-anne-kelly

In a considerably more humble way, I have recently been featuring plants from our garden in my small wearable art pin series for #the100dayproject. Although we are in the winter phase of the garden where the colour palette is a more subdued, there are still some beautifully bright flowers, like the purple black eyed African daisies, late summer marigolds, tiny native violets and their potted cousins, violas. Even the pure white rice flower plant appears to be shining in the soft sunshine .
Leaves from deciduous trees and plants even put on a display of colour as they turn Autumn gold and red - I have particularly enjoyed stitching these rich colours. Even on the greyest of days, there is always something which attracts interest in the garden , even if it is a single leaf on the ground or caught in a spider web, or vegetable seedlings growing up towards the garden supports.

#100pinpoems - Wilma Simmons

I could honestly say that the garden has taken over my days - not only trying to get some late produce seedlings into the ground, but also taking photos and then interpreting my garden views in stitch.

I wonder if the benefits of gardening will be doubled if I both spend some time tending the garden as well as depicting it in my art activities? Let's hope so...

https://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/blog/why-gardening-is-good-for-you/

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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 ...

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 ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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