Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

This week I spent a few days in Canberra (Australian Capital Territory)  for Rotary training and had a little bit of time to myself one afternoon to discover the wonderful art just in one Canberra precinct , New Acton. The sculptures "Time Thief" captivated me and I  sat for some time admiring the three elements  of Robin Blua's concept. The commission was co-ordinated by Pamille Berg Consulting, the Molonglo Group's public art consultant for the New Acton Precinct for the past seven years.Ms Berg said the sculptures ''show all of us what can happen when a developer is committed to ''doing things right'' in properly employing the superb skills of the professional artists and craftspeople in our midst.'...'Read more: here    The other sculptures in the precinct are just as engaging and interesting, some even more imposing and thought provoking. NewActon South is the striking centrepiece o...

Gundaroo NSW : Sally Paskins Store  Gundaroo, a village about 35km north of Canberra, takes you back in time. Most of the buildings  in the main street of the village are typical of 19th century Australia  - slab huts, wattle and daub, stone and local brick. What a delightful place! Although I lived in Canberra  for over three years, I am embarrassed to admit that I only discovered Gundaroo last week while attending a family wedding.  There are  a few arty places in Gundaroo, but I really liked the work of Leanne Percival of Clayhouse   and so Clayhouse becomes Arty Place #10 ( most likely the last arty place in this series for 2012).   I really like Clayhouse pottery ... I think there is an appealing simplicity and a  trendy cleanness  about the shapes and patterns in a "happy" colour range.  C layhouse is very much at home in Sally Paskins Store, a  slab hut,    built in 1886  wit...

Contemporary Craft Retreat in Canberra, 2012  From far and wide artists travel to Greenhills Conference Centre For  blissful days happily chatting, creating , sharing,   Silver, copper, bronze – all learning from a fun presenter Polymer, Paverpol, faux glass and felt for wearing. Lumps of clay formed dragons, camels, swans and goats. Etched metal and flower boxes – so much activity!        While Day 1 was cold enough to wear our coats Nothing stops these artists’ creativity. Nature’s beauty makes this a perfect place   To greet and meet  our friends again But we need leaders with charm and grace.   Thank you, thank you  Lex, Denise and Jen.  

Tranquil surroundings, creative and talented participants and good organization are ingredients for a great event. The Contemporary Craft Retreat was not just a great event – it was an exciting and inspirational learning experience. Congratulations must go to Lex Sorrentino, the coordinator of the retreat, who seemed to think of everything anyone might need, right down to extra cakes of soap and lolly bags for the tutors! I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead two workshops. One was  the Bio Bowl – a wet felted vessel inspired by biological beauty. The second was Message Sticks and Spirit Art Dolls with many beautiful imaginative and creative interpretations of my wrapped message stick art doll. I’m not sure anyone used  the collected wise sayings as messages,  but the dolls were inspirational on their own.     We were also privileged to see some amazing “show and tell”. This beautiful art doll by Janice Laurent was created with a bo...