Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Last week, our area was struck by a massive storm. Winds of up to 135 km per hour and driving rain, more than a monthly average overnight. Most our neighbourhood and many others were without electricity and phone coverage for four or five days, with some areas hoping to have power restored today after ten days. In other places, there was flooding and some towns have been isolated with some roads still impassable.  Today our local newspaper  The Newcastle Herald  published a special tribute to the "storm troopers" - emergency services  and volunteers who are still working day and night to try to put communities back together. I know that this localised disaster seems insignificant next to the earthquake in Nepal, but here are the numbers which make it real for those who are suffering in our own community.  These are some of the storm statistics as published: - 7 fatalities - 90 rescues - 250,000 calls to Ausgrid (electricity) - 5200 calls to Sate Emergency ...

Visiting " Leaves of Distinction " Exhibition- Rebecca and Andrais from  the Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea  To say the last month has been busy is an understatement. This weekend, my work will be in three art exhibitions in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley. "Leaves of Distinction" continues at Timeless Textiles Gallery, 90 Hunter Street, Newcastle East until 12 October. I have been overwhelmed by the number of visitors to the exhibition already and the positive response. Thank you to all who have visited either in person, or the online virtual tour here  or  photographer Henk Tobbe's Flickr page  . Today, NCEATA (Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) opened a group exhibition at the Cessnock Regional Art Gallery, which will continue there until 26 October. I have two art works in this exhibition - Valley Girls - one depicts the colour of the tourist aspect of the wine industry in the Hunter Valley and the other, with eco dyed fabr...

Hunter Art Bazaar  9 Sept 2012  It was a glorious Spring day yesterday for the Hunter Art Bazaar in the beautiful location of the Hunter Valley Gardens (the vineyards , near Newcastle, New South Wales). We had all hoped the very windy  and wild conditions of the previous few days would disappear and we were not at all disappointed. We couldn't have imagined a more beautiful day for enjoying the amazing talents of  the artists of our region. Yes it was windy last week, but the "whirlwind"  I refer to was not caused naturally. It was activated by the "turbulence" created by a week of running workshops, trying to finish off a few items for the art bazaar, and complete the month's assignments for the blog challenge " Tag Tuesday ". I seem to have managed .... lots of little dolls , some temari, and some old stock helped the NCEATA (Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) stall. Fortunately, my creative partners all experienced si...

Who could resist this welcoming sign? I was told that this was the place with great coffee and scones but the recommendation didn’t mention the wonderful surprising bonus - the ART! I visited this really inviting, appealing, quirky and interesting art space last week - David Mahony Art Gallery and Coffee House - in Sandy Hollow on the Golden Highway Upper Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Here are some facts about Sandy Hollow • Village on the Golden Highway bordering Wollemi National Park • Overshadowed by the dramatic sandstone hills of the Giant’s Leap • 255 km north of Sydney, population 140 Sandy Hollow was originally a campsite for travellers at the junction of the Goulburn River Valley and Halls Creek. The surrounding area was settled by pioneering graziers in the 1820s. The town achieved a brief moment of fame when Captain Thunderbolt, the bushranger, held up the Denman-Merriwa mail service in the 1860s. The tourist website blurb does not mention David Mahony’s sculptu...