Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

‘ The Timelessness of Stitch’ was an invitational group exhibition at Timeless Textiles Gallery, Newcastle NSW , 1 April  – 10 May 2026   ….  Across generations and cultures, the act of stitching has woven together stories, traditions and identities. Each thread carries not only aesthetic value but also the memories and emotions of those who crafted it, demonstrating how this simple act transcends time and place. I was honoured and humbled to be amongst the twenty-three artists (national and international) participating in this exhibition. My small installation took some time to develop…. Although I knew about this exhibition for some time, I kept procrastinating, going from one idea to another and not settling on any. Recently, I came across the word “mercator” and while a vague notion of maps was recalled, I really needed to research. Besides the modern commercial connections, Mercator has its origins in cartography, which Is often a source of inspiration for my ...

  From a recent  Fibre Arts Take Two online course - Processes and Possibilities - Cordula Kagelmann  Photos :. Reflection #1 Materials - gelli plate prints and postage stamp image transfer, cotton thread As I reflect on 2021 and as Christmas approaches, I think of the unsettled and disturbed times Covid 19 has brought to us personally, nationally and globally. The Christmas stamp as a feature in this collage, suggests the feeling of protection and peaceful calm the support of loved ones provides. It symbolises hope and its possibility while the torn gelli plate prints remind me of the surrounding chaos. 2. Reflection #2 Materials - magazine pages, threads In this collage, the restrictions and lockdown experienced during the Covid crisis of this year are experiences that have complex layers of self discovery and emotion - fear, anger, happiness, peace, anxiety , sadness and gratitude … While there were harsher social restrictions in 2021 , there were so many stories of h...

 Chatting with Anne Kempton , Timeless Textiles Gallery,  about my textile art portrait of artist friend , Margaret Adams  - exhibition re- opening on  4 November  .  ‘Ain’t the Archies ‘ Exhibition      https://youtu.be/rZKbzvjjsWA Timeless Textiles Gallery 90 Hunter Street , Newcastle NSW 

 Quite surprisingly, I rate marigolds as one of my favourite flowers. Although the marigold has some rather negative connotations, developed in Victorian England, I like to concentrate on the happier, more positive meanings it has...  What do marigolds symbolize? Commonly referred to as the 'herb of the sun', we associate the flowers' fiery yellow, orange, and red hues with the warmth, happiness, joy, optimism, and good luck. Yet, marigolds also symbolizes darker emotions such as jealousy, grief, despair, and mourning  (https://www.petalrepublic.com/marigold-flower-meaning/  In my recent exhibition "Enveloping ,   marigolds were featured a lot in my textile artworks, including a few of the "garden Threads" art dolls. I drew my inspiration from my own garden where marigolds have even found their way into my vegetable garden. The marigolds in the  textile artworks above are appliqued and stitched.  I coupled these bright orange flowers wit...

  This year , I have spent a lot of time practising free motion stitching on my sewing machine, a Bernina 550.   Earlier in the year, I had one of my machine stitched artworks, "Take Time" chosen for the exhibition, "Stole the Show, curated by Rod Pattenden.  This was created using the machine's set stitch patterns on collaged fabric.  The  newer work, "Finding Gold"  doesn't use any set designs. It is free motion stitching, which is really like free hand drawing, with the needle in the sewing machine like a pencil. The only difference is that the fabric is moved rather than the needle - just like moving the paper rather than the pencil. Sometimes, I think free motion machine stitching  is like rubbing your tummy and patting your head simultaneously, but with practice, the action of moving the fabric under the needle and keeping the machine whirring in a rhythm becomes comfortable.   "Finding Gold"  started as one of my practic...

I feel very fortunate this week  to have visited the "Step into Paradise" exhibition at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum, Museum of  Applied Arts and Science... it was enthralling, amazing, and inspiring.  From the museum website .... J enny Kee and Linda Jackson: Step into Paradise  is the first in-depth survey that captures the dynamic energy of Linda and Jenny’s creative partnership. It draws on more than four decades of one of the most influential pairings in the history of Australian fashion, examining the influences, inspirations and the compelling stories behind their work. Honoured as Officers in the Order of Australia for their contributions to Australia’s fashion industry, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson transformed the nation’s fashion and cultural heritage with their pioneering style inspired by Australia’s cultural and natural landscape, melded with their global influences. The exhibition begins with their creative partnership in the 1970...

I Here is flashback to a couple of  years ago - one of the most popular posts and one of my favourites... I hope you enjoy reading it again. I am soon to re photograph these dolls for a publication, so it was timely to republish this post.  Sunday, July 9, 2017 Wednesday's Children and Others. STITCHED UP is now in its third week of exhibition and breaking all records of visitors - such an overwhelming response - so it is inevitable that a few people have had their photos taken with Wednesday's children,  the stick doll installation.... First of all, Ben, a member of the amazing installation team at The Lock-Up. Thanks for taking such care installing 'the girls' - the digital laser level worked wonders and did I hear you talking to a few them?  Ben from the  installation team The Lock-Up  Wednesday's children up on the wall.  Then, of course , my own family - not all posit...

Mandala XIV - hand stitched mandala - Annette Tubnor  Classic theme inspires Newcastle artists ...   Source :  Timeless Textiles website  The artists and makers who are members of the Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists (NCEATA) were challenged to respond in  “Black and White” for a new exhibition opening this month at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery.  Black and White Art Works  by Ruth Spence, Anne-Marie Kelly and Karen Murray  For many of the textile artists, who typically love to explore the richness of colour in their work, the  “Black and White” theme led them to previously uncharted territory. Wilma SImmons said the NCEATA artists had worked creatively with the black and white palette.“When black and white take centre stage, an artist’s message, and their emotions, shine through” she said. “Stripping out colours adds clarity and depth to their chosen subject.” Detail of "Is it Just Black and...

Art work : Jette Clover  Artists cross borders in new exhibition Borders are confronted, interpreted and defined by nine textile artists in a new exhibition opening at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery in October. The Crossing Borders exhibition displays the results of a masterclass taught by Danish fibre artist and teacher Jette Clover. Conducted over nine months, the masterclass encouraged the students to explore the literal, political, cultural, symbolic and psychological meaning of a border.  They experimented with techniques and materials to visually express borders through lines, seams, folds, shadows, colours, and textures. A border makes distinction between adjoining elements and spaces, and can either separate or link those elements and spaces. In everyday usage, border most often refers to a physical obstruction. It is associated with cultural and political diversity. Borders often mark language barriers and can create feelings of inside/outside and us/them...

This time last year was a frantic time of preparing for the "Stitched Up" exhibition opening at "The Lock Up" Newcastle, NSW , Australia.  Here is a beautiful visual record of the memorable experience of being involved in this exhibition and honouring 193 previously forgotten girls from The Newcastle Industrial School 1867-1871.  Thanks to co curator, Anne Kempton from Timeless Textiles Gallery,  Nancy Crawford for the narration of this video ( Nancy is one of the featured artists in this exhibition ) and Konrad Breuers for the video imagery.  Thank also to all the artists who participated in this project and to Jane Ison, whose research made this project possible and real.  Wilma Simmons ( Co-curator, Stitched Up ) 

"Remembering" - Wood, Clay and Cloth Sculpture : Wilma Simmons  Thank you to all who voted in the  recent People's Choice - Brooching the Subject Competition  held at Timeless Textiles Gallery ( Newcastle NSW Australia) . Special thanks if you happened to vote for my entry, 'Remembering',  a wall brooch pictured above. The winner with the most votes online was a beautiful felted piece, another wall brooch, entitled "  Papevero (Italian Poppy) " by Becky Williams. Papevero : Becky Williams from  https://timelesstextiles.com.au/past-exhibitions/ The competition in the gallery was judged by renowned Queensland artist, Sylvia Watt - Here is  a video of what Sylvia decided and  said about the brooches...  1. Water Guardian : Alysn Midgelow-Marsden ; 2. Amelia : Judith Bee ; 3. We are Connected - Trudi Nisbet  All of the brooches can be viewed on the Timeless Textiles Gallery website here . Congratulations to all the artists ...

This Sunday 6th May, I will be running a workshop, 'Making Messenger of the Peace Dolls' in conjunction with the "Stitched up in Sydney" exhibition. With the  exhibition being a huge success,  this workshop is nearly booked out! If you can't make the workshop,  I  will also  be hosting a curator's talk afterwards from 4-6pm.    If you are interested in  securing one of the last spots in the workshop or coming to the curators talk, please give  The Embroiderers' Guild NSW a call and they can give you more information on requirements and pricing! Phone 02 9743 2501 or 02 9743 2293 Workshop requirements: Please bring: a stick ( approx. 25cm-30cm long. However, size is not important -we can always cut it down to size) , small quantities/strips of favourite fabric (this can be any type - new or old , cotton, polyester, wool or felt), threads in coordinating or contrasting colours, a small quantity of alfoil (about 1 metre). If you are ...