Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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...

Continuing the series of  Arty Places ,  last week, I visited a great  little shop, Feltfine   .  Feltfine is a wonderful resource and treasure trove of fibres at 156 Beaumont Street, Hamilton ( Newcastle NSW) . It has everything for felters, spinners and weavers and for those who just love beautiful felted art, whether it is decorative, utilitarian or wearable. Creating a visual heaven for fibre artists are fine felted items, fleece, fibres, silk, and dyes and other supplies.  It was a lovely surprise and an exciting discovery for me. Recently I have not been such a frequent visitor to  Beaumont Street, since Anne's Glory Box moved to New Lambton. However, I realise I'll be there much more often now with  both Timeless Textiles and Feltfine in the same street. My purchase was not terribly exciting this time, but  I'll be going back. Great service by Kris and fantastic fibres made shopping at Feltfine a re...

In my 2011 series of  blog posts on  inspiring Arty Places, I am very excited to  feature the newest gallery in Newcastle -  Timeless Textiles , a rare treasure amongst art galleries which is devoted to celebrating excellence in fibre art. When I first visited, I was stunned by so much beauty in one place and left reluctantly but feeling culturally and spiritually uplifted. Anne Kempton, the owner of this special art space, is committed to sharing her passion for textile art and has worked tirelessly for months to make her dream a reality of the finest quality... some images of the fibre art currently displayed in Timeless Textiles.     The first exhibition, Revealed:Uncovering the Beauty of Fibre Art will showcase  the finest work of international, national and regional  fibre artists  and the invitation encourages you to to "immerse yourself in the complex beauty of traditional and contemporary textile pract...

Felted balls like these are really easy to make - a great project for beginners...   It all started when my mother sent me a cutting from an old magazine about felting balls.  I read the instructions and this seemed very simple - so simple that I could do it while babysitting. I thought it would be a good afternoon activity and felting lesson for my one year old granddaughter who was suffering from a cold on Monday and was tired of playing with toys! I got her interest by putting the sticky tape and two bottle tops on her little plastic table ... and so the process began. Step1 :  Making the rattle for inside the ball  - take two bottle tops and put some little stones inside one and tape the other on top. Check that the tape is secure. Step 2: Gathering wool supplies - you will need some wool for the core of the ball ( wool roving, pieces of an old woollen garment or blanket.), some wool roving for the outside of the ball and some novelty yarns, s...