Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

It's a Wrap   is  my newly devised workshop to be offered in 2011... wrapped art dolls. During the last couple of weeks, I have been busily trying to create a few samples for the workshop promotion. My ideas behind the concept for this workshop were: 1) make an art doll without a sewing machine; 2) use found objects and 'recycled'and 'upcycled' materials; 3 ) use  one or more wrapping techniques: and 4) include a surprise or something unexpected as part of the doll.  All of the dolls also use polymer clay and some have air dry clay bases as well. And so here is  the first of the samples "Unravelling" - no sewing at all, an armature made from sticks, wrapped with leftover wool, and an old bead sample, and for the unexpected, the doll is starting to be unravelled by a little bird nesting on her head. Sample 2 " Clearing away the Cobwebs" is made the the same way ... This one is my own favourite, although I took ages to make the cobweb. A reworki...

Last weekend, I was very privileged to be one of the tutors at the NCEATA (Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) creative Retreat at Kurri. My workshop was entitled “Felted Fashion and Fallalery’ (fallalery is the creation of useless, trifling items). Here are some of my samples – the Compass Doll series. South Seas,  Western Landscape, Northern Lights, East Wind. These were made using the plastic resist method, wet felted merino wool  and silk. The faces are polymer clay, and the bodies embellished with simple embroidery, beads, metal pieces, sequins   My workshop group was thirteen talented and enthusiastic women, including a delightful student who made some wonderful accessories for her HSC textile art.   We were all very productive, had lots of fun and enjoyed one another’s company and artistic support.   The venue was the TAFE campus at Kurri Kurri, with wonderful accommodation facilities and great food at the Conference ...