Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

" Patience is a virtue. Possess it if you can . ..."  Inspired by Homer's classic "The Odyssey, Patience is  both a narrative and a metaphoric textile art tower celebrating one of life's virtues.  The four pillared structure tells the story of Penelope, the loyal wife of Odysseus. She spends twenty years at home waiting for his return from war and his travels and rejecting the attention of 108 suitors by pretending to weave a shroud for her father -in-law. She was able to ward off the suitors by stating that when she had finished weaving, she would attend to them, but little did they know that every night she undid her day’s work and the shroud was never finished.   I have always been fascinated by Penelope's story - her patience, her loyalty and of course her cleverness.  I  printed the story on tea bag paper and used the paper as the warp of the weaving to emphasise the transient nature of her waiting. For the “walls”   I chose wool a...

Textile Towers - left to right - Perseverance, Patience, Prudence  Odyssey Within is the theme of a current exhibition I am showing with my friend, Bobbi Oliver at Timeless Textiles Gallery, Newcastle, NSW. Our exhibition is a celebration of  the journey we have taken as individuals and as artist friends over the 15+ years we have known each other. My art journey started with beads and clay, followed by embroidery and textile art, and currently I would say I work in mixed media. Over the last few years, I have also included my love of literature and photography into the mix - even though I would hardly call myself a literary scholar nor a photographer! And so, the textile/mixed media towers became an idea in my head and for over a year, I have been thinking about them and  planning them, and all of a sudden, when I wanted to make towers as homages to Homer (the classical Greek poet)  for this exhibition,  I had a brain freeze - nothing! I procrastinated...

The invitations have been distributed, the work is displayed, the descriptions have been printed, the photographer has been, the flowers have been ordered, the catering has been taken care of, our friend Fay who is opening the show has arrived, I have had my hair cut..... Now breathe and enjoy!

Some of the 108 little polymer clay  heads I made and  have  stitched into one of my  exhibition  pieces, entitled "Pillars of Patience", depicting  the 108 suitors of Penelope from "The Odysssey - WS 2016  With only five weeks to set up , I have a severe case of exhibition panic. Very few pieces of work completed and to make the situation more complex, is the pressure I'm feeling embarking on my first collaborative exhibition.  There are lots of  warnings from artists about the pitfalls of collaborating for an exhibition. However, I am one of the lucky ones  ... I chose an artist friend, Bobbi Oliver who is not only talented but has an amazing work ethic and produces absolutely stunning sculptures quickly. Not sure how Bobbi feels, but I am suspecting she might be thinking she has stepped into a scenario a bit like this, described by Cissi Tsang  ... We haven't had a difference of opinion. we haven;t stamped around like rag...

"Worldly Women" series of pen and coloured pencil drawings on used tea bags for the 29 Faces Challenge in February 2016, presented to my daughter Naomi for her birthday. Naomi is Worldly Woman no. 29.