My Crafty Morning

Alan & I got into the shop around 7.30am this morning. After coffee and donuts with the Derelicts and Donuts mob I got stuck in. I hand painted some merino tops with thickened dye . This is for an upcoming project. Next job was to package up some  more fabric beads. These have been sitting finished on the bench for almost a week. I needed the bench space so motivation took over. I wanted to dye some fringing but wasn’t really in the mood for mixing up another batch of dye for something so small. I had a little of the original colour so I mixed some colour using the “Guess or by God” method of fabric dyeing. The large spot was the original colour the smaller spot my mix. Pretty close, I reckon. I’m happy with that. In it went. While I was waiting I started on another project.
I bought these large wooden macramé beads from a garage sale a while back. The 2 shiny ones are the original condition. I sanded back the others in preparation for a primer coat. I’m not sure what colours they will be but I do know what I’m going to do with them. They will be a focal bead in a new Kumihimo design I’m planning.Next job was to prep for making paper beads from some hand dyed paper. These won’t be available for a couple of days, they still needed a little extra oomph. I do like these. And finally it was time to reveal the colour of the fringing. I’m even happier than I thought I would be. Turns out the fringing isn’t 100% rayon so the colour appears variegated. Serendipity.
Not bad for less than 4 hours.

Craft Punk

Sydneysiders are in for a treat this weekend, 30th April – 1st May. The Powerhouse Museum is holding the first in a series of quarterly craft weekends. The weekend is packed with hands-on activities for all ages. There are drop in workshops which are free with Museum admission. The other textile workshops that have an additional charge plus require booking.

You can learn to knit contribute to making a blanket with Wrap With Love Inc.  On display are some beautiful hand knitted blankets made bysome of the many Wrap With Love Inc. community volunteers. You can join members of the Lace Guild and lace-making Museum Volunteers who will show you the basic techniques of Bobbin lace making, tatting and crocheting. 

In the Children in the loop! Zone, join hands-on activities for families and children including knitting, lace-making and paper weaving (suitable for ages 4 and over). Also for younger ones is Discover Lace, learn about bobbin lace with some of the Museum’s talented Lace Volunteers and make a small piece of lace in shape of a fish to take home!

You can also try your hand at making a Zipper Mouth monster with Colette Guanta.For more information and bookings visit the Powerhouse Museum

Alphabet Brooches

The weekend before Easter saw a rush on Alphabet Brooches. I make these from scraps of my Eco Dyed Fabric and Threads. I start by couching the threads onto the fabric to create letters.  Add a little extra embellishment.
Before sewing the fabric onto a piece of felt.
The brooch is attached to another piece of felt. Then I sew the 2 pieces of felt together with blanket stitch before popping onto a paint chip.

Boat Race

Good Friday is the start of the annual Brisbane to Gladstone Boat Race. Ever since I was a kid we went down to the Woody Point Cliffs to watch the boats sail past. Hmmmmm? Not many people here. It seems this year, for some unknown reason, the start was pushed back from 11am until 12 noon. We must have missed that memo. Never mind we got our pick of spots. By the time the race kicked off there was wall to wall people. Yes, they would be the people who got the memo.

It seemed like a really fine day but it was little hazy on the horizon. Got to love super zoom. We stayed until the big boats had sailed past before heading home.  

BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market

The wait is over. Another BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market is going to light up King George Square on 29 April 2011.

The Twilight Markets offer a unique home-grown experience like no other event of its kind in Australia. These Friday night markets combine the laid-back attitude of south-east Queensland with the buzz of Brisbane’s CBD to create a lantern lit celebration of local independent art, craft and design.

Meander through the stalls of over 60 emerging and established local artisans who specialise in producing soulful and stylish handmade wares with a unique Queensland twist. With a café, restaurant and bar onsite along with the sounds of Brisbane’s premier jazz bands wowing the crowds, this is late night shopping like you’ve never experienced it!

For more information Contact: brisstylemarketing@gmail.com or visit http://brisstyle.blogspot.com/

Hospital Crafts

Over the last couple of weeks my Mum has been quite ill in hospital. I don’t do the sitting quietly by the bedside very well. I need something to keep me occupied so I’ve dragged out some hand sewing. I started out embellishing the bag then decided to finish the whole thing by hand. The hospital floor was littered with fall out from the stuffing. Earned me a few disapproving looks. While I was on a roll making pin cushions I decided to make a few more slippers and turn them into pin cushions as well. Lucky for me that I didn’t spill any seed beads on the floor. That may well have got me kicked out.

Doctors advise that Mum is likely to spend at least 4 weeks in rehab so I guess I will get more hand sewing done over the next month or so.That is unless I can convince them to let me set up my sewing machine. I suppose dyeing is out of the question?????

Embroiderers’ Guild Wrap Up

Last Sunday I attended the Qld Embroiderers’ Guild’s Mothers’ Day Fair. I have done a number of the annual Christmas Fairs however this was the first time the dates for Mothers’ Day didn’t clash with something else. I was upstairs this time. They have a policy of 2 fairs up and 2 fairs down. This has lead me to develop my own policy of only taking the amount of stock that I will feel like lugging back down the stairs at the end of the day. Lucky for me by the time I thought to take photos I didn’t have much left at all and by the end of the day I did 1 trip down the stairs. According to the more experienced Mothers' Day vendors this isn’t as busy as the Christmas one. I did find though that customers spent longer looking with many coming back through for a second look. If you are in Brisbane keep your eye out for these fairs, they are lovely days. 

The Crafter’s Way 177 – Easter Craft Blogs

 The Messenger doesn’t publish for a couple of weeks over Easter. This week’s post, Easter Blogs, is the last until the 8th of May. Make sure you read all the way to the end to learn about the The Reincarnated Kimono Project.

It’s almost the time of the year when we get to indulge in too much chocolate, enjoy time off with the family and school holidays. To help you pre-plan some craft activities for the kids I found some blog sites with some fun, simple and inexpensive Easter Crafts.

http://purlbee.squarespace.com/bunny-finger-puppets/ I love this site. Their tutorials are always well written with lots of images describing the steps. The Bunny Finger Puppets tutorial is no exception. Using inexpensive felt this is suitable for children 8yrs+. Younger children may need a little adult assistance. Have a look around while you are there, you will find heaps of other interesting tutorials for when the kids go back to school.

http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/272-favorite-easter-crafts This area of the Kaboose site has 26 different Easter craft activities. They have made it easy to choose which ones you want to do. Just scroll through full size images of the finished item, click and you will be taken directly to the instructions. Many of these easter themed crafts could be modified for other theme. e.g. The Bunny Bag could easily be modified to a Santa Bag.

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/holiday_eastercrafts.htm This site is perfect for the non- crafty parent to assist with. Simple and perfect for the younger children in the family.

 http://familyfun.go.com/easter/easter-crafts/all-easter-crafts/ This is my favourite Easter Craft, probably because it reuses junk mail. The Easter Basket made from magazines is effective. You can use pretty paper if you wish. An activity for older children. And now for something completely different. An exhibition, The Reincarnated Kimono Project will be on display at Hanasho, 5/235 Boundary Street West End until  April 31^st.

This is a group exhibition featuring fifteen local artists and their diverse range of art pieces and crafts created using fabric taken from two vintage kimonos. The Artists each examined the versatility of vintage fabric, two vintage kimonos, and reinterpreted it in their own medium.  Final pieces include mixed media artworks, fashion, softies, jewellery, fabric origami, bags and a quilt.

Embroiderer’s Guild Mother’s Day Fair

The Qld Embroiderers’ Guild’s Mothers Day Fair is on again tomorrow at their Brunswick St Headquarters.I will be there with lots of goodies from TrishAlan Designs. I’m fully stocked with our Eco Dyed Threads in Silk, Rayon and Cotton.

I have a few Kumihimo Necklaces made from our Eco Dyed Threads and Fringing. Quite a few different styles of Kumihimo Bracelets. Gumballs were really popular last year so they to go again. As do the charms. If I finish embellishing these fabric beads in time they will be available as well. I’ll also have copies of my book, How to Teach Art & Craft, as well as kumi kits and stands.

The Mothers Day Fair runs until midday so no snoozing or you will miss out on all the handmade treasures.

Spreading the Love.

It is funny how people seem to to say the nicest things we we need to hear it the most. This week I received 2 lovely emails from recent The Crafter’s Way interview subjects. A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on Rick Howarth’s Respawned Art. He sent me this thank you email.

“Hi Trish,

Yes I did get a copy and it was awesome!Thanks heaps for that, it’s probably the best article anybody has done about my art. There was a noticeable spike in activity on my website.” No sooner had I thought “how sweet” when an email from Cath Macauley arrived in my inbox. Cath’s article was last week’s The Crafter’s Way column. “Hi Trish

Love the article for the messenger!!!

Thankyou so much.” 

Who said the art of writing Thank you Notes was dead?

Lessons I’ve Learnt 16 - Mentors

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve explored the concepts of Muse and Role Model. Most Creatives can say that at some stage they have had both a Muse and a Role Model. Often the Muse or Role Model have absolutely no idea what impact they are having on your life. Today we will finish this series by exploring the concept/term of Mentor.

Mentoring is not new, in fact it has been around since the Ancient Greeks, there was actually somebody called Mentor. Mentoring is about one person helping another to achieve something important to them.It is a personal development relationship where the the experienced person guides the less experienced.

Mentoring can fall under 2 categories; informal and formal. Both can be beneficial.Informal mentoring develops on its own without either party seeking their role. In this situation it is very easy for the Mentor to to try to duplicate their own skills and values in the Protégé.

A Formal Mentoring Relationship is more structured with agreed goals, timeframes and review periods. Many Creatives feel uncomfortable with structure believing their artistic flair will be stifled. But what if your are not seeking a mentoring relationship for your art practice? What if it was to develop and grow your business? These are all things that will help you achieve your dreams.

A good Mentor will:

• Guide
• Encourage
• Problem solve
• Respect confidentiality
• Not tell you what to do
• Not do for you
• Respect your values
• Understand the concept of Sow & Reap
• Challenge

Challenge? But I thought this was all touchy feely? No. Are you seeking a Mentor to validate what you are already doing? If so save your money. You’ve heard the quote,”keep doing what you’ve always done and you will keep getting what you’ve always got.” You want your Mentor to challenge your thoughts and actions. This will help clarify your goals. 

Many people seek out a Mentor in the same field that they are in. Not a bad point to start. Here is a Lesson I Learnt. I found that too often unpaid Mentors in the same field were only willing to assist to a point. They were often conscious of protecting their patch. To overcome this dilemma either be prepared to pay somebody to mentor you or go outside of your field.

I have done both. When paying for the relationship I looked for a Mentor who understood the concept of Reap and Sow. Personally I found that Mentors outside of my field have been the most beneficial. They had absolutely no idea about art or craft but they all knew how to be successful in business. With their guidance I have been able to move away from duplicating exactly what everybody else has done, carving out my own path. In fact now others are duplicating me.Time for a new Mentor.

This brings me to my last point. It is unlikely that the Mentor you choose today will still be your Mentor in 2 years time. Times and your life change. A good Mentor should identify when it is time for you to move on.Most people choose to have a Mentor to move themselves out of a rut. Be careful you don’t develop a mentoring rut.

The Crafter’s Way 176 – I Heart These

Cath Macauley is a local Craft Artist who specialises in sculpture and making pieces of Ceramic Wearable Art. Ceramic Art is the technical term for clay sculpture and pottery. It is a term predominantly used overseas. In Australia we seem to seem to confuse ceramic art with hobby ceramics and paint a plate. Cath studied Ceramics at Seven Hills College of Art, South Brisbane TAFE and the QUT at Kelvin Grove and concluded with a Bachelor of Visual Arts majoring in ceramics.

Like most Craft Artists Cath dabbled in many craft mediums such as spinning, weaving, sewing, knitting, crochet and even some macramé before settling on ceramic art. “During high school I was invited to be a part of the Young Artist of the Commonwealth Exhibition that toured London, Edinburgh and Zimbabwe. And later went on to study art and predominantly ceramics. Having two young children made it difficult to do large sculptures and so in time I started to do smaller sculptures that were easier to manage,” recalls Cath.

While Cath loves creating large ceramic sculptures the associated cost in both time and money was prohibitive with a young family. To keep working with materials she loves Cath chose to work around the kitchen table and to work on smaller pieces. With Australians being high level consumers in wearable art pieces Cath developed a range of ceramic statement jewellery. A family tragedy led Cath to question the symbol of love. Having an interest in figurative sculpture she started forming heart shapes. Cath believes her ceramic hearts are popular because, “A lot of women, particularly mothers, tune in with the hearts; that feeling of antiquity and crafting.”

Each of Cath’s ceramic hearts is handcrafted on her back deck surrounded by two resident ducks, a blue tongue lizard, a large green tree frog and a sleepy possum. The resultant hearts are individual with no two pieces alike. Over the past four years the Ceramic Heart Necklaces have essentially stayed the same shape however the decoration has become more sophisticated and the colour range has expanded.  Cath continues to research and use new enamels which has enabled her to keep the pieces fresh.

Cath does not sell at markets due to family commitments however her work is sought after by galleries locally, interstate and overseas. To see more of Cath Macauley’s ceramic hearts visit http://www.cathmacauley.com.au/

Highs and Lows

Our week started off very positively. Alan made another rustic mirror. They have been selling very well lately. I finished off some new Kumihimo necklaces. Discover Downunder filmed segments to be aired in June. Craig Lowndes of Team Vodaphone, a V8 Supercars was out participating in the filming. He learnt how to use both the marudia and takadai. While I’m out on the verandah with Craig Alan answers the phone. It was Mum’s neighbour telling us that Mum had a fall and they were waiting for the ambulance. Mum is now in hospital with a pelvic fracture. This morning I finished Term 1 of our Saturday Morning Children’s Classes.We had lots of bits and pieces to finish off and somehow we got through it in the hour and a half. While we were waiting for the last girl’s Mum to pick her up I gave her my full sized marudai to braid on.We haven’t done kumihimo since week 2 but she didn’t miss a beat. She didn’t even need me to remind her how to do it. She is wearing her fabric charm bracelet.

It was a nice way to finish off the morning. Time to ring some relatives.