Barbara and Textile Art

Time away from textiles

2011-02-09T02:56:00.000-08:00

October 2010 life took over and since then I have had very little time to focus on my creativity. The biggest distraction is the Certificate IV Workplace Training and Assessment which is VERY time consuming. Face to face 1 full day a week and homework in the form of assignments. Our tutor is extremely fond of resubmits which just adds to the stress. Just to add to the joy we have 4 full Satudays, 2 in December and 2 in February for our electives and these too have homework and assignments. aaaaggghhh! This course ends in Mid March and I hope to regain some form of life then.

Then there is work followed by family. Some members have major health issues and supporting them means frequent trips to San Remo or Sorrento.

Just to fill in the spare hours I am part of the committee setting up the Victorian Group of the Australian Textile and Surface Design Association. We now have a meeting place at the Oakleigh Community Hall, 144 Drummond Street, Oakleigh on the 4th Sunday of each month at 11am - 3.30pm. Visitors welcome.

It is now February and I am excited to be returning to TAFE for my final year this Friday. For the rest of the year my Fridays will be a full day of classes and more homework for the rest of the week. But this homework often does not feel like a onerous task and is very satisfying. At the end of this year we have a graduation exhibition in November. More work as in the past each student is required to exhibit at least 6 peices.

Who knows I may keep updating my blog more frequently

Australian Tapestry Workshop

2010-09-07T04:14:00.000-07:00

On Friday 3rd September 2010 we visited the Australian Tapestry Workshop in South
Melbourne. It is an inspiring place and the tapestries beautiful.

2010-08-29T02:46:00.000-07:00

In early August we had the introductory Victorian meeting for the Australian Textile and Surface Design Association (ATASDA) with over 40 people attending. Felicity Clarke came down from Brisbane to help launch this new ATASDA Group and from this we have a steering committee.

Not only did Felicity display her amazing work, she spoke of her textile journey which I found inspiring and humbling. Many attending the meeting brought samples of their work for show and tell, a great way to be inspired and discover new techniques.

Yesterday, Saturday 28th August 2010, the Steering Committee meet and we will be formally applying to form a Victorian Group. We also hope to meet at the Box Hill Community Arts Centre on the 4th Saturday of each month.

For more information please go to the ATASDA website www.atasda.org.au

2010-07-18T01:44:00.000-07:00

Back at TAFE and it looks as if it will be a challenging semester. One of the first homework tasks involves one of my least favourite things - collage. But my results are ok and maybe I have finally found a way to work with this technique. The inspiration given to us was shells and after some fiddling I decided to paint the shell using the paint mixed from the first term painting class. Surprisingly it was still ok. Once painted I glued on white tissue and when dry painted it and the background. The picture on the right is tissue glued over the paint but not yet further painted.

2010-07-18T01:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago I was down at the beach, the weather was very windy and I tried to get a sense of this with my photos. The first one looks fairly calm but the others show the rough weather better.

2010-06-26T04:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Alex and Mimi were down and requested that we visit Marysville. I have been to Kinglake many times over the last 18 months and Healesville a couple of times but not further on. It is the old thing that until I see it with my own eyes the reality & extent of the fires doesn't really sink in. The areas where there is no regrowth contrasting with those which were untouched are particularly stark reminders. It is good to see the rebuilding but it must be so hard.
The ridges are a vivid reminder with the light showing through the bare trees. The ground cover is starting to return and the surprise is the way the tree ferns are recovering and unfurling their fronds. In fact this is one of the first green things I saw when I first visited Kinglake soon after the fires. Bright green fronds in among all the black.
With the higher rainfall over the last few months I hope that the bush will have a boost to its regrowth.

2010-05-29T04:03:00.000-07:00

After a long break it is time to update this blog. Second year of the Diploma of Textile Arts is having its challenges and while there is less pressure to produce work we are learning many techniques.

My piece for the first term assessment explores the idea that flowers in bud hide their potential until their petals open to reveal their inner beauty. Just as I finished this piece the subject for our exhibition was decided!
Just to make sure that we don't forget what real pressure is we are taking our "Plan a Small Exhibition" subject out of the virtual realm and developing an exhibition on the theme of Swaddle. We hope that it will be held at the C3 space at the Abbottsford Convent, Abbottsford, Victoria.

On first pass Swaddle is an old fashioned term lodged firmly in the realm of mothers and babies. I was not sure how I could work with it until I started thinking that we swaddle babies to keep them safe and as they grow we loosen the bonds. This is the start of the lifelong cycle of exploring our boundaries and while exploring the new there is often a part (or many parts) of us which cling to that which we are leaving. This forms the basis for my interpretation of this word.

The images are my progression from early sketches to a pen and ink drawing and the last a lino cut print.

2009-10-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

Memories of Underbelo

Underbelo is an important part of my life and is the inspiration for this foam core box of found objects and 3D sculpture.

The box itself is both a container for objects and a representation of the building.

The house is a mixture of the old and the more recent, its weatherboard walls often need painting and its gutters cleaning.

Inside the furniture matches the exterior but changes more frequently. There is always a couch in constant demand for reading or relaxing; both with visitors and the dogs. Books are left on or by it, ready to be picked up again. The one on the couch is a record of the names of those who have regularly holidayed at Underbelo. The raffia lamp has been in the room for as long as I can remember.

Christmas and Underbelo are inextricably linked in my mind. Each year the family gathers to celebrate Christmas and spend at least a few days together. A chance to catch up with those not seen for the last 12 months. The first few days of every holiday are taken up with decorating and preparing for Christmas and the decorations take some time to be cleared away. The washing line is a constant especially with young children and being summer there is a constant parade of bathers and towels on the line. Fortunately it has a great view.

The photos are a mixture of our views and scenes nearby.

On the shelf above are many of the bits and pieces found on the beach. In particular the sea glass represents the glass found on the beach, the bottles we collected as children to sell to the bottlo and the collections we now take to the tip each day!

The making of this box evoked so many memories for me. I hope that when I take it down to Underbelo this summer that my family find it just as evocative.

2009-10-15T02:26:00.000-07:00

Early Saturday morning with sun and frost.

Seeing this from my dining room window reminds me of why I put up with the long commute. into work for 3 days a week.

2009-10-13T02:27:00.000-07:00

As part of our exploration of 3D textiles we were given a cardboard bowl template to weave. The two in front were made using the template and wools. The piece at the back was inspired by the Floating Fibres exhibition at GOMA Brisbane. The indigenous weaving techniques encouraged me to move beyond the cardboard template and solid sides.