frday at the studio.

last Friday Beth and Pauline came for a visit and show and tell session....we had a lovely catch up , show off session and lunch... here is a few pics.

Indigo challenge box and book i made, Pauline received it in our swap.

close up of Beth's superb wrap

Beth modelling her wrap....It is her 60th memories project in progress for next year !!!

stitching close up

little stitchings using a combination of my bits and Trace 's pieces...

Not sure what I will do with all the little stitchings yet but I am sure something will take my fancy, they are so easy to make and if you don't think about them too much very quick to complete...

what a weekend !!!

First off Saturday the first day of our sale...very quiet but sales were pretty good and quite a few new faces around the shed, apparently there was heaps of things happening around town. Sandra set up her glass beadmaking demo and did what she loves ...made some beautiful beads.
  Hubby came by about 4and we went to our grandsons 10 th birthday at Ringarooma (a 1 1/2 hour drive) had a lovely B.B.Q dinner and fab sponge cake .Then drove home arriving about 11 pm of to bed.

Anna,Chook, Pauline,Sally,Aukje and me sitting.

 

  Up early and off to fellow basketmakers Pauline who lives at Golden Valley ...such a lovely name and it is , when the wattle is in full bloom. We both set of to Latrobe for our christmas get together with the other basketmakers in our group.

Only 7 of us came today but we had a lovely lunch and recived a present in our swap challenge....this years majic word was INDIGO so we all had to create a little something with that in mind.( maybe that is why there were so few of us this time...a little to challenging for some.)

Our pressies are on the table in front   of us... i recieved a lovely Japanese lunch bag from Sally you can see it on the right hand side of the picture. Pauline got my gift which was a little box with a concertina book inside using some Indigo ink and fabric paint rags from my friend Tracy , she was stoked...she loves little boxes , i was very happy .

Back home check my emails and Tracy has nominated me for the LeibsterBlog Award  woo hoo... thank you Tracy. Will do another post shortly when i figure out how to do the stuff that goes along with it .: )

cleanup ,sale and bloody hell it's hot !!

We had a fabulous cleanup day yesterday with about a dozen or so messy clay workers and artists manning the hoses, mops, brooms and energy to clean the studio from top to bottom. wow the place is just smelling so fresh and clean thank you everyone for all your hard work.
   We are now going to set up all our specials and seconds and display our other work ready for our annual sale ,which is coming up next Sat 3rd and Sun 4th Dec ...10am - 4pm...
  Everyone is invited ,as i said lots of seconds and specials and 10% of all other work for this weekend only.

 We have had 3 amazing days weather wise, today was 26 c and the shed was very b.. hot  ,had the sweat dripping of me ,summer 's started early although it is going to rain for the weekend.
  I am off to town again tomorrow to watch Zac and Summer in thier dance concert i am looking forward to it.

candles and farewells

Well we had our little birthday party lunch and happy / sad farewell too. We totally stuffed our faces with all sorts of yummy home made goodies and didn't feel like doing much work after that, but we managed to continue being creative .
  I helped Trace at Niche Market Friday and Saturday, her farewell to Tassie Market  ! she sold heaps of her treasures and  I posted two boxes back to W.A for her yesterday.  Anna and me were lucky enough to get a few bits that just did not want to go in the boxes :)
  And some lucky people have some give aways waiting at the Tin Shed  to be posted or picked up.... i hope they come soon as it's very tempting to sneak a peek ...

a lovely day

WOW ! had a terrific day at the studio today, started off very quietly throwing tiny bowls on the wheel and then everyone turned up at once, some our usual Wed. group then ,Sandra,Edna and Robert Then Mitch and his lovely wife from Aspect Design in Hobart dropped in to see Sandra and her fabulous hand formed glass jewelry.

While they were around we had a groupof women from Melbourne drop in and .they were very impressed and spent ages checking out all the work.They had just finished walking the Overland Track and were staying at Peppers  and saw our ad in the brochure.Some of them left with some of my smoke fired birds and Ednas cards and big smiles .


We also had a few other visitors during the remainder of the day and in between all that I finished my 30 bowls and two big oven dishes with just enough time to clean up before closing up for the day.
  I had a great day....kept my mind from bein sad cause Tracy is moving out and the shed just won't be the same , she has been a fantastic person to have around creating her unique work and sharing and stimulating some of us and encouraging our wayward, procrastinating ways. :)

 We are having a farewell lunch tommorrow and our muso's will be playing for us too...oh and it is Helen B's 70th too.

windows, child minding and craft fairs...

I was lucky enough to be invited to participate ( along with my mate Pauline) in Windows On Deloraine which was a part of a week long celebration coinciding with TasmanianCraft Fair  ,(do not be decieved ...the majority  are mainland craftstalls not Tasmanian.)

 We, along with many other individuals turned a shop window into a mini gallery of our works, and from all the feedback it was very successful with thousands of people wandering the streets enjoying the windows and other street entertainment....musicians.statues etc.

'Willowdale Cricket Arvo Tea'

'our window'....willow chairs and tables, baskets made from various materials and fabric hangings and cushions,.and some cricket stuff.
We had some living statues performing in our window over the weekend ...pouring tea oohing and ahing over a baby and generally impressing passers by.

a little bit of stitching

A Close up of part of the wall hanging i made for her .

I visited my friend Linda on her birthday ,we went walking arund her place and i collected some windfalls and did a little dyeing at work the following week.

I made her a little wall hanging using the dyed fabric.

show day holiday

My pop Gothe was a keeper here at this lighthouse

 

 

LOW HEAD LIGHTHOUSE

I spent many a day here when I was a girl        !!!

XAVIER , SUMMER and ZACHARY

                     

BELLBOY BEACH

summer with her rock mobile phone  a much better way to spend show day ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

spring in our garden

 i just love springtime in our garden we have hundreds of daffodils and they come up in amongst all the weeds and turn the back yard into a glorious riot of colour....

have been a bit slack in cyberspace of late !!!

Well hi there, what has been happening ? Lots I guess
 Smoking more buttons and birdies....looking good too will pop some pics on when i figure out the new technology.
Music and creativity thriving at the Tin Shed this week too.
I went to OLIVER my first true live musical performance ,put on by Launceston Musical Society...I thought it was fantastic...partly because grandson Zac was  in it. The music ,singing and dancing was so entertaining , energetic and fun I could have watched it over again. Zac was one of the pick pocket gang it was very exciting to see him on stage and from all accounts he is now thoroughly addicted to the adulation of the audience and will be wanting to do it again....not sure what mom thinks !
I am now at George Town house sitting for my bro while he and his wife go off toVietnam for a well deserved holiday.It is lovely sitting in the lounge looking upto the mouth of the Tamar at the lighthouse and watching the boats....might just go for a walk to the beach soon...It is a lovely sea change for 3 weeks.

so you think you can dance...

whoa....i have been busy of late helping my daughter emma sew zacs costumes for 'Oliver' and the dance comps.
 Summer (5) danced with her group in the non competitive section on Sunday.. they did extremely well with the tap dance and looked fabulous in a red cowgirl outfits  with tutu etc.the judge had some very good comments for them. Zac (10) danced today in his tap solo and I thought he did fantasticly well even though the judge didn't award him any prize.  apparently he didn't quite keep in time..so what ! i recon he is a winner just getting up there on stage and dancing anyway. Btw  all the other dancers were very good too. Well done to all of you.
 I had a visit from Rowena from Oatlands Handmade  and she selected quite a few bits and pieces for the shop and purchased a lot of my buttons..thanks Tracy.
  I have also been busy throwing cups and saucers for Sussanah at  the Mill Providore and some bowls for my KT and another customer.
 and a huge birthday hug for my grandson Konrad who is 4 today.!!!!
And tommorrow work again and watching Zac dance a duo in the morning. No rest for the wicked....

willow workshop .take 2

well we finished the workshop today and there is enough willow left over to make 30 chairs i recon....anyone want some? Between us we made 5 chairs and a small table ,the fantastic students worked very hard and created wonderful and individual pieces, some of us had a chat with Rose from ABC rural morning show so listen to the radio on Tues or Wed  if you want to hearwhat we had to say.

Cilla's

Bernadine's

Catherine's

Jill's

Summer in Ian's lounger

a happy and exhausted group...

 

 All our chairs and lots more from down south and the north west coast will be on show from Wed till Sun at the Wild Willow Cafe in the Civic Square in Launceston at Junction Arts Festival.

wild willow

day one of willow chair making workshop....what a busy and creative day we 6 have had.pics tommorrow of finished works of art.WooHoo... P.S.  I am exhausted and I was only teaching em.

It has been a while...

I have been awol the last couple of weeks....I have been doing stuff at work and at Tin Shed.We had a Friday stitching day....I made a few single signature books from a mix of my handmade paper and some cartridge and tracing paper.with a stitched spine using some naturally dyed silk fabric...I like this method as it is quite quick and the little books make a lovely gift.
 I have been throwing a few pots on the wheel and handbilding 4 terracotta crock pots for garlic storage for a customer.Friday just gone I had another papermaking day and I recon I have enough to last me a while so will concentrate on using it for a time.
 I will post some pics soon...

busy,busy,busy

Friday has come and gone we had a fairly quiet day.My KT came to the studio and spent an hour or so making some clay pieces for a stall she is having in a few months.I dried off  the paper I made and after driving KT around and to pick up her car I stitched some very simple books and got some more ready to stitch together.
  We spent the weekend at Sarah's in Ringarooma (another birthday....July is the month for em in our family.)
Left there Sunday arvo hoping we don't pick up the tummy bug they had !!!We drove over the mountain and saw the dam age left by the big snowfalls and wind we had a few weeks ago.There was still snow and frost in some parts.
  Speaking of frosts we have been having some doosies , the grass was crunching underfoot when I came in an hour ago so another one coming up.  Did two days relief teaching in the pottery Mon and Tues and am looking forward to a few days at the  studio to catch up on some of my own work.
  Oh yeah it's Summer's 5th birthday tommorrow !!!

It's Thursday already

Wow had a fantastic day teaching Diploma students paper making ....
we used lots of scraps of mount board ..courtesy of Philcam our local art supply shop, brown paper bags, some natural fibre and some very pretty coloured serviettes for those who wanted colour.

 There were about 20 students and I would say a few hundred pieces of paper produced in all the colours of the rainbow I am pretty sure they all had fun and learnt something today. I am looking forward to seeing what they do with it.
 
 I also showed them how to make a very simple little book with no stitching or glueing....

 Of course I ended up using up the pulp and made a few pages myself .

 AND TOMMORROW IS STITCHING DAY AT TIN SHED.....I must think aout what I am going to do!!!

crazy sat

we have had a very busy day  in my house with children and grandchildren baking and cooking dinner, playing 8 ball, table tennis, making lots of noise, eating , celebrating KT s 29th and generally having a great time.

catching up

It has been another busy week.... smoked some more buttons .  Enjoyed some live music and whipped up a basket and played with some willow ,along with chatting and eating and celebrating son in laws 42nd and tidying and working at the Poly and many other small things to numerous to mention.Oh and freezing cold if you stepped away from the heater for to long Brrrrr.......

 this is an in progress close up of the basket I made out of New Zealand Flax...  It is all done now and ready for the Lighthouse Regional Arts Exhibition in George Town ... The theme isWild and Wonderful , I

think it will fit in ok.

 

THE TIN SHEDDERS  

 

 Wal Sutherland and John Boxer are a fabulous duo who meet at the Tin Shed every second Thursday and play and sing for us ! We are truly lucky to have such talent around us and they are so generous to share it with us ...it really makes our week ! Thanks guys.

Of course Wal is a famous artist and has a studio space with us you can see some of his recent works in the background....I can see a lozenge or two there Wal !!!! 

And I do believe I have mentioned John and his lovely wife Jacque have a fabulous little shop in Deloraine called Bohemian Arts  check it out here

  

and here are some of my latest smoke fired buttons , I got some lovely warm pinks and browns in this lot . I am very pleased with them !

Rainy Sunday

It has been raining non stop for hmm 20 hours I think.... Oh well it is winter!!!
 I drove up the north west today to join my auntie and a heap of other family and friends to celebrate her 70th Birthday.... yummy food and the bestest cake ...

well done Vanessa...Auntie Gloria just loved it and so did everyone else a true work of art and it tasted delicious....all those handmade choc and icing roses , impressed.

 some water colour paper I popped in the dye pots.....and another batch of paper using natural fibres cooked up and recycled matt board. Cath wants me to make a book for her friends mum who will be 90 in Sept, she draws and writes poetry and stuff so I may have to size some of the paper so the ink won't run.

Oh and for those interested paper making went well on Friday I had a visit from Pauline and Beth who both bought some show and tell...lovely dying and stitching pieces they have been working on.

Tiles and other bits

These are terracotta roof edging tiles that I have recently been commissioned to make, they go along the roof line between the ridge capping and they are going on The Gingerbread House as it is called in Charles St. Launceston....they will be there long after i am gone !

and here are some more of my buttons and 3 little smoke fired birdies....very cute.

nearly Friday at Tin Shed

I have been busy whizzing up plant fibre and soaking paper getting ready for a full on day of Paper Making on Friday ....i have some ideas ...i might texture some with lace and press some leaves between a few sheets this time. I have also been playing with some watercolour paper , popped it into the dye pots and have some very nice results...looks like a little book coming up !

stitching friday

Twas stitching day at Tin Shed and  Cilla was busy re creating a dress into a skirt...

I completed a bonnet to remember a female convict ancestor...

and Tracy continued stitching her long john, wool, silk , doily, scarf , wrap piece that is full of wonderful textures and is going to be dyed soon i recon.
                                                                                                                                                                                      

here is the yummy textures of Tracy's piece....

music day at the Tin Shed

We had another wonderful day today with Wal and John playing guitar and banjo  and some fantastic singing ...these music sessions really make our week....we wish they could happen more often but we don't want to wear our muso's out and lets face it they do have a life away from us... and there own art etc to keep up with... check out what John does here in Deloraine.

playing around and working

a random pic ...a little beach basket ...coiled and stitched from sea weed and grassy stuff while camping at Petal Point on N.E. coast of Tasmania.

 these 10 little smoke fired buttons are about to be sent of to Bonnie ...she recons they are fantastic which is just what I wanted to hear...

It is going to be cold again.....

another freezing day ...

The frozen cobweb above is on my wisteria and not surprisingly not a spider in site....  and our little pond frozen over too... I wonder how the frogs cope with the cold?
I have to say it was very difficult at the Tin Shed today none of us strayed to far from the heaters for very long.We did manage to get a little work done though.

Fun Friday

 I had a good day today ...I taught Katrina how to wet felt and we filled her head with other stuff that she could teach her kids.. didn't we Tracy?

 Speaking of Tracy I caught her in the act today?????  Is she smoking in her studio!!  BTW can you spot some of her art....

                      
                    Something is goin on..... she has a rather blissful look about her don't you think...

                               
                             Ahhh  she is preparing  a piece for one of her intriguing mixed media pieces

  It is amazing what can be done with a piece of old book and an incense stick....

winter at Liffey

                                  looking east....

                                    looking west....

                                     looking to the  north west...
                three different views at the same time from my place....

a great day at the Tin Shed

Wow ! first up we had Flynn and Zac tap dancing for us and Summer had a go too.They were excellent you don't realise how noisy those taps can be till you hear em at close range....
 Then along came Wal and John and they played their guitars and sang with some background drumming from the youngsters and a little comedy tossed in from Zac.
Everyone totally enjoyed the music and worked along quite happily until after lunch, when our exhausted entertainers went their separate ways, and left us in a very quiet space for the remainder of the day.
 Some of us even got some work done....thanks Glenn for helping me stack the kiln, and Edna and Zac too.

paper pics

Here are a couple more pics of the paper we made on Friday....I am still contemplating what to do with it, I have a couple of ideas brewing....watch this space.

Latrobe Baskets

 Here is Mal playing with pencils....

 and Sally and Kathy doing a little reading....

  and  Chook with her random weave creation for the top of her swing....

   

Aukje's lovely stitching

I went off to Latrobe with Pauline today...it was pouring with rain and very windy  but nice and warm in the Regional Arts building where we had our basketry day.

 Here is my naturally dyed and hand stitched  dress, Every one thought it was lovely and were amazed at the colours and textures of the fabric (blanket and silk)....
Thanks Trace for helping me along the way...I think it will be one of those ongoing projects !!