Hello Beautiful

Hello beautiful!

Thats what I say every time I see Melbourne.

The streets of Melbourne

Everything is done so stylishly and effortlessly, from the graffiti in Hosier Lane in the CBD, woven wicker sculpture in Federation Square by Patrick Dougherty and a spot of tasteful yarn bombing just up the road, a project that was supported by the City Council.

Graffiti in Hosier Lane in the CBD

Wicker work in Federation Sqaure

Views of the City from inside the sculpture

Yarn bombing

And talking of tasteful, we indulged in a delicious slice of Chocolate Fig tart from the charming 19th Century Hopetoun Tea Rooms -  a real treat and a must if you are in the area. 

Chocolate Fig Tart

We spied some beautifully presented macaroons ...

Macaroons

and found some non homogenised milk by Jonesy's Dairy Fresh - and enjoyed scooping the cream floating in the top of the carton. Yum! Decadent top quality milk at regular prices (only $4 for 2 litres. I refuse to buy the cheap milk from Coles or Woolies)

Jonesy's non homogenised milk

By this stage we were travelling through the countryside and found a charming some charming scenes

and a fabulous shop that sold local produce and delicious home made cakes, including an intriguing Persian cake that was flavoured with cardamom. Unfortunately I was too full from lunch to indulge, but Ive found a similar recipe here.

Inside Cliffy's Emporium

Love letter from the resident jam maker - cute!

 And to top it off a National Trust plaque that reads:

"On this spot on the first day of March 1755 nothing much happened. It was a very, very peaceful day".

CarveSketchPress Ceramics

Images by Art Atelier

carvesketchpress is a series of works that explores different mark-making techniques on ceramics. 

Hand thrown clay carve pots are dipped into a coloured slip which dries leatherhard before being decorated using scraffitto (carved) techniques. A glaze finishes these works, ensuring the pots are  functional as well as decorative.

An image is sketched directly onto the hand thrown porcelain pot and then subtly shaded using water colour techniques. sketch pots are glazed with celedon on the inside creating a beautiful green hue which offsets the blue imagery on the outside. 

Inspired by prehistoric potmaking methods of pressing soft clay into reed baskets, press pots retain the highly textured negative space left by the weave. A variety of coloured glazes celebrate the tactile qualities of the pot.

Each pot designed and made by me is organic in shape, and being hand built each one has its individual and totally unique characteristics. 

Available exclusively at Evie Presents.

75 1/2 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney 

August 30th to November 2012 

Queanbeyan Art Trail 2011

Last weekend I participated in an Arts Trail around Queanbeyan hosted by Georgina from the Queanbeyan City Council. We had a glorious day and I saw some studios that I didnt know existed, and visited some galleries Ive been meaning to go to for quite some time.

First stop was scones jam and cream at Benedict House. Kate Shelton, the clever lady who lives and is the brains behind it has just published a book 'love of a laminex table' and it looks fascinating.... the photo was taken after we had indulged in morning tea - and it looks a little like the Mad Hatters Party :)

Then we went to Curtis Glass Studio - tucked behind a house, next to a pet store, I didnt realise this place existed. We were very fortunate and had a personal demonstration on how glass is blown by Mathew Curtis and his two young sons as assistants .... amazing! We got front row seats :)

Following that we then visited Cheryl Hodges- an amazing botanical water colourist ... I couldnt resist and bought a couple of her prints on cards, including the image below

By this stage we were ready for lunch which was served (with bubbles - of course) in the dappled shade under the lilac blossoms of wisteria at the back of Ouh Wah! Gallery. I enjoyed the meal so much I totally forgot to take a picture.

Bubbles with lunch had set the tone for the afternoon and when we arrived at the newly opened Form Gallery we were greeted with a glass of red. Owned by printmaker Claire Primrose and showing works by Claire, Maxine Price (Claire's mum who makes beautiful ceramics) and Paul Summerfield. Maxine has just finished a series on Bess of Hardwick who was the most amazing woman who was the second richest lady in 16th C England. Second only to the Queen! A pretty amazing feat considering there were laws that women couldnt own property at that time!

Our last stop of the day was the Artist Shed Studios. Here we were welcomed with more bubbles, a live band and a tour of the studios and galleries. Ive been meaning to check this place out for quite some time, so it was nice to finally see it :)

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day. A big thank you to Georgina and Queanbeyan City Council for putting together a delicious feast of art and food. Well done!

New Spring Designs

I wander'd lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'ver vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils.

Daffodils, William Wordsworth 1804

I have been inspired by the change of season and developed a new design which captures the exuberant nature of Spring. 'Flower Power' - a bunch of flowers growing out of the roof of Canberra's Parliament House! Printed onto onesies, tea towels and bags this design is available exclusively at Shop Handmade in Canberra and my online store.

I caught my cat snoozing amongst the flowers that inspired the drawing yesterday - too cute! x

Enlightened Fabrics

A couple of months ago I teamed up with the very clever Jane from Honi and Lemon who transformed my screen printed fabrics into lampshades. Jane breathes new life into lampshades, recycling the frames of old shades and the lamp bases are upcycled too!

This shade with the Lake Burley Griffin scene has made its way to Shop Handmade in Canberra.

Each shade is bespoke, one of a kind and perfect for adding a touch of individuality within a room......

Interwoven Exhibition at Gaffa Gallery, Sydney

My work has been selected to be part of Interwoven, an annual exhibition curated and coordinated by the Design Institute of Australia.

I drove up to Sydney on Wednesday to set up my works for the show. I was allocated a small room which had three walls - I decided to transform the space into a Lounge Room using my fabrics, as curtains, upholstery fabric, cushions, lampshade and as wall art.

Three of my designs are featured: Gingko; Knit; and Cloud stitch.

To make the fabric lengths look more like curtains I hung an old stained glass window between one pair (above).

And a small painting of the view from my kitchen window between the other.

I also commissioned an Creatif Upholstery to transform an old chair I found using some of my knit fabric - he did a fabulous job! The lovely Jane from Honi and Lemon, also transformed some of my Gingko fabric into a lampshade (you can see it in the top photo - more pictures of this to come, I promise!)

The exhibition is on at the Gaffa Gallery in Sydney from 16 - 27 June 2011.

Gaffa Gallery is in a beautiful heritage listed building in the CBD and is spread over three floors. There is a small cafe on the ground floor - delicious aromas of ground coffee spill out onto the street and waft through the space - along with a divine gift store also on the ground floor. It is definitely worth a visit!

Ill be going back for the 'Meet the Makers' on Saturday 25 June 2011. Maybe Ill see you there x

Sneak Preview of News Designs at the Handmade Markets on Saturday

Its almost time for the fabulous Canberra Handmade Markets.... count down has begun with only 2 sleeps to go before the BIG day.

I have been busy developing new designs and colours specially for the event!

Organic Cotton Onesie with Aqua Lyrebird

Organic Cotton Long Sleeve TShirt with hand drawn Lake Burley Griffin scene.

Lightweight Cotton scarf with new Water Urn Stitch print

Red Knit print on cotton cushion 45 x 45cm

It will be held again in the Convention Centre, Civic which is a fabulous light filled venue. A perfect outing for the cold grey Canberra winter which has descended upon us!

Come along to see all the beautiful handmade goodies - I look forward to seeing you there

:)

If you are unable to drop in to the markets - you can always browse my online store.

Sneak preview of my new designs for the Canberra Handmade Market

Over the past couple of weeks I have been working on some new designs which are going to be launched at the Canberra Handmade Market on Saturday 19 February at the new spot in the Convention Centre in the centre of town.

Inspired by a recent commission to create a lyrebird cushion using patchwork techniques I have transformed this design into an embroidery panel for others to embellish. The panel can be used in many ways by transforming it into a cushion, stretch over a canvas to become an artwork, incorporated to be part of a quilt or sewn together to make a bag.... the possibilities are endless! They also make a perfect gift for a crafty friend :) The panels measure approximately 45 x 45 cm and are printed with colourfast waterbased inks onto linen.

I loved this design so much I also printed it onto grey cotton T-shirts.

I have just moved into a cute little cottage (which explains the absence of regular postings since Christmas) whilst washing up I admired the delicate shape of a ginko leaf my sister had picked for me. This was the beginning of the Ginko design which has been printed onto linen tea towels, hemp table runners and as a repeat onto a length of fabric.... oh and a couple of cotton T-shirts.

Having gotten into the printing mood I then started on some Canberra souvenir tea towels and bags - this design is created using hand cut paper stencils - and are a limited edition of 10 tea towels and 9 bags. I love the street art look this design has......

All these designs will be available on Saturday or if you are unable to drop by for a visit they are also available from my online store.

ps - Im contemplating incorporating some of my renovations and decorations into this blog. What do you think? Would you like to hear about the other things I get up to?

High Tea, Handmade Living Book Launch & Give Away at Daltons

As part of the Handmade Living events, the fabulous Handmade team orchestrated the book launch this morning at Daltons Book Store in Civic, Canberra.

A selection of the contributors to the book (including moi) displayed their creations alongside a very delicious spread of cupcakes and nibbles - you can see Mikaela, who makes beautiful accessories using Japanese origami papers in the background.

The other clever people also in the book at the launch were:

Posy Patchwork - who makes wonderful things from fabric. I just love her doorstops.

Poppy Bean and Bloss - also makes wonderful things from fabrics, including journal covers

Tiny Concept - delightful wares, including the Parisian Pillow (pg 43 of the book which I just adore). A big congratulations to her, as one of her handmade dolls features in a film!

Polbymade - makes lovely japanese inspired garments using exquisite fabrics from Japan.

Highland Habitat - Naomi makes gorgeous lotions and potions from natural ingredients.

Real Chai - kept us hydrated with delicious chai made from real ingredients

I ran a giveaway for the above cups, hand baked ginger snaps and Kate Ward Design 'Ooh La La' tea towel (valued at over $50)...... the winner of the prize was Debbie Campbell.

Congratulations Debbie!

And a big thank you to the Handmade team for such a lovely way to start a Sunday morning. It was a fabulous opportunity to meet other creatives x

Christmas at CraftACT

I dropped into CraftACT yesterday to celebrate their Christmas event with them. Lee has done a fantastic job of displaying the wares available - it looks like she had a lot of fun playing with colour, texture and shape :)

I was impressed at how vibrant the colours looked against a black background. It really enhances my Marks & Spencer green Re-find handbag and knitted wallets knitted from recycled plastic bags.

Dual Jewels and Re-find Wallets at CraftACT

CraftACT are holding their annual Christmas event this Saturday 27 November 2010 from 2pm-5pm.

In anticipation I have created Dual Jewels which are designed to be worn and are also a decoration for the Christmas Tree. They are available exclusively at CraftACT and are the perfect gift for Secret Santa.



Also featured in the CraftACT shop will be my Refind wallets - which are made from recycled plastic bags. The wallets also feature in the book 'Why dont you [re]design Christmas'. For your chance to win a copy of this book, simply subscribe to my newsletter. The winning entry will be announced on Friday 17 December 2010.