Portraits and portrets from the Netherlands

Gearing up for 2012 and Queensland Quilters Art Quilt Group (2QAQ) - and had a play with self-portraits (our first challenge and workshop on 25 March). Thanks to Ankie for sharing the work and talents of another fantastic textile artist from the Netherlands Nienke (and if you follow the link and scroll down her 2011 Gallery you will see her portrait work in all its glory). This year 2QAQ will meet every second month and will commence each meeting with a demonstration / play / workshop-type activity. Our first challenge will be "portrait" which has involved lots of internet surfing and researching copyright free or publicly available e-publications (such as through Interweave and QuiltingArts.com) to inspire the launch of a thousand faces. So my first attempt at a portrait (left and below)  - still in the "raw", and at the unadorned, hairless, "fused only" stage is based entirely on Nienke's work and style - at present I am interested in the technique and processes she may have used - and the fun to be had in being able to re purpose those bags of thready scraps! Nienke's blog is well worth the visit. For those of us not fluent in Dutch, Google translator opens the portal to the world of possibilities and appreciation of the gifts of others even further ... and the light of artists like Nienke can filter through ...

Postscript: After emailing Nienke for permission to post my efforts (inspired by her creation) Nienke has advised she was inspired by the work of  Bodil Gardner from Denmark, who has been making pictures for many years - Bodil hopes her portraits inspire the rest of us.  Bodil's website includes a wealth of information on creating portraits and the techniques she uses at her website. Well both of these artists have inspired me (albeit a work in progress) and I hope you get to enjoy Nienke's and Bodil's works too.

Rainy days and brain storms in Sanctuary

I am working on a way to represent "sanctuary" as a textile art piece - my place in the garden firstly  in a linear and then in a dimensional format. Today I combined lots of photographs that have been taken since New years Day and made a map of the area - from dry to wet, still to windy, dead and crispy brown to supple and green. And here's my little movie of it .....

Tick that Box

Beneath the Southern Sky entry  submitted - CHECK
State of the Art Quilt 2012 entry submitted for Queensland Quilters - CHECK
Vacuuming and housework completed - sorry, what was that?

This sketch was going to form the basis of a Beneath the Southern Sky entry - the Queensland Coastline near Innisfail coming home from work recently - farmland, rivers emptying into the Pacific Ocean, coral quays and a container ship or two ... I do love aerial views and the way they quickly become abstract with height (I think we were nearing 40,000 feet). My actual entry is 150% completely different from this idea ... maybe another idea for another quilt on another day ...

and this is a Nankeen Kestrel (tiny blimp out front, far right),  telling off a Wedgetail eagle (big blimp centre) both of which were being harassed by a crow (moderate sized blimp, slightly below). Sunday mornings are always busy out here .... sometimes we are lucky enough, in the breeding season, to watch the parent eagles teach their young the finer art of flying, fishing and catching thermals.

Food for thought

Mushroom leather - dried from large field mushrooms that were sacrificed for breakfast this morning and had their skins dried on paper towel throughout the day. They stitch easily, especially in layers - there is a residual smell (not offensive) after storage - just make sure they are really dry before putting away!

Tonight, while finishing off my entry for Beneath the Southern Sky the WMBM brought a plate of sustenance. Yum squared - peaches and kiwi fruit.

Some weeks ...

Some weeks I leave the tea-bags to dry for 4-5 days, only unfolding them when absolutely "crispy". The patterns are always beautiful to me - this one reminds me of rock art! It needs to be stitched and perhaps will be the basis of the postcard art that needs to be sent off to Philadelphia PA by the end of the month ...

This is the reverse of something I've now finished quilting and hopefully in the coming weeks or months we can do a "reveal' on the front. It has a cadastral theme .....and yes, I still thread baste - much prefer it to pins (and I know that makes me so out of step with the rest of the world).

Sketching, books and doodling

Part of spending time in the garden has also been to consider time, space and change (no I'm not particularly cerebral, it's the last assignment in exploration of textiles).  I've taken to date stamping my pages so that I can track my journey more accurately (and I just love those roll-around-the-date-pick-your-own-adventure-it's-my-version-of-the-tardis date stamps). I may even start a separate log of journal page musings ...  Above is a time line of change for our property. Pre-1800s there was forest akin to that now protected in the Main Range National Park behind us - the floorboards of our home are made from a single tree  - when the house was built in the early 1900s. That part of the time line is all house and cattle, next to no trees. Finally, under a different type of care by the WMBM more than 1300 trees, shrubs and bushes have been reinstalled.  All eras have been of caring for the land and expressing that care in different contexts.

Another look at change - from the established trees to the 4-6 year olds and the ongoing mission of WMBM with the tube stock, duly supported until well enough established to survive scorching summers, frosty winters, drought and flooding rains - all in the space of a good year! There's another change, from tree top to the water table below (we reside on an aquafer that produces something akin to diffused soda water from about 40 feet underfoot)

Finding inspiration

This is my special place in one of the gardens where I can think about things. This morning I took some photographs trying to look at this place of rest with fresh eyes. I especially loved the gumnuts on the floor of the garden - it wasn't until I enlarged the photos that the seeds became evident - another lesson about my perception of empty space.  This was reinforced by the hive of activity, literally, occurring in that place between the dried bark and the dead stump.  Almost an oversight, there are a number of ants conversing and scurrying before this afternoon's predicted showers and there's even a little winged bug resting under a leaf of grass (bottom  of picture, between 5 and 6 o'clock). An accident of camera settings and the dreamy play of light through the fimbriata also captured a sense of hammock and restful contemplation ... which is where I intend to spend the next part of this beautiful day.