Textile Treasures Exhibition - Mark Makers at Tulista Gallery, Sidney

The Mark Makers are exhibiting again!

Here is a peek at what they have produced over the past couple of years.

This is the view as one walks into the gallery - wearable art and 2D and 3D wet felt.

To the right are the results of a challenge to produce interpretations of the Melford Messenger Bag with a focus on upcycling, recycling and embellishment.

To the left - 2 different ways of working on top of a printed image.

Wet felted wall hanging, upcycled jacquard linen table cloth transformed into a blouse, embellished bags. 

Exploring the water and sky themes.

Upcycled pillows, soft sculptures and wearable art.

Hand and machine stitched framed wall pieces.

Art dolls, soft sculpture, wet felted forms.

Wet felted hats, scarf, bag, neck art.

Hand and machine 2D and 3D fibre art.

The alcove has a display of old traditional, handmade textiles from the 5 continents. They illustrate the history, techniques and skill mastery behind the Mark Makers' work.

This is just a taste of what is on display at the Tulista Gallery in Sidney, until May 1st.

There will be artists in attendance every day to answer your questions and to tell you the stories.

Real-time Update: February 2016

Most of my blog posts are about events that happened some time ago. I focus on telling a chronological story because my blog is a journal.

However, I have decided to make the occasional post in real-time to document what I am up to in the present. So here goes - my first Real-time Update.

In my studio, I am working with buttons, lots of buttons. After sorting washing and placing them, I am sewing them onto a ground with the machine. 

Outside the studio, in the studio beds, the first of those spring bulbs I planted as soon as the garden beds were constructed, have popped out of the ground. They are the hyacinths.

About the same time as planting the bulbs, I planted a green manure mix of seeds and compost over the hugelkultur beds. The seeds the birds didn't take have germinated and the remnants the deer have left after their nightly grazing have turned into a green fuzz now the days are warmer.

We have had 40% more rain this winter than in any other we have experienced since we moved here. The damp conditions are ideal for rotting away the leaves while leaving their skeletons. I am collecting some of them for a work called  'Earth Repair.'

So that is what has been happening inside and outside the studio, today.

Variegated Threads

Variegated Threads, a World of Threads Festival exhibition in the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Oakville, featured an eclectic collection of fibre works.

Barbara Rehus, Thanks, Ma.
A mechanically animated installation that made me grin.

This intensely stitched and buttoned work...

...made Mikey of Mallory by Marie Bergstedt.

Progress

With this work i am exploring the relationship between hemoglobin and chlorophyll.
 Their molecules are the same except for the presence of iron or magnesium in their centres.

I decided to show these centres with red and green buttons.

My years of collecting buttons has paid off because I found enough buttons of the right colour and shape to do the job.

The 1st buttons are sewn on.

I decide the buttons are successfully conveying the idea of the different colours produced by the different elements in the centre of each molecule.....

...so i continue sewing...