Wednesday, November 30, 2011

leaf in the grass

















Found on the lawn before I mowed yesterday...so pretty I had to share...not sure where it came from...the nearest eucalypt is about 200 meters away...

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

blue n white n quilty delights

On the weekend I visited an old friend of my mum in laws...Donna, an avid quilter who has been promising for ages that we would have a quilt viewing and afternoon tea at her place.

















This is a special one called "wedding rings" that I want to make a version of...it was Donna's first quilt and I borrowed it to put on my bed when I was married 5ish years ago...more lovely quilts below...what a talented lady! 
























She is big on blue and white as a decor theme and it looks wonderful, especially on her decking...

























This last quilt was extra special...made using an unusual technique (I don't know enough about quilting to understand what it is!) and traditional Japanese fabrics...


















It was such a beautiful inspirational afternoon...thanks Donna....mmmwhaaa!

Friday, November 25, 2011

beach plastic

Check out this Barbara De Vries TED talk about a rethink of a ecological problem.  Transforming the stuff that comes back to bite us from "the mythical place called away"...."where is away, away is here" :o)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

two turtle doves

I very much likey this gorgeous Marc Martin illustration which he blogged about in his recent stint as guest blogger at design files.






















 It reminded me of this scene from my workroom door which I snapped last month...































The doves often walk about on the metal roof and drink from the gutter...nice sounds to remind me of the outside and other creatures when I'm working inside...on this occasion I popped my head out the door to see what was going on...

















Often what is going on is this...a stare off between the doggles and the said birds...



Tuesday, November 22, 2011

apple tiser

My six apple trees have been developing nicely in the garden...all of them are getting fruit except for the snow apple which insists on only growing bushy foliage at the moment.  This is their 3rd year and I've only had fruit off my summer strawberry and sturmer before, so this is exciting!
What I'm enjoying is seeing how the fruit all looks the same then as they grow their individual characteristics start to show...a celebration of difference!






















Sugarloaf pippin is an early apple with a long shape...starting to become just a bit more bulbous at the top...






















Esopus spitzenburg is an old variety of a classic round shape...is said to be brilliant red and is looking that way!

















Caville blanc d'hiver is an old french apple, particularly good for cider.  It has a knobbly shape which is quickly becoming evident here!






















And just for fun...a flash back to last years summer strawberry apple as featured on a gleaning apron :o)

Thursday, November 17, 2011

what else can the apron panels do?

There are plenty of remnants from the summer gleaning cloth...I spoke about the apron parts here...and we did some gleaning of the cloth here...
I've been working on what my next gleaning steps might be...
To experiment with the component parts of the cloth - the apron panels and the waistband/tie strips, I'm working in 1/2 scale...it means less cloth used when experimenting, it's quicker, and it's easier to get an overall sense of scale and proportion without constantly stepping back...






















And it's so darn cute too!  I started with a 1/2 scale apron made from the unprinted cloth remnants...






















An apron panel makes up the front and back of this top, with waistband strip used for the shoulder panel and a little gusset under the arm to create a square armhole.  There are two small cuts into the apron panels to set in the gusset.






















It is modeled by "Claudette" (named by 'super'visor PD), the 1/2 scale mannequin I made while teaching a 2nd year studio about scale earlier this year :o)























Then I'm thinking about how the apron interacts with the top...it shapes the top...it is shaped through interaction with the wearers body...is shaped through use by the wearer...the experience of use shapes the wearers being.
This is related to something about Heidegger's thinging which I was thinking about back here!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

making is connecting

Reading this now!  An interesting comparison between modern and more traditional types of making and how they reach out to connect and make culture and community.  Lots of info at the makingisconnecting site too :o)

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

back to tessellations

My teaching duties are finished for the year...I've had a lovely semester leading a studio about heavy materials...check out this fantastic students work!
It's been time for a serious do-over of my work plan to try to fit everything into the day and to get some balance in my life...I've now timetabled exercise alongside reading, writing, gardening and making.  Hopefully there will be some fruitful and sane times ahead!
A while back I revisited some old tessellation techniques when reflecting on the potential of my newer bits...






















I spoke about these remnants a while back...























And utilised the tessellation technique to create something similar to the broadbean apron
























I also revisited a tessellated dress which emerged from early tests back in May last year to think about the potential of merging the aesthetics of the pieced leather with the gathered garden images.  With one side leather, one side garden, this apron represents the reflective window space where these worlds merge and converse.  Garment as map.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

a rosy ponte

It's all about roses for me at the moment!  All of my 1 year old bushes are doing well and some are blooming their heads off.  More about that later...
Hubby P had Monday off...day before cup day here in Melbourne, so a lovely four day weekend or as David Astle discussed in this ep of letters & numbers, a ponte, which in Italian is an extra day taken around public holidays to extend the holiday :o)
We decided to have a rose expedition day.  On the agenda was the State rose garden at Werribee, the Alister Clark memorial garden at Bulla and the St Kilda Botanical garden which has another Alister Clark memorial garden.

















The main section of the state rose garden is stunning when all of the roses are viewed on mass...

















The pillar roses look amazing with the height that they add to the landscape...






















My favourite section was the David Austin bud...it didn't dissapoint, and confirmed my choice of mainly Austins for our own garden....

















I might consider adding this beauty, Darcey Bussell to our collection...

















Was lovely to see a foliage friend amongst all of the blooms...






















There were some other roses that I might think about growing...






















Portland roses which were in the heritage border, which I has never seen before.  They are very unusual and look more like a mini camellia than a rose and form a lovely shrub...






















And this beautiful climbing rose, Sally Holmes which was on one of the festoons in the main section.

I didn't take many pics at the Alister Clark garden at Bulla, but it was worth a visit.  Most of the roses were in between flushes but these Lady Huntingfield's at the side were lovely against the bluestone.






















The rose garden at St Kilda unfortunately did disappoint, but I won't go into details!  I had never been to the gardens though and there were other things worth seeing, especially the community garden which is a wonderful set up as an educational center.  I especially liked the broad bean patch!