Little Stitches Booklet

I thought you might like this little booklet that I made with some how-to stitches and a few ideas for improv quilting and patchwork piecing. You can buy a printed copy posted out to you, here through my shop if you want to hold it in your hands. Mention that you’re a Patron in the checkout and I’ll send you some other little lovelies too.

thoughts on being an artist and a crafter… and is there a difference ?

Some time last year I came to the conclusion - the idea - to stop fighting the art vs craft thing I was doing to myself. That in fact I am both an Artist and a Crafter. Both together and separate things. Sometimes I'm one, sometimes the other. Sometimes both at the same time (sometimes neither... and I'm just having a nap, or being a mama). 

Why.. you might be asking... did I need to make this differentiation for myself? Well, a few reasons. And most all have to do with me, and how I perceive myself as a creative. 

In the art world, craft is often looked down on. Crafters being mostly those that are hobbyist or untrained, or stay-at-home-mums just making little things for their kids. Well... When I say in the art world, what I actually mean is in the online blogging / Instagram sort of circles I have spent the last more than 10years being part of. Also, I made those actual words and definitions up... what they constitute is the feeling that I've felt as a 'crafter' over the years from some 'artists'. 

And the truth is.. that to be a true crafts(wo)man takes skill and dedication and practice, and lots & lots of training and time and continuation of learning and refining. And many many crafts(wo)men are indeed artists. (And some artists merely display the craft of art/painting/whatever). 

So.. I was getting myself caught up in these definitions and sometimes prejudice against crafters, and I was working hard on trying to define what I made and if it was craft or art, or both .... or neither. And was I a crafter, or an artist, or a maker, or WHAT!?

Really. I can be what I want. But a name does help. A lot. And since I've started calling myself a 'textile artist' is feels more than a 'creative maker'. People can better understand what it is I do, and better put me into a category - and I don't honestly mind if people find it easier to have a category to put me into. I guess it's what we all do some way or other. 

Instead of battling these words and definitions, I just took them both on. And now, for me - I know that some pieces of what I creatively make are a craft, and others are an art. My personal definitions. I don't need to explain to others why or how, but by explaining to myself has helped me through phases of creative difficulty.

*these photos are from a workshop I taught earlier this year, where the craft of stitching & hand sewing became an art form.

Some thoughts on having a studio

This morning I left home and ‘went to work’. I haven’t officially had a place of work, to go to, for more than 12 years now. Though I do leave home to go and teach workshops, this felt different.

The first day of what I hope might be lots and lots and lots. I’ve signed a 3 month lease; at this stage that’s a lot of days and I don’t yet know if I’ll be able to cover the rent to continue past that.

So I’m going to make the most of it while I can.

I’ve had many different studio spaces over the past 14 years; since I left my proper full-time work (for maternity leave), and then decided to not go back to work again. And instead to try and make money from my creativity.

Most of these spaces have been either in a corner of a spare room or the corner of the kitchen or loungeroom. The giant weaving I made last month was set up in our bedroom.

Having a space of my own is mighty exciting. I told my daughter today I hoped she wouldn’t have to wait until she’s 41 to have a studio of her own.

For me having this space is about more than just the physical space to create work; it’s the fact of ‘backing myself’ by committing to paying rent. And my husband backing me too, by making sure we can make it happen - financially and logistically with the children.

It will mean more work for him, I imagine. But, in the same way that he was there for me when I wrote my book, I know he’ll be there for this too. While creating his own work and running his own business as well.

I’m going to allow my days to evolve, and not force anything, but I must be honest and say I will always be thinking of the fact I’m paying rent, I’m away from home, I’m asking my husband to be more present and active in the home and parenting roles, which has given me space to be more active in my personal creative self.

Today - my first studio day - I hung some fabrics and stitched pieces. And I started sewing a new quilt. My 4yr old suggested to me I could make quilts for people to buy, who have forgotten how to sew and I told him that was a very good idea indeed.

5 tips for finding your creativity within the busyness of life

We’re so busy doing everything, pleasing everyone, and saying yes too all.the.things, that it seems we’ve forgotten the most important person to say yes to is ourselves. The gentle act of slowing down in a fast paced world seems to be perhaps one of the most forgotten rebellious acts we can engage in. It seems everyone is caught up in the turmoil of life, rushing to school and work in the morning, to grocery shopping and catching up on all our emails and endless notifications.

Are you waiting for the day when life will be a little quieter, a little less rushed, a little slower? Sadly it seems this day often only appears when we hit a wall, and our health declines due to overwhelm, anxiety, stress and a much too-long to-do list. Instead, we can create change in our lives through intentionally choosing how we spend our time, what we say yes to, and what we decide to focus on.

Here are five simple ideas that you can begin this week, to actively choose to create slow and find creativity in your days.

1.    Choose what you spend your time on. Have you looked, lately, at how long you spent on social media today or this week? Check it now, on your device battery settings. Half an hour? Or more a whole lot perhaps! The mindless scrolling of social media apps is not only quite detrimental to our physical and mental wellbeing, but also robs us of actual hours of our life without us realising it. Next time you find yourself opening Instagram, instead pick up your sewing, knitting, punch needle or drawing.

2.    Learn to say no. In an age where we can do anything, no one ever said we had to do everything. Saying yes to every request that comes your way quickly fills your diary and your brain – from baking for your kids’ school, to volunteering at the local community centre, to doing an extra hour of work to finish someone else’s projects it seems there’s always someone asking for something else. Gently and politely, but firmly, learn to say no. Saying yes to activities and chores out of a sense of guilt, every single time, leaves you feeling depleted. By saying no, you’re giving yourself space to have more time to say yes to the things that are really important to you. This is about choosing what brings you joy. 

3.    Small moments of creativity, in small pockets of time. Every day there are little moments, pockets of time. At the doctors waiting room, on the bus or train, at school pick up, sitting at a café waiting for friends, even standing in line at the bank. Instead of pulling out your phone, pull out your bag of crafts – I always carry some stitching with me, something that’s easy to pick up and put down, with no dropped stitches to worry about, and where I don’t have to follow a pattern.

4.    Find the right project to fit into your life. Some creative projects need a lot of space and a lot of time, whereas other projects fit better into the little moments in your days. Choosing a project that you can easily attend to, and doesn’t take up a lot of space in your bag, on your kitchen bench, beside your bed, in the car means that you always have something to keep your hands gently working. A complicated knitting project might be best to keep for long Winter nights on the couch, whereas a smaller scarf can fit into it’s project bag and go along with you to work meetings, parent groups, appointments or even while the dinner is cooking. 

5.    Progress over perfection every single day. If you’re new to crafting, you might worry about making a mistake when you only have small moments of time to work on your craft. Rather than getting hung up on it needing to be perfect, or the idea of when it will be finished, instead take joy in the contentment of simply making something. The process of making, moment by tiny moment, will guide you in learning to seek the simpler aspects of life. Appreciating the sound of needle through thread, or the enjoyment of watching your work grow slowly row by row by row over weeks or even a year. Use this not as a way to make a finished thing, but more as a way to change your approach to how you spend your time.

Tell me - I’d love to know what tips you could share on how you intentionally create slow in your days… leave a comment below, so we can all unbusy our lives a little more.

recipe: fresh peas & orange salad with tahini dressing

Fresh podding peas are at the farmers market right now. And my little one and I can’t get enough of them. We pop them and gobble down the sweet pops of deliciousness. And we always joke every single time one falls on the floor, or rolls across the table ‘I pea-d on the floor’! It’s a fabulous joke with a 4yr old, and he giggles every time he says it, or we say it.

But sometimes the peas do get further than simply pod to mouth, and this salad is perfect for this time of year - for us here. The crunchy sweetness of freshly podded peas, combined with juicy lusciousness of Winter’s oranges. Pea sprout add to the layers of flavour, and I can’t help myself by adding raw fennel whenever I spot it at the local farmers market. I tie it all together with a simple tahini yoghurt dressing.

Here’s my rough recipe:

• Fresh podding peas

• 1-2 oranges - blood orange would be pretty, but regular orange-oranges are like golden sunshine

• fresh raw fennel - about 1/3 small bulb

• one Lebanese cucumber

• rocket, fresh pea sprouts and fennel fronds

Dressing - mix together in a glass jar. Can store in the fridge to use again for about 1-2 weeks. If you don’t add yoghurt it lasts much longer

• 4-6 T black or regular unhulled tahini

• 3 T Greek-style yoghurt (no flavourings or sweeteners). If it’s homemade yoghurt and is a little runny, that’s perfectly wonderful

• clove garlic - crushed or finely diced (it stays in the jar if crushed and you just get the flavour, not the pieces when you pour it)

• black pepper and sea or rock salt

• 1/3 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil

Shake dressing well to break up the tahini, and pour over your salad. Enjoy as is or with some lovely fresh bread.

I use this dressing and versions of it for many different meals. Simply as a dipping sauce for fresh crunchy vege sticks (or corn chips) or add some tamari and sesame oil for a more Japanese rice-bowl style meal.

String Bag Crochet Pattern

Here’s my pattern to crochet your own string bag :

You can use pretty much anything that you have, to crochet it with, but keep in mind that you want something sturdy, strong, lightweight, dirt-proof or washable. And also, something you already have is the best ‘eco’ option available. Or something second hand. My go-to online shop for amazing string-yarn resources is String Harvest.

Conversations booklet - February issue

I created this magazine / booklet with recipes, some dye projects and essays. I’ve decided that while I love the idea (and look) of something like this, it’s just not doable for me to keep updating. Especially considering it seems like every time I try, the program has locked me out. So I’m changing to blog posts for each story instead.

I did love seeing one of you had printed this booklet to look at at home, off the screen. Maybe down the track I will have dedicated time to create something like this again; but the only way I can do what I need to do, plus want to do is learn to say no to some things. (Big lesson there for all of us).

The Fearless Quilt : as story unfolding for life

The Fearless Quilt came to be quite unexpectedly, as does the nature of some things. Divine Inspiration, being open to the muse, listening & actioning, being guided..... or simply following along a path (however wonky & meandering it has been & will be) that you set out on some time ago. It doesn't matter how a thing comes to you, I think what matters is how to receive it and what you do with it, and where you take it, and how you hold it. 

I began on the first of the new year by writing a letter to my future self. I have planned to put it away and read it again in a year's time. What I wrote was nothing too dramatic, but just the putting into words - onto paper - what I have been telling myself all the past year. That I want to make art, create art, practice art, do art. So I wrote - every day this year I will sit and practice art. I will not worry what "art" means, or by what medium I work with. But I will practice at something artfully every single day. 

So, then I sat down with my fabrics and my stitching. And starting my hand sewing. I started slowly, simply enough. The beginnings of a quilt that I have been toying with for a little while now. The fabrics have be unfolded and folded, piled and stacked, sorted, placed, arranged, re-arranged, some stitched over, others the scraps from dye pots. Some ironed, others crumpled. But a smallish collection to begin something, with an intention. 

As I sat working, my mind started pondering. Making art for me starts to work towards the reality of what and where - where does my art go? I live a simple life, in a small home. We do not have space for more things. In my life I often ponder of putting more "stuff" out into the world, of people needing it (I always come round saying people want it, why shouldn't they have my beautiful stuff instead of shop bought stuff). But never-the-less there is that overarching ponder-ment of what happens to it afterwards. Which is why I decided on a quilt. Because a quilt is practical. The bed or person it drapes on becomes the wall for showing off the artwork, but the work takes on a new life by being used, loved, enjoyed. Not simply hung on a wall and looked at (I know that that too is good and important .... but we have so few walls I can't keep making wall things!). 

And as my brain oft does... it starts to ponder how will I be able to support this art making. How will I support my family through this art making. Making art everyday is vital and necessary and good for the soul - but the body and tummy needs nourishment too... which comes in the way of selling the art. And my mind goes off on tangents of selling art quilts... which I would so love to do. To have someone using, loving the work I create with my hands. But the realist in me knows that there's no way I can hand sew enough quilts to make a living, without wearing my fingers raw. 

And while I'm stitching - most importantly - I'm realising that the process with which I'm working / using isn't giving me the scope for the vision I have talking to me. The way that a quilt (bits of fabric sewn together) must work, weren't giving me the right format / blank space for the art aspect. I come across this in my loom weavings sometimes too - where the process of warping and then weaving means that I have to negotiate the vision, that it can't always be as I see it. A painting on canvas is a different way.... a quilt or a weaving has a different structure.

I had wanted to hand quilt the whole piece, but then... due to this aspect I decided to machine sew some sections together, which I can then hand quilt. This putting together will give me a different 'canvas' structure to work with, to begin with. The base plate will give me space for the vision, in a different way. I am not sure if this makes sense at all.... perhaps it doesn't matter ---- because it's all the underpinning for what came next, and then what came next from that. 

So : yesterday, I got out my sewing machine. I laid the backing piece down and started creating the pieces of the quilt top. I worked the colours, patterns, shapes, pieces - like a puzzle. But in small sections only, not like a traditional quilt that thinks about the whole piece as one thing... indeed just a bit here while I worked on that. Then I'll add more while I work on the next bit. And some sections I've left blank at the moment, until I come back to them - to add in other bits as needed. To build the vision, the story slowly slowly as it evolves. 

I am sewing fabrics together with different weights and weaves - some soft flimsy silks beside thick velvet, linen beside wool felt. And the pieces are not the same size or shape, and as in the traditional way of sewing seams and edges of fabric together -  some extend past others, some stop short. The structure of sewing seams together means this is a little wonky, and tricky, and totally "wrong" in any sense of how you machine sew. 

And this.... right here is where it all began!!! The magic of just jumping in. Of starting without an end picture in mind, I do not even have enough fabrics to complete it at the moment, I do not have space on my table to lay it all out. I do not have the inclination to lay it all out as one whole - but in fact to work on one section,  machine sew those pieces together, then hand sewn them onto the quilt backing (Which is a piece of linen). Then add on the next sections, and some will be hand sewn and some machine sewn. And some bits will be wonky, overlapping, there's gaps where the fabrics won't join or match up - I'll simply sew another piece over that to fill the space. 

A combination of all that I am, and all that I know. The straight lines and "rules" of machine sewing, the patched mendedness of boro or kantha, the quiet solitude of sashiko, and the wild fearlessness of my mother!

This morning I got up, the quilt on the kitchen table. (Remember I am home alone for three whole days - no-one to ask me for things, no need to push aside my projects for family meals). And I began playing with the fabrics again. An excitement welling up. But my mind is not one to quietly sit by while my hands work..... 

And so - from there... the notions of pulling my scraps, my precious saved collected stitched loved hand dyed fabrics, combined with my wild notions of making mistakes and just giving it a go, added to my underpinning of understanding the structure of making a quilt / sewing something, joined with the quietness of days at home alone... And I come to this ::

The Fearless Quilt is the story of my life. We all know that quilts are stories of things, and lives.. Traditionally the way they're made, stitched by women around family, life, hardship, joy. Quilt patterns have names that relate to something. Well - here's my quilt pattern, and here's what it relates to.

My life this year will be fearless. I will take all that I know, and jump headfirst into all that I do not know. I will take the precious saved things from out of the boxes and use them, love them, make mistakes with them - maybe even ruin some of them. I will take the knowledge combined with the emotions and create things. I think this is how I run my business, and how I creatively work. But to have the word form in my head - to show me what I have been doing without realising. This year I will take everything and put it together. It will take time, it will be slow and sometimes hard. There will be bursts of inspiration, and moments of having to push through. I'll have to make some new pieces to add in, and borrow some pieces as well. I'll have to find extra bits, ask for help, teach myself things again and anew. 

I received an email this morning that added to all this. That was perhaps like the binding on a quilt - showing me how to make it all as something that can be used.  This year I will bind my Fearless Quilt and I will bind my Fearless life, ready to be used, loved, perhaps worn a little, enjoyed, appreciated......

Right now - there's the working it all out. Seeing how it can happen. But the ideas are bubbling. And so here's what I know now :: this year I will write two books. One I already have begun, and have an editor and publishers for. One I will write for myself... I will hope to find someone - but maybe publish it myself. It will be based upon my Fearless Simple Creative living, and based upon my Unfurl & Bloom course, and based upon the notions I have inside me that I have so much to give to others... to help them find their creative selves. 

Becoming is such a wonderful word, because it's about growing & learning, and moving towards something else. It's about stretching into who we are and we are *meant* to be. While I've taken all these words and feelings from the fabric scraps of my life, my slow & mindful moments, my journaling & nature play, my courage to step into the unknown & make mistakes, have allowed for me to move towards a place that makes sense to me. That while I'm continuing to listen to my materials (fabric, yarn, paper & pen, camera, leaves, life, mind, heart, soul, dreams) I'm able to stitch them together into a form of who I am and how I present to the world. Combined with the practical reality of how that creative-ness will pay for itself, and give me an income. 

I suppose all this Unfurling is what this is about - finding the right way through to where we need to be to make things work for ourselves. 

Illustrated Shibori

I thought you might like to see the slow stages of my slow book happening...

This is step-by-step of a Shibori fold & clamp / tie. The clamp looks a little funny, but I think it's obvious enough what it is. I do like the String better + easier to draw... 

I'm loving doing these; I know they're quite naive in style, but that's me and my style. And the art director for my book says he likes them - so that's good!

Just going with the flow, being myself; embracing who I am and what I have to offer. I hope you are too!!

It's Monday morning here, school holidays. The cicadas are droning already - they're the soundtrack of this year's Summer for sure. So many. It'll be hot today.

I have some words to write for my editor and then hang clothes on the line, then my sister will be here and we're going to give my dad's house a little tidy / freshen up. He's home from India tomorrow (he was away for 7 weeks).

Have a beauty-filled day. Xx

Lately.... working on the beginning of a book

So - I've probably been shouting it and telling anyone who cares to listen, but I'm writing a book. UH HUh! Yep.. And I actually also have a publisher. Ain't that pretty special. 

It won't be out for ages. Like next year, or the one after. I don't even know to be honest. I know I'm in the very very beginning stages of it all. But I'm excited. I'll be writing, photographing and illustrating it all myself. Big, yes. Exciting, yes. Scary, yes. 

I can't really share much on my regular page or Instagram... because I feel like some things need to be a surprise, a secret. Yes, don't you think? But I thought maybe I could share a little with you here. 

It will be a craft how-to book, but also essays (of sorts, more like conversations) about slow living, slow crafting, slow creating. There'll be sections on Botanical dye, indigo, shibori, on slow stitch, on weaving - both loom weaving and basket weaving. And heaps more. There'll be a process aspect to it, the way that I work, as well as specific make it this way projects.

Here's just a few sneak pics of what I'm working on at the moment. It's called a BLAD - book layout and design - and what it is is a mock up of how the book will look, in only a few pages (maybe 12-15 pages), with the cover, contents page and a few projects / photos / illustrations. To show to other publishers who may be interested in coming on board. 

It seems to be the way publishers work... if they can get a bigger market, it means my book can go to a bigger audience. So, my publishers are in UK, but they're looking to take the BLAD to USA and Europe book fairs.  

These are just a few photos and illustrations I've been working on. If you follow me on Instagram and are wondering why I've been more quiet than usual this is why.

I've moved internet homes

Hello - I just wanted to let you know that I've moved internet homes. After ALL THESE YEARS on blogger, I've finally got my own domain name for my blog and using wordpress to build a blog website.

Please come over and visit me -

Petalplum 

Thanks so much for reading. I'm going to slowly import a few blog posts from here, but will leave this space open because golly - there's so much history and beautiful parts of my life that I only ever recorded here. 

the art of art

Here's some truths….

I grew up in a very very extremely creative home. I was supported in my artistic, creative wishes… My parents helped, pretty hands-on, with my massive end of high school art piece. Actually, they probably helped with a whole lot of most of the things we made at home. Not always hands on helping, but support and idea sharing, and offering advice and suggestions. And supplying materials and space to create. And sharing "real" artists - books of, stories of, taking us to exhibitions and talking about their history, their careers, their art techniques.. That sort of thing. The sort of things that we took for granted. Some of which I offer my kids now, and they take for granted. Which is cool - I think kids should take some things for granted from their parents. 

But - here's the thing. Through all this. Going to a Steiner school, having special art teachers, going to art camp during holidays… all those things (Which for my parents would have cost a lot, and been a challenge for them to find the funds for - somehow they did; with 4 kids too!). I still didn't go to art school, or ever consider myself as becoming an artist. (I did want to be an actor, which is an artist in itself - but I gave that dream up when I didn't get into any of the drama schools I wanted to). I never once considered the possibility of "being an artist when I grow up". Neither did my younger sister, or my older brother. My older sister did go to art school, and majored in photography, and she now works in the arts industry - but not as a photographer, and not as an artist. 

Now - at this stage in my life, where I'm coming closer and closer to calling myself an "artist" I still have these issues, doubts, thoughts about it. I know mostly all real artists go through this.. huh. Do they. Maybe. I guess everyone goes through different aspects of that through whatever their career. I'm not saying I'm special or different by having these thoughts, issues, whatevers. 

What I am saying, asking… is why.. And then - I remember that while my parents lived this very creative artistic life, neither of them was really a practicing artist. My mother wanted so desperately to be a potter, well to be accepted and acknowledged. She plugged on and on, with all her creative skills and talents - but always was left short of that particular fulfilment of being recognised. Even her craft of being a yoga teacher wasn't respected the way she deserved. But she kept at it, and battled through it. 

Many of you know that my mama is no longer here, walking our Earth. I was youngish and caught up in myself when she died, so much of this could be strange memories, or made-up extrapolations. And I don't know / will never know the full depth of much of what she was, went through, wanted… But I do know, remember, and now myself feel, that pain - a deep ache - of wanting to be 'accepted' somehow. 

I don't talk about my dad much here, because he's himself and I don't think he wants his story to be shared - especially my version of it.

All this is the lead-in to say…. I've been thinking about the art of making art. And about the anguish of. But mostly - about the way to come around and away from that strange need for validation from an outside world. Which is hard in this time of 'likes' and 'followers' and such a big world of popularity. Everyone wants more than their 15minutes of fame - we all want continual ever-increasing fame. And many people will never get that, many people who don't deserve it (artistically speaking) will get it…. 

So - as a society, and a community. What do we do about this? How do we raise a new generation who don't value or need this validity of 'likes' and 'followers'. Or is it just a bigger version of the school yard where we can all see the physical number count of someone's popularity - rather than guessing at and giggling about the losers in the playground. I was never the popular kid at school; I was quite happy being the slightly strange 'hippie' kid (not self-named) who was respected by people but not their number one or anything.

For me, as a mother and a creative and a sorta-kinda practicing 'artist/maker' my goal is to let go of the 'likes' issue. To make for making's sake - to delve into what I want. To remember that girl who made because she loved making. Who stood in drama class and spoke words loudly and proudly. Who made a plaster cast of her body and filled it with precious things, and glued birds wings on her back for her high school major artwork. That girl. The one who spoke up to the bullies and didn't really mind what people thought of her if they weren't her friends. And to help my kids be that person too - find that person in themselves and never forget him / her throughout this world of popular. 

Yep - that's my goal. Find the girl who glued green bird wings to her plaster cast body. 

(*I wish I could share a photo of this piece with you. For while I still have it, it's slightly the worse for wear… not having been stored in an art gallery or anything prestigious like that Cause doesn't everyone's year 12 artwork get picked up by a gallery! also - bird wings / feathers were found in our forest home, no birds were harmed. Also - I love that we dyed paper and fabric with natural berries from our forest home for part of the work. These things - from way back then - are my life now.)

let's share a cup of tea & conversation

Sometimes I feel like I'm baring my soul; 

Other times it's as if I'm hiding, there's little bits left behind.

Not that I don't want to share, just that somehow it doesn't come out right and the stories get a little lost in translation (from my brain to these words).

At any rate - I know that the more I keep doing it (putting words out here like this) the better I get at it. Somehow closer to the truth, perhaps if I'm lucky.

I've started blogging again. It may take me a while to find my routine and rhythm within it. I hope you'll come by and visit - to share tea and conversations with me....ideas and concepts and half-baked thoughts. And some pretty, and possibly a little ugly somewhere along the way.

I would like - if you could perhaps let me know what you'd like to read more of, hear more about....those stories that I have inside to share - which ones do you want to hear, to extract from me...? For I think coming for cups of tea - it is nice to guide the conversation a little, isn't it.

Gather Create : Summer's Harvest

Some of my really favourite things to do are gathering with other creative people; connecting, making, sharing, collaborating, learning, teaching, delving deeply into new ideas. Laughing. Drinking tea and eating cake. And making - stitching, dyeing, weaving… it doesn't always matter what the making is. Mostly it's about the connecting. Gather create connect. 

18 months ago I was so so lucky to bring a group of people together, alongside my sister-friend Leah, and share in a similar day Gather Create : Unfurl. I see people even now and we talk about that day. How amazing it was. How beautiful and connective and sharing and creative. How fantastic the food was. There aren't many photos from that day, which is testament to how deeply everyone was actually immersed in the day - not looking from the outside and taking photos, but being involved in being there. 

Due to…ummm - having a baby - I wasn't able to organise one last year, but it's been in my mind, heart and soul…. and I've been waiting waiting for the right time. And now I'm so pleased that it's happening again. Oh golly. I can't even begin to imagine how good - truly truly good - this day will be. 

This time we'll be gathering along the banks of a creek, set in the rainforest. At my neighbour's home & (new) cooking school - Jean, of Artisan Wholefoods. This will be the first gathering event for her place, which is a little bit exciting, don't you think. Jean teaches workshops in nourishing foods, the whole food journey being paramount to her recipes, but highly delicious. Jean's food isn't about trends or fads, but about real food that is good for your body and soul, while making your eyes water, your mouth smile and your tummy grumble (you'll probably want to get out your camera too - cause her food is beautiful as well as delicious - seriously win win win when you're being fed by Jean).

Our day will begin with a morning tea cake table - uh huh…. a cake table. Oh my. Can you imagine it…. All natural whole real foods (no refined sugar or horrible fake colourings). And water kefirs as well as organic tea and freshly brewed coffee. We'll gather and fill our tummys and talk and connect - we plan on an informal talk about finding your creativity, sharing on social media (mainly Instagram), and staying honest and true to yourself throughout it all. 

Jean will give a hands-on cooking demonstration of our lunch - a wholegrain pastry recipe for a Summer's Harvest tart. You'll learn how to make this at home, to nourish your family and impress your friends. There's be lots of hands-on photography time during this session, so you foodies will be able to explore the light and beauty with your camera. 

While lunch is being prepared, we'll slip outside to the back deck and garden to create some magic in the dye pots. Using all hand harvested botanical dyes - from this region - we'll make colour on fabric and yarn. Zoe and I will share all our experience, tips and how-tos at the dye pot… and you'll get your hands colourful and be delighted with the results. While our materials are dyeing we'll devour the lunch that Jean has prepared and linger over it while chatting and exploring the creek nearby. 

And then slowly slowly we'll do some stitch work - using assorted fabrics (some pre-dyed by me, some vintage & special pieces from my collection, some we dye on the day) we'll hand stitch a piece for you to take home, to keep working on, to create in your moments of time. There'll be a few projects available - a hand stitched scarf, notebook cover, drawstring pouch or small pillow case… or you can simply stitch samples to eventually sew into a quilt cover. If by any chance you're still hungry there'll be cakes and biscuits from morning tea, endless cups of tea, coffee or water kefir - or just beautiful fresh from the forest creek water. And we'll spend the afternoon settled into the beautiful stillness of creating and stitching, conversing and connecting.

This day is about more than just a regular workshop. It's a feeling, an emotion, a time to reconnect with yourself, with your creativity, with your inner quiet and slow… while also meeting other people in the area, in your creative fields. We truly can't wait to share this day with you - to experience a community of connectedness, a sharing of experience and skills, and whole lot of delicious cake and natural dye magic. 

All the details and booking info is on my website, but please, if you have any questions at all - don't hesitate to ask me via email (ellieabeck@hotmail.com) or through Instagram. 

Gather Create : Summer's Harvest

Saturday 12th March, 2016. 9.30am - 4pm (Day light saving time)

Full price tickets $225, early bird tickets $180 - still available until Valentine's Day. 

And if you can't come along, but want to share in the stitch-natural dye experience I have Gather Create stitch kits that will have the fabric and projects as well as some special tea so you can share with us. Available here. 

* outdoor photos by Jean Martinez Artisan Wholefoods. 

Creative Conversations {Geraldine Devine from Bee Eco}

I have a supremely beautiful and special conversation to share with you today. I want to jump right into this home, this family and be part of it all - don't you?!
Geraldine Devine, of BeeEco beeswax wraps, is a woman who lives the life she talks about - she runs her business with a full heart and commitment to her beliefs; her family form the basis of all she does, and her home is full of warmth, honesty, colour and beauty. Living a true sustainable life, Geraldine and her family share their ideals in a positive light - inviting you to be part of the change through simple slow thoughtful living. This isn't about the perfect life, it's about a thoughtful journey, about sharing, connecting and educating. Geraldine, along with her husband Matt and four children, aren't living a trendy hipster Indie lifestyle (though, golly couldn't this photo below be an album cover!) - they're more content with simply living their daily beauty and watching their children play. 

I want to know about your beautiful family - tell me about where you live, and your amazing-looking home, and those sweet little ones of yours. 

Our family of six live deep in a very enchanting forest in a soul warming & welcoming treehouse cottage. A 1920's Teahouse, renewed by our favourite craftspeople, using recycled timbers & materials. It rattles, shakes & is filled with love & quirky character! Our self sustainable haven of tranquility, 'off the grid' with solar power, tank water & no services. Based on Permaculture & Biodynamic Principles we built a cob oven, spiral veggie patch, dam filled with silver perch, yabbies, lotus & lilies and a sub tropical orchard. Free range animals, tree forts, swings & fairy gardens galore, bring daily delight & good reason to live life outdoors. Our gorgeous children, Archi, 11, Arjuna, 8, Mirrah, 5 & Soma, 2 have a rhythm of farm duties, crafting, cooking, tree climbing, animal loving, reading & lots of surfing. The Farm is an endlessly magical oasis for them & fills our heart immeasurably to witness them being raised this way!

What are Bee Eco wraps? Share why you started making them - what lead you to walk this path in life? 

Bee Eco Wraps are a beautiful & sustainable method of wrapping your food. GOTS Certified Organic Fabric or Handprinted Hemp, infused with beeswax, jojoba & tree resin. A reusable option to reduce your use of plastic and enhance the freshness & longevity of your food, naturally. A tactile, everyday reminder of the changes we can make toward sustainable lifestyles. 

What you love, comes to be! Bee Eco, born from two great passions, textiles & sustainable living! 

Raising children saw us shift from being environmentally aware observers to become active participants in paving a sustainable future. This is our time to 'be'.  Role models that are grounded & passionate. Respecting this beautiful planet.  

Our kitchen is the hub of our house as it bubbles, brews, ferments & soaks are daily fare. Beeswax Wraps are an essential part of the homesteading, food loving kitchen! 

The 'Market Life' of the business is also our destiny, a perfect adjunct to our farm life, as we thrive amongst the bustling, diverse, musical, artistic & farming community on the Sunshine Coast. 

You make all the wraps by hand - can you share a little of the process, or how special they are… how much work/time/energy/love goes into each piece? 

We have poured so much love & positive energy into Bee Eco. The business has become a healthy part of our family, an element to the rhythm of our days (and nights!). From collecting the beeswax (and honey), cutting, chopping, blending, waxing, curing, every element absorbing the chatter & song of children & existing amongst the bustle of farm life. The monotonous sectors are enlivened with chit chat or loud music & the creative & delectable tasks of designing & choosing fabrics we savour & enjoy. 

Is Bee Eco a full time business or do you have jobs outside of the home as well? 

Bee Eco, our 50 acre farm & 4 children leaves us full! 

On the Farm we love to grow & make our own, we trade & support artisans & local growers. Within a community, our humble, real & down to earth existence can find it's authentic face. 

As a mama of 4 with a handcrafted family business, how to fit it all in, how do you find your 'balance' within the busy?

Laying in the garden, warmed by the dappled afternoon sun, nuzzled by lambs, surrounded by chickens, nibbling on fresh picked lychees near the bustling beehive, the children spread amongst singing, climbing, whittling & chicken raising..... we poured our heart & soul into creating this lifestyle & we are committed to savouring it. 

The balance is a gift from our children, who are ever present in each aspect of our life. To ensure we remain good role models on how a day should run, full of rhythm, purpose, nature, creativity & connectivity. To each other. To slow and channel our energy toward specific tasks with intent and positivity. 

In a slow living orientated household with no technology (other than a work iPad) and an aversion to shops & consumerism, time really opens up. We have a different sense of 'presence' now. We are so much more deeply engrossed in daily tasks. A choice to minimalise our distractions, interactions & things that we find may deplete us. Allowing our strengths to surface & our consciousness & peace to unite & ignite us. 

We feel that the greatest impact we can have on paving a sustainable and enriched future is held in our commitment to this lifestyle & passing traditions & knowledge onto our children. We are dedicated to not filling our lives too full to allow slow & generous time to relish in our children & the natural world. 

The wisdom of age brings insight, boundaries & more confidence to keep business within the realms of our energy resources, to harness it as a handmade, homemade family business. 

In a recent busy season phase, the snakes found holes to the baby chicks, the goanna's got to the eggs, I cooked my mother sourdough, the kombucha grew weird stuff & the animals took over the house. Yoga joined the list of multitasking skills, I got to bed just as the baby started nightly wake ups from not enough slow time day breastfeeding, I often forgot to breathe & my idea of tidy was to sweep everything into an ever growing pile (!), our sense of why we do what we do gained more strength than ever. Busy is good, but balance is essential. 

In the fast & hectic times we practice our mantras, remember to breathe & endeavour to have each other's back as we shelter our small folk from the inherent pressures of a small, family business. 

We are so very deeply in love with family life, grateful for our lifestyle & enjoy creating beautiful Beeswax Wraps. We pull ourselves & each other short when we feel too sorry for ourselves. We do sometimes call our life 'relentless'; the farm jobs, food preparation, lack of sleeping ~ we've been co sleeping & breastfeeding for a LONG time ~ this 'balancing' & juggling. Our life travels and experience have developed an ingrained need to think globally & remember our good fortune. We have many affirmations, methods & tools that we utilise to stay afloat through the tough times, that do, & will always come! We laugh, ALOT!

I love the recent fabric collaboration you did with Ink & Spindle (image above) and the linocut prints with artist Taryn Eales. You do a lot of collaborations with the fabrics of Bee Eco wraps - is this part of your business model, how do you choose who to collaborate with and do you have any tips to share on how to make it work well for both sides. 

The creative process & exchange of ideas is so vibrant in collaboration. We tend to work with folks with a mutual understanding of the dynamics within a creative family business & the flexibility & genius required to uphold professionalism, with a baby off one hip, amongst the chorus of little chatterers & helpers. 

The collective exploration & exchange of ideas results in something exceptionally beautiful, useful & bursting with story. Our hearts are full with the beauty created & friendships formed through collaboration. 

Like all of life, expect a few downturns, or sticky aspects & determine to ride it with grace. As the journey of a business & creative collaboration unfolds, remain kind, fair, professional & excited. Keep in the forefront of your mind what you can give rather than what you shall receive. 

Collaboration is a process of human relations, to which you can garner all of your gathered wisdom to bring about success. To offer your innate gifts & talents to bring to the table & trade with your chosen 'idols'! Fun!! 

Have you got anything coming up this year that you'd love to share?

The Ink & Spindle Collaboration was such an honour for us and we just adore the outcome! As it all sold out near immediately, a new Australian Native Botanical Range, once again designed & handprinted by Lara Cameron & Caitlin Klooger in Melbourne, is very soon to be released. 

The innate beauty & talent of Taryn Eales will continue to flourish as we bring more handcarved linocut, handprinted with Eco dyes, onto a gorgeous sturdy hemp. These Wraps feel invaluable & enriching to the soul of a kitchen. We roll down the country lanes, over rickety bridges, the kids mooing all the way, into Taryn's whimsical farm paradise, you truly can feel the beauty of this very talented Mama encapsulated in each handprinted Wrap! 

A beautiful boiling pot of textile love is brewing! We are just bubbling with excitement at some  upcoming collaborations! Solar screen printing & nature dyes with some of our favourite creative folk are amongst the excitement. 

We have also opened the doors of our Farm to welcome others travelling a journey of self sustainable living. 

What's your best eco tip - the simple smaller everyday things often are the best aren't they? 

Our number one Eco tip is time in Nature. Every day, as much as possible. The real change comes from within & occurs in Nature! A form of Eco enlightenment that brings a consciousness & empowers the determination to make & stick with those daily changes. Then get excited about all of the wonderful things you will learn, cool sustainable community you can be a part of & relish in the beauty of the natural world you are conscious of protecting. 

On a practical level, allow a gentle awakening to the perils of plastic & eco conscious choices. Create a list. Step by step challenge the disposable parts of life. 

Buy in bulk. Shift to sustainable toothbrushes, shampoo bars, jojoba oil & henna. Bicarbonate soda, apple cider vinegar & eucalyptus for cleaning. A great dishwashing cloth, scrubber, soap nuts for laundry. A mason jar each, a favourite op shop spoon, bamboo straw when out & about. Vintage wicker baskets are fabulous or an essential reusable shopping bag.  Look at ways to trade goods & reduce consumerism, or delve into the magical world of vintage! 

There is so much to learn about fermenting, gardening, cooking or sewing tapped into a local like minded community. Sustainable living is cool, pass it on! The time is NOW to be that change. 

I'd love to hear if you introduce beeswax wraps to your life - they are one simple change. You can find all the info about the Beeswax wraps here, and follow along with BeeEco on Instagram. 

create learn connect share

One of the things I love doing the most, in my creative outlet, is teaching and sharing. 

Have I ever told you that when I was a kid I wanted to be a teacher? Of course, I always thought that meant being a primary school teacher - sitting at a desk with a vase of flowers and the chalk board to draw or write upon. We used to play schools during our holidays, and I was always always the teacher. And all the dolls and teddys and animals and my sister were the students. 

So now, that my creative job - career! - has evolved into being a teacher. Well… I think it's a whole lot of lovely, and little bit strange. Of course, I don't sit behind a desk and teach the times tables or English language or about Roman clothing. Now I sit beside my students, I walk amongst them. My hands guide their hands, my voice shares my skills, experiences and knowledge. And my students go away after a day's lesson knowing how to work with their hands, so create something heart felt, meaningful, beautiful. And, hopefully, how to tap into their own innate creative self, how to express their creative vision and discover their own way of working, rather than following someone else's or copying pinterest.

All this is to say…. I have some workshops coming up soon and I hope that you can come along, that I can guide your hands and converse with you, and share my love of making and discovering your creative journey. 

Loom Weaving ~ oh my, you ready to become addicted to something soft and cuddly and seriously good! I love weaving in a way I haven't quite ever connected with the other yarny crafts.

Natural Botanical & Indigo Dyeing with Shibori ~ eeekkk eeekkkk. Yes. This will change the way you look at plants, flowers and leaves and you'll be dyeing every piece of pale fabric and yarn in your life. Seriously my full love for this way of working. 

Product Styling & Instagram ~ So… the real reason I haven't been at this lovely little blog for the past of 4 years is Instagram. If you follow me (and do… please do!) you'll know how much I love it so. In a good good way. Because it's so good for connecting with other people, and having a creative outlet and somewhere to share and learn and inspire and be inspired. Anyway, in this workshop I will share my way of styling products and things for selling and for fun, and also how I go about 'doing Instagram.' It's seriously going to be GOOD. 

You can find all my workshops and creative event info on my website here. Or join my mailing list… (send me an email to ellieabeck@hotmail.com and I'll add you to the list). 

Workshops & Events

September 2015 ~

Saturday 13th - Natural & Botanical Dye - Sydney. Booking and details here. SOLD OUT
Sunday 14th - Loom Weaving - Sydney. 1.30-4.30pm. Booking and details here.
Saturday 19th - Loom Weaving with naturally dyed yarns - Newcastle. Booking and details here.
Sunday 20th - Natural & Botanical Dye - Newcastle. Booking and details here.

Kids School Holiday workshops - details coming soon.

October 2015 ~

Saturday 3rd - Loom Weaving - Gold Coast. Booking and details here.

Get your Weave on - workshops in weaving (and finding your own creative voice)

I've long wanted to do some weaving workshops with adults, to share my own way of working with yarn and making pretty wall hangings and pieces of art. I've finally found someone who makes looms in Australia that I can share with you.

Weaving is just the teensiest bit addictive; I've actually been dreaming about new weaves and wanting to get up at mid-night to finish the current piece on my loom..... The house can stay messy for all I can. I guess I'll have to eventually feed the family - though they're pretty good at making do themselves.

Anyway. I'd love to share the fun and complete satisfaction that comes with making your own weaving. It's like making your own piece of amazingness. Yep - it's that cool!

I have a couple of workshops coming up really soon (before this baby pops!). Would love love you to come along if you can. To learn the basic skills and techniques and to spend time with me and hopefully soak up some of how I work - by breaking rules, making my own rules, experimenting, having fun, conversing with my materials...

Oh yes indeed. I do have conversations with my yarn and fabric. Sometimes they tell me they want to be just so and I really have to listen. I do think it takes practice and quiet and being fully involved in your work to listen to your materials. But when you do, when you discover how to, I think it brings an emotion and a uniqueness to your work. It brings yourself to your work. Not copying someone else's stitches and patterns and ways of doing things, but doing it your own way. Telling your own story. Allowing your own voice to shine. 

That's important. I hope that during all my workshops (be in children or adults, screen printing or weaving or sewing or....) I can help you to open up and find your own inner voice. To allow you - give you permission indeed - to shout your own creative visual voice. That's so important to me. That we all share our voices, that we all feel confident that we can share our voice, and not hide behind copying someone else, or worse still not making and creating because we don't think our voice is valid. 

Part weaving workshop / part find your creative visual voice workshop. Yep.

Details are: Get Your Weave On!

Brisbane - Saturday 20th Sept, 12.30 - 4pm. At Tangled Yarns in Newstead. 

Byron Bay - Saturday 27th Sept, 10am - 1.30pm. At Bubbles at the Head Studio in Byron Bay. 

Cost is: $145 for 3.5hr workshop. You go home with your own new weaving loom + accessories (those lovely wooden needles), instruction booklet, scissors and yarns. You'll have a beautiful day with new friends (or bring a friend along to weave together), nibbling cake and treats and creating an amazing special piece to take home. 

Bookings are essential as spots are very limited. Bookings through our online store. Click here. Or email me for more info if you want. (deadwoodcreative@gmail.com). 

I'm also open to private classes if you'd like to gather some friends and have a weaving workshop at home.

creativity, play, appreciation, curiosity..... with Alex Falkiner {Unfurl for Gather :: Create}

I don't even know when or how I first stumbled upon the work of artist Alex Falkiner. I just know that the very moment I saw her pieces, her sense of colour-play and creative movement caught my heart and my eyes, and I haven't stopped looking and enjoying and being inspired since that day some years ago. 

I currently only 'know' Alex through online interaction; Instagram, emails, etc. We haven't yet met in real life, but I know already that Alex and I have a lot in common, and a lot to talk about. A lot to share and a lot to give. For alongside her work of textile manipulation, of taking pieces of forgotten thread and combining them with found fragments of wire or lost assorted pieces, Alex feels and talks and connects with the act of making, the process of making and creating. She is open with her journey of being an artist, an emerging artist as she calls herself. Perhaps an unfurling artist might be more apt - as Alex talks a lot about Unfurling and discovering and growing and learning through the exploration of creative art-making. You can join in her conversations, or be inspired by her words, through her Instagram feed, her website or her regular newsletters sharing her current thoughts and ways of being. 

At this moment, Alex has left a home and is journeying where the artist winds take her. Meeting and connecting with people, and sharing her joyful sense of finding moments in your life away from the busy of everyday. Of soaking up the moments of a crease upon a table cloth, or the shadow made by her morning coffee cup. Her workshops aren't so much a follow the rules, do what I say, they are more a 'here's what I know, here's my technique and my own way of doing this, but let's discover a new way together'. She brings the supplies - the fabric and threads and colour bursting to make your heart sing, and the little collections of pieces that you may walk straight past. Under Alex's eye these pieces will be turned into a treasure, a something to enjoy, to inspire, to amuse. And under Alex's guidance you will see how to take these patches of colour and texture and make something that will lift your heart and inspire your eyes.

What does being a creative mean to you?

Being creative doesn't just mean being an artist, it’s not a thing that some special people are born or blessed with. I believe creativity is in each of us and nurturing it is actually essential if you want to enjoy life and contribute to others. Creativity is a practice, it's about doing things with attention, bringing beauty and appreciation into your life. I’ve also found that it is impossible to separate creativity from play, appreciation and curiosity, they’re all bundled up. I'm interested in expanding our idea of what creativity is and taking the time to see where we’re being creative already in our lives, the creativity that goes unnoticed, part of that is finding words that resonate with you, being able to articulate it. Like the word ‘unfurl’ for me at the moment, I love that word.

How do you find inspiration for new work?

I always begin with material play and some kind of 'problem' in mind. I find if I set myself some quite specific limitations I can really play freely inside of them. Actually, we’ll be experimenting with this in the workshop, finding and creating the ideal conditions you need to play. Asking: what does that space look like for you?

How do you push yourself through a creative slump (e.g. - if the inspiration isn't coming and you have a deadline...)?

The main thing is to get to know your creative slumps, feel them, notice them and then make stuff anyway. I find my slumps are usually money triggered and come in the form of resignation and judgement and crying and wanting to hide or give up. I can be quite dramatic about it all!

To get out of it I ask myself how I would like to feel in this moment and what steps I could take to make that happen. It’s about getting connected with what is important, remembering what I was up to before the slump, refocusing on what lights me up. If it’s a really set-in slump this usually involves a lot of writing and listening to favourite talks, reading tender words. Then I take action! I find a series of tiny actions to get the fruitful stuff happening again.

I often begin something mindless, automated, something that I’ve done a bazillion times, something with no purpose – just making for the sake of making! Once my hands are moving, it gets me out of my head. This is one of the reasons I love making, I focus on working the materials, exploring pleasing colour combinations, mastering or innovating a technique, experimenting – I get lost here! Making always reminds me what I’m good at and what is possible. I feel very different here – cocooned, nourished, enlivened, curious. It’s a good place to be.

Do you prefer to work to your own ideas, or do you like the challenge of a brief from someone else? 

I definitely prefer working on my own projects and setting my own (open) briefs. I have this very strong sense that it is important to follow my own trajectory, exploring and uncovering what it is I need to make, seeing what will happen next. 

What's your ideal creative day?

Hmm... I’d begin the day in silence. A few pages of writing to clear some space. Laying on the floor daydreaming, a bit of a stretch, then I’d write lots of words on paper, culling them down to words I really enjoy the sound of, ones that feel like home… I’d ponder these words over pancakes and black coffee, keeping warm in the sun and enjoying the sunlight across the breakfast crockery casting shadows on the table. After breakfast I’d lay out some old works, half made pieces, materials and tools out on the table and spend the whole morning arranging, adapting and reworking them, listening to music. On this ideal day I’d have a small nap, followed by a leafy walk and lunch with a good friend and perhaps even an afternoon sea swim! We’d return to my studio for crumbly apple cake and a pot of tea and spend the afternoon chatting and making together. I’d spend an unreasonable amount of time just arranging the fragments and odds and ends on various surfaces…haha!

What's your favourite material to work with?

I mainly work with textiles, I am drawn to them because they are part of life, so accessible and very adaptable. They also bring this sort of comforting, nurturing element to the table, which I love. I think it’s important to choose materials according to your state. If you’re feeling tentative choose materials that are appealing or curious to you… perhaps like a colourful bait to lure your creative self out of hiding. If you feel like a challenge take something you consider to be ‘bad taste’ and see what you can do with it, find it’s potential, find something about it that delights you, transform it into something of value.

Collaboration - do you like working with someone else, or are you best on your own? How do you bring your own voice to collaboration?

I am actually on the look out for a kind of collaboration that would work for me, but exactly what this would look like is still forming. I’ve collaborated with different organisations in the past to create installations, community engaged projects and create workshops. I tend to try and do everything on my own! But I love the support and the momentum of collaboration and know that things can be richer and more far-reaching when the right people get behind it. In a way my workshops are a kind of collaboration, we support each other and learn and build something together…

Are there lots of pieces or work that never makes it to the light of day - or is everything you make a final "good copy"?

I make use of everything! I actually get a real kick out of putting not-quite things or still-being-made pieces in exhibitions! It’s a fine line, it has to be just balancing on the edge… I can’t tell you how liberating it is to exhibit a piece of Easter egg foil! Or a single thread! Haha! And it’s not just liberating for me, I believe the job of artists is to make room, to hold spaces. I get such joy turning up to a gallery with a small Tupperware container full of ‘stuff’ and seeing doubt and concern wash over the face of the person in charge… Then seeing their surprise and delight as careful pinning and thoughtful arranging of that overlooked stuff becomes a beautiful dance of colour and shadow across the wall. It has to be close to failing so the surprise is real! I’m looking to shift our belief of what is possible.

Why is play-based creative making so important to you? And also, why share it with others? Why not keep it to yourself..?
Play-based making always leads me where I want to go, it opens me up, opens up ideas and leads to genuine ‘me’ work. Not the work I think I should make, but the work that I need to make. Play allows me to safely detour from what I know, offers an alternative to the certainty of the predetermined outcome… Play is expansive, but not in a scary way! It is the opposite of forcing and pushing. Play-based making gives me room to unfurl, it takes the pressure off.

It is imperative that I share this way of doing things because I know it works, and I know it can often appear that there is no time or room for play in this world. This world where perfection and efficiency rule, where play is only for kids, where we adults are too busy and important for that frivolous stuff! But we need it! And I have found (through play!) that I am really great at creating and holding the space to play. It gives me real joy to hold that space for others and see them flourish there.

Alex is our guest facilitator at the upcoming Gather :: Create workshop. She will be sharing her way of working in a 3hour session "Unfurl ~ small scale conversations with textiles". Bookings for this workshop are essential, and we only have a few spots left - you can find more information, or book here. This is a full day workshop event, with our other guest facilitator Karina Sharpe. 

You can see more of Alex's work on her website here, or her Instagram here. Of go and connect via her Facebook page here. 

** all images used with kind thanks from Alex Falkiner, via her website. 

mind-smiling and creative play with Karina Jean Sharpe {Poetic Collage for gather :: create}

I first 'met' Karina through the wonderful visual world of Instagram. I was immediately taken by her clear images that sang with a story, and made me smile a quirky smile, and touched my heart all at the same time.  The very first time we met in real life was sorta-kinda special. In so much that I felt I already knew her (through Instagram and email conversations) and we could just jump right into the part of being friends and connecting, and could skip right over the silly of having to impress each other. She liked me for just me, and ain't that something grand! Since then every time I've seen her, she's brought her humour, humility and wisdom along, and shared her insights into creativity and sharing and being true to yourself. 

Karina Jean Sharpe is has a background in industrial design and mechanical engineering, yet a whimsical sense of play in her work. She ties these two aspects of her personality together beautifully in her styled images and words. Karina is interested in seeing aspects that other's don't always notice, and she loves to share this sometimes minute worlds that she imagines. Take for example her Thumb Tree Hill video. 

At our upcoming gather :: create workshop, Karina will be sharing her self-learned technical skills in the art of paper collage with a difference, combined with taking a journey along Karina's magical word play and picture connections. Poetic Collage will be a whole new way of looking at magazine tear sheets and interesting images, and help you create a story book of your own visual voice - words and images combined to help you unlock your own inner story.

I asked Karina to share a little of herself with us today. And if this magical story below isn't enough to convince you that a day spent in her presence will shine some lights and make some sparkle, then hang out at her Instagram a little longer.....

What does being a creative mean to you?

Everything. The freedom to be creative means everything to me. The times in my life that I have been unhappy, where the times that I was in a situation where there was no room for creativity. Being creative, in general, is being able to look at a situation, choose how to move forward, follow that decision and end up at a result that would have been totally different had you chosen any other choices. Creativity can exist in all forms of being: making, writing, creating, cooking, parenting, gardening, tidying, cleaning, conversing … as long as you are not a robot I think you can be creative.

The act of being creative, for me, means the opportunity to express my thoughts and ideas and to share them with other people. It is a realm in which I can be my whole self and create things of beauty. 

How do you find inspiration for new work?

Mostly I feel like it finds me. Usually when I am not looking, or when I am playing around with other concepts. I have learnt to listen to all the small inklings of ideas. Some of my favourite work has come from crazy little thoughts, like: that shell could have a trail like it was walking; or what if those flowers came out of a faucet; or how about I cut a horse shoe out of grass – I don’t ignore the crazy stuff anymore. I think the other way I continually find inspiration is that I trust that it will continually show up –if I get uptight and fearful that I have run out of ideas, I begin pushing too hard and trying too hard and I lose the flow. It is completely counterproductive -I’m better off having a sleep. 

How do you push yourself through a creative slump (eg - if the inspiration isn't coming and you have a deadline...)?

If it is just a general slump and I am working on my own stuff - which naturally happens because things are actually cyclic - I either talk myself out it, or ride it though, or stop pushing. In this case my aim may not be to beat the slump, but to get though it without causing damage to my self-worth - as I have learnt that these kind of slumps are temporary if you don’t give them any power. A slump when I am working for someone else is a different matter, in this case, I have found that I work best if I talk to myself out loud. I go back to the brief, back to the aim and back to the purpose. I talk it all though out loud. Then I remind myself that this thing I am doing is something I love, and I see if all that makes a difference. If not, hmm, I either phone a friend or ask for an extension.

Do you prefer to work to your own ideas, or do you like the challenge of a brief from someone else? With both these different aspects, do you approach them differently, or find you come at your work in a similar way?

I enjoy them both. I love the freedom of working on my own ideas, but I also love that a brief can send you in directions that you wouldn’t naturally choose, and as long as there is room in the brief to stay true to your own creative language, there is big opportunity for growth. With my own ideas, my work usually stems from either a phrase or story that I want to depict as an image. I find a brief can often take on a similar state as there is usually an underlying message that needs to be conveyed. I think I like the balance of having both within my creative practise. 

What's your ideal creative day?

Ahhh. Well if we are speaking ideal ideal, then: I would wake up of my own accord around 6:30 am. Kiss and hug and smile at my loved ones, have a delicious breakfast outside in the sun. See people off to school or wherever, enter my big bright airy studio (the made up one will do for now), do some creating, walk or cycle down to my favourite café for a coffee and maybe lunch with my man or another creative being, go home and make some stuff that is glorious, at some stage I would discuss some cool projects with clever lovely people, before welcoming home the young ones and being a mum for the evening. 

What's your favourite material to work with?

I actually don’t really have a favourite material. I use whatever I deem necessary to achieve the thing I am trying to achieve. Sometimes its paper, sometimes its grass, sometimes it’s some other bizarre thing I have thought up. I am a swapper and changer. 

Collaboration - do you like working with someone else, or are you best on your own? How do you bring your own voice to a collaboration?

I love the idea of collaboration, but have actually not had a lot of opportunities to partake. I love collaborations when each person brings their own special quality, material or skillset. I also like when product owners and artists team up to make an artist’s version of that product, or when a piece of work is the result of cumulative contributions from different artists. 

Are there lots of images, pieces, work that never makes it to the light of day - or is everything you make a final "good copy"?

No, there are both. There is a lot that makes it to the light of day. There is also a lot that I sit on until they are my version of good, or that I sit on until I can rework it. There are some that are totally dumb and they are in the archives. And then there is actually a lot in the pipelines - A lot of things in waiting, either for something else to come about, or waiting because I don’t want to move that piece yet – hah like chess ( I don’t play chess). 

In your IG profile you say you want to make our mind smile - tell us about that... what does it mean to you? What makes you smile?

Mind smiles. I love the thought of it. There is a book about graphic design called A Smile in the Mind, by Beryl McAlhone. I haven’t actually read it, but have heard of it from a few places. When I first heard that phrase I couldn’t let it go. I asked myself “Does the mind smile? Can it smile? Do I do that? Does what I do do that to people?” I decided that maybe my best work did, and that it sounded like a pretty good thing to aspire to. I am only really interested in contributing things with an air of positivity anyway, things that leave people feeling better than the state in which they were found. But my aim is not to make people necessarily laugh out loud or snort or giggle – although it is exceptional when that happens – mostly what I do is more subtle. It’s about uplifting the mindset, elevating the mood, creating work that people can feel good from –you know, so their mind wears a cheerful little grin.

What makes me smile? Hmm, that’s such a hard thing to pin down when you try to think about it too hard. The perfect sentence makes me smile. And the prefect title to match an image, with the equal amounts of cleverness and wit. My sons make me smile and scowl in almost equal parts, but they are 2 and 5 so I think that is normal. Finding the perfect final object for one of my neat arrangements – that makes me grin, or air punch, depending on how long I’ve been searching. Oh, and ideas – ideas make me smile more than anything else. And beauty - and whales and cleverness and love and my man and friends and things done with imagination. 

Why is play-based creative making so important to you? And also, why share it with others? Why not keep it to yourself..?

For a long time I lost the ability to play. When I was working in consultancies my role was all computer based, building new products in 3-dimensions using a CAD program. Sometimes even the form of the product had been decided by the time it arrived on my desk. My job was to make it real, and that called for a sophisticated version of ‘staying within the lines’. For instance, a product may have had to look a certain way, be a certain size, with a particular wall thickness, 15 of them might have to fit inside a certain box and the CAD program itself had constraints with which I had to work. I made that product so it ticked all the boxes, and I did it very well, but I was left feeling pretty stale.

‘Play’ just didn’t have an opportunity or reason to show up. And like most things, when you don’t actively do it, you forget how it’s done and then after a while you don’t even realise its missing. I had forgotten how to play, and then, when I began to start to try, I remembered that there was a chance I could get it wrong, and then I was scared to make attempts. I had to step past that, and over time I have practised. I have been my own observer and watched how freeing creative play can be: how it allows you to tap into your own imagination and stumble on things that are more brilliant that you could have imagined. I don’t want other people to get stuck in that sucky place, where you are either operating like a mechanism or too frightened to explore. And that is why I am sharing - It’s not really mine to keep anyway. Creative play brings out individuality, so I actually believe that the more people play and explore creatively - then follow the things that come to their individual mind as a result - the less similarities there will be, collectively. So, I suppose, sharing the concept is actually in my best interest.

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Karina's workshops are a thing of sharing and connecting and beauty. I went away from her workshop last year with my mind buzzing with ideas and images, and my fingers eager to be creating. Her workshop at our gather :: create ~ Poetic Collage is the first time she's released this, and it's a not to be missed event. Bookings are essential to secure your spot at the table with Karina (and some delicious cake and other amazing creatives), click here to book or for more info.

If you'd like to see some of more Karina's mind-smile work check out :: 

her website, 

her Instagram feed, 

these beautiful pieces of jewellery she makes. 

** all images used with kind thanks for Karina Jean Sharpe - from her website and Instagram. She also often credits the magazines she uses in her IG feed if you want to check that out.