gooseflesh

A flurry of activity

Time to spruce up the "gooseflesh" blog.

 I've been busy with life here in Northern NSW, the real world can be so all consuming. Moving to the country has been better than I thought possible. Friends in Sydney thought I would get bored here...... Ha! No chance. I've made many, many friends and been involved in lots of activities in the local community. The studio has worked out well and has turned into a little creative hub where people meet, connect and chat. Some work gets done too!

I recently learnt that the Tweed Shire has the highest concentration of "creatives" in Australia. Woohoo!! 

The flurry of activity means the "gooseflesh" blog has been neglected and I need to do some work here. Thanks to everyone who keeps visiting and leaving comments...... it means so much to me.

Tangential Tinkerings

Busily working away at items for the Entropy Collection, however, as expected I veer off on tangents to try new things......

 

Driftwood and bones with hemp crocheted details. Two sculptures by Jade Pegler in the middle.

One of my first wonky baskets and a couple of driftwood/crochet pieces.

The Diatom Collection has expanded.

 

 

Focus on the Entropy Collection

The sun is back, then it's gone and it's still very wet. I guess that's why it's called the rainy season!

In the studio:

A little 10 x 10 cm embroidery of nodules.

I've been working on the "Entropy collection". An expanded version will be exhibited at the Tweed River Regional Art Gallery at the end of the year. It will be exhibited as an installation pinned to the wall, approximately 4 x 1.5m in size. This exhibition has now expanded into a full solo exhibition and I'm trying to bring various pieces together to form a cohesive whole. A public program, as part of the exhibition, is also being organized.

Bright-eyed and Bushy-tailed

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and feel bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for 2012. I'm back in the studio this week after a visit to Sydney, Christmas celebrations and visitors to my little red house. Feels good.

 some doodly fun

with thread

a petri dish doodle

and a slime mould experiment. Not really!

abundance from the garden

my first banana crop.

Good news: The ' Entropy Collection' will be exhibited in the Tweed River Regional Gallery this November. I'll be scaling it up to approx. 5.0 x 1.5m.

 

Corals and Prints in m(art), Brisbane

Last week I drove into Brisbane to deliver my prints, corals and greeting cards to m(art), the retail face of Craft Queensland. This has meant spending many hours crocheting and felting corals and printing linoprints. I've had the weekend to rest..... aaahhhh!!

The felting process...... friction, hot water and dishwashing liquid. Preferably done wearing pyjamas and accompanied by many cups of tea.

Anatomically correct

Explorative crochet

Little white experimental pieces are coming off the hook. They are part of an exploration exercise in form and texture. The hard-wired organic shapes dominate. What would they be like if I was crocheting in another world with non-carbon based life and different physical laws?  

.........and a group shot on the beach.

 
I have reopened my Etsy shop and listed some pieces of Generation II Softwear. The community attached to Etsy is fabulous and inspiring and I've missed it. Consequently, the Big Cartel shop is closing.

An example from the Gooseflesh Lab.

The Significance of Little Things

Once a month I pick up my favourite magazine, World of Interiors, at the local news agent. It's put into a pigeon hole behind the counter. When I go to town to do the shopping I always look through the window to see if it has arrived.

The September issue has a story about an interesting French woman, Rose-Marie Crespin, who makes miniature flower garlands and birds with needle and thread using the technique of 'nouage', or knotting.

The lilliputian flower garland is designed to be worn as a collar and it's called 'liane'. It took her two years to make. It was exhibited with other pieces of contemporary lace at the Museum Baron Gerard in Bayeux.

The three little pieces of pink coral I made from thread I found in an op-shop.

The same little pieces of pink coral displayed on a piece of paper bark.

I've found that with time and experience my technique has become more refined and my pieces are gradually becoming more delicate. 

This is the whole collection of threads and other treasures I found. There are some very delicate pieces of tatted lace....... the knots are minute. The old labels and washing instructions are lovely too. 

I also crocheted some little flowers from the thread to applique over the holes of my favourite cardigan. It's old, worn and misshapen and Harriette added some holes by chewing it. 

....and gardenias from the garden.

A visit to the city

I had a visit to Sydney to see family and friends. The suitcase was stuffed full of unfinished projects and not many clothes....ha! The city completely consumed me and the unfinshed projects were barely touched.  

Now back home in peaceful surroundings, I'm busily making up for lost time. The little red bag is made from yarn cut from an old Tshirt. The gingham came from the Salvo Opshop and the buttons were in my stash.  

Tshirt yarn and a little patchwork pad for the Tpot.

Some time ago I had the "Plastic Detritus" linocuts printed onto fabric. The fabric has been tucked away for ages and I finally decided to make some little pouches from it.

I've been thinking about selling these at the local markets or perhaps online...not sure yet. Some sideways glances have been cast onto the crochet hook and plastic bag yarn. It won't be long before I start again. There are still some coral gardens in me waiting to materialize.

In the background of the shots are some old sheets of corrugated iron..... I love their colour, texture and patina. My partner Tigger, has been making a series of compost bays using these sheets which he bought at the "Tip Shop" for $2 a sheet......... now that's what I call a real bargain. There's a full wheelbarrow of Hariette's poo waiting to be composted.

Another little vessel

The fence post is proving a good location to photograph my work. This necklace below is made from leftover plastic bag yarn from the "Rubbish Vortex". The three little vessels I posted a photo of recently were made from the same leftover yarn. 

Another little vessel below made from precious orange plastic bag yarn. It's resting on a small hexagon quilt I'm currently making (check out Alicia's Poulson's tutorial here). It feels really good to be hand sewing again. 

 

Here is Harriet wearing the little orange vessel.

She has started to graze, but still likes being bottle-fed warm milk and gets very feisty when it runs out.