i'm...

sitting snugly in my studio
wearing the usual (black jeans, long sleeved t shirt, some kind of woolly, bamboo socks, my beloved birkis
listening to kate bush's brilliant aerial album
musing on a bunch of random things
planning my incube8r space
knitting very fine paper yarn
sorting out in my head which machine embroidered sea creature i will make next
puzzling over the trickiness of human relationships
thanking the universe for my own lovely kind dog and my children
taking quiet delight in my first ever chanel lipstick - the luxury! the lid even clicks in a luxurious way :)
wondering if the blogger app on my ipad will allow me to insert dot points

report from the studio

well, this afternoon has not been a tale of unalloyed bliss from the studio.  i think things will work out alright but i went from being underwhelmed to be frankly annoyed and on the verge of inflicting GBH with the business end of my Birkenstocks on the sewing machine.....

first things first- cocoon stripping silk paper.

take this

add this

and apply this

and you get something that looks unpromisingly like porridge skin. 

hopefully it will take some dye tomorrow and be much more enticing.  but at least that worked - i did end up with silk paper, however farinaceous its aspect.

but, in trying to turn this into reality my sewing machine and i locked horns and are on the point of parting brass rags. 

 using exactly the same materials and thread that i used to make the coral cross section the other day, i had constantly breaking thread, chewing holes in the solvy/paper, and general tantrumming on the part of the machine (and then me). changing the tension,  a new bobbin, much rethreading and retensioning made no difference - the thread kept knotting around the thread takeup lever and having to be cut away :(

 i ended up with something that i think can be salvaged - it's now rinsed and drying sulkily on the bench

i thought i would see if it was just a problem with paper and solvy but it misbehaved with muslin and silk as well.

 i'll do some handstitching on this tomorrow and give the machine some time to ponder its faults.  perhaps a new needle and different thread might cure its ills

incubating...

from 12 july i will have wall exhibition space at incube8r fitzroy!

there will be a number of new pieces available through incube8r - here's the first.

note to self

13.5"x10.5" (unframed); black gessoed canvas, strips of procion dyed parchment, strips of cross-writtenbamboo paper  sewn with cotton quilting thread.

note to self (detail)

coral cross section

with the solvy and soluble paper mostly, but not completely rinsed away

and the back - with some curves of oilstick

  and here's a close-up

finally, some textile content

making random cellular webby lace

tussah silk thread in the bobbin, fine silk thread on the top: stitched into solvy and then water soluble paper. am also planning to use oilsticks and probably handstitch....

cat or goose?

just after these showing off type gyrations, nero tried to insert himself in the top space between the ceiling and the stairs - from the outside.

he fell off  - luckily the only injury was to his pride

after last week's jollifications we went down to one of our favourite places - apollo bay - and just relaxed for a few days. there was much reading,

 planning cunning projects, eating well,

 beach combing and gazing out to sea.

Kind Dog was most chuffed to find a coconut washed up on the beach

this was sunrise from our window

a serendipitous find

and i managed a fair whack of the second sock (seen here with a gratuitous shot of my wedding ring - which i love)

and again with the wedding ring - this time with beach treasure

KD explaining the volcanic nature of the rock - layers of sandy silt and lava with bubbles in it

and examining a rock pool

the wedding

 reader, i married him :)

friday was wonderful - our wedding was everything we wanted it to be - at home, with celebration but no fuss, surrounded by our family (the Australian half), done our way with our words.

here is my gorgeous girl, fairy emily, with our wonderful celebrant deb holder.  fairy emily, and then all spectators, showered us with rose petals after the ceremony

 

william's son james did a sterling job keeping everyone plied with champagne (and sent a posse of balloons upstairs)

 my alex was our official photographer and did a magnificent job (more than 450 photos!)

 the cake was amazing - made by sonny at a treat of france french bakery in nicholson st north carlton (where they know us well) - it was a croquembouche made of almond croissants and bedecked with spun and dripped toffee   

 i helped by removing strategic parts of the toffee from the top....

 the ring bearer was rather shy and had to be coaxed out from the under the table

but then he was fine and played his role perfectly

we had 150 balloons and lots of flowers - lilies, violets, roses, stocks, asters, jonquils, iris.... the house smells wonderful. this is the before shot...

and this is the after the party shot

 more photos over on flickr
* thank you all so much for your good wishes and congratulations - we feel surrounded by warmth and love

friday 8 june 2012

wedding belles

more of a catch-up post later but the happy news this week, for those of you who haven't gleaned it on le livre du visage, is that the lovely Kind Dog and I will be wed this Friday afternoon, at home, with the half of our family who are in Australia.  this will be followed later in the year by wedding #2 in the UK with Kind Dog's family.

 following our beatification in Rome marriage seemed the logical next step.....  we are very happy :)