Wednesday 6 November 2013

Paper pulp and celebrations

Well we escaped the fires,
  however the bush around us has not burnt 
 for 50+ years so we remain vigilant about 
cleaning up our environment.

Disposing of my lovely dry plant materials 
  which I have been collecting for basketry and 
paper needs to be a top priority.

 So I have decided that October/November 
will be my annual paper making time.

                                                 
                                             I have had bracken (above) cooking for pulp
                                             and while it lost the intensity of it's colour
                                             in the process it still made a wonderfully soft
                                             cotton like warm brown paper.

                                       

                                                     
                                                 
I have also been using banana bark. 
I collected this from my mums garden
 after she had died about 7 years ago.
It is definitely time for this to be used!
It makes a lovely crisp paper
                                           

                                              Agapanthus paper has also been in process.



                                                 
                                                    Some of it is bleached and some natural.

                                                        

                                                      
                                                 
                                                    Agapanthus is a paper that I can make very
                                                     textural (above) or quite soft and smooth (below).

                                                        

                                                              The seeds in the flower heads make a
                                                              lovely black speckle.

                                                               

                                                                    Here is a selection of all the tones I am
                                                                     getting from my plant fibre paper.
                                                                    As you can see in the top sheet I have been
                                                                    embedding foils into it at times too.




                                                   Today I have been making
                                                   some recycled paper.
                                                               
                                               


                                                                  I am using some of my father in-laws shredded
                                                                  office paper and some of my mother in-laws
                                                                  used wrapping paper.

                                                         

                                                           Green is the colour for today's batch :)

                                                   




                                              In the name of clearing up basketry materials
                                              I have been making roped twine.
                                             


This rope (above) I have made with the beautiful   
She made a skein in response to our   
Blue Mountains environment.


 She used the colours of the gullies and hills 
            and finished it with the clear skies and soft clouds
that are so much a part of our lives here. 
              I was really excited when I saw it and had to buy it.
       I have been twining plant matter into it from my garden 
and I will use it with a 
ceramic work I am planing to make next year.


BUT there are other things 
that have been going on in my life
outside of the studio this week.


Here is one of the first copies of the book 
 that my sister, Karin Donaldson,
 has been working on for the 
past 25 years!!!! 
It is an oral history of some of the people that
she has lived / lives with in out back NSW.

It is a really important story to have 
documented and Karin's artistic gift in 
compiling it really brings it to life. 
(I can say this because she is my sister.
There is not much said in the book 
   about how much she has done in the 
making of this book because 
it is not about her, it is not her story,
it is about the people.
But I think she is amazing! ) 


                                                   There will be a book launch in Glebe,
                                                   Sydney on November 22nd for anyone
                                                   who may like to attend.

                                                   I will post more info when I get the flyer.



                                                                  AND….

                                                     I continue to have a ball looking after
                                                    my grand daughter.


                                                 
                                                    It is a delight to watch these littlies growing up.

                                                    Here is our latest collaborative art work.

                                                 
                                                     My son, Gopal his partner Suse and daughter
                                                      Lillie have been visiting their German family
                                                      and spent some time in the Alps and I can now
                                                     tell you that they are expecting another
                                                     baby in March 2014 :D
                                                     YAY!!!!!!  for being a Grand Ma GoGo again!





More news!

                                                     This last weekend was the joyous marriage
                                                     of my lovely nephew Jed and his delightful
                                                      partner Alex.

                                                         

                                                      A perfect day for a perfect couple.



The sweetest grand nieces as flower girls.


                                                The bride arrived on the back of her dads
                                               gorgeous classic car on which he had built a
                                                 beautiful wooden Ute-like tray


                                                           The grooms sister, Frances,
                                                           made hand stitched bunting.
                                 



                                               here is a little look at the cross over detail
                                               on the back of her beautiful dress
                                               ( just for my textile buddies):)


                                          A chance to have some time with my
                                          step son, daughter and grand daughter  :)


Now, these two (below) 
are the mother and father of the groom.

                                                                   

                                            My brother Chris and his wife Anne.
                                             Perfect parents who created a most beautiful family.
                                             I am so proud of them all.
                                             Their speeches left everyone in need of very
                                              large handkerchiefs

                                     

                                    Chris has a gift for breaking into song on occasions such as this
                                    and we thought he might let us down…
                                    but thankfully he didn't as you can see on the link below ;~D

                                                             http://youtu.be/6u3pMvopFnc
                                         

 Now I need to get back to the studio 
to finish their wedding present!
I have something special planned.



                                                              Even more news!

                                                        It was my lovely husband,Michael's 60th birthday
                                                        last January and his wonderful work companions
                                                        gave him a dinner for three at  Darleys
                                                        which is one of the most spectacular
                                                       restaurants in the mountains and last night
                                                        we managed to go!

                                                    

                                               
                                                   It was a new experience for our daughter Mara
                         


                                              and an amazingly special night for the three of us.














                                                      Swooooooooon….YUM!

                                                        What a wonderful present!



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