Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Beards & Bivouac

 Bivouac is a seriously hot new venue on the Perth William Street strip. I was lucky enough to meet new owners Amanda & Anthony a few weeks ago, when they approached me about creating a yarn-inspired piece for their new canteen & bar. I was super excited to discover that the creation was to be a beard!! I am sure you have figured out by now that I have a fascination and passion for my facial-haired favourites, so this project is perrrrfect! 

Bivouac beard outline


Amanda & Anthony provided me with an stencil for the beard on some ply (to give me the dimensions of the final mounting). And I have been crocheting like a eager beaver to get to happening! It is still in progress, but here is a sneak peek of where I am at. 

Beardy progress

Gifts of European Delight!

My folks have been travelling around Italy and France for the last few months, and on their return they brought me back a few very thoughtful memoirs from their trip. I was so excited to unwrap the Italian newspaper and discover some handmade parisian felt & buttons from a haberdashery shop in Paris - what am I going to create with these!!! There is something about a little brown paper bag printed with French words containing small but precious items that just makes me sparkle with excitement!


I also am now the proud owner of a stunning silk cravat! Totally to die for & from Venice, no less! Now I just have to leave how to tie it! To top it off - a woollen beret of course! What excitement! I really is so special to get gifts from people that you love so much. 


Saturday, June 4, 2011

these are a few of my favourite things . . .

I have to admit, I am an avid etsy snoop. I love to look at gorgeous and inspiring things - handmade things. Things that make me smile and giggle with excitement! I love making a treasury list - here is my latest one. I called it Stitches of Splendid'. I am loving hand and machine embroidery, so I thought I would share some of current faves! If you want to see who made them, or add to your etsy favourites, the page is here.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

breaking rules

I love to break the rules! I think it is because I was such a goody-two-shoes as a kid and never stepped out of line. I wanted to please people and do the right thing. These days I get a thrill of excitement when I experiment, go a little crazy, and break the rules!

I think that is the reason why I have developed a slight obsession, lately, with Chicks on Speed. Well, my first ever experience of them was about eight or nine years ago - at the Big Day Out - when I stumbled into a dark venue on my own, and there they were - in bright colours, with projections on the walls, using electronic sound equipment I dreamed of. They were awesome! I was a fan instantly! They were not - they are not - just musicians, or visual artists, they cross the boundaries of all cultural genres. The more I find out about them, the more I love them! (I am reading this book of their at the moment :))

One of the things that the Chicks create are objekt instruments. I love this. Especially there textile theremin (their electric guitar high heel shoes are also pretty cool!). I learned about the theremin at uni, studying contemporary music history and composition - whacky, but totally groovy. Not only did they make a theremin, but the 'objekt' that responds to their touch is this great tapestry created by the artists at the Victorian Tapestry Workshop.


tunes for a friday

This blog started out being all about yarn tagging. Then grew to include other textile crafts, then my passion for Community Cultural Development crept in. I have started to reveal little bits of myself, like my transgender identity. Here is something else that just has to burst out today - I love music,  and sound art. I was trained as a musician and composer, and even though I don't create a lot of work in the sound/music realm these days, I have a big passion for sound, quirky performers, the classical/pop blur, sounds samples and loops. Here are two current discoveries that I have to include! Perfect listening for cool winter day :) 


2CELLOS are Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hause. You can find more about them here. They do lots of pop covers - this version of Michael Jackson is totally top.





Kimbra has a magical voice, and I love her use of live sampling, and her choice of this Nina Simone number. She has a myspace page, if you are keen to hear more.