Teaching in Melbourne and Tasmania and Melbourne…

The trip continues and I have reached a busy spell. 3 x 2 day courses in 9 days, phew! Not a lot of downtime but that’s OK. First of all I ran a “Waterfalls” course in Melbourne for Sue and Carly. We learnt all about the texture and movement of fast moving water, a few mossy rocks and ferns, I was thrilled with the results and so were my students. They were such a talented group. The work is on the courses page of the website, please take a look. Here we all are at the end of the course.

I then moved on to Tasmania for 5 days to teach a “Reflections” course for Cindy at Elemental Artspace, in Deloraine. So lovely to go back to where my first Australian trip began! Cindy now has a great new gallery and studio space, where we held the course.

Elemental Artspace Gallery, Deloraine, Tasmanian

 

I had a free day at the beginning of the week to explore Tasmania a little. We went for a walk and then visited the wildlife park where they have a breeding programme for Tasmanian Devils. They are so different from anything else. They are marsupials but look like a cross between a tiny bear and hairy piglet! Apolgies to all devil fans but I did think they were amazing. Whilst walking in the wildlife park a mob of about 30 kangaroos thundered past us. Then they stopped a few feet away and just looked at us! What a fun experience!

A mob of kangaroos!

The course midweek was “Reflections”, which involves a lot of painted detail, they can all be seen on the students page on my website, it is really super work.

So on Friday I got back on a plane to Melbourne for another weekend course, for the Embroiderers Guild. The theme was “Seascapes” and we were in the beautiful Guild House. It was certainly a busy spell but I have a few days off next week to relax…before the next one!

 

Fibres West and beyond

I feel like I have been in Australia for ages, its actually only 14 days into my trip but I have packed in a lot so far!

After a couple of days to get over the journey I started my first teaching post for this trip at Fibres West, in Muresk, a 5 day residential course. It was an an amazing experience.

The Homestead, Muresk

I was 1 of 10 textile art tutors from all over Australia and further afield. It was an action packed week with classes, presentations, an artist in residence, wearable art show and pop up exhibitions. I had 13 students who were learning how to paint with stitches and I was thrilled with their results. They worked hard, learnt a lot and have the embroideries to prove it. Their work is on display on my Courses page on the Students Work page, please take a look.

Pretty countryside around Muresk

All good things come to an end and it was time to head back to Perth for a few days off. A lovely mixture of quiet days to relax and a bit of sight seeing. The highlight has been a trip to Rottnest Island with Jill and Diane, 2 of my students who have become good friends and have taken such great care of me.

Yes that is wine… it’s a day off!

The sun was shining and the sea flat calm for our crossing on the ferry. Halfway across the boat slowed down for us to see migrating whales, what a thrill to see them so close. First of all there was an adult with her calf clearly visible next to the boat and soon after a pair of adults repeatedly breaking the surface and then diving. It was a magical start to our day.

I will be moving on to Melbourne tomorrow for the next stage of the trip, I am looking forward to seeing friends and teaching enthusiastic students!

This is me meeting a quokka. They are like miniature kangaroos, very cute, really tame and are only found on Rottnest.