Brunswick Street Gallery

There is an open exhibition in Melbourne city where I believe more than 450 pieces (40cm x 40cm) hang. Number 322 Brunswick Street is where I am headed on Wednesday 21st December for the grand and potentially packed opening.

 

 My three 'specimens' will be there until Jan 13th.

In Three's

Specimen One.....

Cloth dyed and frame ready, only 40 x 40 for an exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery. Just waiting for my friend, the glazier to come and play with some funky etching tools this weekend.

 Specimen Two.....

My favourite new eucalyptus leaf gives an amazing olive green when gently steamed and lovingly arranged on recycled silk.

Specimen Three.....
Little pieces of pure joy on silk and if I get it right beautiful museum specimens

Naturally Dyed

Workshops

Explore the art of natural dyeing using locally sourced plant materials in this eco-friendly experimental workshop. In this workshop, we will share knowledge and investigate

·         Which fabrics dye well and why

·         How to get dye from natural sources

·         How to mordant (fix) the dye to the fabric.

Most importantly you will gain the knowledge to continue experimenting at home.

When in 2012         SAT 21^st Jan                 SUN 22^nd Jan                           

SAT 28^th Jan            SUN 29^th Jan                             

SUN 12^th Feb           SUN 19^th Feb    

How much       $80

Where              My Studio contact         judecraig@gmail.com

www.naturallydyed.blogspot.com

What to bring

·          Light coloured 100% silk or wool fabric - preferably second hand, like some of the old wool blankets you can get in op shops! 100% linen and cotton will dye but to a lesser degree. Fabrics can be in small pieces or long lengths

·          Interesting bits of old metal (eg, copper, iron) up to 30cm long - rust is great, as is texture

·          Cord, thick wool or metal wire to bind pieces Thread, assorted needles, bulldog clips

·          An apron, gloves, notepad and pen

Dyes, mordants and some suitable fabric will be provided. This list is not exhaustive.

If you feel inspired to bring anything else, please do... sharing and swapping of items encouraged!

This is a one day workshop running from 9.30 to 4.00.

Please email me with your preferred date.

Classes are limited to 5 students

Bowls of Tricks

My bowls of tricks and I are going to be at Grassroots Market on Sunday 20th November. The market is full, which is very gratifiying for stall-holders and organisers alike. Butterflies in boxes, landscapes and some new ribbons of silk balls will all be getting an airing. Details of Summer Workshops will also be available on the day and will be posted after the market to sweetly seduce you to award yourself a DAY OFF to come and mingle with some like-minded chicks and dip your hands in some dye baths at my place.

Go...it's gone!

One very happy client admires this piece in the changing shadows and light of Mollonghip. It has been a pleasure to work on and a reluctant surrender. Most of the plant material was gathered from her land as we walked with her little dog. Other botanical treasures caught our attention as we spent the day together in Daylesford. It is a very personal piece, a heart in mouth moment when first revealed, followed by tears of joy by both client and artist....and that's why I love what I do!!

Shi

Rusty nails, mushrooms, eucalyptus, iron, copper, onion skins, plum tree leaves, berries and red cabbage.

The wonderful world of natural dyes

San

Eucalyptus leaves, rusty nails and iron

Ni

Eucalyptus Cinerea and berries from Abbotsford Convent

Ichi

Eucalyptus, mushrooms, red cabbage and plum tree leaves

Ohh! Love it

Yellow

Thats what I've been doing for the last 5 weeks. That yellow satchel has been carried over hill and dale, collecting data for that great institution, the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Census is over for now and half way through the process, I made a note to self...DON'T think about doing this in 2016. I fear it may be like childbirth though and I will have forgotten the pain by then.

But now it's back to the studio and a different kind of yellow. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) the rain made the Cootamundra blossoms so heavy that the branch snapped...and fell on the boys trampoline but that's the third branch to take it out so we must be home and dry now!(excuse the pun)

And look at these beautiful blossoms....what will they do in the dye pot?

Acme et al

Me and my work in Yarra Glen.

If it Wisnae fur yer Wellies



Miss Havisham in Wellies

Just look what those clever people at Acme ET AL have done to Miss Havisham. When I was helping to hang the Common Thread Exhibition, I was wearing these wellies. The Archiboot prize (v.clever) is part of the Yarra Valley Gumboot Season and asks those with an eye for a welly to submit a photo and win a case of wine..not a bad deal. AND as Miss Havisham is a teetotaler........

It's a great group exhibition in Yarra Glen, worth the trip but the wellies are back at my house because if it wisnae fur yer wellies were woud ye be!

Home

If you fancy it, there may be a few butterflies 'at home' in this exhibition

Happy Birthday Jeff...love you !

Inspired by Mollonghip

I am working on a large landscape piece and LOVING the scale. Happy with the fields and rolling hills....just need to give life to the sky. I'll need a couple of cabbages for that!

A Common Thread

I'm right there, at the bottom, an incy wincy spider-like entry......

'Marks on Fabric - Jude Craig'

For those of you who would like to join us, here are the details in BIG PRINT:

Venue: Acme Etal, 17 Bell Street, Yarra Glen

Dates: July 29 - August 29

and the important bit: Canapes and Drinks Sat 6th August  4pm-6pm

Miss Havisham, (formerly known as Butterflies in my Tummy), fresh from her best in show at Burrinja, will be travelling to Yarra Glen along with a new collection of silk pieces, lovingly deconstructed from 'mother of the bride' outfits. Experimental recycled framing houses cuffs, collars and interfaced panels in oversized petri dishes.....just have to perfect the engineering....................tomorrow!!!!

Can't believe it!

Last Thursday evening, many of the artists who participated in Dandenong Ranges Open Studios program met at Burrinja for our wrap up meeting. A chance to chat, see friends and have a glass of wine and some lovely food. Its also the moment when they announce the winner of the Annual People's Choice Award or best in show as voted by the very discerning public............
I say very discerning because look who has got this on the mantlepiece for the next year!

(really must build a mantlepiece for it)

'Butterflies in my Tummy'

Where I spend my days

During the Dandenong Ranges Open Studios program this year, I had many lovely people from all walks of life visit. I am just now (yes a full month later) starting to feel grounded again. These lovely people where so giving and loaded me with many new ideas and ventures that I now have a list to follow up on which is as 'long as my arm'. Fortunately I have average sized arms so it should be achieveable.
Annette O'Brien is one of these people. She is a superb photographer and a great chick who wanted to spend the day photographing my work area...and why not?

Thanks Annette...you're a star!

Just like the sign says...........

Been a bit absent online....
but been very busy in the real world!

Winter Warmers

 

After Open Studios some of my pieces have made their way down the coast, to a beautiful place called http://www.studioflinders.com/
Last week, I have been a very busy bee......delivering sold work, working with a photographer on a studio photoshoot (more to follow) and seeing two new clients about commission work.

I can't wait to get back into the dye kitchen this week with all my treasures, gathered from the bush near Daylesford and create a special piece for a very special lady.

Pampered.........ahhh!

I didn't post last night because who wants to do that after a 2 hour Reiki session?
Thanks Meg, I really enjoyed and needed that. This may become a regular thing again, methinks, I floated home and fell into the most blissful sleep




Then today, I called back with Meg to deliver a piece she has purchased. It's part of the Oh Couture! series and sits well in her ensuite next to the beautiful wooden counter tops....and you can still see it when you sit on the loo!
Just what is it with my work and toilets?

Cranes, not a Thousand

Thankyou to my boys, Oskar and Kaspar. They love folding paper, making planes, launching them off the top decking and willing them to reach the creek far below; oh! the elation when one nearly did!

So I thought, with my off cuts of dyed silk and my 'waste not, want not' ethic, that I would turn these pieces into silk planes. Planes that would be beyond beauty, planes that would glide gracefully in mid air, planes that would be durable and loved by adults and children alike.

But planes have a reverse side and thats were the fabric stiffner is, which isn't beyond beauty, doesn't look to graceful gliding in mid air and isn't loved by adults and children alike.

......so I made cranes instead....and I am happy. x

A week of thanks to you

I am a bit overwhelmed by the last 10 days. Overwhelmed but not disempowered; quite the opposite!

The Naked Beast opening followed by the Open Studios weekend has given me creative fuel for at least a year...just have to compartmentalise and prioritise as I am firing on all six proverbial pistons at the minute.

In an attempt to do so, I am posting one specific note of gratitude each evening and one image...should be able to manage that!

Thanks to my lovely friend Jenny Farkas. She commissioned me to create a piece for the toilet in her business premises last year. ZINNIA is located at 3/2 Morris Road, Upwey 3158.
Inspired by the name, Zinnia being a butterfly attracting flower, my love affair with creating silk butterflies dawned and it has blossosmed since then (excuse the pun, I couldn't resist it!) Up, up and Away......