Finished 'Secure' Sculpture

I have been working on this piece all last year. It's taken all year to work and resolve golf balls, clay, yarn, fence pailings and nylon wire into a finished piece.

I've called it 'Secure' asking the question in our Security obsessed century, whether security is an illusion.

It's now been entered into the brand new 'Australian Textile Art Award' and I wait to see if it has been accepted.

However, I still think that there is a further iteration of this work to come!

UPDATE: It was accepted into the exhibition. However, due to COVID-19 all we were able to do was have a very small opening ceremony.  Even in June, it's still sitting at the Embroiderer's Guild waiting to be seen.

Discovery

Walking along the beach at Cape Woolamai is always full of majesty and beauty. Sometimes though, it's the small things you find that are the most delightful.

Hooded Plovers are endangered but there is a concerted effort to protect them. It's such a privalege to see these very cute birds as they skip over the sand. They're very skittish and we have to keep our distance.

This lovely little sea anemone in one of the rock pools. It's a very rough beach and you don't tend to see these. 

However, on the rocks at the end of the beach is the mass of mussels and limpits.

Gifting the Gnome

This is the third year of making something to give to the 'children' in our family. The first year I gave mittens and last year, bed socks. Coming to the third year I didn't have a clue about what to make. My time was limited as we went overseas and renovated our home kitchen.

All the 'children' are over 18 and several have partners, and I include the partners! Somehow I found a pattern that I'd had for quite a long time and decided to make Yuletide Gnomes.

I had a photocopy of an article from Simply Knitting from a Christmas Crafts Extra in 2005. Yuletide Gnomes by Alan Dart. They're based on Swedish Jultomten.

So thirteen gnomes had to be made from only my stash....not as hard as it sounds. Plenty of materials have been given and I had lots of eyelash yarn, great for beards, stuff that I will never use! I made all the hats in leftover handspun yarn, for those great individual hats.

This is my first attempt and now sits with all my Christmas trees.

This lot are ready to go, there are still three to make, but what a jolly bunch.

And here are the last lot, under the Christmas tree waiting to go to their new homes.

They all seemed to be accepted in the spirit with which they were made, so I'm quite happy. Next year, I will do something a bit more serious!