i've had a little blog break.
things have been changing around here...
the teenager has flown from the nest and landed in wintery europe.
sebastian leaves before 7am on his way to first year in high school and doesn't come home until after 5pm.
and so i feel a bit emotional about my half empty nest.
a bit unsettled.
and a bit excited about the possibilities that it brings...
we have a heat wave here in western australia
with temperatures around 40C (100F).
a good excuse to head down to the beach to cool off and play...
this beach is a 45 min drive from our house in the northern suburbs of perth.
i was amazed to see only a handful of people there on a hot afternoon.
after a while we enjoyed the short but welcome shade of a passing cloud...
so good to dig the toes into the cool wet sand...
after making 'land & sea' last week
i made five more scarves
and draped them one on top of the other over my mannequin:
'dusk'
'land & sea'
'coffee & turquoise'
'southern seas'
'granite & rust'
'shimmer'
it has been so good to be productive and creative again
after a long pause :)
the other day a friend of mine mentioned this simple beetroot dip:
i boiled three medium sized beetroot
and peeled them under running water
before blending them with:
feta cheese, olive oil and pepper
apart from the luscious red/magenta colour
it also tasted great with some
home-made sourdough flat-bread
and corn on the cob.
and i'm sure it's a great simple winter food as well :)
on a recent trip to a nearby lake in the forest, the water had this most amazing colour: it started of lemon yellow in the shallow sandy bit and then went orange/red before looking dark blue where it was deep...
it looked so much like my eucalyptus dye baths! and i assume that is where the colour comes from since the lake is surrounded by eucalyptus trees...
it also felt very soft on the skin to swim in...
land & sea
i love the turquoise - red ochre - dark chocolate colours
and the textures of silk and felt
wish i could keep this one... but it will travel down to the gallery at the end of the week
i am taking part in a recipe swap.
and because i love cooking and baking
it wasn't easy to choose a recipe.
in the end i settled for
gado-gado,
one of my favourite indonesian dishes.
it consistes of a spicy nut sauce over raw and/or cooked veggies
and can be served with rice and tofu and tempe.
here's what you need for the nut sauce:
the basic ingredients are:
1 cup of nuts (i used almond and hazelnut. experiment with cashew and brasil nut too)
or 100g of nut butter
1-3 chillies
1-2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup palm sugar (or raw sugar)
1 tbs soya sauce
salt & pepper to taste
optional ingredients:
fresh coconut or coconut milk
fresh ginger and turmeric
tamarind paste
lime juice
a tomato
place all the ingredients in a blender and add enough water to turn it into a thick sauce...
this sauce tastes great with a selection of raw and cooked vegetables...
serve with rice and fried tofu and tempe
and don't forget to sprinkle with
lots of lime juice...
selamat makan!
while we were down in margaret river we visited the beautiful boronup forest where the majestic karrie trees grow. i love karrie forests. the trees grow so straight and tall and the light seems to reflect off their silver trunks...
the karrie forest also has a very distinct smell which comes from a bush that seems to grow only under karrie trees - it's a sort of fresh herbal smell and i always wind the window down when we drive through a karrie forest and inhale deeply this smell that reminds me of silvery light and standing tall and proud.
since early december we have spent many days on the beach. one reason is that we have an exchange student from berlin living with us. and what better way to show him the aussie summer lifestyle then going to the beach...
we've been going to beaches around perth including south fremantle...
and we've just spent a week down in margaret river visiting several beaches - rain or shine...
another reason for all the beach visits is that luna just loves it...
she's a real beach babe... going for swims, making friends with other dogs and playing with the boys...
we've had some golden sunsets too...
and just a really, really great time!
looks like there will be a lot more beach visits this summer :)
wishing you peace and joy,
health and happiness,
lots of love and laughter
for 2012.
as 2011 comes to a close this beautiful yellow waterlily has opened up in our pond today...
according to a couple of websites that tell you about the meaning of flowers, the waterlily flower is a symbol of rebirth and all that is true, good and beautiful, representing good fortune, peace and enlightenment.
what more fitting flower for the new year?
it's 10:55pm as i am writing this. but i don't think i'll be able to stay awake for the new year...
so, see you all again in 2012!
i hope you have all had a
joyous and peaceful christmas celebration.
as always, we celebrated german-style with my mum and sister on christmas eve...
and then had an aussie christmas - complete with BBQ - with paul's family on christmas day...
christmas in the southern hemisphere is so different to the short dark days of the northern hemisphere, to the quiet cold that draws you in, the smell of spices in the baking, the candle light...
as the days have been getting longer and brighter and warmer here the air is buzzing with activity: christmas parties everywhere. girls in short dresses and high heels. the smell of meat burning on the neighbours BBQ...
but i guess it doesn't matter how cold or hot it is when you spend precious time with family and friends and also think of all the loved ones around the globe...
lynda asked the other day how i made the scrappy scarf.
so i thought as a little pre-christmas present
i would make a tutorial for my blog readers :)
scrappy scarf tutorial
as well as making a tutorial this was also a great opportunity to make a little gift for my aunty who is visiting from germany. plus she was very curious to see how felting actually works.
so here you see my aunty, ready to observe my felting skills...
we've put the bubble wrap - bubbles up - on the table
and have the wool tops in my aunty's favourite colour
and a bowl of warm soapy water ready...
first i divide the wool tops into small strips.
if you use wool scraps do the same...
then dip them one at the time into the soapy water...
and lay them out on the bubble wrap
making sure that they overlap regularly
and that the fibres of the individual parts are not twisted...
this scarf turned out in a grid pattern.
the pinky one on the top is just a random pattern.
after laying out the pattern the scarf is rolled up in the bubble wrap...
then the bubble wrap is rolled to start the felting process...
after about 5 minutes unroll the wrap...
roll up from the other side...
and roll with your hands (or feet) for another 5 minutes.
then unroll and change directions again.
repeat several times, until the fibres have felted together.
to further strengthen and shrink the scarf throw it onto the bubble wrap for another 5 minutes...
throwing is lots of fun :)
but remember to check every once in a while that the felt is shrinking nicely.
and within no time you will have a beautiful scarf!
now rinse the scarf in cold water...
and after it has dried
keep it either for yourself or give it away...
ha ppy fel ting everyone!
and if you need some beautiful
fine australian merino wool tops
in hand-dyed colours
you can order it through
it's been five weeks since we had our bush burned off and there is already a lot of re-growth...
i especially love the way the native cycads are coming back...
and the balga grass trees...
we saw lots of them on our walk the other day that had grown 'spears' in spring that were flowering...
we've spent another couple of hours today clearing the bush, raking up all the dead leaves and branches, loading it all onto the trailer and then off to the tip. there's still quite a bit of work to be done - the aim is to clear about 20m in front of the house to make it safer in case of a bushfire. we want to keep that area cleared of undergrowth (except for cycads and balgas) and will just allow the back part of the bush to grow back more lush.
have you spent your weekend getting dirty hands and feet in the garden?
i haven't had time to do anything creative in the studio for sooooo long - life has been very busy!
but i tell myself that creativity comes in many shapes and sizes... like baking sourdough bread...
or creating a weed-free backyard (still a long way to go!)...
and making yummy lunches...
or turning the burned-off 'open forest' bush at the front of the house
from a leaf and fallen wood littered area...
into a tydier, safer space...
and some of the 'busy time' has been really great too,
like attending the teenagers graduation ceremony...
still...
i have a few ideas in my head
that i have to get my hands involved with soon...
and hopefully next week i will fit some studio time in :)
a LOT of my time these days
is taken up by luna - and...
I LOVE IT!!!!
she is so cute and beautiful and intelligent and...
(okay, i am biased)
but i do love spending my time with her.
apart from training her and feeding her and keeping a constant eye on her,
i take her for walks and playtime with other dogs twice a day.
and on the rare occasion (like this morning) paul has time to come along...
we can walk straight from the house
along the paths and smaller tracks through the bush...
and when paul asked me this morning 'so, are you glad we got her?'
there was only one answer - YES :)
scrappy scarves are a great way of using up all those little scarps of wool that float around the studio... and when i was asked to do some felting demonstrations at the darlington arts festival, i thought it might be fun to do scrappy scarves :)
they had put aside a little corner of the verandah in front of the felt exhibition for demonstrations where i sat up my table...
i had a fun morning - making two scrappy scarves - with lots of people stopping by and watching and asking how felting works.
scrappy scarves = happy scarves :)
this weekend the 'darlington arts festival' had a special exhibition showcasing 'beautiful expressions of felt art by talented western australian textile artists'.
i had been invited along with 15 or so other textile artists to submit three pieces each.
now, earlier this year a friend of mine had her first solo exhibition and i was feeling if i was just more disciplined and would plan ahead then surely i could have an exhibition too. but really i was beating myself up about not getting my act together...
then i had my balinese horoscope done while we were there in july and was told that i didn't have to make big decisions and plans and could just go with the flow (i wrote about it here and here).
and an amazing thing happened last tuesday when i went to drop of my three pieces for the 'heartfelt' exhibition: three people had dropped out without notice and two were only able to put in one piece instead of three. so the organisers were desperate for more work and asked me (since i live closest to the exhibition) if i could supply any more. i raced back home, filled up a box with things i had in the studio and dropped it off, thinking they would choose a few pieces... to my amazement they kept it all! and i ended up with 28 pieces in the exhibition!
so this experience reminded me of my balinese horoscope: 'just go with the flow'...
HOLY WATER SACRED FIRE
A five-day creativity retreat in Bali
with Horst & Jennifer Kornberger and Paul & Nicole Lawrence
14 - 19 July 2012
Bali is a place of imagination. On this island, earth, water, fire and air weave a living atmosphere of inspiration. We will meet for five days in a unique environment near Ubud, overlooking a spectacular ravine in the cultural and spiritual heart of Bali.
Please click here to begin your journey!
paul and i first had the idea of a retreat in bali 15 years ago.
back then it was really hard to organise something like that - just imagine... no internet!
when we went back to bali last year the idea came up again.
and this year we did some serious research while we were up in bali...
and it is so exciting to see it all come together now!
we've been planning and sending emails to our friend up in bali almost on a daily basis.
and then our teenager designed the beautiful website.
we've even had the first people sign up already!
so... if you want to join us at the retreat, have a good look at the website and send us a message in the 'i want to come' section.
i just finished this scarf this morning.
a friend of mine ordered it for
a girlfriend's 50th birthday this weekend.
the two have known each other since they were two years old :)
i think that's so beautiful...
to have a friend who has known you
all your life.
how special!
i am also always amazed how different the colours look
depending on whether you take the picture in the shade
or in the sun...
i've been working quite a bit with cotton gauze lately. i love the open weave and how it combines with the wool in felting - the translucent effects i can create with it...
even this much more 'solid' light has a layer of gauze in it...
i've still got a bit more stitching to do to finish these two off... and i'd love to do a third one - i still have more ideas floating around...
