Beth Miller

Posted on

29 Jun 2009

Canberra’s Beth Miller attended her first quilting class in 1981. What started as a hobby became a passion and in 1997 she completed tertiary studies in commercial screen printing and fabric decoration. It was during that period that Beth started making quilts and printing, painting and dyeing many of the fabrics she uses.

An award winning and much exhibited quilter, Beth is also one of five artists of the tACTile group who have exhibited work throughout the world over the last five years. All the artists are individually acknowledged as leaders in the field of contemporary quilt making at local, national and international levels. Beth is famous for her ‘continuous curves’ technique.

Where does the painterly quality of your textile work come from?
My mother has painted for as many years as I can remember and my sister is an art teacher living in Townsville. At school I was put into a maths and science stream and not encouraged to do art at all. It wasn’t until I was an adult and enrolled in a design course at Canberra Institute of Technology that I had the time and the desire to develop my drawing skills. Learning about design and how to dye, print and decorate fabric was a huge learning curve and I have benefited from these techniques ever since. I still attend at least one workshop a year to try and improve my skills.  At the moment I am experimenting with various aspects of machine embroidery so that I can incorporate these techniques into my landscape quilts.

When did quilts become more than a hobby for you... something to be exhibited on an international scale?
I have always tried to exhibit my work in both Canberra and Sydney exhibitions of which I am a member. Dijanne Cevaal, a well-known Victorian art quilter, invited me to participate in a travelling exhibition called ‘Twisted - Interpretations of the Australian Landscape’. Each member made seven quilts and they travelled both here and overseas to wonderful reviews.  I realised I could enter my work into overseas exhibitions and since then I have had work exhibited in many countries.

What are the USA shows like and are there pros and cons of getting involved with them?
The first time I entered a quilt in the USA was in 2004 in the World Quilt competition. In 2006 I entered my Bogong Moth quilt which won first place in the Innovative quilt section. That was very exciting. I have also had quilts accepted every year since 2005 into the Hands All Around exhibition which premiers at the Houston Festival and then travels to various USA venues. Having my quilts exhibited overseas has exposed my work to a much wider audience. I have had many emails from people who have seen my work, which is very rewarding.

How did the teaching arm to your career develop and what are the loves and challenges of that work?
I have been teaching since 1991 and feel very lucky to have the opportunity to travel and meet so many wonderful people. It’s very rewarding to introduce ideas and techniques to students so that they can express themselves in a creative manner.

What ambitions do you still harbour?
I make quilts because I love what I do. I work to the philosophy that I make my quilts to please myself. If someone else likes it, it is a bonus. If they’re accepted into an exhibition, it is a double bonus. If it wins a prize, it is a triple bonus and, if someone likes it enough to buy it, whoopee let’s party! Some quilts have all the above and others just sections, however I’ve liked making them all.

Reading from your website it says that, coming from a hot area of Australia, you had never really sewn. What led you to that initial dressmaking class? Was it just practical reasons?
I grew up in Darwin and the heat and humidity was too high to sew, although my favourite aunt helped to make a dress while we were on holidays in Victoria one year. It wasn’t until our third child was born that I decided to learn how to sew so that I could make them some clothes. I remember making a lot of pyjamas and tops and graduating to tracksuits when we went to live in Alice Springs. I found the more I sewed the more I liked it. At that stage I only sewed clothes and items for the house - some turned out well and others were pretty bad.

Teacher profile:
Beth Miller

Her specialty:
Art quilting/creative curves

Where she teaches:
Australia and overseas

Tags:  beth miller profile quilt quilting teach

Fat Quarters in Pink tribute exhibition

Posted on

28 Jun 2009

A Melbourne retail gallery called Lumina Fibre Arts Gallery has taken the cause of fundraising for breast cancer research to new heights by dedicating the entire month of October to a tribute exhibition called Fat Quarters in Pink.

Owner of Lumina, Suzanne Vial, is rallying the patchworking and quilting troops of Australia to celebrate a festival of fat quarters by dressing special breast cancer fundraising pink dollies.

For the past few months Suzanne and her staff have sold close to 300 pink dolly kits, comprising the doll, an official pink silk Breast Cancer ribbon, a name card for dolly, fabric and lace remnants to “fire” the imagination, plus a $20 pink gift card to be used  at Lumina.

The dolls are to be dressed by quilters and other creative enthusiasts and returned to Suzanne to be exhibited and, with permission, sold. During October people who visit the store will be asked to make a gold coin donation and this, along with proceeds from any sold dollies, will go to The Cancer Council of Victoria.

Pink Ribbon Day is an annual initiative of the Cancer Council and the ribbon itself is a symbol of support for the many women who have been affected by the disease throughout the world. This year Pink Ribbon Day falls on 27 October.

Like most of us, Suzanne’s life has been touched by cancer and she knows many of her predominantly female clientele are all too familiar with the disease. “This was originally a project I started up in conjunction with the Waverley Patchworkers,” says Suzanne who comes from a fashion marketing background and who has studied textile arts at TAFE level in recent years. “I wanted people to be able to explore quilting and patchworking techniques in ways they might not normally or to try new ideas. I know some people have skills that they don’t often have the opportunity to show off.”

Since the idea first came around, however, it has grown and grown and Suzanne has been selling the doll kits across the country. Definitely breast cancer is an emotive topic and Suzanne says she could “fill a book” with the stories she’s heard from people since the Fat Quarter Tribute was launched but, she says, many of the groups who’ve contacted her have been pleased to find a “relevant” activity to lend their craft to.

Suzanne knows first hand the importance of craft and artwork in the maintenance of health and wellbeing. She has two adopted children, both from “traumatised” backgrounds as she describes it, who have benefited greatly from art therapy. (Her 12-year-old son, Jeremy, is decorating a dolly for the exhibition.) She is, therefore, not at all surprised to discover that many  of the doll kits are being purchased as gifts for women who have undergone or are currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The kits come with a tribute card as well and Suzanne says some purchasers will dedicate their dolls to friends who have lost their fight with cancer and to others who have survived.

Suzanne is also linking with ‘Look Good... Feel Better’, a free community service program dedicated to helping women undergoing treatment for cancer. The purpose of the program is to help them manage the appearance related side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, thereby helping to restore their appearance and self image. “We’ll run an awareness campaign throughout October,” says Suzanne. “I know we have a lot of knitters amongst our clientele and circles. We’re hoping they will make hats for ‘Look Good... Feel Better’ because there are special requirements for this headwear - it needs to be lightweight and soft - and of course it needs to be stylish. There is also a great need for teenagers and those in their early 20s going through treatment. They need something hip and youthful to wear.”

There is so much going on at Lumina in October that it promises to be a crazy month. As well as the dolly exhibition there will be a Pink Morning Tea, a silent auction made up of handmade goods from supporting artists, demonstrations from practicing artists, plus a talk given  by an art therapist. “And after all that we have Cup weekend and then I open for our Christmas selling period - when everyone who wants to give unique handmade gifts - comes by,” says Suzanne.

Links

Lumina Fibre Arts Gallery
www.luminatextiles.com.au [luminatextiles.com.au]
89 Waverley Road, East Malvern VIC 3145
PO Box 296 Kerrimuir Victoria 3129
Tel: (03) 9569 3860

Cancer Council/Pink Ribbon Day (nationally)
www.pinkribbonday.com.au [pinkribbonday.com.au]

Look Good Feel Better
http://www.lgfb.org.au/ [lgfb.org.au]
Freecall 1800 650 960

Tags:  cancer dolls donate

Craft retreats

Posted on

28 Jun 2009

RETREAT, RETREAT Why crafters just love to get away!

Finding a few hours of peace and quiet at home where we can concentrate on some creative work - quiet writing, organising photographs for scrapbooking, some stitching, perhaps a spot of knitting - can sometimes be an insurmountable challenge. Between mounds of laundry, shopping for school lunches, meeting work commitments, finding time for family and friends and just keeping life ticking over, the physical and mental space for creativity can lose out. More and more creative folk are, therefore, packing their bags and heading off for a day, a weekend, even a week... to locations sometimes humble and sometimes ultra glamorous. All are in pursuit of the same thing; time to be with like minded folk in an atmosphere that inspires and with no one asking where their dinner is!

The female of our species, it seems, is particularly hard wired to feel guilty the minute they think of time away from day-to-day commitments. Do men feel this so much? Drive by your local golf course on a weekday afternoon or pop by the local football oval any cold Saturday afternoon and ask that question again.

First time attendees at craft events often quickly become hooked. Many crafters find particular groups where they feel at home and they sometimes end up attending the same annual crafty get togethers for decades.

Recently a ‘stamping’ member of the ‘get creative’ team confessed her annual stamp camp was a time where the day-to-day hum drum and even tragedies were left at the door. “Sometimes, when we sit down together, we’ll find that, within the space of a year, children have been born, partners will have died or been divorced, major illnesses have struck,” she explains. “And yet, for a weekend, we leave it all behind. Sure the process of working creatively together and sharing a glass of wine at night opens up the space for discussion and sharing but sometimes our members just really want to leave it all behind. They just want to be ‘Maryanne - stamp girl’ for 48 hours. I think that’s great.”

More and more studies are finding that creative outlets, either communal activities or solitary practices, are essential to good mental health. Nancy Monson, author of ‘Craft to Heal - Soothing Your Soul with Sewing, Painting and Other Pastimes’, devotes the first chapter of her book to the following topic - The surprising connection between crafts, creativity and healing.

This busy writer, editor and designer, who is also an avid crafter, explores among other things what she calls a “landmark study - one that  was mentioned in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association”  that was sponsored by the Home Sewing Association.

“Researchers took 30 women (15 experienced sewers and 15 novice sewers) and measured their blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration rate and skin temperature - all gauges of stress - via biofeedback before and after they performed five leisure activities that required similar eye-hand movements. The pastimes included sewing a simple project, playing a card game, painting at an easel, playing a hand-held video game and reading a newspaper,” writes Nancy.

“The results showed that sewing was the most relaxing activity of the five studied; it produced drops in heart rate, blood pressure and perspiration. In contrast, stress measures increased after the women performed the other tasks, especially after playing a card or video game.”

Of course this is making everything sound way too serious. The other side of craft retreats and conventions is the amount of fun they are, the chance for socialising they provide and the endless opportunities for learning new skills they present.

Like many things that occur on a grand scale, the USA is home to some of the world’s biggest - in attendance figures - craft events.  Bead Fest (owned by Interweave) is in its seventh year and approximately 5000 attendees walked through the doors of the 2008 August Philadelphia show.

Interweave Event Manager, Karen Keegan, says that while Bead Fest offers “incredible shopping opportunities plus excellent classes from renowned instructors” it’s also important for allowing people “to find community with other beaders”. “We try to encourage that through events like our evening Bead Fest Pyjama Parties. There are always awards and competitions too, like the Bead Star Challenge and the winner’s project will get featured in the new ‘Bead Star’ magazine.”

Also popular in the USA but now expanding throughout the world is the evolution of the ‘craft vacation’. These are tours and cruises with a specific craft - most often quilting or knitting - as their focus. Even last year when we met famous knit designer and author, Nicky Epstein, she was in Australia as the star guest of a Vogue Knitting tour ‘downunder’.

Clearly the most decadent of crafty escapes, tours and cruises are the cherry on the crafter’s pie.

The Australian Sewing Guild (ASG), which this year holds its 7th National Convention from 28 September to 4 October (at the Marist College in Ashgrove, Queensland) is currently organising a 2009 Vietnam tour. The Guild has already run three tours to China where attendees got to see the sights, meet the people, try exotic food but also focus on countless textile related topics. As the ASG’s tour brochure explains it, “this (Vietnam) tour is also about craftsmen, stitching and textiles, dyers, spinners, weavers, embroiderers, beaders, tailors, leather-smiths, shoemakers and the odd jeweller or two!” How great does that sound?

The Guild’s Queensland based Convention is an example of what crafters get up to when left to their own pursuits locally. There are workshops, social gatherings, the AGM, a trivia night, guest speakers and the Guild presents The National Fashion Awards.

Another Queensland based event that just keeps growing in popularity is called Koala Conventions. “We specialise in organising the very best embroidery and textile retreats for ladies (and some gentlemen) wishing to learn this ancient art form,” say the organisers. The most recent event, which took place from 5 - 13 July of this year, was held at Brisbane Girls Grammar School. The schedule included classes with 23 Australia and overseas tutors, evening presentations and mini workshops, a ‘Show and Share’ competition, an evening banquet and even local tours.

Be Creative by the Sea was one wonderful event that ‘get creative’ attended this year. Held in Coffs Harbour, this is billed as a Retreat for “textile artists, quilters and embroiderers” and the venue is Opal Cove Resort, a four and half star property on the beach. Tutors this year included Helen Dafter, Sue Dennis, Helen Godden, Gloria Loughman, Beth Miller, Lisa Walton, and Helen White. Next year’s event takes place 26 April to Sunday 3 May 2009.

Wendy Martin, Be Creative by the Sea founder, says the event has provided opportunities for many Australian textile tutors to share their skills and knowledge with others and to develop their own professional experiences,” she says. “After retiring I realised that my love was teaching textile arts. I persuaded my husband to move the cars out of the garage and I set up my own teaching studio - Be Creative Sewing - in 1995,” explains Wendy. Eventually Wendy began asking others to come and teach at her studio.

An avid traveller, whenever Wendy and her husband were overseas she would always ferret out a class to attend. She has joined students at the Patchwork University at Washington University in Seattle, Empty Spools Seminar at Pacific Grove California, Lancaster Pennsylvania and more. “I always had it in the back of my mind that I would like to conduct a similar event in Australia,” she reveals.

While house sitting in Canada in 2000 friends Chris Timmins and Di Burgess visited Wendy and hubby and they all drove to Oregon, USA, to attend classes at the Festival of Classes in Bend and the Quilter’s Affair in Sisters.

“We were thrilled to hang our quilts at their 25th anniversary of the Outdoor Quilt Hanging... I knew that I could organise a similar event in Australia. With support from Chris Timmins, along with her outstanding administration skills, plus my husband’s blessing, my dream was to become a reality.”

By 2002 the women welcomed 125 participants to Be Creative by the Sea at Nautilus Beach Resort for five days with six tutors. They raffled a quilt that the group made from blocks left over from a previous workshop and donated $880 to Breast Cancer Research. Over seven years of Be Creative by the Sea, $33,000+ has been donated by sponsors and participants.

“The participants enjoy this uniqueness, the sense of indulgence, the relaxed atmosphere, the inspirational beauty that surrounds them and the opportunity to create,” says Wendy. Not everyone attends for the whole week, some just come for a day. “Our motto is come for a day or come and stay, indulge yourself and create beyond your dreams.”

Surely the best known of craft events, with a textile or fibre bent, in Australia is TAFTA - The Australian Forum for Textile Arts - whose aim is to support all the textile arts through publications, FORUM conferences, workshops, advice and resources.

Annual conferences are held twice a year, in autumn (Orange NSW) and in spring (the Geelong FORUM). There has been a major international FORUM in April each year since 1991 incorporating tutors from Australia and overseas along with talks, installations, exhibitions, a ‘merchant’s hall’, ‘selling bazaars’, an Open House and a party.

The Geelong FORUM occurs near the end of September each year and has been housed at Geelong Grammar since 2000. It follows the model of the other event but has its own unique aspects including a close relationship with the National Wool Museum in Geelong, plus the biennial acquisitive Wool Quilt Prize, ‘Expressions’, which is held in even numbered years. There are two dedicated exhibition sites on the campus, plus beautifully appointed grounds and quality classrooms.

For an even more scholarly environment another great creative respite is the renowned USQ McGregor Schools. The University of Southern Queensland’s - USQ - McGregor Schools run creative, visual and performing arts retreats throughout the year. January brings with it the two-week McGregor Summer School. Established in 1969, offering just three classes in painting with three tutors and 43 students, the Summer School has grown to be one of the largest cultural events of its kind in Australia. Over 50 classes are now offered at the annual two-week retreat, attracting tutors and participants from around the globe.

The McGregor Winter School follows in June/July. This year the Winter School celebrated its 21st season, offering twelve creative arts classes in Toowoomba, four masterclasses in Hervey Bay in July and five at Springfield in September.

Michelle Fox, from the School, says, “The ‘McGregor Experience’ offers an intimate and inspirational atmosphere where students can learn and create
alongside some of the country’s finest professional artists and a wonderful social environment in which much  fun is had and many lifelong friendships formed.”

Only a fragment of the retreats on offer are touched on here. Local craft stores are often linked to events and, of course, you can always start up your own. All you need at first is a house or studio space, your crafty friends and plenty of imagination.

Useful links

Bead Fest
www.beadfest.com [beadfest.com]

Australian Sewing Guild
PO Box 553 Civic Square
ACT, 2608

Koala Conventions
www.koalaconventions.com.au [koalaconventions.com.au]
T: (07) 4093 9474

Canberra Quilters
www.canberraquilters.org.au [canberraquilters.org.au]
PO Box 3297 Weston Creek,
ACT 2611

Creative by the Sea
www.becreativebythesea.com [becreativebythesea.com]
Phone Wendy Martin on
(02) 6652 1483 or
Chris Timmins on
(02) 6642 1173

TAFTA
www.ggcreations.com.au/tafta/ [ggcreations.com.au]
[ggcreations.com.au]
PO Box 38, The Gap,
Qld 4061 Australia
Phone (07) 3300 6491

USQ McGregor Schools
www.usq.edu.au/mcgregor [usq.edu.au]
Contact Christine or Liz on 07 4631 2755
or mcgregor@usq.edu.au

Great site for lists of craft related tours and trips - international
www.textilelinks.com/travel/trips.html [textilelinks.com]

Tags:  craft crafting groups guilds retreat

Artist profile - Christine & Julie Ashford

Posted on

28 Jun 2009

English jewellery makers, Christine and Julie Ashford, whose book, ‘Spellbinding Bead Jewellery’, was released in the UK, Australian and NZ at the end of 2008. The sisters established their company, Spellbound Beads, in 1984, where they gather beads from all over the world. The shop is supported by a website and the duo also travels to many of the major international craft shows. With Julie teaching in Japan, Christine took time out to tell us about their business, their work and their sublime book.

As a teenager Christine says both she and her sister suffered from the “nothing we’d wear in the shop” angst of many independent dressers. Too young to experience the punk movement but influenced by its spirit, the pair went with the idea of “doing it for yourself” though, Christine points out, “neither of us ever had a safety pin attached to our person!”

“When we started making jewellery out of charity shop beads and sheet metal other people started asking us about the pieces, so we took a stall at our local market selling the clothes and jewellery that we’d made,” she explains. “From there it just grew; charity shop beads gave way to trips to London where there were a few big bead shops that could supply us in quantity, then onto India, Venice and France to source directly from the manufacturers... finished jewellery somehow turned into selling the beads instead and teaching people how to make their own jewellery.”

The Ashford family tree is not peppered with jewellers and artists but Christine says her family did have a penchant for the sciences and “fiddling with objects”.  Their parents relaxed “by working with materials when at home” and the girls were encouraged to take an active interest.

“We played with textiles, grew crystal gardens, made sugar flowers and set found objects in special plastic,” she says. “Finally we were let loose with a jigsaw and a drill - not only useful for jewellery but we’re a crack team at the flat pack challenge and have built most of our shop fitments ourselves (with a little help from dad).”

When publishing house, David & Charles, approached the Ashfords after seeing their jewellery kits, Christine says she and Julie decided they’d like to do “something different” if they were to tackle a book. “We started by looking at figures from legend and fiction and came up with our own interpretations of their personalities and surroundings and designed the pieces around that... the result is a book packed full of projects and our minds are still whirring with the possibilities.”  The subtitle of the book is ‘Create enchanting jewellery inspired by myth and magic’.

“Constructive criticism” is how Christine wryly describes the method she and her sister used to agree on design ideas for ‘Spellbinding Bead Jewellery’. They would sit down and discuss the projects, sketch things out then separately go away and make up samples. After this they would get together and dissect what was and was not working with the pieces. “Julie is the main designer
and produces all the diagrams for the book and our kits,” says Christine. “I do some of the design and am the driving force that makes sure it all comes together... Fortunately our skills are complementary - we each know what the other does well.”

Because the sisters have a heavy and varied workload - their shop, the mail order business, teaching commitments and a heavy show schedule in the UK - Christine says they live quite “disjointed” lives and work can take place anywhere from 5am to 2am the next day.

“Many a meal over the last two years has been pushed to the side of the table while we discussed the merits of one Goddess against another,” she says of the book’s planning, “and curling up with a good book at the end of a show day was replaced by working up samples... Sometimes planning a day to work on a design works brilliantly because you mentally plan it all ahead and can’t wait to get started. Other times you do feel like the muse is on strike so you just have to walk away and come back to it later.”

Julie and Christine hit the road in the UK from September to December 2008 promoting their book. They create more than 20 new kit designs each year to launch at various bead shows and have started putting a series of project and technique sheets onto their website for free download.

For now they are concentrating on “the basics of the beader’s armoury” but will be adding more advanced projects in 2009. Next year is the business’ 25th anniversary so they hope to to run a special program of classes in the UK.

Name
Christine and Julie Ashford

Based
Staffordshire, England

Website
www.spellboundbead.co.uk [spellboundbead.co.uk]

Email
info@spellboundbead.co.uk

Tags:  artist beading earring jewellery necklace

A brief history of... Fashion illustration

Posted on

28 Jun 2009

Fashion at its best remains an art form and, before a garment can be made, its concept must be communicated to others - to those who do the sewing and construction. Hence, fashion illustration becomes an essential instrument in the designer’s tool box. And, even today, when the computer has come to dominate our lives, the skill of fashion illustration continues to be passed  on and cherished.

Not all designers are good illustrators and, therefore, some of them hire the services of an illustrator to communicate their ideas. The main focus is the fashion figure or ‘croquis’ used for draping the clothing onto. In fashion, this term refers to a quick sketch of a figure (typically nine heads tall as this is the accepted proportions for fashion illustration).

The basic proportions of the human form from, head to crotch, are retained but extra length is normally added to the legs to give a dramatic stylised effect and to give the designs more dynamic appeal. In the 1860s the power of the fashion illustration really bloomed when American women could see original designs by Charles Frederick Worth, often called the first true fashion designer, in the popular new publication of the times - ‘Harper’s Bazaar’. By the turn of the twentieth century illustrations of garments in publications such as this were the primary method of spreading fashion news. After all, the world of the digital camera and the 12-page glossy fashion magazine spread had not been born.

By the late 1930s ‘Vogue’ magazine began replacing its celebrated illustrated covers with photographic images and, subsequently, the art form hit a decline. It rose again in the 80s and, while it will never replace photographs in today’s fashion publications, the work of leading proponents can still be seen. See Steven Stipelman’s work in ‘Women’s Wear Daily’, for example.

Some illustrators work in paints and inks on paper, others have turned to the computer to further expand their repertoire. Many TAFES and other design institutes in Australia and New Zealand teach fashion illustration.

Useful links
• See an example of fashion illustration at the site of UK artist, David Downton at www.daviddownton.com [daviddownton.com]

• Take a peep at the website of the Australian fashion designer, Stephanie Conley, who began her working life as an illustrator www.stephanieconley.com [stephanieconley.com]

Tags:  clothing designer illustration sewing

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