WA Craft Fair 2017 - TAAMMI Challenge and Display

One of the highlights of my year is going to a craft show, and the August one is quite special because I participate on the TAAMMI display stall.

Dorothy and I manned the stall on Saturday morning and had a great time meeting so many lovely people who came over to chat and have a look at our display and competition pieces.  We were blown away with the response this year which is rewarding after the amount of work that goes into it.

Each year we have a Challenge and a Display for our members to enter - this year the Challenge was to create something relating to music and what music means to you, and the display theme was "Doors".

We had two generous sponsors this year who donated prizes for the Music challenge - Halcyon Steppe and The Teddy Tree, with the winners being Wendy Burgess and Trudy Boyce.

We also had a people's choice award for all pieces created over both displays, and I offered, as Thimble Fingers, to donate the prize this year.  The public are encouraged to vote on their favourite piece and write the number on a slip of paper placed in a box over the course of the weekend.

Of course, the craft fair is much more than just our display, there are many fabulous stalls and artisans demonstrating their talents, along with quilt displays, demonstrations, and a fantastic wood work show at the other end of the hall to keep the husbands amused.
Not to forget Dale Rollerson's The Thread Studio stall which is always a big draw card for me to buy up lots of lovely textile supplies.  It's so easy to get carried away and want one of everything!
Caroline Sharkey was a guest artist and her work is simply amazing, really capturing the colours of Australia.  Attending one of her workshops is definitely on my bucket list.  Another lovely lady was Elizabeth Dubbelde from Berry Quilting Retreat NSW showcasing 6 different textile art exhibitions.  I was especially taken with her One Red Thread theme.
I digress ... back to TAAMMI.  So, the following weekend at TAAMMI we had our open day welcoming all the new visitors from the craft fair, and scored 4 new members.  Welcome ladies! We love to see our group growing each year.
Before the open day exhibition and Wendy's texture on textiles demonstration the winner of the People's Choice award was announced.  There was I with gift in hand ready to present it to the winner and whose name was called out  .... yes, mine!  Oops, awkward. Note the look on my face.

I was totally thrilled that my Door piece won, as its my first win, but I could hardly keep my own prize, so it was presented to Wendy who was the 2nd and 3rd place winner for her entries in both categories, and deservedly so.  Well done Wendy.

Next week we decide on the theme for next years challenge, giving us plenty of time to plan, prepare and create but of course we always leave it to the last minute don't we - it's the pressure that really gets the creative juices flowing.  I left my music challenge piece until the day before entry, I found it quite a hard theme to work with.  Hopefully the next theme will be easier.

Now my door piece has been revealed I'll be busy this week putting together the instructions on how to create it.  My minds already running away with lots of ideas for the next design - yes, my mojo's back.  Yayyy!!!

Overwhelmed with possibilities

There's lots of old sayings like "trying too hard", "can't see the wood for the tree's" and so on, and they all applied to me when I was studying my C&G.  I tried so hard to see things that I often couldn't see what was right in front of me.  When studying one module at a time I concentrated only on the requirements of that particular module, such as "line" - I only looked for line, then in "shape" I only looked for shape - now I can look for anything at any time and its amazing how much is all around me on a daily basis.  We're currently building a new house and the design possibilities that its thrown up are amazing, and I decided to share some of them with you.

Look at the wonderful rust around the holes in this steel.

 Even scaffolding parts offer wonderful pattern and shapes.

Lengths of steel coded by colour give great uniformity and grid ideas 

Stacked steel frames create crazy line patterns

Threaded squares of steel - some in line with each other, others spun to give angles

And this is one of my favourites - like a crazy wire flower - I think its a buffing head for smoothing steel (I've no idea, but I know hubby uses it a lot, lol!)

And who'd think that a welding machine would have such a lovely daisy design on it

Even welding slag dropped onto steel frames, rusted over time gives amazing design possibilities, all crusty and orange - can't wait to have a go to reproduce this one!

If you're working on grid designs - a side view of the steel frames gives a lovely increasing and decreasing zig zag design

And lets not forget the humble safety cone - even this has great shapes and patterns, negative and positive.

All I need now is the time to put these design sources to good use.  Let me know if any of you use these as starting points for your own creativity - I'd love to see what develops from them.