Inspiration from the Craft Fair

I was so impressed with this years WA Craft Show at Claremont Showgrounds that I wanted to share some of the highlights with you, like these fabulous quilt creations from "Just One More Stitch".

and the marvellous textile and fibre art from "Designing Women".

Dale Rollerson's work never fails to inspire me.

But for me, the big draw card this year was Alison Cole and her superb stumpwork and goldwork embroidery.  Her work is simply stunning, so fine and well executed, with a wonderful selection of styles and themes to entice you.  Not only that, she's a lovely lady too - we sat and chatted quite a bit together at the end of the day, and I came home all inspired to create a stumpwork design - something I've not done in a number of years.

Each year the fair holds its Art to Wear display and as always the artists imagination is awe inspiring, like this dress made by Minni Karamfiles, all made of ringpulls from aluminium drink cans.  Incredible!! 

and this work of art from Jan Rowe - such an amazing amount of texture created in this piece and the colours were extraordinary.  I couldn't begin to imagine the number of hours work that went into creating this piece.

There was one piece in particular that caught my eye, and that was the eco dyed dress made by Jane Flower.  The colours and patterns in her work really appealed to me and I spent quite a long time chatting with her and went away itching to set a date on the calendar to attend one of her workshops.  Fortunately she lives not too far away from me, so as soon as I get a slot in my calendar I'll be off there in a shot.

 

There's something so appealing about the natural colours and patterns in Jane's work that I kept going back to her stand time and again, just to soak it all in.  She certainly inspired me, and since the show I've spent a lot of time googling eco dyeing, so watch for future posts, I might have something to share with you soon.

Another guest this year was Ro Bruhn, whose work is so colourful and vibrant.  It makes you want to pull out your paint box and have a go. They were such happy bright pieces.

Val Hornibrook is a West Australian artist and her felted pieces were also colourful and enticing.

There were many exhibitions of art quilts and textile and fibre art from leading artists from all over Australia and internationally.  But the one that stood out the most was The Sentinelles, by Dijanne Cevaal.

I couldn't get enough of this wonderful display.  My brain was like a sponge trying to take it all in - so many different approaches to embroidery and colour, and the way the display was set out showing the colours changing as they moved around the colour wheel was incredible.  If you ever get the chance to see this travelling exhibition I thoroughly recommend it.

And last but certainly not least, was the Kimberley Dreaming exhibition run by Dale Rollerson of The Thread Studio.  Unfortunately my photos don't reflect the true colours of some of these masterpieces.  They were the colours of Australia, and were simply beautiful.

There are so many talented people all around us every day who work hard in their creative fields, and I'm always so grateful to these people for sharing their inspiration, ideas and techniques with us all. So a huge thank you.  I had a brilliant day, my mind is spinning with inspiration and I can't wait for next years show.

Vineyard 28 Quilt Exhibition

Last week hubby and I drove to Bunbury to do some Christmas shopping.  As we got to Harvey I spotted this sign at the side of the road ...

... you can imagine my screeching voice in hubby's ear, and the white knuckle grip on his arm  "STTTOPPPPP".  He had no option but to turn left and take me to Vineyard 28 and see the exhibition.

 Its a lovely winery, about 3 kms down a limestone road off the main highway, in a lovely peaceful setting.

The first thing that greets you is an array of quilts hanging on lines, and displayed on tables, under the verandah.

Inside, holds a wonderful selection of quilts, paintings, and other arts and crafts by local artists.  The winery has a permanent display of quilts and crafts all year round, but this was a particular exhibition they were having.  Apologies for not getting the names of all the artists on display ... why not pop on down and check it out for yourself.

The "Hang Ten" quilt below was stunning.  Created by Yvonne Chapman for the 2014 Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne, and chosen as one of the 30 finalists for the "TEN" challenge.

 The detail in the quilt was beautiful with the sequins and beads all glistening in the surf.

The Grandmothers Hexagons quilt was created by Judy Mallet of Australind, WA. 

Judy also made the Hexagon Star Quilt, and the 16 Patch Square Scrap Quilt beneath it.

All the quilts were stunning, and hubby wanted to buy them all! 

We did, however, both fall in love with Yvonne Chapman's painting of the cattle in mist ...

and headed home with it proudly under one arm, and a carton of wine under the other.  A good day's shopping - even if they were all for us.  Who needs Santa?!