Friday, March 5, 2010

Adelaide Fringe- Visit Urrbrae House This Long Weekend.

Basketry SA’s exhibition ‘Warp on the Wild Side’. In this inspiring exhibition members have woven,stitched,twined and cobbled a wide variety of ‘wild’ works that showcases the many talents of members.

In addition to the exhibition there is a market stall with yet more (although reducing daily) works all interesting and varied.

While visiting Urrbrae House you can wander around the Waite Arboretum or join a guided tour led by the Friends of the Waite Arboretum on Sunday March 7 at 11 am.

Here is a sneak preview of my work.

Dragonfly Dragonfly

Frame and stakes: willow. Weavers: Twined Iris

Wings: knotless netting poa 2 ply

Eyes: stitched 2 ply chasmanthe. Legs: Fruit tree pruning's.

112 x 145 cm

Designed to hang on the wall.

At Nirvana Farm many springs form the headwaters of Scott Creek. There are a large array of wetland plants and ponds forming an ideal habitat for dragonflies. Dragonflies need fresh water to hatch their eggs and for the developing nymphs. The nymphs spend their lives in the water, forming an important part of the fresh water food chain before emerging as adult dragonflies to dance in the air and consume an array of other insects aiding in the overall balance of our farm.

At the Bottom of the Garden

At the bottom of the garden

Gnome Summer House

Frame: plum pruning’s. Stakes: plum ,willow

Weavers: twined spear lily, pale rush, NZ flax, Watsonia, bulrush, leather, banana, palm stems, 2ply- spear lily, iris, chasmanthe, Watsonia, seagrass.

Height :120cm Width: 82 cm circumference: 250 cm

Butterfly

Frames: willow

Body: twined banana ,wings: stitched banana and philodendron

Height: 42 cm Length :46cm

Ant

Frame: willow. Weavers: twined Watsonia.

Legs: fence wire.

Height:25cm Length: 50cm

Gardens can house many secret lives if we take the time to look.

Gnomes are the elemental being connected with all that is below in the earth, and the fertility of the soil. Since the soil is more active and alive in winter, I like to think that in summer they emerge from deep within the earth to frolic in the summer sunshine, revitalizing themselves like the sun trapped in quartz crystals. If you venture to the bottom of my garden you may find their summer house amongst the grasses and faded flowers along with a few other seasonal visitors.

Like the common brown butterfly you’ll find resting amongst dead leaves and grasses. They are masters of camouflage even reducing their shadow by leaning to one side. They fly in waves amongst the orchard trees emerging from the dry summer grass.

Ants are also connected with the earth and like gnomes most of their activities are underground, they also like undisturbed areas. Their nests within the soil creating tunnels and spaces that help water infiltrate the soil while the ants busy themselves foraging, thus keeping the place tidy.

‘At the Bottom of the Garden’ consists of 3 pieces plus a ‘mat’ area to tie it into its garden space. The Gnome Summer House started out as an interesting piece of plum pruning, few additional willow stakes were added. The shape developed with the twining. I added in materials to see how they worked as I had not used many of them before. I was just having fun with the shape. I added a few holes and visitors thought they were windows so I hung a few gnomes out the windows so it developed into a into a house, and since gnomes live at the bottom of my garden it became their summer house. There is much life in the garden so when it was suggested at basketry we make animals I decided to make a few insects that you will find in the garden.

When collecting pruning's, each offers a unique shape and basketry opportunity. It is fun to shape a branch and reveal a new shape that develops when weaving. The Autumn Harvest Platter and Out on the Bay are examples of this.

Autumn harvest platter Autumn Harvest Platter

Frame: Pear pruning’s, Stakes: willow.

Weavers: Twined Watsonia and iris. Snail shell.

57 x 43 x 32 cm.

The colours of autumn in the Adelaide Hills always inspire. Autumn Harvest Platter suggests a leaf form and the colours in this platter reflect our chestnut harvest, the dark brown of the chestnuts while the surrounding burrs are lighter along with the drier outer landscape of early autumn. The snail signifies my belief in the Slow Food Movement- the pleasure of food with the responsibility of how it is grown: GOOD- food should taste great. CLEAN: Food should be grown in an environmental responsible way. FAIR-The farmers and farm workers should be paid a fair price for their efforts.

Out on the Bay’

out on the bay

Frame: pear pruning’s. Stakes: willow.

Weavers: iris and Watsonia.

34 x 15 x 32 cm high

This piece is a favourite because it demonstrates a simple shape created out of one pruned off branch of the pear tree.

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