Inspirations Issue 88

Some of our most wonderful and memorable moments are those we spend with friends and family celebrating life’s special occasions. Many happen only once but others give us an opportunity to get together every year to enjoy good food, conversation and the company of those we love. Christmas is certainly one such occasion and provides a wonderful excuse for us to take out our needle and threads to create gifts for loved ones and decorations for our homes. Giving or receiving a gift that has been lovingly created by hand must be one of life’s great pleasures. In these times of easily disposable, mass-produced goods and busy lives, handmade takes on a special significance. Such gifts require careful planning; collecting materials, choosing designs then taking the time to sit and stitch.…

Born in San Francisco in 1937, Kaffe spent his early years in Big Sur, California, where his parents ran a restaurant, Nepenthe, in a house that once belonged to Orson Wells. In a spectacular setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the restaurant was a favourite of artists, intellectuals and film stars and Kaffe grew up in an exciting, bohemian environment. Art, dance and theatre were all part of his life but it was his mother who instilled in him a sense of adventure and love of creating. “The influence that made me feel I could really make things came from my mother, who was a kind of frustrated artist. She had great flair. She was a huge woman and she dressed in these marvellous patterns; she had a wonderful 1940s look to…

The whimsical scenes created by Salley Mavor are endlessly fascinating, incorporating found objects with felt and embroidered details. Along with a review on page 13 of her latest book, Felt Wee Folk – New Adventures, we are delighted to share with you more about this talented artist. Your world is full of creativity. Were you always following an artistic path? I was fortunate to grow up in a family where art, music and dance were a constant presence at home. For my mother especially, artistic expression was not treated as something extra, but was considered a basic human need, like eating and sleeping. Drawing with crayons was never enough for me and I remember feeling that my work was not finished until something real was glued, stapled or sewn to it. Today,…

You will need: A piece of white or light coloured card (cereal box weight is perfect) A hole punch Tape measure Fine black pen Scissors Preparing the card The size of the card will depend on how many threads you need to prepare. If you cut a piece of A4 (8 1/ 4" x 11 1/ 2") card in half down the length and use both sides on one piece you should fit around 40 threads. Cut the piece of card into four and you will fit around 20 threads on each piece. If you use the upper and lower edges as well you will fit more. Using the hole punch, punch the required number of holes down the sides of the card, placing them as far from the card edge as you can. Using the black pen write…

Shakespeare’s Flowers in Stumpwork Jane Nicholas Milner Craft Series 2015 Hard Cover 272 pg ISBN 9781863514811 RRP $49.95 If you can recall a line from a Shakespeare sonnet it may very well make mention of a flower popular at the time that it was written. A contemporary of Elizabeth 1, Shakespeare wrote during a period in history when gardening and flowers were especially significant: not only was cultivation of plants for gardens becoming popular but a whole secret language existed for the use of flowers. Jane’s ninth book on stumpwork focuses on some of the more common flowers and fruits grown at this time and was inspired by the painted water colour border on a letter written by Lady Jane Clifford to her father in 1598. The original border features fourteen beautiful floral studies and includes sweet…

Situated on a hill at the northern end of the historic goldmining township of Castlemaine in Central Victoria, is the celebrated family home known as Buda. Two generations of the Leviny family lived here continuously over 118 years from the goldrush era until 1981. The property, including an extensive 1.2 hectare garden, was opened to the public in 1982 as a house museum and still continues to draw visitors to its doors today from far and wide. In 2008 Buda established the biennial Contemporary Textiles Award Exhibition as part of the historic property’s unique calendar of events. Since its inception the exhibition has grown from strength to strength, presenting and fostering the work of professional, emerging and student textile artists from across Australia and New Zealand. Ernest Leviny was a Hungarian-born silversmith…