INSPIRATIOn :: Dane Lovett

Australian artist Dane Lovett - beauty in the everyday.

Genius way to exhibit!

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Sydney abcd winter wrap up

Our abcd bloggers meet-up was held last week and judging from the feedback it was a huge success. I think it's so great that all these wonderful women who blog about art, craft and design come together to meet and share. Sharing was our theme this time and we had some great and lively small group discussions where ideas, experiences and thoughts were offered and exchanged. It was really enjoyable and enriching to hear everyone's input on the various topics.

Our goodie bags were also based on the theme of sharing for this meet-up, and the contributions were thoughtful and creative. They included some delicious recipes, gorgeous stationery and even a stamp from a thoughtful lass, lots of lists including great tips and links, fabric, and a vintage hanky with a little note saying "Do share your happy tears. Don't share your sniffles". So perfect for our winter 'sharing' meet-up!

The goodie bags are always a highlight, but the best part is making connections and creating a community amongst like minded women who we usually only know through our online lives. We had a lot of new faces at this meet up which was lovely. Unfortunately neither Steph or I managed to snap any photos of the actual event - a terrible oversight! Next time we plan to get that organised. You can see photos of our last meet-up - our Saturday Soiree - here. A big thank you as always to Steph of Bondville who spends time planning and organising with me to make the abcd meet-ups happen. Stay tuned for our next abcd meet-up in a few months.
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INSPIRATION :: Sydney Biennale on Cockatoo Island

Way back at the beginning of July we spent a wonderful day on Cockatoo Island seeing the 18th Biennale of Sydney. It's on until 16th September, so if you're in Sydney I'd highly recommend a visit for a great family day out. For a start the ferry ride across the harbour is a fun treat for the kids, especially on these glorious winter days and Cockatoo Island is worth a visit even when there's no art to be seen. There's tunnels and old buildings to explore and lots of climbing to be done, and the bar and cafes are a drawcard too.

My favourite work from the Biennale is Philip Beesley's interactive kinetic environment. We could have spent all afternoon looking at this one work and come away happy. Beesley's work incorporates lightweight digitally produced textile structures with touch sensors and LEDs that respond to the actions of the viewer. Walking in the interactive installation felt like you were part of a beautiful ethereal living organism.

I've blogged about Cal Lane's work before, so I enjoyed seeing her 'industrial doilies'.

And I particularly loved this collaboration between polish artist Monika Gryzmala and Euraba Artists and Papermakers, who are a group of northern NSWAboriginal artists specialising in handmade paper art. Breathtaking.

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LOVING :: Instagram

I know I'm so late to the party (so what's new?!)... on Saturday I finally joined Instagram. Do you do it? Do you love it? I'm hooked already. Below are some of my photos taken on Sunday. If you'd like to follow me I'm: @theredthread. See you there?

Watch out, I'm becoming more social media savvy (thanks Steph for the encouragement!), you might even find me on Pinterest soon... maybe even Facebook. But, um, don't hold your breath!

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NEW from the red thread :: Super Ooshkas

Super Ooshka has just joined my Ooshka Boys and Ooshka Babushkas - it's not just the boys who can be superheroes! You can find my sassy superhero in the red thread online shop now.

I spent some time over the weekend updating the content and tweaking the design of my website to reflect what has been a gradual change of direction for me. For a number of years I've been spreading myself thin working in lots of different mediums. When I started the red thread in 2004 I was creating art for (mainly) children's spaces, but I now find myself wanting to concentrate on my sewing patterns and kits as well as an exciting new direction: fabric design. You can still see some of my previous work on the gallery page of my updated website.

As a result of this change - or rather of me acknowledging and embracing the change - I am going to have an online sale of all my remaining art. Everything will be at least 50% off: SushiBird Tiles, Heart Boxes, Vintage Storybook Tiles, etc. Take a look at my gallery page for examples. I don't have a lot of stock, so it will be first in first served. The sale will be at an online pop up shop for the red thread, so if you're interested in scoring a major bargain sign up to my email mailing list and you'll be amongst the first to know.

It feels like a bit of a relief to have streamlined what the red thread is all about. I do love change!

A note about my email mailing list. I promise I will never share your details with anyone, for any reason. You can unsubscribe at any time.

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