You know that feeling when you are reading blogs and then you follow a link, to another link and then you land on something so fabulous and you think, “Now why have a I never seen this before?!”

This is what happened when I followed a link on Cicada Daydream’s blog to a link to the Japan Society and came upon the work of the late Japanese textile designer (and painter, illustrator) Keisuke Serizawa (1895-1984). I immediately fell in love with his work, attracted by the rich palette of colours (using natural dyes), but also the folk art motifs and bold graphics and – because I am no expert in Art or Design – it simply made me happy to look upon his work!

Some examples:

Pattern Imitating Glaze Dripping Down the Side of a Jar, 1961. Credit.

Flowers, 1940. Credit.

Mandala of the Four Season, 1971. Credit.

Seabream, 1964. Credit.

Two panels of Views of Okinawan, 1948. Credit.

Japanese Symbols, 1960s. Credit.

Keisuke Serizawa was designated as a “Living National Treasure” for his katazome stencil dyeing technique in 1956 by the Emperor of Japan. He became a leading artist of the ‘Mingei‘ art movement, which in Japanese generally means folk art. His work can be found on kimonos, paper prints, wall scrolls, folding screens, curtains, fans and calendars.

I understand that some of his work has been reproduced into calendars and I found an example of the 2008 calendar via Apartment Therapy:

Credit.

. . . but I have also found out that the 2010 Keisuke Serizawa calendar is sold out!!! Bummer. Soaking in the beauty of his work via the internet will have to do for now I guess :-)

Hope these samples of his work brought a smile to your face too. Wishing you all a reinvigorating weekend!!

I popped into Hudson this morning to set up the show. It was good to see Nikki once again and we had a nice little catch up as the dolls and softies slowly found their places.

If you are in Melbourne any time from tomorrow until the end of December, I do hope you will get a chance to visit the Woodland Folk and their friends :-)

If you are interested in any of the dolls or softies, you can contact Nikki at Hudson (03 9525 8066). This year, you’ll be able to take the softie with you when you purchase it rather than waiting until the exhibition is over. This means that as the weeks go on, the display may get smaller and smaller – so if you wanted to see all of the display, you might want to visit earlier rather than later.

Thanks again for all your support and lovely comments/feedback regarding the stuff I’ve been making for this show. I’m going to take a little break from sewing and hope to get caught up on all the emails and blogs this week. Happy week all!

Wow, this weekend was a blur! A fun time was had at the AQM on Saturday catching up with some lovely ladies and I hope to do a post about it this week. It still feels like I have been sewing non-stop though and as a result, my brain has turned to jelly.

So I’ll stop jabbering on. Here are the final batch of softies for the show.

Ojai, Okena and Oriole the Owls (all made using thrifted crocheted squares and doilies):

And a few Ze Bun-Buns:

I didn’t get a chance to make hybrid creatures for this show but I have another show planned for early next year and I am hoping to focus purely on hybrid creatures for that one (something a little different from what I usually make).

Now off to get some sleep and then it’s off to install the show tomorrow!

Three new bright and cheery Fawns for the show.

Fitzroy:

Francesca:

And Firenze:

I’ve reinforced the legs on Fitzroy and Francesca with wire so they are definitely more sturdy than previous fawns.

I’m still sewing like a crazy woman. My creative space this week has branched onto the kitchen bench in order to get as much sewing done as possible whilst looking after the Youngest.

I’m also spending the day at the Australian Quilt Market tomorrow, hanging out with the lovely ladies of Pattern Press :-) I’m looking forward to meeting and catching up with other designers, visiting all the booths, and given the forecast for tomorrow – air conditioning! It will be a nice break from sewing. Hopefully I’ll remember to bring my camera.

Back here on Sunday with the last batch of softies for the show – Bun-buns and Owls (that’s the plan anyway!).

More creative spaces at Kirsty’s.

Thank you for your lovely comments about the upcoming show! Here are the Peg Bears who will be attending the Tea party:

Peg Bear Ranchera:

Peg Bear Rara:

Peg Bear Requiem:

Peg Bear Rhapsody:

Peg Bear Rocknoir:

Peg Bear Rondeaux:

All the Peggies are sporting op-shopped or donated crocheted squares and doilies.

I’ve also just completed 3 fawns. About 6 more softies to go in the next 5 or so days – I think I might just make it! Hope to share pics of the fawns soon. Thanks again for all your support and best wishes ♥

Inspired by the colours of Spring and kids’ outdoor tea parties, I really wanted this show to be full of colour and pattern. Thanks to the wonderful and supportive Nikki, it will be once again held at Hudson Clothes (Balaclava, Victoria) this year, starting November 17. Please do pop in and have a look if you are in the area!

I’ll continue to post up pics of what will be in the show over the coming week.

Not much crafting here due to 2 little girls with the flu, so I thought I’d give a quick update on what’s still available from the show, and to let those who live outside Victoria (interstate or overseas) know that you can now purchase an item if you’d like too!

Nikki and I had a quick chat about how we could make this option work so I think we’ve now got a system to handle any purchases from interstate or overseas :-)

Most of the artwork is still available and Felix the Fawn(SOLD – thank you!), Odessa the Owl(SOLD – thank you!) and Peg Bunny #11(SOLD – thank you!) are also available.

I’ve set up a separate page with all the information on the items in the show, what has been sold and what is available, and how to purchase an item (with separate instructions depending one whether you live in or outside of Victoria). This page will be updated as items are sold.

You can click on the banner above to access the show update page at any time or alternatively just click here.

Hopefully back soon with some softies to share with you!

After a few months of blood, sweat and tears – okay, maybe just a little blood from careless pin pricks, and a little sweat from outdoor trekking trying to find good spots for softie photo-shoots, and actually, no tears – I’m really excited to post up details of my first little solo show! :-)

These are last pieces I completed before setting up the show today:

And some pics of the display:

You can see more pics of the display and all the items I created over in my Woodland Park Folk flickr set.

If you are interested in having a look-see, Hudson Clothes is open 7 days a week from 11am to 5:30pm. Please contact Hudson directly if you would like to purchase something from the show and they will organise it with you (please note they accept exact cash only payable when you pick up the item at the end of the show). The show has been extended and will end on the 12th of October.

If you had told me just over 2 years ago when I started making softies that I would be exhibiting some of my work at Hudson – the same place where one of my softie heroes, Loobylu, exhibited a few years ago – I would have fallen to the floor laughing in complete disbelief. This is feeling all a little surreal and weird and “what the?” at the moment.

Thanks so much to the wonderful Nikki (who owns and operates Hudson) for asking me to be involved. I think this past month has been the most disciplined I’ve ever been in terms of planning and getting things done. It’s been a challenging experience trying to work on the different pieces while fulfilling family commitments, and with things ramping up at work, and getting little sleep, and knowing there is much more on the list that I wanted to complete – but it will be an experience I will always remember and value, and has confirmed to me just how much I love making and creating and bringing little sketches to life :-)

To celebrate, I’ll send the first 15 people to leave a comment on this post a postcard (shown above). I hope to have a more substantial giveaway mid-way through the month :-)

Thanks to all of you who have left such encouraging comments! And thank you to Angela & LC for the generous plug :-)

. . . & hoping for the best!

This is what I’ve been up to the last few nights and will most likely be doing over the weekend. I am loving making collages again after a looooong break from them. Still a little bit of sewing to be done for the show but it looks like that will have to wait for just a little bit longer :-)

Some of my favourite blog posts from this past week:
>> Angry Chicken’s Homemade Banh Mi (love these sandwiches – thankfully we can pick these up fresh nearby but making them ourselves is a good idea too!)
>> True-Up’s week of Ogee Fabric
>> Flora’s week of doodles, acrylic & ink
>> Pillow Round-Up by Orange You Lucky (adore the ones from Urban Outfitters!)
>> Open House with Le Train Fantome
>> Heidi’s latest (amazing) softies

Also, love, love, love the work (softies, illustrations) of Yuriko Sera. Here’s a sample (credit: Yuriko Sera website):

Wishing you a fun and happy weekend!

Not quite on my desk – printed on my desk but now drying on the floor :-)

Printed on coated canvas sheets, giving the prints a lovely, lovely depth and texture.

This batch will be the only batch on canvas (that canvas is expensive stuff!) and will be signed, dated and framed for the show. The remaining prints (limited edition of 25 each) will be printed on archival cotton paper.

More on my desk players here.