Geelong Fibre Forum 2023 - the people who make it happen

Bronnie and Larissa, what a team!

 

This is the last of 5 daily blog posts about The Geelong Fibre Forum 2023. It was important to me to record as much as I could about my students, their work and all the fun . . . and my dear friends. To see the first post and then the others - go to - Geelong Fibre Forum 2023


The organisation of an event the size of the Geelong Fibre Forum is mind blowing. It is all run by volunteers!! The main 2 being Bronnie and Larissa. How they manage to run The Geelong Fibre Forum every year, whilst working full time and running homes and families - I really don't know. Thank you so much lovely girls, this was a fantastic forum.

This year was particularly special for several reasons. One being that Bronnie and Larissa had an exhibition of their own work. It was a real treat to see what they love creating. The opening party was fabulous, very much enjoyed by everyone.

Bronnie & Larissa opening the exhibition

Lots of happy talk and discussion about the work

Some of Larissa's crazy chaos people, they were such fun

Beautiful paintings by Bronnie

Part of Bronnie's installation of eco dyed panels

I wish I had taken more photos of Larissa's work, but I couldn't get near it  . .

The exhibition opening was on Monday night and then on Wednesday night we had Party Night!! Oh my goodness, a disco with a DJ and dancing. I haven't danced for ages, it was SOOO good. The theme was - The Great Southern Land. The outfits were fabulous, but these were my favourites . .

Larissa and Bronnie with Mary and 2 baby Koala's!! 
The best part for me was seeing this video of Nicola, in costume, hopping across the dining room floor pre party!! Just brilliant, Well done Dawn for capturing this rare occasion.

I said previously that this forum was particularly special for me. Another reason was being able to catch up with friends I have taught with before and not seen for several years. Seeing the wonderful Mary Hettmansperger from America again was very special. Mary is an amazing basket maker and metal smith. We first taught together in 2009 and then 2010 I think and once more until this forum. It's difficult to keep up with the dates as these were pre digital, imagine that, a time when our images weren't date stamped! I am hoping that Mary will be coming to Ireland to teach quite soon and will be able to stay with me for a few days.

 

The wondrous Mary Hettmansperger

Making the most of taking selfies - Me and Mary

Another great catch up was with Pam De Groot from Australia What a powerhouse of an artist. Pam started out as a ceramicist, then became a remarkable felter and also turns her hand to silversmithing. We have also taught together several times in Australia and it was so very good to actually see her, not just communicating through FB.

Me and Pam

One tutor I was very much looking forward to meeting was the felt maker Dawn Edwards from America. I had heard so much about her and we have a few mutual friends, but we had never met - well we have now!! My goodness what a fab time we had.

Mary and Dawn having the best time at the party

Pam, Nicola, Dawn and me holding Pam's magnificent felt pod.

And then there was Nicola . .  We first met at the forum in 2015 and became good friends. It is thanks to Nicola that I had the courage to make the jump to Ireland. Nicola lives on the East Coast of Ireland and I live on the West Coast. We both lead busy lives, but manage to see each other 3 or 4 times a year. It was so good to be at the forum with her again this year.

Me and Nicola in the car park waiting for the bus to Melbourne after the forum

It was quite emotional saying goodbye to my friends, you never quite know what life will hold. But we have plans for Mary, Dawn, Pam, Nicola and I to meet up in Ireland in the next 18 months or so. I really hope we can make it work. 

Whilst the main reason for The Geelong Fibre Forum is the students, it is also a wonderful way for the tutors to become friends.

A very happy Kim standing by her students work

 Which brings me back to my students, a very special group. For those of you who read this - thank you. Thank you for a remarkable week of experimentation, play and fun!! You all worked so well together. Sharing ideas and skills. I am so very proud of the work you all created, and I hope you will continue to develop your ideas. If you do, please let me know and send me photos.


 Thank you  - Simone, Sally, Kerri, Mardi, Juldi, Susan, Sally, Kath, Hilary, Wilma, Julianne and of course - Jenny.

Sending you all love from a bright but cold and windy Ireland.
Until next time . . .  

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts

Extreme Surfaces for Stitch - West Dean College July 17 - 20

Image
Mary's beautiful composition of painted Bondaweb, newspaper, foils, gilding flake and jewel dots - and seaweed! Every now and then in your teaching life you come across a 'super' group. 'Super' in the the way they work together, share their materials and experience and of course they produce some fabulous work. It is particularly unusual to find this on a three day course - it is something I would associate with much longer course. Nine students who have never met before with the widest divide of experience and age from 17 to much older, experience ranged from very little through City and guilds up to degrees and a PHD in textiles based subjects. "Where sheep may safely graze . . "  The view outside the workshop door - sigh . . . it is so beautiful. Of course, being at West Dean College  www.westdean.org.uk helped, what with stunning surroundings, space to work and wonderful food it would be difficult to find anywhere else more suited t...
Read more

Zap, Pow, Slash and Burn! Foredown Tower part the first

Image
  Layered Tyvek and polyester organza. We had a great day to day at Foredo wn Tower. I t was the f irst day of a two day workshop - Zap, Pow, Slash an d Burn! This workshop gives stud ents a chance to play with all the zappable products that I work with namely, Tyvek, Vilene Spunbond and polyester organza.    The group painting their Tyvek . There were nine in the group and although it was pouring with rain outside and blowing a hooley, we were almost snug and warm inside.    Working with a heat gun, an inch away f rom the surface of your work and holding the heat gun at a slight angle.   The group ha ppily using their heat guns.   The following images are all three layers of heavy (75gm) Tyvel layered with polyester organza and then stitched together on a sewing machine . The samples were then zapped with a heat gun. This exercise helps the stude nt learn contr ol - by moving the heat gun away from and towards the work,...
Read more

Hot Textiles at The Bridge, Brighton. 6th and 7th September

Image
  A scrumptious sample of textured and foiled Tyvek. I am finally catching up with myself, have been in rather a headless chicken mode for the past few weeks - things are bit calmer now. I have a few days in between each teaching session now right up to when the shows start next month. As long as I keep moving I will be fine. So . . . I have a new teaching venue in Brighton, just 10 minutes up the road from me, I can't believe how close it is - such a treat. I have booked some more workshops for next summer and once I have decided what I will be teaching, I will let you all know the dates and workshop information. The Bridge Community Education Centre is light and airy place with plenty of well equipped rooms and a fabulous cafe with scrummy food. There is a huge car park and the Centre is close to Falmer station and is also on many bus routes. www.thebridgebrighton.com   We had a group of seven fabulous girls. This is the Art Room. I was teaching a ...
Read more

The Full Works - 2 day workshop, Solihull Embroiderers Guild 17th & 18th July

Image
 3 layers of 75gm Tyvek layered with polyester organza. The Full Works is my basic workshop learning how to use heat tools. We work with Tyvek, Lutradur/Vilene Spunbond and painted Bondaweb.  Solihull Embroiderers Guild is a great group. Good fun and well organised. Have a look at their website. All Guilds can do with new members, if you fancy joining, you won't be disappointed. www.facebook.com/SolihullEmbroiderersGuild   and the website - www.embroiderersguild.com We started off painting up all the products which took a couple of hours. It is important for students to know how to paint up all the products if they want to do this kind of work at home. When working with heat distressable materials, it is important not to paint them too thickly or the paint will form a barrier.    Painting up the products.  Painting Bondaweb. Lutradur/Vilene Spunbond. We started off playng with the Tyvek, laying it between 2 sheets of baking parc...
Read more

More prettys at Bobbys

Image
We have had the first day of my new course Print, Paint, Stitch and Play! and things seem to have gone well so far. I love teaching in Bobby's studio, it is purpose built with plenty of space, power and water. We had a fab day painting Bondaweb and colourwashing newspaper. The group then worked through my tearing and layering process and this is what they have produced so far. They have already started stitching into the papers and tomorrow we will be printing onto them. We had a discussion tonight about how to spell Prettys or Pretties. Apparently the latter is correct but I like the former so that is the word I am going to use - I have no doubt a certain gentleman in the Portsmouth area will now be sitting with his head in his hands and shaking his head saying No! NO! As part of this process you need to be able to describe a piece you have layered up with gilding flake, sequins, glitter and all the other gorgeous sparkly bits we are using. So I have started c...
Read more

West Dean - Layered Textiles - Hot Techniques for jewelled surfaces - part 2

Image
  3 A4 sheets of painted Tyvek layered with polyester organza. this was then machine stitched together and then zapped with a heat gun to reveal different layers of colour and to create texture. The second day of a three day course - we have covered most of the basic techniques now and the students will be combining their own layers and stitching into them tomorrow.  There are seven in the group and it is another good group - textile ladies do seem to be good fun in general. I rarely get someone who moans. These are two Bondaweb pieces that I missed yesterday We worked with Tyvek for most of the day, starting with 'kissing, stroking and caressing' single sheets and moving on to layering Tyvek with polyester organza and zapping back. I don't know if you can have too much of a good thing but here are all the layered samples - front and back - Maggie's front and back Jean's front and back   Janet's front and back...
Read more

Sussex Quilters - Tinkering with Tyvek workshop 5th June

Image
A stunning corsage - one of the best I have seen on a workshop.    I had a great day today teaching at Southwick Community Centre for the Sussex Quilters. The workshop was 'Tinkering with Tyvek'. As usual for my workshops this was a process based day. I think it is important to know what the the materials will do before you can decide to make anything. First thing, we spent an hour painting both sides of several sheets of A4  heavy Tyvek and fabric weight Tyvek. Dull but necessary, it is very important not to paint the Tyvek with thick paint. If you do, the paint will form a barrier and the Tyvek won't react to heat. We then had a play with ironing Tyvek shapes between baking parchment, learning the 'Kiss, Stroke and Caress' way of lightly heating the Tyvek till it shrinks and puckers. We then moved on to layering 4 sheets of A4 Tyvek with polyester organza and machine stitching them together ready for zapping back - a bit like cheeky reverse ...
Read more

West Dean - Layered Textiles - Hot techniques for jewelled surfaces part 3

Image
  Painted and foiled Bondaweb with painted, textured and foiled Tyvek The final day at West Dean was a day of layering and stitch, a great treat. Having the extra day made such a difference, to the work and to the group. All the students bar one were beginners in the Hot Textiles field and they all produced some brilliant work. We worked through all the basic Hot Textiles processes as you will see in the previous posts. The students were left with various piles of heat treated fabrics which I asked them to create some kind of composition - here are the resulting samples -   Layers of transfer printed CS800 Vilene Spunbond zapped with a heat gun and decorated with frayed organza and embossing powder.   Transfer printed CS800 Vilene Spunbond zapped with a heat gun decorated with a Tyvek motif.      Polyester organza decorated with painted Bondaweb, zapped with a heat gun and decorated with textured Tyvek  P...
Read more

Registering your interest in my online teaching . . .

Image
It's almost here! I have been getting a lot of requests for me to teach online over the past 2 years. From all over the world. This combined with me wanting to stay at home in Ireland more and slow down a bit has decided me - it is going to happen. Starting in May. I am currently building a database and everyone who is on the database will be the first to hear what is happening and when. They will also receive the Sonas Studio newsletter (you can opt out). My house in Ireland is called Sonas - it means happiness and well being in Irish. I chose it because it sounded just  . . right. This year I will be concentrating on my one/two day workshops that will translate well to online workshops. For example -Tinkering with Tyvek, A New Starting Point and Transforming Transfers will be online from May to July. This all very new to me and I will be having IT help from my good friend Jayne. If you have been to the show at the NEC in March you will have seen her there. She he...
Read more

Hot Textiles - North Kent Embroiderers Guild June 27th - and feed dogs!!!

Image
Newspaper decorated with painted Bondweb, silk fibres, glitter and transfer foil. On Saturday I drove over to Meopham in Kent to teach one of my last one day workshops. The workshop was Hot Textiles, working with Bondaweb, Tyvek and Lutrdur/Vilene Spunbond. As some of you will know, I no longer take bookings for one day workshops, you can never get enough done. This workshop was booked 18 months ago.  Having given a lecture to this group the previous Saturday in Gravesend, I knew I was in for a good day with plenty of fun and laughter.  We started off painting up the Tyvek, Bondaweb and Lutradur/Vilene Spunbond. When working with materials that distress with heat, it is important to know how to apply colour to them, most importantly, how thinly to apply the colour. If the paint is applied too thickly, the paint will form a barrier and form a resist to the heat.   The group painting up their products. The Tyvek is always the first to dry - so we we ...
Read more