Melbourne skies

Standing on a balcony at a friends, surrounded by gums and watching the local bats setting off for the night, this sky presented itself. It was indeed a lovely evening, quite a contrast to the thunder and fat raindrops now falling. I'm hoping it calms down before I head out for a late supper and midnight gig in the city. Although I haven't had much time for weaving over the past few weeks, I have managed to fit in baking. Last night I made a sweet tart shell, filled it with pastry cream and covered it with fresh berries. I'm enjoying practicing my pastry skills and I'm getting better at making custard. Which reminds me - there is enough pastry in my fridge for another tart, perhaps for another present as February is filled with birthdays. It is never as much fun eating sweets alone as it is sharing, especially among friends and family.

Pero

I took this portrait of Pero in Pula when I visited family quite a few years ago. Although there are exciting things around the corner and plenty of work planned in order to get there, I've been feeling the itch to travel. This past week I've been playing around with old negatives in photoshop, all while wishing I had access to a darkroom to print them on fiber based paper. I've been keenly watching the progress of some of my studio mates who are building an analogue darkroom. I'm hoping it will be complete in a few months and I'll get to hang in the dark again.

Simple pleasures

I've spent the morning watching the news and I feel so thankful that I have food in the garden and family and friends that are healthy and happy. Yesterday's heat has all but gone this morning so I'm going to make the most of it. Today I'll be finishing off some hand made presents for friends as well as testing a cake for another's wedding. Called a devil's food layer cake, I'm imagining it will be similar in crumb to a genoise base, layered with caramel and chocolate ganache, then covered in a fine layer of cake crumbs. I haven't yet decided if the crumbs are too fussy, in which case, the ganache will do the honours. Topped with some fresh flowers, I think it will make a simple but beautiful wedding cake that is hopefully as delicious as it looks.

Little ideas

I love woven samples almost as much as the end product. These samples that didn't make it onto boards are little ideas that were then worked into proper samples of the right size. No one really gets to see them. They end up languishing in neatly filed notebooks with details about warp and weft. Here are some of my favourites. A range of upholstery samples all woven on a grey linen warp using simple weave structures. I called the range Ode to Olivetti, after the Italian typewriter manufacturer and named each of my samples after subsequent typewriter models. I have wanted a Olivetti Valentine since I saw an exhibition of Ettore Sottsass's work at the Design Museum in London quite a few years ago. I am yet to own one but perhaps one will turn up for sale in the coming months.

Apricot season

Mid summer brings with it the arrival of one of my favourite stone fruits, apricots. The best kind always come from backyard trees and are no comparison in flavour to the commercial variety. They just don't cut it. After picking a few boxes off Trish's tree, I've made a couple of these apricot frangipane tarts, with the rest about to be quickly stewed in a vanilla sugar syrup as a delicious breakfast treat. It is going to be a lovely weekend, enjoy!

Wandering around Melbourne

What a perfect day it was yesterday. Cloudy and grey gave way to a lovely sun filled afternoon. In the mood for some inspiration, I met Kayo in the city for an excursion to the NGV International. I love visiting smaller exhibitions, often filled with work from the permanent collection. There was so much to admire and a few of those goose bump moments. A Eugene Atget silver gelatin print, exquisite lace samples with incredible fine detail, and a tapestry I saw being woven at the Australian Tapestry Workshop more than two years ago and now completed. Titled Alice Bayke, the work depicts a young woman in an ornate white dress staring blankly off into the distance, her black mass of hair melting into the background. Yvonne Todd, listed as designer, is the photographer commissioned by the Queensland Art Gallery to take the photograph which was then woven ever so skillfully in the Tapestry Workshop by two weavers, Sue Batten and Amy Cornall. It must have been a challenge to depict a realistic portrait, and replicate not only the subtle deep colours of her hair, but also the transparency of the sleeve of her dress along with the lace and embroidery details. It is well worth seeing up close. Clouds having eventually given way to sunshine, we wandered over to Gallery Funaki to try on some Karl Fritsch rings, unfortunately which I had to leave behind. I did however, purchase the catalogue below to add to my book collection.

I thought I would add some photographs of a concertina book I put together mid last year for my Luna work. The idea was to document some design ideas and pattern repeats that I was using, along side a small sample woven on a square wooden frame.

Moon image on the right taken from a small dvd catalogue which documents a collection of films by Jean Painleve called Science is Fiction.

Gallery Funaki

Australian Tapestry Workshop

Pappa al pomodoro

I've been wandering around my father's garden in the afternoon sun whilst plotting dinner and lunch for the next few days - my brain ticking over with all sorts of delectable edible things. Having grown up in a household where the backyard garden is full of fruit, vegetables and flowers, I can't help but think about food. Tonight calls for pappa al pomodoro, a Tuscan bread and tomato soup. The greengage plums, so sweet and brilliant green, will be made into a birthday frangipani tart for Felicity.

Visual diaries

Nothing like looking through a friends visual diary. Finding out those things that interest others in their making is always facinating. I love using those middle sized black moleskin books but the paper is not the best for drawing on, especially with ink. I usually draw onto heavy based papers that don't bleed and add them at a later date. So in light of a new year, a new studio almost all set up and a new visual diary, I thought I would post photographs of mine from the past year.

Emmet Gowin photograph on the right.





Drawings of work from RMIT Schmuck show.
Karl Fritsch jewellery on the left. I would love one of his rings one day.

Ivan da Silva Bruhns carpet on left.
A neckpiece I made late last year.
I thought I would end on the last two things I made in 2010. Kumihimo braided rope for neckpieces. On the left is a charcoal silk piece I'm wearing wrapped around my wrist a few times over. Looking forward to plenty more making this year.

Summer harvesting

Each year I look forward to summer with excited anticipation and this year is no different. Growing up in a household where the biggest tomatoes are the most celebrated, food has always been an important part of my life. I can’t wait for the first red tomatoes of the season from the garden - still a few weeks away. In the mean time, I took a little road trip down to Monbulk to pick raspberries this morning. They will be turned into jam and possibly a sweet tart or two, if I get onto the pastry tonight. The next few days are going to be hot, definitely not pastry making weather.

Cake for Jules

I have made this cake so often that I barely need to look at the recipe. I only make it in the Summer months, when berries are abundant and can fill the hole created by pressing it down with a weight as soon as it comes out of the oven. Certainly not one of the prettiest cakes around, but rather, one for those who love their cake on the rich side of things. My sister and I share a birthday, so this is for her, with love.

The River Cafe Pressed Chocolate Cake