Bentinck Island Artists

We walked a little further, as far as Brunswick Street, to visit the Alcaston Gallery. Robin Friday had told us about an excellent exhibition that was on show. It was the work of Bentinck Island Artists. We enjoyed the exhibition very much.

Ronald Kirk at the Victorian Artists' Society

This morning we visited the Victorian Artists' Society Gallery in Albert Street. It is a very attractive old building. We spent some time viewing the work of Ronald Kirk. There were more than 100 paintings on display that he had painted over the past 50 years

Caramel

Irises bloomimg in the Carlton Gardens

The Hochgurtel Fountain

After we left the Arts Centre, we made our way by tram to the Melbourne Museum that is situated near the Carlton Gardens and the Exhibition Buildings. We were delighted to find that the Hochgurtel Foutain was switched on, so we spent some time admiring the fountain before finally heading for the Museum

Seamless

Seamless: Where Costume Meets Dance

We spent time exploring this wonderful exhibition. We were delighted to find a video screening that featured the dance performance of a good friend, Stephanie Lake.

This unique exhibition presents a lively and engaging insight into the creative process of designing costume for dance.

Seamless showcases costumes from some of the most memorable moments in Australian dance history and reveals the fascinating stories behind their design through the designers and choreographers who created them.

The exhibition highlights costumes and designs from the Arts Centre's Performing Arts Collection, private collections and dance companies from around Australia. The exhibition revisits groundbreaking productions from the 1940s and 1950s as well as more recent works by The Australian Ballet, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Balletlab and Lucy Guerin Inc.

Dance School photos of Lua

We went to the Arts Centre and saw a very interesting photographic exhibition celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Vic College School of Dance. Two of our children, Lua and Zachary, attended the specialist Secondary School and we were delighted to find two photographs of groups of students that included Lua.

Fringe Furniture - Make Your Mark

We went to the Melbourne Museum to see this exciting exhibition that is part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. The catalogue includes the following statement:

'Fringe Furniture is above all about the work and would not be possible without the incredible creativity and talent of all the artists and designers who submit their work'.

Lynch - a documentary about the creative process of David Lynch

We attended a screening of the documentary 'Lynch' at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image at Federation Square.

Compiled from over two years of footage, the film is an intimate portrait of Lynch's creative process as he completes his latest film, INLAND EMPIRE. We follow Lynch as he discovers beauty in ideas, leading us on a journey through the abstract which ultimately unveils his cinematic vision. The director of the documentary immersed himself in David Lynch's world; living and working at Lynch's home. His unobtrusive style has captured a personal side of David Lynch not seen before. The film reveals Lynch not only as one of the most original and compelling directors of contemporary film but also as an artist who continues to explore and experiment in countless mediums. We witness his "hands on" approach to painting, sculpting, music and screenwriting. His enthusiasm is infectious; inspiring us to tap into the well of creativity that Lynch believes we all have

Waltz with Bashir

Ali Mohammed Isha Khatri and Edward

Here is a photo of me with our tutor - Ali Mohammed Isha Khatri - a master of the knot and dot Bandhani textile art.

Textile Fibre Forum at Geelong Grammar School

Ali Mohammed Isha Khatri, Rajubhai and Lachhuben Raja Raja on the left of the textile piece and Raniben Ratilal Bhanani, Judy Frater and Nileshbhai on the right.

Rajubhai and Lachhuben Raja Raja

Lachhuben Raja Raja and Raniben Ratilal Bhanani

Lachhuben Raja Raja and Raniben Ratilal Bhanani

Ali Mohammed Isha Khatri demonstrating the transfer of a design onto cloth

Noel and I joined a large group of textile artists to participate in the annual workshops that are held at Geelong Grammar school each September. It was an exciting week with an amazing number of diverse workshops, exhibitions, installations and an opportunity to purchase materials from a range of traders.

Noel and I worked with some wonderful friends from the Kutch area of India.

Rajubhai and Lachhuben Raja Raja along with Raniben Ratilal Bhanani were the tutors in the stitch workshop where Noel was working.

I chose to focus on the art of knot and dot Bandhani and my tutor was Ali Mohammed Isha Khatri.

We were also fortunate to have Judy Frater, an anthropologist who has been working with the artists in Kutch for many years.

KALA RAKSHA was conceived as a new model for development through handicrafts: the interlinking of two parts, preservation of age-old traditions, and income generation via contemporary work.

The KALA RAKSHA project began in Kutch in 1991. It focused on a group of embroiderers in Sumrasar Sheikh, a village 25 km north of Bhuj. These people had migrated from Nagar Parkar in Sindh in 1972, bringing with them some fine traditional embroideries as well as their skills in suf and kharek embroidery styles With generous support from patrons of traditional arts, a permanent collection of traditional embroideries was begun. A group of twenty artisans was organized and guided in producing suf embroidered items for sale.

www.kala-raksha.org

The Bandhani workshop at the Geelong Forum

Some of the work on display.

The class with Philomena and Ali Mohammed standing at the centre back.

Ali Mohammed and Philomena

An excited Dana McCown undoing her piece of bandhani with Mary Lou Friday looking on.

Some of our work on display during the open day.

Here is a photograph of my workshop group - the Bandhani workshop which was part of the TAFTA Textile Arts Forum, held at Geelong Grammar School. Our tutor was Ali Mohammed Isha Khatri. We also were very fortunate to have a wonderful assistant, Philomena Hali from Alice Springs. As Ali Mohammed's arrival at the workshop was seriously delayed, Philomena very generously shared some techniques involving shibori and fabric manipulation that kept us very busy and involved until he arrived later in the week.

Evelyn Roth and her inflatables

Evelyn Roth created several inflatable sculptures that were placed around the College grounds during the Forum.

Knitted installations - Wonders of the world

There were 3 rooms used for special installations during the Forum.
The Big Knit was installed courtesy of Caroline Love. As well, we enjoyed The Knit Tree which was provided by Evelyn Roth courtesy of Parks Community Centre S.A. where knitted projects occurred with seniors in aged care facilities.
In the third room was The Green Place - a large silk 'teepee' with marvelous stitched detail and natural dyeing created by Aukje Boonstra of Tasmania