Getting Crafty

Spent a lovely day at the Caulfield Racecourse on Sunday after church.
No, was not attending the races but was at the Stitches & Crafts Show. This is one of the 2 which are held every year, and having missed last year's 2 shows ( usually in March & September ), this was the last chance for me to attend before I leave. It had started on Wed 6 March and there I was finally, on the last day of the show. Entrance fee cost A$14 - not cheap, but it was well worth the money.

There were over 150 retailers at the show and I was amazed at the variety of crafts on display. There were also stalls by the various guilds, like the Needlework Tapestry Guild of Victoria, The Embroidery Guild, Decoupage Guild Australia, Patchwork & Quilters Guild of Victoria and even the Bead Society of Victoria !
The Aussies are truly are a "crafty" lot of people...

Asde from these, there were also iced cakes on display - this was a competition for "sugar art". These were wonderfully done - there was even one with psychedelic colours reminiscent of the Saturday Night Fever design, as well as more traditional flowers & ribbons, which would look good as a wedding cake.

Unfortunately, theer were some signs prohibiting taking of photos, so I could not take shots of some of the wonderful pieces of work on display. Suffice it to say that I was somewhat dazzled by it all, and kicked myself for not coming down earlier in the week.

Hands-on workshops were conducted throughout the day, as well as various demonstrations of crafts. Beading seemed very popular & I was able to sign myself up for 2 one-hour courses in my afternoon there.

The first one was to make a "Sweetheart" necklace, beading technique using special Nymo thread & needle. Unfortunately, due the short time for the class, most of us could not finish doing the necklace on the spot. The poor instructor had obviously anticipated this, so she got us to do part of the main chain first, and then to quickly attch the special heart-shaped bead & start making the tassels, so that we would be able to finish off things ourselves later. The way that the workshop "rooms" were set up were also not very conducive as the lighting was not ideal, especially for working with the bright shiny beads & the fine-eyed needles.

Nonetheless we all got the gist of things & I was able to finish my necklace off myself, which I finally did today.

The next class was to make a free-form wire bead necklace, using tools that I am familiar with at work - pliers, wire, wire cutters !
However, the tme was again, rather too short for someone who has never tried this before, so I did not manage to finish making the necklace there.Also, I found it difficult that the instructor did not give the "big picture" first, that is to explain the steps that we were taking & how we were going to construct a necklace out of what we were doing, which made it difficult to me to follow.
Anyway, I decided to purchase the necessary tools ( pliers, wire cutter, etc ) to enable to complete my work. This is what it looks like finally.


Also found out that I could attend classes to learn how to make glass beads, which I can then use in my future jewellery-making attempts, so have signed up for those classes in about 2 weeks'time. Am looking forward to creating more things....

Delight of Melbourne

It is now nearing the end of my sojourn here - the year has flown by so quickly.
People have asked what I will miss about Melbourne, so I will write about these things in my last 3 weeks here.
One of my favourite things in Melbourne is the Baker's Delight shops which can be found all around the city & beyond.
The wonderful aroma of baking bread never fails to draw me into the shop.
The prices are also quite reasonable - my usual purchase is the small country grain or wholemeal sandwich loaf. This is available covered with sesame seeds on the surface ( my favourite kind ), or poppy seeds or just plain. It costs only A$1.80 and they will slice it on the spot for you - just tell them if you want thin or thick slices.
There are also many other varieties of breads & buns on sale, and there are usually samples on the counter for you to try.
The staff are also usually very cheerful & helpful, and service is offered with a smile.
This is truly a delight of Melbourne that I will miss.

LADIES' DAY

Received this from a friend ( thanks, Geok Chin ! ) a couple of days ago - it really ministered to me, so I want to record it down here, on this special day known as the International Women's Day. May it also be a source of encouragement to the women of the world.

Subject: WOMEN!!

One Flaw In Women

Women have strengths that amaze men.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about
a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.

The heart of a woman is what
makes the world keep turning.
They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their
family and friends.

Women have vital things to say
and everything to give.
HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

May we all not forget that we are worthy because of who we are - and not just for the things we do.

Thought for The Day

Came across this today, thought it was meaningful :
When asked if there was anything worse than blindness, Helen Keller had this to say :
"Oh yes," she responded. "A person with sight but no vision. "

BUTT OUT

Welcome news today - from March 1st, it will be illegal to smoke in enclosed train, tram & bus stops here, as well as in the workplace.
Great news for non-smokers, especially after getting puffed on previously while waiting for public transposrt. They have also started putting graphic photos of the damage that smoking can cause on the back of each box of cigarettes on sale. However, the Australian Medical Association feels that more should be done, like extending the ban on smoking to the whole of school compunds. Guess it's a start anyway....maybe they will have smoke-free public places like in our Lion City eventually....
Hooray for cleaner air ! :-)

TROPFEST 2006

Went for the Sony Tropfest just now at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with Nikolle.
This is an annual short film competition that has contestants making films which must contain the theme for the year. This year's theme was "Bubble" & tonight's event was the screening of the films of the 16 finalists. The best thing was that it was free, which I think is a really good way to get more people to recognise & appreciate the film making talents in their midst.

The main action was actually in Sydney, at The Domain, & we were linked via satellite to the proceedings. There was quite an interesting panel of judges, including well-known Aussie actors like Toni Collette, Guy Pearce & Rose Byrne, as well as the director of last year's sleeper Aussie independent hit film , Wolf Creek.
There was also a simultaneous screening held in Brisbane & I think the combined attendance at all the venues was about 90 000 !

The films were rather varied, including both live action ones, as well as a few animation flicks. It was interesting to see how each film maker tried to incorporate the "bubble" into their films - almost like looking for Hitchcock's famous cameo appearances in each of his films. Some were rather obvious, but others were more unexpected, eg, thought bubbles, as used in the film entitled Silencer. That was quite different as it was integral to the plot of the film as well, although I must say it was truly a blokes-movie.

The funny thing was that halfway through the second half of the film fest, the message that Sydney had had to shut their screens down for safety reasons flashed across the screens. We later found out that due to the bad weather in Sydney ( it had been raining cats & dogs all evening as we could seen on the satellite-relayed pictures ) their satellite had given up & was not able to transmit, or so the Melbournian comperes said.

So while we folks in Melbourne, famous for its temperamental weather changes, actually got to watch all 16 films, the Sydneysiders had to miss the last 2 and a half as they were all sent home. Truly a rare moment - when the weather in Melbourne was actually BETTER than in Sydney! Anyway, as a result, we had to be content to await the final results which would be published in the papers tomorrow. Also, all viwers could take part in the People's Choice poll online or via SMS & vote for their favourite film - which is probably more interesting to know & perhaps more relevant to any budding film maker who is keen to make films which will be commerically viable.

A copy of all 16 films in the finals will be given free with this coming Saturday's The Age newspapers - so those who missed tonite's screening can still watch the films , which is another great way to publicise the work of these film makers.
Altogether a very encouraging way to do things - maybe something we could emulate back in our Lion City ?

GLASS CLASS PART 2

Second day of the workshop was just as interesting & even more colourful. This time we learnt how to do stained glass mosaic, using pieces of coloured glass that we were to cut out ourselves, as opposed to the "smashed glass' type. The glass cutting techniques learnt in the first workshop were put to good use.

This time, I had a new classmate, Tanya, from Pascoe Vale, who is Maltese.
Pam was busy attending the Kilmore Cup races, though she did come in the morning for the "unveiling" of the glass pieces we had made the day before.

Stained glass mosiac can be used on both indoor & outdoor projects - it is thew finish & the type of base use which determines if the item can withstand the elements.

Our project was an indoor piece & we were allowed to choose the shape we wanted for our MDF craft bases. Both Tanya & I decided on the circular base, which was more versatile to use.

After practising the glass cutting techniques & learning about how to make our mosaic design stand out, we got down to choosing the actual designs & the colours we wanted to put on our pieces. Yours truly decided to do a sunflower design (to match the coasters I had made the day before) with a blue border.
This turned out to be rather difficult as the yellow coloured glass I chose to cut out the petals from made it almost impossible to see the score lines I made on it with the glass cutter. I had to experiment a bit & with Marina's advice, I finally managed to get my petals cut out. The last part of filling in the background was also not as simple as I thought, as I had to cut according to the restricted space I had left to fill. I chose a dark green background to make the yellow petals stand out.

This is my mosiac piece after I had painstakingly glued down all the pieces. Marina's advice rang true : " You must commit yourself, & stick down the glass piece, otherwise you can be spending the whole day & not have achieved anything". Good advice for other areas in life too, I thought. :-)

After all the glass pieces of the design were painstakingly "buttered" & stuck down with glue, the next step was the grouting. I chose a dark green grout so that it would merge my background, and have the effect of making my flower design stand out. As the workshop was only for 1 day & the aim was to finish the project to bring home, we also used a special hot air gun to help dry the grout. The best moment had to be when we used a towel to polish off the excess grout & the coloured mosiac started showing & shining through - absolutely magical & beautiful !
This is the final product - my very own stained glass mosaic trivet ! I was very pleased that the colours came together very well & my flower looked like it was bursting out of the picture....

Have been greatly inspired & now aim to do a larger project in the form of a lazy-susan....watch this space....

GLASS CLASS PART 1

Had a great weekend in country Victoria - attended a couple of beginner's workshops on Glass Slumping & Stained Glass Mosaic in Kilmore, just slightly over an hour's drive from Melbourne.

Marina Villani, the artist and teacher, has her own studio on the grounds of her lovely property. Her home-based business in hand made glassware as well as stained glass mosaic, goes by the name of Myriad Glass Designs. I met her at the Flemington market, and was impressed by the lovely things she had made, which included glass tableware, jewellery, as well as other decorative as well as functional items. When I found out that I could learn how to make some of these items in 1-day clases, I decided to check it out. The fees for the classes were $120 for each class, which covered tuition, tools and materials and notes, as well as a simple 3 course lunch. However, if you choose to attend both classes, you only need pay $185. Being the kiasu Singaporean that I am, I decided to "pow ka liao" & do both classes.

Saturday was the 1st workshop on Slumping, which is a technique of creating patterned glassware by melting glass over a design or stencil. We had to start off first learning how to cut glass using an oil cutter, which was rather fun, though yours truly managed to poke my palm with the end of a piece of glass and sustained a superficial cut.

No blood was shed thankfully, and the rest of the class went on without much incident. Our projects for the day were a set of 4 coasters and a small dish.


That's Marina in the bright orangey yellow top, with Pam (her neighbour & my fellow student for the day) and moi. We are standing next to one of the 3 kilns that Marina has in her studio. A kiln like that costs a few thousand & each kiln has its own characteristic temperatures & cycles for each technique of treating the glass.



This is the "before" shot of my glass ware in the kiln, waiting to be "baked".
The designs for the coasters were drawn directly onto the kiln powder with the end of a stick, like drawing in sand ! The dish at the top part of the picture uses a stencil over a frame. The glass sheets are laid over the top of the designs/stencil and the kiln closed & "fired up". The glass is then slumped over the designs/stencil thus creating the impression onto it. The glass in left in the kiln to complete its cycles of slumping and then allowed to cool overnight.


This is the "after" shot of my first glass ware creations - it was like Christmas all over again, such anticipation on opening the kiln after the process was completed. All that remained after that was to remove the glass ware, brush off the kiln powder, wash & dry them & stick little silicon "feet" onto the corners of each glass coaster. It had been a very rewarding day indeed, but there was more to come.