gallimaufry |ˌgaləˈmôfrē| noun a confused jumble or medley of things, a dish made of leftovers. ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from archaic French galimafrée ‘unappetizing dish,’ perhaps from Old French galer ‘have fun’ + Picard mafrer ‘eat copious quantities.’
One last mixed bag of pictures from this year, because I didn’t post to my blog as often as I should have/could have—a pity because some of these deserve at least a cursory look, and I wouldn’t feel right posting or writing about these pictures any time in 2011…there is bound to be so much new material to work with and digest next year, why serve up leftovers?
The Year in Embroidery…
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Left to right, from the top: 1)Faster, Pussycat! Movie-based embroidery for the Phat Quarter swap; 2)The Key To The Door In The Mountain embroidery on tulle in a cigar tin, inspired by a poem by Jean Valentine, for the Darwin Visual Arts Association’s Annual Member’s Show; 3)Allium Flora journal (Book 876); my first attempt at the technique in soandso’s book The Embroiderer’s Floral 4)The Sorceress of Serendip, 3D art doll on a journal cover; 5)Red brocade Spool Bird, red cotton floss on linen. My take on the bird softie pattern available on Spoolsewing.com’s site; 6)Nightmare, blackwork on black Moleskine cahier for The Sketchbook Project 2011 in Brooklyn, NY; 7)okay, you’re sick of these felt cookies. So am I! 8.) Book 879, appliquéd, quilted and embroidered journal, now the property of Mademoiselle Dassenoy, who went home to Belgium; 9)my first Spool bird, done in regular fabrics…eventually went on a journey by bicycle through the Tanami Desert, as my Belovéd’s mascot.
A Daytrip to Kakadu National Park…
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Left to right, from the top: 1)My Beloved’s rough and rather unlovely toes serve as a background to some amazingly small works of wild beauty; 2) & 3) local flora; 4)bushfire in the mulga; 5)a prehistoric penthouse with amazing views, at the top of Ubirri; 6) & 7)more nature shots… 8)the ubiquitous sun-bleached beer can tells you two things: Aussies love their beer, and some people are filthy swine; 9) & 10)views of the floodlands and sky, from the top of Ubirri; 11)an aboriginal rock painting of Namarrgon, the Lightning Man, at 12)a rosella flower, taken at Bukbukluk
Bits & Pieces Of Life…
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Just a few of the reasons why I loved 2010 (left to right, starting at the top):
- a new bicycle! Ruby Belle…white-walled tires, chain guard, wicker basket…she’s just the cutest little thing! I love my treadlie…I never learned to drive a car, and a few years ago I realized that I no longer want to learn. Bikes are Better, in Every Way.
- fun photo shoots with my friend Melanie, and my honorary godchild, Charlotte. They went back to Germany for good just a few weeks ago. I will miss them both. Charlotte was my favorite photo subject…spontaneous and full of life, a delightful little girl.
- moulding and casting workshop with Ewan Wood…I have always wanted to know how to cast little things, and Ewan gave us a great little introduction to the craft. Ewan himself does amazing work for museums and such, producing life-like reproductions of anything, from potatoes to crocodiles; he was my studio neighbor at the Darwin Visual Arts Association, and whenever he was painting one of his crocodiles I would hang around to watch and just be a general pest…
- homegrown tomatoes! Our first crop on the boat…they were really sweet, lusscious and YUMMY!
- the iSmoke, my hubby’s piece for the DVAA Annual Member’s Show, makes fun of Apple products, geeks, smokers, and consumers, with his gadget in a cigar tin.
- I drew my life! Well, for a few days, anyway, just small parts of my life. Inspired by Michael Nobbs’s Start to Draw Your Life e-book, and the rest of his Sustainably Creative blog.
- Kris made a few sculptures this year…my favorite is his snail-powered recumbent bicycle. This was meant to go into the Sculpture in The Park, but that show didn’t go ahead this year, due to administrative and bureaucratic difficulties. We did a fun photo shoot for the piece at the Holmes Jungle.
- I got the 750 Words habit…and then fell off the wagon a few days before I hit the 100 day mark and 100,000 words. Lost all my badges, and never even got a glimpse of that Pheonix. Too funny, dropping the ball like that, just when you think “it’s all sweet downhill coasting from here”…LOL I will crawl back on the wagon, as an effing ignominious egg, tonight. In the meantime, here’s a curious screenshot from the thoughts/emotions stats on one of my stranger days: Feeling mostly: HAPPY. Concerned mostly about: DEATH. wtf?
- Kris, on the recumbent bicycle he built at home, in the middle of his Old Tanami Track journey. He rode Some folks in 4-wheel drives stopped to take the pics, and were nice enough to e-mail them to us. All part of Kris’s love affair with solitude, big open spaces, adventure, the Outback, and bicycles The new book he has just finished writing, Bicycle Dreaming, launches in late January next year.
Q: What about the list, though, hmm?
A: List? what list?
Q: That one with all those things you said you were going to do…
A: Oh. That list. *sigh* I didn’t do too well with that list.
1. Fill a sketchbook with drawings (FAIL)
2. Join a group and complete a 365 photo challenge (FAIL)
3. grow a lovely veggie and flower garden on the boat …yeesh! (FAIL)(Note: I have tomatoes and basil, so not a total failure. But not the self-reliant gardening I initially wanted.)
4. “Random Acts of Crewelty” : Have An Exhibit in 2011 (okay, not technically over yet, there’s hope for this one!)
5. The Phat Quarter Swap: Movies!
6. Sew a Spool Bird: “Red Brocade Bird”
7. Sew at least one item with each of the patterns in my collection (FAIL)
8. Make a group of 15 journals using the Allium flower technique (Note: I have made 3 journals with Allium flowers on them.)
9. Framed, embroidered pendants and jewelry (FAIL)
10. Read 10 books before the end of the year
11. Use up all my small canvases…paint lots of small paintings! (FAIL)
12. Write 4 poems (FAIL…no, make that SPECTACULAR FAIL!)
13. Craft a series of patchworked journals and mini quilts (20) (FAIL, FAIL, FAIL)
14. Craft 12 Bijou (miniature) books using existing materials (FAIL)
15. Complete the August Challenge on 750Words.com
Who gives a rat’s ass, anyway? *laughs out loud*
Meh, better luck next year!
Happy New Year, everybody!
Filed under: life, projects, stuff i've made Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
