Slow start this morning

The other night we started on the mega clean-up that's going to be necessary to move all the crap we've accumulated in the last couple of years. I've been storing a box of unfired pots from my failed experiment with wheel-spun pottery, thinking- oh yeah, I might get those fired one day. Well, that's never gonna happen so I asked Mark to throw them into the garden so they could break down in the rain.
When I got up the next morning I saw that instead he'd arranged them in this cute little still-life- I had to pretend to be a photographer and capture it:


I have tonnes of work to do this morning, but I'm sitting here in front of the computer. I'm pretending it's because I'm waiting for the invasion of ants on my temporarily outdoors workbench to subside. (Who left those chocolate chip cookies there??) But really I'm just trawling through my favourite wedding blogs- here and here and here and here. In reality, there's no way I'll have enough time to bake my own cake and arrange all the flowers and create five hundred decorative puffballs out of pink tissue paper, but I'm still dreaming.

It's snowing!

That's a blatant lie, I'm in the Southern Hemisphere and it's 33 degrees and I've spent the day under the fan tatting these lacey snowflakes, which will become silver and gold rings, earrings and necklaces.

Some of these bad boys are going to a trade fair in Milan. Yes, the Italian one. Wish I was chaperoning them.

I've spent most of my life learning Italian- I can't speak that much, but I do have a fabulously fruity accent when ordering things like 'tiramisu'.

Farewell KiLN!

It's a sad day in Madeleinesville.
In preparation for the Great Big Move of Wonderfulness, I had a Small Move of Sadness and a Few Tears last night. I packed up the studio and moved out of Kiln Gallery in Paddington.

I'll miss you, Paddington, with your multiple coffee options.
I'll miss you, Kiln, with your art that tempts my poor wrung-out wallet every month.
I'll miss you, Tom and Danielle and Oskie and Cate and Jeff et al... I've been so lucky to be surrounded by such motivated, smart and supportive people for the last 18 months!

Bring on the new studio!! (Construction continues. *sigh*)
Watch this space. Just a leeeedle bit longer.

Roma, not the italian one.

Just got back from a faaaaabulous weekend in Roma, west of Brisbane. What a great place! My Roma expectations were high, and Roma delivered- cute town, nice old buildings, great new arts centre and gallery, a cinema next door to my motel and real coffee available within stumbling distance in the morning. Excellent.

I taught a silversmithing class in said brand-new arts centre, to a group of lovely ladies who didn't really need any advice from me. Check out some of the pieces they made:


Noice one, ladies. And that's only a couple of the treasures.

Next door was a ceramics studio, where I spotted these beautiful little dishes with blue handwriting imprinted in their surfaces. I was very intrigued, and on my third day, humbly approached the ceramics ladies to inquire about a potential purchase. I thought I might be able to afford one as a little souvenir of my lovely Roma weekend. In fact, when they showed me the tag I very quickly snapped up all six, for the bargain price of I'm-not-telling-cos-I'm-embarrassed-how-little-it-was.


The artist is Megan Bennett, and the series is called 'Chinese Whispers'. I think she is in Brisbane now? I'll be keeping an eye out for more of her work- my appreciation of ceramics has increased tenfold since my own pottery disaster day.

I can't wait to install these in our new house. One day. Soon. I hope.

Dusk

I have a new favourite engagement ring...

...and it belongs to Anna and Sean. Congratulations you two!

Lacey

A couple of new limited edition pieces for an upcoming exhibition at Brisbane's Paddington Antique Centre... sterling silver and antique mother-of-pearl buttons.

(watch this space for an update- this exhibition is going to be gorgeous)