mysterious, beautiful, toys

I pulled these photos from somewhere in the tangle of the Web, then the tide just tugged them gently away from me and now I can't remember where. This is a metaphor for my thought processes since having children- I feel like I'm always trying to grab those slippery thoughts and they are just slipping through my fingers. Will I ever recover?



I don't know who made these lovely toys or where they come from......

Thank you to Deedeen the wonderful creator of these toys is Tamar Mogendorff

My Day

I've been in the studio, listening to words of wisdom from some of the greats.

Here is an example of how cooking can get you into trouble

Oh tear my stillhouse down, let it go to rust
Don't leave no trace of the hiding place
Where I made that evil stuff
For all my time and money no profit did I see
That old copper kettle was the death of me

by Gillian Welch


and...how cooking can get you into TROUBLE by Nina Simone...

Somebody told me I made the best jelly roll in town,
I say in town
You must admit that I'm a jelly roll bakin' hound,
bakin' hound
Good jelly roll, jelly roll is so hard to find
We always get the other kind
Nobody in town can bake a sweet jelly roll like mine

Yes indeed, I'm a jelly roll baking hound! Cinnamon scrolls for Easter.

At the end of the day

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

By the Old Crow Medicine Show.

buy local

My favourite Australian Fashion designers. I love buying clothes from these designers, not only are they beautiful and flattering but I know the clothes are made in Australia.
Brisbane label Dogstar designed by Masayo Yasuki.








Maiocchi




And.... my very favourite clothes in the world.....
Nelson Molloy. These clothes are the ultimate in comfort, versatility and making you appear thinner than you really are!

the medium is the message

These baskets are by Irish artist Lizzie Farey.


She says of her work

" I have a fascination with living things and natural form. For me, willow has become a medium for an interaction with nature that is deeply personal."

"On the Wing 2"

I feel that Lizzie has summed up my own feelings about nature.



I interact through porcelain, Lizzie interacts through willow. For both of us the medium and the message strengthen each other. That is something that craft has which art often bypasses. Through the craftsmanship and skill in making the medium of the craft artist becomes an intrinsic part of the message making a very strong piece where all the technical an formal elements combine to articulate the message- in this case the mysterious, unknowable beauty of the living world.

Contemporary cermicist loose in Sydney....

The Magnolia Project is now open at Salmon Galleries. It is so great to see your work in a beautiful gallery rather than the dingy old studio. Judith made a lovely and insightful speech and said that my work embodies a calmness and gentleness that people are attracted to as this is what most people strive for in themselves. Well... me too!



I guess what I'm searching for in ceramics is a little resting spot in this busy rushing world. A spot where you can take a breathe and consider the lilies and smell the metaphorical flowers. It is an interesting experience having others comment on your work, it makes you see it anew.



It was my birthday on Saturday and I spent the weekend with my fabulous brother and his partner. After the opening we had this...




and these ....




and these!




at the Malaya.

Naughty Happy Child

I just bought this off Etsy. I believe that Mister Rob Ryan must have met Fizzy D. Whenever I am at the end of my tether (at least three times a day) I should just remember that naughtiness and happiness are two sides of the same coin.