An Afternoon With Svenja 2016

Although my major work did not get accepted in to the World of WearableArt this year, my work in the field continues, in my association with the marvelous Western Australian Showcase and Exhibition, Common Threads. I am pleased to say I will be judging again next year, and as part of my involvement, I am again hosting An Afternoon with Svenja, with bookings available through Eventbrite. Click on the link to see time, date, venue and costs - and to book, of course!

During the afternoon, I will be presenting a brief history of my own textile work over the years, an outline of my successful WOW entries over the past eight years, an overview of what wearable art means, and the many fields from which it springs. I will also include some detailed breakdowns of the processes involved in some of these pieces, give you some really practical tips on what needs to be considered when entering a work, and taking you through a design exercise to get your imagination firing! It doesn't matter if you can't draw, you can still design. The afternoon is designed for those who would like to design and create wearable art, but are not really sure where to start, as well as those who have some experience in the field, but need some inspiration and some problem solving techniques.

I am also presenting a short introduction to Common Threads at TAFE Brisbane this coming Wednesday 27th at 1:30pm, so students, come on down! Find out what it's all about, stimulate your imagination beyond the constraints of fashion design, and test the boundaries between fashion and art.

Flutterbye by Deb Hiller
Photographer Michael Kelly

Common Threads also has a new project -  Wearable Art Whispers. The Whispers project offers six wearable artists the opportunity to collaborate on the unique creation of a wearable art garment. The finished product will be an acclaimed exhibition piece for the Wearable Art Showcase, held in June 2017 in Mandurah, Western Australia. This amazing opportunity is open to experienced wearable artists living in Australia, able to connect and collaborate with other wearable art artists from around the country, grow the wearable arts community and enhance the artistic reputation of wearable art. If this sounds like you, be sure to apply before 4pm, August 12, and keep an eye on their facebook page for information and updates.

On a personal note, I am trying to make an entry for Wearable Expressions, but swiftly running out of time as I focus on my academic studies - I've been feeling like I'm constantly in front of this computer! Only a few weeks left for one of them, scary, but fantastic! It's an exhibition / competition that went on hiatus for a while, but one which certainly made an impression on me many years ago, and I would like to be part of it as it progresses once again. I have been ferreting through the UFO's and have some nice silk paper and free-motion embroidery motifs to play with....

I'm hoping tomorrow to have a play with making another sample wrap for a workshop I have in November - I made one in white, but I'd like to do a lighter version. My print table is set out with dyed wool, silk and other fabric pieces in colourways so I have a head start whenever I have some time to felt - for this piece the mulberry silk organza and purple fabric scraps caught my eye. I was dyeing some blingy bits for it this afternoon and came upstairs and forgot about it - amazingly, only one small bit seems to have fried! And no fire. Good to have no fire! I did install fire alarms down there this week, by which I mean I threw one in each room - they don't have to be specially mounted, do they?

Sorry about the photos, but this is my camera, in a critical condition, so it is phone photos only for the moment!