A 94 page spiral bound A5 format book containing information on Fibre-Reactive, Acid & Disperse Dyes and the processes of Resist Dyeing & Shaping, Dyeing, Printing & Painting and Transfer Printing with 27 colour pages of dyed samples.

The following is an except by Sharyn, from the book, outlining its origins and purposes:

…Over the last 25 years, I have handed on to hundreds of my students, through countless classes, nationally and internationally, the knowledge and experience I have gained in my own explorations and experiments in the processes of Surface Design I use in my artworks. I have always provided extensive notes to students attending my workshops, and over the years, many of them have asked ‘have you written a book’? I had always considered my teaching notes a sufficient means of educating those interested in Surface Design processes. Now, as I begin to reduce my teaching commitments, I realize I have another opportunity to share the knowledge I have gained in my study, research and experimentation – by documenting the information in book form. So, at last I am able to answer … yes, I have written a book – a simple manual of dyeing and printing techniques to colour, pattern and shape the fabric surface.

To purchase DYEING MADE EASY contact Sharyn using the form on the right.

Credit Card and Direct Deposit facilities are available

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With no definite teaching set for the year, I’ve set myself a few goals for mid and late year exhibitions, one being the ATASDA Queensland Branch exhibition, celebrating 5 years in Queensland, to be held in October at the Robin Bauer Gallery in Paddington. The title ‘Beyond the Surface‘ will be an easy one to work with, not a ‘title’ as such, more a guideline and I am looking forward to creating…something!!

Finalist entries in the BERNINA Art U Wear competition will this year be displayed at the Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair (and others) as sadly the Textile Art Festival (in Brisbane) will not be held. It was a great Festival for Brisbane Textile enthusiasts and one I shall personally miss. The Art U Wear competition is again challenging Wearable Artists…with the title ‘The Fairest of Them All‘ ….. my thinking cap is on and I’m trawling the Nursery Rhymes for inspiration.

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…I was still so excited and inspired from my trip (more details below) with Gabriella Verstraeten (and InterAisa Tours) that it was difficult to know when to stop…so I hope those who attended, enjoyed the talk and display as much as I did. Doing the extra research and checking finer details always helps the memory (especially as you get older!) and it was a great opportunity to show the textiles (and other stuff) I purchased for my collection…which seems to be growing larger!! It also encouraged me to sort and label some of the thousands (yes thousands..thanks to digital photography) of photographs I took…so many amazing embroideries, lots of felt, incredible buildings and those blue tiles!!! So thank you to the Queensland Branch committee for inviting me to speak – allowing me to share some of the wonderful stories of the trip.

WILD THINGS

Wild Things was once again a wonderful weekend … Wendy and I have so much fun working together to create all the textile goodies that are available for sale at the exhibition. Held again (this was our 3rd year) at the Richard Randal Art Studio, in the grounds of the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens, it was another great opportunity to purchase a wide range of affordable Textiles.

Dates for 2012 are set….. Friday November 2 – Sunday November 4 …so make sure you put them in your diary. It’s the first weekend of November, not the last (as per previous years) and again there will be no Opening Evening…. so come and battle the crowds on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday.

TRAVEL

In September, I had the opportunity to TRAVEL with Gabriella Verstraeten and InterAsia Tours on a Textile Tour to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan … and it was absolutely amazing. One of the best trips I have been on; the scenery, architecture, culture and art, all so inspiring. It was a larger than normal group, but we were still able to achieve the tour goals. Gabriella ‘runs’ a’ great Tour; it was an incredible and amazingly busy itinerary (and I’m not complaining!) with many visits to local/home felting, embroidery and weaving co-ops. My camera finger was never bored, mainly clicking the beautiful architecture and its decoration and the incredible suzani embroideries. Accommodation and dining was varied, with visits to local homes (home cooking), sometimes making the food difficult to believe. Our local and national guides were great and I for one, was quite sad to say goodbye to them…finding ice cream in the middle of the desert is quite a feat…and that’s just one of the stories.

Before traveling to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, I spent time (with Rob) in Rome and Sicily, also taking a cruise (on a very small ship) along the coast of Croatia to Montenegro, then spending time Istanbul. It was a most enjoyable trip, with several days spent in Rome and Istanbul (what a fantastic city…my favourite at the moment, all those splendid blue tiles), a week driving across Sicily (the tunnels and bridges are amazing, and so are the mosaics and the ruins!!) and the coast of Croatia and Montenegro is truly beautiful (lots of ancient architecture here as well).

I have just discovered I have a Croatian Great Grand Father, so it gave a different perspective to that visit. Lots of photos (again thanks for digital photography!) and plenty of inspiration for artworks….I took a days rest in Kaula Lumpur before joining Gabriella on the trip to ‘the Stans’…..I was away for quite a few weeks in total, but what a journey!!!

 SCHOOLHOUSE QUILTERS

In November, my local quilt group, SCHOOLHOUSE QUILTERS, celebrated 21 years with a delightful cocktail party, where members, their family & friends mixed with our local & federal members, Councilor Margaret de Wit & Jane Prentice MP.

A display of quilts decorated the Kenmore Library meeting room (where day & evening monthly meetings are held). Attendees were treated to delicious nibbles and champagne while being entertained by members of local community group SPACE, who were recipients of the quilt group’s Charity Quilt Raffle for 2012. As founding president it is rewarding for me to know that after 21 years, the group is still providing friendship & support for its current 80 strong membership.

I was both delighted and humbled to receive Honorary Life Membership…thank you to all members for continuing to make my dream a reality.

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The SHEER SILK SERIES of workshops are new and allow students to experiment with Silk Organza, one of my favourite fabrics…so versatile, easy to dye and manipulate. Why not join me for one (or all of the ) three workshops, three hours each day of the festival. Each workshop teaches different ways to transform white and coloured silk organza, creating fantastic colourful and dimensional fabrics, suitable for a range of projects. For more information go to www.textileart.com.au or contact me.

I will also be demonstrating in the Artists at Work area at the Festival, so please stop by and say hello. I’ll have lots of samples of dye processes for attendees to look at…and ask about of course! and will be demonstrating dimensional shaping of fabric techniques, using a steamer. There will also be some interesting samples of VAT DYE discharge, a technique I have been experimenting with.

 EXHIBITIONS and TRAVEL

Earlier this month, I took the opportunity to visit Canberra and see the amazing costumes on display (extended, thank goodness) at the Ballet Russes exhibition. How fantastic…I spent the whole day wandering, listening and looking. It was a visual feast…and I have the catalogue (one of the best I have seen) to help remind me of the fabulous colour & design of the garments..not that it is necessary. I have come away so inspired and very pleased at the foresight of the National Gallery in purchasing the costumes. The work of the conservators was/is truly amazing.

Speaking of travel….I am once again booked to travel with Gabriella Verstraeten and InterAsia to ‘the Stans’ (Uzbekistan & Kyrgystan) later this year and am very excited! But before that, I am taking a quick flight (with Rob) over Lake Eyre…can’t wait to see the expanse of water and with all the rain still happening in the west? north? I expect there will be water filling the Lake for a few months yet…lots more photos for lots more inspiration….

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It seemed a time where everyone decided to clean out their cupboards, and as I had planned late last year to do a massive studio clearance, I was one of the many who were offloading all the excess…in my case lots of fabric, haberdashery, some books and art and craft materials. Thanks to all who came and took home some bargains…I expect you are as happy as I am…my trash became your treasure.

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Great Train journeys have always seemed attractive, and Russia was on my bucket list … so, after the headline in my local newspaper caught my eye, I continued to read further ….. finding out that the Great Trains Tour leader lives 100 (give or take a few) kilometres from Brisbane, and to my surprise I knew his wife, who is a quilter! After several (well quite a few really) phone calls and emails, it was decided that we (husband and moi) would take a train trip (with a plane flight to get us there, of course!) … to the Eastern Capitals of Europe, visiting Russia (St Petersburg and Moscow), Poland (Crackow and Warsaw), Austria (Vienna and Salzburg), Checkoslovakia (Prague) and Germany (Dresden, Leipsig, Wittenburg and Berlin). What fun we had ….. as part of a small group (15 in total) we enjoyed the amazing art and architecture, spectacular scenery and fascinating history, and needless to say, ;all documented byway too many digital camera images.

Studio Time was on the agenda and after a personally difficult end of 2008, I linked up with my friend Wendy Bailye, Felt Artisan and we committed to a collaboration of studio time … one day a week, alternating studios … time to play, experiment, bounce ideas, whatever … the shared space, time and artistic endeavours soothed our ‘shattered souls’ (each of us was recovering from personal loss) and nurtured our creative selves ….. We became the WILD THINGS and our excitement grew as we planned an end of year event … A selling exhibition of affordable Textiles. Between our travels around Australia (Wendy was Guest Artist for the Craft and Quilt Fairs) we played and produced a range of textiles: Whimsical Wonders and Wicked Wearables. The exhibition was suitably opened by Janet de Boer (TAFTA) and family and friends joined us in celebrating what we considered a wonderful achievement. The three day exhibition was a great success and we are looking forward to next years Wild Things event …. so put the dates in your diary now 26-28 November 2010.

This current series of work continues to define the Australian landscape, which stretches from the desolate interior desert to the lush forests on the continents edge, to the ocean and its fascinating depths. The colours and textures of the elements of this environment are again the stimuli for these works. Dyed and printed fabrics have been layered, manipulated, stitched, cut away and embellished to create and reveal a visual display of texture and colour. My fascination for the textures of the landscape continues to inspire me.

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