Perth holiday

I have had the most incredible host for the past week. I don't think even my good friends would be able to put up with me for this long, so she is a real saint. Sharon took me from Fibres West to Northam for tea, and then we looked at the painted grain silos nearby.

Then we stopped in York and found this beautiful gallery. When I walked into the shop, I immediately saw Bridget's tea towels and remembered that she was back in Australia! We had met in Belfast years ago and it was wonderful to see her work all around this shop. Of course I had to get her book on Australian birds.

Meanwhile, during the evenings, this winged one was being born.

The next day, we had breakfast with Sharon's brother and partner and saw SO MANY beautiful birds. I didn't even bother trying to photograph them, though here is the wetlands/lake we were walking about, with black swans and other birds.

She made me the most delicious and nourishing dinners, and then we'd sit in the evenings for more handwork and Australian programs.

Monday was a great treat: the zoo! I haven't been since I was a child, but this was the way I was going to get to see the classic animals of this continent.

After spotting this one, we saw a mother koala with a baby riding on her back as she scampered high up into the trees.

This one is an unusual sighting because his bill only turns this bright blue during mating season. He's a FAST swimmer and we followed him all around the waterways. There were a ton of other animals but I won't bore you here. Since it's school holidays, there were lots and lots of children about as well.

And suddenly, all done! Very special, and in its new home.

Jaslyn and her daughter took me on a lovely walk through Kings Park with stunning views of the city. That was my third visit to the park since landing! Di took me after I landed at the airport, Sharon took me so that we could have an impromptu gathering on Sunday of tutors who were still in Perth, and then this was the visit where I actually got to walk through bush and see more of the park.

After a fun lunch of yum cha and Italian pastries for dessert, I finally got to see and touch the Indian Ocean for the first time in my life. We were pelted a bit by the rain on the beach but it was worth it.

The next day Sharon took me to see the gorgeous new circular library. This is the kind of library all citizens deserve! We also visited a bunch of places in the city and I gleefully spent the money I earned on art sales on all kinds of treats like books, art, and decadent lotions. Then we went out for Japanese dinner and then gelato with Di before going to the movies, a lovely documentary about cats in Istanbul.

Today was tea with family, a special dance/meditation class, walking around Fremantle (which included more delightful food and a touch more shopping), and then the final drive up the coast.

This was close to where I was the other day, but this time we got to stay out longer in the better weather, mesmerized by the waves and ocean sounds and surfers that start to look like other creatures entirely.

After another perfect home-cooked dinner, Sharon kept me motivated to finish the next duck commission, the smallest I've done. It turned out perfectly. Now, some sleep before tomorrow's packing and pickup: a five hour drive down south for Teaching Round Two!

Wrapping up Fibres West

It's a bit late but my 'holiday' has been jam packed. Here are the last bits of photos from Fibres West. This was from the classroom next door to me, taught by

the amazing and wonderful Gabriella Hegyes.

They did EVERYTHING in this class, it seemed. Dyeing, sculpting, waxing, and so on and so forth. It was an outdoor installation course and I loved seeing and smelling everything coming from there.

Back into my classroom, an old print embedded in new paper by Pam.

A weaving being removed from its loom by Di.

Monica spinning paper on a bobbin winder while Jaslyn practices on the drop spindle with Jane.

Two thirds of class hard at work (the other third is on the right side but I didn't manage to get the whole thing into my viewfinder).

Paper drying on interfacing in the space outside our classroom, part of the laboratory, where we had delicious and nutritious morning and afternoon tea every day.

Liz did wonderful work and was so incredibly helpful (she brought a ton of yogurt containers with lids that were like mini pails with handles, and all kinds of other equipment and supplies that she shared generously).

Philomena's twined basket.

Jane's twined baskets.

Jenny used up her hanji in the center and then moved to yarn for her twining.

Margie's paper embedded with shavings.

I couldn't get enough of Gabriella's students' work.

 More!

Marianne Penberthy taught an incredible class and I felt so lucky to be able to meet her. This is student work with handmade tools, colors from the outdoors, and so on. They had wonderful exercises, like making something from nothing, and making something in 8 minutes.

More from her classroom.

Andrea Noeske-Porada taught this incredible felting class that incorporates geometry, tessellation, and hours of hard work. I visited them in the big classroom they had and every student was on her feet felting away late at night. Andrea has a wonderful life story as well, coming later to her artwork after a career as a lawyer, even though the art was always there. Hoping to visit her someday in Germany.

There were more tutors and so much student work but this post is already getting long. I loved meeting all the students and teachers and was so impressed by the entire event. It's the tightest ship that I've had the honor of riding and I even got to see a bunch of sheep on our final morning on a walk with three of my students through the fog. Gifts every day!

So happy to be here

The jet lag has nearly worn off and we are in this delightful classroom, which is a wet lab that apparently takes care of animals, as seeing from these medicines (and the cages, etc.).

There's also a veranda, which makes for the best beating space.

Inside, we try to keep the papermaking close to the sinks. They've been so good about keeping the wet area controlled.

The veranda is also perfect for pressing. I suspect the bottle jack lost oil and isn't really working as well as it should, but we're making do.

The Fibres West folks have worked so hard to pull this together, including all kinds of outdoor friends!

Eucalypts high

and low

I feel so welcome, and am delighted to be here. We're on the campus of a former agricultural school and I feel like the air I'm breathing is safe. The climate changes constantly. This winter is a nice chance of pace from summer.

I think everything is going well. The students are wonderful, as are the other teachers, and I am so impressed by the whole affair. Yesterday was particularly wonderful with an afternoon off (time to do laundry!) and a massage. Martien is an amazing convener; I've never met someone so capable of the big picture and tiny details simultaneously while being so calm and reassuring. I've stocked up on goodies as I had hoped: beautiful dyed things to wear, books and tools, even a bit of shifu.

Long anticipated

Miraculously, though I've been on the road and will be for every single month this year, my week-long stint at home coincided with the Cleveland Museum of Art's annual solstice party. Previously, I had never been in town, so this was a big treat.

It wasn't until after the party that I remembered that now the days get shorter. Aside from celebrating the longest day, I was happy to have finished opening my show at Heights Arts—it's up through the beginning of August, so visit if you can!

This year, I stayed in the dorm with the rest of the Korean school, which is an older building and much more charming and comfortable. It has been wonderful to stop in Oakland at the always gorgeous Mills campus to teach again for the Middlebury School of Korean.

I had worried about how we'd get all my bags and packages up the hills, so I was relieved to meet the bilingual student assistant in the school's dedicated golf cart.

Teaching for the Korean school is always a treat because they are so good with hospitality. This is the fruit spread prepared for us. All the fresh fruit here has been exactly what I needed.

I only had a little bit of time with these students but walked them through 1-sheet joomchi, multiple sheet joomchi, paper thread, and hanji cord. The director (Dr. Kang is pictured on the right in the foreground) and teachers create a safe and positive community where students are able to learn so much, so quickly. I was really impressed by the skills of students who had only studied for a couple weeks and worked hard to communicate with me in a language that they hadn't spoken before. Of course there are also higher level students, but it's always a special challenge to dialogue with newbies.

Everyone worked hard on their joomchi pieces. Here's the flag of South Carolina (I didn't know that's what he was doing until the very end when he held it up; it's made up of many separate pieces).

Pictures do no justice to the landscaping and variety of plant life on campus. I had given myself the full stay here instead of rushing to Australia, which allowed time to see some friends (still two more scheduled for today before the late night flight to Sydney). I've spent inordinate amounts of worry about the weight of my bags and even sent a local friend home with what I deemed excess baggage. As much as I wish I didn't do this, I always do this, like how some dogs always circle the spot before relieving themselves. Today I'll get one more visit to a paper mill, and then off to Western Australia, a trip well over a year in the making.

Another easy install

This is the nook where I'll teach an outdoor papermaking class for the Cleveland Museum of Art at the end of August. Fingers crossed for good weather! I've attempted to get as much prep done now so that when I get back into town and it's a steamy summer, most of the heavy lifting will be done (aside from the actual heavy lifting of transporting everything to the museum for the class).

My show opens tonight at Heights Arts and I went thinking that I had to hang the whole thing. I was wrong! All I had to do was deliver art, mask it, and leave the able curators to do it themselves. This is my favorite scenario. I'm done with a lot of packing but there's now the personal items to consider as I learn what winter in Australia actually feels like (I think it will feel great!).