The New Quilt Exhibition - Manly Art Gallery

My textile piece "Banksia" is a part of the exhibition along with 22 other interesting textile works. The theme is Regeneration and I eagerly responded to the call for entries with a proposal for a piece that depicts the wonderfully natural regenerative powers of the Banksia. Bushfire is part of every Australian summer and the Banksia is one of the marvels of naurally occurring bushfire regeneration. It not only survives the bushfire, it reacts positively to it. My textile work is set on a background of low contrast machine quilting, the beauiful yellow/gold flowers are brought to life with cotton and sik fabrics, embellished with silk ribbon and a variety of threads. The seed pods are textured with the aid of wire form, while red silk ribbon and metallic threads depict the fire. Each of the entries is accompanied by a display box, with details of the initial concept and documentation of the process.

The entry process for this exhibition was very intersting. Rather than submitting an existing work for consideration. The requirements were for a proposal for a new work to fit in with the theme "Regeneration". This process really appealed to me as I'm a bit of a control freak and start most of my new works with fairly detailed sketches and collections of fabrics and other materials. Of course the final outcome more often than not will be significantly different to the original idea as the pieces takes hold of its own destiny, however I still find that the initial sketching and gathering together of materials is a useful one. I was delighted to be accepted and enjoyed the process of making the piece and documenting every stage in order to provide samples and photos for the display case. The exhibition will be on until 3rd June and there are opportunities to meet with some of the artists on Sunday 13th May and for Exhibition tours on 27th May and 3rd June at 3pm.