Mathilda's Market this Sunday!
0 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 8:57 PM.
After cute and groovy things for little one's? Now that my sister has had a baby, I'm suddenly very keen to see what little treats I can pick for them both. And the mathilda's Market is the place I'd start looking!
The next one is this Sunday the 19th. The Mathilda's Markets are now at the Brisbane City Hall Main Auditorium and have over 60 stalls. It's a market I've participated in the past and will be again in the future. Highly recommended!!
Mathilda's Market,
Brisbane City Hall,
Main Auditorium,
Sunday July 19th, 9am - 1pm.
Labels: Markets
Just back from a couple of days with mum and dad on the Gold Coast. I came home to find "The Book of Incense" by Kiyoko Morita had arrive much early than expected from the US! This coupled with the little pots I had picked up from a delightful bonsai shop on Chevron Island meant I could enjoy an evening listening and reading about incense. I learned that incense appreciation is referred to as listening to incense, and this rings true for me. I find the process thoroughly intriguing...I imagine this is the same feeling that wine connoissieurs must have about tastings.
I'm just in love with this tiny three mouth ceramic pot. Filled with sand it's perfect for planting the fine sticks of Japanese koh. When planted with three sticks it looks like the kanji for mountain, so I've called it Koh-Yama, that is, Incense Mountain :)
Some of my favourite Japanese books are featured in the picture next to my Incense Mountain. They are "The Tale of Genji", "The Tales of Ise" and "A Chime of Wind Bells."
I'll leave you with the Ten Virtues of Incense said to have been written by a Zen priest in the sixteenth century.
It brings communication with the transcendent.
It purifies mind and body.
It removes uncleanliness.
It keeps one alert.
It can be a companion in the midst of solitude.
In the middle of busy affairs, it brings a moment of peace.
When it is plentiful, one never tires of it.
When there is little, still one is satisfied.
Age does not change its efficacy.
Used everyday, it does no harm.
It purifies mind and body.
It removes uncleanliness.
It keeps one alert.
It can be a companion in the midst of solitude.
In the middle of busy affairs, it brings a moment of peace.
When it is plentiful, one never tires of it.
When there is little, still one is satisfied.
Age does not change its efficacy.
Used everyday, it does no harm.
How many things can be said to have so many virtues!
May your week be fragrant :)
Labels: Behind the Scenes, books, Inspiration
Koh delightful - Japanese incence and wrapping cloths
1 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 12:40 PM.
This week I treated myself to something I'm personally very fond of - Koh, that is, Japanese Incense. However, this was my first time acquiring premium koh by Baieido. They arrived yesterday morning from Prima Materia and to give them a proper place to reside I spent an equally indulgent day making wrapping cloths using fabrics I've been saving for a long time.
Koh is a solid stick of pure ingredients, no synthetics, without a wooden support like joss sticks have. Premium koh uses aloeswood which comes in many grades. Truly I didn't know what to expect as I had only known the more common yet very beautiful scents of everyday koh. What delights was I to experience?
I burn koh in my studio while I work, it helps to create an envelop around me while I tune out the worries of the world and become empty to all but the splendor of the work at hand. So, of course, I had to try a stick while making the wrapping cloths. I chose a stick from the single bundle of Kokonoe Koh (Incense of the Imperial Palace).
At first, it seemed that she was holding back on me, that she skirted about the room fine and aloof. My attention easily went back to my work while the light smoke drifted clean, white and supple. It wasn't until, having finished and some time had passed, that walking back into the room I truly began to know her. She, in private, had bodied forth like great invisible silk curtains - full, regal and flowering in gentle cascades to the floor. "Ah! This is what aloeswood is all about," I thought. Everyday Koh is a delight, impressing the senses like a young girl, all colour and verve, but once gone leaves only a wisp of her presence behind. On the contrary this Princess of the Palace, who holds court elegantly behind the curtains of her bower, is unforgetable once beheld.
Square wrapping cloths are called furoshiki in Japanese and bojagi in Korean. When I want to wrap special things to store at home or to give as gifts I'll sometimes make a double-sided furoshiki. Choosing just the right fabrics from my collection to suit the object being wrapped is very enjoyable. Making a simple square of quality fabric is a pleasure as the textures and colours sing a solo aria. For these, I used the trimmings (cut off to square the fabric) to plait their matching ties, leaving the edges rough to create a contrast to the tailored finish of the cloth.
Wrapping becomes simple and elegant using a furoshiki. But most especially I love the way the special cloth adds an aura of preciousness to what one stores inside.
Labels: Behind the Scenes, Life, Textiles
This Sunday get along to the Boutique Markets at Portside Wharf in Brisbane. Udessi will be having a stand their so say hi to the lovely Kim and the talented Renee who will be on hand wearing their new super smart mini market aprons (designed and made by yours truly :)
And if all the great handmade work by some of Australia's most talented crafters, artists and designers is not enough to tempt you then you should also know that Portside Wharf is holding a Strawberry and Chocolate fair on the same day! Yum!
You'll be able to find Flying Star Toys on the Udessi stand on Sunday too.
Boutique MarketsSunday 12 July, 8am – 4pm
Portside Wharf, Hamilton Qld
Meditations with Matisse
2 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Saturday, July 04, 2009 at 10:28 AM.
Last night I picked up the book "Matisse: His Art and His Textiles" I had waiting for me on the studio work bench. I would share a few sections of the first essay by Hilary Spurling that I liked.
"Matisse's Fabric collection served him as a combined archive and tool-store all his life. He called it 'my working library', taking sections of it with him whenever he switched studios between Nice and Paris, sending for others as and when he needed them, constantly replenishing the collection from oriental carpet shops and clothing stores, radically extending it at intervals in the bazaars, souks and market stalls of Algeria, Morocco and Tahiti, or at end-of-season sales of Parisian Haute Couture."
"Mattise drew on his working library to furnish, order, and on a deep, instinctual level, to compose his paintings. Fabrics made him feel at home. Like virtually all his northern compatriots, he had an inborn appreciation of their texture and design. He understood the propertites of weight and hang, he knew how to use pins and paper patterns, and he was supremely confident with the sissors."
"He said that sissors in his hands became a tool 'as sensitive as pencil, pen or charcol - maybe even more sensitive'."
Afterwards, as I sat pinning bunting triangles, watching the fabric, its treads, admiring the richness of colour dyed into the textile, I remember the lines above and smiled.
*text from pages 16 and 17. Image above "Still Life with Geraniums", Henri Matisse, 1910, oil on canvas, 94.5 x 116 cm.
Labels: Admire, Artists, Inspiration, Quotes
French Connection - Madame Chacha exclusive
2 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Monday, June 29, 2009 at 12:58 PM.
Morgane of Madame ChaCha (online childrens designer boutique based in Paris) commissioned this exclusive range of Flying Star Toys Home Away from Home to reflect real French houses. She's just launched them on her website (available to be read in both French and English) Madame ChaCha. These are some of the gorgeous images she's taken of them recently posted on her blog.
Labels: Flying Star Toys, Stockists
Sail Away Boats - series 2
4 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 11:40 AM.
Holiday at the Seaside is the second series of Sail Away Boats. I've called it "Holiday by the Seaside" because the colours remind me of sun-shiny days watching sparkling water and seeing the blithe boats sailing serenely in the distance.
Currently series 2 has three limited edition variations: Sunlight Blue, Nautica and Sunlight Red.
Dimensions: 16cm (6 1/2 in) high, 15.5cm (6 1/4 in) wide. Eash boat is weighted to stand independently.
Sail Away boats series 2 is now available both on the Flying Star Toys Etsy shop ($USD) and Bigcartel ($AUD)
Labels: Flying Star Toys
Introducing Home Away from Home
2 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Monday, June 15, 2009 at 10:04 AM.
Please welcome Home Away from Home to the Flying Star Toys collections. Their story goes: Take a piece of home with you wherever you make go, to keep you safe in love's embrace who knows your sweetest wish.
A little home to call your own. These little friendly homes have chimneys with soft, curling smoke that look like clouds. This is how you know someone is at home and thinking of you, keeping the rooms all snug and warm.
Using limited edition designer fabrics and hand embroidered with sashiko cotton they are backed with grey cotton velvet. Available in four sizes: small A, small B, large A (chimney side) and large B (chimney middle). Weighted to stand independently.
Dimensions: each stands approximately 26cm (10 1/4 in) tall. The base widths are; small A 5cm (2 in), small B 6.5cm (2 12 in), Large A 10cm (4 in), Large B 11cm (4 1/4 in).
The Home Away from Home in the image just above have been made as an exclusive set for Madame Cha-Cha in Paris, France.
For more images of Home Away from Home see their Gallery page.
Labels: Flying Star Toys
Laying back on the veranda lounge, eyes closed, wasting my time imagining the day's work.
Then pow! open eyes! the intensity of light, such blue, such white...truly colour is God's delight.
Labels: Life
Read some interesting things about Ikebana today. This little miniature not really connected but seeing it again I thought I would share it with you. I used it to illustrate the Chinese tale "Princess Lily" on my folktale blog Crackle Mountain. I haven't written anything there for a while....maybe I'll get back into it one of these days. Seeing this painting reminds me of all the wonderful art works I found to illustrate the tales.
The piece is refered to as Young Ladies Seated at a Table, shown here is one half of an attached pair of miniature glass paintings. Qing Dynasty, 19th Century.
She reminds me of the butterflies I posted about previously. I love the blue of her gown, the lace details of her cuffs, the intensity of the red in the table cloth, the glow of the white jade vase holding the upright flowers that rise in the air in companionship to her sweet and demure little face....oh, and what about those bold stripes on the ends of her pants?! lovely!
Labels: Inspiration
On Tuesday evening my dear sister gave birth to a little boy. His name is Wil. The proud parents have taken him home today. I'm already loving being an Aunty!
Congratulations Emma and Heath and welcome baby Wil.
Labels: Life
Fruits of Eve Mini - sneak peek
1 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 11:55 AM.
I love mini versions of things ... soon Fruits of Eve will also have a mini version too!
Labels: Behind the Scenes, Flying Star Toys
A Flight of Butterflies
2 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 10:09 AM.
"Hoping to see the spring violets, I walked out into the fields. The wind had died down and I could hear nothing but the sound of bees. I began to make a poem in the warm sleepy atmosphere, when down the hill where dandelions were blooming came a group of girls.
One was dressed in dark violet; another in patterns of red, blue and yellow; still others wore white, black, brown, pink, navy or green. They were coloured as exquisitely as flowers in the field. They came closer and danced in a flock under a blossom.
As I drank another cup of sake, they came and said,'You are watching the flowers all alone! Do come where we are dancing. We thought we were the only ones who delight in the flowers of spring. We are pleased to know you enjoy them too....'"
Yesterday Nadine let me borrow a much cherished book of hers called "A Flight of Butterflies", one thousand kinds of butterflies by Kanzanka Sekka originally published in Japan 1904. Part of the preface by Yoshi Zo is quoted above. It's a beautiful facsimile of the original and is printed and bound in the original Japanese album style.
Within, every page is an oasis.....What scents of perfume waft up to colour the subtle senses?...What string is beginning to hum along its length into the distance? The symbol of the butterfly keeps lighting ever so gently upon my shoulder...let me not move too awkwardly, disturbing its fragile heart.
Labels: Admire, Artists, books, Inspiration
(side of the house, view from lounge room window)
(next door's backyard, view from my bedroom window)"It's raining! It's pouring!
The old man is snoring.
He went to bed
and he bumped his head
and he didn't get up in the morning."
(Yikes! the poor old man.)
My sister and I used to sing this nursery rhyme when we were little.
It is definitely wet today! Lucky the house is on stilts.
Labels: Life
Miniature Collection - three painting by Caroline Gaedechens
1 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Friday, May 15, 2009 at 11:37 AM.
Patience...the Buddha said, "the reward for patience is patience"....and these gorgeous little paintings have been waiting for their frames very patiently indeed. After much sewing and selling of toys I had saved enough to take them to Peter, my framer, for the deluxe treatment.
These little miniature painting by Caroline Gaedechens are little jewels and like all jewels they should be lovingly protected in a special jewel box. That was the image I had in mind for framing these treasures. I'm not shy when it comes to the rich colours of black and gold and was more than happy to be extravagant when it came to incorporating them into the framing. While the photos above can't do them justice, Peter mentioned how every now and then a framer feels great reluctance to hand back the artwork...such it was on this occasion he confessed. I can't say I blame him either. I'm thrilled to sneak little glimpses into their world as I pass them through out the day.
Caroline has titled them: Little Soul, Princess and Little Bird of Paradise (from left to right). Little Bird of Paradise as a print is now available in her Etsy shop - I highly recommend her work to you.
(click on the images above for a closer look)
Craft Australia - new web address
0 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Monday, May 11, 2009 at 8:15 PM.
A little shout out to Belinda J. at Craft Australia who reads my blog. Hello!! I've had some arts writing published in 716 on their site in the past. So it was very kind of Belinda to write to let me know Craft Australia has a new website address. I'm happy to pass it along and suggest you pop over and have a look and maybe even subscribe to their newsletter :-)
Craft....Australia...What could be better?!
Labels: Web
Flying Star Toys in iMart Design Book
5 Comments Published by Florence Forrest on Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 9:20 AM.
I was a bit of a star this week at the local post office.
When they gave me a package from my post box, recognising the cover, I opened it to showed them the book inside - a double page about Flying Star Toys in a Chinese design book! What a surprise to see their faces light up in admiration. Most of the exhibitions and publicity involving Flying Star Toys happens so remotely I don't think much about it. So it was nice to feel the excitement of the lovely ladies at Sandgate post office. To me, they're a part of it too, because they take care of my parcels at the beginning of their journey out into the world.
The book, put out by Affalog is almost entirely in Chinese so I couldn't read it. However, I liked the traditional stitched binding and enjoyed looking at the work of fellow toy and craft artists in this beautifully finished publication. It seems the craft design bug has really caught on in China too! With iMART being a big (going by the pictures in the book) craft design event and association in China.
What a treat to be a part of it!
Labels: Media
