Crafty Events, Festivals and Workshops

It's an exciting time for My Crafternoons at the moment! I'm attending 3 workshops and hosting 4 workshops in the coming few weeks - a perfect balance of learning and teaching. As multi-passionate creative, I don't have one artform I stick to... and that's OK! Developing skills in a range of mediums and attending diverse creative workshops is not just fun but super inspiring and means you get to meet a host of interesting artists and be challenged in new ways. Here's what I'm excited for:

1) Wood Carving It's been a lifelong dream to carve a spoon (yes, it's really on my bucket list) - but I think carving my own butter knife is almost the same thing! Torquay's Eli Beke from Wedge and Edge Studio will be teaching us some woodworking skills as part of the Cavendish Red Gum Festival's packed workshop program, and I'll be stoked to leave with my own hand-carved butter spreader! 2) Cyanotype Printing

In my old stomping ground at Hamilton Gallery I'll be learning how to do cyanotype printing with artist, Emma Armstrong-Porter! Sometimes called sun printing but you can also use artificial UV light, it's a historic camera-less photographic printing process known for its distinctive blue tones. I was gifted a cyanotype kit I'm yet to use, so hopefully making a few cyanotypes with Emma will have me enthused to make more at home! See her work at @champion__ruby on Instagram.

3) Water Marbling

I've done a paper marbling workshop before back in the UK, and have experimented with shaving foam marbling (surprisingly effective!) but in this dreamy workshop with Melbourne's In Aetheria Studio we'll also be marbling fabric! In late April, Amanda will show me how to use a marbling bath and inks to add mesmerising patterns to paper and cotton fabrics - yippee!

Amongst all this, it's teaching time!

Upcoming Crafternoons

1) & 2) Friendship Bracelets & Leather Earrings I'm hosting two workshops at Grampians Grape Escape festival in Halls Gap this year! Long-time attendee but first time facilitator there, I'll be showing young makers how to make as many Taylor Swift-inspired bracelets as they can fit into our session, then I'm showing teens how to make cute leather earrings. Adults will have to amuse themselves with the copious food and wine stalls, chef demonstrations and live music! 3) Flower Crowns

The kind legends at Camp Quality have invited me to host a flower crown Crafternoon for Mothers Day in the heart of Gariwerd. They provide getaways for more than 700 families each year who are dealing with the stresses of cancer. We'll fill the NHMA Holiday Park's big hall with flowers and foliage, and kids and parents will work together to make ribbon-adorned flower crowns for Mums to feel special for the rest of the day.

4) Bead Bar

For the first time ever, we're headed to Port Fairy to turn iconic pizza bar, Coffin Sally into a Bead Bar as part of the Port Fairy Winter Weekends Festival! We can literally take over the venue to design and make our own bespoke beaded necklaces and bracelets over winter-warmer bevs. Think cosy, crafty day party with a bunch of legends - pizzas optional! Details and tickets here.

I also recently ran a kokedama-making Crafternoon at the finish line to a women's cycling race for event sponsors, Lochard Energy, who wanted there to be some fun activities to entertain the spectators before the riders flew in! It was my first time setting up a Crafternoon on a road reserve, but the kids and adults who made gorgeous hanging moss balls has a ball (pun intended). If you need a creative activation at an event, festival or conference, a fun way to entertain your team (even over Zoom) or a crafty way to bond your team - reach out!

Thinking back, in my artistic pursuits so far I've been fortunate to try a broad range of artforms in short courses, classes and workshops in the UK, Australia and parts of Asia. Here's what I can recall having turned by hand to:

• More art and textile experiments than I can recall in Art & Design Summer School, University of Cumbria

• Silk Fan painting in the 798 Art Zone (Dashanzi), Beijing

• Bunting necklaces with Tatty Devine in London

• Batik painting in Kuala Lumpur

• DIY dry shampoo at a craft fair in London

• Leather tooling with Don in Cavendish, Australia

• Screen-printing in Hamilton, Australia

• Floral Motif Painting with Laneway Learning in Melbourne

• Paper marbling and mono-printing with Myriad Studio in Carlisle, England

• Various watercolour painting classes in Warrnambool, Australia

• Pottery classes at HIRL in Hamilton, Australia

• Resin earring-making with Funky Fun-You in Melbourne, Australia

• Enamelling, shrinky-dinks, friendship bracelet weaving and set painting at camp in New York, USA

• Collages with grad queen, Gabriella Labucci in Warrnambool, Australia

• Wax seal stamping in Port Fairy, Australia

• Glass painting, crepe paper flowers and ceramic glazing in the Lake District, UK

• Lino-printing with Britt Gow in Warrnambool, Australia

• Embroidery with Jackie O'Brien in Hamilton, Australia

• Abstract art with Sinéad Murphy in Warrnambool, Australia

• Recycled plastic earrings with Precious Plastics Monash, Melbourne, Australia

• Stamping and carving tasters at Glastonbury Music Festival, England

• Macrame weaving at Falls Music Festival, Australia

• Perfume-making, DIY skincare and sauerkraut-making at Grape Escape Festival, Halls Gap, Australia

• Woven vases with Beci Orpin in Hamilton, Australia

• Pastel painting online with Ricky Schembri, Australia

• Brooch-making and papercraft in Bendigo, Australia

• Botanical illustration online thanks to The Pigeon Letters and Brit and Co.

• Candle-dipping at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat, Australia

• Aboriginal art with Aunty Tracy Roach at Port Fairy Folk Festival, Australia

• Flower arranging with Weeds Flower Studio in Warrnambool, Australia

• Ceramic flower-making at Warrnambool District Artists' Society

• Clothing mending with Eli Peli at The F Project Warrnambool

• Life-drawing in Hamilton and in numerous studios in Melbourne - even drawing a women with a live snake!

  
  

Lucky duck, hey?

Then I've been lucky enough to learn from talented artisans through My Crafternoons collabs, too!

We've done:

• Basket weaving with Helen

• Cuttlefish wall hangings with Bec from Meraki Nest

• Gelli-printing with @BrittGow

• Felting with Lucy @ludafelt

• Eco-Dying with Tine @eucyred

• Mixed media collages and paper flowers with @AlyshiaMcInnesArt

• Terrarium-making with Cindy Riddle

• Crochet with Cindy (she's multi-talented)

• Watercolours with @RachelZuchDesign

• Shibori dying with Rachel (also multi-talented!)

• Sewing with Lisa @elodie.and.eden

• Acrylic painting with @JasmineMansbridge

• Wool spinning and dying with Sarah @strenghhonourwares

• Flower crowns with Jo @fortheloveofflora

• Wreath-making with Michelle @SuffoirWines

• Pottery with @JulieLove

• Sunflower painting with Madi @vvytey

• Paper making with Susan @borninpaper

• Cake decorating with Penny

• Macrame with Saskia

• Cocktail-making with Amber

• Kombucha-making with Hayley @theruralnaturopath

• Pizza-making with Bruach @roxburghhouse (food and drinks are handmade... I figured they could be Crafternoons!)

... Who have I missed?!

If you're like me and you love learning, making art and learning new crafty skills, let's connect! Connect on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok @mycrafternoons or send me an email - strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, after all.