Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Everything’s coming up daffodils...

For me, endless cups of tea fuel the creative process and fortify everyday life...
I’m a bit like Samuel Johnson, ‘a hardened and shameless tea drinker’, who for ‘twenty years diluted his meals with only the infusion of this fascinating plant’ ....my (sic) ‘kettle scarcely has time to cool , tea amuses me in (sic) the evening...solaces the midnight and ...welcomes the morning’.
With thanks to Samuel Johnson


This is one of my favourite photographs and illustrates that the ritual of tea is universal...it was taken in the workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and it never fails to make me smile as I think back over long but very happy days developing ak felt products ...days punctuated by laughter – lots of laughter, concentration, enormous creative pleasure and many, many cups of tea.  It was winter on the day this image was taken and bitterly cold...Chinara (left) and Dinara are both rugged up with lots of extra layers and would doubtless see this photo as less than flattering but I love it because it captures those precious shared moments.

Back to 2011 and I’ve decided that ak will be part of Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, a Cancer Council of Australia event because a very dear person in our family is currently being treated for breast cancer. 
When looking for a theme, it seemed only natural to bring together the genial character of morning tea with mini-workshops to make handmade accessories featuring the Cancer Council of Australia's symbol, bright and cheerful daffodils.  Various project options and beginners most welcome...a great chance to have a play with felting and support a terrific organisation who help countless numbers of Australians.
I’ll be following preparations and my ‘work in progress’ on the different projects in future posts and through a calendar on the blog but the bare bones are as follows

You can look up details or donate on ak’s page at the Cancer Council of Australia’s website www.cancer.org.au/Getinvolved/biggestmorningtea.htm ...
In the meantime, a sneak peak at a new felt sprites I’m playing around with...