what a week I have had...

Left my mate's in the Hunter Valley last Monday and just back last night....exhausting, exciting, stimulating, inspiring ;kind of sums it up.
First off last Monday it was down to the College of Fine Arts at Uni of NSW to give a lecture about India and the little I know about what is happening in Rajasthan and a little of what I am doing....
Liz Williamson, Head of Design, kindly took me under her wing and showed me around campus....so exciting to see all the work in progress and the happy buzz of intent students.
COFA is forging links with NID of India, based in Ahmedabad....so my talks were to give some insight into the country and help raise interest.....hope all goes well for them- a few weeks in Ahmedabad would be interesting for anyone, for fine arts and design students it will open a whole new world and help them to see how they 'see' the world they live in ....that has been my experience of travel anyway.
Had a few hours to spare in between talks so wandered up an down Paddington and Wollarah...fancy suburbs of Sydney and a feast for the eyes...[sorry no pics- not thinking...?:)]

Could not help going into Ariel Bookshop even though I was on a strick no books policy...I already have heaps to take home...arty, smart books this is the place.....love them
High Tea with Mrs Woo have some of the most interesting and beautifully made clothes I have seen in a very long time- I really admire this work
Cambodia House was a pleasant surprise...I had an enjoyable and informative time talking to the woman in the shop about the trails and highs of dealing with fairtrade projects in Asia....and what lovely things they had to see, what great work they are doing....have seen such things in the field it is hard to convey the difference it makes if you have not also been there.
And then the BIG EVENT- the Textile Forum at Geelong
what fun....and ssssssoooooo busy. I met many old friends , students and made new friends. It is a amazing how many people did not recognize me at first- that is what hitting the bottle and becoming a red head and loosing 20 kgs in weight does for you!
I was a great time to be questioned about my tours, talk textiles, sell textiles- Pukka Components were also very popular- yippee! and start floating the ideas behind the Pukka Studio around- space for an artist-in-residence programme and a class room away from home for groups to use as a centre to their travels in Rajasthan....I know we are going to have lots of lovely clients coming along...such fun.

Oh an to simply look at lovely ladies dressed so creativly and soak up their vibes as they were happily working away in their classes....Creative People are so full of life!

What has happened to how you load images on blogger?
Will sort this out soon and share images with you....so many lovely things to see!