Vale Robert Foster

The Canberra arts community was shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic death of iconic designer, Robert Foster, yesterday. Rob was a huge figure in the national and international art scene, and many will recognise, and even own, one of the jugs that catapaulted his design business. The picture above was in an issue of Vogue in the early 90's and shows my 'Preserve' fabric bordering a photo of Rob's new jugs at the time. Little did I know that I would be moving to Canberra and having a lot more to do with Robert through ANCA and Craft ACT way back then.

Robert mentored many emerging Canberra artists, and was instrumental in helping launch their careers. He also collaborated with other artists and designers, creating new products into the F!NK range. He will be sorely missed and his passing has left a gaping hole in the heart of the Canberra and Queanbeyan communities. My sincere condolences to his family and friends. Vale Robert.

Winter in Canberra

Since my return from Indonesia last month I was caught up in moving house, unpacking boxes and trying to get my body and mind acclimatised to Winter in Canberra again.....

This morning it SNOWED! and here is a view from the comfort of our new kitchen. It is always so exciting to see visible evidence of how cold it is outside, so I just love the snow....for a while.

I will be blogging regularly for the next couple of months as I have started my new Artist in Residency at the National Museum of Australia (NMA), working with the People and the Environment team (PATE) and doing some research and development for a new body of work inspired by their botanical collection. I was fortunate to receive Australia Council funding to enable me to spend time here accessing their collection and delving into their database of objects for this period of research and development.  I am still in training mode - learning how to use the electronic museum (EMu), Piction, the computers, photocopiers and phone, remembering to swipe my ID pass (and to bring it with me everyday) fight for a carpark, and most importantly, remember what all the acronyms stand for! 

Anway, today was quite special because I met Lyndy, one of the women I met on the Indonesian textile tour, for lunch and showed her around the museum. It was fun reminiscing about our hot and humid holiday  as we sat eating steaming bowls of soup, rugged up with boots, coats and scarves. Lyndy at least was wearing a beautiful ikat scarf from Ende.

As mentioned I will be blogging at the end of each week, but I will just take this opportunity to thank the NMA and the Australia Council for such a fantastic opportunity that will enrich my arts practice no end.