Highly Commended at Blacktown City Art Prize

This is a picture of my painting: 'Sydney winter flowers', that won a Highly Commended, in the watercolour section of the Blacktown City Art Prize 2012.

The certificate came in this morning's post.  I had no idea so a lovely surprise.

The show is on at the Blacktown arts centre until 10 November.

Hillandale Gardens and Nursery

Another plug for a very good friend: Sarah Ryan of Hillandale Gardens and Nursery, Yetholme, NSW

Sarah's beautiful garden is open to the public this weekend: Saturday and Sunday 27/28 October.  The garden is at Eusdale Road, Yetholme.


Sarah will have an abundance of hard-to-find plants: seedlings, cuttings, root systems and established plants will be for sale plus the largest selection of our seed packet designs to date.

This is a well-known and must attend event in the local gardeners' calendars and bus loads go from Sydney it is so popular.

I will be going to get inspired and of course plunder the garden for Spring flowers - I feel a 'rhododendron series' coming on...

Sarah's website is here.

Her facebook page is here.

Fundraising

Every so often I feature one of my chums in their creative endeavours:

My chum Sue Liu is chiefette at Zulu Communications.

She is also a fundraiser par excellence.  Sue has been involved with Geraldine Cox and the Sunrise Village home in Cambodia for a number of years.  This year she is actively fundraising for the Sunrise Centre in two ways:

1) Selling soy scented candles: 50% of the income produced (basically, the profit) from selling candles.  Click here to buy/read the story.

2) A link to a 'big bookclub' event is being held on Tuesday 6th Nov, at Berkelouw books, Norton St, Leichardt.  Click here to book tickets and read the story.

Thanks for looking

A bevy of Bags

Since finishing the Art Expo show, I've had a little time to concentrate on the bag/jewellery side of things while waiting for the next round of painting 'mojo'.

Here is a selection of bags - Vintage Japanese kimono, Vintage teatowels, Chinese brocade and Indian sari fabrics.  Just in time for the Sydney summer.