We have received a wonderful report from Maggie Atkins, who is one of our NZ members from New Plymouth, but lives in Sidney. She wrote this report especially for us kiwis.
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12th Southern Hemisphere Feltmakers Convergence 1st-6th September 2013 hosted by The Illawarra Feltmakers Inc. at The Tops Conference Centre, Stanwell Tops, NSW 2508, Australia.
Felters arrived from far and wide at Stanwell Tops – on trains from Central Station, Sydney, shuttles from international/domestic air terminals, Aussies inter-state by car and an American by bike. Yes, Melissa Thompson cycled there and next day showed us rug making by bike, how to tie up a wet rug, hooked onto her bike and dragged around the campus. The rug hardened quickly as Melissa and lots of willing volunteers did extra circuits with her rug in tow.
The bush location in the Illawarra area was spectacular, up on high cliffs looking out over tree tops to the sea. My hostel was called Boronia, others Acacia, Banksia, Grevillea, the auditorium Waratah. Carrying our very smart goody bags, already loaded with programs, sample fleece and our own personal hand-thrown ceramic mug, we trapsed about the grounds finding venues - for meals, chat lounges and ‘felt knowledge sharing sessions’. And what a choice there was for the next 3 days! Martien van Zuilen had set up the yurt in the auditorium, flags were flying, various breeds of ‘sheep’ were grazing on the lawn and nearby the Canberra felters erected 5 ‘tall poles’ , the scene was set! Even felt candle-holders with glowing lights were embedded along the paths to our hostels – a real feeling of being in the “bush” at night with tall eucalyptus trees whispering in the shadows.
As is always the custom, the more experienced felters offer their expertise freely and everyone darts about to their knowledge sharing sessions which were always packed with interesting hints. I personally enjoyed Kristy Batten’s pictorial landscapes, she had great overheads to show the ways she worked. Also Raewyn Penrose’s Cut to Fit talk made pattern-making look easy as it always does - coming from an expert. The talk about Community Art by the Fibre sisters was thought-provoking.
There were 3 guest tutors who Anita Larkin, the convenor, had invited - Anna Gunnarsdottir from Iceland, Leiko Uchiyama from Japan (now Ireland) and Martien van Zuilen from West Australia. We all had set times to attend each of their 90 minute hands-on sessions – an amazing and special experience to be tutored by such experts. Anna taught us to make a 4-edged pod; Leiko showed us how to make “pine needle” strips into her version of lacy squares and Martien’s technique to make metres of hand-felted cords was easy and fun.
Mid-week we travelled by bus via the coast road to Wollongong Uni to attend the opening of a special exhibition called ‘Feltation’ and curated by Anita Larkin which showed works created by herself, the 3 guest tutors and many other notable feltmakers. Squeezing 150 people into the small gallery was resolved by dividing us into 3 groups, one group sipping drinks whilst others ate cake and the viewers ogled the felt works – all in all a wonderful occasion and afternoon outing.
The days rushed by and soon it was almost over. The last night was packed with fun, first a fashion parade - 103 entries compered by Margaret Connor. Lots of NZ models did the walk – Karen Workman showed 2 of her stunning jackets and also modelled my jacket which fitted her far better than me, thanks Karen.
Music and dancing followed. “The Con Artists” band from the Conservatorium of Music were donned with felt hats and played non-stop music whilst we linked hands and danced rhythmically to a “felting” action.
Next day it was time to collect our exchange 3D felt items, so exciting to guess whose piece we were taking home? Then the Illawarra Feltmakers put their beloved felt sheep up for auction. Bidding was brisk and very quickly all 6 sheep were sold to new happy owners, including a NZer.
The 12th Convergence was a wonderful experience and once again a coming together of like-minded crafters, what more can one wish for. Roll on 2015 when NZ will be hosting the 13th convergence. Maggie Atkins.
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Thank you, Maggie for a fantastic report. Great for those of you who can re-live it, and also for those that wish they had been there!
I am so going to save up my pennies for the next Convergence!
Ellen.
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