A to Z: 2023 in Review
I thought it’d be fun to do another A-Z year-in-review post. (Here’s one from 2018). It’s a reminder of all the blessings and opportunities of 2023. So much reason for gratitude!
A is for Amitie
It was a privilege to come back to Amitie Textiles for another in-person quiltmaking workshop. I enjoy being in the inspiring space that is Amitie, and getting to know students in class. And it was the perfect excuse to tack on some extra days of travel with my husband. Shout out to @poppystreet who cared for the two youngest children to make that possible!
B is for Blossom Explosion
Our second block-of-the-month launched in March this year. It’s a little more complicated than the previous block-of-the-month, and I can’t wait to see the completed quilts in a few months time!
C is for Creative Piecework
The biggest project in 2023 was the creation of my online quiltmaking class. This class walks you through my quiltmaking process in a very comprehensive way, through videos that you can watch over and over. To put the process into practice, we create the very popular Flower Gum quilt, which is the perfect design to get you started on your piecework journey.
D is for drawing
I tried to spend more time in my sketchbook this year. I think I succeeded.
E is for experimenting
I’ve been working on an experimental series inspired by the last chapters of the book of Job (some of my favourite passages!). It’s experimental in that it’s branching out from my usual themes of Australian botanicals and children. It’s also experimental in that I hope to create a bunch of small artworks trying out different approaches to representing the images that these chapters inspire in my mind. Small pieces are the perfect way to try out different things to see which process and results I like. I hope to put more work into this project in 2024!
F is for fondant biscuits
My daughter Hannah made some very special fondant biscuits to share with all the visits at our Open Studio Day this year. We hung a whole lot of art, and turned the dining room into pop up shop. It was such a lovely event, and I hope we can schedule it in again next year.
G is for Golden Afternoons
This artwork was created many years ago and has always been popular when I’ve shared it on my social media. This year it was purchased and went overseas to its new home!
H is for holidays
Holidays are always times for getting my creative juices flowing again. There is something about being removed from my regular environment, routines and responsibilities! This year we spent two weeks camping in Margaret River as a family - we love being in the bush, right by the mountain bike trails and walking distance from good coffee! We also managed a few short trips away to Albany and Dunsborough - just what we needed to persevere with our regular commitments. And then there was the flying trip to Canada to reconnect with dear friends. So thankful for all these opportunities.
I is for Inktober
I joined in with Inktober this year, for the purpose of making myself do some more regular drawing for a month. It always sounds like a great idea at the start, but takes some serious commitment to persevere! I gave myself some little breaks during the month, because life was happening at the same time :)
J is for journals
I created these journals in 2022, and they still bring me so much joy. My favourite part is the exposed thread bound spine, which allows the journals to open flat (!)
K is for kits
Is it strange that I love putting together quilt kits for you all. Maybe it’s the mindlessness of cutting and folding the fabric? Or the joy of seeing the beautiful collated bundles? This year I packaged Blossom Explosion kits to accompany the block-of-the-month pattern, Flowering Gum kits to accompany the Creative Piecework class, and Two Blossoms kits to accompany the book ‘pieced’.
L is for laughter
One of my first projects in 2023 was a commissioned artwork of three little boys. Commissions generally make me a bit nervous but Kirsty was able to tell me what she loved about my existing artworks, and had picked the perfect image as a basis for the artwork - an impromptu photo that captured her boys in a precious moment of fun and laughter. I love that Kirsty understood without my suggesting it, that this makes a more memorable and personal artwork than a carefully posed image!
M is for magpies
It was fun to branch out from my regular botanical art to incorporate magpies. I’m currently mulling over whether or not there will be more bird quilts in 2024… I have already purchased some bird photo books for drawing reference, so there’s a good change that there will be!
N is nature
Being in nature - walking, camping, riding, relaxing - is such a big source of inspiration for my artwork. One of my drawing projects in 2023 was this batch of drawings capturing children exploring and enjoying the bush.
O is for organise
Organising is part of who I am (sorry, family). I am ALWAYS reorganising our home, my schedule and my business to be even more ‘organised’ and efficient. I love revamping spaces in the home to be more helpful/beautiful/efficient. This year I converted one of our walk-through spaces into an at-home gym, and my drawing corner in the lounge also got a makeover. Actually, it was downsized to accomodate the beautiful new fireplace we installed. I used to have a large drawing table here, that was perfect for the years that I had babies/small children at home all day. Now that the children are older, I can more easily spend more time in my studio, so many of my drawing supplies where shifted upstairs into the studio. I still love having a little corner in the lounge, though.
The business end of my art is also always being refined and re-organised. My little art business involves a substantial amount of actual business work - maintaining a website (this requires constant tweaking and updating), staying in touch with customers (through blog posts, emails and social media), advertising new products or projects, staying on top of finances, and lots of graphic design work for all of the above. I’m learning more all the time about running a business, which means that I am constantly reviewing my systems.
P is for pinning
As I shared in this post, a successfully pieced quilt top is all in the pinning!
Q is for quilts, of course.
This year I completed 9 quilts - one childhood commission, the hi-vis vest, Florae (which was part of Art Quilt Australia), a Flowering Gum quilt (to demonstrated my process in the Creative Piecework class) and five magpie art quilts.
This is a small number of quilts for one year, for me. This is because of the non-stitching work involved in releasing the block-of-the-month and creating the online class, as well as a substantial amount of volunteer graphic design work. It’s also because of the time spent illustrating. So, there was still lot’s of creative work this year, just a few less quilts than usual!
R is for reading
For the first time, I kept a reading log for the year. It’s certainly interesting to note how many books were actually consumed in a year!
Here they are, if you’re interested:
Redeeming Power; Dianne Langberg
The Creaking on the Stairs; Mez McConnell
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert; Rosario Butterfield
Under Her Skin: the life and work of Professor Fiona Wood; Sue Williams
The Air We Breathe; Glen Scrivener
Bully Pulpit; Michael J Kruger
Thankful; Reuben Bredenhof
Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, Paul David Tripp
When Home Hurts, Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson
What is a Girl Worth? Rachel den Hollander
The Body Keeps the Score
What is Reformed Theology; RC Sproul
She’s On The Money; Victoria Devine
Five to Thrive; Kathy Koch
Why Does He Do That?;Lundy Bancroft
Boundaries in Marriage; Cloud and Townsend
The Talent Code; Daniel Coyle
The Artist’s Way; Julia Cameron
Launch; Jeff Walker
And then there were 48 novels… I won’t list them all but here are a few of the best ones:
The Helsingor Sewing Club; Ella Gyland
The Book Spy; Alan Hlad
The Wattle Island Book Club, Sandie Docker
The Pearl Thief, Fiona McIntosh
The Butterfly Collector; Tea Cooper
The Bookbinder of Jericho; Pip Williams
The Fossil Hunter; Tea Cooper
Three Sisters; Heather Morris
S is for surfboard
We recently launched Where’s my Surfboard? It’s always such a joy to finally be able to share a new illustration project. This book is all about resilience and life skills. You can get hold of it here.
T is for teaching
I usually commit to two in-person workshops in a year. This year I taught at Amitie Textiles in Torquay, and KraftDaze in Armadale - one very far from home, and the other just a few minutes away. The biggest shift in teaching for me this year was the creation of my online Creative Piecework class, and everything involved in filming and producing that.
U is for unfinished
I currently have four botanical pieced quilt tops waiting to be layered and quilted (they are so beautiful! You are going to love them!) I also have a number of unfinished pieces from my Job collection. I’d like to piece together a few more of those before I decide how to finish them. I’m also partway through a very large commissioned quilt for a local retirement home. I’d hoped to be a bit further along with that one by now, but everything else seems to have nudged it aside in recent months!
V is for Victorian Department of Transport
My most unique project this year was the hi-vis vest artwork that I created for an advertising campaign for the Department of Transport in Victoria. You can read all about that over here.
W is for The Worrisome Wombat
This book has also just been released into the world, and I’m so excited to share it with you. You can purchase it here (note, this is not my website).
X is for an explosion of blossoms
I made this artwork as part of the Art Quilt Australia exhibition. The idea behind it is a ‘burst’ or explosion of blossoms, because there is nothing tame or tidy about eucalypts!
Y is for you
I’m so thankful for all of you for sharing in this creative journey with me! It is my prayer that the work and behind-the-scenes that I share with you inspire joy and creativity! And I’m deeply grateful for your orders too, and for how that allows this creative journey to continue.
Z is for Zoom lecture
In November I gave a presentation about my art journey to a quilt guild in New York - from the comfort of my home studio. Isn’t technology amazing?! I was still just as nervous as if it was in real life, but I’m told that it was really appreciated, and it was fun to share the journey of my art career.