Seriously, embarrassingly long … so much so, that I don’t even know where to start. Much has happened … and not happened, and then happened again. And the world marches on whether I am blogging about my exploits or not. But, I have not been idle. I have spent the last year playing with a new exhibition concept with my sister-in-law Marg Knight (you may or may not remember that she and I created the 5000 Poppies Project together 10 years ago now, although we still manage to “plant” a poppy installation around special times of remembrance to this day). But we have evolved … and now we are about ..read more

Throughout the lost years of COVID lockdown in Victoria, a team of talented crafters of all ages and all walks of life have been pouring their hearts and souls into making handcrafted hearts for the Have a Heart Project. Commenced on March 23, 2020 (first day of lockdown #1 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) the Have a Heart Project has continued right through a series of staggered lockdowns as we struggled to manage our growing feelings of isolation, stagnation, fear, sadness, grief and the myriad of other emotions associated with our severely curtailed lives. After an on again off again 2021 ..read more

This was the week we were to launch our lovely little Have a Heart Project at Box Hill Community Arts Centre in Victoria … but of course COVID lockdown in Victoria (Australia) had other plans for us. So we are ready for when the time comes. I thought that I was feeling ok about the whole thing … and for the most part I am fine … but disappointment has set in (not surprisingly). It is a very small “d” disappointment when I compare it to the much bigger disappointments we are faced with daily, and the monumental size of the issues that many others are facing across the globe right now. So … here ..read more

2020/2021 has been such an unpredictable couple of years!!! Back when we went into our first hard lockdown here in March 2020 Victoria (Australia) we had no way of knowing that 16 or so months later we would still be dealing with the impact and restrictions of what would be an excrutiatingly testing time for the world … but here we are. Up and down like a yoyo … in my own narrow world it has felt like every tiny incremental step towards whatever “normal” will become, became a significant victory … and every step backwards a crushing blow … and no end in sight at this point but the slow path fo ..read more

It has been somewhere near six months since we went public with the wonderful “Have a Heart Project”. It has seen me through the very worst of COVID lockdown here in Victoria … in my opinion, a necessary but challenging time for most. I keep saying that the hearts have kept me sane … and it’s true.  It has been an opportunity to “meditate” through craft, at a time when calm has been called for, and I have been grateful for the distraction … following my nose for the most part … playing with stitchery (which I have never really made time for in the past), enjoying the process (which is wha ..read more

The Have a Heart Project is a celebration of life, love, loss and recovery and everything in between. Just ambling … Life is full of important and memorable moments, sometimes joyful like finding a true friend, finishing school, starting a new career, falling in love, getting married and the birth of a baby or personal success.  These things we celebrate with joy and gratitude. But sometimes these moments are painful and challenging on many levels, losing a job, the death of a loved one, betrayal, separation, violence, medical issues, disaster, local and world events.  These things often throw ..read more

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” Albert Camus 1913-1960 Today we are excited to be installing our gorgeous WinterGarden in Melbourne’s iconic Federation Square. WinterGarden is a joyous and playful profusion of handcrafted flowers in a riot of glorious colour, and is a simple and timely reminder in the middle of a cold Melbourne winter, that the change of seasons, with all its attenda ..read more