I’ve just returned from a wonderful short residency at Gunyah (Port Stephens, NSW) – a peaceful, serene environment for working, thinking, and re-evaluating.
A wonderful, if too short, residency that was a real delight. Pluto the dog was very impressed too, what with all those intriguing bush smells to check out. The family came to visit for the weekend and we took off to the sand dunes (which had moved so much closer to the road than we remembered – no doubt due to the recent storms), had morning tea at Tillerman’s in Tea Gardens, and lazed around the Gunyah living room, enjoying the fireside, world map jigsaw puzzle, art magazines and the views. We had a great time checking out the jetty (Pluto does love a swim), discovering charming little beaches, and walking around exploring – and baking bread.
I used the time to play around with the local flora (luckily readily available because of those storms) and making dyes for the silk lengths I brought with me. Pluto and I went on daily walks collecting interesting bits and pieces to include in the process.
We washed the cloth down by the jetty before and after the dyeing – a serene and meditative process at Gunyah (it is so quiet). The lovely golden colour of the water no doubt contributed to the final results. Photographing the fabrics in the water was fascinating for me – I couldn’t get enough of it. The colour of the water, the rocks beneath, the swirling cloth, beautiful light….
I also used up some of the waste threads and string to make experimental ‘lace’ samples.
A big thank you to Kath Fries and the Gunyah team! What a peaceful and laid back thinking/working environment! And the house is sooooo charming…
The Duchess of Dixie
Lovely work makes me tempted to try even though I would probably make a gigantic mess of the whole thing.
rhondapryor
But making a mess is so much fun! And you will always learn something so give it a crack.
The Duchess of Dixie
When I do I’ll s3 do you photos of the disaster have you seen those pics of pinterest fails?😆😆😅
meta
Sounds like a lovely place to be and your deying looks wonderful!
rhondapryor
Thank you very much!
cityhippyfarmgirl
How wonderful Rhonda. What gorgeous sounding place, and beautiful dyes.
rhondapryor
Thank you!