PATCHWORK AND PEACE

 Mary Cassatt's  "A Woman Sewing"

copyright expired

Every now and then you come across someone who makes an instant impression on your life. 

One such person was Ruth Stoneley, quilter, fibre artist, teacher, shop owner, mother, friend and Churchill Scholarship recipient... to summarise her incredible presence...

Many tributes have been written, one of the most moving was by her great friend, Judith Baker Montano... see link at the end of this article.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth for the first time in 1983... to say that she made an impression can best be summed up by the following ....

PATCHWORK AND PEACE

As I climbed the many stairs

I felt it reach out to me

We sat, coffee in hand,

amongst the clutter

that only 'moving in' can arrange..

and yet, the feeling was there

all around us.

In her company

I felt surrounded by tranquility

yet knee deep in energy.

The patchwork of her life

enveloped her

not merely in the marvellous fabrics

awaiting her creative talents

but in her assortment of baskets

and interesting glass jars. 

An old fashioned urn sat in a corner

resplendent with rolls of fabric

spouting from it's top

where once there'd been steam.

She explained her life

and her ideas and dreams

and wove them into a quilt of visions.

She was so content in her life

at peace with the world.

Today, I met a lady and her soul.

© Crissouli

Ruth Stoneley portrait by Richard Stringer.

Ruth introduced me to many ideas, one being the process of printing photos on fabric, something which I had admired, but hadn't got around to trying... This is but one of her pieces.... part of a beautiful memory quilt.

Sadly Ruth passed away in May 2007. 

She lives on in the incredible pieces she left behind and the lasting memories of all who knew her.

Ruth Stoneley, Australia 1940-2007 | Quilt: It’s not all sweetness and light (detail) 1983 | © The artist | view full image

Ruth Stoneley: A Stitch in Time

13 July – 7 October 2013 | Glencore Queensland Artists’ Gallery (Gallery 14), Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) | Free admission

Opening Hours
10.00am — 5.00pm Monday to Friday
9.00am — 5.00pm Saturday and Sunday
9.00am — 5.00pm Public Holidays

To complement 'Quilts 1700–1945', the Gallery presents an exhibition of contemporary quilts by the late leading Brisbane quilt-maker Ruth Stoneley (1940–2007).

Links re Ruth Stoneley...

http://www.judithbakermontano.com/weblog/2007_10_17.html

http://www.artabase.net/exhibition/4820-ruth-stoneley-a-stitch-in-time

http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/ruth_stoneley_a_stitch_in_time

THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL... Parramatta Female Factory

THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL

You are invited to attend a showcase of artworks created by 

the 

PARRAMATTA FEMALE FACTORY PRECINCT MEMORY PROJECT 

on

14 September 12.30 -4.30pm. 

This is an official history week event and will be followed with a public history symposium

 exploring the institutionalisation of women and children in Australia

held consecutively on the 26 and 27 September at UTS Broadway and at the Precinct.

Both events are free, symposium seating is limited and bookings are essential.

Parramatta Female Factory Precinct Memory Project

www.pffpmemoryproject.org

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/PFFPMemoryProject

HAPPY 2ND BLOGIVERSARY

Thank you to all of you have visited giving me a total of 28,529 views for just 192 posts... in just two years.

Your favourites have been as follows...

HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY, SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE !

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY 2013

It seems you like anything to do with Australia, as these three in particular and all others with Australia or Australian references are still attracting readers every day.

Visitors come from the following main countries in order... a couple of surprises there....

United States
Australia
United Kingdom
Russia
Germany
Ireland
Canada
France
Ukraine
India

I hope you continue to visit, enjoy and leave comments... nice to know you drop by. 

I'm looking forward to seeing where we venture over the next two years...

Crissouli...from Oz!

MICHAEL KENNEALLY... the face of Ireland .... 2013

This article appeared some time ago in The Irish Times, back in March 2013. I thought it was well worth sharing.

Hill farmer who never left Ireland but featured in array of international pictorials

Pictures of Michael Kenneally travelled the world

Michael Kenneally was a Co Clare hill farmer who lived all his 82 years at the foot of Mount Callan, overlooking the road from Inagh to Miltown-Malbay. He rarely left Co Clare, and never left Ireland. He never owned a car. Yet, through a series of chance encounters, and his own charm, he enjoyed an unusual and joyous relationship with the media that spanned more than half a century.

Kenneally was 24 when the great American photographer Dorothea Lange saw him working in his fields and drew up to the cottage he shared with his mother, Nora. Lange had been inspired by Conrad Arensberg 's book The Irish Countryman , which described an intact rural society where the people and their culture were rooted in the land. Michael was the seventh generation of Kenneally to farm their 70 acres, and in his warmth and rugged handsomeness Lange found her Irish countryman.

Of the 2,400 photographs taken on Lange's trip to Ireland, Michael Kenneally appears more than any other person. He featured in Lange's photoessay that appeared in Life magazine in March 1955. At the time, Life was the biggest-selling publication in the world.

Kenneally married his childhood sweetheart Bridie McMahon in 1959. They set up home in the Kenneally cottage, and ensured it retained its reputation as a welcoming place for family, neighbours and strangers.

Kenneally was the embodiment of the Ireland we like to sell to our tourists. Although Ireland changed much in his lifetime, Kenneally and the life around him in west Clare didn't. It was those qualities that seemed to draw photographers and other visitors to him.

In 1990, New York photographer Pat Crowe came across Kenneally wearing a "'scarecrow' type of a hat and walking along the road carrying a bucket of water". His photos of Kenneally became part of a cover story in Aer Lingus 's Cara magazine.

In 1991, when 75 of the world's leading photojournalists descended on Ireland for the Day In The Life project, it seemed inevitable that one would find her way to Kenneally's home. Stephanie Maze from National Geographic was the photographer, and although her shots of the Keaneallys didn't appear in the book, they were prominent in the documentary film made about that day.

In 1994, Gerry Mullins began researching the photographs taken by Lange on her 1954 trip. His book Dorothea Lange's Ireland opened with shots of the Keneallys, and it became a bestseller.

This prompted the arrival of many photographers and journalists to Kenneally's door, eager to retrace Lange's footsteps. Subsequent articles appeared in Irish, British and American publications.

 For the full story, please go to

.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/hill-farmer-who-never-left-ireland-but-featured-in-array-of-international-pictorials-1.1335764

For just a few further articles on Michael,  please see

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/how-story-of-a-man-who-never-left-home-travelled-all-around-the-world-on-film-26838096.html

http://www.turtlebunbury.com/interviews/interviews_ireland/vanishing_one/interviews_ireland_mickkenneally.html

http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/Famous-photographer-captured-Co-Clares-rural-life-in-iconic-images-145393155.html

THE RAJAH QUILT

It is with great excitement and anticipation that I announce the coming of the 

RAJAH QUILT

 to 

the Queensland Art Gallery

Southbank, Brisbane

 from Jun 15 to September 22

Photos above courtesy of the National Art Gallery, Canberra

If you don't know the story of the Rajah Quilt, then listen to this audio and read below.

The story of the Rajah Quilt

Thank you to the abc for the audio.

 The basis of the story is that it is one of the few surviving examples of needlework done by convict women while being transported to Australia. It is rare to have the quilt exposed as it is kept away from light in order to preserve it. Occasionally, it is on exhibition at the National Art Gallery, but lately, it has been 'allowed out' to various galleries so that more people can view it.

There are replicas on display now and then, but we are getting to see the original. As a needleworker and lover of history, it is like Christmas come early for me.

photos above courtesy of The Courier Mail, Brisbane Jun 8, 2013

You can find further articles here

http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=119802

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/03/16/3165808.htm

 See you at the Gallery!

MY LITTLE IRISH MOTHER

ON A COLD CLEAR MORN....

On a cold clear morn....

he rose at dawn, just like so many dawns before. Looking around him, he gathered all he needed, no time to waste, so he grabbed his water bottle, and started the long trek. There'd be no rest for many hours to come, but it was the same for the others. They were all in this together. 

It was backbreaking work, hot, dusty, exhausting, but he knew he was serving his country, in the best way he, they, could. The real action would come in a few days time, but till then, preparation was all important. He didn't want to let anyone down, not his mates, his Dad or his brothers... they were all in this together. When he first heard about the conflict, he hadn't envisaged that he would be involved in this way, he thought he might be in the same unit as his three brothers in Papua New Guinea, but then he was still working alongside the others.  Their task was as important as any other... they had to have everything ready to exact guidelines. The army wouldn't accept it any other way. Besides, they took pride in what they did. They worked long into the night, and finally it was ready, till the next time. 

They had packed all, loaded the truck and the produce would be at the station in a few hours time and on the way to feed the army. Who would know, maybe their own brothers would soon be eating food  from their farm which was under contract to the Australian Armed Services.

We honour all who served in whatever way... so many unsung heroes, men and women, and their children... 

LEST WE FORGET

(c) chrismilne

I have written a number of posts over previous years re ANZAC DAY and what it means to our family.

Rather than repost all, this link will take you to them.

http://thatmomentintime-crissouli.blogspot.com.au/2012_04_01_archive.html


Thinking of all the many generations of family and loved ones to whom we owe our appreciation and admiration. We are who we are, because of your efforts and sacrifices, for which we truly thank you.