snap shots form the shop this week

Oiko Textiles, Porcelain pincushions by Belinda Smith and Pinky and Maurice Bowls

Oiko Textiles, Helle Jorgenson crochet bowls and collection of natural objects.

Match Sticks and String!

Make a Worry Doll or a few! .... With a few matchsticks and some coloured string you can make a tiny little version of yourself! I would love to see an installation grow in the Hey Maker! shop that reflects our community in minature. 
This is a free workshop open to all ages and skill levels. 
....and for very little fingers so we have a really special activity....Local artists and illustrators Tamsin Ainslie and Melissa Mackie have done some gorgeous drawings for colouring in.
Saturday November 3rd 10am - 2pm

Wondering what a worry doll is?
There is a Mayan legend that states “When a person can not sleep well due to worries, they tell the worries to a worry doll. They then put the doll under their pillow and during the night the worry doll worries in the persons place, allowing them to sleep well and awake refreshed”.

The Social - a guest

'The social has been so much fun! There has been some drawing, sewing, crochet and knitting, some paper craft and abstract weaving! There has been laughter and chatting, and cheese and biscuits to share.

At 'The Social' this week we will have a special guest - Ayya Yeshe is the founder of the Bodhicitta Foundation. Ayya Yeshe is a Buddhist nun who works with women and children in the slums of  Nagpur in Central India. Please come along and listen to her speak about traditional handcrafts by the women her charity works with.    

Ayya Yeshe will speak from 7-7.30. after which our usual, informal gathering will proceed. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday evening.

Thank you to Anne Stadler for arranging our special visitor this week.

For more information about Ayya Yeshe please follow the link provided.

http://www.bodhicitta-vihara.com/

our new Workroom + Shop

So, we've been opened for just over a week now, and I think it's about time we shared some images with you. There'll be more, and there'll be changes. But for now have a look at our beautiful Hey Maker! Workroom + Shop.

I love spending time in our new space. Such a gloriously beautiful shop - one of the most iconic Art Deco buildings in our town; the high ceilings and big front windows make for lots of natural light all day long. The corner position, close to the river, means cool afternoon breezes coming through our front door. 

The hard work put in by many friends to get the once dull walls now bright and pure white - oh thank you all. It has changed the feel and look of the space dramatically. A place can breathe again.

The gathering, collecting, sourcing of handcrafted locally made works and carefully curating (merchandising) them within our walls has been a beautiful and extremely enjoyable process. 

The meeting of people who walk into our space is the best thing of all. The connections, the conversations, the gatherings, the stories, the sharing, the enjoyment and the smiles. 

Come along and see our new Hey Maker! Workroom + Shop. We're on the corner of Commercial Road and Proudfoots Lane, Murwillumbah. Look out for our art installation windows and the yarn covered streetposts....

Tell us a little about your creative life {Interview} with Heather Matthew

The generous, warm and vibrant Heather Matthew is presenting a beautiful Slow Art session at our Hey Maker! Workroom this coming Thursday. Called 'The Dream Box' it's about exploring your dreams and nurturing those moments so they can take shape in your real life. A powerful transformational tool that can help you focus on turning dreams into reality. Heather will lead you in your dream box creating with her strong visual, emotional and creative instinct, while enjoying a cup of tea, cake and conversation. 

I thought we'd take this perfect opportunity to ask Heather a few questions about herself and her passion for creating and transforming print, paper, collections, words into her creative life. 

For more info about Heather's Dream Box workshop please contact us, or a make a booking here.

Please also visit Heather's website and blog bbox productions.

Tell us a little about your creative life.

I believe that the art of living a creative life is all about the practise of being creative… everyday art of making some creative mark, whether it be with paper, ink or paint.

Where do you live and why?

I live in Nunderi with a view out over the sugarfields to Wollumbin, the healing mountain. It is on the road to the beach, only five minutes out of Murwillumbah and yet with a view of mountains and sky. I love the fact that you can be anywhere in just 20 minutes, whether the airport or Gold Coast or Brunswick Heads or Uki or…..

What is it you make?

I make a variety of products including greeting cards, handmade paper and prints. But my real passion is making artist books, thinking about a theme or subject, political or domestic and creating works of art around this. I also make a daily collage and upload these with an accompanying short poem on my blog as a way of reflecting on the days events.

Where did you learn these skills?

I have been printmaking for the last ten years, learning first at TAFE and at Southern Cross University in Lismore. My writing career was initially learnt through Deakin University’s Vocational Writing course then continued on through working as a journalist, oral history writer and poet. Also I have attended numerous print and bookmaking workshops, the most recent in Skopelos, Greece in 2011. I learnt papermaking at Southern Cross University and also sought out additional papermaking skills in Chiapas, Mexico.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Daily life is my inspiration – I love to travel and use the detritus of everyday life like street posters, bus tickets, postage stamps and even souvlaki wrappers in my art works.

What is your fondest childhood memory of making something?

The absolute freedom of ripping my prints into shreds and then turning around and reassembling them into collages or turning them into handmade paper and printing back over them. Very liberating!

Do you find time to be creative every day?

Absolutely – it has become my goal to just keep making collages everyday, even when I don’t feel like I have anything left to say…somehow the thought I have to keep my blog going with my daily collage compels me into action.

When did you know you wanted to pursue a creative career?

I’ve been pursuing a creative career as an independent artist for about the last fifteen years. I supplement my income with other work, but I guess I’m now really pursuing my creative business as a single focus.

Who is your creative hero?

People who have a go at something even when it seems crazy…Walt Disney, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, the man who invented the Dyson vacuum cleaner…I’d like to say just one person but I admire everyone who believes that art is for living…..

What would you love to learn to do within the next year or so? What creative skill / talent?

I’d like to explore encaustic (wax) painting more and its application to a more printerly approach. Japanese papermaking techniques, lithography, more woodblock printing, and creating huge papier-mâché sculptures like those in Diego Rivera’s studio in Mexico City.

Please share some of your favourite web wanderings.

too many to go into …especially with a slow internet connection but here’s a few….

Papermaking -

Taller lenateros

Amate Paper

Hand Papermaking

Noriko Yamaguchi

upon a fold - papermaker

Jane Ingram Allen

artist books

Artist's Books Arts of Lithuania

Artist Books 3.0

projects/blogs

Penny Black Project

a book about death (google this – it has many offshoots)

the sketchbook project

The Social

Wednesday Nights 7-9pm

The Social is an informal gathering of like minded crafty people. Come along and bring things to make and do! We don't care if you are a beginner or an expert...its all about sharing skills and ideas over conversation and a cup of tea. It's a great opportunity to finish that project you have been working on for ages or start a new one! Learn a new skill or be inspired by what others are making.

This weekly event is free but perhaps you could bring along an idea, some materials or something tasty to share with others.

We will be kicking off this week (17th October) and Helle Jorgenson is coming along to hang out with us too! She was in great demand at our opening crochet event and she enjoyed it so much that she has offered to come along on Wednesday to share her crochet wisdom with us all again. 

 

If you have any inquiries about The Social please contact Belinda Smith at heymakercollective@gmail.com

Come Crochet with Helle!

We open our doors...finally...this Friday 12th October! Its been a busy few months and we are almost there. 
If you visit town regularly you may have seen our windows evolving! The artwork is a collaborative creation by me (Belinda) and two great friends Helle Jorgenson and Julia Barron. The artwork is created from torn up old bed sheets and crocheted with the BIGGEST crochet hooks you have ever seen. We enjoyed exploring the possibilities this strange yarn offered, re-using this cast aside material and watching the sculptures grow organically.

I'd like to tell you about Helle if you don't already know her. She works from the light filled Studio 85 which is above the shops near the police station in Mur'bah. She is internationally exhibited with work currently being shown in Washington DC. We are looking forward to her exhibition at the Tweed River art Gallery in late November which is a body of work that explores the works of 'Entropy'. There is a piece that is made up of hundreds of tiny little crochet creatures that mimic the morphology of plants and animals in the natural world. Helle uses predominantly waste material in her work to beautiful and refined effect.

Take a look at this little video by Noah Barron. It is a serene window into Helle's creative world.

As a special treat Helle Jorgenson will be in our workspace 10am- 2pm on Friday the 12th October (Opening Day). We will be playing with different yarns from plastic bags to old sheets, playing and experimenting. Come in and join us then. We'll look forward to seeing you. 

Belinda Smith