Meet Knotty Lady Anna

Knotty Ladies is on again this coming Tuesday the 28th of June- 7.30pm at the House of Cloth.

Here is some inspiration for your making - the work of Fryerstown stitching wonder Anna Winneke, interviewed by Tamara Marwood.


T : I first had the pleasure of meeting you at a blogging workshop.  Did this inspire you to start blogging?  What other online resources influence your work?

A : Actually, I had such grand ideas of beginning an arts based 'travel blog', I spent nights wide awake scribbling in my journal, making notes that led onto other ideas... and seriously, I thought I was going to revolutionise the world of travel! Ha, guess what? I already run a business with 7 employees and have 2 small children... and... well.... I just lost a lot of sleep! ahhhhhhhh.... but, that idea is still in my bank of many more!

Nope, I did not start! I think I actually prefer to spend that time looking or making.
BUT... I do love to look at some inspiring blogs that other people share... at swim two birds... rita cordeiro.... slow progress.... the design files.. I can waste a whole hour on pinterest before I've realised where the time has gone... alexia abegg (yummy quilts), sarah dingwall... and of course zigo zago....



T: I just love your embroideries - I am a big fan of your darling french knots?  Who was the catalyst for you to take up the needle at this time in your life?

I am slightly obsessed with textiles... and texture in general... I can become very quickly addicted to building up a pattern in colour, one stitch at a time (which is odd... as I am a fairly impatient person... but patient with building up an embroidery). I used to be such a prolific journal writer... I'm sure it was all just self deprecating ramble... but I used to love just sticking my hands in between the etched pages and feeling all the words written there... I think it's similar with the texture of stitches.

The embroidery aspect of my making, has definately evolved due to my lack of a physical, making space at home.. young kids and business committments during the day (plus building our home and large garden), which has enabled me to hop into bed at night, and pull out something that I can pick up and put down easily, something I can be distracted from for a while and not feel too guilty about... my mother was  a stitcher.... I used to love seeing all the the colours of her threads (that I wasnt' really allowed to touch)... and it was probably just my love of colour that attracted me to using all those threads... with their monochromatic colour schemes. I remember when I was in my late teens being laughingly  told by someone I admired...'I love your sense of colour anna... you just wear them all together, whether they go or not'. I think this probably stayed with me... I was so confused as to whether that was a compliment or not, in my befuddled youthful mind...

 

THIS NEEDS TO BE MENTIONED AS TITLED 'ODE TO VERA MOLLER'!!!!!... as... it is!

 

For Tully... my daughter.

 

For Alby... my peacock son!

 

T: What is your current embroidery work?  What is it all about?

A: I just finished a 'portrait' work for the mt macedon shire post your art award.... it was a mirrored image of my silouette in 'falling' colour... that I've been pretty attached to lately... I'm a bit distracted with knitting at the moment.. and paper cutting too....but I think that I am starting back on these wee works below... they are part of a three dimensional design that I sketched last year... started, and then 'put down' again. The circles will wrap around 'mushroom' type caps... that stand on stems... as part of a 'forest' overlapping under and over each other....
hmmm... still not sure how this will be resolved... but lots more circular works are evolving to join

 

 T: Can you share with us what role  sustainability plays in your arts practice at all?

A: well.... I have a rather large amount of 'gleaned' fabric... that I stitch together, stitch onto and pull apart to use the threads from.... so I guess that is fairly 'low environmentally impactive'.... and well, sustaining my love of art and life is fairly sustainable for me personally!