Whenever I travel I like to visit art galleries. It's so inspiring and uplifting to be surrounded by beautiful works of art. Even though I'm a poet who paints pictures with words, I'm a visual person who draws strength and inspiration from seeing beautiful objects such as rocks, trees, paintings and sculptures. I like to keep a foot in both worlds - man made and natural. 

When I was in Deloraine in November, I visited an incredible gallery on the main street. It's in a huge old warehouse and is divided into mini studios / galleries each one featuring a different artist. There was a range of art and craft including: weaving, jewellery, paintings, sculpture, beads, photography and more. I fell in love with these beautiful oil paintings by self-taught artist, Larry Berg.

You can even see the artists at work on their projects. For a process fiend like me, this was the coolest thing. I like to peek behind the scenes and get an insider's look into the process of creating things and the way other people work.

When my daughters were young, I did a lot of hand sewing. I used blanket stitch to make lots of little felt toys for them to play with. I still like hand sewing and think of it as a foundational craft. It can be used in so many different ways for so many different projects. I use it to make leather boots and to mend my clothes. More recently I have been hand sewing little bags out of silk I have eco-dyed.

These gorgeous pieces were created by members of the Stitching and Beyond Inc group from the Hobart area. They are textile artists who explore innovative approaches to the fibre arts. And their work, as you can see, is stunning.

There were some amazing fabric pieces by Leanne Ames using rust in interesting ways. Leanne uses knotting, natural and eco-dyeing processes to create her beautiful pieces. I still have a fondness for eco-dyeing even though my mania for it seems to have abated somewhat.

I'm feeling very inspired by all the beautiful makers I met through their incredible works. Thank you!