Friday, 12 July 2024

Today I wonder what came next ?

It is a bit like these rabbits in a much later time painting...

The wonderment of it all.

The creativity is exactly that the 

WONDERMENT of it All 


To continue on I began to design some more cloth dolls and Santas.
Hope was a tall lean doll which in her name represented my HOPE of doing this new venture...
A Santa I BELIEVE came next named from the fabric I purchased and I did believe ! 
From there came Theodora and Theodore and a Santa spun from that design dressed in gorgeous flannelette.
*
The fabrics were becoming inspirational at this time and i loved the tactile of fabric under my hands.
I still go by feel !!!
Linen, flannel, felt.
I grew up sewing clothes with these and love the purity even today....

it was absolute fun drawing a body up and then onto calico to sew the body and choose clothes.
My designs were and are simple....the markets took me in the direction of more simple design ... no mucking around ....it often did not pay to invest the time.
That does not mean being sloppy, but a way of design.
I follow my instincts.
Many doll and Santas and a couple of cloth cats arrived ...

WRITING the PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS
This was a good habit of noting as I created otherwise ????
People want to make just how you did and that can be tricky when cobbling a design together as it must work to be constructed by others.

PHOTOGRAPHING
Is another skill we needed to embrace to have a gorgeous photo on the front of the paper pattern...in the early days there were no immediate digital anything.
Not even any websites !!!!

My partner was good at taking a photo and we had a decent camera , so he was good on all the dials etc and i had no patience for that.
I would set up the scene and knew how it should look but many a roll of film was taken and then off to be developed which took days and had costs incurred.
When the selection of the photograph was done it was back to developer for mass photos to adhere to pattern page !
Today it is very slick with the digital age. I embraced the digital camera and love to see what I see through the lens arrived ! 
*
My great uncle I think, Nana Theodora's brother was an early photographer in glass slides, my brothers and I all adored this same hobby.... we see through the lens also...so genetic trait maybe.  
*
I sold my first patterns to Colleens Cottage in Melbourne, she supported me in many ways through my markets supplying patterns, books, paints, little wooden shapes.
She and husband Chris imported from America.
Colleen would post me a box of books on folk art designs and cloth doll booklets that were American Country decorating.
I also learnt when designing a cloth doll body to be very aware of how the brain learns the way it is when tracing a  body onto calico, sewing on the tracing lines, cutting around this, the brain learns this over time !  

And being aware not to copy another's work and breach copyright and also damage one's work ethic which is seen my many and noted ... one maybe "inspired" by another's style but it is an absolute insult to cover copying with the phrase "inspired by" or the myth of alter 10% and it is okay to call this "mine" It is not and desiging is like fingerprints.

Before i began any design I put all patterns etc away in a drawer to remain there until my design need was done.
I would critique how my pattern front covers would look in amongst our country decorating leaders in USA which was the market one was stepping into.
It was a crowded market full of gorgeous images.... hand crafting was at a boom and it was an exciting time !
The imagination I had as a child before I started school flourished in this .

HEALING 
From past injuries of bullying and how that etched my soul and confidence and then the body decided to have a frozen moment and I needed the resources to heal again.
The body had been injured in a car accident in late 1960's when no seat belts and bucket seats and I was a passenger.... flying was never my thing.

But one's body has to come back in many ways from accidents and it is amazing how the mind and body work beside each other to get to a better place.

So the frozen shoulder was over work but the top of body suffered whiplash from the car accident, that went in those days untreated...so it still leaves me with impairments today. 

The bullying too has left some scars on my soul and I find a few activities not for me. 
Groups and cliques and volunteering kind of scare me as often there is a toxic element over time in these and this mimics bullying and I cannot go back to that... and I might miss out on some things and be judged for this but the injury to my soul was great. Now I can chose and I do, whenever I can ! 
This is the way I can help by telling the journey of what began as The Woodcutter's Daughter 
(which I was, and it was not simple) and later Theodora Cleave after my favourite Nana...the soft gorgeous woman she represented to me in the short years we shared moments. Inspiring in a different way but listening to other's souls and seeing where to be of help perhaps .

GATHERINGS
I adore gatherings of the major craft events, that challenges me and the Gatherings we began in Canberra I loved and teaching in an unstructured way is pretty much fun !
The Gatherings was a new for me, but I soon discovered I lost my nervous thoughts of speaking to our first group of 85 women who many came alone from many parts of Australia. I thought later where did that ease come from ? James Nicholas as MC I would say !
I also loved to ensure we met people as they arrived and if alone found them a chair with friendly folk beaming. And later as everyone settled into working on simple patterns by hand working the room and meeting people in a truer sense...

THE BARN DANCES ON GUNBOWER ISLAND THE PINES FARM.....in early 1900's
Theodora and James Nicholas my grandparenst did hold Gatherings of music and skits in their farm barn on Gunbower Island during the depression in early 1900's.

Each fortnight the family cleared out the barn which eventually had a Jarra floor shipped from WA...better for dancing !
My father was a great waltzer...and in my imagination today I see him waltzing although when they had time to dance puzzles me. 
As they were the band.
Theodora played the piano ( self taught)
James Nicholas was the MC.
Neil played a piano and a button accordion as well as a fiddle I am told... and my Dad did the harmonica and drums I was told. I grew up with the harmonica but never saw a drum kit... we have the rhythm though but it is tucked away a lot nowadays....


So the peaceful life of making pretty things took me back to my pre school days at home as an only child and not a friend to play with.
My imagination was booming then and Dad would make up a story each night of his day's work in the bush....so I did the same in my play.
It was sunshine in life in those memories...life was also less complicated.  
Of course i was healing from a past job and the bullying.
That is how I decided to go to the Sydney Quilt Show in 1996....no one knew I was designing and producing patterns except people who went into Colleen's Cottage. 

I need to come back and read this but breakfast and day calls
  

Wednesday, 3 July 2024


 We are still in the market era and would have remained there.....
5 years of bliss and fun and friendship.
Each week day in the mornings I painted the wood pieces of many shapes from American designers.
Afternoons were onto the dining table to trace out on huge pieces of tea dyed calico cloth doll bodies and machine sew them and then cut away the pieces and turn them inside out and stuff with fibre fill....
After dinner watching Tv my partner would wire wood pieces to hand and add wire hair etc and I sewed arms and legs to cloth doll bodies and also their clothes were sewn and dolls were dressed....Hair chosen and added.
I am exhausted just writing this process....it is not obsessed but a passion to create.

FROZEN SHOULDER
OH MY MY that was so painful, I am on edge thinking of that peircing pain that alas took me to another decision I never wanted to make and that was the markets I could not keep doing ...this arm was pained for a month maybe more and a lot of physio.....
So reluctantly, I said farewell to so many lovely market people.....customers, stall holders the lot.
See AGAIN I WAS CONFRONTED WITH FORCED CHANGE !
Not small changes but life changing ones.
But frozen shoulder pain is not to be debated with and in that time there was not as much therapy etc as now. But don't go trying it !
I would lay on the floor waiting for the anti inflamatories to dampen the pain and think what direction to go in next.
I loved the creative craft world and it was expanding in bigger ways.
I thought of the cloth doll and Santa designs I had done but no time to pursue that avenue any further.
So I did a plan ...hope it is called !!
I started to draw with black fine pen and selected 4 designs to be printed to cards....
They were pretty good ...you see them loitering in photographs on instagram and pinterest today.
I sold them ..my first sale was to Corliss at Castlemaine
 I saw her ad in the magazine ...
Later I met Corliss and visited her shop a bit
So another venture had begun !

Sunday, 30 June 2024


How true is this saying.....from the last writing  I continue the story of my craft creative life !!
To reflect it is creative in the medium I used and the way the world closed one door and gently opened a very new door....
I strolled totally into the unknown and the only thing that drove me was to survive.
And CREATE ....

Here is where I say to people who are struggling in many ways creativity is a good therapy to heal the soul. 
It could be baking biscuits or weeding a garden bed to become the happiest garden in the town.... things do take us in amazing ways, thank goodness.
I offer no answers but tell you a story that gave me so much more and I learnt much about myself.

When the circumstances are right I took risks that in the past times would have been fraught with fear and no go.
We went to the Quilt show in Sydney and totally unknown and not knowing what to expect.
Will the display work ? Can I do this physically ?
Would anyone stop at my stall ?
YES they did and so did the magazine editors who at this time ran the show Handmade Magazine was a good magazine for craft and creative people.
2 of my cloth Santas designs were chosen to be in the magazine !
Imagine that is all I thought and waited until the magazine issued some months later to see my gorgeous first 2 Santa designs in a double page spread and looking so grand.
To look at one's work in a magazine for the first time is well....breath taking.
It was like a huge healing to my soul.
Still is a wonderful tonic in that memory.
They did they were 3 deep across the table  
 But I have missed an entire life section that saw me get to this stage.

Painting the pots..... continued and the markets used to break for winter as we lived in the cold climate of ACT.
I had a PURPOSE and a FOCUS and NECTAR FOR MY SOUL.
The more I painted the pots the more different terracotta pieces I was given to do...and my boredom sets in doing same thing over and over so in came wheelbarrows with flowers tumbling over the sides and other flower scenes.
It became so much I needed to share this and through the markets I had met another painter who did beautiful flower painting and so we shared the load for some time and I then exited and Sonia stayed with the pots.
Great outcome for all of us  

THe MARKETS 
Once a month in the following 5 years since I began after the resignation we priced a huge amount of stock and boxed into cartons and loaded the kingswood station wagon up and drove the short distance to set up the stall in every kind of weather.
As we'd set up many calls of greetings as people arrived.... Rowan from Boorowa with his tomato sauces, Maurie with the wooden toys he and a mate did, and the many others that travelled long distances to set up a stall as well as the amazing organisers which was a charity run market for Hartley House and being a very small part of that gave me pride and they were a dream team . 
The evolution of the markets was also happening at this time and grew to huge Christmas markets where cars coming blocked the Federal Hwy and the market took extra space on grounds.

We had this challenge once that changed the entry direction of the market shoppers and suddenly we were in the wrong spot....shoppers went the other way first and we were left alone.
I had been to the Canberra show and saw a magic display by a folk artist set up with hessan over boxes in layers.
So we tried this, building up the height of the display and also we were able to buy a gazebo at really cheap price and so a set up of the display with loads of safety pins began ...trying to attract people our way first.

Happy to say it was a success. 
We would watch the people start moving along the road where other stalls were close to the car park now, then we would see some look across and the attraction was changing their route !
We could observe shoppers too with the new levels and they felt unobserved and I would hear a friend remark to another
" If you want something get it now as she only does one or 2 of the same thing per market" 
Many would tell us they had spent all their money at our stall before they went anywhere else ...

THE PEOPLE I MET AT MARKETS
I soon met people and formed lovely friendships and realised the world had so many lovely sweet people ....

You could say craft and creativity moved me in a very different direction less of the salary ! but so much more in kindness, people who loved what I did is super rewarding ...friendships...laughter and the focus .
I not only kept developing my skills in the creations, I also learnt first hand about selling and marketing.
My hairdressing training suddenly showed up in the way we in hairdressing were in other people's personal space...so I watched how if one moved too fast people would bolt or back off ..we do don't we..? 
Iif we do the opposite and ignore they wander away ! It was a fine balance but the training as a hairdresser did come into use..
So much I am grateful for ....
See you later 

 

Saturday, 29 June 2024

 IT IS FAREWELL TO MY PRODUCING OF PAINTED BUTTONS AND DECORATIONS IN MDF WOOD



By the end of December 2024 I will no longer have any buttons or decorations for sale. I already have closed the door on the production of anymore... and using my blank and painted stock now .

To be honest it has not hit me yet, what will it mean, what will I do, what motivation will I be driven by..... and the satisfaction as I pack and send out an order .

It is around 20 years that buttons and decorations wandered into my design world.

I orginally started in brooches by laser cutting after the 1996 Sydney Quilt Show myself and my partner had taken a booth at. 

I saw so many ladies wearing brooches and laser machines were rare and the information of any was held close.....

I found a guy who cut fret work in Fyshwick ACT for buildings on a huge laser and I think I had a vast amount cut 1000 comes to mind because his cutting machinery was for much larger pieces.

I was excited. but daunted too.

This ventured further as years progressed with a shop I supplied cloth doll patterns and did painting classes with larger scroll sawed ladies to hang on the wall.

The owner of the store had just installed a laser machine to engrave glassware etc and he cut blank buttons from copyright free designs for their shop.

He could cut the designs for wall hangers and explained how the same design could be shrunk ....

Helena Brooch was born and a few others followed. 

Kits were also produced for painters in those days as folk art painting was a strong market.

I used to do them in little brown paper bags.

Helena Brooch was a great seller... 

and believe me I needed no encouragement.

>>>>>> 

LET US STEP BACK

I was not always a painter, bit of an illustrator as time progress , but pretty green on all sides of the craft industry.

I was working in The ATO and comfortable in my roles of 19 years....

I had a position I enjoyed and connected with 25 branches as their coordinator..

It was related to the processing function and had diverse elements to it as well as a branch processing knowledge helped a lot, as phone liasion was a good proportion of the work. 

I did not fly but it never hampered our conversations and solutions and once the computer systems for keying were linked like we use today were networked it slowed the refresh rate and I and my stomach have an immediate adverse reaction.

All this was new but my boss one position ahead of me was fabulous as EEO was also law and I had no issues with one of my staff keying my work. Otherwise i would have been ill...simple as.!

The boss became ill and was absent a lot, we were well set up and each area worked along and he suddenly transferred to QLD and was gone.

There was another equal classification to myself who had no responsiblities to staff in branches and was a different role.... 

The boss' job became vacant and i was pestered by the other equal if I was going to apply ...I was not I did not wish to rise any further and I loved my job. Status has never been a driving factor in any thing I do.

But the threat must have been there as suddenly I was being targeted and could not work out how this was being done except it was like a dripping tap, one could not escape.

I knew the laws as I had audited many I was now confronting issues and eager to have solutions . 

I tried all types of solutions and I would be out right sat on in meetings by this "Woman " 

I was not used to this and the wearing targeting did it's job.

( stupid way to remove career threats that were not there !!!)

As I would drive home every day the lake on one side and Black Mountain on the other and a part of my mind would think drive off the road and into the Lake Burley Griffin freezing lake and I'd be dead, or hit the Black Mountain .

I knew instinctively I was in a very dangerous space and the other thing I would do was dissolve into tears at our dinner table...most nights.

I had thought of resigning and in 1990's giving up +$40,000 and my financial independence, my independence full stop and paying off OUR mortgage.

Could I save my soul and survive ??????

There was really no question to survive I had to get away from this woman.

I hated every day of my work, I cried as soon as I drove out each day and cried at my desk facing the Brindabellas .

So we sort of mapped it out as my partner earned more and most of my superannuation would pay the 2/3rds owing on our house and a small amount on my car and to do some classes with the small amount remaining

I RESIGNED 

I asked to have counselling paid by the Federal Govt at the time as seems a lot of people were having issues ?

I used to have my counsellor in tears ... and my plight was certainly validated. Because you do question yourself over and over and from every angle

The Unions were active then and came to discuss with me the issue of going to court. I had seen another person on TV had gone through 6 years of hell to get a court decision and it looked like it had sucked her soul. I refused and was not so popular with them but I had thought it through.

My Ankylosing Spondylitis had flared for the time I was actively bullied and it was so so sore in my hip and I could barely put my weight on my leg . I had some treatment to settle the inflammation and we know today stress is a major factor in flares ups .

I had a wonderful partner who supported me, we paid out the house and were debt free and it was spring and our garden was well established and in spring happiness and I could hardly believe my luck... and Mishka the cat was with me each day.

I did go back after writing to the Commissioner and was asked to reconsider and I did ..I just extended my resignation with leave without pay until July a new tax era.

I had no intention of returning unless we needed the income.

I tell you all this as things started to happen on my craft side of the world.

The despair and being absolutely so lost within my soul was very hard to come back from...

Creativity is a great healer !

I did in total 3 beginners classes in folk art painting, a stencil class, some silk painting and maybe a cloth dollmaking day.

I bought a lot of books on painting and upskilled that way by practise !

Managed to buy our limited paints and brushes and used in those days flat pieces of wood to paint roses and cottages with gardens  Remember trays and plaques etc...I shudder now .

*****

I had intentions of having a stall at Hall Markets ..no idea what that entailed.

I think I did book for the November market on the phone as I so feared any rejection after the bullying was still raw....in face to face encounters

But somewhere I have been blessed with a resilience I do not comprehend ...but am so grateful for it.

People would not know from meeting me that I was struggling to come back and still today is the same I grew up with a lot of practice in this.

Around this time I used to buy from Posh Pots terracotta pots they imported at a great price. 

Robyn the owner confirmed with me one day if I painted as the lady painter of small pots was going overseas for 2 yrs...would I paint these pots for them .

I said I will bring some of my work for you to see, no she did not need that....so I collected a dozen small pots and went home with a sample and painted my style of roses etc and had a great time.

They were excellent sellers and life became so busy with pot painting !

On taking this on I did say I was booked to do the markets and did want to pursue this and was I still the painter.

Paint pots I did !

I will write more later 



Thursday, 21 September 2023



Homes 
I want to comment on the changes to plans for social housing in Victoria the state I live in...
Firstly I should go back to the political campagning one party the Greens made for the homeless state and exploitation of landlords in some cases where rental prices outstripped any income for renting etc etc....the media after about a year suddenly found story after story..but no solutions.
It was and still is a scarey time for so many...not just the young, us the older baby boomers are and have been terrorised by so much uncooperative government  support.'
The Greens made enough noise that finally shifted the assistance to provide much needed funding and incentive to get states moving. 
But it took 2 years !!! while the cruelety continued...some houses in Victoria were built for social houses and a mix of social and other...investments to rent ...
Now we have some movement along with some pulling in penalities for the air bnb industry .
It is quite interesting to watch how the media latched onto the air b nb penalty instead of homes for people living in appalling conditions and poverty.
The nation is exposed to how little they care for their fellow people....who have a bias thought towards all people in this predicament it is their fault their desicions led them here....
Just fascinating this weird old snobbery from the mother country comes out with neon lights...
The other fascinating thing is seeing how the media as it is fed hates change.... not too much forward thinking going on... unless it infalets prices and lines others pockets.
Greed not sharing or caring to move forward as one nation....
But homes are now starting to be bult some replacing old derelict social blocks of flats in inner suburbs which rattles the status quo.
So many vacuous thoughts forget each of us is a person ..a human being... 
They scream of needing dogs to travel with them instead on public transport and eating places and pubs... 
See things need to change and hygiene and consideration as a whole needs to start and stop  this spiteful nature  









 

Monday, 10 April 2023

HOMES I need to speak about


I try to gather my thoughts together in regards to the HOUSES that many cannot call their own anymore.
Be it firstly for rentals and secondly for home ownership.
So 
I draw homes
I write to political parties
I write to politicians
I write to ABC
and have done before the media started to take a strong interest ....but 
NOTHING HAPPENS
well that is wrong as in the state I live in some not for profit govt housing is built and continues to be built.
However the housing disgrace is growing bigger than housing.

It is weird as something in the instinct says 
THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE .

The picture has had a film over it from the beginning of the property surge during or near our first lockdown in 2020....
Like a marketing splurge 
It began in one capital city and wandered up the East Coast 
then into regional beachy areas of east coast
and into regional areas
now ?










 

Friday, 3 March 2023

Theodora

This is a mix of hand painted on rough water colour paper....that was where it began
It became tea towel too....
or a framed poster....or a stitchery.




 

Saturday, 11 February 2023

Button From Theodora Cleave

BUTTON....
INSPIRATION...
COLOURS...
FABRICS...
RIC RAC & RIBBON
Now what to make with the button as a wonderful accessory with gorgeous fabrics from French General & Tilda.
Ric Rac has always been a favourite of mine to trim with to set a story ...
Colours the buttons are painted and have their own colours and often need a plain colour between the fabric and the button....
  





 

Saturday, 4 February 2023

Christmas Decorations new packaging

The packaging for some of the buttons and Christmas decorations is now made it to the web.
I have released 2 boxes of Christmas decorations each my designs in 4cm scalloped edge circles.
These have many uses, not only for decorating Christmas trees, but swags and wreaths, bon bons, frame, hoops, add to sewing projects .......and of course special gift tags to tie on wrapped presents. 





 

Sunday, 29 January 2023

Stitching Illustrations


 For release on or about 7th Feb 2023 are 4 Stitchery Illustrations sets of gorgeous designs for applying to stitch, maybe a little applique, felt will lend itself in some of the designs...blend together felt, fabric and applique.

The designs are great to stitch each one as a separate and make a quilt....or pillows or cushions, bags etc framed or into hoop/s Small designs aas most of these are can be translated to use in small projects like pin cushions, needlekeeps, mini pillows , journal covers etc etc.....

I paint my illustrations using rough water colour paper and the paints I use for my buttons so not watercolour paints but acyrlics.

The stitchery Illustrations do not come with any stitching or colours or project instructions. 

In today's world so many many projects are available on line if one does not have any in cupboards in forms of patterns ....and as these have multiple uses one would be stitching into oblivion....I share my talents for a modest cost and you can create from there. Realising of course the copyright is owned always by me Barb Smith of Theodora Cleave.com  



Wednesday, 28 December 2022

New Ways


New labelling is edging it's way into my work....
I have bagged the trees into a 6 pk and I love the look...
I will be expanding the labelling and boxes too...
That is primarily how I will work.

 



 

Friday, 9 December 2022

Funny Times Christmas







 Christmas day is becoming closer.
It is always a weird time for me...
I work for many months on Christmas and feel the happy times each day for many months...if not all year !
Buttons & Decorations don't just come from another source ..like clip art modifications etc These are what I see in my mind's eye....
They wander about !
Colours too

Once my work winds down and the rush to get orders on their Merry way is the top priority....it gives SPACE.
What to do with this space that has lost the drive..... it is now dripping slowly to a halt.
Presents for friends and the need to post quick !!!
Then Christmas day looms way too early and I am over it now, so, I am just going to sit down and do nothing.



Friday, 2 December 2022

Christmas races faster now


As I work long before Santa has his sleigh packed and the reindeers brushed and bells on their collars...
My time now slows down from a frantic focus of red paint and Santa buttons and decorations ...to a what comes next.
The pace changes quickly & it often leaves me wandering around looking at the neglected jobs but doing none !

Although, this year, I am working slowly on the way I will work for next Santa season. 

It is involving stickers and boxes and a set of ...buttons ...decorations.

For me this is so exciting ... the stickers arrived yesterday and boxes to trial have been ordered in.

Then comes designs of what will go inside these boxes and what size fits....

The preparation time will flip and flop a bit..

but the focus is part of this...also once I begin to work towards Christmas again that time has really passed. 


And I wish for a Happy Healthy time for all and I also wish for permanent homes for everyone.
Do not leave people out on the streets .
Let's all work together now to resolve this...