Ramen Noodles

I LOVE Ramen noodles….YUM! I don’t think they are particularly healthy for you though. Still I’m sure they are a lot better than lots of other junk foods I can think of.

When I was in Japan – I was in ramen heaven. The best ramen memory I have is of a little place just outside of Tokyo called Tobitaku where I stayed for a while with my Brother & Sister in-law who were there teaching english. They had got to know this great japanese punk rocker dude called ‘Caz’ who when he wasn’t playing punk rock in his band he was working in this teeny tiny ramen bar – where you placed an order by putting your money in a vending machine out the front, choosing the picture of the ramen you liked the best – waiting for your little ticket to print out and then taking it inside and giving it to him to cook up for you on the spot.

Mmmmm – I am having cravings just thinking about it – I particularly liked the one that had all different types of fresh seaweed in it – all kinds of amazing seaweed that you never see here. The photos above are actually ones I took in Osaka, which was another amazing Japanese food city – I wish I had one of the vending machine though - it was very cool.

Rei Hamon

Aunty Maia

My Grandmother on my father’s side (fondly known as Nanny Kuia – meaning ‘old woman’ in Maori) was the youngest of 19 children. My father was born on a kitchen table in a small village called ‘Tiki Tiki’ on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. As a family we belong to the Ngati Porou tribe the second largest tribe in New Zealand and thanks to this heritage – I have one very very big family!

Uncle Rei – or Rei Hamon was married to my Nanny Kuia’s sister - Aunty Maia. Nanny Kuia and Aunty Maia are the only two children still alive out of the 19 that were born to my Great Grandparents.

As a young girl – I absolutely LOVED visiting my Uncle Rei and Aunty Maia – they were always so welcoming and full of snuggles and cuddles. I was also fascinated by my Uncle Rei’s Gallery and all of his amazing drawings inspired by the New Zealand bush.

Rei Hamon (Uncle Rei)

The story goes that Uncle Rei discovered his talent for drawing while recovering from a crippling farm accident which left him almost paralyzed. In 1965, with a family to feed and bills to pay, he and Aunty Maia prayed for a solution. Upon rising from his knees he picked up a ballpoint pen and pad that had been left behind by his youngest daughter and began to draw - something he hadn't done since his early days in primary school. It was an inspired beginning. Over his lifetime (Born 17 Dec  1919 - Passed 16 Aug 2008 Aged 89 years) Uncle Rei had huge success with his distinctive style of dot art (Pointillism).

With much practice he developed the unique and unorthodox style called Pointillism, a drawing made up of millions of tiny dots. Feeling a little embarrassed with his first works, Uncle Rei cautiously hid them from view but Aunty Maia, found them and showed them to a local photographer who took them to the Director of a leading Art Gallery in Auckland.

Uncle Rei’s first exhibition at New Vision gallery in 1967 stunned the art world. His self-taught pointillist style of high detail and emotion propelled him into a house-hold name. He used his unique art to stop the destructive Forestry Kauri milling of the early 70’s by creating awareness around the beauty of our natural environment and without Uncle Rei and his brother’s protests and lobbying in this area, places such as the Coromandel in New Zealand would be void of Kauri and Pohutukawa trees for future generations to enjoy.

In 1981 Uncle Rei was titled as a ‘Commander of the British Empire’ and remains a New Zealand national treasure.

I am lucky enough to have a number of his limited edition lithographs hanging on my walls. Everyday – I am surrounded by the beauty of his talent and I remember what a loving man he was.

Joy

Purity

Tenacity

My 5 minutes...

On Saturday 28 August - I was lucky enough to be featured in the Melbourne Herald Sun Home Magazine. It was back in March of this year that I was first approached to be featured, it was May before I was interviewed and the photographer came to my home studio to do the shoot....and so by the time it was published in late August - it seemed as if it had all come together by magic!

The phone ran hot - as did my emails and I had quite a number of custom order enquiries, lots of sales on my website (which I now desperately need to re-stock!) and many an apple pincushion has made it's way off to sewers around the country - I love to think of all the lovely ladies out there, sewing away happily with their apple pincushions by their side.

Many thanks to everyone who sent lovely messages to say they had seen it in the paper and to friends who blogged about it - I must admit it was a lovely 5 minutes - if I do say so myself!

Mumma & Baby Bushka LOVE

On Saturday – I had my big annual clear out the studio sale at the Maribyrnong Makers Market. And what a busy day it was! Thanks to all those lovely customers that helped me lighten the load and make some more room to craft more treasures!

The sale was a great success and made even better by the fact that lots of Mumma & Baby Bushkas were adopted out to live in new homes. I was so happy to know that they will be well and truly LOVED. Here are some great photos of new adoptive Mothers with their girls – these will be added to my Gallery page where I get to remember each Mumma & Baby Bushka and their new adoptive parent.

Which brings me to this request – over the last few years a lot of Mumma & Baby Bushkas have been adopted out and I do not have a photo of them with their new owner. If you happen to own your own Mumma Bushka or you know someone who does – I would LOVE it if you could email me a photo of you or them showing off their very own Bushka. I will then add any photos I get to my Gallery page on my website and it will be a lovely way to   document them and YOU! Email to: info@morganwills.com.au

Thanks everyone for all your wonderful feedback and support. Morgan xx