Hottie Challenge 2013

Confetti Hottie by Morgan Wills

I got wind of the first ever Hottie Challenge last year after the event....I remember thinking how fabulous all the different hot water bottle covers looked lined up on exhibition and I made a note to self that I must make one this year!

So...here we are....it's been deadline week and of course I have been totally distracted with the myriad of other things that vie for my attention on a daily basis and only just managed to get my piece finished and express posted to Camille of Curlypops fame who has coordinated a group entry via her blog.

The aim of the challenge was to make a hottie cover, which will be exhibited in the gallery space at Open Drawer ArtTextiles and Learning Centre from Friday 5 July, with a grand opening on Sunday 7 July from 2 - 4pm.

The finished hotties will all be donated to the Margaret Pratt Foundation, so that they may be sold to raise funds and I know from Camilles group alone there will be 96 covers plus all the other entries submitted directly to Open Drawer. A pretty amazing sight to behold I can imagine - once they are all on show. 

The great thing too about the challenge was that there were no restrictions on how you created your cover you could use any art or textile technique that takes your fancy.

You may remember last year I made a confetti inspired scarf for the 2012 Scarf Festival in Geelong - this was my inspiration for my hottie cover - simply because when I am cold I definitely celebrate being warm! The whole cover was made from reclaimed and upcycled woollen felted jumpers and vintage buttons - and the grey base was actually reclaimed from an old lumberjack jumper my father-in-law gave me. You know what they say....waste not want not! Stay wonderfully warm and woolly! x

Confetti Scarf by Morgan Wills

Scarf Festival 2013

Amongst the leafy green - Scarf entry for 2013 Scarf Festival by Morgan Wills

Now in its fifth year in Geelong at the National Wool Museum (formerly held at Craft Victoria, Melbourne) – the Scarf Festival once again celebrates all manner of scarves, with hundreds of entries in this year’s competition.

Each year there is a new theme to interpret and this year the theme was ‘Home’.

What does home mean to you? How would you say it in a scarf?

Whatever it means to you, however you define it, shape it and live it, this was an opportunity to create a scarf that explains, explores and explodes the myths and realities of what it means to belong.

The theme traveled around with me in my head for quite a long time before I settled on how to best manifest my thoughts. In the end I decided to talk about our ‘tree change’ a couple of years ago from inner city Melbourne to the regional city of Ballarat. The change has been fully embraced not only by me but my whole family.

Recently an old school friend visited for a lovely Sunday lunch and she remarked as I showed her around my new home and shop – ‘You know you’re living the dream – don’t you?’ This comment really struck a chord with me. Life is good – made all the better by our sense of belonging within our new community and our new home.

Here is my artistic statement that accompanied my scarf entry:

Amongst the leafy green

From the heart of inner city,

to amongst the leafy green.

A spark from the metropolis,

a new life can be seen.

A settling of roots,

in home’s fertile ground.

A tree change sought,

a forest of love’s been found.

The Scarf Festival is on exhibition at the National Wool Museum, Geelong. Open daily from 7 June to 25 August 2013. More than 300 scarves will be on display submitted by individual craft-makers from around Australia and overseas. Most of the scarves will be available for purchase, although all will remain on display until the end of the exhibition. 

There’s also an exciting program of craft demonstrations running throughout the Festival, daily from 10am to 4pm. Well worth a visit!