
Hand woven. Hand spun. Hand stitched.
Creating contemporary textiles with ancient tools and techniques.
Creating contemporary textiles with ancient tools and techniques.
Purchase a range of Bonsai Woman items including hand spun yarns, Mayan Spinners and woven wearables.
Find out about spinning, weaving and stitching workshops
Vicki Cornish is a Newcastle based fibre artist with a particular interest in historical tools and techniques. Vicki hand spun her first fleece over 30 years ago. Working now in the areas of spinning, weaving and stitching, her craft practice focuses on using natural fibres and low impact methods of processing and dyeing.
A selection of Vicki's work including hand spun yarn, solar dyed embroidery thread and woven wearables, can be purchased via her Etsy store. Also available are Mayan Spinners made locally using recycled timbers.
Vicki is available to facilitate workshops in spinning, stitching and nalebinding. She is an enthusiastic and encouraging teacher who loves to show students how they can use simple, ancient tools, to create beautiful, contemporary textiles.
Vicki has tertiary qualifications in both Visual Arts and Applied Fashion Design and Technology.
As a 5ft tall woman, Vicki's interest in textiles has been fueled by the need to make clothes for herself that actually fit! That need has led Vicki to become a passionate believer in slow fashion and a return to slow crafts.
Bonsai Woman products are made exclusively from natural fibres, many being processed by hand from raw fleece purchased directly from Australian farmers.
Learn to Spin with a Mayan Spinner
This is a fun introduction to spinning for anyone who has considered making their own yarn. Mayan Spinners are robust, portable and easy to use tools. Learn all the basic spinning skills, then explore a range of fibres to create your own unique yarn. Spinners will be available to purchase.
Sashiko - Kugurisashi
Learn to stitch two patterns with kugurisashi (one stitch sashiko with additional woven threads) using a long sashiko needle and Japanese thimble. Stitching technique and pattern transferring will be covered, then participants will explore a colourful range of plant dyed threads and fabrics to give their work a contemporary edge.
Fibre to Art
This workshop gives you the opportunity to create a woven wall hanging using your own hand spun yarn made from raw natural fibres. You will learn how to create wonderful, textured yarn from raw sheep and alpaca fleece using a Mayan Spinner, then learn the basics of tapestry weaving by incorporating your hand spun yarn into a small woven wall hanging.
When: Saturday 27th March
Where: Hudson Street Hum, Hamilton
Time: 10 - 1pm
Cost: $90 (plus booking fee)
When: Saturday 24th April
Where: Hive and Gobbler, Dungog
Time: 10 - 2:30pm
Cost: $120.00 (Includes Lunch)
Cushion Club provides an opportunity over four weeks to learn sashiko stitching skills, create three beautiful cushion covers, and establish a regular craft practice for wellbeing.
When: Every Tuesday night for four weeks starting 27th April
Where: Hudson Street Hum, Hamilton
Time: 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Cost: $185.00 (plus booking fee) All materials supplied
In this two hour introductory workshop you will learn to stitch a classic myozashi pattern with a maple leaf motif onto a gorgeous 100% linen tea towel. You will have the option to stitch with some very special sashiko thread that Vicki has dyed with kakishibu (Japanese persimmon tannin).
When: Saturday 22nd May
Where: Hive and Gobbler, Dungog
Time: Two sessions 10am and 1pm
Cost: $70 All materials supplied
TinyStudio Creative Life Issue 10 - Article entitled "Permission to Make" and accompanying photographs.
This article encourages fibre artists to follow their creative impulses and not worry about whether or not their work has a "useful" purpose. It also encourages people to consider and value the many reasons there are for making.
Talk presented about the large scale hand spun and hand woven installation "Stay". Stay is on display at Maitland Regional Art Gallery from May 11th to July 13th 2020.
Interviewed by Mark Parry, an Instructional Designer at the Australian Film Television and Radio School. His podcast aims to provide "unexpected and profound insights from smart people you'd like to meet". This interview was recorded on April 13, 2020
Interview with Jo Bevan in the Newcastle Herald, May 25, 2019