Community crafting in full bloom
With the end of year in sight, the MoB team set about cultivating community spirit by embracing the joy of craft. We planted a seed online, calling for fabric sunflowers, which soon blossomed into a crafting field day.
Online messages, handwritten notes and invitations to join local community groups began pouring into MoB. We watched on eagerly as our community knitted, sewed, crocheted, weaved and tufted throughout the month of October and into November.
As envelopes began to pile up, we were humbled to discover our goal to receive 40 sunflowers before 9 November appeared delightfully humble. Our quaint community garden had grown into a generous botanical display.
The final count? 282 sunflowers crafted over the course of 29 days!
See the full display at The Storytellers: Next Chapter from 9 December 2021 – 23 January 2022.
Curator’s Note
A sunflower is a joyful bloom. With that in mind, they offered the perfect stimuli for our Full Bloom Sunflower Wall. Inspired by the themes presented in The Storytellers exhibition around migrant gardens and the home, we sort to include our wider arts community. We’ve watched on as people came together to get crafty and to share skills, while others used the opportunity to challenge themselves, trying out new techniques and materials.
We have received close to three hundred contributions and every single one of them is unique. It’s wonderful to see the many ways people have interpreted the brief. We have sunflowers with faces, sequins, beads, some delicately embroidered with French knots, others felted from wool, one delicately crafted with hand spun yarn and coloured with food dye. Some of our contributors incorporated recycled items from their home and one even features a hairnet! We’ve received packages from all over the state and across the country.
MoB is a living, breathing space for people to experience and share their stories and creative lives. The upcoming summer program, The Storytellers: Next Chapter, celebrates and encourages people to participate and share their creativity with others. We can’t wait to see what else blossoms in coming months.
Watch the video about it on TikTok!
Full Bloom Sunflower Wall Facts
How many sunflowers were made?
282 sunflowers were crafted.
Who contributed?
Jessica – Out of Mind Crochet
Noela Shepherd
Sadie Praeger
Selina
Sherry Quinn
Soulful Skillsharers – Katie, Joss, Juju, Bel and Kristy
Sue Ferguson
Sue MacKenzie
The Emma Files
The Kuddle Club
The Nest Everton Park
Lee
Yana Ford
Yeronga Community Centre Craft Group
QLD Spinners
Millie Radovic
Dale-Myree Dal Santo
And many more who anonymously contributed.
Where did the sunflowers come from?
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Algester
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Annerley
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Balgowlah
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Belmont
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Boronia Heights
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Burpengary
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Byron Bay
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Camden South
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Chuwar
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Coomera
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Dalyston
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Everton Park
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Hackett
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Hobart
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Indooroopilly
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Ingham
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Kalinga
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Kuluin
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Lanena
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Little Mountain
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Lutwyche
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Mansfield
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Murrumba Downs
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New Beith
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Newmarket
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Noosaville
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Rockhampton
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Stones Corner
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Sunshine Coast
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Taigum
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Toowong
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Toowoomba
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Wakerley
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Windistarne
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Yeronga
What mediums did people use?
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Crochet
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Raffia weaving
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Knitting
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Cross-stitch
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Punch needle
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Paint
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Beading
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and more…