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“IT’S only needlework,” Jan Babbage said, as people marvelled at her handiwork.
Her piece created a stir among the stewards and fellow entrants at one of the home craft pavilions of the Bendigo Agricultural Show on Tuesday.
One glance was enough to appreciate the time and skill Jan had lavished on the artwork.
“It’s stump work,” one of the stewards explained, as she marvelled at the intricate detail on the kookaburra.
Stump work is a form of embroidery, also known as raised work because of the three-dimensional effect it produces.
“A lot of people do flowers and things like that,” Jan said.
Initially, she tried to emulate the works others had produced using the technique.
But it’s been a long while since she followed someone else’s pattern.
“I like doing Australian stuff,” Jan said.
The piece she entered in the Bendigo Agricultural Show this year is the last of a series of four pieces.
The works were inspired by Australian flora and fauna.
Next year’s entry will be different, Jan told the stewards.
“I first learnt doing stump work from books,” the Bendigo woman said.
It was unclear what sparked her fascination with the form of embroidery, which dates back to the 17th century.
But there was no doubt that she enjoyed the creative process.
“It takes a while,” Jan said.
Exactly how long, she couldn’t say.
There were times when she said the process could be repetitive and tedious.
But her creativity has earned her recognition at the Royal Melbourne Show and the Bendigo Agricultural Show.
Life after the shows seems somewhat less glamorous for the artworks.
“They just sit around in the house at the moment,” Jan said.
She believed it likely her children would inherit them.
Sharron Stemmer, of the Bendigo Agricultural Show Society, said entries were plentiful in the home craft sections of the show.
The total number of entries was estimated at 4500.
“It is a lot,” Sharron said.
“A lot of crafts are making a comeback and so is home cooking.”
Categories include needlework, knitting, cooking, decorated cakes, jams and preserves, floral art, knitting, C.W.A. art, and photography.
Photography entries in this year’s show exceed 1100, and are being exhibited in their own pavilion.
Lego entries also have their own exhibition space, with help from the Bendigo Area Lego Designers.
The show runs from 9am – 9pm on Friday and Saturday at the Bendigo Showgrounds.
For more information, visit bendigoshow.org.au/
Community’s creativity on show
THE home craft pavilions of the Bendigo Agricultural Show were hives of activity on Tuesday, as entries rolled in.
Judges would soon start critiquing the items, which were entered in a number of classes.
Cooking, decorated cakes, jams and preserves, needlework, knitting, crafts and hobbies, C.W.A, art, photography and floral art were among the categories.
Classes unique to the junior and school sections included textiles, decorated butterflies and sheep, and scarecrows.
Chief junior photography and art steward, Rhonda McKnight, was optimistic about the future of photography in the region.
“We’ve got a lot of up-and-coming photographers,” she said.
Ms McKnight believed the next generation of photographers would give the ones before a run for their money.
“Some of their work is just amazing,” she said.
“They really do take a lot of time in how they plan their pictures.”
Environmental, landscape and animal subjects were most popular among the photography entrants.
Mrs McKnight’s only suggestion for improvement was for the enthusiastic young photographers to ensure they had read the scheduling carefully, so their work was suitable for consideration by the judges.
Key issues included sizing.