The 'Child Within.' The 'Creative Muse.' The 'Nature Lover.'
~Ally.
The Frenchs Forest Organic Farmers' Market began as a small organic food market more than 20 years ago and gradually other stands for clothing and gifts have been introduced. Today, you can buy virtually everything you need from this market: Fruit and vegetables, bread and eggs, milk and honey, kombucha and kefir, mushrooms and sprouts, olives and cheeses, hemp seeds, clothing and linen, seedlings and plants, roses and herbs, crystals and jewelry. ~Ally. Source.This coming Sunday will be the very last market day of our local Organic Farmers' Market at Frenches Forest, a northern suburb of Sydney. Every week or sometimes every second week, for the past 15 years, we have not only shopped for ALL our fruit and vegetables and other health-giving produce at this market but have made so many new friends there.
But as one door closes ~ Another door opens.
Although this Sunday will mark the end of what has been an incredibly happy era, another Organic Farmers' Market will open the following Sunday at Mona Vale.
Mona Vale is a little further for us to travel to, so we'll have to plan our shopping days accordingly and perhaps not visit the market quite as often. However, the positive side of the market's new location is that the beach close-by is one of THE best in Sydney with beautiful clean white sand and fabulous surf alongside picturesque reefs and a rockpool swimming pool. So I'll be looking forward to taking you on a few #WednesdayWalks, along the shores of Mona Vale beach very soon.
In my article: The Red Pot in Sylvia's Garden I mentioned making my own Christmas Tree and decorating it with four little birds made from green hessian, with tails of sparkling organza and different types of feathers, made by J'Qui, a Canberra based artisan.
As well as being an Eco Artist and Gypsy Gatherer, J'Qui is a Transpersonal Art Therapist and Holistic Counsellor, a Creative Care Facilitator and a SHE Creative Circle Creator. Source.
J'Qui takes solace in and is inspired by nature. She gathers about her natural elements that she collects from nature and then makes such a diverse range of products: From collaged butterflies to birdcages, dream catchers to mushroom pods, nests to notepads, smudges to trees. ~Ally. Source.Qui Trees Collective is J'Qui's marketplace for grassroots connection to the community. And it all began more than ten years ago, in the Red Centre Desert of Australia.
I'd never met J'Qui or seen her work before and as you can imagine, I immediately resonated with her incredibly creative use of natural materials in her artwork. And as I was taking in all the amazing products she had made, I was hoping 'with all my being' that she would allow me to photograph her stall. ~Ally. Source.With permission granted, these are some of the photographs taken at J'Qui's marketplace at the Frenches Forest Market, where I tried to capture the enchantment of her artwork for #MarketFriday initiated by the @dswigle.
Magical mushrooms.
These quirky magical mushrooms are made from paper mache. The larger ones, at the back on the left were beautifully formed and immediately attracted my attention, but then even more appealing were the tiny mushrooms in their round paper 'caves' within their tear shaped glass houses.
J'Qui's Stall.
It was hard to take in all the different products on display in J'Qui's Stall at a glance. So many uses of fabrics, twines and feathers, lichen-covered branches and seeds, crystals and Spanish Moss.
I could see an old birdcage and tree wheels, hearts and butterflies, hessian flags and mushrooms.
Eco Trees.
Green crystal bracelets and hanging ornaments dangled from a tree made from a branch twinned with string. All fascinating ~ But it was the little hessian birds that really captured my heart.
Another nest.
Just under this Eco Tree were a group of baskets: One a nest for some other green sparkling birds.
Hessian Flags.
Radiating out in four directions were lines of triangular hessian flags with strips of hand-sewn fabrics and cords inbetween each flag.
Hessian Flags and Strips in closeup.
I loved the hand-stitched strips of fabric and the harmonious mixture of tones and textures of cords with fabrics.
Green Spirit Healing Baskets.
I was really curious about all the different things that were contained within these Green Spirit Healing Baskets. And so I bought one for a friend as a Christmas gift.
Flatlay: Green Spirit Healing Basket.
After giving the basket to my friend, I asked to borrow it so that I could arrange and photograph all the different items: A green parrot feather, a metallic green ceramic leaf, a green gemstone, a packet of green incense, a crystal bracelet of green-toned crystals, and a small drawstring calico bag.
Feathers and ceramic containers.
I didn't ask at the time and so I'm not sure now what sort of bird the feathers were from or where they came from: They could be owl feathers and/or emu feathers. I presume if J'Qui didn't collect them herself that they would have been ethically sourced.
I'm also not sure if they were for sale or part of the display. Which was one of the things that I absolutely loved about the Qui Trees Collective: The blending of display and saleable items.
Creative Packaging and Gift tags.
Hand scripted cards were attached to items by string and beads, and mini-wooden pegs. And items like these Nature Nook Collections were beautifully wrapped in an open-weave hessian tied with stitched calico ribbons.
Hessian mystery bags.
Hand printed mandalas on circular wooden boards. Now I’m curious about what was in those hessian bags labelled Tree Lover Collection.
Smudge and Ceramics.
Wishing now that I’d bought an Earthing Collection to see what the individual items in these natural coloured containers were.
Ceramic birds in black and then one in green as a candle holder.
Beautifully bound smudge sticks in a carved boat-shaped bowl. There was no end to the wonderful creativity of J’Qui.
Smudge in a Bowl.
The natural textures of dried Sage and Thyme branches/vines bound by string to make smudge. Again I wished I’d been able to buy a bundle for the clearing, cleansing and protection of our home.
Finishing with my favourite little Mushrooms.
Within teardrop-shaped glass houses, mounted on what looked like slices of squiggley gum tree branches, were paper mache 'caves' that housed tiny mushrooms/toadstools entwinned with Spanish Moss. Such delightful and magical pieces.
Notes from Nature.
I would personally love to attend one of J'Qui's circles down in Canberra sometime. It's on the ever-expanding Wishlist.
If you would like to find out more about her creative artwork, workshops and gatherings, as well as her 'wise words and moon musings' you can sign up for her 'notes from nature blown in on the breeze direct to your inbox: HERE
A creative who is learning to trust the mystery of what will be.
A spirit that is willing to fly into new creative realms and share the journey. ~Ally.
SONY Mark2 A7.
Woooow
It is almost as if I walked straight into a good witch's home with all of her good spells and wonderful trinkets around her <3 Such a beautiful creative spirit, and one that seems to understand the balance of our relationship with nature, the give and take respect that is due to the world around us * ___ *
Your photographs captured the attention to details and J'Qui's commitment to eco/green philosophies, Ally! So wonderful !!!
Though it is sad that the market has concluded at this spot, I think I can sense your excitement and positivity flowing through to the next location near the beach :)
Wonderful post, Ally <3
I'm so very happy to have finally been able to share the work of J'Qui Spider and it makes me so happy that you connect with her energy too.
I gathered from the conversation I had with her, that her total trust in her own unique creativity came as a result of living with nature somewhere in the Red Desert ~ Walking away from a dysfunctional relationship as a single parent with three children ~ And overcoming extreme hardship. She expressed this in her writing:
It would be wonderful to have the opportunity to work with her sometime. At the same time, I know that all we need to focus on is coming in touch with our own creativity and courage.
Yes. Some were sad yesterday at the market and yet many see it as part of the evolution of the market too. Even though it will take a lot longer to get there, I'm really looking forward to it. Being at one of the most beautiful Northern Beaches areas, it's sure to attract new stallholders and customers. Love that it will open out new opportunities. Have a fabulous week Spider. I was going to start drawing today ~ But it's taken all day to play catch-up once again. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
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I'll have to give you the FULL recipe then George. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Really lovely, love your works too!
Thanks so much @Joel. Seeing J'Qui's work was truly inspirational for the 'artisan' in me. However, it's time for me to work with the 'artist' in me now. Same principles of practice though. Being still and in touch with nature is always a great starting point. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
I can relate to that, being with the mother nature helps a lot in my creativity as well.
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This is an amazing shop. So many things and hard to tell what they are. Each piece has an enchanting feel too it. I especially love the tear drop shaped glass houses.
I'm pleased you felt the enchantment @watersnake. The tear drop shaped glass houses were amazing. So quirky and unique. You could imagine little fairies and elves feeling very much at home there. A treasure to gift a child or a 'grownup child at heart.' ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Hey there now that is what I call Nicknacks and Brica a brac.
And all handmade with love Julian. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
I could spend all day shopping in this little spot @allyinspirit. You took some great shots of the available cute gifts. 👍
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It as one of those days where the sun was really beaming down. Sometimes the light is so intense that you have to be in the shade to see what is right in front of you. I could have spent ALL day there trying to take in everything she had made @wonderwop. Pleased you like the photographs. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
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I'm delighted that this article is in the @steemitworldmap Travel Digest #609. Thanks so much for letting me know about it @lizanomadsoul ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
I am in Loveee 😍😍☺😍😍👍👍🙏 J'Qui has amazing energy and awesomeness creations. Thank you for sharing them SiStar 🙏
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I just KNEW that you would love these creations by J'Qui April. It was her one and only time at our market as she usually shares her work around Canberra ~ Nearly 300 kms from Sydney. I hope to catch up with her again sometime though as I SO resonated with the way she works and all she is doing. Writing about her work now has reminded me that I need to get back to my Magical Wands again too. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
it must be great looking through the market I certainly did and, I just looked through the pictures!
It has been a fantastic market for us @nurseanne84 ~ Reasonably close and all the produce is so fresh. We get all our organic produce for about the same price as conventional (that is sprayed and fertilized chemically) produce elsewhere. So we rarely have to go to fruit and vegie shops or supermarkets. So pleased that you enjoyed seeing the market through my photographs of it. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
I think the new place will be no worse than the old one!)👌
The new place will probably be much better @amalinavia. The venue for the old market was the carpark of a hotel. It was certainly spacious enough but the asphalt was falling apart ~ OK in summer but large puddles for unsuspecting customers in the winter.
In the early days it was 'dog friendly' but it became so popular ie crowded that dogs became almost a hazard. But the new place will be dog friendly again. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Such creative and variety array and usage of nature. I think if I were there, I could look at those display for hours. =) such a great and detailed post from you too.
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wowowow! what an amazing market :) i loved the mushrooms, so adorable.
Looking forward to the Wednesday Walk showing the beach xx
Thanks so VERY much @resteemsupport. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎