City Factory Sculpture Exhibition

Ruth who had encouraged and allowed me to set up the Jaffa Port repair cafe, told me about City Factory run by artist Itamar. He wanted to showcase over 4000 sculptures made from discarded toys. He wanted anyone over the age of 15 to drop in at his site next to the Barby music venue and make these sculptures with tennis balls, googly eyes and more with a glue gun. I went thrice. His opening would be when our repair cafe was closing up – midday on boxing day.

I went just to do a recce and made one sculpture.

And then I returned with my friend Caroline FC from Ra’anana and I made a further 10. Had the very best time. All of mine had green pipe-cleaners so I could recognise them later on!

So after the third Repair Cafe, a group of us headed over. On the way I came across some purple witches!

but here we are finally – at the City Factory opening

4 of mine!

The Barbie Dog Walkers

Germaine gave me a square large frame and I painted it with a lilac/purple spray paint. Then I decided to use the snowflake as stencils for the black sky, wispy leaves to represent branches for the large middle grey section and for interest as a resist in the white section at the bottom I used the woven covers for liquor bottles given at airports. I used a moon I found on a Xmas tree, a card made from 6 black houses with doors that opened to reveal the purple paint inside the houses. I had also dried hibiscus flowers and placed them at the base.

I stuck down the 18 dogs I had bought from “Ilona Drew” in Brighton. I made them collars from 2 x 9 threads (waxed macrame linen from Pushkar, India). And then I made a collar with the same colour thread and added a hamsa for each dog.

Pink shoe Barbie and blue sandal Barbie are dog walkers. They rendezvous at dawn in their monochrome village.

Barbies on Gold

I found 4 A4 canvases in the UK. Michael C brought out three and one was a painting Betsy had from Georgia which came on my shipment. I had 4 spray paints but the fullest was the gold. Simple. Spray them all gold. Oh and a pringles pot. And Lucy gave me a frame for the Christmas one!

Butterfly Barbies (not to be confused with Buggerfly Barbie!)

I had already used the one-legged winged Barbie (Margery picked this up at the end of the flea market for free) in a project in Paphos when I stayed with Simon and had another one with similar colours (blue and yellow) with butterflies on her dress from Ayala in my bike bag Barbie makeover.

Together they were incorporated onto a frame with lots of yellow butterflies. They are both disabled. One only has one leg and the other has no feet (well they are hiding behind the canvas) and no wings.

Barbies love butterflies irrespective of disability

Safari Barbie

On another canvas I had used leopard print Barbie – she had starred in her own photography project in Mallety, Limoges, France this summer (August 2025) when I stayed with my wonderful friends Fran and Phil and their menagerie of 3 dogs, 3 cats and 1 tortoise. And I thought that now Itamar has left (he was a toddler living upstairs from me with his parents Eden and Roy with his baby sister Ellie) who loved all my magnetic animals, that I could just choose the ones who could be found on safari.

Camouflage Barbie is at the ready whilst on safari. Changed as not fully understood by others….and now is

Camouflage Barbie can protect herself whilst on safari

Birdie Barbie

I had a Barbie surplus to requirement and I knitted her clothes and she starred in Kefalonia with Carlos. I was joining my wonderful niece Sarah, her wife Lizzy and their toddler Rafi. Now I have additionally knitted her some wings and hung her on a gold frame with magnetic birds, a rubber cloud and several rubber snowflakes. All stuff I bought to impress Itamar who now has moved to another to another apartment. Hey ho!

Birdie Barbie loves to soar with her feathered friends

Scarecrow Barbie

I needed some sackcloth to make an outfit for Barbie to be a scarecrow. Piotr at one of the local coffee shops obliged. She is standing in a broom rubber with hair that is glued open. This Barbie came from a trip earlier this year to Hydra, Greece. She is pretty perfunctory and can only move her head by swivelling it. But not any of her limbs.

Scarecrow Barbie delights in being of the farmyard family

Christmas Barbie

Benji gave me a wonderful book. 75 knits for Barbie doll by Nicky Epstein published in 2001. I made the snowflake jumper and hat from the pattern book and made up a skirt pattern and threaded through red velvet ribbon at the bottom. I made her shoes out of a cut up red hair bobble. I had brought the pez Santa and pez reindeer ages ago. I painted a red nose on him to make a Rudolf. I bought the christmas tree and all the other bits from Tiger. The star baubles were from a deceased fairy light set. Lucy gave me the box frame and being a klutz I smashed the glass. But it means I could put in some fairy lights and turn them on and off in the future.

Barbie exchanges Xmas gifts with Santa and Rudolph

Jack-in-the-pringle-box-Barbie

There isn’t really much to explain here!

Next up are the dog walking Barbies

Dreamcatchers in Paphos

I went to Paphos in Cyprus with Simon who owns a property which he rents out. I swam every day and had wonderful meals out. We went to a monastery, some totally beautiful villages and walked along the coast. I only made 11 dreamcatchers!

The Barbie photobooks

It started out as a fun photographic project. Now I have made over a dozen. Starting May 2024. So far 16!

7 cloned barbies waltz around Jaffa
Barbie goes to Thessaloniki in a furry coat
Purple Mermaid Barbie goes to Limnisa
Pez Barbie (aka Princes Peach) goes to Sandbanks
Drinks Barbies interact with Medical Equipment
Busty, bindi Barbie hops around the outskirts of Jaipur
Goddess Barbie
Slavic Barbies travel to Podgorica
Barbie embraces the three monotheistic religions.
Voodoo Barbies
Barbie floats around Hydra
Mermaid Barbie and Merman Ken take to the water in Northumberland
Leopard Barbie hits the big time in Mallety, Limoges, France
Barbie and Carlos have a whale of a time in Kefalonia
1 legged winged Barbie visits Paphos
Esmerelda Barbie trots around Emek Hefer

Making stuff for my granddaughter Luna

The Luna door sign

The small green blanket

The matching hat (pattern from BG)

The vests in Hebrew and English

Different Moon Fonts

A tufting rug

Clothes for hip dysplasia

Luna was breech and had left hip dysplasia (with dislocation of the left hip) and put in a Pavlik Harness for 13 weeks. This limited the range of clothes available. I was able to make 3 sets of dungarees and took them to a special place off Nahalat Binyamin to insert the poppers.

The red gingham dungarees

The blue gingham dungarees

Indonesian purple and gold cotton

Pink, orange and red garments

I decided to adapt some free patterns with this wool. And then I dyed all manner of items for Luna

Everyday cardigan and ribbed hat