Having come up with the idea of sending out Kites to illustrators and artists and asking them to decorate them however they liked, I made a list of illustrators and artists, I wanted to ask and wrote to them to tell them my idea.

With the exception of two on my list who had been on the verge of travelling, everyone I asked agreed. That’s the beauty of a really good project. It makes people want to take part.

The next step was to get the kites.

I  went online and began to hunt.I quickly discovered that the best kites cost hundreds and the ones that I could afford were flimsy and absolutely not something I could send to illustrious illustrators and artists.

The only solution was to make them myself.

To say I am not handy would be an understatement, but what I am is dogged. I also can’t bear the idea of not bringing an idea to fruition whether it be a book or an idea for a fundraising event. Truly I think putting an event like this together is like setting up an installation. What you wanted to be is a beautiful creative ephemeral happening that inspires makers and those who will see it alike.

I began doggedly to hunt online for a pattern.

I had talked a lot about my idea to people and when I was visiting some dear artist friends Al and Sarz Phemister, who were lending me a car for a month long stay in Canberra, Al announced to that he had made me a kite.

He took me to a local exhibition of art made from recycled materials he was curating and participating in, and showed me the red kite he had created out of recycled materials.

I was completely enchanted and when he said it was for me, I asked if he would mind if I put it in the auction.

I was all the more enchanted when he explained how he had constructed it because I could see at once that I had my blueprint.

One thing about people in the arts is that they are generous in helping one another in offering tools and equipment when they have any despair and sometimes when they don’t.

Al said he would help me make the prototype. I was very relieved because I’m a practical learner. I need to be hands-on to take in what needs to be understood. I went back into Canberra and bought the amount of canvas he suggested I start with from Eckersley’s. I had been working all day with Paul Summerfield on our graphic novel so it was not much of a stretch for us to go cost possible artists’ canvas,

I bought the lengths of canvas back to Yass, only to find Al had made me an actual pattern.

He had also found in his Mary Poppins shed enough yellowtail Plastic sticks to use as crosses to back the kites, and the wire to bind them together and make hooks to hang them.

We had a working bee all afternoon, Sarz, Al and I, starting out with drawing Al’s pattern onto the canvas.

Al had bought me a set of pinking shears and Sarz and I took terms drawing and cutting with Directions from Al and a little help from Beppo the dog.

until we had 18 kites cut out and cloth strips to cover the yellow tail sticks on the back for about 10 kites.

Meanwhile, Al was mixing up the watered down glue we were going to use to stiffen the fabric, and preparing the yellowtail sticks.

While it set we had lunch then Al showed me how to make hooks on the back and hook at the bottom for the kite tail. I could not have done it without them.

I set off for Brisbane with a suitcase of materials and Al’s red kite certain I could make the rest of the kites and send them all off.

In no time I was working on the kites.

Once they had dried, it was a matter of attaching the wires and posting them off. That as not the end of the story of course – one kite flew away never to be seen again, and one ended up stashed between two rubbish bins. And there were the questionnaires to write so I could come up with an article about each artist to accompany their kites …