For artist Raquel Caballero, the story of Scraps—the doll made of fabric patches. Frank Baum’s The Patchwork Girl of Oz—was more than just a childhood tale.
It was a mirror. As a child who felt "awkward" and "different," @raquelcab found a powerful message in a character who "celebrates that she is made of patches."
Recently held at the @artgalleryofnsw , Raquel’s exhibition, "The Patchwork Portal," turned this literary classic into a tactile reality.
It’s a beautiful reminder that our "otherness" is exactly what makes us a masterpiece. 🧵🎨
Read the full story in our latest issue – linked in bio!
Our HEISTS display has trans'ed and now it's ALL ABOUT LIZ 💅🏻💎🍸. As you recall from our previous display, Liz Taylor's trailer was burgled and now the suspect's left a message on the star's vanity (written in red lipstick no less 💄)
Extra points for guessing the film reference!
Come in and check out this re-vamped Curated Collection and borrow some books or films from Ms Taylor aka Mrs Hilton-Wilding-Todd-Fisher-Burton-Burton-Warner-Fortensky's incredible oeuvre.
Scroll through to see our Display Diva aka Outreach & Engagement Librarian Raquel @raquelcab Top 3 Liz Films to get you started 🤓 and keep your eyes peeled for our Liz Taylor special screening which we'll announce very soon, as part of our AFTRS Library Presents series.
#liztaylor #elizabethtaylor
Artist Raquel Caballero's beautiful embroidered portrait of Princess Ozma - one of six Oz favorites depicted in textiles! You can learn all about her Sydney-area exhibition, "The Patchwork Portal," in the next BAUM BUGLE!
Photo by Neil Cuadra.
#baumbugle #ozclub #raquelcabellero #sydneyartist #wizardofoz #princessozma
✨️💚 PATCHWORK GIRL round-up! 1 giant girl, 3 blank canvas dresses decorated by thousands of busy hands! People of all ages visited The Patchwork Portal @artgalleryofnsw during it's 5 month run and decorated individual patches. With each patch, Scraps (The Patchwork Girl) came alive in glorious colour.
Myself and my makers (Amelia Skelton @milsskelton Megan Hanson @ipooooql and Leah Giblin @daykeeperscloth ) saved every scrap from our work and I also received bags and bags of wonderful vintage fabric donations. It was so important for me that only the most beautiful, shiny, magnetic materials were used in the activities. I didn't want any mass-manufactured store-bought SHIT in my show! These fabrics were one of a kind, like my girl Scraps! ❤️🔥
It was 100% a communal effort in decorating my dolly — the centrepiece of my room! At 3.5 meters tall it was no mean feat for me, applying the patches week in and week out but it was a piece of cake picking the patches. There were SOOOO MANY GOOD ONES! I looked forward to my dress-decorating sessions just to see what people had made. They never ceased to amaze and surprise me! My happiest memories are of watching visitors chatting amongst themselves, sharing pom poms and sequins or focusing on their patch in quiet contemplation. I know for sure I've passed on the art-making bug to so many.
I will do a seperate post on the epic making of the doll but just for now I'd like to thank my friend and studio mate Megan Hanson for making the big doll dresses and her patchwork pantaloons. She is a genius craftswoman!
I'd also like to thank all the generous folk who donated such gorgeous, lush fabrics, my dream curator Monique Watkins @monique_leslie for assisting me in decorating the dresses (not afraid to get her hands dirty!) Victoria Collings for co-ordinating and so efficiently running the non-stop patch-making activities, the awesome AGNSW hosts who really got into the spirit and enjoyed themselves in my room! And finally everyone who came, enjoyed the show and made a patch or three. Just WOW.
#patchworkgirl #patchwork #patches
Hello Library Lovers, we're back with a bang! We have re-opened our doors with a brand spanking new Library catalogue and the first Curated Collection of the year! Inspired by the Louvre Museum's recent daring daylight robbery, the theme is HEISTS.
💎✨️ Catch the cat burglar in the act of stealing a diamond as big as The Ritz from Liz "Queen of Jewels" Taylor's dressing room (a recreation of her on-set trailer during the making of Cleopatra... which should itself be in a museum)! Smell the toxic scent of her very own White Diamonds perfume! Marvel at her collection of precious baubles... her framed pooch portraits... and the quantity of cigarettes she smoked!
This display, designed and created as always by our Engagement & Outreach Librarian, Raquel @raquelcab , is a tribute to her favourite film star "La Liz" as well as the thrilling HEISTS film genre.
We've also brought together an array of books and films on theme, and all available to borrow. So come on in and browse the display and stay tuned for the first screening in our on-theme AFTRS Presents film program! We're back to our regular opening hours: Mon - Fri / 10am - 6pm.
It's the final weekend to see my show The Patchwork Portal @artgalleryofnsw !!!
Pictured here: 👑💚 The Scarecrow's crown, a papier-mâché sculpture I made as part of the Royal Treasures of OZ collection. I based this crown off of the one from Return to OZ (1985) and added extra pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds because it's always MORE MORE MORE with me 😁✨️✨️✨️
THE PATCHWORK PORTAL is on view at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw until 8th Feb 2026. Curated by my dream Curator, Monique Watkins. @monique__leslie
📸 Image 1: Photography by Felicity Jenkins. Courtesy Art Gallery of NSW
📸 Image 2-6: Photography by Jessica Maurer. @jessica_maurer_photography
#oz #patchworkgirlofoz #patchworkportal #papiermache #crown
Six of six bricolage portraits I created for my show, The Patchwork Portal at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw is The Tin Man aka the winner of the people's choice award.
❤️🔥 You may recall The Tin Man as being among Dorothy’s band of friends on a mission to see The Wizard of OZ. A real Romeo, he asked The Wizard for a heart, which he thought he lacked. The Tin Man was once a Woodsman until the Wicked Witch of the East enchanted his axe, causing him to accidentally cut off parts of his body, which he’d replaced with tin... until one day he was entirely made of tin! He lives next door to Jack Pumpkinhead and The Scarecrow in a shining castle made of Tin, surrounded by a garden of silver flowers.
THE PATCHWORK PORTAL is on view at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw until 8th Feb 2026. Curated by my dream Curator, Monique Watkins. @monique__leslie
📸 Image 1: Photography by Felicity Jenkins. Courtesy Art Gallery of NSW
📸 Image 2-6: Photography by Jessica Maurer. @jessica_maurer_photography
#oz #patchworkgirlofoz #patchworkportal #tinman #bricolage
Five of six bricolage portraits I created for my show, The Patchwork Portal at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw is The Shaggy Man.
For many years, The Shaggy Man lived the life of a wanderer and, dressed in rags, he travelled the lands of America on foot. His philosophy of life centers on love and an aversion to material possessions. However, he did carry with him one thing of value: the Love Magnet – a magical item which brought him the love of everyone he met. When the Shaggy Man finally settled in the Land of Oz, Princess Ozma took the Love Magnet and placed it over the gates of the Emerald City so that whoever enters or leaves the gates will feel love.
❤️✨️〰️🧲 You can also see my Love Magnet on display, stand underneath and get zaaaaaaped!
THE PATCHWORK PORTAL is on view at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw until 8th Feb 2026. Curated by my dream Curator, Monique Watkins. @monique__leslie
📸 Image 1: Photography by Felicity Jenkins. Courtesy Art Gallery of NSW
📸 Image 2-6: Photography by Jessica Maurer. @jessica_maurer_photography
#oz #patchworkgirlofoz #patchworkportal #shaggyman #bricolage
Four of six bricolage portraits I created for my show, The Patchwork Portal at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw is The Scarecrow.
✨️🧠🌾 We all know The Scarecrow as Dorothy Gale’s first friend and loyal comrade in OZ. Famously he joined her expedition to meet the Wizard to ask for a set of brains, which he thought he lacked. The Scarecrow is a gentle character, kind and considerate, and always honest. At first sight, he becomes enamoured with the beauty of Scraps and realises they have many similarities – neither of them being “meat people”. He too lives in the yellow Winkie country, in a giant corn-cob mansion designed for him by Jack Pumpkinhead. See my Map of OZ quilt and try to find it on the map!
This was a fun one to make because it's ric-rac heavy (my favourite kind of trim)! And I went crazy with my pinking shears cutting zig zag pieces of fabric to give him a neat, but ragged look. If you look closely, you'll notice his funny green medal/scroll that's pinned to his lapel, denoting his status as a V.I.P. of OZ.
THE PATCHWORK PORTAL is on view at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw until 8th Feb 2026. Curated by my dream Curator, Monique Watkins. @monique__leslie
Image 1: Photography by Felicity Jenkins. Courtesy Art Gallery of NSW
Image 2-6: Photography by Jessica Maurer. @jessica_maurer_photography
#oz #patchworkgirlofoz #patchworkportal #scarecrow #bricolage
Three of six bricolage portraits I created for my show, The Patchwork Portal at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw is Jack Pumpkinhead.
🎃✨️ Jack was created by a little orphan boy named Tip as a prank to scare his guardian, the mean old wannabe-Witch known as Mombi. Instead, Mombi seized the opportunity to test out the new Powder of Life she’d just bought from a local magician. She sprinkled the powder over him while saying aloud the words “Weaugh! Teaugh! Peaugh!” and Jack instantly came to life. Soon he and Tip (who later is transformed into Princess Ozma) escape the evil Mombi. Jack now lives in a cozy pumpkin house in the yellow Winkie country and spends his time tending his patch of healthy pumpkins to replace his old heads.
See my Map of OZ quilt and try and locate Jack's House on the map.
✨️💚
THE PATCHWORK PORTAL is on view at the Art Gallery of NSW @artgalleryofnsw until 8th Feb 2026. Curated by my dream Curator, Monique Watkins. @monique__leslie
📸 Image 1: Photography by Felicity Jenkins. Courtesy Art Gallery of NSW 📸 Image 2-6: Photography by Jessica Maurer. @jessica_maurer_photography
#oz #patchworkgirlofoz #patchworkportal #jackpumpkinead #bricolage
