Valmai's Hand-Painted Wind Dancer

Hand-painted in the Bellinger Valley, NSW A painted lady on a cord. The wind does the dancing. Valmai Kerslake, 75, painted dinnerware by hand for forty-one years. Since 2012 she has painted only these: little bell-skirted dancers with loose legs that swing, cross and kick whenever the air moves. Her eyesight has ended the work. These are her last 160. Final batch · no restock “One sitting in a box is a dancer who never gets to dance.” 160Left in total 5Dancers 0Batteries 90Day guarantee Painted in an old dairy shed The first one was a doll for her granddaughter Tahnee in the summer of 2012. Valmai ran out of glue, hung the legs loose under the skirt and hooked her on a verandah nail to dry. Two days later a storm came down off the Dorrigo escarpment, and the little lady started turning on her cord, legs kicking like she was learning to waltz. Every dancer since has been shaped from clay, fired and painted freehand in the old dairy shed behind Valmai’s farmhouse, with her initials on the inside of the hem and a handwritten card in the box. “I painted plates for forty-one years and never once saw one move. I made a doll for a six-year-old, and the wind taught her to dance.”Valmai Kerslake · Bellingen, NSW Choose your dancer The PainterValmai herself at nineteen, in her first week in the pottery paint room, palette in hand. The Harvest DancerHer sister Noreen, who has carried her best Queensland Blue pumpkin into the Bellingen Show for fifty years. The BluebirdFor the superb fairy-wrens that have nested in the grevillea by the shed door every spring since 2009. Tahnee always called them bluebirds. The ReaderTahnee, who got the very first dancer and spent every school holidays after that reading on the verandah. The BouquetThe roadside wildflowers Valmai carried down the aisle in 1972. She paints this one slowest. What arrives at your door 1 hand-painted dancerAbout 26.8 cm tall, in the design you choose Hanging cordKnotted around her raised hand, ready to hook up Valmai’s cardA note written by hand for every order Careful packingWrapped so she arrives ready to hang or to give How she dances A light breeze: she sways back and forth, like somebody humming to herself. A steady wind: she turns in slow circles, skirt swinging out, legs drifting behind her. A real storm: she spins and kicks like a girl at a woolshed dance. No motor, no spring, no switch. Six things that make her different No. 01Loose legs, on purpose The legs hang free under the skirt. That is what makes her dance instead of just hanging there. No. 02Painted freehand No decals, no stencils. Every vine and petal is painted line by line, so no two dancers are exactly alike. No. 03One hanging point The cord is knotted at her raised hand, so she turns freely and moves with even a kitchen-window draught. No. 04No face, the old way Like the peg dolls Valmai’s mum made her, the face is left blank, so she can be whoever you love. No. 05Signed in the hem Turn her over: Valmai’s initials, V.K., are painted inside the skirt on every single one. No. 06A last batch 160 dancers across all five designs. When the shed shelf is empty, there won’t be any more. A shop-bought figure vs. Valmai’s Shop-bought Valmai’s dancer In the wind Hangs still Sways, turns and kicks The pattern Printed sticker that fades Painted by hand The hook Thin plastic loop on the head Cord knotted at the raised hand The face The same cartoon smile Left blank, the old way Who made it Nobody you’ll ever meet Signed V.K. inside the hem From someone who knows the craft “The Bellinger Valley has always had makers, and I’ve seen a lot of hand-painted work come through the markets. What you notice with Valmai is the line. Forty years of painting dinnerware gives you a steadiness you can’t teach. A piece like this, painted freehand and signed, would sit on a gallery shelf in Byron at three or four times her price. That she’s letting the last of them go this way is her choice, and it’s a generous one.” — Rhonda Pettit, 27 years running a craft gallery in Bellingen, NSW Perfect for VerandahsPergolas & decksGarden shepherd’s hooksTree branchesBalconiesKitchen windowsA gift for Mum or NanGardeners & bird loversAnyone who loves a windy day The Kerslake guarantee 90DAYS Every order ships within 1–2 days and comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. Hang her up, give her a few windy afternoons, and if she isn’t what you hoped for, send one email and you get your money back. Good to know Does she make any sound? No. She is a dancer, not a chime. She moves silently, so she’s just as welcome outside a bedroom window as on the verandah. How much wind does she need? Very little. A light breeze sets her swaying, and a steady wind turns her in circles. Hang her where air can reach her from more than one side. Can she stay outside all year? Yes. Under the verandah roof her colours stay bright the longest. If a cyclone or a wild hailstorm is on the way, bring her in for the night, like a hanging basket. Will mine look exactly like the photos? Very close. Because every dancer is painted by hand, small details in the pattern and colour vary a little from piece to piece. That is how you know it is hers. Product details Designs The Painter · The Harvest Dancer · The Bluebird · The Reader · The Bouquet Size Approx. 26.8 cm tall × 10.5 cm wide × 8.6 cm deep (10.6 × 4.1 × 3.4 in) Material Hand-shaped clay, fired, painted by hand with a matte finish; initials V.K. inside the hem Hanging Cord knotted at the raised hand; loose legs that move in the wind Use Outdoors and indoors · no batteries, no sound Made by Valmai Kerslake, Bellingen, NSW Availability Final batch: 160 dancers in total, no restock Shipping Ships within 1–2 days Guarantee 90-day money-back guarantee