Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Introducing Betty B...

My latest piece delivered to Rosebed St Gallery for the 'Small Works / Small Town' Exhibit - the 'takeaway' group art exhibition, showcasing some of my small assemblage whimsical artworks.



Betty B


No guessing of her title, can you see the resemblance?

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Journal of Australian Ceramics - featured article

Words cannot convey the joy I am feeling this month, or even for this whole year matter of fact!

Earlier this year I contacted Stephanie Outridge-Field to see if she would write about my studio practice. Stephanie's career in ceramics spans over thirty years, her work is just devine and not only is Stephanie a lovely person, she is a mentor and an inspiration! I feel very honoured and previliged to be featured in the latest edition The Journal of Australian Ceramics (50/3 Nov, 2011, which can be purchased on-line by the way...) and to have had an article written by Stephanie.


"Flourish"

The stunning photography by Tony Webdale, Flourish is captured on page 81 and filling a whole page.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Featured article

I am so excited to be featured in this month's edition (No.104 Issue 4) of the TEXTILE FIBRE FORUM Magazine for my Expressions of Love works.


It is so wonderful to have been selected and I would like to thank to Janet De Boar O.A.M Editor, 'Textile Fibre Forum' magazine & CEO, The Australian Forum for Textile Arts, Ltd., for including me in the magazine.

And I would like to send a HUGE BIG thank you to Fiona Dempster. Earlier this year Fiona kindly offered to write about my story behind the works. She captured it so beautifully, I am very grateful to have wonderful friends like Fiona around me...

p.s the magazine is now available in the newsagents if you are wanting a copy!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

landfillart.org - an artist reclamation project

A couple of months ago blogging buddy Jo Murray sent me a link to Landfillart.org  - taken from the Landfillart's website:

"Landfillart is an international effort encompassing one-thousand-forty-one (1,041) artists to claim a piece of rusted metal garbage and create fine art."

The 1,041 pieces of rusted metal are actually old automobile hub caps from the 1930’s through the 1970’s. Each hub cap, after being cleaned and primed, is affectionately called a “metal canvas.” Although most “metal canvases” have been transformed by the artist using oil or acrylic paint, some have been weaved on, glued or screwed or welded to, or made into fine sculpture.

Although the project is in its infancy (I hope to have it completed by 2012,) it evolved from a simple idea of taking forty-one old rusted hub caps and creating forty-one pieces of great art. The second phase has already started with the acquisition of one thousand additional (1000) rusted hub caps which will be turned into cleaned and primed “metal canvases. The project will continue with finding one thousand (1000) talented artists who believe in this project.

The third phase will involve publishing a book on the project showcasing all one thousand forty one (1,041) completed “metal canvases.”

The fourth and final phase will involve choosing 200 metal canvases that adequately represent the project and create a traveling show. The book and traveling show will publically portray the global art community's effort to positively impact the environment through repurposing previous metal waste into great landfillart. - Ken Marquis, founder.

No hesitations for me, already on a mission to reclaim and recycle landfill.  I didn't even consider how difficult it might be to source a hubcap, I just knew I wanted to participate!! A text to friend Jen (works in the car part industry) who replies, "a 1930-70's hubcap, that may be challenging, but I'll ask around." Well, it just so happens that Jen did source me a hubcap, a 1970's Holden hubcap to be precise, and by the end of the day, howz that for chance! Once again my ever welcoming laws of 'Chance' plays a role in my process...

And, the numbers 1041 resonate with me too - ever since living in a haunted house numbered 1041 some 20yrs back! Have you ever encountered a familar number bobbing up all the time?? Well mine is 1041 - on shopping receipts (being the time of sale), everytime I look at a digital clock - 1041 am or pm, it's uncanny how many times these numbers bob up! This was just another one of those 'times'.

So here's my yummy hubcap... front and back.



The idea is to create a 'metal canvas', it was so tempting to keep the rust but oddly enough for some reason even I was compelled to polish. Glen, said to me as he walked by, "What are you doing!" in that tone (knowing I'm usually pouring acid on to make things rust). I just looked up at him and said, "I dunno! I know this is strange for me, but for some reason I just feel I need to (polish it)."


I think the act of polishing transported me back to the carefree days of my childhood - As a kid I spent hours polishing the chrome on my Dragstar pushbike, I rode my deadlytreadly everyway and I took great pride in that shine. ..sigh!


String Art - I've had a hankering to play with copperwire and string art.


Drilled holes and glued horseshoe nails with industrial strenght two part apoxy - making an outer circle, then string art building up several layers....
 

The second circular ring of horseshoe nails in the centre, numbered to guide me with the copperwiring sequence.

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Apart from the final polish the finshed piece pictured above, and below all safely wrapped and boxed. My finsihed hubcap is in the post on it's way to Pennsylvania!!! :-D

Monday, November 7, 2011

stock piles...

I've been hankering to get back into my making I've not had much time of late to produce works, it's all been about openings and things - so to keep me inspired and still intouch with my studio, I've just been tinkering about on my assemblage materials to be a little more organised.



When out I'm and about sourcing new materials my day is always jam packed with other stuff to do, when I get home I just plonk the bits and leave them to sort out later, sometimes, later never comes. The piles end up building into a right ole' mess, and I end up with stuff everywhere! This weekend was all about sorting things out. I operate best when things are more organised....then I noticed how kool they looked as I started sorting into similars, and had to photograph them!






























And now my excess stock pile has a new system of storage - this is Glen's very first trailer for our Landscaping business Enviro Scapes we started over 10yrs ago, it's aged (rusted) so nicely and we didn't want to dump it just yet. The axel broke one evening at the end of his work day reversing into our driveway, thankfully it happened at home and not on the highway! It has fit so perfectly over my original storage pad and now I can see everything better for use.



Friday, November 4, 2011

Celebration!

I would love to share with you... for those that couldn't make the evening, a few photographs from last night's Artist by Artist opening. It was such a wonderful night to let our hair down, relax, and mingle. To bring together a night of celebration is like icing on the cake - all our hard work over the past few months in making the films and to share with our family, friends and community makes it much more special.




A random group shot - Artist by Artists' from left; Lin Martin, Cindy Wider, Natalija Brunovs (our Producer), Greg Windsor and me (Kim Schoenberger).




The crowd gathered quickly...



A few familiar faces in the crowd.




More people...


And after the screening each artist was called onto the stage for a supprise certificate presentation with a Q & A from the audience.




From left; Cindy Wider, Carol 'Karuna' Tohow, Evangeline Cachinero, Greg Windsor, Pin Martin, Me and Natalija Brunovs (former ABC Open Sunshine Coast producer), Tim McGee (Regional Service Development Coordinator - QAC), and Soula Middleton (ABC Open Gold Coast producer). Unfortunately a four artists had other commitments and couldn't be present (absentee artists; Janna Pameijer, Christine Elcoate, Pat Flynn and Peter Carnavas).


And to finish on a personal note:




I would like to say a BIG thank you - to my delight, I was presented with a bunch of bright happy flowers for my help in organising the event - but I gotta say, everyone's help made the evening a huge success...