hightlights

I am feeling all sentimental after downloading the last exhibition images (yesterday's bump out) and thought it might be nice to share a few highlights with you. The whole process of working toward my exhibition has been great fun, certainly one of my highlights was working and sharing with the community. It also provided me with an opportunity to get out from the isolation of my studio and form new friendships along the way - together we created a buzz leaving behind a trail of tea dust from collecting well over 10,000 tea bags!

It was a challenge narrowing it down to a dozen photographs because all the moments were special, nonetheless, here are some of my highlights from Expressions of Love II...

Embraced by the community...my first tea bag call out, February 2013, via social media, unprepared for the response I was inundated with tea bags coming in from all directions, I quickly established four collection points across the Hinterland.

 

Tea Bag Tea Parties ...  Rosebed St Gallery, Maya (& former partner Annie) kindly shared my tea bag call-out in their e-newsletters and before long Tea Bag Tea Partes were on the agenda (a big thank you to Rosebed for their generousity in providing the venue).

Team effort... all eager to lend a hand while having a cuppa adding to the collection!

 

D-day, installation day.... with all the hype working around the clock, installation day came around so quick - it was a day filled with many emotions, with a little time for reflection.  The title and name going up made it feel all very real.

 

Anticipation and excitement with placement... one of the biggest works (containing 3600 tea bags in total) layed out to calculate wall placement. 

 

...freshly painted walls, nails going in, work going up... I only ever viewed latched with Love layed on the floor, this was the most defining moment, finally veiwing on the wall and in place.  Internal dialogue..."Yay. Relief. Yes!!! Looks great! Validation - all the hard work, it was worth it, yay!!!"

 

Day one, doors open to the public... what better way than to share the day with a special friend who needs some TLC ♥

 

On another day... a special bus trip organised for a special group of tea bag collectors - Kureelpa Spinners & Weavers, and a dear friend, Petrus.

 

Opening night celebrations.... with special friends

 

mammoth crowd of people filled the gallery rooms...

 

Fun with Janet De Boer...

  

 

'Meet the Artist' Morning Tea... an awesome opportunity to meet gallery visitors and talk about my work.

 

Family Day, Artist Demo Day.... time for interaction and conversation.

 

My most loyal... sharing the whole experience, from the birth of the idea all the way along to bump-in.& bump-out with my best friend ever, Glen.

Artist Demo Day

Today was Family Day at Noosa Regional Gallery, a regular monthly event for the gallery (Gallery Public Program), Family day is where volunteer staff host interactive art activities; clay, paint etc., for the kids, while one of the current exhibiting artist contributes, usually in the form of a demonstration or similar for the visiting public.

A wet drizzly day weather wise today, however, it didn't stop folk from coming to the gallery. I was fortunate to have the gallery Foyer to spread out (pictured below), while the outside undercover area graced several long tressel tables full of happy little creatives and a sausage sizzle.

Just alongside me in the gallery were more tressel tables and more little creatives, this time being creative with tea stained watercolour paper, tea bag paper and tea leaves. Unfortunately, I was too busy to take photographs... the results were most intriguing!

My Foyer display.

 

Below, an Interactive display area I provided for the gallery and the duration of Expressions of Love II, latch hooking in progress for folk to have a try.

 

Additional interactive work, displayed just for today for further exploration. Foreground; Twinnings - Raspberry, Strawberry & Loganberry flavoured, yield pink coloured tea bags; knitting with spun tea bag yarn; prototypes, sewn patchwork panels, the making of Deconstructed Quilt; and crocheting with spun tea bags and a few sample crochet flowerettes.

 

After a quick run down on how to prepare the recycled tea bag yarn for spinning - everyone was most intrigued when the spinning begun.

 

Then it was time for others to have a try.

 

Thanks to all whom came today, 'twas a most enjoyable day!

exhibition opens + opening night

Now that my works, Expressions of Love II are hung and the opening last Friday evening, it's time to reflect and savour the moment I think - after a full-on year of intense making, gathering and processing over 10,000 tea bags, three weeks will fly by like a blink of an eyelid!

Opening night was a blast - the gallery was so crowded people were literally spilling out the doorways - the result of three exhibition openings in the one evening. On show and in Gallery One The Friends of the Gallery, Taste of Art Exhibition, in Gallery Two is the gorgeous Emma Freeman with her retrospective On the Edge and myself, Expressions of Love II in Gallery Three. Having the three openings in the one evening is a great idea, and you also get to met new people too.

To share some photos with you...

With great honour opening my exhibition, guest speaker Janet De Boer O.A.M Editor, ‘Textile Fibre Forum’ Magazine + CEO, The Australian Forum for Textile Arts, Ltd, pictured with me below.

Janet with the microphone, delighting the crowd with her fun sense of humour, and Nina Shadforth Gallery Curator, to the right, looking on.

 

Just to show you how many folk were present, and each room in the gallery was just as crowded!

 

 

Myself and the adorable Emma Freeman.  Emma is such an inspiring woman, I hope to be as vibrant and full of life, as Emma is, when I reach her tender age of 91.

 

Joolie Gibbs, Gympie Regional Gallery Coordinator and Guest Judge, presenting the awards for the Friends of the Gallery, Taste of Art Exhibiton.

 

 ...and a few happy snaps of Expressions of Love II (images courtesy, Lindsay Ham).

 

When you visit the gallery, remember to smell the pink coloured squares in my Latched with Love piece, like the lady seen in the pic below - to experience the sweet aroma of the Twinnings: Raspberry, Strawberry and Loganberry flavoured tea bags!

More on my website > here, if your wanting to see more J

Sending gratitude to all who contributed and saved tea bags for me to create this new body of work, thank you ♥

Gallery Public Program for 'Expressions of Love II'

Hoping you all enjoyed your Christmas, New Year break. I certainly did and I'm feeling all refreshed after a few days off, although, I must admit I have entertained the idea of an extended holiday J but Expressions of Love II is fast approaching and I have still lots more to attend to, so it's back to work!

First thing on the agenda is preparing for the galleries Public Program, most would be aware each regional gallery hosts activites alongside each exhibition and to compliment mine there will be a Teabag Latch Hook Workshop, Meet the Artist Tea Party and an Artist Demonstration Day on Family Day - for all the finer details and dates please see 'END NOTES' listed below.

 

For the Latch Hook Workshop (Sat 25 January, 10.30am-1.30pm) bookings open as from this Monday 6th January, 2014.  Each participant will be shown how to process and work with 100 tea bags to create a small heart shaped latch hook piece, all you need bring is a Latch Hook and yourself!  All other materials will be provided. Spaces are limited to 12 participants so you will need to book-in and secure your place - please direct all enquiries and calls to Noosa Regional Gallery on 53296145, many thanks J

Meet the Artist Tea Party (Friday 31 January, 10.30-11.30am) I hope you will join me and share in some arty conversation over a cuppa and cake - rsvp by 28 Jan. I've got the hand action going on in this image, lol - photo courtesy of Lindsay Ham.

 

Family Day - Artist Demonstration Day (Sunday 9th February, 2014 from 11am to 2pm). With my trusty vintage spinning wheel at hand, my artist demonstration will consist of spinning tea bags into yarn and you'll locate me in the Gallery Foyer.  I'll also create a tangible corner for folk who may wish to have a hands on experience with the tea bags and tea bag yarn... you might even like to have a go at spinning some tea bags!

 

 

END NOTES:
Noosa Regional Gallery Public Program:

Teabag Latch Hook Workshop
Date: Saturday 25 January, 10.30am-1.30pm BYO latch hook, all other materials provided. Tea and coffee provided. $35 per person (Max. 12 participants). Bookings and prepayment essential. For more information and bookings phone 5329 6145.

Meet the Artist Tea Party
Date: Friday 31 January, 10.30-11.30am An informal gathering over tea and cake with artist Kim Schoenberger. Tea party refreshments. Gold coin donation. RSVP by 28 January 2014. For more information and bookings phone 5329 6145.

Family Day: Hands on Artist Demonstration
Date: Sunday 9th February, 2014 from 11am to 2pm
Meet talented artist Kim Schoenberger as she sews and spins magic into tea bags, transforming the mundane and disposable into extraordinary and repurposed.  A tactile and sensory experience for all ages and interests.  Free event. Demonstration times: 11.00am to 12.15pm & 12.45 to 2.00pm

Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year...

Seasons Greetings everyone!

 

 

"May Angels always guide you and bring you smiles to share, may they brighten your day and surround you with those who care."   ~ Unknown

hot off the press!

With only two days to spare before the xmas/new year business closures my catalogues are all printed and ready Expressions of Love II opening night.  Don't panic the opening is not until 24th January 2014, it's just the silly season and holiday period.... businesses re-open in mid-January 2014 and the thought of printing the catalogues with only a week or two before opening night was way too tight, I opted for the stress free approach and printed them this side of the holidays.  And besides, it's another thing ticked off on the list!

Here's a little teaser of the front cover, slick and simple this time round and like my Insight: journeys in steel and clay catalogue is the same format A5 and six pages.  This is my second attempt at designing my own catalogue and learning these new skills with the design program 'Serif Page Plus' has been an invaluable and surprisingly enjoyable experience.

 

I am more than happy to snail mail a catalogue to anyone, anywhere. Just leave your mailing details in the comment box below or email me at info@kimschoenberger.com and I'll post you one upon exhibition opening. 

 

To recap on the exhibition details:

Exhibition dates: Wed 22nd January to Sun 16 February, 2014
Official Opening on Friday 24 January, 2014 at 6pm. Guest Speaker, Janet De Boer O.A.M Editor, ‘Textile Fibre Forum’ Magazine + CEO, The Australian Forum for Textile Arts, Ltd

 

End note: I would like to acknowledge and thank my IT expert Deb, and the team at Nprint & copy for their assistance whilst creating the catalogue - I really appreciate you help!

 

"Minutiae" opens @ Rosebed St Gallery

Rosebed St Gallery's saw it's official exhibition opening last Friday night for Minutiae.  A massive crowd gathered in support of a special little gallery in down town Eudlo.

Minutiae (n, pl the small, precise, or trivial details of something: "the minutiae of everyday life") is a wonderful showcase of 430+ artworks from 43 artists (me included) and is Rosebed's annual end of year takeaway art small's exhibition, which means, artworks can be taken home once purchased (link contained within for details).

Curated by gallery owner Maya Cater-Malins Minutiae is a delightful mix of artworks at affordable prices, if your in the area and would like to support local....

 

A couple of my pieces on show...

 

It's the Little People

Laugh Dream

 

More images of my artworks for Minutiae seen on my website, additional artworks can be viewed on-line in Rosebed St Gallery's facebook page.

Exhibition dates: 04 Dec 2013 to 02 Feb 2014
13 Rosebed St, Eudlo
Wed - Sun 10am-4pm

dyed tea bags a gift from afar...

This week and to my delight I received an array of natural dyed tea bags in the mail from a fellow blogger Trace of Soewn Earth. Trace is a mixed media artist who lives in Western Australia, she uses all natural materials focusing on sustainability and low impact for our environment her work ethic is very inspiring, her works are beautiful, earthy and emulate a calm warm presence.

How super delicious are these!!!  I might sit with these for a little and absorb all the beauty and deliciousness before I use them....(Thanks Te :-)