Art and Soul and Continuum

Really chuffed to present the work of three women artists I worked with before going back to school: Karen McColm, Renuka Russell and Marie-Louise Fry. Today I went to a local library where their work is on display and it was a terribly moving experience to see the work I already knew (and the stories behind them) and new works that prove that they really are on the Art & Soul Continuum. Fantastic, ladies, well done. Your work looks wonderful and talking to the library people, apparently you have had many good comments.

Apologies for the poor quality photographs, the lighting was difficult and the camera wasn't great, but here is a work from each of these wonderful artists:

If you live locally, make sure you get into the Arana Hills Library to see them!

Artists I Admire

Going to scrap the page (tab above) cos I never get a chance to update it, but you might have noticed a list of contemporary (and a couple of not so) artists to the right which I update when I discover another artist that I particualarly like. Yesterday I discovered Emily Valentine through the NAVA website and I have put on a link. She is an Australian artist and she 'paints with feathers'. I have pinched one of her images to give you an idea of the lovely work she does. You can go to her site by clicking on the piccy too. Enjoy.

Mini worlds with a function

I know it has been a while, yet again. Can't tell you how ridiculously busy life has been. Anyway, I have been trying to make some smaller pieces lately that might have more commercial appeal. I have made some little paperweights and my favourites are some mini rock pools. I have also been trying my hand at some jewellery, with some of the examples below. They all involve resin, of course, and bits and pieces of other things. I am not sure if I'll make any more, but this has been a good distraction for me over the last few busy school months. I will be trying to put these on Etsy in the next few days.

Rock Pool paper weights:

Sample Jewellery:

2nd run at New York

My first attempt at exhibiting in New York and Broadway Gallery didn't quite work - the pieces were broken in transit. Then they came back to me in pieces. Now I am about to send new pieces over for an exhibition starting in mid October. One of them is a repaired and revamped version of one that went previously. The first version of Mother Earth was thus:

Sadly, she snapped off at the base of the stem on her trip OS. So I have reworked her and her creativity has extended somewhat. Now her 'earth' looks like this:

And a couple of close-ups:

To hopefully prevent any more injury to her, she is now also enclosed in a Perspex box. Bon Voyage (again) Mother Earth. Have a safe trip this time.

Spring has sprung

Friday week ago we had a 13 degree maximum, with a chilly wind that felt like it was coming off ice. One week later we had a max of 30 degrees. The signs of spring are definitely in the air, but I think that Spring will be short and we'll be pretty much summer from here on in.

Still it is good to be moving on from the winter doldrums - the freesias are poking their pretty little heads out and for once, thanks to all the earlier rain followed by a cold winter, they're looking pretty healthy. The brown honey-eaters have already fledged their little chicks and we have recently been visited by the elusive kingfisher. At school, the fairy martins have been allowed to finish construction of their nest above the men's toilet and furnished it with four cute little chicks that open their beaks wide and squawk at every glimpse of their parents who are run ragged all day bringing them food.

Life tends to start looking up at this time of the year in that perfect in-between-blue-sky-fragrant-breeze-weather. Soon we will be grumbling about the stinking heat and sweat dripping down our legs, but ain't it good to see the back of winter? On my birthday, William and I took a stroll along the waterfront at Redcliffe - just lovely. While we were there, parachuters dropped out of the sky in front of us. This has happened many times before but on this day, for the first time ever, I actually felt like I could see me possibly doing that one day - has to be a great sense of freedom. I am not an adrenalin junky in any way, so it is kind of odd, but I am left with the sound of the whooping of the passengers as they came down and, of course, the striking colours of the chutes.

Meanwhile, I have just turned a 'sample' project I did with the year 11s into a finished piece. Its called 'Inner Sanctum'. I am pretty happy with it. Pic below.

Doldrums

Haven't felt much like blogging in the last few weeks - you might have noticed. Life is becoming terrifyingly busy and not in a good way. Puts me in absolute survival mode which leaves little time for fun, or even a little peace. Haven't done much in the way of art work either. Would quite like to crawl into one of the glass-in worlds I have made and escape from reality for a while.

At school I've been asking myself WTF I am doing there a little too often. Hankering to be the artist cloistered in my attic, away from QSA forms, ungrateful adolescents and report card deadlines. Doing my head in. Still, it is coming up to my birthday, which means that the moon should be moving into the seventh house or something and things should start looking up. Hopefully the next blog will be more cheerful.

Dragonflies in Domes

Made two more dragonflies in the last couple of months. Not sure where in my brain-space they come from, but they are somethting to do with mysticism and other worlds; creatures that may exist (I'm hoping they do) on the edge of our reality along with other wondrous things that have nothing to do with Stock Market crashes, massacres or helicopters being shot down in Afghanistan. Hope you like them, and hope they take you away from 'reality' for just a little while.