A look back.

Well its that time of year...again!!

The last day of the year....and in Sydney it is hot and sunny!

Ive been for a swim and enjoyed the sunshine, and now its time to look back!

Last year I gave you my thoughts for 2009, and I enjoyed compiling so much,

that Ive tried it again!

I've answered some of my own quickfire questions

to see if I can find some special moments +memories that I have shared with you on this tiny blog....

So here goes....


Favourite exhibition....

For Fine Art....

It had to be The Asia Pacific Triennial at GOMA in Brisbane! I had never been to see this big exhibition before....AND I had never been to Brisbane so the whole experience was shiny and new....And it all blew me away! I LOVED the scale of this massive exhibition, I loved the new Gallery of Modern Art, and the city of Brisbane itself! The show was so well curated + displayed that it put alot of these big exhibitions to shame...

BUT.... in saying all of that The Sydney Biennale at Cockatoo Island ran a close second!! I had seen all the other sites first and had enjoyed some of the artworks such as the beautiful glass house by Janet Laurence in The Botanical Gardens....!! But when I arrived at Cockatoo for the whole day...I SPENT the whole day there!! I even went back to some pieces again, such as the AMAZING video installation Ten Thousand Waves by Issac Julien! That artwork blew me away...! It was all encompassing, emotional, beautiful and poetic! And it was a FILM/Video art piece which is usually a form of art that can loose me pretty quickly!

But it was a great day, even with all the wind and rain of winter...

For craft/design...

Difficult! I had a few favourites... I loved We craft this city curated by Kate Ford, as it was colourful, fun and inclusive, as we all participated in crafting workshops...surrounded by cake! I loved Blue curated by Kylie Johnston + Annette Mauer, as it was so textural, showcasing alot of different design styles. I loved alot of jewellery shows this year such as the Say your Piece brooch show curated Jess Page, the exhibition by Golden Ink Collaborative at Gaffa Gallery and for design I actually loved the light installation by Koskela, who collaborated with a collective of Aboriginal weavers from the Galiwin'ku community on The Elcho Islands. Amazing show! I also loved the solo exhibition by Kath Fries at The Japanese Foundation...a beautiful and poetic installation that won her their 2011 prize!! Congrats Kath and I hope to see you in Japan!

Favourite gallery....

For artist-run-spaces (ARI's) it has to be Gaffa and the amazing work of Miss Kelly...again! Kelly, Zoe and Penny have gone from strength to strength this year with the shows they exhibited, the opening of their retail store Sterling, and the artists' and designers they have hosted in The Arcade Project downstairs, such as the Finders Keepers collective!

Cant wait to see where they go in 2011!

And for galleries/museums it's a hard one...

Sabbia were great again for glass and ceramic shows... but for fine art??? It was a mixed bag... The good shows were truly spread out all over town! I think if I HAD to pick one space it would be the MCA! I did enjoy visiting that museum this year and always found something to challenge and educate me!

Favourite book...

The first book that I read from Haruki Murakami called Dance Dance Dance! Not one of his most famous publications, but it resonated with me so much and introduced me to his style of writing that is so unique, cryptic and insightful, I was immediately hooked!

Favourite stroll...

Tough one...but I think it had to be the bush track stroll that I took to the studios at Primrose Park! It was such a hidden gem and it became such a pleasure to take everyday, knowing that I had a beautiful studio awaiting me at the end of it!!

Favourite market...

Finders Keepers at Carriageworks in Eveleigh! Those two ladies are building such a brilliant concept all around Australia. It was a great concept from its humble beginnings as The Hope St Markets in Surry Hills! Long may it continue to nurture all our amazing artists and designers!

Favourite music....

Too too many to mention...again!!!! And as always it begins with my music guru Gilles Peterson! I LOVE listening to his weekly radio show on BBC1 in the UK. Many new types of music were introduced to me this year, and most are right up my street! Some that I cant stop listening to are Janelle Monae, Sa-Ra, Dwele, Ezel,Ty,Bilal and on and on and on! None of them receive much attention but when discovered them all... I was hooked!!

Favourite gallery walk....

I know I said it last year but it still has to be the walk from Oxford st down snaking down through Darlinghurst. You end up visitng The NAS Gallery, Liverpool st, Robin Gibson, Watters, King on William, and sandwiched in there you can have a lovely coffee and do some people watching at Bill + Toni's on Stanley st...

A close second would be the walk in The Rocks between MCA and S.H Ervin Gallery on Observatory Hill with a coffee at La French Patisserie in Argyle st!

I love sitting in their hidden garden...


Favourite tv moment....

Getting totally absorbed in Mad Men...of course! And then a couple of new shows to Australia from the U.S called How to Make it in America and Bored to Death!

Favourite art achievement for 2010...

Had to be the residency and exhibition that I completed at The Primrose Studios! The experience was one of the best of my life and the exhibition blew me away!! I loved working with my studio buddy Angela Griffiths, working with the amazing art dept. at North Sydney Council, working in that environment and being inspired to produce a whole new body of work....AND then meeting Wendy Whiteley who opened our show to a big crowd!

I felt very blessed indeed!

Favourite bar/cafe....

In Sydney Single Origin Roasters near Central and in Byron... The Bay leaf cafe!

Simple!!

Favourite Magazine....

Inside Out.

They are a great team producing a great mag and blog!! But Vogue Living in both Australia and the UK comes a close second!!


Favourite movie..

Ummmmm tough one, as funnily enough, I didn't see that many at the cinema! My excuse is too busy in the stu stu studio!! I did love the Australian movie The Waiting City and Alice in Wonderland was definitely a new experience in 3D! But I guess one of my New Years resolutions should be...MORE MOVIES at the cinema!!

Pluses + Minuses....

For minuses the arts truly took a hard hit with the drying up of funding, patronage, and art buyers, as people decided that it was an expense they could do without! It was sad to see so so many artists' and galleries really struggle this year, with attendance and attention from the public and the media. SO I hope that 2011 gives the industry a fresh start and an exciting artistic beginning...especially with the Sydney Festival about to kick off in a week or so!
A big minus for me personally was the death of my art teacher Lesley Salmon a few months ago. She was an inspiration to me and will never be forgotten....

On the plus side there was an amazing Sydney Biennale and Brisbane APT... with alot of great new artworks being produced and brought to our shores! There was the expansion of the Courtesy of the Artist (COTA) gallery at The Strand Arcade which is just about to be relaunched as a permanent, rather than pop up space. Some new Artist-Run-Spaces opened around town such at Paper Plane in Balmain and Papermill in Angel Place in the city... There was an amazing exhibition of Nick Harding's work at S.H Ervin Gallery and White Rabbit gallery in Chippendale became the gallery everyone was talking about...!!

And for next year???


Again there are so so many events in Sydney starting with The Festival of Sydney in January, the second Art Month Festival in March, and of course another Archibald Prize to examine!! And that is just in the first few months!! Sydney Design 2010 and Art + About will also happen again in October...
and I'm sure there will be so so much more...

And for me personally...

In 2010 I learnt so much... I loved the six months I spent completing a body of work that was in me, incubating, for two years while I went through a difficult time with my health.

I participated in 3 exhibition and loved each one for different reasons.

I loved being inspired by so so much art

that the adage

'when too much art is barely enough' rang true!!!

Ive loved seeing all my friends be creative in their own ways, and in turn, inspire me. I loved all the support, friendship and love that I received from many many people over the past year.... which made me extremely humble.

And I have LOVED this space called tiny trappings and the online blogging community that I am a part of! It is so great to see people being creative in their thoughts and actions, and I cannot wait to see what happens to everyone in 2011!!

Dreams have come true this year and I feel externally grateful for this journey that I am on....

Bring on 2011 is all I can say!!!

Have a brilliant New Years Eve and be healthy, be happy and enjoy every moment !!

Ill see you in 2011 for the next chapter!

take care
x