make hay while the sun shines

November and December are always a big time on the art calendar. 

Along with the big end of year exhibitions at the private galleries, you also have the graduation shows at the the art schools. AND then you cant forget the emergence of the Summer blockbuster shows at the big art institutions like the MCA and the AGNSW.

Every few years or so I catch the art frenzy bug that infects the local community and I try and see as many exhibitions as my body and brain will allow. 

This year the sun was shining and I saw some beautiful works - and that also has to include my trip to the APT8 in Brisbane (which I talked about in my last post). 

Here are just a few images from some of my favourite artists and exhibitions. 

Zoe Veness and her beautiful and intricate folded paper jewellery pieces
were on display at Studio 20/17 last month in her solo exhibition entitled
'Autonomous Jewellery'

The amazing Stephen Bird just exhibited his new collection of ceramic pieces
at Olsen Irwin Gallery in Paddington. Mad and amazing...

One of my favourite painters Elizabeth Cummings has her solo show on now
at King st Gallery on William. This piece is entitled
'Granite Country 2015'

Gemma Smith and the amazing polished concrete floor made a great combination
at Sarah Cottier Gallery. 

This a view of the main gallery floor at Roslyn Oxley Gallery
and on display a couple of weeks ago was this amazing exhibition
by the brilliant Australian artists' John Wolseley and Mulkun Wirrpanda.

On Sunday I had an hour to kill before hearing Grayson Perry talk at the Opera House,
Unfortunately the attendants at the MCA informed me that this HUGE Summer exhibition
needed longer than an hour to view.
Fair enough...
So I went down to see the permanent collection
and found this beautiful work by Rosalie Gascoigne entitled Tiger Tiger 1987

The Tenderness of Rain 2011-12 by Lindy Lee
was also on display at the MCA. Loved the texture and detail in this work on paper

Finally... I had to include this street find.
I found it on the weekend in Redfern and its by Baf Cat -
who is a Fine art student from Wollongong

just visiting

^a quiet corner .. in a quiet backyard..  in a lovely home.. of a good friend^

Im not sure how much I want to say about these images.

Im hoping they will just speak for themselves - 

and tell you what a lovely time I had visiting the home of a good friend. 

When I go on holidays I usually do it in two parts.

After the amazing time I had in Magnetic Island, 

it was lovely to follow that up with a trip that involved 

lots of creative and relaxing time in a home that constantly inspires me.

As you can see....

^studio shadows^

^mood board^

^the afternoon light^

^flynn. aged 2 and a bit^

^bookshelf samples, test pieces and magazines... ^

^flynn was here^

^buttery colours and afternoon light^

^hello ms freeman^

^lounge-room envy... such a beautiful collection of ceramic, glass and indigenous artworks^

home + studio visit with Mel Young

^Colour and textures on the living room table
at Mel Young's family home in Rozelle^

Bang!
Not one but three posts in one day!
And on a Monday morning too!

Please forgive me but im excited after spending a magical week teaching, talking and meeting some amazing Australian artists' and art lovers. And I thought I would impart some of my creative energy onto you!  Its art shock therapy! So we can start the new year on a colourful and creative vibe.
I hope you dont mind?

Now, if you've been reading and following this tiny blog for the past few years, you may already know the lovely work of Mel. And if you've been really observant, you would have seen her colourful Petersham studio loft, when I featured it in a project I was calling 'In our Hands'.

I was on a personal quest with the the 'In Our Hands' project as I have a deep fascination with how artists' like to work in the studio. So I thought I would start snooping around a few art studios in Sydney, watch people at work, and ask questions about their inspirations, experiences of working as an artist, and their creative habits and routines in the studio.

(If you're curious to look at some of these posts, please click onto the label 'In our hands' at the bottom of this post.)

But getting back to Mel - in the last few months Mel, her partner Mark, and beautiful three year old son moved to the lovely Sydney suburb of Rozelle. And a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit her new studio space and take a few photos.

I hope you enjoy this second studio visit for 2014!
Thank you Mel and family for letting us view your new space!
x

^Mel surrounded by the beautiful light of her new studio space^

^Earthy collection in Mel's home^

^The warm colours that cover one shelf in the living room^

^The top shelf where tiny fingers cant reach!^

A^ tiny weaving by Mel and a ceramic cup by Keiko Matsui^

^Beautiful charcoal ceramic pieces from Mel's home collection^

^Precious art pieces mix in with happy memories on the living room shelves^

^I love a colourful fridge!
Especially where is happens to spell out some 'fun' vocab^

^A small small snippet of Mel's succulent collection in the backyard
that migrated with her  to Rozelle^

^The colourful vignettes continue into the studio^

^Artworks, ideas, postcards, jewellery pieces and experiments.... in the studio^

^The desk ...
and an smorgasbord of colourful and creative things to play with^

an afternoon in the ceramic studio of Alex Standen

^Alex Standen in her studio at Sturt in Mittagong - explaining some new ideas and experiments...
to a captive audience!^

This post is rather timely as I have just spent a magical week in a beautiful place called Sturt ,which is an art/craft/design centre in Mittagong, a town which is located in the Southern Highlands of Sydney. 

I was there to teach a weaving/drawing/textile course. 

And I was there, in part, because of this beautiful lady who introduced my work to the lovely people at Sturt.

Alex and I met while we were working at Object: Australian Design Centre a few years ago, and we've been great mates ever since. Alex is an amazing ceramic artist with an impressive cv for someone who recently graduated from The National Art School with a BA honours degree in ceramics.

Last month I had the privilege of visit Alex in her beautiful studios space at Sturt - 

and these are a few of my photos from that trip.

I hope you enjoy this tiny tour of her studio.

And if you would like to know more about Alex you can visit find her on instagram... 

and on the McLemoi Gallery website.

^tiny moments on her studio bench-top^

^fresh strawberries...a painted stool... and a ceramic donut.
just the usual things you find in the studio^

^beautiful collection of nesting bowls ^

^lovely light^

^Window sill... full of inspiration^

^colour experiments^

^blue features a lot in her new work^

^just for fun.
Alex plays with these pieces and many of them follow her home to her kitchen^

^all in the details^

^ such a beautiful space^

Thank you again Alex for letting us come for a tiny visit....

v i s i t i n g

A quiet moment at the home of Honor Freeman.
These succulents looked very happy in her ceramic 'warp and weft' beakers -
made in her backyard studio.

While I was down in Adelaide, I spent some of my time at the lovely home of Honor Freeman and the two men in her life - Lucky and Flynn. They have a beautiful home in a quiet suburb in Adelaide - where most noise is created by a certain little man who loves to dance, dance dance!!

I love seeing the way other people live and feel the rhythms they create throughout their day...

I guess everyone is different. But to truly understand that concept, you need to see and feel the way people live and look at the creatures comforts and objects that make that homes special and unique.

As you can see from these few photos, Honors home has a beautiful sense of light, texture and detail.

Every object tells a story. 

And if you listen very quietly....

You can hear their stories.

Honors ceramic lemons quietly sitting on the window sill.

Waking up to home made bread.
Such a treat!

I normally love to sit on the floor so
this beautiful and well loved floor cushion is usually one of my favourite things
to sit + relax on....

Tiny shoes for a tiny little man.

On set.

Beautiful ceramic soap artworks by Honor.

Ceramic shavings... all in a pile.

Beautiful morning light...
Illuminating all the little things on the wooden ironing board.