under the trees...

^Sustainable weaving workshop. North Sydney. Feb 2014^

What a weekend.

What a workshop.

On a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, underneath a canopy of trees, I was asked to teach a sustainable weaving workshop to 18 lovely people at North Sydney. It was an event organised by the amazing team at North Sydney Community centre - who run a brilliant calendar of art and craft events throughout the year. 

So it was no surprise that this workshop was oversubscribed with interested locals, who were all keen to get creative on a sunny summer morning. There is an insatiable interest in the arts at the moment - which is so great to see and be a part of. But when you only have two hours to learn a new skill you can get a little overwhelmed - especially when you're surrounded by much colour and filled with so much new information!

But as you can see from these lovely photos from the day, it really was a great morning, and a brilliant way of connecting and creating with a whole lot of new people.

Thank you again to Joanna and everyone at the community centre for running such a fun event. And I also have to say a massive thank you Sal, who took these photos for me as I was running around like a headless chook for the whole class! You were a great 2ic! 

potato. potahto.

working with my inspirations
on a new + tiny weaving

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend?

I was lucky enough to attend a friends wedding. Well - I say wedding but it was was more of a reception - as the meat and potatoes were missing. The actual 'I dos' were held in Vegas with Elvis acting as Priest, Celebrant or whatever an Elvis impersonator may be called under these circumstances! 

It was a lovely party celebrated with family, friends, a big plate of Paella and a huge jug of Sangria. And as I was driving home I started to think about special occasions and where I love to celebrate big moments in my life... or ... where I like to travel to when I need to feel happy.

As many of you may know by now - I love nature and all the colours, textures, sounds and smells that can be found in the great outdoors. When feel the need to clear my head and my thoughts n feelings, I always make a beeline to a bush track near my home to soak up all the inspiration and tranquillity I need to get through my day.

These two recent images have have been influenced from those strolls through the landscape.

The bottom image was taken a few days ago after heavy rains had created beautiful puddles and shadows through the bush.

And the top image is of a new weaving that was created after a walk.

I guess one persons Vegas is another persons bush walk!

Potato.

Potahto.

The source.

one million stars ...

My tiny contrbution to Martanne Tali Pau's one million stars project 

.......

This little post has been a LONG time a'comin!

Time just flew right by me, and these images have remained on my desktop ever since. 

But on this bright and sunny morning in Sydney it's only fitting that I share with you a couple of images from a lovely afternoon workshop I had the privilege of attending, with the lovely Maryanne Tali Pau.

I met Maryanne about 3 years ago when she was conducting a handful amazing weaving workshops for art+about's Happy Talk event in Hyde Park.

( if you have NO what Im talking about at this point  - please have a read of.... this ... and this!)

I remember being immediately inspired by Maryanne's warmth, generosity, and her ability to share.

From children to adults she magically made everyone fascinated, and curious, about her Samoan heritage and the origins of her beautiful weaving technique. 

At her recent workshop at Koskela, Maryanne was teaching us all how to make woven stars for her one million stars project that supports and draws awareness to issues associated with violence in the community. The project was started in September 2012, and by April 2014, Maryanne hopes to have achieved her of goal creating an installation using these one million woven stars in Melbourne and/or Sydney.

Now I know that it is only a tiny contribution to the project, but at the top of the post you can see two of my little stars that I made at the Koskela workshop. 

I aim to make more and get Maryanne over the line! 

And if you too would like to take part in any of Maryanne's workshops and star project- all the details can be found on Maryanne's website - where you can also find an online tutorial on how to make a beautiful woven star at home.

Happy weaving!

.......

The lovely Maryanne demonstrating how to make a woven star
at her recent workshop at Koskela in Sydney

on the bookshelf: kitty kantilla

Kitty Kantilla by Judith Ryan.... my new addition to the tiny white bookshelf!
Merry Christmas to me...

So we're into the third week of January 

And things are starting to take shape.

sort of...

Ive rediscovered coffee in the morning... as well as the afternoon.

Ive found that staring into space for longer than 5 minutes makes you feel a little loopy but relaxed.

Ive rediscovered my feet after days of extreme heat which forced me to retire my little black boots 

[that my boot-maker lovingly saved from the bin after breathing new life into them.}

And ive also rediscovered books. Non digital, turn paging books with no touch screens and like buttons. Yep. Ive been going back to my roots, sitting at my little wooden desk  .... and reading! 

And loving it.

And one book that has been inspiring me is the NGV's publication on Australian artist Kitty Kantilla.

What an amazing artist she was...

Intuitive, delicate, and complex, Kitty was a true technician of abstract pattern making, as she represented the poetry, colour and culture of the Tiwi peoples within every painting, print and sculpture throughout her career - which spanned nearly 40 years.

I know this book will be a favourite as I start my new series of works...

Let the fun begin!

Love a beautiful image of a hand at work...

Her prints are so soft, delicate and complex.

Colours of the Tiwi culture... 

And patterns that speak of their cultural history.

I think this painting on the right is one of my favourites!

Kitty Kantilla
by Judith Ryan
Published by National Gallery of Victoria
ISBN 9780724102839

On the bookshelf : David Hockney

So its been a busy few weeks... and I am in the thick of it now in the Cobwebs and Laundry studio {aka the space underneath the house}. The drawing phase has ended and the large works have begun. Oil paints and brushes have been added to the list of art supplies on the desk, and im slowly moving my ideas onto the big, white wooden boards that have been staring at me and asking to me to 'get sorted, and get moving'!

Time is indeed ticking down. Before I know it, it will be June and I will need to have these works nearly completed. EEEEEK! Ok - Im only allowing myself one exclamation mark and that was it...

Moving on.

Today is all about one thing.

MY NEW BOOK. It arrived a little while ago and I am in love. This new publication of David Hockney focuses on his love of landscape, and more specifically, his last decade of work on the subject.

When David moved back to England, after living in California for most of his life, he found that the Yorkshire countryside was indeed beautiful, nostalgic but also ripe for reinvention. So that what he did. Reinvent the English countryside in big bold shocking colours, on big big BIG canvas'. Two concepts that are very American but not terribly English.

Some of these new works carry a political message, some talk of urbanisation, and some talk of new technology, such as his series of ipad drawings. However, what they all do is beautifully illustrate why Hockney is such a magician when it comes to light and colour.
And that is what I find inspirational.

The only thing better than having this book would be to have it while strolling through his massive exhibition at The Royal Academy in London. Now that would be the icing on the cake.

But sadly this exhibition has now moved on and is showing in Bilbao.
And even sadder is that Im a 24 hour flight away.
Anyone in Europe want to give me their review of the show?
Id love to hear it...

David Hockney's A bigger Picture. And it is big, bold and heavy!

Love the full scale images that perfectly capture the colour in his paintings.

The sketches, diary drawings and small works are all seen and given exposure...
something that can get neglected when the focus is on large scale paintings

Love the hand written details...

And the double page, full colour reproductions of these amazing paintings.
I mean - look at all the patterns...

Had to finish on one of my favourite works.
And isnt it lovely to be able to see a version of this work, in all its large scale glory at the National Gallery in Canberra! Who would have thought?

David Hockney : A bigger Picture
Curation & Forward Essays by Marco Livingstone + Edith Devaney
Published by Abrams NY
ISBN: 978 - 1 - 4179 - 0280 - 8

on the bookshelf : Frida Kahlo

Who has seen a Frida Kahlo look-a-like at a costume party in the last few years? 

Im sure many of you are nodding right now... 

With her mono eyebrow, braided black hair and vibrant red lipstick, the character and individual aesthetic of Frida has had a huge following in recent years. She has always been a key figure in art history classes, and has starred in many retrospective exhibitions in the last few decades, notably the massive Tate Modern exhibition in 2005.
But why so popular in popular culture? And why now? 

Ive always been interested in Frida's artwork. Yet recently have I wanted to explore her life and her thoughts beyond the canvas - especially as I have always wanted to discover how she was such a prolific artist while overcoming such obstacles in her physical life.
{She would be a fantastic case study for anyone with a desire to let go of any personal problems creatively.} 

Throughout her whole life she expressed her thoughts and feelings in art and poetry. Painting after painting...  drawing after drawing, Frida was prolific at expressing herself. 

But I never knew about her diaries.

Last year I found this new publication by Alas Rotas called 'The Diary of Frida Kahlo : An intimate Self Portrait'.  And I was fascinated. 

Rotas has scanned page after page from Frida's personal diary and then translated the images and poems without embellishment. So the reader feels like they have the original diary on their knee, raw and exposed. 

Which is something truly rare...

Each page is in full colour and so expertly translated that every illustrated mark and brush stroke can be seen
and studied.

All the poems and letters are also seen. And what is truly lovely is that you can see where old pages have
faded and inks have bled through the paper of the original diary... making you feel like you have the original in your very hands...

Beautiful, original, unique + colourful.

Before I head off to the studio I just have to give you a couple of quotes from Frida that I found this morning.....

Through the round numbers
And the coloured nerves
The Stars are made
And the worlds are sounds.

Revolution is the harmony of form and colour and everything exists,
and moves, under only one law = life.
Nobody is separate from anybody else.
Everything is all and one.

............
The Diary of Frida Kahlo : An Intimate Portrait
by Alas Rotas. Introduction by Carlos Fuentes. 
HNA Harry n. Abrams Books NY. 
ISBN 978 - 0 -8109 - 5954 - 5

on the bookshelf : Sonia Delaunay

I cannot believe it has been 17 years since I was a tiny little first year art student...

Wide eyed and completely clueless to the art world and creative community, I left high school to follow my childhood dreams, in the hope of one day saying to myself and to others, ' I am an artist'. 

When I arrived at art college I had just left  high school and I was so so excited to be surrounded by art materials, listen to inspiring theory lectures, and collaborate+converse with creative peoples from all ages and all walks of life. It was the late 90s and art books, slides, videos and magazine journals were our only way to get to the heart and soul of art history.  Computers were just starting to make an impact on the way we learnt. And for that I feel thankful....

I loved our college library filled with big colourful art books with pages that had been turned by hundreds of students before me. The images may have been faded in some, or ripped in others. But they were real.... and in my hands.

As you may have seen on this tiny blog that love as never gone away. 

I love the art of collecting art books. Especially when I am in research mode. I know there is a multifaceted and endless supply of information only a click away. But I love the time i spend with a book in my hands, engaging with its beautifully illustrated images. This quiet ritual usually involves a cup of coffee at a lovely cafe too... so it is truly a favourite pastime of mine!

But lets get back to the book... and today it's the turn of Sonia Delaunay, an AMAZING artist who revolutionised colour theory and printed textile design in the early 20th century. I was introduced to her work way back in my early art school days and my fascination with her oeuvre of work in art and fashion has only increased with the years, not diminished. 

So it has been great to find an amazing new publication of her work, produced by the Smithsonian Institute in The States as part of a recent exhibition that was also held in the U.S.... 

The book is called Colour Moves: Art & Fashion by Sonia Delaunay and as you can see from these images it is filled with beautiful representations of her patterns, drawings and fabrics from the 1920s.... I can only imagine how amazing the exhibition was at The Smithsonian National Design Museum last March in New York....

I love the way the pages are broken down into the stages of manufacture and thinking....
from ink and pencil sketches to final fabric production... 

The perfect Autumnal print. And just in time for Sydney as it welcomes in the season next week!

influenced by Japanese textile traditions... you can really see the love she had for these ancient
techniques of print making...

Simple and yet completely complex colour + spacial design... 

So so many great thumbnail snapshots of the work of this amazing artist. I could
pour over the pages for hours and hours.... My white bookshelf is very happy to have this one in
its little collection!

.......
Colour Moves : Art & Fashion of Sonia Delaunay
Edited by Matilda McQuaid and Susan Brown
Publised by Thames & Hudson Ltd.
for The Smithsonian Institution 2011
IBSN 978 - 0 - 910503 - 84 - 6

on the bookshelf : Jenny Sages

On the bookshelf....

Hi everyone...

It's Monday and its time to do something I haven't done in a while and that is review an art publication off my tiny white bookshelf. I know I sound so gen x when I talk about publications and books that have an actual hard cover and pages you can turn.  But hey - I am a gen-xer, and I do have a passion for pages I can touch and smell - and look at colours that are made of ink, rather than pixels on a screen. It's just the way I am. Maybe you could say that I love books that switch my five senses on...? Maybe that could be a good way to describe my enduring love of books. 

Im not sure I would, or could, have a similar experience with an e -art book. Its like having a relationship  with an artwork that only exists on my desktop... mmmmm... there is a discussion to be had there. But that will have to be saved for a later date.

Anyway back to my new catalogue that was discovered on my recent trip to Canberra. Whenever I am in the Capital I always like to take a long lazy look at the gallery shops - it's my cardio. The National Gallery of Australia, The National Library, Craft ACT, and my favourite, The National Portrait Gallery all feature on my list of places to visit. 

They always have such a great selection of books. And on this particular trip this beautiful catalogue on the work of Jenny Sages was one of the first things I saw. It accompanied an exhibition called Jenny Sages : Paths to Portraiture, which I sadly missed at the Portrait Gallery. It is now touring the country, and at present can be seen at Tweed River Regional Gallery in Northern NSW. {If you're in the area!}

Jenny Sages : Paths to Portraiture

I love the work of Jenny and have always tried to catch her exhibitions at King St Gallery on William. The sensitive marking making, the beautiful use of materials such as natural pigment and wax, and the slow and considered way she capture her subject, all makes her work unique and enduring. 

Jenny's work is also a favourite with the Archibald judges, who have selected her portrait paintings for the finals on many occasions in March. And that is what this book and exhibition brings to light. From the fashion designers of Sass and Bide, to her much loved late husband, this collection of Australian faces and personalities captured by Jenny clearly highlight that this exhibition and beautiful book were long long LONG overdue...

Here is a quick look...

On one side of the hard back cover two hands are rendered by jenny with pencil, while the other side
 the same hands are shown in oil paint...

The book has been beautifully done with pages that concertina out from between the two hard covers.

On the left you can see Jenny sitting in front of her amazing painting of Emily Kame Kngwarreye
which was completed before Emily's passing in 1996. On these pages the book features an essay on Jenny
written by Sarah Engledow who was also the curator of the exhibition.

On the left is the painting 'Gloria Tamere Petyarre 2005', and on the right the completed painting of Kngwarreye
called ' Emily Kame Kngwarreye with Lily 1993

Each painting is beautifully captured on the page, and what I love the most is the red cotton ribbon ties that hold the book together at each side. Such details make this catalogue special...

.....
Jenny Sages : Paths to Portraiture
by Curator & Author Sarah Engledow
Design by Brett Wiencke
Produced by The National Portrait Gallery
ISBN 978-0-9870735-2-5

on the bookshelf : Billy Benn

It's Monday.... and im still recovering from the week that was. 

Family wedding, catch ups with relatives, car accidents, and the purchase of my first car, have all left me feeling a little shell shocked. Summer has also decided to come early, so as I write this, I am hiding in a cool room with a fan in front of my face! 

So what do you do when you want to find some peace in the day? You pull out a recent book purchase that you haven't truly absorbed yet.... and devour! 

On my recent trip to Canberra I was fortunate to see the beautiful exhibition Good Strong Powerful at the National Gallery of Australia. Focusing on new directions in indigenous art, this exhibition showcases some beautiful pieces by Billy Benn Perrurle, who is a favourite artist of mine. Billy Benn is a self taught painter, based at the Bindi Inc Centre in Alice Springs. In 2000, Billy decided to pick up a paint brush and render images of his homeland, his 'country', on scavenged bits of timber and plastic foam. And immediately people started to take notice of his intuitive style of mark making which is loose and full of colour. 

And that is what I love about his work. 

After i saw the exhibition I knew I needed I try and find any publications that would give me big, colourful images of Billy's work.... and low and behold.... I found a copy of this book at The National Portrait Gallery on the same trip to Canberra. 

The book is so beautiful as it takes you on a journey through Billy's work and his homeland. With the aide of co author Catherine Peattie, Billy's life journey comes to life and you really get the sense that you are walking through his amazing 'country'....

I always love a good image of an artists' hands at work....

Its all about the colours. The red earth and the blue blue sky....

Through the book places are named.... maps are drawn...

.... and words are written in Billy's hand.

Billy Benn Perrurle (left) and Catherine Peattie (right)

Exhibition catalogue for Good strong Powerful (left) and Billy Benn cover art - Painting called Artetyerre 2006 (right)

Billy Benn really is a book worth discovering.
I have loved absorbing each colourful page, and I hope you have enjoyed this tiny tour through these few pages...

Billy Benn
by Billy Benn Pewrrurle + Catherine Peattie
2011
IAD Press
Alice Springs
ISBN 978 1 86465 116 4 

on the bookshelf : kerry johns

I think by now you know a few things about me. Things like: I am a person who loves colour, who loves to go out for long strolls - with a possible gallery or cafe pit stop in the middle, and I am a person who loves anything hand made, tangible, textured and loved by its maker...

One other notable tidbit about me is that I am a collector, which is a nice way of saying hoarder I reckon! I love collecting, as most artists' do, and one collection that has become a great artistic resource over the years for me is my printed artist catalogue and gallery invitation collection. You know what I mean, all the hard copy, full colour exhibition stuff that invariably gets stuck up on a studio mood board...! Each invitation can become a great visual way of keeping track of what's going on in the art world, creating your own little library, or diary, of what you've seen and what you've loved over your year.... and lifetime. 

My collection started when I was a fresh faced art student and I remember trawling all the galleries for anything and everything with images printed on it and given away for free - as getting something for free in the art world was and is a rare treat!

But lately things have changed. 

Ive noticed that galleries and artists' are getting in line with the new digital age we're in and cutting back on all their paper invites, books and catalogues. Instead they are designing and sending out e-invites and newsletters to promote their work.... and it makes me a little sad. 

So when I received this lovely gift the other day by a good friend who saw this exhibition catalogue and thought of me, I was touched. It is a beautifully simple catalogue of Kerry Johns work, which focuses on Australian bush landscape scenes that are colourful, energised and alive with beautiful brushstrokes and marks. 

So yes - I was touched. It is an old school art resource that is a rare specimen to treasure, and saviour, for my own little library collection....