colouring in

^This is me on the streets of North Sydney with two taffic cones,
a fluro safety vest and a trusty blue crate that also acted as a step ladder and
a seat^

I guess you will have noticed the deafening silence on this little blog in the last few weeks. Im actually surprised you still click and visit! Thank you for still supporting my artwork and this tiny blog - as things on this tiny site have been alittle quiet of late. After seven years of diligently writing three posts a week - Ive recently found myself treating this space like a second or third class compartment in my life - and I wish that wasn't the case. 

When I started this blog way back in 2008 my life was very different.

I was working part time at Object Gallery, exhibiting my artwork here and there in Sydney, and focusing on my health, as it slowly deteriorated with the onset of some very serious complication with my Crohns Disease. In amongst all of that the tinytrappings blog was born and it became my refuge and my creative outlet for everything and nothing.  Exhibitions, artists', books, music, street art.... 

Fast forward to 2014 and my life looks and feels completely different. My health (touch wood is better), my artwork is happening in a lovely studio space in Camperdown, im teaching workshops in weaving and drawing.... And instead of walking the streets and photographing murals, im working on the streets and colouring them in with my own designs. 

Late last year North Sydney Council initiated a project entitled 'Colouring Our Habitat' where locals artists were asked to workshop ideas with a community or school group, and then design and paint three traffic light boxes that line the streets. 

A few weeks ago I shared with you my photos from a workshop I held with a group of Year 9 students from Monte Sant' Angelo which started the whole process. And then shared my photos and inspirations while doing a reccy around the area where I was about to paint my designs.

Since then I have been working on my final designs and in the last two weeks or so Ive been out on the streets painting. 

And here are the final pieces!

I hope you like them....

Ive really enjoyed this project and the opportunity it has afforded me. Working on street art is something I've wanted to do for a very long time. And now - after years of ill health Ive been able to achieve it. 

And ive loved it.

Who knows...

Maybe you'll find a few more of my artworks on the lane ways of Sydney?

I mean.. 

I do have some left over paint....

^Final design for Walker st. - entitled Through the Trees' 

^Through the Trees.
Walker st North Sydney^

^Final design for box 1 on Berry St.
This one was called Folded Spaces'

^Box 1 on Berry st with Box 2 looking very naked in the background^

^Final design for Box 2 on Berry st.
This design is called Stained Nature^

^ Box 2 all dressed and ready to go.
It was completed this time last week^

^The two berry st boxes side by side
standing side by side^

Thank you to Alison and all the team at North Sydney Council.
Thank you to Kate and all the staff and students at Mont Sant'Angelo.
Thank you to my family and friends who supported me on site - delivering take away coffees and words of encouragement.
And a massive thank you to the public who were so lovely to me as I painted during the week and on the weekends. I never knew how much people noticed while walking around the streets. But you noticed me and were very very complimentary which truly surprised me.

interwoven portraits pt 3

^just hanging.
Woven form by Amy^

Here are three portraits.
Of three lovely women.
Amy. Ruth + Mel.
Who all created unique and colourful collections of weavings, textiles + drawings during my Interwoven basketry/weaving course at Sturt earlier this month.

..........

Thank you to Tracey, Mark and Alex from Sturt.
Thank you to Fiona, Eileen, Margaret, Shona, Amy, Mel and Ruth for sharing the creative ride with me and each other.
And thank YOU for coming to have a look at this tiny blog!
Seven years and still going strong!!
Cant believe it...

^amy^

^textiles and weavings by Amy^

^Ruth^

^mix media sculptural piece by Ruth^

^Mel^

^the weavings + drawings of Mel...
so colourful and fluid^

interwoven pt 2

^detail from a beautiful raffia woven platter by Ruth^

I have a confession.

I know I can talk. But Ive been avoiding the computer in the last week or so. I even went away again so I could have a think and digest it all. But Ive been struggling to explain, articulate, and edit down all my stories and images from my week teaching at Sturt College for you. A week that was inspiring, exhausting, colourful, creative, nerve-wracking, emotional, and exhausting (yep I meant to say it twice!) A week that pushed me in ways I havent been pushed before - especially in regards to teaching. 

In the last few years I have been teaching workshops to adults and children in weaving and drawing. But those workshops were completed in two hour sessions, and not spread out over an entire week. So to say I was nervous would be an understatement. I was nervous but also concerned about my body and how it would cope over the week - especially since 2013 was not my best year - health wise. 

But is always the case - it was me who learnt and gained so much from the experience. 

So much so that I hoped my class felt like they received enough from me!! 

But it all began and ended with the people I shared the experience with. And in that regard I was truly blessed with an amazing class - full of like-minded, soulful people - all eager to share themselves, and their creative energies with new people. 

It truly was the best way to kick off  2014.

And I felt privileged to have been asked to participate. 

Here are a few images from the week and I hope they give you an indication of how colourful and fun it truly was.... 

^beautiful ink stained hands of Amy^

^mix media action drawing - made in a drawing session first thing on Monday morning ...
so we could warm up and have some fun.
And get our creative minds switched on!^

^then we moved onto basic weaving and textile fabrication^

^Mel getting busy with one of her amazing coiled forms^

^These are Mel's finished pieces - hanging on the wall for the end of week exhibition.
They were so amazing, so colourful.... and Mel was a first time weaver...^

^Shona, Mel and Eileen - the back seat bandits!^

^Shona created some beautiful textile prints and woven forms.
And again - she was a first time weaver^

^busy hands of Amy^

^soft texture weaving vs hard texture weaving.
Both created by the lovely Ruth.
And both celebrating colour^

^a sculptural piece by Fiona - who is an amazing mixed media crafts-person.
This mix media piece was made using raffia and her own textile print^

^The creations of lovely Margaret - who is such an inspiring photographer and weaver in Sydney.
This course was to push her in new directions- especially in regards to mix media and colour.
I think she's a natural in both!^

^many little things that were created at the beginning of the week -
 and used as test pieces for honing
technique and media fabrication... oh... and colour^

^Brilliant Ruth and her amazing sculptural form that took many hours and lots of experimentation.
By the end of the week it was the biggest woven form in the class...^

^Detail of Ruth's experimentation with a woven flat dish^

^the lovely Mel - busy weaving on her lap - surrounded by colour^

interwoven pt 1

^The beautiful grounds at Sturt College in Mittagong^

^a tiny detail^

^fading light^

^a view of the main office, next to their shop and gallery^

^a view of my amazing class... busy talking and working!^

^A mix media jug - made by first time weaver Eileen^

Just to set the scene ...
Here are a few images of the beautiful grounds of Sturt College, plus a photographic introduction to my amazing class, who acted like a close - if somewhat dysfunctional family - after six days creating, talking and exploring in my basketry mix media weaving course at Sturts' summer school earlier this month.

It was such an emotional week for us all, that by Saturday, there were many hugs and long goodbyes.

We just having too much fun and waned to keep making... as we took a break from our real lives in order to reconnect with our creative selves and share with like-minded people.
So brilliant and so inspiring.

time to get excited.

^Forest. coil weaving. 2013^

If you feel as though your head in the sand at the moment, and you have NO IDEA of what's going on beyond the boundaries of your family/home/work sphere - let me just say - you're not alone.

These past few months have moved like the speed of sound. 

So much so that I feel like I have a touch of whiplash! 

Its true. 

This year has confounded everyone with its speed and insatiable intensity. 

I believe that the only ones that are not feeling the effects of it all - are the quiet and meditative souls living in beautiful ashrams in the foothills of Northern India. 

But seriously - this year is insane.

And the only way I can stay on top of it all is to try and take a walk... when I can. 

Talk to a friend over a coffee... if I can. 

And to play in the studio....when I can. 

Oh - and be surrounded with as much colour and texture as I can. 

As that is what inspires me.

In last month Ive been incredibly busy in the studio surrounded all things green, as Ive been quietly making the woven forms you can see in these images (above and below) for a beautiful design/art store in Sydney called Small Spaces. Last week I handed all seven of them over to Sarah, who is the lovely owner of this beautiful store in Redfern, and Im really excited to have my woven work represented in such a lovely space.  (You can take a look at the Small Spaces website here...)

The other bit of exciting news I had to share with you today, is that I am teaching a week long summer school coil weaving course at STURT in January!!! woo hoo...

For those who have never seen or heard of Sturt before, it is a beautiful craft and design college in Mittagong, which is a town in the Southern Highlands, south of Sydney. It is a college that runs courses throughout the year, in all types of art, craft and design. And in Summer and Winter they invite artists' to teach week long courses, so people can make, create, and submerge themselves in the craft of their choosing, while meeting all manner of interesting people.

I am completely humbled to have been invited to teach what I love. 

And slow down for a week while meeting a whole new community.

If you would like to know a little more about my course please take a look here...

And all I can say is...

Bring on January! 

Im sure it will be here in... oh... a nanosecond!

x

^Interwoven Tree Scape. coil weaving. 2013^

^Green Spaces. coil weaving. 2013^

The new collection of weavings,
 that is now available at Space Spaces Store in Redfern, Sydney.

details from dreaming

Details from Tracey Deeps beautiful exhibition at Koskela

It's difficult to write about this exhibition that I went to see at Koskela last week.
Writing about it would be similar to describing Vegemite to someone who has never tasted it before
You know that conversation that carries on forever until you say  - 'You've just got to try it!'?!

Well - it's the same in this situation.
I could talk on and on about Tracey Deep's exhibition entitled Dreaming - but - you just have to see it!
If not in person than in photos.

Tracey's work is amazingly beautiful from up close and 20 metres away.
Its textural, complex, thoughtful and in many cases - HUGE!
That is why the industrial walls of Koskela seemed to be made for her.

Its rare to see a gallery space and an artists' work match each other perfectly.
But when it does.... its magic.
...........

Dreaming by Tracey Deep is on show at Koskela until July 2.
And if you would like to know more about Tracey , her artwork +  new workshops at Koskela,
please have a look here...

This was one of my favourite pieces by Tracey...

So so many different textures...

... and they seamlessly blended with Koskela's industrial walls.

Oh - to have this on your wall!

A wall view of Tracey's beautiful exhibition.

new website!

Its alive! Its alive!

And no - im not talking about Frankenstein.

Im talking about my new website.

And its been a long time a'comin.

I think Ive mentioned to you a few times now that Im a little bit shy when it comes to promoting my work.

That is one reason why I created the tinytrappings moniker. 

Years ago I realised that I wanted to slowly work at my art practice and keep learning, experimenting and understanding my craft, without the worry of online scrutiny or promotion. Ive always admired artists -  like Tony Tuckson - who have worked quietly in their studios developing + honing their work over a lifetime. 

But times change.

And so has the arts industry. 

Gone are the days when people would share their ideas and latest artworks for hours on end, over a coffee or ten!

{That is unless you're still at uni or college.}

Now it seems the net has become our communal coffee table, where all our thoughts and studio experiments are discussed + shared. 

In a way that is what this blog has been to me over the last few years - my communal coffee table. 

But now its time to put myself out there properly.

Using my own name. 

The blog is not going anywhere. 

Im going to use both spaces to share my work.

And I hope you'll visit me at both sites.

Let me know what you think of the new website, and if there are changes you would make, as id love to know your thoughts!

Ooh - and the address?

http://www.michelemorcos.com/

in the studio : sarah o'sullivan

Sarah working in her new studio, Sydney, 2013

There is something about visiting an artists' studio that makes me excited.

maybe its seeing alchemy take place?

maybe its seeing a workplace that is all about play + creativity?

maybe its seeing and feeling different materials and surfaces?

Maybe its knowing that you're getting a rare opportunity to see and talk to a creative person about their process - a behind the scenes glimpse into their artistic world that is usually hidden away behind closed doors.

Anyway - 

no matter what the reason I just love it. 

Unfortunately it doesn't happen that often. 

Like with most things...life gets in the way and plans takes forever to realise.

So when good friend Sarah O'Sullivan invited a few of us over to her new studio for a visit...

I jumped at the chance.

Sarah is an amazing ceramic artist who recently graduated from the National Art School with honours.

Her work is all about the everyday object and the memories, nostalgia and beauty that is contained within it. 

Each of her ceramic pieces is unique and extremely detailed - making you want to touch and take a closer look at every pattern, every mark, and every colour. 

Later this year Sarah has an exhibition at Sabbia Gallery in Sydney. 

So on top of moving into her amazing new studio space, Sarah has been getting to work on a new body of work. 

Busy busy lady. 

But enough of that... lets start the tour! 

(do I sound like an impatient kid in the back seat of the car? maybe...)

Getting work on a few new ceramic pieces.
You see... beautiful patterns, colours and marks.

I found so many beautiful colours and textures.... that  were glowing within the
stark white walls and windows in her space.

The everyday objects that Sarah constructs moulds from....

filing... shaping.... sanding.... shaping....

I loved the floor!!  Of course I would! Its green and textured!

Shelves covered in work materials.... all lined up and ready to go!

Jess asking questions about a new piece that Sarah is working on...

The old vs. The new.
Sarah is a collector of all things nostalgic .. like me!

Amazing light... and space in her new studio in Marrickville.
What the building was in a previous life is anyone's guess!

Thank you so much Sarah for having me over to your new studio.
I truly loved it and felt like I was walking back in time.

Happy making and enjoy every moment in your fantastic space!
Cant wait to see your exhibition later this year.

(Ill let you all know when its happening!)