pixelated memories of 2010

Oh Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you had a great night

wherever and however you decided to ring in

2011!!

It seems I cannot stay away from the beach

and from this tiny computer!

Yesterday I really wanted to share my thoughts

on the year that was...

aka 2010.

But now it is the turn of my camera

to share its

favourite memories

and moments of last year!

If you would like to know more about

any of these images,

scroll down to the post from yesterday

and have a gander...
Enjoy!

My favourite show of 2010...

The APT in Brisbane.

I loved the new Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane

and the show itself!

A truly brilliant exhibition...

From the quiet installations to the

crazy and fun crafty presentations,

we were blessed to experience some of the best

new art to come out of Asia

and the Pacific in the last few years!

A close second for me was The Sydney Biennale

and the portion that was presented at Cockatoo Island.

Below you see a sea of green

and when you arrived back to the mainland
you saw a scape of grey....

And then there was the work of Janet Laurence that

sat very happily in The Botanical Gardens!

I could NOT stop shooting this piece! My

camera was very happy indeed!

For design...I loved the tiny exhibition

at Object Gallery by Koskela.

Their collaborative light works

completed by the Galiwin'ku weavers from The Elcho Islands

were truly amazing!

For craft it had to be the 'We Craft this City'

workshops and exhibition at Object Gallery

that was part of the Spring Series of events.

Many people had ALOT of fun with wool, including

Hello Sandwich aka Ebony Bizys, who is one of the ladies

pictured in this shot above!

For texture and colour it had to be the BLUE

exhibition at Object which was also part of the Spring Series!

The blue vine work pictured above was by Emma Davies...

And then we come to favourite strolls of 2010,

and the images that were collected along the way!

This image above was a favourite! I know...I am odd!

But i love the quiet, the nostalgia, and the texture of this shot

taken on a stroll on Cockatoo Island...

The light of the harbour...
from Cockatoo Island.

This was the moment of the year!!

The light.... the cockatoo in flight!

It was pure luck and it was taken

late one afternoon in The Botanical Gardens.

And then there was my favourite stroll...

which was the bush track walk I took

nearly everyday to The Primrose Studios

while I was completing my residency there.

Most creative fun of the year???

The Primrose studio...of course!

Organised chaos!!

I was lucky to be in three

exhibitions this year...

and the image above comes from

'The Spirit of Place' residency exhibition.

A milestone for me....

It was so great to work with Angela Griffiths,

and in the end

our work did compliment each other....

Then there was the 'Say your Piece'

exhibition and my brooch...

that I was proud of as it was my first attempt

at making jewellery!

And my exhibition year started with my contribution to

the MAKE:believe exhibition at Gaffa Gallery,

with all the crew from Object Gallery...

which is always fun!

And now we are back to the beginning...

and another Sydney Festival!

It all kicks off next weekend,
introducing us to the creative new year of 2011!

Bring it on I say....!!

some reflections....

.... from the old diary...

...of my time down at Primrose....

the sounds of Art Blakey

melodically playing from my ipod...

the squeaking wheels of the ball carts

on the tennis courts at 3.30pm..

the sound of the Mistral fan

moving back + forth

from above Angela's desk...

The tiny jiggling of dog bells

around little necks

from outside my door as they go

up + down the stairs

from their walks on the park...

kids playing tennis on the courts

as their coaches shout encouraging

words from the other side of the net...

Having a visit from Camille + Laura

on a Tuesday afternoon

so they can have a chat about my work

and their day in kinder garden...

Angela's notes on my desk

after missing each other in the day...

Peoples reactions to the works and the space...

The smell of oil paint as it wafts through the room...

And the hot afternoon sun

as it streams through the glass doors

at 2.30

my favoured time to work....

x

p r e s s ....

Please forgive me... but I had to quickly show you this tiny article about Angela, The Nest installation and the residency program. It appeared in the local paper yesterday and it is such a lovely image and article {but please excuse the scanning...that's all me!!}
It was such a nice way to finish off our time down there, with a little recognition, and I hope people will now go for a tiny stroll in Primrose Park to search it out!
Congratulations Angela!

mind the gap.....

Angela Griffiths, Nest 2010, installation with led lights, Primrose Park

Sorry for the no show yesterday everyone...

I'm trying to reboot!

Physically, mentally, and emotionally... after the craziness of the last few weeks!

So the official hand over of the studio key occurred on Tuesday, and Angela and I went up together to the Chambers, to say thank you bearing a plant (as a gift to all the gals in the arts dept). We also wanted to meet up for a coffee and a chat with each other, as it seems as though we haven't properly 'seen' or 'spoken' to each other in the last 2 months!! It was really lovely to finish things off with a coffee and chat, as it reminded us, that in the end, we are all just artists' looking for connections and new conversations with like minded people; people that for the most part, are squirreled away in home studios, never seeing the light of day!

We both know we will see each other again....

And for me I can always walk down to Primrose and see Angela's nest installation, as the Council in their infinite wisdom, has decided to keep it in the park for the next few months! Brilliant news for Angela!

And now I'm back in my little home studio which like like to refer as The Cobweb + Laundry Studio! {I'm sure you get the hint!!}

However this week I'm minding the gap left from my Primrose departure, and I'm rebooting my health. Yesterday was my bi-monthly transfusion at the Chemo Cottage, for my Crohns medication, on Tuesday it was my weekly acupuncture appointment with the lovely Monika from The Genki Centre in Glebe.

And today?

Well... I think it has to be a long walk, or stroll as I like to call them on this blog...

Will their be a destination at the end of it?

To be continued....

h o n o u r ....

Morning all!

I hope no one here is too upset this morning.... Especially after the thumping the Socceroos received against Germany in the World Cup game at 4am!

They delivered a lesson that is for sure!!

I don't often talk about my love of sport on this blog! Probably because it seems to be the yang to all the art, design, and craft ying in this blog! I guess the only correlation that I can find between the two subject areas is that they are passionate pursuits for people.

And for me.? Well..I love both equally... just not here on this tiny blog!

Anyway......getting back to the honour that i alluded to earlier...

So by now you know that my 6 month residency concluded this weekend... very sad! It was a long and exhausting two days of packing up, cleaning up and sorting out, that has left me alittle shattered to say the least! But i cannot complain, especially with the news that I received on Friday.

It was the last day of the show and it was a busy afternoon, with many people coming in to catch a last look before I closed the doors at 5pm... It was so great to say hello to everyone that came down unexpectedly, one of which was Narelle from the council who delivered the news that North Sydney Council was going to purchase one of my works from the exhibition! I was so shocked and completely honoured ...

The work they have bought is the one above... Mosaic Movements (Diptych) 2010

I am very excited and humbled, as many people will be able to look at it within the chambers!

Very lovely way to complete my time at Primrose indeed!

Thankyou...

so long....

.....farewell....

the journey is now over...

And my time at the lovely Primrose studios

comes to an end

this weekend....

I'm sad but an ending is always

a beginning...

The exhibition finishes today

And Angela and I have had a blast..

Meeting new people...

saying hello to good friends

as they pay us a visit..

And receiving some lovely compliments

and conversations...

I could not have asked for more!

I feel very blessed indeed!

So the big pack up begins in earnest

on Saturday

and by Monday I will be officially couch surfing!!

Have a brilliant Queens Birthday weekend

Enjoy the lovely crisp winter air

and long sunny spells....

And ill see you next week

when a new chapter in my tiny life

begins...

x

the fruits....

I hope you'll indulge me for more more posting about our exhibition at the Primrose gallery?
As I go down everyday to mind the space in the afternoon, I feel as though I'm living down there at the moment... Ive had some lovely people come down to visit to have a chat and see the works... So don't get me wrong, Ive loved every minute of it; I just though Id share a few views of the show that I haven't been able to share until now...
So I hope you enjoy the show
and the fruits of our labour...


The book of drawings! I found this beautiful wooden box a few months ago and thought it would be perfect to show this collection of drawings... and its proved to be very successful. People seem to be looking through it like they are looking at a diary of my time during the residency... which is lovely....


Angela's piece 'Hope' is in the foreground where children's shoes surround a circle of sand and a grassy knoll with white picket fence in the centre....
On the left is the work called '.....there's no place like home'.... which is a transparent fireplace with an excerpt of Advance Australia Fair hanging in the centre surrounded by barbed wire bricks....
It's a powerful piece and is a favourite of Angela's...


One of my large oil on canvas works called Land + Matrix...



On the left is my Sacred Spaces painting with Angela's '....there's no place like home' on the right..

Wall of small framed drawings....

The question....

Angela's Uncertain Embrace installation piece... A wreath of willow hovers above the central prism and looks beautiful as you walk into the space...

The first work as you enter the door...

My diptych on wood called Mosaic Movements....

It's a shot of colour that is for sure!

Uncertain Embrace by Angela, with my Land Connections painting in the background.... You can just see a slither of another painting on the right which is called Mechanics of Nature....

Light Reflection (The Pier) on the left with Calm + Still on the right...

The big one! This is Angela's major piece which is a huge installation called Nest. It sits outside the gallery, next to the studio and has become a beacon of white for all the local residence!

In the evenings the floor of the nest lights up and glows....

So beautiful and worth all the hard work !!!

You can just make out the white porcelain cones in the nest and inside each one there is an LED light...

A fitting end to the show!
I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour...

And if your in the area pop down and say hello...

take carex

o v e r w h e l m e d ...

Sacred Spaces, oil on canvas framed, 2010

Well...
It's up
It's open
It's great!
I'm a little lost for words at the moment.
The Friday night opening of our Spirit of Place exhibition at Primrose gallery exceeded every dream that I had for it! It was surrounded by gushing waterfalls of rain, from the massive storms that hit Sydney that day....but people came... and they heard Wendy Whitely open it... they heard me cry... and they saw the fruits of our labour!

I was emotional all day and so its taken me a few days to take in what has truly happened!
Thank you all for coming and supporting us on such a hairy night and for all your lovely comments that will stay with me always....

These are a few images of the show that is on display to one and all until this Friday, when it will then come down and packed up, along with the studio!
Very sad...
but it was one of the best experiences of my tiny life!!



Ill post up more shots in the coming day as Angela's work is something to see also...especially the beautiful nesting piece of sculpture that sits outside the gallery...
See you soon...
x

i n s t a l l ....

Let the games begin!

The space is finally ready to go

and I now have the green light

to start the installation!

I'm nervous, anxious and a little

excited...

How it will all go?

I have no idea...

All I can do now is keep my fingers crossed

that it's a fun day

and that it all comes together!

Wish me luck

xx

one week....

to go!

Yikes.... where HAS the time gone?!

Flown baby flown....

June is nearly upon us and my impending deadline for works to be finished, finishing touches to be finished, and i's and t's dotted and crossed is nearing....

It is truly amazing what little things you have to think about. Its not just about completing artworks; its all the other stuff that goes along with them such as naming pieces {quite a hard task}, cleaning up edges and screwing in hooks, framing, taking photos, designing invites, cards, press releases.... and so it goes....

The last few weeks have truly been about bed, food, studio, coffee, tv and bed again! My mind has not been able to switch off from all the tasks at hand, and that's with having nearly everything completed! Angela, my studio buddy, is really working hard with trying to get her large installations constructed. Its been a hard task, made even harder by all this rain that we've been experiencing in ol' Sydney town!

Things will get completed and the show will open next Friday!

But from now until then, it will be a fun, yet stressy, ride....

These are a few images from my week...

Enjoy!

The large canvases are getting there...

After a few hiccups in the last few days, where Ive lost my head and my creative brain, these large oil paintings are nearly completed! The big one in the middle has been a source of much frustration, but I think its headed in the right direction now...

My little nook of quietness...

Its in the corner of my studio space and it just sits and acts like a beautiful tiny rest stop for my eyes when they need a break from looking at colour, and oil paint!

This is the centre of my universe at the moment!

The oil paint station that gets wheeled around the space, and to the next painting that needs working on...! I'm loving the oil paint smells, the lovely oozy texture of the medium, and all the beautiful colours that you can mix up... But as for painting itself? Its always a work in progress...

Give me a piece of paper and a pencil any day!

The RAIN! How is this for a deluge!

The sound of it coming down the waterfall was deafening....

And the power of it!

You could have generated a whole suburb on the force of the water coming down....

And just to finish...

This is a drawing that I haven't shown you till now...

Its just been framed and named and im really loving it!

Direction for a new series of works in the future?

Could be....

It's called journeytothesource 2010

Anyway have a brilliant weekend with whatever wet weather activities come to mind!

take care

x