All Done Now....

Da da. The finished work which was handed in yesterday morning. A package which consisted of a zine, some postcards with a blurb of info about myself - and what kind of art I try to create - and then a box of mini notecards with further examples of my work. About twenty four hours before I handed it in I asked my partner to read the zine. He said it was "a bit depressing". I thought Oh my god, he's right. Why would you want to promote yourself as depressing? You wouldn't. I had been aiming more in the direction of "Hope". I took the first real objective look at it and had a bit of a freak out about how 'wrong' it all was and what in fact had I been thinking the whole time???? I have to remind myself that with creating sometimes you just need distance before you can make an accurate judgement. I still like the concept of what I was trying to say with the zine and am keen at some point to re work it. I do like the mini notecard concept however. Next time though will go for brighter colours. After all am cheerful, happy person.....am not depressing.....

New Zine.

Here are some illustrations from the zine I'm just finishing up for the last of this years assessment. This has been a photoshop heavy exercise and I feel as though I have really 'skilled up' with my Photoshop this term. Nonetheless I'm two weeks past the deadline with an extension and my pervasive health problems have me literally dragging myself towards the finishing line.

The zine is about the years I spent in my twenties bedridden (love that word - it's just soooooo 19th century) and all the fashion trends I subsequently missed out on. I can't wait to get it to the printers tomorrow and will post more of the finished product when  get I it back. Zines are lot of fun - I recommend them for anyone in need of a bit of self expression. Anyway beter get back to work. Hope everyone is having a great weekend :)

Have a heart - Installation.

Here are the fruits of my labour for last terms work which looked at the theme of 'intimacy' - through the production of multiple plaster castings - for an installation work on the theme. I know I say this every term but I think this is the hardest I've had to work so far. The process pictures of creating the latex moulds and casting the plaster are below. The first step  - creating the clay positive, which were the hearts themselves, then painting the positives in latex - making sure the 'undercuts' were supported by latex filled cotton wool - nearly did me in. I had the flu at the time and found it all so demanding and finicky (the liquid latex smelt literally toxic) I swore it would be the first and last time I ever made a latex mould. But then when it came to the casting I took my time, just doing one batch of plaster a day, out in the sun, no pressure, and I got excited about what this process can achieve. Making your own mould and then having the option to just reproduce from that opens up a lot of possibilities. 

The liquid latex smelt like the ammonia from a hair salon. It took about six coats to get this thick. It has some stretch but not a lot surprisingly.

Fun plaster casting in the sun - I needed 15 hearts in total.

OH&S photo opportunity.

My installation chose to look at intimacy in the context of a hospital - the concentration of such intense  life events in a single space contrasted with the sanitised lifelessness of the building itself. It helped that the heart is a traditional symbol of intimacy but to represent it as it is - a bloodied, messy organ which sustains life - pushed the metaphor a bit further than that. I've enjoyed playing around with concepts in this course as much as I have the materials themselves. I can't believe I've only got a few more weeks (and still soooo much work) to go. Actually, I can't believe I've made it this far.....

1950s Fashion Print.

Was nearby my most favourite bookshop the other day and couldn't resist popping in and adding another ten books to my wishlist. Every where I turned was another title to drool over (not counting Boganomics which, while making the list, was an exception for not being in the Art and Design section). If I had to choose just ONE of those books for my family to get me for Christmas (and I do, since we're on a the "Life's Not Just One Big Bookshelf" budget) it would be 1950s Fashion Print by Marnie Fogg. In addition to the beautiful quality of the prints and literal feast of mid century textile design  the cover is cloth bound. Do I need to say more????

Images Via.

Oh, I forgot to mention Marnie Fogg's campanion book to this (just in case some rich relative secretly finds my blog entertaining and is loitering here) Fashion Illustration 1930s to 1970s. It's cloth bound too. Like I say, just in case....

Hello.

 How to ease back into blog world when you've been away for a while? Some pics from Emily Chalmers 'new' book (not that new - where have I been? almost missed this one, and it looks pretty sweet) Modern Vintage Style. I can see it  going to the top of my book wish list. 

A winter full of (hooray!) illness, a back log of study and a commitment to sorting out the financial/administration life of this household (phew - at last,) have kept me away from my blog for a little while now. And I've been missing it too. Not that I am done with any of those things but, who knows, maybe seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in any case.

Thanks to everyone for all the lovely comments about my Kokechi Doll chandelier - it's been so nice to pop in and see that others have still been visiting while I've been 'away'. And welcome to new blog follower Cat who puts me up to a grand total of 70 followers after TWO YEARS or so of blogging. Haha. Nice to meet you Cat! There should be some kind of prize for being the 70th follower....

Kokeshi Doll Chandelier

Bigger than than the sum of it's parts? For my daughters bedroom I made this chandelier, combining two of our favourite things - Kokeshi dolls and an old chandelier -a lucky junk shop pick up for $5. The kokechi dolls were a fair bit more expensive than we would have liked but by then we were fixed on the idea and just had to run with it.... 

Little Yellow Felted Flower.

I REALLY love this little felted flower brooch I found on sale for $5 from Etsy seller Mountain Goth (even though you can't tell from the pic - must improve self portrait camera technique). I have been 'teaming' it with my inky blue wool jacket and this combination has provided no end of delight throughout this current flu season which seems to have had me otherwise by the neck these last couple of months. Funny how little things can make a big difference. How colour and texture can lift. I hope not to remember this winter by the illness but instead by this luxury wool combo :)

Flickr Fave: Bee Vintage Redux.

Here's some great vintage styling from Bee Vintage Redux. I've been trying to get her pics up on my blog for such a long time - just the colours make me feel good. Like wonderful retro candy alongside salvaged vintage jewellry. It's a combination I find impossible to resist. Visit here for more lovely photography or the Bee Vintage Redux etsy site where these salvaged  pieces are re fashioned into gorgeous new bits of jewellry. You won't be sorry!

I'm A Bit Obsessed With...

...this song at the moment "Somebody That I used To know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra. Doesn't it capture beautifully the strangeness and difficulty of having known someone intimately when now they are a stranger to you?  Favourite line of all: You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness. 
Looking forward to the whole album coming out later this month :)

A Hit Of Spring.

This is exactly what I am needing today. A hit of strong colour and floral extravagance to keep me going until these winter clouds lift. Taken from Vogue US August issue, starring Racquel Zimmerman as the flower girl and shot by Steven Klein. Editorial titled Late Bloomers, the Northern Hemisphere is having to drink up the last of summer while here we can only imagine it....

Saturday.

A dark rainy Saturday after a week of almost spring like weather. A friend calls this "Sucker's spring" in Canberra - fooling us into thinking our bunkering down for the sub zero nights is over and that we can now emerge back into the sun in t-shirts with renewed life - only to plunge us back into the freeze for the next month. Cruel. 

A couple of cool etsy finds this morning - an original oil painting by one of my favourite etsy artists Vivienne Strauss above and below this too cool scarf by Celapiu. Hope you are having a great Saturday!

Rusty Foks

"and she grew..." by Matchstickgirl.

Tracey Emin Lite.

Tracey Emin was my chosen contemporary artist for Contextual Studies last term. I didn't know a lot about Trace before that choice, only that she'd made some pretty cool quilts which had subverted the idea of traditional quilt making by appliquéing her thoughts and messages onto them in large felt letters. The subversive bit coming from the nature of her thoughts - angry, tormented recollections from her difficult upbringing which included several incidents of sexual abuse by her mum's boyfriend, a stranger and then a rape at age 13 by an older boy from school. Then the promiscuous teenage years ending in her reputation as a the town slut. I love that quilting is such a traditional female past time and that women throughout history have probably stitched away as therapy for whatever was going on in their lives - their anguishes and joys somehow being stitched in as they went. However here Emin actually spells it out in uncomfortable truths that meet the viewing eye. See more of her work here which includes everything from textiles to drawing, installation art and photography.
As for the CRAP quilt up top, part of the requirement for the presentation I gave on Tracey Emin was to produce a small sample of our own inspired by the artists work. I have never quilted or done any patchwork before and had only half a day spare to do this but I was driven on, I have to say, by the fun of the subversive element and the excuse to avoid writing said presentation. Alas I can find no further need for the CRAP quilt but if you think you might have a use for it let me know. More than one will result in a "giveway" style draw. Less than one will have it donated to the school fete later this year where it will be snapped up by a cheeky second grader....