Love This House.

I have fallen in love with this house currently featured at The Selby. A 1960s bungalow in Auckland, New Zealand belonging to karen inderbitzen-walller and delphine avril planqueel. It makes such a nice change from what serves as my usual interiors eye candy which is often too perfect and over styled -  to the point of wondering if any body actually lives there. Check these pics out and you'll see what I mean - there is no question somebody lives here. I only wish I could go hang out there with the owners, having a cuppa on that old yellow settee in that sun room and then a long leisurely trawl through their nick knacks, book shelves and magazine collection...

Go here to see the lot including the amazing pink kitchen, bed cover made from a vintage girdle collection and a back yard you can see yourself having a picnic in. Happy viewing!

Blossoms In The Dark Heart Of July.

Earlier this week was one of the bleakest days this place has to offer. Dark, bitterly cold and inhospitable. The best place to be was home and in bed. And I would have stayed there but for the pressing need for groceries and scripts waiting to be filled. So off to the shops it was. And that's where I found these blossoms - incongruously in bloom on this darkest of days. Amazing! I know this row of trees and that they do bloom out of season every year but this early? Just as we make our slide into the coldest most inhospitable month? I had no choice but to get my trusty camera out and exercise my amateur photography skills...

Sculpture Gone Surreal.

 

         

    

Ifanyone remembers my efforts earlier this year at sculpting my own head  - with exact measurements - and plenty of struggle along the way (getting each degree of 360 accurate was a headache - no pun intended!) then this is what became of Part Two - abstracting the finished head in line with an art movement or some other element of inspiration. I chose Surrealism because I wanted to explore a recurrent dream I'd been having about houses - dreams where I 'd be in a familiar house that would suddenly reveal itself to have an unfamiliar room, doorway, hall etc. There were many variations but the constant was a sense of discovery. Sometimes it was disturbing. Sometimes it was exhilarating. I'd expressed this a while before in some of my illustrations, finding that my figures were ending up with houses atop their heads. It's a classic dream I suppose but what I didn't know while I was doing this part of the sculpture was of an amazing exhibition that had taken place in London at the Barbican about a year ago called The Surreal House which explored the relationship between Surrealism and the House - something I had naively been unaware of and thought was MY connection!!!!!

Hardly. The Surrealist Declaration of 1926 states: 

We have no intention of changing men's habits but we have hopes of proving to them how fragile their               thoughts are and on what cellars they have erected their unsteady houses.

The house was the Surrealists preferred metaphor for the psyche and unconscious as well as holding much  symbolism for Freud who put this to great use in his psychoanalysis.Once I had discovered the Barbicon exhibition and all the traditional connections between the house and Surrealism the exercise became so much richer. I ended up getting a lot out of it and maybe even decoded my own 'house' a bit along the way. Particularly fun was making the new eyeballs to reside in my 'unconscious' house and creating the 'blind spot' in the consciousness! The only down side? I've stopped having the dream.

PS A fantastic 30 second video for the Barbican exhibition is on You tube and worth watching here. It so wonderfully captures the eerie place of the house in dreams.

Brooch Swap Completed - "The Daydreamer".

Well here I have it, finally, my finished effort for the brooch swap - "The Daydreamer"-  so called because I still have the Surrealists on my mind from last terms study and thoughts of the unconscious mind! I hope my Swapee likes it! Mailed right on the deadline, started 3 days before that once I had my essay and other work out of the way. It's the first brooch I've ever made and I really, really enjoyed it - I'd like to make more but I think I need that little bit of pressure to  get things done (unfortunately). She's made out of mostly recycled materials too. There's a couple of process shots below....

I'm off now to have a look at everybody else's efforts. I've resisted until now in case I got intimidated and stressed about not having started!!!

Canberra Zine Fair

A couple of weeks back now but here are some photos of my very first Zine fair. A lot of fun given I didn't know what to expect and only had a few cliches in my head styled mostly from the movies Chasing Amy and Ghost World. I had wondered  if sellers would be getting out their sketch books during quite moments and indeed some did. I myself arrived a little under prepared. You may be able to see that from my minimalist display (will know to bring a table cloth next time at the very least) and also was still sewing buttons on throughout the morning. In fact one potential lady customer asked if that (ie. me with my sewing kit attatching buttons) was all part of an installation art piece. "Please. Don't overthink it" muttered my charming and youthful neighbor Rafael, once the lady had gone (not buying one!), who had set himslef up brilliantly to sell his poetry/writings and had, I have to add, immediately put me at ease by telling me my own zine was "adorable". I was perhaps a little worried I wouldn't fit in, the Zine fair being billed as part of Youth Week at Gorman House. It turned out though I was far from the oldest Zine enthusiast attending. Glad though I had thought better of bringing the hot water bottle which had been pressed to my lumber region 24 hours previous the fair for an annoying torn muscle injury. That might have sent the wrong message totally. 

Anyway, down to business - My Zine was called Love Hate and and is essentially about my love-hate affair/ addiction with fashion magazines. I sold over 25 of the little things - $4.50 with buttons attatched and $2.50 without. While I also bought a fair few of the other Zines on offer as well as doing some swaps with other zine creators I certainly reached my goal of making enough to feed my other addiction - books. Win-win. I was too shy to get anyone to take a photo of me at my stall but some collectors from the National Library were there taking photos and you can see me hawking my wares ever so aggressively (not) right here.

Mothers Day.

Here is the mother's day card I received today from my 7 year old son. The dominant theme appears to be "ways mum neglects us"- drawing, painting, sculpting - juxtaposed with a secondary, more insect  related theme - a mid air supremacy battle between a bee and dragon fly. I just love getting my hand made cards from the children (the fresh copy of Paris Vogue didn't hurt either) but especially this year as it was starting to look doubtful. On Wednesday I had heard the "hushed' arguments between my 12 year old daughter and her little brother. My poor girl had just been deluged with assignment due dates for school and, worried she would not have time for card making, was trying to ensure her brother would do one. Disagreements ensued, voices raised and then I hear the words no mother wants to hear from their little boy's sweet lips "So when will I get the money?"...Hmmmmm. 

I did have to intervene and explain no one wants a card under those circumstances and we all let the vexed situation pass. So it was with delight today I recieved a handmade card from each  - both produced under just the right conditions. Awwwwww... 

Brooch Swap.

Hello. It's been a little while for me since engaged in blog world. Lots of study commitments to get through (made it though - hooray!) and lots of illness (not hooray). Not to worry, have found my way back in today by engaging with this exciting idea I found at flowerpress.blogspot of a brooch swap. I've been thinking of making some brooches once time allows and more lately becoming quite excited by the idea (as you do). Also I've never done a swap before and that's got to be fun so why hold back? Also Susie is allowing lots of time in the deadline which gives me heaps of confidence. Mind you I pretty much just wanna start now. First things first though. Think I might have a little look around  all the sites I follow and see what I've been missing out on. See you there :)

Six Weeks Down.

Hard to believe I've made it through the first six weeks of my course, having completed the Sculpture and Printmaking components, simply because I didn't think I would.. I can't believe how intense the course is. Part of me wishes the pace was slower but if I'm honest another part of me is exhilarated by the challenge and having my skills pushed ahead like this. I worked really hard to complete the artists book that was to 'showcase' our lino efforts, thinking I would reward myself with some sewing projects afterwards but no time for that as it's right into the deep end now with painting - yikes! - and on goes the pace.......  I wish I could put up some photos of what I've done (the sculpture of my head - now abstracted in a surrealist style - to scare you and the bookmaking/lino print project because I really like it) but our main computer is out of action due to a virus (the whole thing now has to be emptied out and rebuilt) and I can't access my photos. I've had to satisfy myself with this beautiful image pinched from an Abundance recent post. Worth a visit there as Mady always has the most beautiful and inspiring images.

Another thing I'd like to put up is the zine I've made for the printmaking course. The first one I've ever made which was a lot of fun and exciting since I've always loved zines, though not done one myself. I'm even taking my teachers advice and have signed up for the Canberra Zine fair next week to try and make myself a neat $4.50. Oh all right, I hope to sell more than one, I can't lie, but if I make enough to buy a frivolous fashion magazine then I'll be happy. Actually I really want to read the book We Have Met The Enemy (have you heard of it?) about excess, temptation and addiction in our culture so I think I'll aim for that which will mean selling 8 of the little things. So wish me luck. I'll try and post it during the week (if only my partner could just get that little bit nerdier and fix the virus....). Hope you are having a great weekend.

XXX.

Lino Cuts and Waffle Poisoning.

A big BIG thanks to everyone for their lovely, helpful and supportive comments on my previous whinge post. I appreciated them so much and they absolutely helped me move forward. I now have a sculpture that doesn't look unlike me (the goal) and if you are brave enough scroll down to see it's latest progress. I'm only just brave enough to put it up. I actually think it looks more like Special Agent Dana Scully from the TV show The X-Files (but then  I'd always considered there was a bit of a resemblance there. If you are reading this now Gillian Anderson (and why wouldn't you be?) you have the permission to play me in the Hollywood movie version of my life.....).

I also confronted my fears of lino and just committed to doing the best with what I had available (ie focus, health, time, skill). That's all you can do and having a long weekend here was definitely in my favour. Thinking also I might ask for an extension on this brief  -an artists book titled Intimate/Obscure which uses lino print self portraiture to hint at aspects of yourself!- and that should help ease the pressure too.

Lastly just a couple of photos from my mothers birthday brunch last week. Mum has been unwell lately so dad took control of the festivities and produced an impressive effort of a birthday cake. My little boy had also put in requests for his favourite foods - waffles and fresh donuts with sugar and cinnamon. My overriding image from the day is him sitting up at the bar eating waffle after waffle after waffle long after everyone else had finished. Then springing up on the news there would be no school the next day for 20 victory laps of the table. Mum and I agreed he showed all the early signs of acute waffle poisoning...and I think the photo somehow captures that...

Whinge Alert: Medium Level Complaints.

This is not a happy post.

At least it wasn't on Monday morning when I begun it. However a visit to my acupuncturist, a gorgeous Chinese woman named Mei, who with her deft fingers and magic pins, shifted the previously unshifting virus so that what seemed hopeless on Monday morning is no longer quite so. I had all but given up hopes of study. But now realise I'm still hanging in. Week four and not beaten. Which is good - this is a dream to be studying visual art. And yet....there are problems. And seeings this is a dedicated whinge post why waste it? Here it goes then...I am struggling badly with a life size clay sculpture of  myself (the head part that is). Week four and I'm still getting nowhere. I have photos of it but have too much pride to post them. I hinted to the teacher that I have an odd and particularly difficult face that didn't lend itself to clay replica in the hope she would say "Yes,  I see what you are saying, just do the best with what you have, bravo you!" but she wasn't buying it. All I got was some gentle suggestions and experienced direction. The cheek! Printmaking is also a struggle. The pace is fast and I feel like the only one in the class without any lino cutting experience and without the time and energy to gain it. It's frustrating. I know in the face of circumstances I can't change that what I most need is an attitude change but for the moment pride is getting in the way....

Maybe I just need a cup of tea.

Image and brooch by Amy Borrell.

Pepper Stitches Mix Tape Cushion.

Pepper Stitches is the very clever person who did this embroidered cushion of a Mix Tape which I have been meaning to put up here ever since I saw it (ages ago now). I love this so much. Firstly because it is a really good design but also the great nostalgia for mix tapes it brings back. For anyone old enough to remember mix tapes were incredibly laborious and sometimes as you waited with your finger over pause for a song to end you wished there was an easier way of bringing together your choice songs. But as we realise now, that was the whole point - it was a labor of love. For the music or for the person we were making the tape for. That's what made them special and a really great way to say, as Pepper illustrates "I Like You". I guess that has been lost with the ipod - convenient and compact as they are. And the itunes store in their own kind of cleverness makes it hard to deliver your choice of songs to someone else in any kind of comparable way. A bit sad. I definitely miss the slow thoughtful process of the mix tape....

PS This clever design is available free to download from the Pepper Stitches blog along with several other great patterns here.

Couture, Kristen and Chandeliers.

The September 2010 issue of Italian Vogue (which my sister thoughtfully bought me for Christmas!) contained the Grand Couture supplement of which I'm still feasting my eyes on. Twenty pages of Kristen McMenamy, impractical couture and - you guessed it - chandeliers. A Perfect combination. Like a modern day Ms Havisham, Kristen Mcmenamy with her strong, hard features draped in glittery couture and languishing in a dilapidated mansion. And how about that giant chandelier? Like I said, a feast for the eyes..

Images via Fashion Gone Rogue.