Weekend Art Sale in aid of the UK Research Trip

Lots happening here!

See what I wrote about my wonderful friends at Brewbakers over at the Homage to the Seed Blog! All I can say is some people are so inspiring!

Its been a busy week in the studio... finding things, finishing off work, emailing things out, putting together collaged works using earlier work on paper.

Invention and reinvention.

When playing piano years ago I used to be taken with the title of things... loved Bach but then loved Debussy too. 'Variations on a theme' ... those titles quite appealed to me. I liked that naming of 'what is' ... instead of something fanciful I could see what was going on and why the name.

Here area few variations on a theme...

This one below has been hanging around my studio for a few years... the linen perfectly suited the fabric collaged on... one  piece of Italian Seersucker from pants I sewed with this material I adored. I couldn't part with the fabric... so had to use it here. Selvedge... love that... and the raw edge... it was waiting to be completed ... finally i worked out what was required.

Below is a work that i did in 2002-3... it felt a little lonely when I did it... didn't quite fit with most of my other work at the time... curiously it makes huge sense now as a forerunner of my seed and pod works... also the infinity symbol... this one is totmeic for me..I dont think I could part with it!

These four works are 40 cm x 40 cm square... and all are, in part, collaged with paper or fabric... This approach of doing a lot of work on paper in long sessions over several days always serves me well... a lot gets produced. Much of it feels too raw and unseemly at the time.... BUT later... thats different!

Above: The one on the right below features a fabric layer with raised line drawing of the pod.

The thing I love about the variations is that they provide ample chance to play with compositions, colour and painterly approach.

Its exciting to not feel bound to any one way or look... probably why I try and do a lot of work like this from time to time.

30x 40 cm

These squares are 30 cm x 30 cm... except for the middle one on the left which is 20 x 20 cm. There's really too much happening here to assemble these together... but its practical for this purpose.

These panels are 20 x 60 cm...

This one below is rather intense ...the work on paper is from 2007 and its kicked around my studio ever since waiting for me to work with it. The paper underneath is a red brown colour and then there's a little copper paint as well. I did a lot of knitting in 2000 after my house fire... There was no real flow in my work at the time...i was studying a few painting subjects at art school and trying lots out... but somehow I wasnt in any rhythm that spoke to me. 

Knitting helped! 

I was growing woollen paintings from my needles and then a while later i felt compelled to make paintings from that gesture of the knitting! I find it curious sometimes how the mind and the body both try and find a common impulse.

Then out of the blue is this oval below which I was working on last year ...then came to a stand still. It featured seed capsules from rainforest pants... cross sections of the capsules to be precise. yet in this and another one the pods kept busting into flower... as they do! It was most unsettling ... so I got it out last night and had another lash and it seemed ok... 

So its been a very pleasant time working on these things for a week ... seeing what comes. Thinking time... meditational for sure. The most expansive pursuit in the midst of other busy-ness.

If you've read the flyer I did for the Weekend Art Sale you'll have noticed the afternoon tea advertised. We are doing a special tea ( or coffee) with goodies for $10... both days from 2pm. Some poeple will pop in earlier in the day ....however ... afternoon tea has been popular.

These are the cups which have been donated to me to sell on the weekend!

 I've had the most delightful collection of fine china tea cups donated by a family friend to use at the afternoon tea and sell

at the end of Sunday's gathering!  Warmest thanks to Lyn Chan who chose to gift them to me for this special occasion as a 

tribute to her late mother. 

The garden has had good drenching rain over the past week ... and it need that! It would be wonderful now though to see the sun for the rest of the week so that our afternoon tea is served in the garden after all!

cheerio...

and do pop in if you're in these parts!

I wonder where i found this?

I wonder where I found this... ?

Take a look at that owl ... Im wondering if anyone knows who's studio this is from?

I was so inspired by this post from another southern hemisphere destination that I wrote this post to say so and along the way found some great shots of this industrious woman's work ... so had to add them to my post. Do go see ... you'll be very pleased if you haven't already discovered the mystery person... she's a bit of a wise owl I think... Love this owl and love this capacity of hers to weave webs of connections from her passion for the creative process and its wondrous and varied manifestions!

Bravo to out friend ... !

Before I head off ...

... I have another story to share .... today I popped into Brewbakers, my local to-die-for artisan bakery/cafe that produces the best sourdough breads, bagels and more. 

Note the way there's a roller door between the baker's workspace and the public... when its warm... or in this part of the globe... outrageously hot ... the roller door is up and one can sit with one's coffee and bagel taking in the process ... and catching the aroma as well!  It would make a good studio too! 

sourdough donuts with handmade berry
puree - forget the mass-produced jam!

I wrote about them here at this Studio blog post last month to announce their support of my project and the up-coming trip to the U.K.

The story I wanted to share came from Caroline ... she and Richard, he the artisan baker, together own this business.

This week a customer told her that whilst overseas for work they had been trawling blogs and came across a story about an artist where they suddenly noticed a reference to a fav local bakery/cafe back in Brisbane. Looks like she had been visiting the wonderful Mary Zeran who quite recently posted on my UK trip & project... including material that referred to the support I had received from Brewbakers.

The woman was quite amazed ... and curious to say the least... and made a point of telling Caroline who was also surprised and delighted. Who'd have thought?

Well  ... we bloggers know its a small world and you never know when your path will cross another's.... where orbits will intersect. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and do go visit the Owl post wont you! And Mary's!

If you're in this fair city ... well you  know where I'll be sipping coffee!

ciao.

S x

DONT FORGET.....

visit the event page at my website if you want to know more about

tumblring on a monday morning...

When I found this tumblr:

at  THE LONE ARRANGER

interior design with a twist.....and sometimes an olive.

www.thelonearranger.biz

I. I liked the images

2. I liked the format

so...

i tested it on my tumblr: seed capsules and i decided to experiment.

If you click on those large titles you will go to the tumblr sites i have set up...the first back in January... the other one on the weekend simply as a place to archive the images of my work that find their way on to tumblr here and there.






SEED CAPSULES

keeping place for visual and other ideas for visual artist

ARTWORKS
:    S O P H  I E M U NNS

view work from the studio of sophie munns.
click on each image to see larger version.

about the Lone Arranger... this is what was on their website:

story

erin ellwoood

The creation of The Lone Arranger was born out of the realization that I’d been happily doing this service free of charge for my friends most of my life. I would rearrange a room at their request (well, usually at their request), help them choose paint colors and furniture, rugs and fabrics, and kindly inform them of what they needed to get rid of. (I’ve been known to take a couch or two out to the curb.)

Then I met the fabulously gifted artist and designer René Norman. Turns out, she had been doing the same thing for most of her life too. She lives in Austin, Texas. I live in Ojai, California. So, we decided to do the same thing in different states (both physically and consciously).

Our desire is to appeal to the demographic of people who might never have the courage or the finances to call an “Interior Designer”… the title alone can be intimidating. One thinks of retainer fees, and thousands and thousands of dollars flying out of freshly painted windows.

We want to be more approachable and fun. We consider ourselves “Spatial Therapists” more than “Interior Designers”. Due to our many combined years of art and design experience, we can usually turn a room around (for the better) in a couple of hours with the help of the client.

The Lone Arranger offers spatial therapy for everything from a “Quick Fix Space-Lift”  to an “Uber Space-Lift”. No job is too big or too small for us. We have worked together and separately on many small, medium and large scale remodels and projects.

Your turn René…

rené norman

Ditto……I’ll have what she’s having.

Like this!

found via Ralf Bohnenkamp tumblr

succinctadjectivewhat is your succinct appraisal of our situation? concise, short (and sweet), brief, compact, condensed,crisp, laconic, terse, to the point, pithy, epigrammatic, synoptic, gnomic; formal compendious.

wonderful words from across the Pacific

At the moment.....  I'm writing hundreds of emails each week, joining dots all over the place, attending meetings, going to computer classes to get up to speed,  doing a lot of planning, and more planning, presenting on my project at various locations (this has been very stimulating I must say!!!) and dealing with the usual hiccups.... one's very independant 81 yr old mother had her car stolen (very big hiccup for her), the "is there fresh food in the house?" question... and where are those missing papers? Etc, etc.

Its life.... make some big plans and more starts happening all around!

Am I keeping up? ... well... today feels like a huge tidy up will make all the difference! 

So how good was it this morning to find in my in-tray a message from Mary Zeran that she'd posted something on what I'm up to at her wonderful blog.

International System

acrylic, archival acetate on bristol
11"x14"
Mary Zeran
2011

This is a new work of Mary's which I was delighted to discover this morning through her flickr site!

Titles of her works often make me pause to ponder. Mary loves words and I am appreciating this over time more and more when an email arrives and there might be a long yet most lyrical thread to the writing.... rather like this image. 

If you go visit Mary's 'Adventures in Art' blog you can read the post which gives her take on what I'm up to .... her generous spirit is well in evidence! Click on her Post here: DONATE THROUGH THE AUSTRALIA CULTURAL FUND TO SUPPORT SOPHIE MUNNS IN HER UK RESEARCH TRIP IN OCT/NOV 11

Its something of a challenge to be this upfront... Last night I sent out a series of e-invites to the WEEKEND ART SALE at my Brisbane base COMING UP VERY SOON!!!  and in this mail-out gave the background to the research trip and project as it is now. Of course that covers the Donor program as well.

I've talked to a lot of artists about this and many report a similar reticence at times when putting out the message... even after having worked tirelessly for months, even years... and having worked on the promotion and with the dates looming. 

One simply has to get on with the show - so to speak..

So how much lighter is one's load when a friend who's been watching things build, who already sends small notes of encouragement ... then just posts a wonderful story and offers it up like a gift.

Deepest thanks to you Mary!

You are
cordially invited to come along to the Reeve St Art Weekend

10am to 5pm

afternoon tea from
2pm ($10)

artist talk
3pm

other times by request

in aid of research trip to UK!

Read the page I pinched this bold yellow text from here.

thinking sculpture.

From the site: COLOSSAL:

Thanks for this Russ... something to think about... the second sculptor I recall having seen his work in person. This late night posting is a bit of a rush job after a huge day... forgive me for this post on the hop!

Carbon Sink: What Goes Around Comes Around.

 A Controversial Installation at the University of Wyoming.

Carbon Sink is a controversial new installation at the University of Wyoming by British artist Chris Drury. The sculpture, a 36-foot spiral of logs morphing into charred coal, is constructed from trees that have died from skyrocketing beetle infestations across the western United States. The beetles population is usually tempered by cooler weather, but as global temperatures have grown steadily warmer due to climate change caused from the burning of fossil fuels and, ahem, coal, the insects have flourished resulting in decimated forests. Sounds like the perfect message for an art installation to me. However lawmakers in this coal mining state aren’t happy and veiled threats have been made to potentially cut funding to the university. For now the school is standing by Drury saying they support his artwork while not necessarily endorsing its message. (vialustik and climate adaptation)

Its interesting how easy it is to become seen as subversive these days... !

Otherworldly Paper Sculptures by Chun Kwang Young

Sculptor Chun Kwang Young uses a seemingly infinite quantity of small foam wedges wrapped in Korean mulberry paper to create imposing, meteoric installations that seem to crack and splinter like fractals. Via the New York Times:

Chun’s preference for using natural dyes and handmade mulberry paper was born from childhood memories of his uncle’s pharmacy, where small medicinal herb parcels that were similarly wrapped with paper and hung in tight clusters from the ceiling in order to protect them from insects. [...] “I love nature and I want to live my life in harmony with nature,” he said. “Our ancestors lived modestly and simply, and thought all lives should be respected. “I hope my work can take this traditional Korean message forward to modern society.”

Like yesterday’s paintings by Kim Hyo-Suk it’s difficult to imagine without seeing these in person that they’re actually real. (images courtesy ravenel, nate dorr, mu-um, andjasmine trabelsi)

Busy times... a quick post... hello everyone...!

I'm with you frankie!

If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question?

Amanda Hvidrass

Name: Amanda Hvidrass

Age: 12

Location: Denmark

Occupation: Student

Website: hvidrass.blogspot.com

List:

• my diary
• a picture of me and my sister
• my favorite wristwatch
• my dog, who unfortunately couldn’t join in the picture
• one of my favorite cd’s, nirvana - nevermind
• my converse
• my little box with my outcome skate teeth
• my cell phone
• ray ban sunglasses
• my favorite book of all time, the pillars of the earth
• and at the end, my campers (the shoes you see down in the bottom of the picture)

8/4/2011

19 NOTES

1 COMMENT

Yongki Hermawan

Name: Yongki Hermawan
Age: 30
Location: Jakarta. Indonesia
Occupation: Photographer
Website: http://mxtind.tumblr.com/

list

• Tricycle from 70s ( Bridgestone picnica )
• Lubitel 166 camera
• 120 film
• ipod
• sarong for pray
• blue sweater
• pink t-shirt
• spoon and fork
• casio baby-G
• vintage glasses
• ID ( not pictured )
• handphone ( not pictured )

8/2/2011

41 NOTES

0 COMMENTS

Frankie Anderson

Name: Frankie Anderson

Age: 29

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Occupation: Administrator

Website: http://fleetingmomentproject.blogspot.com/

List:

• I wondered around my house, looking at the ornaments and memories that filled it.  I collected a few things, even photographed them.  But somehow they didn’t seem to fit together. And then I looked down, at my feet, and realized that all I needed or wanted to ‘save’ from the burning house was me.

All these posts above were from this tumblr below...

If your house was burning, what would you take with you? It's a conflict between what's practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question...

well... the truth for me is this happened to me in 2000. I was home & it was 11pm...ABC radio was playing the news and I got a rap on the door... "Sophie... fire!"

Well I was painting so i didn't rush. I put my brush down and thought about this...  oh someone has burnt that Risotto I made for dinner.

"Sophie ...Fire!" came the call, more urgent than before... and I got up and looked out the door and smelt the unmistakable smell then saw the back of the house burning.

We shouted the details...yes... Jodie had rung the fire brigade... yes, Carlos was fine... "the neighbours!" I said... "our houses are SO CLOSE!" 

I ran to the neighbours either side and introduced myself. I'd been living in this house less that three weeks.

They thanked me and as I walked back to my house I thought... yes... these houses could all go!

I stood motionless in my bedroom for a long moment and looked at all the items I had been lovingly unpacking of late and finding places for.

What do i take I thought?

I went to the door and looked up the back of the house again... more yelling to each other... the front of the house was OK just at that time... But we didn't want to risk staying to take stuff out so I raced back into my room and grabbed my overcoat...it was winter... my bag ... making sure my keys, wallet, diary and everyday essentials were there. I took no clothes, precious objects, a life time of journals, books or pictures.

I went and sat in my car which was safely away from the house and the tears rolled. It had been a tough couple of years. I suddenly realised I had survived everything that had been thrown at me in the previous few years... and that I didnt need my stuff... it was "stuff"... I was intact... no-none was hurt and that really was all that mattered.

Tonight this amazing tumblr blog immediately brought back all those memories. I looked at the beautifully curated collections that people had assembled ... fantasies perhaps of what they'd take...or imagined they'd want to take. Who knows... maybe some people are just so clear-minded they can work out in the moment what to grab. For me it was really a case of ... is everyone fine? I recall the others were like this too.

I went back the next day having told myself it really was OK to lose it all. We'd watched the house burn for hours before I'd gone to stay at a friend's place nearby.

Imagine my surprise in the morning to find I had not lost a single thing in that fire. The other two weren't so lucky. Why I dont know. That's always remained an absolute mystery to me... how I managed to pull things I owned, intact, out of the kitchen where Jody's things had burned and melted. She was weeks away from leaving to go join her husband overseas.

I know some people have things collected in a safe ready to grab in case of fire. If one lived in a bushfire zone this would make so much sense.

So now you know why I'm "with" Frankie...!

 

Anyone been tested in similar circumstances???

... hope your week ahead is a good one all! Look after yourself and those around you!

S x

PS a huge thank you to the lovely people who have contacted me with kind support ... donations, various ideas and suggestions, and great offers to help at the event coming up!

Read the previous post to find out more ... if interested you can donate here!

Do let me know if you have any questions...S