Tuesday, November 19, 2013

fresh works and new directions...


Darting here and there at the moment... thought I'd show some work that I'll be putting up for the Studio Launch this weekend.


it was so enchanting last week to spend a couple of nights puddling around with colours on paper ... unconcerned about what direction I was heading.


Paul Klee's writing and imagery on seeds and plants has been a fascinating exploration.



I enjoyed working representationally when combined with elements of abstraction.




Loved how these seeds pods had a uniform number of branches on each stalk... 4 pods in every case.



Pomgamia is a tree growing around Brisbane streets with pods falling on pathways... something that always stop me short to pick up and pocket for later.



Pongamia up close... botanical details here at Wiki.

Wiki Excerpt: Oil made from the seeds, known as pongamia oil, is an important asset of this tree and has been used as lamp oil, in soap making, and as a lubricant for thousands of years. It can be grown in rain water harvesting pits /ponds / lands up to 6 meters water depth without losing the greenery and to produce bio diesel.[7]


Another tangent is the Biodiversity Conversation Plate series... written about in other posts recently.




Hand-painted porcelain plates



using seed and pod motifs



come in several sizes and have been displayed on new shelves ready for the weekend showing at the launch. Its a small area of wall between two front windows... so light is good even if it didn't help when taking these shots!




I'll quickly close with several images from a brief project I did locally with 12 yr old students at a Brisbane secondary school last month. These individual works were set up for show in a huge black theatre space... hence the black walls!



Together we explored seeds and Biodiversity.


We had 4 brief sessions in all.. and covered a lot of ground through dialogue on various themes around seeds and biodiversity. It was interesting to hear their thinking on this and then take it to a public audience for response!



Buzzing off now. 
Best to all,
Sophie


7 comments:

Valerianna said...

Wonderful work, Sophie. Love the representational with the abstraction... and the plates are great.

Sophie Munns said...

Thanks Valerianna!
Starting to hop from one space to the next ... busy, busy here. I think more time for the merging of representational and abstract soon!
CHeers,
S

ArtPropelled said...

Loving your plate series and explorations on paper.

LAC EMP 2020 said...

Sophie, I was only just reading another blog where the writer did a review of the current Klee exhibition in Tate Modern. I had no idea he has written about seeds etc. Can you point me in the direction of this information please? I find him a fascinating man and love his work especially the puppets he produced for his son. I love all of your explorations shown here. For me, you are fearless, maintaining your focus on your key inspirations and pushing ideas everywhere. I wish I had half your energy!

Debbie said...

Beautiful work and I am loving the plates, the students work is great.

Blue Sky Dreaming said...

Sophie, Great new work coming out of your studio. I especially like your combining of realism with shadow and line...lovely! The plates continue to create marvel and the student work is inspirational! Enjoy your studio days!

Anonymous said...

i like how each kind of seed likes a different kind of soil.