WORKSHOPS + NEW WORKS

Hello to wanderers who happen to pass this often neglected spot in the blogosphere.

After a period of slowing down to recover from a winter virus followed by a week of tech glitches I'm happy to say things are moving again. 

I've given new life to the ONLINE STORE I set up earlier this year called SeedArtLabStudio at Big Cartel.

One of the New Prints available in two sizes UNFRAMED

When adding these to the Store I divided the artworks into related series... one lot are seed photos, most are digital altered artworks and photos that are highly layered and 'hybridised' images. I've often painted in that manner over 2 decades so it was an interesting extension of my work.

Online Store: http://seedartlabstudio.bigcartel.com

The other work I've been pursing of late is planning and running workshops. With the development of the Seeds through An Artist's Lens workshop for PLANTBANK in May Ive been able to run this at SeedArtLab Studio which is at my Brisbane home plus begin to make plans to offer it at other venues.

Michelle Auer

The two images, above and below, are from last week's Studio Workshop. Michelle and Debbie were returning from the previous month to add another day to their new experience of exploring Seeds visually. Michelle brought this Hand-bound Journal she had made using pages from our previous class... that was incredible to look through and I really loved the idea of using pages from a specific time in a new book.

Deb below surprised us with a huge stack of Photos she has taken on theme... nature, leaves, seeds, bark and so on. Stunning! I was incredibly thrilled to see how beautifully she captures her subject and the flow through of thematic material. She had described herself as a beginner so it was fantastic to see the strength of her aesthetic awareness. She was able to reference some imagery in her tasks that day.

Deb Davison

It has been an interesting process working out how to schedule home Studio workshops seamlessly, without chewing up too much time & focus. I slowly hit apon the idea of going away from the studio to run bigger workshops in venues for other organisations for the most part... then being able to work at home with small groups, only on demand, rather than doing that highly constant scheduling, like clock-work, once a week ... go, go, go. The result has been brilliant. Small groups... 2 to 4 people... plenty or room and time to get to know each other. Artistically it is actually really fulfilling for me in this set-up as I can join in, pull things out to look at I've been working on plus generally bring a more alive energy to the studio without the pressure of constant grind...............................................................

Speaking of other venues ... I'm returning to Sydney in September for another PLANTBANK Workshop at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan.

I've put a map up here... its been very confusing for some as to where this Botanic Garden is. It is sometimes mixed up with the National Australian Botanic Gardens in Canberra... understandably.  

Sydney has three gardens... one in the City overlooking the Harbour, Opera House etc, near the Domain. It was established early on in the settlement of the City.

Mt Tomah is at the Blue Mountains due west of the city and is a spectacular day trip for being in that location.

Mt Annan is virtually on the Hume Hwy, the link between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne...and close to the very early established Agricultural region for Sydney at Camden. The grounds of this Botanic Garden are huge and contain all Australian Flora. 

Plantbank was opened on the grounds in 2013 although its actually housing 30+ yr old NSW Seed Conservation projects. One can get here by car or train/bus... although due to the extensive grounds a vehicle sure helps.

I made the notes below for my Instagram posting last night:

SYDNEY Mid Sept ... who'd like to muse on seeds in Australia's most exciting #biodiversityhotspot contained in a NEW architecturally awarded facility known as #Plantbank at the @australianbg in south west Sydney???. Leave your contact deets/email here so I can send INFO... One day only is possible if you have a long drive & can't stay nearby. Bring a friend or bring yourself for a totally unique opportunity that will likely blow your mind & leave you with so much to think about! Definitely an OPPORTUNITY that will speak to both BEGINNER dabblers with the curiousity to learn much more and ESTABLISHED/seasoned creatives keen to respond to something very exciting and timely that is central to future challenges and #needtoknowagendas! Text your email to 0430599344 if that's best for you!

You can check out the FB event site here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1475346906115018/
at the FB page of Australian Botanic Gardens Mt Annan.

Images from Plantbank residencies:

Melaleuca globifera

Waratah seeds and pods - Floral Emblem of NSW

X-ray seeds

In fact anyone who would like to know more can write/text & also follow my Instagram feed which keeps posted on such things + updates very regularly.

A recent blog post about the workshops can be read here!

Cheers all!

Sophie