The more things change the more things change.

That's how the saying goes and of course its quite true.

circular cotton-rag paper with lino-printed seed capsules

February arrived and I put up the show...

people came...
wonderful conversations ensued...
ideas were exchanged...
friendships reconnected with...
new ones sparked...
artworks went to new homes...
events were held and all went swimmingly...

Friends popped in... pomegranate tea or coffee was offered,
good conversations made the experience all the
more enjoyable and thought-provoking! Thanks D!

tasty morsels were shared

a friend just back from visiting family in South Africa
was adorned with gorgeous handmade things from
 home... if you look closely you will notice the portrait
on the bag below. This photo does not do justice at all
to the patterning on cloth, bag, jewellery nor my lovely
friend whose appreciation for art is such an inspiration!

Now I am following up on tasks that arise from all this wonderful exchange. Slowly but surely I'm working my way through thanks-you's, queries and links.

Soon its going to be moving time.
First the Studio I've inhabited these past nine months will be packed up...

Then my home will be next...
although we are not sure how that might play out.
So things are going into a fascinating transition period but I am more or less ready for that now... if not packed!

What I did happily manage to do last week is something that I find all too easily falls by the wayside... photographing the show... I even filmed it on the last day... although its yet to be uploaded.

I found a wonderful tumblr template here at Pouretrebelle and chose to change my Fascination of plants tumblr to one of the templates called Daeron which I rather llked for a change.

The one I selected to upload the exhibition online was Artemesia for its wonderful horizontal reading and constant-scrolling facility. It seemed closest to that feeling of walking into a show and gazing along the walls to view the works as they come into view.

Take a peak at the artshow here: Recent Art Online  ... You might find a few late night mistakes here and there ... but I'm glad to have a record of the show and most details documented and in one place for easy viewing!

I have new Limited Edition prints available. It is possible to see what's on offer if you simply make an query here. I'll be letting all know if an online-shop is set up... the coming changes make that less likely for now! 

The recent use of my artwork on the cover of The People's Food Plan for the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance generated some interest the week before the artshow and led to orders coming from Interstate through the AFSA membership which was wonderful. Its an exciting venture being run by an amazingly committed volunteer base from all kinds of sectors and backgrounds ...academics, farmers, promotors of Urban ag initiatives, lawyers, teachers... you name it. Dr Carol Richards, key speaker at the 2nd Biodiversity Dialogue event I ran was the brains behind the idea to link my artwork on Seeds with this project she has been heavily involved with for some time.

We are cooking up other possible ventures we might undertake now...  its been such an enjoyable process brought forward by running the Dialogue events. Collaborations that grow from broadening the conversations are invaluable in many ways... not the least just working with good people and gaining much from the stimulation of that. Solo painting time has its wonderful elements, especially as a chance to think and listen to good radio and such ... but I have to say this exhibition brought together some excellent people, brilliant ideas and experiences, and I am ever so delighted to have started 2013 in this way... particularly with the period of change about to commence. I'm taking so much with me when I leave the studio that will enrich the journey this year... no matter what it brings!

Now available as a LIMITED EDITION Print. 

See the online show to see more!

Sophie Munns 

Black Bean Pods,

lino print on paper  

50 cm x 70 cm

During the Cairns Botanic Gardens Residency in Sept-Oct 2012 the artist visited Djumbunji Press where master printmaker Elizabeth Hunter provided simple lino-cutting materials and space to work. Further experiments with lino were carried out in the Residence studio. This approach was decidedly low tech and painterly… lino-printing put in the service of providing a repeatable motif and joyously played with in a series of works .

NOW AVAILABLE: Limited Edition print for $265 large format ( 60 x 80 cm )  or $135 small ( 30 x 40 cm)

                                      Plus Postage and Handling

Last week in the studio

Preparing for an Exhibition in Paddington next month has been keeping me busy. Percolator Gallery, where I will be showing, faces out onto a lively boutique and second-hand shopping precinct on a hillside close to the heart of the city. Even better... its in the same building where my studio is located so logistics are very doable. Consequently I've felt very positive about managing the other things on my calendar at this time which I mentioned in the last post... relocating my home.

The postcard I designed and ordered today as an invitation to the
upcoming show. All the details are on the back. More info here.

In 2011 I made a postcard for an event I was evolved in in Brisbane and the concept of Bio-cultural-diversity seemed to just pop into my mind then and there. Obviously I had absorbed it somewhere along the line.

Every time I glanced at that postcard afterwards I'd think more deeply about the concept. By the end of last year it was becoming  a significant influence on my aesthetic, the general direction in my art practice and my research. I started to write about it and reconsider our place in the world according to age-old practices across time and place.

Gravitating towards print-making once again since the Cairns Residency I've re-examined tendencies in my work over years and noted that it was around 2005 when I'd started working with collaged fabric on canvas fro painting on, and using the selvedge,  stitching and textural features from time to time.

I started working on calico cloth as well as canvas back then and a while later painting on linen. I've painted on cloth since I was at school way back when I immersed myself in batik for a few years ... heavily influenced by having studied Indonesian in Language at School.

I've mused on deep attachments I've had to certain fabrics I've owned, bought at op-shops or elsewhere, having been given or inherited. I had a mother who sewed and was known to find uses for pieces from  my collection. My cherished pieces were left alone though and it occurred to me they are virtually the most durable of things I own, having moved so often Ive been able to see what's lasted through considerable change...and more rightly... what I've managed to pack and bring with. Textiles pack well... and my stash has stood the test of time better then most other possessions.

This fabric I couldn't bear to part with despite its eventual worn-out state. I took these photos at the wonderful Dorothy Caldwell Workshop 'Human Marks' in May last year. Dorothy's art practice celebrated the life of garments and fabrics and much was made from old as well as new materials.

I was overjoyed to have a place to take this once perfect item made from superb Italian seersucker. They'd been made for me years before from fabric I'd found at a wholesalers. Beautifully designed fabric... it had been so light and cool to wear I really missed them in my wardrobe. 

I remember packing for my 2008 move interstate to Brisbane and giving many precious pieces from my kitchen to a few good friends because, not long out of hospital, I was beyond trying to pack prized tea cups and all. What did come with me were the fabrics that have always made wherever I live feel like home. 

An important piece from years ago, a lino-printed and painted table cloth that my mother made with my help in Melbourne 20+ years ago when she was down on holidays takes pride of place on the family table all these years later.

It has such history now... so many dinner parties and events ... it really is of huge significance to her ... and to me. The lino squares featured in that cloth came from my teaching days in the 1980's... reminding me of the extraordinary remote coastal place I lived when those squares were cut. There is an octopus lino-cut inspired by an Ancient Greek ceramic vessel from 3,000 yrs ago. The cloth's design was made up of so many pieces of history... complex and storied. 23 years  later I wanted to make revisit that idea and make another cloth to imbue with story. 

So this is what I was working on in the studio last week...

Working on a linen-cotton piece of fabric 200 cm x 140 cm ...with the idea in mind to create a cloth to be hung, not stretched! Exploring Bio-cultural-diversity across cultures, time and landscape of late got me thinking about Tapa cloths in particular.

In Queensland one sees these cloths wherever Pacific island people are represented. In Cairns I felt so much more a part of the Pacific ... the presence of island people is very strong there.

Reading about Tapa cloths online tonight I found these notes from the Kew Gardens Economic-Botany Collections:

Bark Cloth

The Economic Botany Collections at Kew house around 40 specimens of bark cloth, a versatile material made from beaten tree bark, once used widely in the Pacific Islands and Indonesia . Bark cloth comes primarily from trees of the Moraceae family, including Broussonetia papyrifera, Artocarpus altilis, and Ficus spp. It is made by beating strips of the fibrous inner bark of these trees into sheets, which are then finished into a variety of items.

The main use of bark cloth is for clothing. The Collections at Kew illustrate the amazing ability of this beaten tree bark to form soft and delicate items of apparel. Examples include shawls, loincloths, headdresses, skirts, dresses, shirts, and even a tight fitting jacket. 

Bark cloth has not just been worn, however, but has also been used as a wrapping for the deceased, a dowry, a room partition, and a mosquito screen. The cloth has played an important role in the societies of the South Pacific, being incorporated into folklore, religion, culture, and ritual. It has been popular in ritual gift exchange, in everyday trading and in healing ceremonies, and it has been used to symbolise status and wealth, with the level of decoration, the style of wearing, and the amount of cloth worn signifying rank.

 In Tahiti , for example, the upper class wore the ‘ahutara' or shawl over their shoulders, while the lower classes wore one rectangle tucked around the body and under the arms so the shoulders were exposed to passing superiors. Meanwhile, in Fiji the length of a man's loincloth symbolised his rank. A chief's loincloth would drag on the ground, while a poor man's loincloth would drape over his belt as little as possible.

Each region in the Pacific developed its own unique methods of production, style of wearing and design. The Economic Botany Collections at Kew have examples from a wide geographical range, including Pitcairn, Hawaii, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Futuna, Tonga, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Sulawesi, Halamahera, Seram, New Guinea, and Java. The samples cover the many diverse uses, designs and styles of bark cloth, and are the result of a number of private collectors and colonial expeditions in the 19th century, from HRH the Duke of Edinburgh to the mutineers of the HMS Bounty. Most of the examples at Kew date from the late 19th century. The production of bark cloth slowed considerably in the 20th century, eventually dying out in all but a few islands as missionaries from the west visited the Pacific, bringing with them western ideas and goods such as cotton textiles. In fact, it became a sign of a convert to wear cotton, rather than bark cloth.

With the manufacture of bark cloth in such decline, the Collections at Kew serve as an important reminder of this unique craft. The specimens kept here will provide present and future generations with a chance to see samples of the beautifully crafted cloth, and an opportunity to learn about the societies who once used bark cloth in nearly every aspect of their lives, from clothing their children and adorning their priests to healing their sick 

The part that interests me at this time is the way the Tapa cloth was incorporated into folklore, religion, culture, and ritual ... and with this feeling of the value of ritual, cultural practice and remembering I  worked on the 'Homage to the seed' cloth last week late into the nights.

Building up layers slowly by creating a foundation using square lino tiles that I've been using for 26 years now. There is a personal history held in the marks the old lino-squares make... coupled here with recent lino cut motifs. 

I like to merge the organic with the more geometric... working in a painterly manner ...leaving space and adding dots which always to my mind are seeds ...especially after times spent in the seed lab counting tiny seeds... dots as seeds. 

The lino-prints are worked with in this painterly way to allow for a raw and natural aesthetic... also reflected in mono-printing with recycled polystyrene trays... a quick way to do series of stripes and some of the dots. 
Interestingly much of the Islander work may not feature a 'raw' aesthetic, but, rather favour extremely precise and masterful line-work, cutting, printing and painting techniques. A Thursday Island artist I met in Cairns described the high level of competition in his community (amongst males) to draw well and produce prints that were extremely fine works.

An area of the cloth that feels like a painting within a painting. Seed-capsule circular cross sections are shown on the right. My objective is not to emulate in any way cloths that one might see... but to focus instead on making something that holds stories for me and that may communicate something of the continuous thread of nature... the eternal cycles and rhythms.

In the workspace the cloth was so large I kept turning it around ...using a table I could move as needed.

Getting closer to completion... working flat on a table where one's vision is not an overall one make balancing the composition and colours a little harder. There is a desire to retain some of the raw first layer and to allow the fabric to show through... it is a painting... yet its not quite how I usually go about painting. On a stretcher frame there is more freedom to overpaint, or take out an area thats not working or adjust colours and so on.

I like to walk away from work nearing completion so I can get some perspective.
This work will be in my Exhibition coming up next month at Percolator Gallery... so it will be interesting working out how it should be hung... and seeing whats needed for it to feel complete. A bit of finessing to get the compositional balance I like yet. 

My next cloth is almost completed now. I went with a simple composition for that one... lots of raw fabric showing through. 

I look forward to putting these up to see them properly.

I've posted The making of a 'Homage to the seed' cloth (9 photos) on my Homage to the Seed page on Facebook  so if you wish to follow the Homage to the seed page visit (above) and click on like! 

Welcome to those new to this blog and I wish all a most productive week!

Mark-making at Bunya

When I was told about a 4 day workshop at Bunya last year I had not heard of the visiting Canadian artist who would be leading this workshop. I picked up the message from the host that it was a not-to-be-missed event and gladly paid a deposit then preceded to get distracted with things till the call out came this year and I found online links. 

Nothing however could have prepared me for the 4 days of teaching I have just experienced at the home and garden of gracious host Roz who brought the wonderful Dorothy Caldwell to Brisbane to present her 'Human Marks' workshop.

I've assembled the following photos as a snapshot of the 4 days... but I will post more at the studio blog soon as I wish to link to Dorothy's work and also her friend from South Australia, India Flint, who was here as well and will be doing a workshop this week at Bunya plus a book talk at the Brisbane City Library on Friday evening at 5.30pm and a showing of her work next day at Bunya.

The first day was filled with lively mark-making processes...  some centred around the garden.

I was delighted to meet with various one's Ive met online or in person before as well as a number of new faces. The large works above were done in the garden with brushes on long sticks... free gestural works.

The one just above was by Tracy whom I took awhile to realise was a blogger I had been on contact with at Soewn Earth. I'd only known her as T from Tasmania...and this person at the workshop was Tracey from Western Australia... so I was seriously surprised to recognise her as T, find she had moved to WA and that of course I was already familiar with her wonderful work!

Dorothy Caldwell

I used this leaf for one of my tasks... loved the unusual shape.

Stitching was a big feature of the workshop and one I loved given it is all too rare I get to use a 

needle and thread these days despite having grown up surrounded by fabrics and threads.

making pages... 

tables full of book making materials

afternoon on the third day... a quiet but contented lot!

the first book I put together

last day... pages ready for the next book. This is a collection of pages from a number of the group.

Dorothy gave us presentations each day on the elements that 

make up her practice and the inspirations for our tasks.

Work above by the inspiring Imbi Davidson whom I've written about before... it was great to catch up again... above is her process for assembling her book. I'll be sure to post on her upcoming exhibition in a couple of months time.

I sat next to the inspiring Sandra... lover of all things textile, flamboyant, quirky etc good conversations flowed. Will be linking when S gets her blog up...! Note green sequins in her hand... looking forward to seeing much more from this talented woman!

Small books that were our first effort

so much inspiration from Dorothy and everyone in the group... 

14 people in all!

Kellie was so inspired by India's class some years back that she is now 

studying full time... this was her table above ...so much good stuff going on!

below: pages from books...

The last 6 images are from Imbi's book... I wrote this 

post here on a painterly session with Imbi last year!

Dorothy Caldwell at the end of the 4 day workshop.

Shall pop back in with more links as promised...

If ever you get the opportunity for a workshop with Dorothy its an utterly unique opportunity for engaging in multi-dimensional thinking... I really loved that there was such depth in her approach...  incredibly warm, human and encouraging yet stretching nevertheless to consider many fresh ways of working. 

Her capacity to offer input was so subtle and yet significant... much to think on indeed. I am sure many who also attended have been musing today on what came form this hugely enriching 4 days. I'm also extremely grateful to Roz and family for the gift of excellent hospitality and organisation.... and I;m ever so glad to take away many rich memories and conversations to cherish!

Now back to painting Dna images for a few days... the fascinating thing was that I worked so much in black and white at the workshop... not unlike the graphic work of the previous week!

Hope your week is wonderful... deadline here so its a busy time for sure! If I am not managing to visit you will know that I am madly painting for the 18th of May!