"Waste Not"

At MOMA in New York the artist Song Dong has turned the contents of his mother's former home in Beijing into the installation titled "Waste Not" 

What you are looking at here are the contents of the artist's mother's house viewed fro above. Click on previous  title: Waste Not and read the current New York Times story- The Collected Ingredients of a Beijing Life which is quite extraordinary and view the Multi-media slideshow for the fascinating images.

the latest phase...

Over many years I have conducted classes for all ages, done stints in Secondary School Education in different parts of East Coast Australia, solo-operated a very busy shopfront art studio in inner Melbourne for a number of years in the 1990's -where I ran courses for mostly adults that were memorable for many reasons, worked on retreats, camps, in  adult education facilities and Special Education  and alternative schools (even Nannied in England on a short working holiday!). Quite recently I decided to go quietly for the time being and do classes, mostly through word-of -mouth, from my home studio- in part due to a time of illness and recovery plus disruption resulting from relocation from interstate ...and also given the time it takes to establish oneself in a new place. But mostly the decision came from an experience early last year before I packed up and left Newcastle where I was asked to do a morning Art cclass for some friends that became one of those extraordinary experiences you never want to see end. At the same time I also had several other lovely people coming for individual studio time...also good memories!

 In the past I might have felt it best to make a point of doing larger classes with a very clockwork  schedule.  But since that particularly positive experience of this much more organic,intimate, conversational approach I have realised  tailoring classes to just a few students or even individuals can work brilliantly for all concerned. People of all ages are welcomed into my studio and for me to be surrounded by the materials, books and resources I love to refer to, plus have access to a garden and light and a verandah table depending on the weather, with cups of tea if we wish to indulge...its simply quite magical! The smaller the class the more likely I will sit cosily and work with participants on the same projects, discussing as we go all manner of concerns relating to the task or an artist, a medium and so on.  I find this such an incredibly stimulating way of working that seems to lead to all kinds of other projects and opportunities anyway...It is proving to be a truly wonderful new chapter for me in which to pursue the most stimulating kind of teaching/ learning process.

Below is a photo in my studio with a window to the left of my computer from where I  find myself occasionally distracted watching tennis being played on the next door court. The 2 other photos are of a wonderful group of 4 girls from the nearby school who come once a week to do a class in my studio. Their readiness to jump right in is always high and each session is full of discussion, experimentation and exuberance! This has led to other friends or family members lining up for classes which has been wonderful. Each person to come along really wants to be there... which is always a recipe for success and enjoyment.

Sigrid Sandstrom: from 2005

On an earlier July post: July 6, 2009  I presented 3 recent works by the artist Sigrid Sandstrom. Scroll down to view these works or click here and you can read more about this artist's work. i particularly love the richness of colours in this work!

'jugendforest', acrylic on polycarbonate, 18 x 20 "

Stephanie in dialogue...

Stephanie Levy is an artist and illustrator from the US living in  Munich and these are small images of her work.

What I love about Stephanie's blogs....yes...two blogs...is that one is entirely dedicated to other artists and thus allows us a window into the studios and thoughts of a whole range of creative people Stephanie approaches to interview and post on. Artists who blog features artists, designer, illustrators who choose to blog in addition to pursue their creative work and thus may be of interest to anyone looking at how blogging can add significant dimension to one's working life. Its hard not to like Stephanie's spirit of abundance and penchant for sharing her sunny energy.

Here are a few of her featured artists or their studios:

apol lejano-massebieau

francesca iannaccone

Dolan Geiman

brandi strickland

jamie shelman

the last week or two...

new work based on seeds- on the left a small canvas, behind it a larger work on board in ink and acrylic and on the right-framed seedpods saved last year from a walk in my neighbourhood. Below the black and white photo is of a tree very heavily-laden with seedpods outside a house a few streets from my home.

I have had some great meetings with new people of late... and along the way one conversation has led to another, this person has connected with that new idea...and somehow this has been just the catalyst i needed to move my project forward. Below is a basket full of another species of seedpods near found near home. I'm collecting pods and seeds and gathering more knowledge along the way. This took me to the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens recently where I have tapped into what may possibly be the tail-end (sadly) of the participation by the local Botanical gardens in the 'Seeds for Life'  Millenium Project carried out in conjunction with Kew Gardens in the UK. More on that soon!

I cant tell you what tree this is from but I was stunned by the size and colour of this bloom above on a quite large tree I passed on my walk the other day. Below is a vine growing on someone's car-shed...almost good enough for 2nd studio ....except its a bit open for our rainy climate!

a couple of large seeds from pods (front left)...the brown one quite mature, the green still not fully formed. More on seeds etc soon!

thinking back to january...

                                 'City Rhythm' : drawing in colour pencil and oil pastel  on acrylic paint .    

                      

Tonight I was downloading recent photos I have been taking for my current work on seeds and seedpods when I got sidetracked for a moment looking at images from January this year when I spent a most engaging 4 weeks in this studio at Victoria University's Melbourne (Australia) City Campus.

The Artist -in-residence program at this University was being launched for the first time and I was one of 3 able to claim a space on the 17th floor of the Uni building in the heart of the city for the month of January. Coming from Brisbane it was a most appreciated change of environment and pace which I absolutely relished...and the combination of access to an enormous space, few distractions, friends to catch up with and stay with in this fine city made for  a wonderful time.
You can see just how surrounded by the geometry of the city I was in this studio...which is why it took me a few days of puddling around and just starting by drawing lines, drawing myself into the city rhythm to arrive at where I was. Once I worked that through a bit I was off and trying out all sorts of ideas, out walking the city, going to galleries and bookshops... and generally enjoying the luxury of time to immerse myself in whatever came my way!

I was completely seduced by this row of townhouses below my window, in front of the white roof-top, each with a swimming pool on their terrace (which you might just be able to make out!). I would look out each day for the distant person who might wander out for a swim in one of  the pools...whilst the Melbourne summer temperatures started climbing.  

6 months later the pleasures of  this trip and the luxury of that massive studio space are on my mind. It came after a time of  extended illness and major change, relocation and new beginnings in Brisbane. On my return home, I spent a week in hospital (planned) and the next few of months getting back into

the flow...so this residency was a brilliant opportunity that came my way in the midst of flux. It was massively affirming to be able to have such a good start to the year and now that I am energised and well again I can see how much that valuable experience fostered something that transcended all the chaos of change and was an excellent preparation for what I am getting on with now.

Its interesting to consider the role of the unexpected events in our lives, the re-routings.... sometimes forced, sometimes not...! A number of really wonderful opportunities have turned up after the falling away of other things!

indie art & design from Australia

Tonight I found this weblog featuring products made by independant Australian artists, designers and craftspeople founded originally as a personal project by Sydney graphic designers Carolyn and Martin in late 2006. Read here about their story. A directory of the designers and makers on their site is here. Comprehensive links to other indie sites are here.  The feature interview just now is with Simone Madigan from States of Nature.

photo by Carolyn from indie.com of States of Nature's mixed colour doily brooches (which I particularly love!)

This Destination satchel printed by Simone with water-based dye seems to have been so popular it sold out!

artwork from indie.com art and illustration pages by James Hancock, exhibitor in the 12 x 12 exhibition

This is a very innovative project well worth a look and featuring a large flock of creative talent of distinction. Of coarse I could have shown you so much more...I'll let you explore though!