clearing one's head...

Yesterday it was great to get out for a walk after some rainy grey old days. A friend and I met at Brisbane Powerhouse for the walk along the riverside pathway. Once the supplier of power to the tramway network of the city as well as suburban power it has been converted more recently and opened 10 years ago as Arts precinct.... hence the sign below which is one of 4 by artist Richard Tipping (see at end of post).

Great walking around this area....love how the Brisbane river curves around....snake-like for miles!

The Powerhouse building is well worth a visit... Saturdays twice a month it hosts a growers market on the grounds.

Today was just as sunny and on route to the studio I stopped for coffee not far from the studio... love the city views in this area. Whoever lives in this house has a great view.

Across the road from the house above is the surprisingly ramshackle one below which incidently is one of the grooviest cafes in Brisbane. I used to stop there last year on route to the Botanic Gardens for a coffee and chat... but this year have been so busy that today was the fist visit in a long time. There's no signage out the front. I once asked what it was called and have completely forgotten because I named it 'the cafe with no name' and like to keep it as a secret destination.
Inside the walls are painted black and the seating is very relaxed ...plenty of good magazines to read and THE best coffee. There is about 3 things on the menu...all of them toast... but the best - I like the  excellent sourdough rubbed with garlic and smooshed with ripe tomato and and a splash of olive oil!
And when this town turns on the heat I can tell you sitting in this dark cave of a place is perfection...
It is seriously the most refreshing place to visit ...it rewrites all the rules...but gets the most important things really right.(and its not far from my new studio.)

OK... so what have I been painting for the last 3 days? last week I added more pages to my 'homage to the seed' journal and revisited work from a few years ago... then worked with ink on paper and reworked some older work. Basically just feeling my way into the work after a break and the relocation.

Then 3 days ago I picked up a 60 x 90 cm painting on canvas I decided I was unhappy with and completely went off in a different direction. If change is as good as a holiday... then this is the holiday I meant to take but have as yet put off. For 3 days I have listened non-stop to radio national...a lot of election reporting which has now become tedious, although I must say this election has me fascinated.

I have caught some brilliant programs - losing myself in the world of Radio National and this altogether mysterious painting below. Why I say mysterious is because it has a life of its own... I'm coming along for the ride... its dictating to me and I just shut up and follow. As I have been working on it I feel my head clearing. After 5 hugely busy months where it seemed all go, go, go.... this has been like doing a very large puzzle... the brain activity of deciding ...ok... this colour here...that line there.... its enveloped me in a way that has had the effect of clearing my head. After chaos ...the re-ordering. Probably I need to do a fair bit of this re-ordering in my home office and such...but starting here is a very enervating place to 

apply that energy.

I have no name for this yet. I know its not finished either ...but Im wondering if the finished work is as important as the process in this case. Below is a close up of a section of the work...

Whatever will be next?

Anway...back to the artist who's signage art works were shown above.... Richard Tipping. If you click on the word editorial below it will take you to the text he wrote for this Australian Art Journal. See Google images for further visuals.

Editorial

Artist: Mr Richard Tipping, editorial

Richard Tipping looks at the role of text and language from an historical and contemporary context, covering areas of interest such as recent technological advancements, graffiti culture and going as far back as 46,000 years to briefly discuss some of the oldest found examples of Indigenous cave art in the south of Australia. Along the way he looks to medieval and ancient Phoenician developments, Clement Greenberg's promotion of painting as a purely optical experience, one in which text has no place except as another kind of surface, the role of Dada in claiming the relationship between word and image and discusses other important figures such as Duchamp, Brancusi, Stephane Mallarme, Christopher Brennan, Picasso, Braque, Kurt Schwitters, Charles Olson, Alex Selenitsch, Allan Riddell, Rosalie Gascoigne and many others.

Art Found Out - World Arts Observed

Tonight home late after a peaceful session in the new studio I chanced upon an interesting blog called Art Found Out via the delightful La Vie est Belle.

both images from La Vie est Belle.

Shona Heath

ART FOUND OUT  is a fascinating blog "committed to artists who are informed by the world around them or driven by highly personal artistic vision". The statement in the right hand sidebar is most illuminating - comprehensively put together by Scott Rothstein over the last 4 years.

The range of artists presented is extraordinary - the accompanying text excellent - so much so that there is a rich archive here to trawl through and appreciate the diversity of art forms and individual expression.

One artist featured from Cuba is Jose Garcia Montebravo whose work is extensively archived at www.indigoarts.com - a site that contains a vast wealth of artists from many cultural backgrounds.

Montebravo was born in 1953 on the south coast of Cuba, about 4 hours from Havana where he still lives. A prolific artist who has shown many times in Cuba and abroad.

'Infanta con Pez', 2004

From India artist Lalitha Lajmi

images from Saffron Art - site for contemporary Indian Art.

Saffron Art Profile:

Coming from a family involved in the arts, Lalitha Lajmi was very fond of classical dance even as a child. "But we were from a middle class background and my family couldn't afford my joining a classical dance class," recalls Lajmi. She had the urge to paint too, and her uncle, B.B. Benegal, a commercial artist from Kolkata, (where Lajmi grew up), brought her a box of paints. "I am a self taught artist and have received no formal art training," she says. "I began painting seriously in 1961, and in those days one couldn't sell one's work. I had to teach art in school to earn a living." 

One of the best watercolorists in India, for Lajmi, nurturing her passion for art and cinema was a constant struggle. Indian films have been the biggest influence on my work, especially the ones made by my brother (Guru Dutt), Satyajit Ray and Raj Kapoor." 

Even though she read art books regularly and constantly experimented, Lajmi says, "there was no sense of direction in my work until the late 70's. I felt I had to evolve." By mid-80's, she was doing etchings, oils and watercolors. She held several exhibitions at international art galleries in Paris, London and Holland. In Lajmi's works, one finds a strong autobiographical element. In some of her later works, particularly the ones from late 80's and early 90's, one can find a reflection of hidden tensions that exist between men and women, captured in the different roles they play. Yet, her women are not meek individuals, but assertive and aggressive. "I use the images of Durga or Kali on the top of emaciated men who are kneeling, almost as if they were in the middle of some form of classical corporal punishment," laughs Lajmi. 

Lajmi has also depicted the natural bonding that exists between women, between mother and daughter figures, perhaps drawing from her own relationship with her filmmaker daughter, Kalpana. 

And from London....  a most curious one called The Museum of Everything: a space for artists and creators outside modern society. 

Go to the museum site and click on 'Some of our artists' ...then on an individual name to read these obscure yet fascinating bios.... I had a look at a number of the artist's brief bios then googled for more info.

One of many featured was Hector Hippolyte: 1894 -1948 - House painter and voodoo priest collected by Andre Breton who created his works with chicken feathers and furniture enamel spread by his own fingers.

Erzulie Auf Einem Delphin

Also at Art Found Out this link to a website:  Through the Sketchbook

 featuring many artists - click here.

below: From the sketchbooks of Beatrix Potter

From the Victoria and Albert Museum: At the age of 8 Beatrix Potter was already studying and recording the characteristics of a wide variety of animals, birds and insects in a home made sketchbook.

Kunjba wardan baki kunjba jingkal ngambalangi munji munji

That title translates as 'Karrwa bush foods and medicines' - karrwa language you ask? A group of Borroloola women produced this book to share their knowledge of karrwa bush foods and the Karrwa language with others.

When researching yesterday for a Homage blog post on a wonderful new book I'd heard about on Radio National I came across the publisher Batchelor Press and was intrigued to notice how many different languages they are producing material in for their indigenous language speakers.
Here I have featured posters for teaching aids.  These 4 themes remind me of the extraordinary wealth of language, scientific knowledge and also mythological readings exist for these elemental aspects of the natural world that are part of the enormous legacy we have from the indigenous people of this continent.
I remember finding the language that was from the people in the location I grew up years ago and being very touched to read some of the vocabulary - I found a word for being in love that translated to"becoming soft" - I was left to wonder about the people who had inhabited the land where I grew up... the language was a way in and I was sad to think at school we never got anywhere near thinking about any of this.

Batchelor Press is the publishing arm of the Specialised Publications and Academic Resource Centre (SPARC) at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Northern Territory, Australia.

The teaching and learning resources developed at Batchelor Institute are produced primarily for Indigenous Australian students living in remote communities, the majority of whom have English as a second or third language. The content of these resources has been developed by community elders, students and teaching staff with many years experience in ESL, distance learning and curriculum development.

Poster Language: *

 English

 Blank

 Alawa

 Bilinarra

 Central Anmatyerr

 Djamba / Gupa

 Eastern Arrernte

 Kaytetye

 Kriol

 Mudburra

 Noongar

This poster is available in a range of Indigenous languages

on the road.... around australia in 365 days... more or less!

the car that didn't make it!

This is an introduction to an adventurous artist I met in Brisbane last year. Before I really got to know Candice  she had headed of on an epic tour of the continent - and being the good blogger she is ... well ... I have been able to follow her life on the road.

Candice Herne is a visual artist and currently is travelling around Australia in a caravan with her husband and 2 children aged 5 and 2. Click on her blog to see the things they do, people they meet and places they see.

                                              ( this text and image is from her website!)

The shy Peacock ( I had to sneak this image in... love the colours!)

camped in ruins - far north South Australia

click on a salty death - Lake Eyre to read this fabulous post.

Of course all images at this post are from Candice's camera and blog.

'old signs along the way'

 a tyre thats blown out ... on the road-side

The famous Oodnadatta Track - a dirt track through the bush Candice reports.

Near Cooberpedy

Cooberpedy - the opal mining town in South Australia. Read more here.

... and to the famous rocks of Central Australia

click here.

and after all that red dust...

the Hot Springs at Mataranka

and near Darwin... it might be winter there but by all accounts its steaming hot!!!

Thank you to Candice for allowing me to share these fabulous photos with everyone... If you have a moment do hop across and see the wonderful blog. A couple of months back Candy had one of those fatal nightmare moments that all bloggers live in horror of. She lost her blog's entire image bank up till that day!

OK... it wasn't the complete loss of her blog...but close enough to cause deep dismay. Life on the road being what it is ...and with 2 young children ... she knew it was not going to be easy to retrieve all those photos... so after much consternation she simply decided that on her return to Brisbane - or when help was available... she would try to get back what she had lost as it was possible... with a lot of effort.

Being the plucky person she is... after a few days she picked up her camera and was off again... and didn't you just love coming along for the ride?

Leave her a good luck message of you get to visit and say hello from me!

Happy travelling Candy!!!

a grrl and her dog

...a little story ( in images) about a grrl with a dog which I think you will love if you dont already know her!

image : from Guerilla in the dog house

grrl with hallowig

dog with hat

tea and scones?

not just knitting... love this felt disc jewellery!

ok... now that you are here I think its time for you to jump over to Denise's wonderful blog grrl + dog so that you can read the latest post Hot House Symposium which I very much enjoyed reading...

a wee quote form the grrl herself:

      

Enter the artists.

As visioners of alternate futures,

artists have a precedent as the "go to" people

in times of crisis when new ideas

and solutions are needed.

She tells a great story about a project by a group of English ladies - this photo is featured in that story.

Ive been away this weekend and enjoyed a slow couple of days mostly spent conversing about the kinds of changes afoot in our personal lives and communities near and far - coming home tonight I was delighted to hear from denise and this prompted a visit to her blog and the thought to have you visit and read what she has to say on her recent experiences. All images are credited to Denise Litchfield. Visit her website here.

Liked this image below of our grrl on radio....