illustration for I Got the Blues by Mo Crow (aka Orkiszewski) 2012
had a lot of fun with this one especially getting Rod to write the musical notation for the baby crows’ chorus!
Working on these big sheets of watercolour paper is giving me room to move so the lines are getting much looser than anything I have done before, will be interesting to see where they go over the next 3 years. 6 down only 34 to go, I do love a nice long project to dive into !
I Got the Blues finished for the New Moon
Posted: February 21, 2012 in It's Crow Time, musicTags: crows, illustration, works on paper
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Geolog Pod Forms II by Bronwyn Berman artist talk for Sculpture at Scenic World
Posted: February 18, 2012 in art exhibitionsTags: art, inspiration, magic
Geolog Pod Forms II by Bronwyn Berman
woven copper and river stones
Bronwyn gave her artist talk deep in the rainforest valley at the inaugural Sculpture at Scenic World exhibition. Her pods nestle comfortably on the forest floor, a still life in the landscape, the ancient stones hold tales of ancient geology and elemental dreaming of new life.
You can see her work & more being set up in this youtube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPfU5r41BHk
The setting is spectacular
the view from the valley floor
the boardwalk has been built to accommodate & protect the rainforest
The sun came out for a classic view of The Three Sisters, many legends have been told about this area, here’s a link to the traditional owners website to learn more about Gundungurra Country
more pictures from the exhibition
BlueM by Julieanne Smallwood and Judy Paddison
1500 pieces of fired clay
Homeland – Miners Huts by Kayo Yokoyama
154 glass houses with a miniature miner for each home
Sea Pod by Stephen Short
Vivaldi’s Spring Springs to Mind II by Ludwig Mlcek
A Sculptors Portrait by Harrie Fasher
Hunger by Henryk Topolnicki
It was a magic day to quote from Peter S Beagle’s short story “The Rock in the Park”
(“Sleight of Hand” Tachyon Publications 2011)
“… the artist isn’t the magic. The artist is the sight, the artist is someone who knows magic when he sees it. The magic doesn’t care whether it’s seen or not – that’s the artist’s business.
…
And magic’s not an all-the-time thing, you’re never entitled to magic-not ever, no matter how good you are. Best you can do-all you can do-is make sure you’re ready when it happens. If.”
I Got the Blues in process
Posted: February 13, 2012 in It's Crow TimeTags: crows, illustration, magic, music
Am having a lot of fun illustrating Old Man Crow’s
I Got the Blues 
hoping to get it finished by the New Moon next week!
the Angel’s Trumpets out in the garden are in full flight, the perfume was fantastic for the half moon last night
“Travelling Light 2011″ by Marguerite Derricourt and more at Paper Now
Posted: February 11, 2012 in art exhibitionsTags: art, inspiration
“Travelling Light 2011″ by Marguerite Derricourt
molded Japanese Lace hemp paper on stainless steel wire
inspired by the annual flight of the Bogong moths from Queensland to the Snowy Mountains to lay their eggs in caves and back again and how on some years they get sidetracked by the big city lights (as do we all!)
detail of moths
Marguerite makes each moth by creating a highly detailed model in plasticine then takes a silicone mold in which she lays ripped pieces of the handmade paper layered with wallpaper paste, they are surprisingly robust in their fragility as are the Bogong moths
The play of light though the wings and the shadows on the wall enhances the sense of movement, mystery & the moth as metaphor for the nocturnal, ephemeral and ofttime self destructive nature of the artist & the art making process.
The desire of the moth for the star,
Of the night for the morrow,
The devotion to something afar
From the sphere of our sorrow?
from the poem To ____ by Percy B Shelley
here’s a detail of the layers in Bronwyn Berman’s “Breathe in Love through the Heart 2011″
French & Japanese handmade papers, beeswax, poker work, antique glass beads, pins echidna quills & lyrebird feathers
I love Bronwyn’s attention to detail in her ongoing exploration of natural order, beeswax & her delight in the sheer wonder of paper as a sculptural medium!
Brigiat Maltese talked about her wonderfully detailed & collaged explorations of the Capertee Valley
She paints en plein air directly into small Moleskine accordion notebooks then collects whatever leaves, wings and things that the world gifts her onsite and completes the works in her studio
Folded Valley 1 by Brigiat Maltese
detail of first page Folded Valley 1
with a fragment of butterfly wing wrapped twigs & words cut out from an aged dictionary
detail of last page of Folded Valley with a pocket for her found feathers, a weathered stick, string and aged words
Sally Aplin talked about her playful yet formal exploration of the idea of shopping bags
Tianli Zu gave a very entertaining explanation of her intuitively cut piece “Nüwa is pregnant 2011″
Liz Shreeve wasn’t there to give a talk but this detail from “The Light of Reason” speaks so eloquently about paper
Alison Clark curated the show & hosted the artist’s talks for Paper Now and there will be another session with three of the other artists & Birgiat has promised to bring in more books on March 3rd just before the show finishes.
NB all of the images in this post can be seen in more detail by clicking on them
Paper Now at the Incinerator Art Space
Posted: February 1, 2012 in art exhibitionsTags: art, works on paper
Paper Now is on at the Incinerator Art Space
a totally inspiring show on so many levels 
Breathe in Love through the Heart 2011 by Bronwyn Berman
French & Japanese handmade paper, beeswax, poker work, pins, antique glass beads, echidna quills and lyrebird feathers
The Eternal Dance 2011 by Bronwyn Berman
French & Japanese handmade paper, beeswax, poker work, pins, antique glass beads, echidna quills
Bronwyn truly loves & understands paper and explores the underlying patterns of nature that hold our world together
Marguerite Derricourt‘s “Travelling Light 2011″ is a big spiral of handmade paper moths & spoke so perfectly of the essence of paper, flightiness and the nature of moths.
& Liz Shreeve‘s formal explorations of repeating patterns of form, light and colour are subtly fabulous
Maryann Mussared folds & reshapes old books into the most beautiful forms
Helen Mueller & Melinda LeGuay are both artists with deep understanding of the nature of paper.
Brigiat Maltese made a beautiful pair of accordion books exploring the landscape with paint and collage
Sally Aplin‘s formal yet playful exercise bags were fun
NerineMartini’s traces 1-12 explore the idea of fingerprints on delicate Nepalese paper
Jenny Pollak explores the nature of origins by metaphorically & physically cutting a journey through time & paper.
Tianli Zu slices her way through the surface of the page on a huge scale to find not only what lies beneath but also in the liminal spaces in-between
There was so much more & I will try to get back to photograph the show, openings are great for getting a chance to talk to the artists but not so good for taking photographs!
Sweet Mary-Anne final Mk II
Posted: January 25, 2012 in It's Crow TimeTags: crows, illustration, music
The idea of entering the threshold wasn’t quite working so I just added a bit more dark with a fat 6B pencil
it’s still not quite “right” so will get back to this one in 3 years when all the drawings for the songs are finished and I understand more of these two crows’ story, they are looking more like us or we are looking more like them with each drawing!
Sweet Mary-Anne is finished for now
Posted: January 22, 2012 in It's Crow TimeTags: crows, illustration, music
It’s the New Moon tomorrow so I have finished with Sweet Mary-Anne for now
Working with the phases of the moon helps me keep an eye on time slipping away as I want to get 12 of Old Man Crow’s songs illustrated per year. By early 2015 there will be 40 songs all illustrated & ready to have the text laid in (still trying to find the perfect crow font and wondering whether i have to invent it…) The book will be 12″ square, the size of an old 33 & 1/3 rpm record cover with 4 CDs in the back cover. I love having a good long project to focus on!
Sweet Mary-Anne in process
Posted: January 16, 2012 in It's Crow Time, musicTags: crows, illustration, music, works on paper
Here’s the drawing in process for the next song in The Illustrated Lyrics of Old Man Crow
you can read the lyrics & listen to it at this link in Rod’s Shed
Sweet Mary-Anne
using a big sheet of Saunders Waterford 425 gsm H/P watercolour paper that takes the needle sharp 3H & 5H pencils beautifully, it’s like engraving a woodblock & the Derwent battery eraser is a fab new tool that works like a burnisher as well as erasing in delicate spots, this is the line I’m focusing on-
“I got the heart of a peace loving snow white dove
clutched in my claw a gift for ya
Mary-Anne”
NB if you can’t hear it in Rod’s Shed here’s another link to the sound clip
Mary-Anne clipmp3
I want to run away to “The Night Circus” !
Posted: January 15, 2012 in good booksTags: books, inspiration, magic
“The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern
is the circus I have dreamed of running away to all my life!
Her descriptions of the dream spaces and their wonders are all in black and white with shades of silver to charcoal grey & just a hint of red for passion. A book that I couldn’t put down yet dreaded the dreaming coming to an end so have started reading it all over again to savour all the delicious details!
Old Man Crow played at the Sando in Newtown on Wednesday night
so I used the man’s iPhone to record some of the set, here’s a link to “I Got the Blues”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1wxca1vQcM
Old Man Crow (aka Rod Morgan ) guitar & vocals
Nick Hope bass
Doug saxophone
Willem van Ekert (aka young man crow) drums
