Fairfarren is open!

This arvo Barry Ferrier aka Doctor Baz will open the show at 4pm playing a selection of Old Man Crow’s songs with backing by Pierre Luniere on bass & John Kaldor on pedal steel
See you there!
Artsite Contemporary

preview for Collector’s Choice 2020 at Artsite

Collector’s Choice 2020 at Artsite Galleries opens this weekend!
here’s my 3 offerings
Too dark? Mo 20
black glove leather, black leather cord, papier maché, grape vine tendrils, linen & silk thread embroidered text on vintage black suede over board
H 36.5cm x W 36.5cm D 5cm
Holding the dark Mo 20
black Italian glove leather over bookbinders board, black vintage suede lining, black leather cord, grape vine tendril, lead fishing weight covered in gold leaf, red and black Ormosia coccinea seed (a gift from Peter Webb  plant guru extraordinaire 1974), black linen thread, red Gütermann upholstery thread
H 8cm W 8cm x D 8cm
The chicken and the egg revisited Mo 20
eggshell mosaic over bookbinders board, lined with chicken leg leather & red leather cord held together with waxed linen thread, Gütermann upholstery thread & knotted japanese cotton, wishbone, red felt heart, myrhh, glass & ceramic beads, white feather
H 8cm x W 7.5cm x D 7.5cm

See you there!

Spring 1883 at The Establishment Hotel

Linde Ivimey Arno 2009
steel armature, acrylic resin, dyed cotton, natural and cast chicken & fish bones, 24ct gold and ruby
48 x 53 x 35 cm
Gould Creative Spring 1883
Louise Saxton Frida (after Kahlo 1946) 2017-18
reclaimed needlework, glass beads, lace-pins, beading-pins, satin ribbon, nylon tulle, on archival mount board
147 x 101.5 cm
Gould Creative Spring 1883
Louise Saxton Lover’s Eye (after Vermeer c.1665) 2018-19
reclaimed needlework, lace-pins, beading pins, cotton-velvet, nylon tulle, on archival mount-board
90 x 120 cm
Gould Creative Spring 1883
Louise Saxton Pearl (after Vermeer c.1665) 2017-18
reclaimed needlework, lace-pins, beading pins, cotton-velvet, nylon tulle, on archival mount-board
90 x 120 cm
Gould Creative Spring 1883
Ian  Cheesman installation
calf skins, cast bronze arrows
The Vivian Spring 1883
Matilda Davis never ending sabbath of turmoil and true love 2019
oil on canvas, trim.decoration
50 x 40.6cm
Neon Parc Spring 1883
Lore Langredies Survived #1 wall object 2019
cut roedeer hide, MDE
Funaki Spring 1883
26 galleries presented their selected artists in the rooms of the swanky Establishment Hotel for Spring 1883
the lighting wasn’t great and the works were difficult to appreciate in the small rooms but in this 21st C world galleries are trying to make the art viewing experience more interactive, for me & Old Man Crow it felt a bit too gimmicky
the best moment was meeting Louise Saxton in real life, I have admired her meticulous work for years online

Catherine Truman : no surface holds at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery

yesterday we visited Catherine Truman’s touring exhibition ‘no surface holds’ at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery
In Preparation for Seeing: Cell Culture Glove 2015
white cotton glove encrusted with glass spheres, Coplin jar, microscopic slides, steel forceps inlaid with glass spheres, light pad
Ongoing Being detail 2010
mixed media
Crab Claw installation 2015-17
glass spheres, crab claws, bones, shells, sea urchins
no surface holds is a line by the Belgian/French feminist Luce Irigaray from her book ‘The Sex Which Is Not One’ (1977)
Truman notes “it’s a potent piece of writing… about the dissolving of boundaries that exist between two people.”
Catherine writes “I’m illusionist at best and when I make an image or an object the catalyst is usually a very transient impression, something fleeting, perhaps just a sensation. I become deliciously absorbed in the quest to make something tangible of that sensation and yet I know it’s actually impossible. I work with the notion that all knowledge is fluid and can be altered by something as simple as the shifting light.”
Catherine is one of those amazing artists who builds bridges between science and art, a very inspiring show
then this morning Jude Hill began her Patchwork in Perspective Part 2 looking at components and their fluidities of connection
which got me considering these leftovers from the dream…

Jenny Orchard ‘All Tomorrow’s Stories’ at May Space

Jenny Orchard’s solo exhibition ‘All Tomorrow’s Stories’ at May Space opened yesterday afternoon
I fell madly in love with her magical Monster with Windswept Branch 2019
ceramic with bronze branch
53 x 35 x 33cm
Jenny grinning with MaddyMonsterMedievalMemoriesMulticreature 2019
ceramic
61 x 35 x 35cm
her fishy pet has such beautiful pointy teeth!
Kudu Catwalker 2019
ceramic, hair extensions, fibre 165 x 60 x 50cm
‘Drunkenness is a triumphant irruption of the plant in us’ Giles, Deleuze 2019
ceramic, metal base 134 x 45 x 45cm
Ra 2019
ceramic, concrete, mosaic, synthetic hair, fibre
142 x 42 x 30cm
Ra’s fabulous pointy toed shoes!
Crocodile Whisperer 2019
ceramic, mosaic, metal stand
106 x 25 x 30cm
Three worlds Treewoman with Blue Labradorite stones 2019
ceramic and labradorite stones
90 x 30 x 25cm
Guccipet 2019
ceramic, feathers, black tourmaline stones
40 x 42 x 56cm
another view of Jenny’s marvelous Monster with Windswept Branch 2019

Artist Statement: “Science tells us how close we are to other animals, we share the form of most of our organs with so many of them. Like them we have two eyes, two ears, breath and entropy, and like them we can laugh and cry. Even those who are foreign to our eyes have bodies which, like us share a genetic code and DNA that goes back through time to beginning of life on the planet. We are the future and unknowable destiny of the planet itself, now that we can manipulate the code.

My imagination is blown wild by that knowledge. I am both more and less than human through my interactions with our collective technology and consciousness.

I want to make creatures that ask Who am I, and Who are You?”

click the link to see lots more photos and details of Jenny’s wildly whimsical and wise wonders

inspiration in the Blue Mountains

we caught the train up to see Essentiae at Gallery One88 in Katoomba
Colleen Southwell’s work is astounding
detail of her flannel flowers
Colleen has such a fabulous eye for the exquisite beauty of Mother Nature
then we walked up the road to visit the Three Sisters
the wild beauty
a seriously steep walk !
the long view
with the blue of longing
Eucalypts
have such beautiful bark and form
feeding the dream of moving to the mountains
now it’s time to get back to drawing a few of my favourite things
a few of my favourite things Mo 19
graphite and watercolour on A3 Canson drawing paper
starting from the left
steel and red velvet box by Olga Cironis
invitation card detail of Hideous Human Angel # 6 by eX de Medici 2008 for the Sold Out show at Boutwell Draper Gallery
Crania Anatomica Filigre 2011- 3D printed skull by Joshua Harker with a feather from Michelle Slater
Kokopelli card by Carol Duprey 2005
Crow card by Glenda Jones 2004 for her Lustre exhibition at James Harvery Gallery
SW magic gourd by Carol Duprey 2004
sand dollar
Skull Mug by Jenny Orchard 2013 with crow feathers and The Cat’s Whiskers (a wand for seeing in the dark)
Pod 2015 by Bronwyn Berman
card with blue cat on  XVII century tile panel, Fronteira Palace, Lisbon Portugal
SW magic gourd container by Carol Duprey 2004
wood rose
print of the Letter D from An illuminated Book of Cats from an odd perspective
Crow feather for flying
parchment stars

a wobbly internet connection makes more time for drawing and stitching

x fingers our internet connection is working again after a very wobbly week
the good thing about being offline is having more time for focusing on the drawings
and mending Old Man Crow’s jacket
it’s getting lacier
and lacier
reinforcing the edges
and the elbows
he wears it well!
and talking of stitching & drawing we visited the Dobell Drawing Prize at the National Art School on Saturday
Leonie Andrews 365 days 2017
stitched with her eyes closed every day for a year
Jenny Orchard All Tomorrow’s Stories 2018
ink on card
Hyun Hee Lee Winter Letter 2018
ink, cotton, thread, pencil on Korean hanji paper
Stephanie Eather Cave of Altamira (in Brunswick) 2018
charcoal on a huge canvas
Ari Chand Juxtarepository 3 / Catch a fallen star and put it in your pocket 2018
graphite on paper
Noel McKenna Interior A 2018
ink on paper
Wendy Sharpe Ladders to the Sky 2018
gouache on concertina artist’s book
Chris O’Doherty (aka) Reg Mombassa) Robot ‘priest’ with captured Australian, Hunter Valley 2018
charcoal, coloured pencil, glitter on paper
artist talk with Chris O’Doherty (aka Reg Mombassa) George  Gittoes and Wendy Sharpe
you can see more photos here

Botanica 2019 at Lion Gate Lodge RBG

Hakea laurina by Tess Mahar
watercolour
560mm x 620mm
Eucalyptus sp by Kate Nolan
watercolour on vellum
180mm x 200mm
Themeda triandra by Kate Nolan
watercolour on vellum
180mm x 180mm
Eucalyptus x tetragona by Annie Hughes
watercolour
300mm x 240mm
Trichocolletes hackeri by Angela Lober
Watercolour on vellum with gilding
60mm x 50mm

Papaver nudicaule by Dianne Emery
Mixed media, conte, pencil and gouache on acrylic ground
470mm x 570mm
Botanica 2019 Art Exhibition: 20th Anniversary
is on at Lion Gate Lodge, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney til April 14th
all images courtesy of the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens
see the full catalogue here

The Ideal Home at Penrith Regional Gallery

The Ominous Domestic
eX de Medici 2017-18
Gilded wood, printed and embroidered Duchess silk, mixed media
eX de Medici (fabric design, project manager)
Janni Liangis (gift of original sofa)
Robert Little/RLDI (photogaphy and digitisation)
Sharon Peoples (embroidery)
Azzopardi and Hancock Upholsterers (restoration and upholstery)
Lisa Fletcher floral arrangement)
Sharon Peoples machine embroidered eX de Medici’s Seat of Love and Hate
she wrote about the process on her blog last year
the spiky Euphorbia was the starting point for this massive undertaking
Sharon honoured eX de Medici’s meticulous attention to detail
the eerie view through glass in an adjacent bathroom
in the next room
Karla Dickens Bound 2015
Polyptych in six parts
Bound by Money
Canvas straightjacket with brass buckles, vintage printed cotton material, printed canvas money-bag, coat hangerBound by Marriage
Canvas straightjacket with brass buckles, vintage printed cotton material, homemade wire dog muzzles, waxed linen thread, coat hanger
Bound by Land
Canvas straightjacket with brass buckles, cow teeth, vintage printed cotton material, coat hanger
Bound by Children
Canvas straightjacket with brass buckles, artificial flowers, embroidery, artificial lace, coat hangerBound by Beauty Myths
Canvas straightjacket with brass buckles, plastic combs, human hair, waxed linen thread, coat hanger
Bound by Addiction
Canvas straightjacket with brass buckles, plastic monkeys, printed cotton, coat hanger

“BOUND” by Karla Dickens

You asked for it
in front of God
for better or worse
in sickness and in health
‘till death do you part
hand-cuffs lock vows
obey

Not in front of the kids
reassure the unborn baby
pegging tiny singlets on the line
hands tied behind her back
dying desperate housewives
crippled by fear
pregnant

Home sweet home
black and blue poorhouses
with a high security guard
a decorated cell
common place anchors
dreams of great escapes
hung high by a worn heart-string

You’re lucky you’ve got me
ugly whinging bitch
wrapped in tight cruelness
a social dress malfunction
out of date and damaged
drowning in shame
be grateful

You need me
mummy’s little helper visits daily
waiting on a chemical disaster
too lost to care
too numb to fight back
knots of effective confusion
disgraceful embarrassment

Impossible departure
in ropes with closed wallets
depending on a pittance
worthless money-makers
cutting off circulation
restraining the sunshine
imposing quiet punishment

Bondage isn’t sexy
if an everyday tool
cover up the swelling
buckled up for pain
blood-stained devotion
promises of change
sorrys no more

Run

The Ideal Home at Penrith Regional Gallery
closed last weekend
Carolyn Skinner of Oz Arts Magazine wrote a brilliant review
I am still digesting my response to this hard hitting inspiring exhibition as the dream flies out into the world
the studio space is cleared to begin the next project Sayonara Sydney scheduled for 2021 when I turn 66 and will move out of this big mad city west to the Blue Mountains
Dream On!

PS Deirdre Bean’s fabulous Fish and other things closes this afternoon at Stella Downer Fine Art
Sardines and a spoon Deirdre Bean
watercolour on vellum
22 x 28 cm
&
soul painter Jane Stapleford’s magicial Menagerie closes tomorrow at Day Fine Art in Blackheath
The Merchant’s Hare Jane Stapleford 2019
watercolour on paper
37 x 27 cm

 

The Mother Talisman by Barry Smith

The Mother Talisman by Barry Smith fits in the hand so perfectly with a delightful weight
at the opening Old Man Crow offered this talisman to each visitor to hold one on one
Barry makes such beautiful magic!

namaste