the preview

Madeleine has worked her magic and turned the last 5 years work into a proper job!
The Dark Moon Dancer greeting Richard Whitfield at the preview
“I love sitting my own shows and talking about the work,  it seems to perform the function of grounding the work in the world, providing a bridge between the artist and viewer and allowing for a safe letting go of the work into the world.  The work ripens in the conversation, comes to full bloom in the clean space of the gallery. The journey can be seen and understood in it’s fullness before it breaks again.”
thanks for these wise words Bronwyn Berman
promise to take more photos and get some video footage at the launch this arvo
Let the Good Times Roll!

“Don’t let it bring you down, it’s only castles burning”

“Don’t let it bring you down, it’s only castles burning”
Neil Young from the After the Gold Rush album circa 1970
our beautiful broken world is going through some strange times in this 21st C and these two books are helping me see the changes with a longer view of the Zeitgeist, with our love of the old and worn, the rusted ragged edges, the wild weeds in the paving and the cracks in broken glass, the imperfection, the wabi-sabi-ness , these are all recurring signs throughout history of a culture in decline… beliefs have become hollow empty vessels and kindness a rare treasure in need of nurturing…
the roses have had their day, the careful hand colouring of the crow books is keeping me almost sane with 8 weeks to go ’til the Crow Show  & everything is falling into place. Have two quotes in for the CD burning & printing. The company that I was hoping to go with (they are nearby and seem friendlier) were twice as expensive as the other mob, so have asked them for a second quote. Need to count the Old Man Crow T-shirts we have left and work out how many more to order, a few people need XXXL and S + topping up of the M, L, XL  & XXL. Will start sending out the interstate & overseas invitations this week. The only other things that need doing are printing some more Old Man Crow note cards and pricing the last few pieces that have fallen out of my hands & Madeleine the gallery owner has kindly offered to not take any commission on the books which will help keep the price down. Phew!

making a box for The Hands of Fate

the late 1800’s steamer tray trunk from Drunk on the Moon was too warped and stained for The Hands of Fate so I made a box out of craftboard and PVA glue
and started covering the surface with my much loved  42 year old copy of The Gardener’s Catalogue
this book has seen me through so many changes, the paper is brittle and worn & so am I… working on the floor for three days was fun but yikes! every muscle and bone started complaining yesterday, I was surprised as I loved working on the floor in my bedroom in a series of share houses right up until my late 20’s!
moved everything to my bench & it’s so much easier!
inside of the box covered in favourite images and words
underneath in process
& started stitching some very old rotted silk to a wide ribbon
which will be embroidered with The Hands of Fate

gris gris by Junko Oki

Junko Oki is making gris gris
revealing
a short note
front cover
back cover
Junko Oki makes real magic and the scent is divine

The Wayward Leunig

the good ship “Irrelevance” by Michael Leunig
Michael chatted about art, life & the influence of ducks at Gleebooks to launch his latest book, “The Wayward Leunig”.
He is such a gentle soul, take a squizz at more of his wonderfully wry and whimsical work on his website & the Michael Leunig Appreciation Page

Variations

have been playing with variations on the theme of Flannel Flowers aka Actinotis helianthi
this beautiful native flower grows near the beach here in Sydney, I took this photo in early December
and sketched it a few days later in the Out of the Blue book made from gessoed paint rags by Trace Willans
(she has more of these fabulous books available in her Soewn Earth Etsy Shop )
funny how sometimes the first drawing works best, this one was quick and works well with the gessoed surface
this one is on some Stonehenge, a good serviceable all round paper with very sharp hard graphite
then I drew, painted, scratched, embroidered & appliqued some flannel flowers into a piece of  gesso & encaustic paint rag that Trace had sent along with the paint rag book
backed with some silk scrim & stitched onto some old cat scratched leather and made into a journal with tea stained deliciously thick watercolour paper & a pressed flower glued inside the front cover
then I tried drawing with a needle & sharp 5H & 3H graphite on clayboard
but lost the looseness of the early sketch, here’s a freshly picked one scanned
time to just let it go…
by the wonderfully whimsical Australian artist Michael Leunig

‘PUNK’ by Junko Oki just arrived!

I am a huge fan of Junko Oki’s artful stitching & her new book ‘PUNK’ is a treasure!
inside the slip cover is a beautifully produced book of Junko’s work to date
Here’s the Preface for ‘PUNK’
“In this book, there are 115 short narratives attached to each of the works included in this collection. As I wrote the narratives, I looked attentively at the photos I took of my works and went on a trip deep inside my conscious mind. Collectively, the works were none other than a reflection of me, maybe even embarrassingly so. I desired to expose myself even more through my works; I wanted to be true to myself. What else matters? That is the one thing I know that I am good at. I remember the faces of people who have crossed my path.
Will you keep watching me through my journey?”
Winter 2014 by Junko Oki
I will certainly keep watching Junko’s journey, she is such an inspiring artist on so many levels.
I hope to see her work in real life one day!
Below are a few of the wonderful images Junko has shared in her book
‘Privacy’ 2014 by Junko Oki
‘Work in Progress’ 2012 by Junko Oki
‘Cats’ 2013 by Junko Oki ( loves cats too!)
‘To Add (close-up)’ 2012 by Junko Oki
I don’t feel right typing out the short narratives that go with each of these works as there is an intimacy to them that needs to be read in the book not online
Here’s the links to  Junko’s website with direct links to where you can buy this rare treasure of a book
I used Google Translate to translate the information from Japanese to English & it worked fine!
PS Junko has made it easy for us non Japanese speaking folk
Here’s a link to an interview with Junko about the book and her process in English
& a link to the Cow Books webshop with a buy button for her book also in English

“A Fine Possession : jewellery and identity” at the Powerhouse Museum

Yesterday we met Truus & Joost Daalder at “A Fine Possession: jewellery & identity “
the new exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum
They have contributed 50 pieces of their jewellery collection to this show
you can see many of the individual pieces here
Truus kindly signed my copy of their fantastic book “Ethnic Jewellery & Adornment”
The show is on for a year thank goodness as I will need revisit it many times to take it all in.

The Textile Blog Summer Sale

John Hopper of The Textile Blog is a treasure on the planet, he is offering his ebooks at half price for one week! I just downloaded “Art Nouveau and Nature” and “The Textile Blog Reference Guide to Lace” they are both brilliant!
Here’s the link to his book page
I love this 21stC world, thank you John!

The Spirit Books by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is offering a pre publication signed limited edition bookmark if you order her new book about the making & history of  “The Spirit Books” before August 15th!
I’ve put my order in here and you can see a preview of the book here
Last year I made a Spirit Book of Susan’s Spirit Books portfolio CD with her permission you can see my book here