Corinbank and Chai

 I like the idea of my artworks existing in locations other than galleries, and it did just that a couple of weekends ago at Corinbank- a music and arts festival just south of Canberra.

 Festooning the Chai tent, these Woollen Blankets which you may (or may not) recognise from my solo show last year at The Front took on new weblike forms. Perhaps it is just me and my recent time spent vacuuming off the cobwebs from my ceilings, but I was genuinely excited about these! 

There is something about an intricate creation above your head which you usually don't even notice, an artwork that holds on tight to the ceiling or walls, drooping and moving with the breeze while you sip your cup of tea.

Corinbank Website with words of interest if you feel it too.

Model Citizens Exhibition

 Sleep In, 2011

Helani Laisk- Pile, 2012

Adam Veikkanen- Bananas, 2012.

 Warm Wool, 2011

You can find plenty more photos of the show on curator Chloe's website art on show.

Model Citizens, Wobble and Me.

Wobble Magazine centre fold.

This weekend is the exhibition Model Citizens- I have a couple of pieces in it including this one which is featured in local Canberra magazine Wobble!

This artwork- Sleep In - is something I made at the end of last year/ beginning of this year and then exhibited in Blaze at Gorman House. 

So I'm showing the same artwork again- which I felt a bit funny about.

But when it comes down to it, I am happy to. 

I still love this piece, and more than that even though it was made a bit ago it is still relevant. It is tactile and homely, familiar yet unexpected, laboured over and thought about- Sleep In still expresses what I want to say today. Not everyone made it to Blaze, and even if they did, here you go for a second viewing.

Yes, I have been more than usually busy with other things lately, but 

I'm still keen to make and exhibit the fresh and new, although I don't always have to.

There is something so satisfying about seeing my name in print!

The exhibition ‘Model Citizens’ of Apartment G09/G10 will open on Saturday 27 – 28 Sunday October, Kendall Lane, NewActon, Canberra. This pop-up exhibition is curated by Chloe Mandryk and supported by the multi-arts festival Art, Not Apart. 

 By the way, artist profiles are posted in the lead up to the show on the artonshow website.

art on show

This is a new website to keep your eye on:

'preview pop-up exhibition spaces, artists and projects curated by chloe mandryk'

My eyes opened a little wider today when I saw this week's feature on... me!

Check out art on show

Capo

Each year Canberra based artists are invited to donate artworks to the annual Capo exhibition and auction- and this year I did too!

The Capo Catalogue

You might recognise this artwork, it was in my solo show earlier in the year, and is up for another viewing!

Sales from the artworks and tickets for the night go toward prizes and grants for the artists. All the action takes place this Saturday night- I'm looking forward to frocking up and having an inevitably wild night out.

On Coming Home

I am Home- and there is nothing quite like it. 

It's funny how enthusiastic I was to make oh so much art and to absolutely soak up being in a new and exciting country just a few months ago. I want this change of location- being home- to be just as inspiring.

I have been thinking about the way changing locations inspires and excites. The way when I go somewhere new I bring my camera and really look at even the tiny things. The 'tourist syndrome'- staring at oddities which to the locals seem normal. It is being able to admire without rigid ideas of what to expect. The only expectation is discovery itself.

 It is not so much the existence of the incredible in that far away place, but my openness and expectation to see it.

While I was in Brazil I read a book titled The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton. 

I particularly enjoyed reading the chapter on Return and Habit- about a man by the name of Xavier de Maistre who in 1790  put out a publication entitled 'journey around my bedroom’.

An enthralling title I know- especially considering the entire thing was literally set within his room.  Needless to say it did not make best seller status.

What was groundbreaking about this notion though was the prospect of adventure without even leaving your own room. Home being a place we know we become habituated and easily blind to what is there- de Maistre was adamant that it is ourselves that are responsible for adventure, that loveliness and curiosities are possible even without leaving our bedroom.

He reckoned that even 'the most indolent beings wont have any more reason  to hesitate before setting off to find pleasures that will cost them neither money or effort’ p245. 

I wonder about what pleasures are in store- now that I am home. I plan to keep my sketch book at hand and camera not much further. There may not be Amazonian animals, spectacular beaches or pumping fresh fruit markets around here but I'm sure there are other pleasures- if I'm open to them. There are plenty of delights here in Comfortable Canberra, if only I am ready to delight in them.

Escadaria Selaron- Rio de Janeiro

Occasionally I experience something incredible, beautiful or even revolting which i just know will influence my artistic endeavours wether I like it or not. 

Today was one of those days.

 

Escadaria-Selaron

Near where I am currently staying in Rio de Janeiro is this wildly obsessive and still growing masterpiece- Escadaria Selaron. After wandering up a dingy alleyway that smells like piss I discovered an enormous mosaic encrusted staircase, vibrant and pumping with activity.

Immense in scale and containing thousands of tiles from many different countries this is a work in progress with the artist- Selaron -still continuing the artwork on a daily basis. 

Lately I have been falling ever more in love with mosaics, patchworks and stained glass windows, and so this was seriously exciting!

I love the combinations of colour and form. I love the way one tile influences the next- the shapes and patterns that emerge on small and large scales- both the intimate details and the impressive optical illusions of the whole. I am breath taken by the sheer mass of individual pieces, and yet the way each of those pieces is specifically, carefully placed. 

Selaron was there today, diligently working away, he was very friendly and insisted on signing a postcard for my son.

Selaron welcomes contributions of tiles from all over the world from anyone keen to donate. He plans to continue this work for the rest of his life. What a guy.

Impressions of Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Over the last couple of weeks I've been taking rubbings from in and around Belo Horizonte.

I love the combination of my own drawing marks and the definite pattern that emerges from beneath. I feel a bit funny about doing them sometimes- in the middle of a busy foot path or a traffic island, but strange looks don't hurt and I never regret getting one. 

 I find the back of the paper almost as equally interesting, the way it maintains the impression of the place so directly.

Rubbing up against the etched in graffiti of a monumental portuguese baroque church in Ouro Preto, just out of Belo Horizonte

Adam

This is Adam.

Adam with his big banana.

 Last year Adam won the Qantas contemporary art prize including flights and a few expenses, and guess what, i got to come too. There are some serious perks to being married to an amazing artist. So here we are in a small flat in a big city- Belo Horizonte- in Brazil. 

Advertisement for artist talk Adam is doing this Thurs. 

 Proud to spruik him, Adam has been making all kinds of incredible art since arriving in Brazil about six weeks ago. Banana Hands (pictured above) is a fine example of the witty, carefully constructed artworks that Adam has been making.
  This Thursday night he will be giving an artist talk and showing some work at a small gallery in the city centre. I know it will be a great night.

Adam is currently undertaking an artist residency at a place called JACA- you can see their site HERE.

 It is just outside Belo Horizonte in a town called Jardim Canada where the soil is mahogony red, bananas grow by the side of the road and the industrial feel of the town strangely reminded me of Fyshwick- a suburb back home in Canberra.

Speaking of Canberra, the CCAS website features several photos and an update from Adam here in Belo Horizonte. What a guy.

In Brazil

So here I am in Brazil- it has been two weeks today!

Enjoying a 'coco'- everyone loves them and you can buy them from the corner shop.

I am excited about the prospect of making some art here, but even more keen to let myself take a breather and really soak everything in. I sat in a park under a palm tree yesterday and wrote down some words- this is what i scribbled:

'I have felt so congested here. BOMBARDED. Frozen. I think I've been in shock. They call that culture shock huh. I notice everything and can't process it all at once- and then notice nothing. Everything is different and therefore so noticeable. The stones in the footpaths, the shape of the spoons, the shoes on their feet, the way my hair dries differently, nightclub sounds at night, and into the morning, that bar that digs into my bum when sitting on that couch, the numerous flowers, tree trunks, decorative security measures, tones of voice, exclamations, my food digesting, feet sweating and those people over there- juggling in the park. I have been here two weeks now. Today is slightly different. I think I am finally starting to soak it all in. And I like it. I don't stare, gasp or cry QUITE so much. There must be a healthy medium where the brain edits out the unnecessary information so we can focus on what is a priority- and leave space for the possibility of new creations. I think I am noticeing less- and in so doing noticing more.....'

I have some small ideas for what I will make while I am here, but in the mean time am keen for adventure and fresh observations. 

High Tea

 These are the little dainties i created for the re-PIN show at ANCA. It is such a great show with some really impressive work. I loved how diverse the art was whilst still being a really unified show. Make sure you check it out- show continues until 3rd June.

High Tea, 2012.

Iced Vovo, 2012. Wool, plastic, pin.

Scone, 2012. Wool, pin.

 Berry Pie, 2012. Wool, plastic, pin.

 Macaroon, 2012. Wool, plastic, pin.

re-PIN

The PIN show at ANCA last year was such a highlight. I am looking forward to the event even more this year as this time I'm a part of it.

I hope you can make it along to ANCA for the opening party including some small tasty treats.

For a sneak peak of what I've made you can check out the ANCA website HERE.

Cliftons Art Prize

I have resolved to enter more art competitions. I like the idea of winning anyway.  

Warm Wool, 2011. Woollen blankets, steel, foam, cotton, found objects.

(Photo: Damien Geary)

Cliftons Art prize is a competition I entered a few weeks ago, and I was pleased to find out that I am a finalist! I entered a sculpture I made last year- Warm Wool. This artwork has been gracing my lounge room for some time now but could do with getting out and about for awhile.

The art prize is hosted by this company who have branches all over the world- and subsequently these competitions in their venues across the globe. I was surprised to discover a Canberra division but here it is.

The exhibition runs from 21st May- 27 June 2012 at

Cliftons

Level 2, 10 Moore Street

Canberra City.

9-5pm Mon- Fri.

Check out the other Canberra and also international finalists HERE.

Zebulon

Zebulon's Nook

You may have been wondering about the sudden shift of style and particularly free use of colour and texture in the display of art work in this one particular part of my recent show. Some people did. It must be known though that my darlingly enthusiastic three year old was the creator of this nook, and I might as well show him off here.

Picking the best ones

Zebulon always assumed he would be exhibiting in the exhibition without ever questioning the fact. He painted, drew, collaged, and made necklaces, often using scraps from whatever I was doing.  He worked so hard every day producing impressive outputs- almost putting me to shame! 

I could never have dashed his dreams by telling him 'it's actually my show darling' so I went with it. When we came to the gallery for the install Zebulon had opinions as to where his art would look best but soon was convinced about this particular spot being 'right near the doorway where every one will see it'.

Proud.

The day before the show closed he asked me if he had sold anything. When he learnt that he hadn't yet he determined it would be better to invite all his friends to our house the next day and sell them from the lounge room instead.