workshop season includes GreenWay Art Prize at Art Est. holding a drop in and help make an installation through the exhibition space.. 
10-3pm  Sun 5 Nov
please come along

hanging around and looking out for yet another superb sunset in Hillendia with a boyzie and a big fella (the roo at top left) ...

detail of Freeloader in the GreenWay with 120 drawn plastic pieces

With the end of summer, the birds in the garden seem more vocal...   did you know,  Australian birds were the first to sing... what sounds like celebratory pleasure from the adolescent-like rainbow lorikeets, hopeful reconciliatory call outs from the butcher birds and the solitary cries from the currawongs.... are my daily joy!

The new incarnation of Freeloader is taking a lot longer than I imagined... so I am trying not to struggle with the "duds" and just incorporate them into the final work... as I think the letting go of artist as genius syndrome and the preciousness we get caught up with - is pointless in the end...

Freeloader in the Garden of Joy 2015  for Portland Art Centre, Regional Victoria

Great news is that I  have been granted a Canal Road  Environmental Art Commission for a fresher, bigger version of  Freeloader   - hmm, with lights? from Leichhardt Council for its  Art on the GreenWay show.  I love having connections to Portland Victoria and Hill End  NSW, and better still is to my home locale ( 4 generations on my fathers side) ... connections are good.

Bird Spotting along the GreenWay  2013

I love when summer hits, the wattle bird dominates as her young chirp and test their wings in the trees  of my garden. The rainbow lorikeet in the showy grevillea, the cockies in the snow gum, the raven on the roof top... and in the last 2 years, its the butcher bird on the telephone pole singing its morning greetings and the Koels in lustful chase.. I must update this work .

getting ready for the local GreenWay art show

It's wonderful to be a part of this line up... 
Carmel Wallace, Catherine Bailey, Colleen Hughson

    Portland Art Centre Victoria 
    2 March - 27 March

a prelude to the Virtual Arboretum Portland on 28 March

The Virtual Arboretum Portland was made possible by the Australian Governments regional arts program, the Regional Arts Fund, which gives all Australians, wherever they live, better access to opportunities to practise and experience the arts. The Regional Arts Fund is administered in Victoria by Regional Arts Victoria. 

Yay to me

Abundance - waste not  is a larger piece made for the inaugural addition to North Sydney's Art Prize,  The Coal Loader - Centre for Sustainability. What was so lovely being in the show, from the curator Alison Clarke to the artists, was a genuine delight installing in this newly updated space. A recommended visit with or without the art. The 8 day show is now over and I am looking forward to reinventing this hangy left-over paper work into a new form....

The Blue Trees

"takes an urban landscape with which you are familiar and changes it for a brief period of time so that it becomes something unfamiliar. We are creatures who like certainty, and we become disconcerted when our environment changes. Yet, we have altered and destroyed much of the global environment. With this destruction, we have caused the extinction of countless species.

The primordial forests of the world are disappearing at an alarming rate. It is easy to restore the trees we have coloured blue back to their natural state. However, without some serious efforts, the old species will disappear. They do not have the option of restoration." 

Konstantin Dimopoulos

Carmel Wallace detail of Colony at Brenda May Gallery

I come across many Anglo-Australians who are proud of their convict roots but I personally cannot relate to this while having a different heritage. The mesh of some peoples who live here can be seen in the layering of our structures. I do particularly love the centre of Sydney... here a view looking from the  Woolloomooloo footbridge that takes you to (my fave gallery) the Art Gallery of NSW.

Back at the Macleay Museum, in the centre, is a long nosed bandicoot (more along the greenway) and a newly exhibited field notebook 1880 by the Russian scientist Miklouho-Maclay (name coincidental). As well as human rights, biology, neurology he was interested in the tattoo patterns of South Coast Papua New Guineans hoping that they revealed ancient migrations routes of the Pacific.

At Dank St now there is a sculpture bonanza held by most galleries and Carmel Wallace's work caught my eye.. click on the link above.

This morning a coy Koel sat outside my place probably relieved to be out in the morning sun as we been having a deluge of rain with more predicted.

In the studio, another work begins... an installation I plan to make for an upcoming window exhibit. Thinking about tree tops and naturally more birds....

Curve Test - waste nothing  was constructed during an all day stay in a waiting room. I liked the idea of making this piece within the time I had and with materials I picked up from around this site (except the needle for stitching and the orange marker). The work may look junky but I see it as a real snapshot and fun record of a day occurring for anyone. I am getting more excited about finding the thrown away no matter how banal and seeing beauty. ps no one was harmed during the making of this "book".

JCA Steel Bookbinders comp. exhibition

presented by NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders

at Leichhardt Library on until 30th Jan 2012

It seems the place  to be if you are an artist book. I have had work displayed in 5 different shows in the last year at Haberfield, Leichhardt and Manly Libraries. 

Wishing us all a fabulous New Year with abundant joy and creativity

See the 4 distant red lights - that is the firework display we locals view above an empty site that will soon be invaded by that noxious 24/7 fast food chain! in the face of a 7000 signed protest and 2 local council denied building applications - I don't normally practice cathartic art making but hey that is my street!

along the greenway

finito at the Paper Plane    

more images here

Day and night at the Greenway Playhouse

Greenway Playhouse details via here and blog 

at home slowly preparing for the Greenway Playhouse project... 

Gary Smith   The Day at Braille Beach  2011  found materials

Above is one of the works I love from the Artbound exhibition - it has one more week to go... and there is one week to go before I move into the Paper Plane Gallery for my local art project, Greenway Playhouse Please join my blog along the greenway and I invite you to send in a work to mingle in the installation with other dangly bits...

cat attack

My head feels it will explode! It's all good but too much time with head down-bum up and thoughts of all that has to be done.... time for a walk along the greenway....

Great I am back and better... next tea and studio 

Had fun this morning arranging the display cabinet at my local library of some Sleeping Beauties with the intention to do a little promoting of artists' books and ...the upcoming all ages art project about the innerwest GreenWay and suburban sustainability. - if you haven't noticed I do like a little alliteration    link here for the greenway blog