the COAL LOADER STUDIO STUDIES,

#itsnowalittleautumn

24 May - 2 July 2018

inTransit Art Space

North Sydney Council Chambers

​

An installation of playful considerations coming out of a
10 month studio residency at the
 Coal Loader Centre of Sustainability, Sydney

​

a special thank you to the supportive arts team!

​

@artsandculturenthsyd
#coalloaderstudio

It was a beautiful month spent at Haefligers cottage, Hill End. Yay to the BRAG team. 

A new website is also up, see here, with a few pics from the Red Project - I must say looking good!

The Red Project at The Coal Loader is going to be huge... here is a sneaky preview of an exhibition of pollinators made by my little friends within my showing of Homeloader, Eve in the Heart Garden. 
It will be a show within a show within a show within a show.. sometimes a little too much is ok

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

8 Australian grapevine moths (Phalaenoides glycinae Lewin) are in flight for the MOTH MIGRATION PROJECT by Hilary Lorenz. I love these moths and did some googling .. the Lewin bit, I like to believe is after John William Lewin - my favourite colonial artist. So these moths are endemic to S-E half of Australia and are pests for the local vineyard farmers. The Indian myna was introduced in 1862 to deal with them and other insects but ironically and not surprising, this unsuccessful  bird is now the pest.

Loaded detail for Safe and Sound

Safe and Sound
9 - 26 Nov 
curator Steven Cavanagh
Contact Sheet Gallery

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.

ABERRANT PLAY

opening 5.30 Fri 21 Aug

19 Aug - 11 Oct 

Grafton Regional Gallery

follow us on fb

The studio looking sweet but can it transport... today off goes the applications, off goes works for the exhibition Personal Histories, pack up for FOUR and VAP and something for the Portland Artist Residency and these studio starters for Grafton...... lets go 

Oh boy... I am happy it all fell into place and the opening night was met with more than overwhelming delight. The installing of my exhibition At home took a week and the 300 watercolours in Home Joy took me a year! It's just a beginning for a much larger work, oh dear what am I committing to! Again thank you friends for all your support - you are the best fans ever xx

lots of pics can be seen via Art Est. Art School and Gallery

Fresh

... please read about clusterfuck aesthetics here and the original article by Jerry Saltz here

I find it difficult making commissioned work...  for when you are in the studio your whole being strongly wants to be focusing on your true direction. Oh the learning process never ends.

A whirlwind of friendly catch ups and completion of art shows... including lots of good news for me.

My lovely friend Jo Grant was in Sydney setting up her beautiful work, Vessel at Branch3d, see more images  here and here.  
And on Wednesday Jo's book All Prize Winners Paraded was launched with links found here

    

It's still bird week at Birdlife Australia..
It's really terrible here in NSW, furious (man created) bushfires again - how do the critters survive?   

Bird Week

Ornitho-logical (until the 26th) at Leichhardt's community Pop In Space is a good looking show featuring (detail above) Kirsty Collins' installation piece No Honeyeaters and with probably too many of my bird works! I did do some new watercolours, The locals, 27  "quickies" sourced from photos taken around my home/garden to reflect all states of my visitors movements. 

Celebrate our native birds this Bird Week 19 - 25 October

more at Birdlife

1. The SWF is over, the work is down and the rain has temporarily eased. and we of Sydney BAG had fun.

one little work soon flying off to Port Fairy

one large installation completed over many days with the Sydney BAG (Book art Group) at a glorious location Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay for the  2013 Sydney Writers Festival!

I have been meeting up regularly with this mix of 9 multi talented individuals to share our love of Book Art and here is our first collaboration, hanging nearly 750 pages from an old aussie Hills Hoist. please check out the links above as the pics are more telling... oh, and like us.

Guess where we are today.... a view from the MCA's 4th floor cafe; an incredible installation Waste Not by Song Dong at my fave Sydney venue Carriageworks - please have a  further look, as it doesn't show here the intensity and brilliance of this highly personal piece, there are links at my other blog: along the greenway; one of Jo Grant's pieces that I own and another couple hanging with my pattern for a bird concertina book. Jo's beautiful art can be better seen at her blog here.