Studio Work ABOUT my art & others

I ordered book board - archival acid free - but got the thickness wrong (no surprise there).  It was so thin i could not use it for book covers at all ... so i went into my default 'what if' ... and a book idea percolated to the surface of my brain.   here it is in progress. working on another 'what if' book idea - for a workshop - going to finish the idea first and then send out information on a workshop to make the book (contact me if you are interested in getting update email regarding the workshop and details)

Two prompts crop up in my practice, every day.  PLAY and WHAT IF?  As part of a series i am currently thinking through i focussed on a a vintage vase  - this one.          >>>> It started with a simple drawing  then explored on a gel plate. It went off in other directions .... 'play' Going back to the geli plate I went to 'what if' AND play. Looking again at 'what if' and the next one. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK .... any questions ?  thanks for being here. (gina)

 A day of sorting through cloths in progress and working out the hanging situation of others.  Lovely winter nights to be stitching, inside where its warm and starting early as it gets dark earlier (for the time being).  and some turn out to be 'samplers' unless (or until?) i can imagine them into something else.  all images here are detail of larger pieces. picked this one up last night ... on the home stretch to finishing it !  looking at how it might hang - will post more on this one as soon as it is ready to go .... soooon

so many projects on the go (always) - a few here, some still in progress, others merely an idle thought.  my work is research and process based so there is much experimentation and intuitive 'doing'.  images here of asemic writings, paintings in progress, books completed and in progress, slow stitching and chemigrams. find our youtube channel with various playlists including art and artist books  let me know what you think.

During the last 2 years since we moved here i am steeped in exploring our environment - wonderful tracts of a mix of wattles and gum trees, forest, flat paddocks and a creek. In an effort to delve past the broad expanse which is so BIG i have gone to my collections of found flora, leaves, branches etc and began the #pocketfinds. It seems i have been doing this kind of collecting, recording, photographing for many years but recently found the perfect name for it.  A few here taken the last few days. click on image to enlarge.  a short post at Regent Park blog includes artist books in progress  here AND DONT FORGET OUR YOU-TUBE CHANNEL - art and lifestyle of an artist newly discovering #countryliving we live with a dairy cow in retirement # Snowcone there are some videos on bookmaking, monoprinting, textiles, workshops etc THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE (please let me know if any links do not work)

Millie is unimpressed by our recent late autumn harvest. The tomatoes are on their last now - i am thinking of picking the green ones and making fried green tomatoes which were yum, last year. Blog update - i began the 'looking back on 7 days' however i realised it could get annoying to receive weekly updates - if, like me, you are subscribed to a few websites they come in thick and fast which makes is impossible to keep up. The one thing i can say is the emails you get from me are not sales orientated which is what seems to be very fashionable at present. It is always nice to sell of course, but that happens organically for me - little boosts along the way. Meanwhile I continue to work daily and push those abstracts around whilst exploring monoprints, chemigrams, a couple of projects and books on the go and some stitching as usual. Random images below.

 I have a set of mum's tarot cards which i dont use but i like the creativity of the imagery and what they may mean. It's not a full set and they are newer than the ones i remember from my childhood which i think came from my Granny in Hungary. I wish i had those ! This set mum gave to me many many years ago - i think she thought I might play with the gift of reading but my left brain always took over. In recent times during de-stashing whirlwinds I found them and this week decided to do something with them. I created a A book of tarot cards that turned out nicely. I have the images below of a few steps in the making. and this link will take you to our you tube channel showing this book in its final form with the box.

 During October until today I am playing with monoprinting ... i have been inking up glass plates, plastic and gel plates and exploring garden plants and grasses. some nice outcomes and a few long book pages on the go. I tried a few techniques including direct drawing on the plate, layering shapes and colours, drying layers in between other layers. A few successful images i think and enjoyed exploring. A few Images below. This video explores a pile of prints completed. including some of the prints in the slide show above but lots that are not featured above. It also looks at a book that has been completed by joining together the long sheets and folding, accordian style. During this video i came to the conclusion that a few sections on the pages can be enhanced and i shall do this over the next few days of printing. I also need to think about a cover.

 I feel honoured to have been chosen out of over 400 entries and to have exhibited among the 35 finalists of the 2023 Mullins Conceptual Photography Award. The little book that could was chosen - a long 900cm accordian book, 13x18cm, printed on Ilford Gallerie 200gsm rag paper. The artist statement and bookplate reads : I FOLLOWED A WORM FOR A DAY This series came about by chance - the mother of intuition - when my new studio flooded with mud from the nearby creek. Once I got over the disappointment, I didn't have the heart to start clean-up but sitting in the middle of it, drinking a cup of tea, I saw what was actually happening. A momentary glimpse into the story of the creek, a way to be still and briefly stop time. A history as flow of time, imbued now with myth, poetry and personal memories. A real gift from the creek and a flooding. A couple of videos HERE in the making of the accordian book and mud prints/ The award exhibition looked fabulous; unfortunately i was unable to...

 Our first workshop in my new studio. ~ create your needlebooks in a small group, around a table with a cup of tea, chatting in a large, warm space. ~ inspired by bookbinding techniques I have created many quick, easy patterns to work from so you can create, needlebooks, using 100% wool blanket. ~ nothing difficult to aim for in this one-day workshop . ~suitable for anyone who is a stitcher or is learning ~ for the adventurous stitcher, you can create the basic pattern as fancy as you like and embellish it. ~ All raw materials provided ~ ~the studio is located in beautiful grounds lined with forests of gum trees and wattles giving opportunity for a walk along a creek & you may even see our resident platypus or the pair of scarlet robins recently arrived for their season. For all details and to register your interest email: blackfisharts see this blog post here on the environment and the studio also 2 of the needlebooks are talked about here  

  THE BEST MOMENTS ARE YET TO COME.... Do you sometimes feel like that ? That your best is yet to come. It was Zig Ziglar who said "Always remember that your present situation is not the final destination. The best is yet to come". There are others : 1. “Come grow old with me, for the best is yet to come!” — Robert Frost 2. “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” — C. S. Lewis 3. “People always live badly today; they only live well tomorrow.” —Marsilio Ficino 4. “I’m like a fine wine. I get better with age. The best is yet to come.” —Richelle Mead As a practising artist, working daily (truly) this is how i feel. My Best is Yet to Come. When I sometimes feel like i am 'just pushing paint around' i look back at previous works and become re-energised. I look forward to seeing where i go with this painting thing. There are little moments of enlightenment and 'finished' pieces that propel me onward. so, onward! I hope you to...