Studio Work ABOUT my art & others

  As a finalist this year, I am planning to head off to the Bay of Fires Art Awards to see the exhibition while its on from 9 to 12 June. I am planning to 'fill my cup' on an overnight short #getaway. This is a 3.5 hour drive from home with various stops along the way making it a long, interesting, enjoyable day. St Helens , on the East Coast of Tasmania is a beautiful area to explore I find getaways to be 'filling my cup' - replenishing mental, emotional and physical energies. On a #getaway one doesn't need to 'stop' ... its a way of doing, thinking, being on a different level but there is a break from daily cooking, washing up, hanging out laundry and other everyday things. I liken it, on a metaphorical level, to Kintsugi , The Japanese Art of Repairing Ceramics using Gold. #getaways are gold to me.  

 In general conversation (email), about artists and paintings, the name was mentioned within a block of a few others ... for some reason I copy pasted the name Joaquín Sorolla ... wow. What a find. His use of colour and light immediately hit me as I looked across all the images of his paintings on google. Drilling down a little I find he is called 'Spanish Master of Light'. 'Spain's Impressionist'. Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). Born in the coastal city of Valencia, Sorolla is best known for his depictions of beach and water scenes. But he was also proficient in portraiture and landscape painting. We take a closer look at the artist’s life and work. read more I see/think when i look at these images. For the lights to work, the darks are just right. - both are so well handled as lights, darks, and together White is not white The colours are beautiful and clean The colours in the shadows 'read' colourful whilst kept in shadow. The composition of...

 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  

yesterday, last thing as I left the studio I went to the creek to see if I could see the platypus. I didnt see her/him although I did film the turbo chooks as they swam across the creek ! first time I have seen that and as I was watching to see what they may do, having reached the bank on the other side, I dropped my phone in the water. aaaargh ... (a momentary lapse in concentration). I cannot even retrieve it because that part of the creek is about 4m down from the top of a steep bank. I went to look this morning but I cant see it in the water as there is very little light on the water at that particular point. And now, no video of the turbo chooks swimming! It is midday right now and I must admit I am feeling a little 'all at sea' - I used my phone to stay in touch with V who is out and about with car rentals and he only does old fashioned kinda phone thing and no fb or messenger, etc. I do have my iPad so took a few photos this morning using that (as far from the edg...

  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...

There is something about slow stitching - ie by hand and not sewing machine - that i love. it can be done anywhere, any time, while chatting with others, alone in silence at dawn or outside in the sunshine, in front of diversions like the TV etc. It can be meditative and as it grows slowly it can become satisfying. Musings on Found Poetry took me to thinking about collage and the slow stitching i do each evening - the pieces become a collage of cloth over time. Cloth is 'found', picked at random and added to with stitch and /or other cloth or even same cloth torn up and added to itself creating texture and a collage of elements. Examples here show what can be done with a minimal range of stitches that i use - that being straight stitch or a derivative of it such as couching, cross stitch, seed, backstitch, wrapped stitch and sometimes knot stitch. Often texture is created with stitch but also with layering of cloth, such as in these examples that include weaving strips into a...

Slow stitching for me is mostly wall hangings, fabric style collage and richly layered with stitches using mainly running stitch, back stitch and couching. I find an enormous amount of diversity in limiting the stitching and utilising different weights, colours and types of thread and materials. I rarely stitch anything 'practical' but found i needed something to keep my needles under control. So i created these two variations of a needle book - they came about from playing around with ideas from bookbinding (a scroll and Japanese style binding). a short video below on the needle books I made using bits of woollen blanket from my collection. (above) video on needle books with boo boo !

  Is your passion a problem ? I am talking about your life's passion. It was a problem for me, for decades, while i worked in a career that paid the bills - but i always sought out 'that other thing' I felt I wanted to do. In my spare time and holidays I photographed, played with digital enhancements, did collage, calligraphy and wrote poetry. Sometimes with some success that was measured in being published and works purchased by private collectors. These days I am following my passion. I spend all day (and evenings) doing stuff - stuff i love - painting, collage, assemblage, photography, book making, slow stitching and writing. I am never bored, I quite like my boss, I enjoy going to work and I don't want to take days off or go out to gatherings, get togethers and coffee mornings. I feel so fortunate. What is your passion ? Do you do the things you love or are you in the process of re-discovering your passions. Perhaps we need to go back to our childhood to re-di...

 I am very excited to be a finalist in the Bay of Fires Art Prize this year - feeling honoured when I cast my eye over the list of finalists - I am in great company. This prize is held on the East Coast, St Helens , Tasmania and is 3.5 hours drive from home. I am thinking i might combine viewing the exhibition with an overnighter - a mini #getaway and explore the area. See a list of awards & exhibitions for Gina here

 AI (artificial intelligence) is everywhere at the moment even in Tasmania. I am hearing and reading about it in art, science, literature, medicine. Wonderful playlist here on TED talks regarding AI and how it can be used in art including statistics and numbers as sculptures, patterns and moving visual feasts. A few of my own favourites from TED talks are listed at the bottom of this post. I enjoyed this article recently on AI stating the 17 best AI artworks created. I have been playing with AI on a website called Dalle2 that creates artworks out of the text you put into it. Initially I found it fun but quite quickly it then became un-rewarding for me and i wondered if it could work using my own art. So i took an image I had created on my Ipad from a photograph taken at Boat Harbour on a 4 day #getaway. Do let me know what you think and what your experience has been with AI. This is the original photograph taken at Boat Harbour , some year in May. This is what it looks l...

 in this time of looking back in order to move forward in my daily doings in the studio i found this altered book that i created during travels from Tasmania to Tokyo to catch up with family. A wonderful trip - so lovely to spend time with family filled with new sights, sounds and smells This is an altered book ... a 1963 (abridged) copy of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". I had a great time re-reading this book whilst altering it during my time in Tokyo. And how wonderful to explore all the sights and find new places to see art, gardens and fish ! I am a quiet fan of Koi and goldfish. I attended galleries in small alleys, big exhibitions in magnificent buildings, found sculptures and outdoor happenings, an antique shop and great food. Not so great coffee except my daughter had an excellent coffee machine at home so i could start the day filled with vigour. In this altered book pages include collage, additional new 'pages' that fold out, windows, mark making, fou...

I am inspired by so many artists .... this i think reflects the diversity that permeates through much of what i do.  So how does this come about ? A large part of my arts practice includes reading, research and seeking out artists of interest. First ... current artists of interest include : Matisse - love the flat shapes and colour Rothko - love the colour, transparency and abstraction Jasper Johns - love his encaustics, ways of working and Cy Twombly - love his mark making and sculptures Andy Warhol - love his use of bright, flat colour his subject matter David Hockney - love his paintings and use of technology in creating art Brett Whiteley - sensuous drawing in exploring space from the model into the landscape Jeff Koons - love his mind - I watch many a talk with him ... here is one. and a documentary here . Tacita Dean - love her work & ideas, writings and her mind. Lovely works here. an interview here William Kentridge - what is not to love about his work and...

i had completely forgotten but was woken with a kiss and a 'happy Valentine's Day love' ... so nice. And then i was into my day ! - dental appointment, picked up some veggies to plant, a load of washing, and 3 hours in the studio painting. and it seems i have to get ready for dinner too .... how nice, feeling that fortunate feeling i get every day. dinner where? its a surprise ! ... we shall see so ... for Valentine's Day i remembered all the hearts i was stitching over time (and a little mosaic) ... here they are ... HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL - i hope you too enjoy the fortunate in your day, time, space.