Studio Work ABOUT my art & others

The creek is taking on a life of its own, in my mind. A year of amazing abstract photos need to be edited as well as posting videos of plants, birds and wildlife in and around the creek. The mapping of landscape (with creek) and the trees that line the edges of the land is now part of daily explorations ... With this in mind I recently created this cage to place cloth, reels of cotton and blanket into it and drop it in the creek to see what happens. One of my 'what if' moments. It took some time before i found the baskets i had in mind, that would stand 'living' in the creek and then the challenge of making sure the edges, where the holes are a bit larger, are blocked in so no fish, platypus or native crayfish is harmed. (below) is a video of the early placement into the creek; the basket construction began like this with the original idea being to enclose the basket by joining two together, one on top of the other initially using zip ties. it did not work out as ...

 so proud to be a finalist again in this exhibition - always nice to see your work hanging with your peers  the winning piece by Robyn Harman is the one on the wall to the left 

  Following 2 (in one week) advice of being a finalist in the Bay of Fires Art Award  and the Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize   I have updated my CV here   blackfishartstasmania is a new website, started in January this year and i am still finding my way around the how-to, so do let me know if any links don't work - i would appreciate it. I have a section underway on the website of 'learn with me' with a lot of free content. It is not yet up so i put (below) a video of colour mixing swatches - the workshop was this weekend and was an excellent two days of non-stop colour explorations, food and chit chat. Exhausted .... and off to see my piece in the Bay of FIres Art Award tomorrow - have a look at my piece hanging among its peers. Overnighting and making it a mini #getaway with beach walks and exploring St Helens.

Heading out to see the exhibition and will take an overnighter so i can explore the beaches and take time out. Always enjoy the opportunity for a #getaway, albeit a short one but will take my time driving up (and back) to fill out the two days. The artwork of mine that made the finalist list is called 'An Impossible Telling' ... images below of my piece and when it was framed, prior to delivery.  CONGRATULATIONS to Robyn Harman for taking out this years Bay of Fires Art Prize.

 So pleased to be selected in this highly-regarded award. 30 finalists out of just over 400 entries. The idea of 'conceptual' alone, is daunting enough let alone the list of finalists. I got into this exhibition with one of a few books I created following the flooding of my studio after having moved in just 3 months prior. A lovely property that has a creek running through it and my huge (shed) studio right on the edge of the creek protection overlay area. I wrote about it here. This website was created so I could blog about my experience as an artist newly moved to #countrytasmania #lifestyle #tasmania. It is new(ish) having started it recently so i am finding my way around posts, menus, submenus, links and all sorts of challenges.  At the judging (thank you to Roger for the images)

  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...