tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9912321038494134292024-03-08T11:27:23.302-08:00Imagine ThatLorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-11467388753018833332020-03-22T17:13:00.001-07:002020-03-22T17:13:56.908-07:00An update...for friends & familyHi everyone,<br />
<br />
I am a terrible blogger. My last post on here was in 2017.<br />
<br />
With everything that's going on currently, I've felt the need to try again.<br />
<br />
This post is for mainly for myself, to try to get my thoughts in some kind of order, but it's also for those beautiful friends I've made on social media (you know who you are) and also for family and friends that I rarely see because of distance or other reasons.<br />
<br />
Many of you will know that 15 years ago I battled breast cancer. Mastectomy, lymph node clearance, chemotherapy, and then surgeries for reconstruction a few years later.<br />
<br />
In January of this year I learned that my cancer had returned, spread to my sternum and was now stage 4. To say that I was devastated doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. After 15 years cancer free this was a shock of massive proportion. I believed with all my heart that I had beaten it. Telling my family was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Harder even than the first time around.<br />
Needless to say, they have been beyond incredible in their love and support.<br />
<br />
Many, many tests and scans later, I learned the following: The cancer in my sternum is significant in size, but it hasn't spread anywhere else in my body. Localised spread. This makes it possible for me to benefit from radiation therapy, 10 sessions over 2 weeks, which I begin next Wednesday.<br />
<br />
According to the results of the core biopsy, the cancer is still hormone receptor positive.<br />
This means I also benefit from hormone therapy which I began just over a month ago. After the radiotherapy has finished I will also be starting systemic chemotherapy to target and kill any free floating micro cancer cells.<br />
<br />
On top of all this, I will have a bone-building drug injected every month, to strengthen my bones and hopefully prevent new bone mets from forming.<br />
<br />
Yep, it's a lot.<br />
<br />
My oncologist and radiographer are amazing. They are honest but very positive and have assured me that I'm not about to kick off anytime soon. The cancer is pretty slow growing...it took 15 years to get to this point, so the aim is to shrink it as much as possible and continue to manage it for the rest of my life.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong, this all sucks big time. It's no longer "curable". But I really am doing ok. I feel perfectly well and the panic that I endured the first time around when my kids were little (youngest was 5!) is thankfully absent this time. Of course I still worry for them, but it's a different feeling when they've all grown into strong, capable adults.<br />
<br />
The cancer was discovered by accident while being treated for an unrelated health issue. If not for that, and for my outstanding doctor, Roy Francis, I likely would still not even know I had it! After a couple of weeks in borderline depression, my natural optimism and love for life kicked back in. It's just not my default position to be negative and defeated. I love my life, my family and my friends and I've never taken any of it for granted. Now, more than ever, it's time to live to the fullest, to prioritise and yes, to make ART!!<br />
<br />
It's strange really...I always thought that if I was given a shorter time to live I'd want to go crazy and travel to exotic places and do all those 'bucket listy' things I think about sometimes.<br />
<br />
But I don't.<br />
<br />
I want to be with my husband, my kids, my sister and my friends, to listen to music and watch comfort TV and movies, to be in the garden, to be in the studio, to read. All the simple things that make me so, so happy.<br />
<br />
Funny, life.<br />
<br />
Of course, I have sad days. I even have angry days. But, they don't last long and for that I'm grateful. I have enormous support and I'm much, much tougher than I appear.<br />
<br />
I know it's not like this for everyone.<br />
<br />
Something else I must acknowledge before I go any further - our healthcare system. None of my treatment, and I mean absolutely none, has cost me a cent. I have many things to worry about, but how I'll pay for the medical care to prolong my life is not one of them. My care team and every single medical worker, from doctors and nurses to reception and office staff, have been caring and professional and have bent over backwards to answer all my questions and address my concerns. And man, are they under pressure at the moment :(((<br />
<br />
Universal Health Care is the best.<br />
<br />
Of course our system is not perfect, but the thought of being without it, like my American friends, is frankly terrifying. I do so hope that change is coming for them in November.<br />
<br />
So that is how 2020 began for me. The 'advanced metastatic breast cancer in the bone' diagnoses would have been more than enough, thank you very much.<br />
<br />
With timing that would be unbelievable if my life were a soap opera, my best friend in the world and the sweetest most talented person on the planet was diagnosed with her second recurrence of cancer AT THE SAME TIME!<br />
<br />
Fuck.<br />
<br />
So we're in this together.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, we still spend more time laughing together than crying, but man, it can be rough. Every single day I wish with everything I have that this was not happening to her. She is so tiny and delicate and it's so unfair.<br />
<br />
But on we go.<br />
<br />
To that end, Guy and I have stepped up our caravan renovation and we are already planning camping trips with her and her husband for next year. This is a priority now. I love these conversations with her - she's such a nature girl and has so many wonderful places and sights to show us. We're looking forward to taking photographs and drawing plants together and soaking up our beautiful countryside and spectacular mountains. We're so excited. <br />
<br />
Soon.<br />
<br />
On the second weekend after my diagnosis, our beloved pug, Jasper, died.<br />
<br />
We found him in the morning. He had suffered a heart attack in the night. My husband walked right past him thinking he was still sleeping. When Jasper didn't follow him into the workshop as he always did, Guy went back out to see what was up. He was lying on the soft grass right next to his kennel. He was almost 13 years old. Deaf and blind in his final couple of years, he navigated our house and yard expertly and was always happy, his tail held in a tight double curl. He'd been slowing down a lot over the past year and spent most of his days asleep in the special 'shed bed' that Guy built for him in the workshop. The loss hit all of us, but Guy and my son most of all. Noah was only eight when we brought Jasper home and they instantly bonded. Noah was patient and loving as a little boy and has remained so as a young man. He helped his dad bury Jasper in our garden. He is so missed.<br />
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<br />
And now we have COVID-19.<br />
<br />
Of course, I am in the high risk group. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy put me at risk of complications even from a 'regular' flu...and this is NOT a regular flu.<br />
<br />
So is my friend.<br />
<br />
So is my son - he has a medical condition that requires monthly injections of an immuno-suppressant<br />
to manage his symptoms.<br />
<br />
My eldest daughter is a primary school teacher. Schools here in Australia are still open.<br />
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My youngest daughter works in retail. Her store is still open.<br />
<br />
Guy is still working. He's a site supervisor in the building and construction industry and although he has put everything in place for health and safety at his job, I'm still worried. Thankfully he is outdoors much of the time and shares a large site office with only two other people. Meetings are cancelled or held over phone or Skype. He is pedantic with hygiene and limits any face-to-face contact with other workers as much as possible.<br />
<br />
I wish he could just be at home with me, but I don't imagine the building industry will be closing down anytime soon.<br />
<br />
At the moment, with all of this, I honestly feel like my cancer is the least of my worries.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, the Uni courses I teach have transitioned to online learning using Zoom classrooms etc.<br />
I am so lucky to be able to work from home and so happy to still be able to continue teaching my amazing students. My studio is also in my home and remains my happy place.<br />
<br />
I'm pretty much isolating.<br />
<br />
I only go out for treatment and thankfully can now completely avoid public transport. I'm even social-distancing from my kids. No hugging or kissing, no sitting too close. I hate it. We're a demonstrably affectionate family. It's so hard.<br />
<br />
We are taking evening walks in the fresh air, for the sake of sanity.<br />
<br />
Our small town has not been spared the ridiculous and selfish 'hoarders', the same as everywhere else. I've heard that people are driving up from the city to strip rural supermarkets bare of essentials and even our local butcher is overrun with non-locals demanding bulk kilos of meat. Wonderfully, our local butcher is a kick-ass babe who isn't afraid to show these folks the door :)<br />
<br />
We are sensibly stocked and what we can't get, we do without. Fresh food is widely available at this point and we have all necessary medications, plus a little extra Panadol.<br />
<br />
So that's where I am currently. I'm most definitely scared, but not too much I hope. I'm also incredibly grateful for so many things: modern medicine, Skype and other technologies that keep us visibly in touch with each other, for art and books and excellent streaming services, and for the kindness and consideration of the majority of the population. I'm also so grateful for social media. I basically disengaged with FB years ago (around the time of the 2016 US Election - such a dark day) and switched over to Instagram, but I've recently been checking back in and it's providing me with comfort (mostly) and some great laughs :) I just want to know that people are doing ok.<br />
<br />
I don't want to end this post without also mentioning a few wonderful things that I experienced<br />
earlier this year.<br />
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The first was seeing the incredible Amanda Palmer's "There Will Be No Intermission" show in Adelaide in mid February. She is hands down my favourite live performer and her heart and soul were laid bare during this performance.<br />
<br />
After the show, she stayed back to talk with Patrons (I am proudly one) and to take a group photo. My husband was standing on the sidelines waiting for me, when Amanda recruited him to come up on the stage and take the photo. On her blog the next day she said he 'nailed it'.<br />
<br />
He really did.<br />
<br />
You can see me towards the back, bright pink hair :) A couple of days later she announced a small "ninja gig" for patrons and friends, which, of course, we attended, along with my eldest daughter and her partner. After the show I chatted with Amanda and we shared a long and deeply felt hug. It was good for my soul. I love her.<br />
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The next day, as a last minute, spur of the moment decision, I accompanied my youngest daughter and my two nephews on a "tree climb" adventure. I was very nervous and unsure about this. I'd only just got my sternum pain under control and honestly, even though I walk a lot, I'm just not very fit.<br />
I was NOT confident that I could get through all the increasingly difficult courses. But I did! The final course in particular was very challenging, I was genuinely scared at some points...but I did it!<br />
We all did! We were such a good team. I was bruised and sore for a week afterwards,<br />
but so proud and surprised that I could push myself like that. I also surprised my sister, which is not easy to do! I actually can't wait to do it again, with Guy next time :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High up in the trees with Archie leading the way.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting our turn to zoom down the first of several flying foxes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My face says it all here!<br />
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In early March I had my birthday and on the same day received a teaching award from UniSA.<br />
I was pretty chuffed :)))<br />
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I had birthday dinner out with my wonderful family. My daughter Meg baked me a gorgeously delicious rainbow birthday cake,<br />
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and bought me a much longed for birthday present - perfect for curling up to read while gently swaying :)))<br />
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My other kids banded together to buy tickets to a fabulous Fringe show called "By A Thread" for me and my husband - it was breathtaking!<br />
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The following week we all went off to see the "Fire Gardens", a French Festival event held at night in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens - it was overwhelmingly beautiful, my dinky iPhone photos do not even begin to do the spectacle justice.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A huge, rotating fireball on the lake. A steel structure with flaming terracotta pots.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entire garden was filled with wonderful structures.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flaming arches.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This incredible artist was playing eerily moody cello music in this gorgeous steel and lantern filled structure.<br />I could have sat there happily all night.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The recently restored Victorian glasshouse was filled with floating, illuminated vests. Magical.</td></tr>
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And lastly, a couple of weeks ago my sister adopted another gorgeous greyhound named Maude. She is the prettiest, sweetest girl. Makes me miss Jasper and long for a pup so badly.<br />
Perhaps when all of this is over.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good girl.</td></tr>
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All in all, things are shit in the 'big picture', but the small picture still has a great deal of joy. I love my home and my studio, so being confined is no problem for me. I can still communicate with my friends and loved ones as often as I want by multiple means. I can continue to work.<br />
I am never, ever bored.<br />
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I know this will end, eventually. There are always people doing it tougher, always ways that you can help people out, even if it's just by staying home, washing your hands (don't forget to moisturise!), shopping sensibly (and non-selfishly), being creative and genuinely considering other people.<br />
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I'm planning to blog more. It helps me to get this stuff out, and I'm not really great at short FB or Instagram statuses. Never been good at 'small-talk' either :) I have A LOT of projects in the works, and this is the perfect opportunity to share :)<br />
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Please stay safe everyone. Love to you all and see you again soon!Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-29461259787253897932018-01-04T20:53:00.000-08:002018-01-04T20:55:57.781-08:00A few good things from 2017I feel like the general consensus for 2017 is that it was a crap year. It certainly was for me. Emotionally, stressfully, depressingly, capital 'C' Crap. From the global circus of politics to health, financial, and creative difficulties on a personal level, 2017 was an uphill battle to keep from being overwhelmed with feelings of anger, sadness and hopelessness. However, when taking down my calendar the other day, ready for a fresh new year, I flicked through and was surprised by just how much loveliness was also in my life last year. It's so easy to forget the small things when you just view the year through a large lens. So, to usher in what will surely be a better year, here are some of the personal highlights that kept me going through the year that was.<br />
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<b>January</b> - my first picture book <span style="color: magenta;">"No Room for a Wombat"</span> was published. It was a dream come true to see it on book store shelves. January was also the month I saw <span style="color: magenta;">P. J. Harvey</span> in concert. Extraordinary.<br />
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<b>February</b> - went to see <span style="color: magenta;">Amanda Palmer</span> at Her Majesty's Theatre in Adelaide. Hands down best, most emotion inducing performance I've ever been to.<br />
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<b>March</b> - saw <span style="color: magenta;">Sam Simmons</span>' show at Fringe Festival. Ridiculous and absolutely hilarious.<br />
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<b>April</b> - finally got to see <span style="color: magenta;">Wolfmother</span> perform at The Gov. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. In this month we also acquired a clapped-out 1970's <span style="color: magenta;">Viscount caravan</span> and we are currently restoring/re-modelling it.<br />
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<b>July</b> - had an indescribably wonderful five days in Ballarat as part of the <span style="color: magenta;">'Fibre Arts Australia Winter School'</span>, teaching a doll-making/sculpture workshop. This event is worthy of its own blog post (wish I'd done that!), but suffice to say it was one of the best, most enjoyable experiences of my life. I met amazing artists and made some beautiful new friends...all of whom I'll see again this year when I return! I can't wait!<br />
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After the Winter School, Guy and myself went on to spend a few days in Melbourne where we saw the awesome <span style="color: magenta;">Aardman</span> Exhibition at ACMI. We then travelled on to Bright, where I saw <span style="color: magenta;">snow</span> for the first time! It wasn't super great snow, but it was still snow and was magical.<br />
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<b>August</b> - <span style="color: magenta;">Bookweek</span>! I did manage to blog about this. It was exhausting, but worth every minute. I just love working with kids and they were so responsive and enthusiastic. </div>
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Incredibly rewarding experience.</div>
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<b>October</b> - I organised a weekend in the city as a surprise for Guy, and part of it was seeing <span style="color: magenta;">"Scary Beauty"</span>, a performance featuring 'Skeleton' (one of the world's most sophisticated androids) singing with the Australian Art Orchestra. Definitely one of the most unusual, remarkable performances I've seen. Completely unique.<br />
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Of course, the end of the year is taken up with <span style="color: magenta;">Halloween</span> and <span style="color: magenta;">Christmas</span>, both enormous sources of joy for me. I should also mention that I am so lucky and so grateful to have my beautiful family and friends who provide endless joy and fun and support all through the year, good times and bad, whether for coffee dates, drinks at favourite bars, barbecues, movie nights, Friday nights in the kitchen....they really are what matters most and I would be lost without them.<br />
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To finish up, here's a couple of lists (I love making lists!)<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: magenta;">Favourite things I read in 2017</span></span><br />
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<i>"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"</i> Caitlin Doughty<br />
<i>"Lincoln in the Bardo"</i> George Saunders<br />
<i>"Trigger Warning"</i> Neil Gaiman<br />
<i>"Depends What You Mean by Extremist"</i> John Safran<br />
<i>"How to be a Woman"</i> Caitlin Moran<br />
<i>"Beautiful Darkness"</i> Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoet (graphic novel)<br />
<i>"Rosalie Lightning"</i> Tom Hart (graphic novel)<br />
<i>"Fun Home" </i>&<i> "Are You My Mother?"</i> Alison Bechdel (graphic novel)<br />
<i>"Black Hole"</i> Charles Burns (graphic novel)<br />
<i>"Patience"</i> Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">Favourite things I listened to in 2017</span><br />
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<i>"Heaven Upside Down"</i> Marilyn Manson<br />
<i>"In the Aeroplane Over the Sea"</i> Neutral Milk Hotel<br />
<i>"Joanne"</i> Lady Gaga<br />
<i>"S-Town"</i> Podcast from Serial and This American Life.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">Favourite things I watched in 2017</span><br />
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<i>Twin Peaks - the Return</i><br />
<i>Mindhunter</i><br />
<i>The Handmaid's Tale</i><br />
<i>Black Mirror</i><br />
<i>Schitt's Creek</i><br />
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<i>It </i>(2017)<br />
<i>The Babadook</i><br />
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That's it! When you write it all down, it's not too bad :)<br />
Here's to 2018 and the return of optimism, inspiration and happiness!<br />
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<br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-45770056083849433322017-09-21T01:56:00.000-07:002017-09-21T01:56:57.865-07:00Book Week with Wombats and Monsters!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to another of my all-too-infrequent blog posts!<br />
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Children's Book Week was a few weeks ago and this year I was thrilled to be invited to speak at three Eastern Fleurieu R-6 campuses. I talked to 27 classes from reception to year six across 3 days.<br />
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Everything was beautifully organised by R-6 library co-ordinator, brilliant children's author and all-round unstoppable force, Jane Jolly, and things could not have run more smoothly.<br />
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The response to "No Room for a Wombat" (text by Lynn Ward, pictures by me, published by Scholastic) was absolutely wonderful. I took the kids through my process for creating the characters and illustrating the pages from scribbly roughs to finished artwork and talked to them about drawing from life (the zoo being a great place to start) and the importance of always carrying a small sketchbook around to jot ideas into. They loved seeing some of my own sketchbooks and were full of questions about the fuss-free wombat and his over-zealous buddies!<br />
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As great as that response was, I truly was not prepared for the overwhelming enthusiasm for the second half of my presentation - MONSTERS! Now, I know that kids love monsters. I certainly did when I was young and if anything, I think I love them even more now. So it was especially gratifying and actually quite emotional to see them respond so positively to my monster illustrations. For this part of the talk I focused on giving their imagination free reign (of course) but I also talked about composition in their drawings, experimenting with different media (sometimes using a few different media in one drawing) and telling a story with their artwork.<br />
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They were all bursting with ideas and after the first day of talks I returned the next morning to stacks of drawings the kids had made in their classrooms of all kinds of amazing creatures! More drawings came in each day, some of them with little stories (even some rhyming ones) attached. It made me so happy to see them so engaged and so proud of their work and proud to show it to me. I think one of my most special moments (among many) was being approached the following week in a local cafe by a mum who told me that her daughter was drawing every day since the school visit and that she had to keep going in to her daughter's bedroom to turn off her light at night because she was still drawing in bed! Definitely teared up for that one :)<br />
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So I want to say a huge thank you to EFS R-6 for inviting me, to Jane for being Jane, and especially to all the beautiful, enthusiastic, intelligent and talented students I had the absolute pleasure of meeting during Book Week. I LOVED seeing all of your amazing illustrations and answering your excellent questions and I hope you keep drawing and creating whatever you can imagine.<br />
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Check out the pics below for a small (by no means exhaustive) sample of the kids' fabulous work :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slide presentation and table of original illustration work.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yours truly with an illustration from "No Room for a Wombat".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing monsters drawn with graphite and a touch of colour by year 4 class.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I spread a selection of drawings that students gifted to me on my studio floor. Wow! These are all junior primary.</td></tr>
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<br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-83054179759883469062017-02-22T03:42:00.000-08:002017-02-22T03:42:48.819-08:00"No Room for a Wombat" is in bookstores!My first children's picture book, "No Room for a Wombat" was published by Scholastic Books last month. It was exciting and slightly surreal to see it in bookshops and online stores!<br />
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To my delight, my favourite Adelaide bookshop, <a href="http://www.imprints.com.au/" target="_blank">Imprints Booksellers</a>, featured it in their window display which was a kind and supportive act that meant a great deal to me.<br />
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This book was a labour of love - a very steep learning curve that was often frustrating yet remained thoroughly enjoyable right to the end. I feel so grateful to have had the support and encouragement of my family (who are beyond awesome) and special friends Patricia, Dyan, Linda and Greg, who were always ready with excellent advice and excellent coffee :)<br />
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I already have a number of projects on the go for this year. I'm currently working on my second picture book for Scholastic Books, as well as teaching within the Visual Communication program at UniSA. There are some sculptural projects underway and I'm very excited to be teaching a 5 day sculpting/doll-making workshop at the <a href="http://www.fibrearts.jigsy.com/2017-winter-school" target="_blank">Fibre Arts Australia Winter School</a> in Ballarat in July.<br />
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So that's my long overdue update. I intend to make every effort to update this blog on a more regular basis...yes, I know I've said it before, but maybe this time it will stick :)<br />
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Till next time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No Room for a Wombat" 2017</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spread from the book</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My book in the window of Imprints and my beautiful niece enjoying her copy</td></tr>
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<br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-70237062489368121222016-01-10T00:35:00.000-08:002016-01-10T00:35:09.185-08:00Social AdvocacyAs part of my post-graduate study during 2015, we were given the opportunity to create a social advocacy project of our own choosing. I chose to create images for an anti-fur campaign, as it's an issue that I have always had strong feelings about, and I've been dismayed to witness the return of real fur into the mainstream fashion market.<br />
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Here are the images as they currently stand...I'll be continuing to work on these in a few months, when I have some more time.<br />
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ps. the website is fictional.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_33Q5nN8UI/VpIVVwCrNxI/AAAAAAAABxs/Nx8Y3CsZSaw/s1600/poster%2Bfinal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4_33Q5nN8UI/VpIVVwCrNxI/AAAAAAAABxs/Nx8Y3CsZSaw/s640/poster%2Bfinal.jpg" width="451" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster #1 image (copyright 2015 Lorell Lehman)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RyijWJ2XQ8o/VpIVgJFx_yI/AAAAAAAAByE/ux5-mmM0ttQ/s1600/poster%2Bfinal2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RyijWJ2XQ8o/VpIVgJFx_yI/AAAAAAAAByE/ux5-mmM0ttQ/s640/poster%2Bfinal2.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster #2 image (copyright 2015 Lorell Lehman)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u-iSLiUu3go/VpIVRNE9p9I/AAAAAAAABxc/UBZmkOUov3o/s1600/Postcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u-iSLiUu3go/VpIVRNE9p9I/AAAAAAAABxc/UBZmkOUov3o/s400/Postcard.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard front #1 image (copyright 2015 Lorell Lehman)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pfodPWXdnV0/VpIVT_7d3yI/AAAAAAAABxk/IkscgJMcCwM/s1600/Postcard2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pfodPWXdnV0/VpIVT_7d3yI/AAAAAAAABxk/IkscgJMcCwM/s400/Postcard2.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard front #2 image (copyright 2015 Lorell Lehman)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rGUkr02E6JQ/VpIVWOQ0RTI/AAAAAAAABxw/e0wAFghFUD0/s1600/Postcard3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rGUkr02E6JQ/VpIVWOQ0RTI/AAAAAAAABxw/e0wAFghFUD0/s400/Postcard3.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard back text </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2ootADea1Es/VpIVfx5Bn8I/AAAAAAAAByA/U5CDSF5CMi0/s1600/Bus%2BStop%2BAd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2ootADea1Es/VpIVfx5Bn8I/AAAAAAAAByA/U5CDSF5CMi0/s640/Bus%2BStop%2BAd.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster mockup image (copyright 2015 Lorell Lehman)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WKcmRD8WIXA/VpIVf5ty2zI/AAAAAAAABx8/8U7qa1I6QSI/s1600/newspaper%2Bmockup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WKcmRD8WIXA/VpIVf5ty2zI/AAAAAAAABx8/8U7qa1I6QSI/s640/newspaper%2Bmockup.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newspaper mockup image (copyright 2015 Lorell Lehman)</td></tr>
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<br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-53266969166885864272016-01-08T18:17:00.001-08:002016-01-08T18:17:15.678-08:00 New Year, New StudioAnother year has come and gone and I notice (with some embarrassment) that it has been well over 12 months since my last post. While I could hold this up as a testament to how busy I've been, the truth is that I'm just a lousy blogger and cannot dislodge the feeling that no one could possibly find anything about me or what I do the least bit interesting...at least not interesting enough to actually read an entire post. Yet still, I'm compelled to share so here we are.<br />
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2015 has, in fact, been an extremely busy year for me. I have moved on to post-graduate study at UniSA and am working towards a Masters Degree in Visual Art and Creative Practice. At the same time, I've been completing the illustrations for my first children's picture book, which will be published by Scholastic later this year. I've also signed a contract for a second book (with the same publisher) and am working on preliminary character development and storyboards.<br />
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There have also been a number of small side projects and, while I can't share picture book images quite yet, I hope to post some of these self-initiated projects here in the coming months.<br />
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The post-graduate program that I'm currently undertaking provides dedicated, individual studio space to its students, but unfortunately at the end of 2015, the decision was made to re-purpose that space and so we were requested to pack up and move out. Although not the end of the world, the timing (a week before Christmas) plus the fact that I had moved all of my studio paraphernalia into this space, caused enormous upheaval at home and seriously compromised what is already a very tight work schedule. As always, my husband was my saviour, and with the help of my son we spent New Year's Eve transporting a trailer-load of furniture, artwork and materials from Adelaide back home to Strathalbyn.<br />
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I am so very fortunate to have a space that I can go back to and set up as my own. While I hadn't intended to work from home again, now that the dust has settled, I couldn't be happier. I certainly won't miss the almost 4 hours of travel every day (I don't drive, so take public transport which involves two buses from my town to the city) and as I still need to attend a lecture every now and then, I'll still get my city fix.<br />
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One of the positives in all of this is that I was forced to re-organise and weed out a lot of old, useless and pointless stuff. Those of you who know me well know that 'minimalism' is not a term I relate to in any way, but I do have to have things orderly, clean and tidy. A chaotic brain plus a chaotic space would drive me to gibbering incoherently under my desk, and although I've been close at times, I'm not ready to go there quite yet.<br />
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Anyway, here are some photos of the new old space. It's very tiny, but very practical and inspiring to me. I'm looking forward to sharing what comes out of here in 2016.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kn7kxk4qSg4/VpBmM1PXbCI/AAAAAAAABvY/yBqlqcKmBAo/s1600/IMG_1411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kn7kxk4qSg4/VpBmM1PXbCI/AAAAAAAABvY/yBqlqcKmBAo/s320/IMG_1411.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desk, work & paper files, with Goblin presiding.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5KPDs32wPgc/VpBmh_QZIrI/AAAAAAAABvk/k4mGlTI-5a4/s1600/IMG_1412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5KPDs32wPgc/VpBmh_QZIrI/AAAAAAAABvk/k4mGlTI-5a4/s320/IMG_1412.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking up to the 'museum wall' leading to the first stair landing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mt_PV63LKNU/VpBmvjg3-JI/AAAAAAAABvw/yo-gvFWUdsk/s1600/IMG_1415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mt_PV63LKNU/VpBmvjg3-JI/AAAAAAAABvw/yo-gvFWUdsk/s320/IMG_1415.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books, files, sketchbooks and half-finished sculptures.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2g0tM08uDk/VpBm2pNS6oI/AAAAAAAABv8/UDadHtgl8YM/s1600/IMG_1418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2g0tM08uDk/VpBm2pNS6oI/AAAAAAAABv8/UDadHtgl8YM/s320/IMG_1418.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the same.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UhRAXqGOnTs/VpBnBkBRNFI/AAAAAAAABwI/5QgKykHrCts/s1600/IMG_1414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UhRAXqGOnTs/VpBnBkBRNFI/AAAAAAAABwI/5QgKykHrCts/s320/IMG_1414.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work station housing materials and the ever essential i-pod.<br />The very top shelf is populated with wind up monsters...<br />I love them, but haven't been able to find any new ones in ages.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfq5g_-fE6M/VpBnJtjh1RI/AAAAAAAABwU/F87s-aBAl0A/s1600/IMG_1408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfq5g_-fE6M/VpBnJtjh1RI/AAAAAAAABwU/F87s-aBAl0A/s320/IMG_1408.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'The Nook' is the tiny room that is the entrance to our under-stairs storage area.<br />We took the door off and I use it to store more art files and also as the perfect <br />spot for my light table. It's lovely and dim.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kZ-Otpilfkc/VpBnQy8xYLI/AAAAAAAABwg/Mt3FnWpyAxg/s1600/IMG_1407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kZ-Otpilfkc/VpBnQy8xYLI/AAAAAAAABwg/Mt3FnWpyAxg/s320/IMG_1407.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Closer shot of the museum wall with bugs, bones, shells, seedpods<br />and other beautiful natural objects.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OfXK1pppYFs/VpBnXv5LH7I/AAAAAAAABws/Qom7-sM69AQ/s1600/IMG_1420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OfXK1pppYFs/VpBnXv5LH7I/AAAAAAAABws/Qom7-sM69AQ/s320/IMG_1420.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down from the first stair landing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6gAsHOMmTF8/VpBndPI5DiI/AAAAAAAABw4/jY_Dd_kpy68/s1600/IMG_1402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6gAsHOMmTF8/VpBndPI5DiI/AAAAAAAABw4/jY_Dd_kpy68/s320/IMG_1402.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my work on the wall leading up to the second landing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n2IYtY2j0MU/VpBnje6cH_I/AAAAAAAABxE/CA-aohhc0qU/s1600/IMG_1419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n2IYtY2j0MU/VpBnje6cH_I/AAAAAAAABxE/CA-aohhc0qU/s320/IMG_1419.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down into my studio from the second stair landing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tKxJi80oaco/VpBnoIwz9BI/AAAAAAAABxQ/bPVfA-17mig/s1600/IMG_1398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tKxJi80oaco/VpBnoIwz9BI/AAAAAAAABxQ/bPVfA-17mig/s320/IMG_1398.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The open area at the top of the stairs functions as a 'coffee lounge',<br />meeting and relaxing space and this small bookcase houses <br />some of my favourite children's books. That's Leif sitting on the couch...<br />he was made by 'Spooky Daddy', a very talented US artist.</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-2200451179344261152014-09-23T16:19:00.000-07:002014-09-23T19:16:20.796-07:00HATCH Opening Night<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right from back: Brigette, Karl, Jordan, Jason, Lorell, Amanda, Leah and Ryan (photographer)</td></tr>
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Our 'guerilla' exhibition HATCH, held at the SA Writer's Centre, officially opened on Friday night and was an unqualified success. The turn-out was greater than any of us expected and there was an incredibly positive and excited buzz in the gallery as visitors soaked up the amazing work on display.</div>
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I still can't quite believe how smoothly this exhibition came together - my fellow illustration students are just an exemplary bunch and I feel so lucky to share this final year with them. </div>
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Of course, this exhibition is a prelude to the Visual Communication graduate show, which happens in late November. I'll post more about that as it gets closer to the time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside the SA Writer's Centre</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was so exciting to have such a large space full of people</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">aylor (my daughter), myself and my friend, Eva</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sue Ninham opening the exhibition</td></tr>
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You can check out all of the students' wonderful illustration work <a href="http://illustrationgraduates.net/" target="_blank">here</a></div>
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Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-19215312676177064242014-09-07T01:46:00.001-07:002014-09-07T01:56:57.085-07:00Three Good ThingsThe recent warmer weather has made me realise just how close we are to summer and the end of another year. On a personal level, it's been a very strange year in many ways - sad and horrible times mixed with deliriously happy ones. Life's funny that way. So because nobody really wants to read about the tragedies of an illustrator, I'll just jump right to the good stuff. Three good things that have happened in the last two weeks.<br />
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<b>1.</b> I've been signed to Omnibus Publishing for my first children's book, which will be published next year. This is a dream come true for me, and has made all of my hard work and late nights and early mornings over the past two and a half years completely worth it.<br />
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<b>2.</b> I'll be participating in a wonderful exhibition later this month.<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"The Adelaide Writer’s Centre has joined
forces with University of South Australia (UNISA) Visual Communication
Illustration students to present HATCH, an exhibition of this year’s finest
graduates. This is the first time that a graduate exhibition of this kind has
been seen in Adelaide. It is rare opportunity for the public to engage with a
selection of cutting-edge work by some of South Australia’s most talented and
energetic graduate image makers. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">HATCH is a celebration of this dynamic discipline and marks the entry of
UNISA’s next generation of Illustration students into an industry that
continues to inform our culture in new and inspiring ways. Sue Ninham, renowned
Visual Artist and 2012 Fringe Poster winner, will open the exhibition starting at 6pm on the 19<sup>th</sup> of September. Located on Level 2 of the SA Writer’s Centre, 187 Rundle Street, HATCH will be open from Monday to Friday,
19<sup>th</sup> Sep<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=991232103849413429" name="_GoBack"></a>tember until 5<sup>th</sup> December."</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;"><b>3.</b> I finally have a new site up and running. It's still a bit of a 'work in progress' and will no doubt undergo many changes, but I hope you will all stop by and check out the work I have uploaded.</span></div>
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<a href="http://lorelllehman.com/">http://lorelllehman.com</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12pt;">So that's my three good things...at least the ones I thought were worth blogging about. Would love to see those of you who are in Adelaide at the HATCH exhibition, it should be a great night.</span></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment-->Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-45447433413954015972014-03-05T13:51:00.000-08:002014-03-05T13:51:28.166-08:00Art Day..."Dark Heart" - Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art 2014Saturday 1st of March was opening day for <a href="http://adelaidebiennial.com.au/" target="_blank">"Dark Heart"</a>, an exhibition I've been looking forward to for some months. I always attend exhibitions with high expectations. Sometimes I'm disappointed (Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, 2013), sometimes I'm ambivalent (Saatchi Gallery in Adelaide, 2011) and sometimes I'm giddy with happiness (Ron Mueck, Melbourne, 2011).<br />
Wonderfully for me, "Dark Heart" fell into this last category.<br />
First stop was the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, where <a href="http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/31/Patricia_Piccinini/profile/" target="_blank">Patricia Piccinini</a>'s <a href="http://playandgo.com.au/index.php/is-it-a-bird-is-it-a-plane-no-its-skywhale-1-mar-2014/" target="_blank">"Skywhale"</a> was hovering for a few hours on that day only. As we made our way through the gardens, the giant hot-air balloon sculpture could be seen peeking through the trees, and when in full view it was an amazing sight. I was surprised at how "fleshy" it appeared, especially when I looked back at the photos I took.<br />
From the gardens we moved to the Art Gallery of South Australia, where our first experience of "Dark Heart" was a house that appeared to have either fallen from the sky or emerged from under the earth - for me it was wonderfully disconcerting and the concept and blackness of the building had a Wizard of Oz feeling about it.<br />
Happily, photography was permitted inside the exhibition, and the photos below are only a tiny sample of the artwork on show. These were two of my favourite works. The first is a piece by <a href="http://www.alexseton.com/" target="_blank">Alex Seton</a> called "Someone died trying to have a life like mine". When I entered the room and saw the mass of empty life-jackets strewn across the gallery floor, there was an immediate emotional reaction...then I realised that each and every life-jacket was in fact a perfect replica carved from marble. It was extraordinary.<br />
The last group of photos are of Julia deVille's installation, "Phantasmagoria", a menagerie of taxidermied animals presented as children's toys in a Victorian-style child's bedroom. I guess this is the kind of artwork that really divides opinion. The reactions to the work in the small amount of time that I was there ranged from wonder and fascination to horror and bewilderment. I really enjoy deVille's work, so my reaction was the former. I won't go on here, but you can check out Julia's <a href="http://juliadeville.com/" target="_blank">website</a> and I should point out that all of these animals died of natural causes and to my knowledge Julia is in fact a vegan.<br />
Like I said, this is a very small part of the "Dark Heart" exhibition and it's well worth a visit (or two) if you're in or near Adelaide. I will definitely be going back at least once.<br />
We concluded our "Art Day" with a visit to the Adelaide Convention Centre to see <a href="http://www.emmahackartist.com.au/" target="_blank">Emma Hack</a>'s exhibition of her incredible body painting. You can see more of her work <a href="http://www.emmahackartist.com.au/" target="_blank">here</a>. A great day overall, this is definitely the time of year when Adelaide shines.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nDGPT0eTPJ4/UxbSAArEEAI/AAAAAAAABkw/2cff9W-vaQ0/s1600/editorial+1+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nDGPT0eTPJ4/UxbSAArEEAI/AAAAAAAABkw/2cff9W-vaQ0/s1600/editorial+1+(1).jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First glimpse of the enormous sculpture, "Skywhale".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full view.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Underneath the back end (tail).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fllnoTbwO2Y/UxbSkPC062I/AAAAAAAABlI/9aTGE9PfsYg/s1600/editorial+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fllnoTbwO2Y/UxbSkPC062I/AAAAAAAABlI/9aTGE9PfsYg/s1600/editorial+4.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those lips!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The giant, pendulous breasts really 'amped up' the overall fleshiness of the work.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'dropped house' outside the Art Gallery of South Australia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex Seton's marble life-jackets.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia deVille's "Phantasmagoria".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia deVille's "Phantasmagoria".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia deVille's "Phantasmagoria".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia deVille's "Phantasmagoria".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia deVille's "Phantasmagoria".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julia deVille's "Phantasmagoria".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma Hack</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emma Hack</td></tr>
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<br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-84083792102963351102014-02-27T19:37:00.000-08:002014-02-27T19:37:45.760-08:00Patricia Coombs & the "Dorrie" books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I learnt to read somewhere around the age of four. I have a very clear memory of the actual moment that the words in my "Dr Suess's Beginner Book Dictionary" made sense and became recognisable. From that time until the present, I have loved books and reading and could count on one hand the number of nights in my life where I haven't read myself to sleep. Even if I fall asleep without a book, I invariably wake an hour later and reach for whatever story I am currently engrossed in. I can't even imagine not reading every day and I am truly and deeply amazed by people who tell me they don't read for pleasure.<br />
When I was primary school age, some of my absolute favourite books were the "Dorrie" series by American author and illustrator, Patricia Coombs. The books centred around a little witch called Dorrie who lived with her mother the Big Witch and her cat, Gink and a female cook. There was no father ever mentioned in the books and I wonder now if that played a sub-conscious part in their appeal for me, as I grew up without a dad in a completely female household.<br />
I was lucky enough to live literally just down the road from a large and very well-stocked<br />
community library. Whenever the Dorrie books were available I would borrow as many as my<br />
card allowed and take them home to read and re-read until it was time to return them and hope<br />
that new ones had come in.<br />
Possibly even more than the stories themselves (which were, and are, completely wonderful) the<br />
most appealing aspect of the books was the incredible illustrations. I am lucky enough to own several of the twenty Dorrie books (click <a href="http://dorrie.jdfiles.org/dorriebooks.php" target="_blank">here</a> for a full list) and when I look at them now, which I often do, I am no less impressed. The illustrations are mostly monochrome with occasional splashes of colour and are rendered with either ink or graphite. Each character has a distinctive and immediately recognisable silhouette and the mood of each story is deftly maintained throughout every book due to the skilled and sensitive use of these two mediums.<br />
I'm sure that these books were very popular, but I've never met another person my age who read or remembers these books from their childhood. Perhaps they weren't in wide circulation in Australia? Pity. I read the books to my own daughters when they were younger and they all loved them. So, I'm sharing some of the illustrations here in the hope that more people will seek them out - I've heard that some are being re-printed, but I'll have to look into that further. Would love to hear from anyone else who read and loved these as a child.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each book begins with these words.<br />("Dorrie and the Blue Witch", 1964)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love Dorrie's profile and her faithful companion, Gink.<br />("Dorrie and the Wizard's Spell", 1968)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely pen and ink.<br />("Dorrie's Magic", 1962)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Splashes of colour heighten the atmosphere.<br />(Dorrie and the Blue Witch", 1964)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful, soft graphite drawings.<br />("Dorrie and the Birthday Eggs", 1971)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">("Dorrie and the Wizard's Spell", 1968)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">("Dorrie and the Screebit Ghost", 1979)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">("Dorrie and the Birthday Eggs", 1971)</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-19459284694386164872014-02-21T22:01:00.000-08:002014-02-21T22:01:11.379-08:00Narrative ProjectTowards the end of last year, one of my major assignments involved storyboarding a narrative of my choice. As children's picture books and stories played such a vital role in my childhood and beyond, I regarded this as an opportunity to explore the process of illustrating a children's text.<br />
The story I chose to illustrate is called "Brave Molly" by Terry Jones, which is from a book of short tales by the author called "Fairy Tales" (Puffin Books, 1981). I love this collection of stories. They are a perfect mix of fantasy, humour, darkness and danger - all of which, I believe, are the essential components of a good fairytale. Besides, who doesn't love Terry Jones...he was always my favourite Python <u>and</u> he's worked with Brian Froud (the 'Lady Cottington' books).<br />
Anyway, "Brave Molly" is a terrific little story about a small girl who encounters a big monster when she seeks shelter in an abandoned cottage to escape a thunderstorm. Ultimately, she discovers that the monster is not what he seems and finds her courage in the process. The story is full of fantastic imagery to illustrate and besides being very laborious and a steep learning curve, this whole process was a complete joy for me.<br />
I did storyboard the entire story, even though I was only required to complete sixteen small<br />
(80 x 90mm) cells and I'm continuing the project in my own time by rendering each spread at full<br />
size with type.<br />
I thought I'd share the process for one of the completed spreads here and then post more as I complete the final versions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZiEppDfq-Jw/Uwg27rSMmCI/AAAAAAAABio/OzKdCsgod_g/s1600/molly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZiEppDfq-Jw/Uwg27rSMmCI/AAAAAAAABio/OzKdCsgod_g/s1600/molly.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Initial sketches for Molly and the Monster.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v_p5DqgGKL4/Uwg3l_-UevI/AAAAAAAABiw/jTutaAs24x4/s1600/roughs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v_p5DqgGKL4/Uwg3l_-UevI/AAAAAAAABiw/jTutaAs24x4/s1600/roughs.jpg" height="154" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. Rough line cells (there were many more of these, but the one on the right was <br />the concept I chose to go with so I've just shown one of the alternatives).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. Tonal study for chosen cell.</span></td></tr>
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5. Final spread (full size) - coloured pencil, gouache and ink</div>
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Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-24793088486321850862012-06-18T00:01:00.002-07:002012-06-18T00:05:08.898-07:00An overdue update and some first semester drawings...I can't quite believe it's been eight months since my last post. For those of you who don't know (an oversight by me, as confirmed by that last sentence), I have been studying full time at Uni SA since February this year. I made the decision to return to study (Bachelor of Design - illustration) around midway through 2011 for a number of reasons, the main one being, quite simply, that I needed to learn more.<br />
So now I am back in a stimulating, challenging learning environment and I'm as happy as a clam. It's been a pretty gruelling pace for the last fifteen weeks, but I've achieved so much it's all been more than worth it. Now, I have five weeks break to recover (and do some much missed sculpting!) before it all starts again in second semester.<br />
Of course, things ('things' being: campus, computers, referencing systems and above all, my age) are VERY different to the last time I was at Uni, which was *ahem* twenty-odd years ago. It took a while to find my feet, but the incredible and unwavering support of my husband and kids played a huge part in building my confidence and giving me the strength to persevere. Now the place seems like a second home and I can concentrate fully on absorbing the knowledge of my tutors and applying myself to the tasks at hand.<br />
Anyway, I hope to be posting more regularly during my break and thought I'd share a few of my favourite drawings from the past few months. All of these were exercises completed as part of the Introductory Drawing course.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee Break</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glass of water with spoon</td></tr>
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Till next time.Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-59695238703287679822011-10-11T16:00:00.000-07:002012-06-18T00:06:22.869-07:00The Pobble.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A couple of months ago I was asked to contribute a piece of work for a show at Imagine Gallery in Suffolk in the UK. The exhibition was to coincide with the release of Jackie Morris' new book "The Cat and the Fiddle" and in fact was also the book launch. As I love Imagine Gallery and the beautiful and unusual work they show there and I adore Jackie Morris' superb illustrations, I felt honoured to have been asked.</div>
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The theme of the exhibition was, of course, nursery rhymes. I have to confess that traditional nursery rhymes as such were not a huge part of my childhood. In fact, I have no memory of ever reading any or of having them read to me. For me it was always stories, some read from books, others made up on the spot by my mother or grandmother. But there were some funny and weird little things thrown in occasionally, little poems like;</div>
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"The night was dark and stormy,</div>
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the Billy goat was blind.</div>
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He ran into a barbed-wire fence</div>
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and tore his...never mind!"</div>
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"Adam and Eve and Pinch-me</div>
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went down to the river to bathe,</div>
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Adam and Eve fell in</div>
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but who do you think was saved?"</div>
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or a very odd one about a bear being bulgy and the bulge being algae(!)</div>
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However, I did love the nonsense poems of Edward Lear. Most people are familiar with "The Owl and the Pussycat" but my absolute favourite was "The Pobble Who Has No Toes".</div>
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<b>The Pobble who has no toes<br />Had once as many as we;<br />When they said "Some day you may lose them all;"<br />He replied "Fish, fiddle-de-dee!"<br />And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink<br />Lavender water tinged with pink,<br />For she said "The World in general knows<br />There's nothing so good for a Pobble's toes!"<br /><br />The Pobble who has no toes<br />Swam across the Bristol Channel;<br />But before he set out he wrapped his nose<br />In a piece of scarlet flannel.<br />For his Aunt Jobiska said "No harm<br />Can come to his toes if his nose is warm;<br />And it's perfectly known that a Pobble's toes<br />Are safe, -- provided he minds his nose!"<br /><br />The Pobble swam fast and well,<br />And when boats or ships came near him,<br />He tinkledy-blinkledy-winkled a bell,<br />So that all the world could hear him.<br />And all the Sailors and Admirals cried,<br />When they saw him nearing the further side -<br />"He has gone to fish for his Aunt Jobiska's<br />Runcible Cat with crimson whiskers!"<br /><br />But before he touched the shore,<br />The shore of the Bristol Channel,<br />A sea-green porpoise carried away<br />His wrapper of scarlet flannel.<br />And when he came to observe his feet,<br />Formerly garnished with toes so neat,<br />His face at once became forlorn,<br />On perceiving that all his toes were gone!<br /><br />And nobody ever knew,<br />From that dark day to the present,<br />Whoso had taken the Pobble's toes,<br />In a manner so far from pleasant.<br />Whether the shrimps, or crawfish grey,<br />Or crafty Mermaids stole them away -<br />Nobody knew: and nobody knows<br />How the Pobble was robbed of his twice five toes!<br /><br />The Pobble who has no toes<br />Was placed in a friendly Bark,<br />And they rowed him back, and carried him up<br />To his Aunt Jobiska's Park.<br />And she made him a feast at his earnest wish<br />Of eggs and buttercups fried with fish, -<br />And she said "It's a fact the whole world knows,<br />That Pobbles are happier without their toes!"</b></div>
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So that is the piece that I decided to make.</div>
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I was thrilled to receive an e-mail from John Foley the day after the exhibition opening, telling me that "The Pobble" was the first piece sold. Having just returned home from a pretty exhausting weekend away in Broken Hill (next blog post) it was wonderfully welcome news.</div>
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Till next time.</div>
<br />Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-44336936303576714942011-08-14T16:10:00.000-07:002011-08-14T22:30:17.531-07:00Who'd have thought ugly could be so dull?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BiVcS6Pzdu0/TkiotFzvX9I/AAAAAAAABSo/1pYxwAsAFgc/s1600/IMG_0072.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BiVcS6Pzdu0/TkiotFzvX9I/AAAAAAAABSo/1pYxwAsAFgc/s320/IMG_0072.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640944025888317394" /></a>
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<br />Ok, here's the thing. I'm not a huge fan of ugly Art. I realise that is a very generalised, ambiguous statement and it comes from someone who intentionally creates 'ugly' little creatures often with 'ugly' little personalities to match. It's difficult to explain exactly what I mean by this. I'm certainly no Art critic and let's be very clear, I don't consider the work that I make to be 'capital A' Art. I'm not out to change the world, make political statements or comment on society. In my opinion there are more direct and effective ways to do all of those things if that's what you really care about. My 'small a' art is personal to me and my hope is that through shared human experience, it is personal to some other people....that they connect (another ambiguous word) with it on some level.<div>
<br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">That</span> said, the<a href="http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/"> Saatchi</a> exhibition <a href="http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Exhibitions/saatchi_in_adelaide.html">'British Art Now' </a>is in Adelaide at the <a href="http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Visit/">AGSA</a>. I've been twice now. The first time I was very excited and filled with that delicious feeling of anticipation....this show is a big deal, a real coup for Adelaide and a chance to view cutting edge work by important contemporary artists. It's a massive exhibition taking up three quarters of the entire gallery space. The blurb on the AGSA website is as follows: </div><div>
<br /></div><div>"Saatchi Gallery in Adelaide: British Art Now brings together the audacious best of contemporary art straight from London's internationally acclaimed Saatchi Gallery - arguably the biggest influence on contemporary British art over the past 25 years. It features groundbreaking works that challenge conventional artistic sensibilities, created by more than forty of the new generation of daring British contemporary artists."</div><div>
<br /></div><div>It's not that I didn't know what to expect. This was not going to be like a visit to <a href="http://www.jamfactory.com.au/">The Jam Factory Gallery</a>....no art made for the love of the process here. What I didn't expect was that by the end of making my way through rooms filled with scrunched up plastic, white-washed cardboard, inflated garbage bags, and (deliberately, I assume) poorly constructed 'sculpture' with bits of fabric hanging off it, I was pretty much over it all and my over-whelming feeling was one of disappointment bordering on boredom. That, and the fact that I had never seen so much 'ugly' Art in one place at one time.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>This isn't to suggest that there weren't points of interest along the way. I really enjoyed the room of work by <a href="http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/juliana_cerqueira.htm?section_name=new_britannia">Juliana Cerqueira Leite </a>(pics above) but it was actually more the process she used to make the work rather than the finished objects that I found fascinating. </div><div><a href="http://www.tessafarmer.com/imagesswarm.html">Tessa Farmer</a> filled a large glass case with tiny (and I mean <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:78%;">tiny</span>) faeries made from thread-like plant matter and riding on desiccated insects.....that was right up my alley for obvious reasons, not the least of which is the almost 'OCD-like' dedication of the artist.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>But it was still ugly.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>So I went back a second time. I did enjoy myself more, having no expectations whatsoever but I just couldn't shake the feeling that this type of Art is a joke at everyone but the Artists' expense...'expense' being the operative word here. This is an exhibition about the business of 'capital A' Art and also the weird irony of Art that claims to be "subversive and avant-garde" while being sponsored by Saatchi. It does raise a lot of questions and it certainly makes for interesting and spirited conversation, but does the Art itself inspire me, excite me, engage me or provoke me in any way that isn't directly connected to it's financial 'worth'? The short answer is, no.</div><div> </div><div>I love Art. I like to think I have an open mind and that my tastes are diverse, but I need a little more than someones <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Bed">unmade bed</a> even if it is a "confessional revelation of the artists sexual exploits and self-destructive lifestyle". Yes, I found the piece disturbing but it would be just as disturbing if I saw a bedroom like this in someone's actual home....I'm not entirely sure what emotion the bed being displayed in a gallery is supposed to elicit. We all know, or know of, people who have these kinds of experiences in their lives. Does being confronted with it in a gallery make us care more? Are we even supposed to care and if not, then what's the point? Of course, there's the price ticket. Saatchi purchased the piece for 150,000 pounds.....can anyone say 'KA-CHING'!</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Anyway, I could go on and on but really I don't want to. Like I said, I'm no Art critic, certainly no expert. I do like to be challenged, engaged and inspired....and I do like beauty. True, beauty is different things to different people and if bad papier mache floats your boat, then I say trot along to the Saatchi and buy a season ticket.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>For me, I'd rather visit <a href="http://www.imaginegallery.co.uk/">this</a>, or look at <a href="http://www.chiharu-shiota.com/">this</a>, or <a href="http://www.edbinkley.com/">this</a>....there are countless others.</div><div>So now I'm on a quest...a quest to see more work containing beauty, talent, insight, love and joy.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I may not know Art, but I know what I like.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Oh, and before I go, one more thing I'm liking very much...<a href="http://www.stuckism.com/stuckistmanifesto.html#manifest">The Stuckist Manifesto</a>. Not convinced of point #4, but I can't argue with the rest of it.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Till next time.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, geneva, arial, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 3px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 3px;"><i>
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<br /></span></span></div><div></div></div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-41670013071522774312011-08-01T17:01:00.000-07:002011-08-01T18:20:42.235-07:00Burdy....<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ryXnb6-42gE/Tjc-56vlRlI/AAAAAAAABSA/tL6QRPpCiac/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ryXnb6-42gE/Tjc-56vlRlI/AAAAAAAABSA/tL6QRPpCiac/s320/IMG_0010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636042623419762258" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VCj1X4Bdyh8/Tjc-4jTqrqI/AAAAAAAABR4/BQOmYPk7MZs/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VCj1X4Bdyh8/Tjc-4jTqrqI/AAAAAAAABR4/BQOmYPk7MZs/s320/IMG_0005.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636042599948791458" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RXEO3jGN3CU/Tjc-xUQu_hI/AAAAAAAABRw/Fp7upwBrrBc/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RXEO3jGN3CU/Tjc-xUQu_hI/AAAAAAAABRw/Fp7upwBrrBc/s320/IMG_0008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636042475650874898" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fS_HNguMNfc/Tjc-xE36fGI/AAAAAAAABRo/RaKENhAubcQ/s1600/IMG_0017.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fS_HNguMNfc/Tjc-xE36fGI/AAAAAAAABRo/RaKENhAubcQ/s320/IMG_0017.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636042471520238690" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yA_ED8em-d0/Tjc-xA3NaMI/AAAAAAAABRg/adWQ_H7iC-0/s1600/IMG_0023.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yA_ED8em-d0/Tjc-xA3NaMI/AAAAAAAABRg/adWQ_H7iC-0/s320/IMG_0023.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636042470443542722" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u9QB1wdbbCw/Tjc-w6gfa9I/AAAAAAAABRY/plaM6SQhUVo/s1600/IMG_0003_2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u9QB1wdbbCw/Tjc-w6gfa9I/AAAAAAAABRY/plaM6SQhUVo/s320/IMG_0003_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636042468737641426" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-09lwYMBIwpE/Tjc-wzww1GI/AAAAAAAABRQ/ohPij-KIbYk/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-09lwYMBIwpE/Tjc-wzww1GI/AAAAAAAABRQ/ohPij-KIbYk/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636042466926842978" /></a>Let me start by saying that when I think of all the privilege and blessings that I have in my life, I actually feel pretty guilty complaining about anything. <div>That said, I've been feeling pretty crappy lately. I've dealt with depression in one form or another for most of my life, but it's not been an issue for me for several years now. </div><div>Back in March of this year I completed my five years taking Tamoxifen (post breast cancer medication) and since going off it have been caught in a hormonal nightmare; everything from hot flushes, racing heart beat, insomnia and "fuzzy brain" to mood swings and depression. It looks and feels like menopause, but I'm not menopausal and it's like my body is desperately trying to re-balance itself after five years of medical hormone suppression. </div><div>Of course, when I asked my surgeon (who, let's be clear, has my eternal gratitude and admiration for saving my life) about possible side effects associated with stopping Tamoxifen 'cold-turkey', he told me there would be no problems with it apart from possibly a little 'anxiety'. </div><div>It's a frustrating situation to be in. As most of the physical symptoms have now passed or are passing, I'm hopeful that this black cloud too will lift. Work is definitely helping. I've cut back all of my extraneous activities (including my beloved zoo work) to focus solely on my artwork, which was in danger of being crowded out entirely by everything else that's been going on.</div><div>And so to Burdy.....my melancholy blackbird of sorts. I was especially pleased with the shadows in these photos...I like the way they loom....it's very much how I've been feeling, trying to 'take off' with a black shadow hanging over my head. He's been constructed in my usual manner and his costume is black felt with pearl beads and silk thread. His wings are individually hand cut and wired 'feathers' made from stiffened and painted cotton. His stand is also hand-painted.<div>At the moment I'm working on a new piece to be sent over to the UK for an exhibition in October. The exhibition has a Nursery Rhyme theme, so I'm pretty excited....but more of that later.</div><div>I want to thank all of my friends who read this (far too infrequent, despite my best efforts) blog and who keep in touch via Facebook and e-mail, for your concern and support over the past few months.....I really do appreciate it so much, it's always amazing to me how many of us share similar experiences under different circumstances. Much love to all of you.</div><div>Till next time.<br /><div><br /></div></div></div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-6600163934219536132011-07-03T18:00:00.000-07:002011-07-03T19:05:16.389-07:00Mama JuJu<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FL9WiCxfw0s/ThERHkk5H1I/AAAAAAAABQU/nAgS9__rbnw/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FL9WiCxfw0s/ThERHkk5H1I/AAAAAAAABQU/nAgS9__rbnw/s320/IMG_0003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625296231337631570" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--RkEx4QuD7o/ThERHrLWDxI/AAAAAAAABQM/ybHbV9RSNtg/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--RkEx4QuD7o/ThERHrLWDxI/AAAAAAAABQM/ybHbV9RSNtg/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625296233109524242" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ATayPm0KA5g/ThEQ_0fG4bI/AAAAAAAABQE/PTk1FsdqmMk/s1600/IMG_0026.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ATayPm0KA5g/ThEQ_0fG4bI/AAAAAAAABQE/PTk1FsdqmMk/s320/IMG_0026.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625296098169381298" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TcKMJiaHR-Q/ThEQ_uoqq0I/AAAAAAAABP8/piUxSz75XBA/s1600/IMG_0028.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TcKMJiaHR-Q/ThEQ_uoqq0I/AAAAAAAABP8/piUxSz75XBA/s320/IMG_0028.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625296096598862658" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KklltkJ_LqI/ThEQ_Wf1iYI/AAAAAAAABP0/FglAD5Ru6_I/s1600/IMG_0018.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KklltkJ_LqI/ThEQ_Wf1iYI/AAAAAAAABP0/FglAD5Ru6_I/s320/IMG_0018.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625296090119375234" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gsjh8xRBQh4/ThEQ_ThJQrI/AAAAAAAABPs/e6UCMzYzgiA/s1600/IMG_0007.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gsjh8xRBQh4/ThEQ_ThJQrI/AAAAAAAABPs/e6UCMzYzgiA/s320/IMG_0007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625296089319555762" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SCbqCGkXjq0/ThEQ_NKFExI/AAAAAAAABPk/GeB4fmFN3YA/s1600/IMG_0031.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SCbqCGkXjq0/ThEQ_NKFExI/AAAAAAAABPk/GeB4fmFN3YA/s320/IMG_0031.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625296087612199698" /></a>How strange these past couple of months have been. <div>For one (thankfully brief) moment, I thought perhaps I'd had enough of "art" and slumped into an unmotivated, non-creative phase that was filled up with some personal and health related issues and (even more distractingly) enormous volumes of information about animals and volunteering at Adelaide Zoo. Although I consider myself an accomplished multi-tasker (this is not bragging...it is actually quite often a curse), I was finding it almost impossible to diss-asociate myself from a new and deeper understanding of the plight of the earths wildlife, enough to even concentrate on, let alone produce, any new artwork. I have to tell you, this stuff is consuming. </div><div>So, a couple of weeks ago I made a decision to take a conscious, forced break from animal related matters so that I could (hopefully) gain a little perspective. So that is what I've done.....and it seems to be working. The funny thing is, now that I've (temporarily) cut off the supply of wildlife information (books, documentaries, internet etc.) the mountain of facts that have been jumbled and crammed into my brain are sorting themselves out very nicely in a calm, non-invasive way. I'm still passionate about animals (probably even more so), but things are starting to balance themselves now.<div>So, to Mama JuJu. </div><div>This is a piece that I started sculpting two years ago, but abandoned at an early stage in favour of other more pressing pieces. I still wasn't sure what she was going to be, even after painting her but, my kids were re-watching "The Office" episodes and in one of them Michael gives Angela the character of "Mama JuJu" during a How to Host a Murder game (brilliant episode, by the way).</div><div>I loved that name, so decided to make her into a kind of voodoo witch-doctor complete with all the stereotypical paraphernalia. She is holding a little doll that I sewed up by hand and has pouches and shrunken heads (which were huge fun to sculpt!) hanging off her costume. All of the fabrics used are hand-dyed and she has human hair adorned with feathers and combed out hessian. Her necklace incorporates real bird bones which I've meticulously bleached and cleaned.</div><div>I'm happy with how she's turned out and it's very satisfying to finally complete a character that has been sitting around staring at me accusingly every time I walk past her. She kind of reminds me of those wonderfully overblown Disney villain(esses) like Ursula from 'The Little Mermaid'.....all smiles and enticement one minute and sticking a pin in your eye the next. Lovely!</div><div>Till next time.<br /><div><br /></div></div></div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-2204134605534144172011-05-23T15:13:00.000-07:002011-05-23T15:34:51.714-07:00Exhibition in Burra<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERIyfA-650M/TdrcNzc6evI/AAAAAAAABO4/fKzrUlb2yAc/s1600/real%2Bunreal-1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 148px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERIyfA-650M/TdrcNzc6evI/AAAAAAAABO4/fKzrUlb2yAc/s320/real%2Bunreal-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610038415551265522" /></a>We have just returned from holidaying along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. Guy has had a month of very well-deserved holidays after a stressful and exhausting job that had pretty much governed his life for the past year. It is wonderful to see him happy and relaxed and I think the break has done us both a world of good.<div>So now it's back to business. I'm heading off to Burra this week to deliver three pieces for their "Real/Unreal" exhibition. I'm excited and nervous because they have asked me to open the exhibition as well.....something I've not done before. I'm also looking forward to the trip (about three hours from home) as I've never been to the town and I'm told it's an area rich in dinosaur fossils etc. Should be interesting.</div><div>Till next time.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-25030706832754011162011-03-16T14:55:00.000-07:002011-03-16T16:07:30.573-07:00Grandmother Bone.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHkYOZtyfG0/TYEyiC-1iEI/AAAAAAAABMc/wj9MOwB6Wsk/s1600/IMG_0012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHkYOZtyfG0/TYEyiC-1iEI/AAAAAAAABMc/wj9MOwB6Wsk/s320/IMG_0012.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800573413492802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NBzLhAh5Hp4/TYEyh6FCJdI/AAAAAAAABMU/PAYKFiIJoqM/s1600/IMG_0003-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NBzLhAh5Hp4/TYEyh6FCJdI/AAAAAAAABMU/PAYKFiIJoqM/s320/IMG_0003-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800571023566290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J8LwJexCJ4U/TYEyhmsybiI/AAAAAAAABMM/6mcyqoujuMk/s1600/IMG_0017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J8LwJexCJ4U/TYEyhmsybiI/AAAAAAAABMM/6mcyqoujuMk/s320/IMG_0017.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800565821599266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEAsAMN6epg/TYEyhv9X9SI/AAAAAAAABME/8KzIFv0w3BY/s1600/IMG_0019.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hEAsAMN6epg/TYEyhv9X9SI/AAAAAAAABME/8KzIFv0w3BY/s320/IMG_0019.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800568307086626" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9V1465TKPvA/TYEyQNrgjqI/AAAAAAAABL8/wuQ67rPmjQ8/s1600/IMG_0018.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9V1465TKPvA/TYEyQNrgjqI/AAAAAAAABL8/wuQ67rPmjQ8/s320/IMG_0018.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800267047571106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6zgd_82BXBE/TYEyP9CDRVI/AAAAAAAABL0/mXA0XrvNHS4/s1600/IMG_0006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6zgd_82BXBE/TYEyP9CDRVI/AAAAAAAABL0/mXA0XrvNHS4/s320/IMG_0006.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800262578718034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YTcHFfGnyv0/TYEyPi_ueOI/AAAAAAAABLs/WP4-LbGezLE/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YTcHFfGnyv0/TYEyPi_ueOI/AAAAAAAABLs/WP4-LbGezLE/s320/IMG_0003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800255589644514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D3MttN6IVgw/TYEyPUdvOzI/AAAAAAAABLk/_DnwDIRd-Ww/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D3MttN6IVgw/TYEyPUdvOzI/AAAAAAAABLk/_DnwDIRd-Ww/s320/IMG_0010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800251688991538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n08cY1WVg34/TYEyPN360UI/AAAAAAAABLc/dYJOqDFWLg0/s1600/IMG_0011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n08cY1WVg34/TYEyPN360UI/AAAAAAAABLc/dYJOqDFWLg0/s320/IMG_0011.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584800249919754562" /></a>I started sculpting this piece early last year, but stopped before the head was completed....can't remember exactly why, must have been distracted by other projects. I went back to it in January after watching 'Young Frankenstein' (a favourite!) and being inspired by Marty Feldman's 'Igor' ("it's pronounced eye-gor") and his wonderful hump and popping eyes. After I had re-worked her left eye, the rest of the piece just fell into place. I also had in my mind the old junk-yard woman from 'Labyrinth'.....I wanted Grandmother Bone to be a collector as well and to have her clothes made up of bits and pieces.<div>The fabric part of her costume is linen, which I have distressed and 'rusted'.....the rest of it is made up of silk cocoons, mulberry bark, feathers, beads and dozens of individually sculpted little bones which are tied all through her costume. There is a real part of a bird skull on the top of her staff. I'm pleased with how her clothes look 'nest-like' and the fact that she reminded a dear friend of mine of a vulture sits really well with me. She actually makes me think of a bantam chook that's been in one too many scuffles.</div><div>The wip photos at the bottom show the head as it was before I 'popped' the left eye.</div><div>That sounded really gross.....sorry.</div><div>Here's the little poem I wrote for her:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Grandmother Bone,</div><div>face like a crone.</div><div>fearsome to all</div><div>as she wanders alone.</div><div>Indeed she's a sight</div><div>with her hair all a-fright</div><div>but, she's lost all her teeth</div><div>so she really can't bite!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Till next time.</div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-22750607335321660242011-03-07T15:51:00.000-08:002011-03-07T16:14:10.227-08:00"Wilbur"...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pV1bv0Rh7E/TXVwIkVbasI/AAAAAAAABLQ/z-qhhBGfpMU/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pV1bv0Rh7E/TXVwIkVbasI/AAAAAAAABLQ/z-qhhBGfpMU/s320/IMG_0008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581490605690415810" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRHQb9BUQVU/TXVwIcYdX6I/AAAAAAAABLI/Tq-kbcN4I-E/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRHQb9BUQVU/TXVwIcYdX6I/AAAAAAAABLI/Tq-kbcN4I-E/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581490603555643298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZlQ1N9febc/TXVv-0EnGmI/AAAAAAAABLA/F00ErXYa4SA/s1600/IMG_0110.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jZlQ1N9febc/TXVv-0EnGmI/AAAAAAAABLA/F00ErXYa4SA/s320/IMG_0110.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581490438116153954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VeyOe2JejC0/TXVv-nmSEfI/AAAAAAAABK4/WmGQXFomEkc/s1600/IMG_0017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VeyOe2JejC0/TXVv-nmSEfI/AAAAAAAABK4/WmGQXFomEkc/s320/IMG_0017.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581490434767720946" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-es0Jf4fQ7lQ/TXVv-b42jFI/AAAAAAAABKw/5avVnLNCgn4/s1600/IMG_0010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-es0Jf4fQ7lQ/TXVv-b42jFI/AAAAAAAABKw/5avVnLNCgn4/s320/IMG_0010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581490431624383570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IGEn1RCgM9Y/TXVv9rZb1sI/AAAAAAAABKo/JjJn7xLvRDg/s1600/IMG_0020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IGEn1RCgM9Y/TXVv9rZb1sI/AAAAAAAABKo/JjJn7xLvRDg/s320/IMG_0020.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581490418607707842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TnIhU9TgB38/TXVv9N1fKzI/AAAAAAAABKg/yWXxlTO9KrM/s1600/IMG_0030.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TnIhU9TgB38/TXVv9N1fKzI/AAAAAAAABKg/yWXxlTO9KrM/s320/IMG_0030.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581490410672302898" /></a>Last week I completed one of the individual projects I have going at the same time as working on the "deadly sins" project. It was a lovely feeling to finally complete a piece after so much preliminary work on a range of other things. This little guy is Wilbur, and I like to think of him as a gentle soul, contemplating one of the tiniest miracles of life.<div>He has been sculpted in polymer clay on a wire armature and painted in my usual way with acrylic paints. The photo at the bottom with magenta skin is the undercoat color I use for almost all of my skin tones.</div><div>The tree-trunk base that he is sitting on is also sculpted from polymer clay, as are the 'fly agaric' toadstools. The dried fungus and snail shells are real. All of the fabrics and fibers used for Wilbur's costume have been hand-dyed and are completely hand-sewn. His shoes and his back-pack are sculpted and painted by hand.</div><div>So, now it's on to the next one....quite different in theme, but should also be challenging and fun. WIP pictures as soon as I can.</div><div>Till next time.</div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-5490836423922301582011-02-22T19:38:00.000-08:002011-02-22T20:07:20.324-08:00Head designs for the last three 'sins' complete.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Jo9A4E_Vn0/TWSBZJh-b6I/AAAAAAAABKY/kKYyd1sh2cU/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Jo9A4E_Vn0/TWSBZJh-b6I/AAAAAAAABKY/kKYyd1sh2cU/s320/IMG_0003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576724507646652322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNmpzMWeQfw/TWSBTL4ieAI/AAAAAAAABKQ/BmvMXqwf9wE/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fNmpzMWeQfw/TWSBTL4ieAI/AAAAAAAABKQ/BmvMXqwf9wE/s320/IMG_0004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576724405198944258" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-miLgjKWjDNM/TWSBTKrRjyI/AAAAAAAABKI/o20F_dAa8d0/s1600/IMG_0006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-miLgjKWjDNM/TWSBTKrRjyI/AAAAAAAABKI/o20F_dAa8d0/s320/IMG_0006.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576724404874874658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bbqfSOM2qpw/TWSBSzg1qHI/AAAAAAAABKA/WSNgmG7ml-w/s1600/IMG_0007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bbqfSOM2qpw/TWSBSzg1qHI/AAAAAAAABKA/WSNgmG7ml-w/s320/IMG_0007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576724398657087602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-obTLRy03MRk/TWSBSPYyYGI/AAAAAAAABJ4/JuPVTKbf4H4/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-obTLRy03MRk/TWSBSPYyYGI/AAAAAAAABJ4/JuPVTKbf4H4/s320/IMG_0008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576724388959641698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cP0-B3n6SDo/TWSBSAJX3aI/AAAAAAAABJw/fHshKSamOIo/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cP0-B3n6SDo/TWSBSAJX3aI/AAAAAAAABJw/fHshKSamOIo/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576724384868457890" /></a>Over the past two days I've managed to complete the head studies for all seven 'sins'. Now that I have an idea of how I want them to look, I can work on body construction, pose and costuming and also decide on a size for each piece. While the temptation to make them big and imposing is very strong, I don't think it will be practical given that I need to complete them all before August. Still, it's early days and I'm sure it will all work out as I go along.<div>Till next time.</div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-18630170107457593112011-02-16T00:04:00.000-08:002011-02-16T00:26:26.500-08:00Individual side-projects.<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYpnn6f-d6Q/TVuJPOppLzI/AAAAAAAABI4/7oJD2TW703E/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lYpnn6f-d6Q/TVuJPOppLzI/AAAAAAAABI4/7oJD2TW703E/s320/IMG_0004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574199858524925746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CzcIq9jxFkw/TVuFYjeuNYI/AAAAAAAABIw/DSIZyc18XbA/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CzcIq9jxFkw/TVuFYjeuNYI/AAAAAAAABIw/DSIZyc18XbA/s320/IMG_0002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574195620688573826" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wgE_lz51se8/TVuFYuQOuXI/AAAAAAAABIo/0cq5wvCdDTg/s1600/IMG_0007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wgE_lz51se8/TVuFYuQOuXI/AAAAAAAABIo/0cq5wvCdDTg/s320/IMG_0007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574195623580580210" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tMJxjL1XIz4/TVuFYT_dcSI/AAAAAAAABIg/mv4HLCgU_ts/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tMJxjL1XIz4/TVuFYT_dcSI/AAAAAAAABIg/mv4HLCgU_ts/s320/IMG_0004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574195616530919714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt6P5q_pTQM/TVuFYKVrIHI/AAAAAAAABIY/IKflwEm_4RE/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt6P5q_pTQM/TVuFYKVrIHI/AAAAAAAABIY/IKflwEm_4RE/s320/IMG_0008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574195613939736690" /></a>In addition to the larger projects I'm undertaking this year, there are a few unfinished individual pieces that I hope to complete. <div>This rather pensive (and regrettably warty) little dude is starting to take shape and should make a nice piece when I've finished sculpting his seat and figured out his costume.</div><div>Over the next few months I will also be updating my website, so please forgive any glitches in the meantime, although I sincerely hope that I can keep them to a minimum.</div><div>Meanwhile, our new puppy, Milligan is settling in beautifully and is proving to be a very intelligent cookie indeed.....I can only hope that he'll use his powers for good and not evil.</div><div>Till next time.</div><div><br /></div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-78898939710260032312011-02-13T19:04:00.000-08:002011-02-13T19:49:38.864-08:00Old project, new vision.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcjglvYqKik/TVicq8jq9RI/AAAAAAAABIQ/79pCpTw_L38/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcjglvYqKik/TVicq8jq9RI/AAAAAAAABIQ/79pCpTw_L38/s320/IMG_0008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376800495170834" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UKUOoGOvaAI/TVicqVBtwbI/AAAAAAAABII/UYSId8qbGBs/s1600/IMG_0007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UKUOoGOvaAI/TVicqVBtwbI/AAAAAAAABII/UYSId8qbGBs/s320/IMG_0007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376789883765170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VfUgyUHhCDk/TVicqeGirOI/AAAAAAAABIA/xfknq7p5D4M/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VfUgyUHhCDk/TVicqeGirOI/AAAAAAAABIA/xfknq7p5D4M/s320/IMG_0001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376792319929570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-217663t00Xg/TVicfbUjy9I/AAAAAAAABH4/q4HMeP1Bh00/s1600/IMG_0006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-217663t00Xg/TVicfbUjy9I/AAAAAAAABH4/q4HMeP1Bh00/s320/IMG_0006.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376602594855890" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WQe8fXtLbNY/TVicfCcVDYI/AAAAAAAABHw/71WhTH0e2tc/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WQe8fXtLbNY/TVicfCcVDYI/AAAAAAAABHw/71WhTH0e2tc/s320/IMG_0002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376595916557698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xdJeD0lz79Y/TVice3U6rXI/AAAAAAAABHo/lr5Vxm8cq64/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xdJeD0lz79Y/TVice3U6rXI/AAAAAAAABHo/lr5Vxm8cq64/s320/IMG_0005.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376592932679026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5q35LJfu_N8/TVicekgP7OI/AAAAAAAABHg/9dnHXarVf6w/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5q35LJfu_N8/TVicekgP7OI/AAAAAAAABHg/9dnHXarVf6w/s320/IMG_0003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376587879935202" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WyUo_p9KuI/TViceWSta_I/AAAAAAAABHY/ZNEBf9Zr4Nk/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WyUo_p9KuI/TViceWSta_I/AAAAAAAABHY/ZNEBf9Zr4Nk/s320/IMG_0004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573376584065051634" /></a>Well the New Year has come and gone and with it went the promise I made to myself to blog at least once a week. What happened? Well, too much actually, most of it far too dull to relate but aggravatingly time consuming nonetheless. So I'm going to pretend that January didn't happen and in that case I'm right on track.<div>Last year I decided that I wanted to create a "fae" version of the Seven Deadly Sins. I got as far as sculpting two of them (gluttony and vanity) before realising that I wasn't thrilled with what I had created and so I put the project on the back burner and moved on to other things. During the month that never was, I found myself returning to the idea with renewed interest and after making a few drawings am excited about the project all over again.</div><div>I still have to finalise the designs for the last three sins, but already this feels much more cohesive to me. I'm really trying to move away from 'human' looking faeries to concentrate more on creatures and making all of the sins Goblin-like seems somehow appropriate.</div><div>The seven resulting sculptures and their accompanying drawings will form my SALA exhibition later in the year. I'm still planning to produce a small book for the exhibition and also a new line of cards and bookmarks. </div><div>I will be creating other unrelated pieces during this time as well as updating my website and re-starting work on another project that I'll spill the beans on at a later date.</div><div>A busy and exciting year!</div><div>Till next time.</div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-39514190616589688892010-11-29T13:29:00.000-08:002010-11-29T14:00:27.672-08:00Completed piece.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbw6rksJI/AAAAAAAABFg/QiWrOyj0RAk/s1600/IMG_0008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbw6rksJI/AAAAAAAABFg/QiWrOyj0RAk/s320/IMG_0008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545087568399610002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbwVBDDiI/AAAAAAAABFY/mDh7SQOJM8E/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbwVBDDiI/AAAAAAAABFY/mDh7SQOJM8E/s320/IMG_0005.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545087558289133090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbvtknjiI/AAAAAAAABFQ/G4-EQdSWfyU/s1600/IMG_0016.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbvtknjiI/AAAAAAAABFQ/G4-EQdSWfyU/s320/IMG_0016.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545087547700907554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbvMTlOqI/AAAAAAAABFI/q1crvFCm9qk/s1600/IMG_0020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TPQbvMTlOqI/AAAAAAAABFI/q1crvFCm9qk/s320/IMG_0020.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545087538771081890" /></a>Well, here it is almost December already and my favourite holiday fast approaching. This is the worst time of year for me as far as my concentration level is concerned.....there is so much going on with winding up the end of the year and there never seems to be enough time to do everything. I'm not complaining though....unfortunately I'm one of those annoyingly cheerful people who love the hustle and bustle, the copious amounts of fairy lights, the cheesy movies and everything else that goes along with the season....well, almost everything. Stress and drama I can do without and honestly, if you can't make an effort to be pleasant at this time of year, what hope is there?<div>All that aside, I managed to complete this piece yesterday and while they are still not named, I do know that they are two old friends who have shared much in their lives and are completely comfortable and at ease with each others company.</div><div>I'm hoping to create one more piece before I take a break over Christmas and replace the clay with gingerbread and fruitcake.</div><div>Till next time.</div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-44830439406430661332010-11-10T21:05:00.000-08:002010-11-10T22:05:38.380-08:00New piece in progress....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt59nCeqbI/AAAAAAAABFA/z0K-v8d1f7I/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt59nCeqbI/AAAAAAAABFA/z0K-v8d1f7I/s320/IMG_0001.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538154266140518834" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt59ndwvTI/AAAAAAAABE4/IrDvg5A_FMQ/s1600/IMG_0003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt59ndwvTI/AAAAAAAABE4/IrDvg5A_FMQ/s320/IMG_0003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538154266254949682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt581TjowI/AAAAAAAABEw/8tlez2LOSAI/s1600/IMG_0004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt581TjowI/AAAAAAAABEw/8tlez2LOSAI/s320/IMG_0004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538154252790375170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt58g1kciI/AAAAAAAABEo/j0sqEw90Ndw/s1600/IMG_0006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt58g1kciI/AAAAAAAABEo/j0sqEw90Ndw/s320/IMG_0006.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538154247295889954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt5774fkVI/AAAAAAAABEg/-xMKmhRGbBo/s1600/IMG_0003-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TNt5774fkVI/AAAAAAAABEg/-xMKmhRGbBo/s320/IMG_0003-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538154237376041298" /></a>So, a number of things have kept me from blogging, facebooking, twittering etc. of late. Not that I'm exactly what you'd call 'prolific' regarding any of these....I just find it very difficult to spend that much time on my computer....but this has definitely been a 'less productive than usual' couple of months for me.<div>Aside from a general feeling of melancholy (a common occurrence but no less irritating for that), I've been having some major dental work which has involved extraction of wisdom teeth among other delights. I have a classic textbook fear of going to the dentist (heart racing, sweats, sleep disturbance and on and on) and although I have found a wonderful, gentle and sympathetic dental surgeon, the whole process is stressful and exhausting. Unfortunately, my dental health suffered very badly during chemotherapy several years ago and now I'm facing a considerable amount of repair work (partly my own fault of course for letting things go too long.....see *dental fear*). Anyway, the worst of it will soon be over and I've decided to have a break after my next appointment until the New Year. A Christmas season without anxiety is what I'm aiming for.</div><div>I've been working on the above piece for a couple of weeks and just finished painting them today. The first two shots were taken after firing and before painting and the next two are after the painting has been sealed. The next step is choosing fabrics and fibers for these two little friends and designing their costumes.</div><div>The drawing at the bottom is an idea for another 'Tree Faerie', this one not so frightening as the last. It's colored pencil and ink on cardboard, which is a new surface for me and one that I'm enjoying very much....although it does tend to lift if you muck about with it too much.</div><div>Before I go, my awesomely talented friend Linda Catchlove has just released a beautiful range of greeting cards featuring her incredible work. They are superb quality cards by a truly gifted artist and you can see and buy them <a href="http://web.me.com/lcatchlove/Site/Cards.html">here</a>.</div><div>Till next time.</div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-991232103849413429.post-78337004578239970252010-10-11T14:56:00.000-07:002010-10-11T19:01:49.790-07:00Tim Burton exhibition....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIaL40bWI/AAAAAAAABDo/k7PXmqJ4JPM/s1600/IMG_0016.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIaL40bWI/AAAAAAAABDo/k7PXmqJ4JPM/s320/IMG_0016.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526911151162813794" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIZaSwdFI/AAAAAAAABDg/JPvnMktk814/s1600/IMG_0014.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIZaSwdFI/AAAAAAAABDg/JPvnMktk814/s320/IMG_0014.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526911137849832530" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIY_Zt-YI/AAAAAAAABDY/4Nshuv-X-6Y/s1600/IMG_0015.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIY_Zt-YI/AAAAAAAABDY/4Nshuv-X-6Y/s320/IMG_0015.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526911130631272834" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIYqiJmkI/AAAAAAAABDQ/2nVo4qf2iYE/s1600/IMG_0018.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIYqiJmkI/AAAAAAAABDQ/2nVo4qf2iYE/s320/IMG_0018.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526911125029493314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIYdgkTzI/AAAAAAAABDI/NfT6mrW0gdo/s1600/IMG_0026.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_J3HUcJfZv0Y/TLOIYdgkTzI/AAAAAAAABDI/NfT6mrW0gdo/s320/IMG_0026.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526911121533194034" /></a>It's just over a week since we returned home from our holiday in Melbourne and the Grampians. Guy and I planned this trip way back last year when we found out that the Tim Burton exhibition was coming to <a href="http://www.acmi.net.au/">ACMI</a>. Being a borderline obsessive when it comes to his films, I have to say that this was THE most greatly anticipated exhibition I've ever attended.<div>It did not disappoint.</div><div>On the contrary, there was so much to see in this enormous collection of artwork, film, costume, models, notebooks, props etc, etc, it was often overwhelming....but in a very good way.</div><div>I was a little put off initially by the huge crowds of people but in actuality the slow-moving snake of visitors lining the gallery walls kept my excitement level in check and prevented me from running around like a maniac from one object to another. As it was, I was trying very hard not to look ahead to see what was coming up and so was surprised and delighted every few minutes! There was ample time to examine each piece in glorious detail.</div><div>While the big, drawcard pieces (costumes from "Alice", Batman, Edward Scissorhands etc.) were wonderful (Alice's shoes and the Mad Hatter's hat were particular favourites of mine), it was the smaller individual pieces, in particular the drawings and personal notebooks and letters, which gave me the most joy and the most insight. To see Tim's progression through his early years with the influences of Dr Suess, MAD Magazine and illustrators such as Gerald Scarfe and Ralph Steadman (other favorites of mine) was fascinating and certainly something I could relate to personally, having grown up on these same influences myself.</div><div>There were also a large number of models built by Rick Heinrichs which were beautiful even in their decay (I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest when I saw the puppets of 'Vincent' and the long-suffering Abercrombie wearing the experimental headgear!) and the puppets for 'Corpse Bride', built by <a href="http://www.mackinnonandsaunders.com/">Mackinnon & Saunders</a> were, without a doubt, some of the most exquisite objects I have ever seen.</div><div>Overall, it was the sheer volume of work by this man who is only a couple of years older than me, that was most inspiring. People like to imagine that to be an artist means that you must exist in a continual state of inspiration and creativity. That may be true for some (lucky them!),</div><div>but for most of us inspiration is minor compared to the amount of actual work that needs to be done to realise those precious ideas. Tim Burton has done the hard yards. He's weathered rejection, criticism and the worst kind of 'art snobbery' to bring to fruition his unique vision of an imperfect and totally fascinating world. It's plain, if the huge attendance numbers for this exhibition are anything to go by, that this is an artist who connects with people on a very human level. He certainly does with me.</div><div>(Sadly, cameras weren't allowed inside the exhibition, so the photos above are all I have to show.)</div><div>Till next time. </div>Lorell Lehmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17834635644137072998noreply@blogger.com4