Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The end of SALA and an exciting new project.....





After a very slow start, the SALA Festival has ended on a high note for me with an extraordinarily busy final week and a number of last minute sales. The beautiful, sunny weather we had last Sunday certainly encouraged people to get out and about and my tiny gallery space was full to bursting several times during the day.
It was one of the most enjoyable weekends I've had as it was also my husband's birthday and our family celebrations extended from Friday to Sunday with wonderful food, music and company each day. I've never known a person who enjoys their birthday as much as my husband does (the night before is referred to as 'Birthday Eve' and the day after is 'Birthday Boxing Day'!) and I derive enormous pleasure from making his day (or in this case, his weekend) as special as possible. As a consequence, our house upstairs was filled with the delicious smells of baking, which wafted enticingly downstairs to the gallery visitors.....pity we weren't selling morning and afternoon tea, we would have made a fortune!
So, on to the next project. A couple of months ago the TV show 'Masterchef' ran a challenge where the contestants had to create dishes based on the 'Seven Deadly Sins'. I immediately began thinking of faerie creatures based on this same theme and have been planning and researching for my own version of the sins called "The Seven Deadly Fae". I just recently completed sculpting 'Gluttony' and have started work on the head of 'Pride'. They will all be sitting or standing on their own small, decorative pedestal and will each have a found object (made of silver or pewter) which is relevant to them. So far I've found a fork and spoon for 'Gluttony' (the spoon even has a 'G' on it!) a mirror for 'Pride', a knife for 'Wrath' and a pot for 'Greed'. At this stage I'm leaning towards the sins all being very pale and neutral with perhaps one introduced color.....but that could change as I move past the sculpting stage. Early on I was toying with the idea of also making the "Seven Heavenly Virtues", but truthfully they're not nearly as interesting (or as much fun) as the sins and the last thing I want to do is come off as 'preachy'......or worse, boring.
I'm very excited about this project and am planning to publish a small format book when they are all completed. I hope you enjoy the pics of the project so far.....will most more wip shots as I progress.
Till next time.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Cold and wet start to SALA.....








The SALA festival kicked off with a bang last Friday, with one of my pieces selling on the first day. Since then, it's been cold, wet and miserable and consequently, VERY quiet. Not to worry....the visitors I've had have been delightful and the response so far has been very positive. With any luck, the wintry weather will let up long enough to encourage people to get out and about.....*fingers crossed* I've taken a few gallery shots and you can see how overcast and bleak it is at the moment, as there is hardly any natural light coming in.....I dislike using the camera flash, so let's just call these 'atmospheric'.

In all other respects, it's been a very busy week. I'm in the planning stages of a new project that I'm very excited about. I don't want to say too much until I have something to show for it, but I will say that it is a multiple piece project and although the theme is one that has been explored often, I hope that I can create a 'different' vision on a familiar subject. I will also be creating a limited edition book in conjunction with this work, but more on that later.....

I'm also planning pieces for next Octobers exhibition at Imagine Gallery in the UK. There are several ideas for themes running around in my head, but I'm having difficulty making the commitment to just one. Perhaps I'm in need of a 'close your eyes and point' type of approach.

Before I go, this Friday is the opening of the 'Schaffas' exhibition. The pieces are being auctioned for charity so I hope that those of you who can will come along and bid (on my piece, of course!) and feel good knowing that the money is going to support improvements in indigenous health.....a very worthwhile and much needed cause. The auction starts at around 7.00pm and as there are over 100 participating artists and designers, it should be a fun night.

Till next time.