Slow going on the 'snail' piece....seems appropriate.

The "Dragon-snail Travellers" piece is progressing well, but slowly. All of the painting is finished now but the costuming is proving to be a little more problematic than expected due to the position of the characters....this afternoon I had a total 'brain fuzz' and almost dismantled four days work(!).....luckily, I stepped away for a much needed coffee and when I returned I realized that I was on the right track after all. It's times like that I really envy people who work in teams with other creative souls (truthfully, this envy is short-lived....if I know anything at all about myself it's that I do not play well with others)....

So, I've posted a few semi-cryptic photos and will hopefully complete the piece over the next few days.

Oh, and today I ate a big salad for lunch and everything in it came from our garden....

Till next time.

Adelaide Festival & life in our garden

The Adelaide Festival and accompanying Fringe Festival is officially over. In one way I feel as if I should have made the effort to see more, but on the other (much more grounded in reality) hand, much of the stuff I did see was disappointing to say the least. I think I've spoken before about 'concept art' and my increasing intolerance for it and I'm the first to admit that I understand little of what is happening in the world of contemporary 'Art' with a capital 'A'.

What I can say, and this is only personal opinion, is that a fair amount of the visual art I went to see was derivative, dull, (in some cases) poorly constructed or it was so bewildering that it failed to engage the viewer in any way. I have to ask the question, 'who are these artists making this work for?' I just can't bring myself to stand in front of a pile of string, scratching my chin and nodding in that insufferable way that suggests I actually see a deep and profound message in a tangle of knotty fibers (this is a totally fabricated example....I'm not referring to anyone's work in particular, but I think you get my drift).

However, there were some highlights for me. The Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition had some fabulous work by Klaus Gutowski, Joshua Searson and the extraordinary charcoal drawings of Kim Buck. The Samstag housed an amazing, huge sculpture made entirely from styrofoam cups and hot glue and the Biennale at the AGSA was home to my personal favorite; papier mache and inked sculptures by James Morrison.

The absolute winner for me, on every level, was Amococo, a construction by The Architects of Air and designed by Alan Parkinson. I visited this incredible structure twice (took my kids the second time and they LOVED it). The three photos at the top are shots that I took from inside....the color was so intense in some areas it was almost painful to look at it....we were immersed in color. A wonderful experience and one that I highly recommend, if you get the chance.

Other than Festival shenannigans and sculpting, most of my joy at present is coming from our garden. The no-dig beds that my husband built several weeks ago are flourishing. We have beetroot, peas, beans, assorted lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, carrots, radishes and marigolds (because they're beautiful AND they confuse pests) practically leaping out of the earth. Our herb garden is now threatening to cover the path into the backyard and the smell of sage, thyme, rosemary and mint permeates the air. This past week has also seen our three chickens begin laying and our beautiful walk-in aviary (another of Guy's wonderful constructions) is a hive of activity with our quails hatching eight tiny chicks and many other birds nesting.

So that's pretty much it for the moment. I've started painting the 'dragon-snail' piece but am being slightly thwarted by a burst of hot weather (the paint dries too fast on the polymer clay)....I'm afraid the air-conditioning in our house doesn't quite cut the mustard, but we press on regardless.

Lots of projects on the go and some exciting things in the pipeline. Hope to fill you all in soon.

Till next time.

New piece in progress....

I started work on this piece last week and thought I'd post some pictures before I begin the painting and costuming. Ever since seeing Patrick Woodroffe's 'elephant snails' many, many years ago, I've loved the idea of different kinds of creatures emerging from snail shells. That, and the fact that we are currently at war with the little blighters in our newly established vegetable garden, made me think about the kind of pest I'd welcome amongst the spinach leaves......a benign 'dragon snail' and an old faery taking his grand-faery for a leisurely crawl, perhaps bagging a few cherry tomatoes and pea-pods along the way.

It was important for me to establish the relationship between the three characters here - the love of the small faery for her grand-faery, the protectiveness of the grand-faery and the acceptance of the snail in bearing them along. I remember very clearly the wonderful feeling of falling asleep in the car on long drives home when I was a small child. This is the faery equivalent. It's uncomplicated emotion, but hopefully one that we can all relate to in some way.

Till next time.

First completed piece for 2010!

Yay for me! After what truly seems like an eternity, I have completed my first piece for 2010.

This is 'Sienna' and she is a very sulky faerie girl. Having three daughters (delightful though they are) I had much to draw on for this piece. I love the idea of faeries in moods other than the commonly depicted cheerfulness....and let's face it, anyone who knows anything at all about faeries knows that they are unpredictable, vengeful and contrary little blighters!

I really tried to get not only the facial expression to convey Siennas mood, but also her body language.....she is definitely not in the mood to compromise!

I had lots of fun constructing Siennas costume, most of it being comprised of leather and felt - two of my favorite materials to work with. She stands 40cms tall to the tip of her pig-skin cap.

Even though I have my life-size goblin built, I have started sculpting another piece.....suffice to say that it involves a snail.....truly I have the attention span of a flea!

Till next time.

ps. Sienna is for sale on my website. Not all Faeries are Beautiful.

Back to work at last!

After a very slow start to the year I finally feel settled in my new space and have spent the last few weeks working on a number of projects. The piece that has my full attention at the moment is the 'life-size' goblin in the first photos. The head took three days to sculpt and another two days to build the body armature and put him together (very awkward at this size). He needs more work on his knees and elbows and there's still the painting and costuming to go, but I'm pleased with him so far. I'm aiming for a fairly high level of realism with this piece....the scale is certainly helping, larger pieces definitely make their presence felt!

You may notice in the studio shots a small faerie girl on my worktable. She was actually my first sculpt for this year, but I was side-tracked by the big guy so she remains incomplete. I will be working on finishing her over the next few days and will post pics as soon as she is done.

I promised myself that this year I would devote more of my work time to drawing (my first love) and the young girl is the first piece of work that I completed in my new studio. While sculpting seems to set off a chain reaction of ideas and concepts in my brain, hammering at the back of my eyes demanding to be let out, drawing has a very calming effect which I completely forget about when I'm not doing it. I'm talking here about tighter, more 'finished' drawing as opposed to rough sketching and doodling (see bottom photo), which I do a lot of, most of it at a frantic pace before the idea is lost. I spent two days on this piece (it's quite large) and it was a lovely way to ease back in to the work year.

And so it begins.......

Till next time.

Merry Christmas!

Seeing as how the year has ended on a fairly bum note for me (see previous post), I've decided to make this last blog post for 2009 a list of some of the wonderful things that happened in my life during the year.

* flying to Melbourne to see Ryan Adams in concert.

* successful re-construction surgery that gave me back that which had been taken away.

* the 'Mutant Barnyard'.

* watching my daughter Taylor have an amazing year that included "Youth Opportunities', Medspace camp, and acceptance into Eynesbury College for her final two years of schooling.

*Patricia Piccininni exhibition.

*joining Facebook and making some amazing (albeit long-distance) friendships that I absolutely treasure.

*SALA Festival.

*seeing my youngest daughter Grace achieve her Brown Belt in Karate.

*Bonfire night and 'Top 5 Songs' with the wonderful Blackeby family.

*a sleep-over at Monarto Zoo.

*a truly fabulous Halloween.....made extra special with gifts from friends in the US and a film of the party shot by the amazing Linda Pill.

*Neil Gaiman....his books and his blog.

*my eldest daughter Megans year 12 success.

*celebrating my 3rd Wedding Anniversary.

*date nights with my husband.

*watching my 10 year old son Noah do his 'robot dance' on the kitchen floor on Friday nights.

*hearing Grace sing.

*the addition of Frankston the Siamese kitten to our family.

*selling out of everything in the studio.

*continued friendship, fun and support from Linda, Nick and Lily.

*still having mum with us after a very close call.

This isn't a definitive list and some things are of more significance than others, but that's how life is. Of course we're grateful for the big things like love of friends and family and triumph over illness, but the little things like reading a good book and laughing at cartoons are what make day to day living such a gift.

Thankyou to everyone who has read my blog over the past year. Your comments and support mean so much to me. I hope that Christmas is a wonderful, joyous time for you all. The pics above are some shots of our house and some of my favorite decorations.

2010 will be a year of change for me and there are already plenty of new pieces just waiting to emerge from my new studio space. I hope you'll all keep in touch.

Till next time.

New Faerie.....and studio woes....

Well, it seems that time is just racing by of late. The comedown of Halloween and the subsequent lead-up to Christmas are partly responsible for the absence of blog posts on my part.....apologies for that.

Those of you who are in contact with me through Facebook may be aware that I have been having "issues" with my studio space for the last month or so. The real estate agent who has taken over management of the group of shops that includes my studio/gallery is acting to significantly change my lease agreement (including a 25% rental increase), but is refusing to provide estimates of actual costs and is basically trying to bully me into agreeing to terms without actually telling me exactly what those terms are. To make matters worse, it appears that she has now involved a third party, who have come in with a counter offer, in an attempt to orchestrate some kind of 'bidding war'. As it stands at present, I have again requested (for the fourth time!) a breakdown of the costs and the exact nature of the increases, so that I can make an informed decision as to whether I can afford to continue renting the premises......or not.

So, this is a very stressful time for me....all of this came completely out of the blue and I must say that her timing is impeccable....not exactly the kind of Christmas joy I had in mind this year! I'm very emotionally attached to my little space. When I moved in there four and a half years ago I had just completed six months of chemotherapy after a breast cancer diagnosis. It was a new start for me and a way to refocus on my art. My husband Guy worked tirelessly to make the tiny area into a functional and inspiring space for me to work in and constructed a gorgeous little gallery to showcase my creations. Over the past few years I've met hundreds of wonderful people, learnt a great deal and produced some good work....so it's very sad to have all of those experiences tainted by a woman who can't even spell my name correctly. Yes, that's a little self-pitying (and a tad bitchy, perhaps) and although those aren't the only emotions I'm feeling at the moment, I have to say that they are the ones currently taking centre stage.

Anyway, while I've been waiting I have managed to complete (except for her wings) a new Faerie....her name is Helena and she is a gentle, peaceful and happy soul. I feel as though she knows something I don't....a common occurence, as I don't know a great deal more than I do after all.

As soon as I have more information regarding the studio situation I will let you all know.

Thanks for your support.

Till next time.