Around the place this week

 Indecisive notebook Virginia, above.

Above: Black Rock last week at around 6:30pm, looking a tad dramatic and quite lovely.

 Above: A painting, a print of another painting and objects in front.  More is more I say.

Above: look carefully and you will see my new studio companion.  A tiny tiny mouse on the bookshelf.  He wasn't shy either: he came forward and said hello a few times.  He also did some poo on my books, which was less appealing.  I think we need a studio cat.

Above: I found an old piece of work behind a bookshelf (at home).  Some spots of mildew on it, but I don't mind it, and am actually quite impressed by the trouble I went to with the drapery.  (Not so the hands: but what else is new?!)

Above: a few things on the wall of the studio, photo taken this morning when the eastern sun was coming in through the left.  The soup-making photo on the right is the work of Irving Penn.

This week

Above: work in progress. (Very blue-ish photo I have just realised, sorry).

Above: an assortment of original illustrations on wood (gardening and Japanese food related) is now in the shop.

Above: a very sweet little book from the Ukraine which I received in the mail.

Above: view from the couch.  (Yes!  I DID get to lie on the couch for a short while!)

Above: the back garden after the rain.

Above: the zippered purses were such a hit at Markit, that I decided to make some more.  These are also in the shop.  Happy Sunday!

Craft's Christmas 2014 catalogue

My little salami lady friend above is very proud to show you a postcard for Craft's summer range which features my Volcano cushion.

My Campfire cushion (exclusive to Craft) and Volcano cushion with some fantastic friends, above.

 My Lonely Hipster print, above.  Volcano cushion yet again, below.

Below: on the fridge is my Lady and Flowers card (presently sold out but still available as an A4 print) in excellent company!

Wow!!  I am really proud to have my work featured in Craft's online summer catalogue promotion.  Great house, too.....Apart from being in the company of some extremely talented makers, being accepted by the fraternity of Craft Victoria means a great deal to me.  Thank you very much Sarah, Leesa and everyone else at Craft!
Photos by Hilary Walker.  (Sorry about the cropping....)

The Design Files Open House 2014

The Design Files Open House 2014 is -- well -- OPEN!  It is a huge privilege to be involved in Lucy Feagins' incredibly ambitious project of bringing her beautiful blog to life, AND for the fourth year running.  (Fifth if you count Sydney 2013 separately!)  The colour palette this year is particularly interesting, and there's plenty of great art and handmade metal, perspex, glass and ceramic items.  Hooray for Lucy's ongoing support for us little makers!  Photos above are taken from Eve Wilson's, see more here.

Above: the sum total of items I have made for Open House this year.  All acrylic on wood.  (The relative sizes are not shown correctly, more details here.)  I had a fantastic time at the opening last night.  SOOO great to meet Helen Bayley from Lovestar and Emma Lipscombe, who came all the way from Brisbane and Perth respectively, just for the event.  (I came from two streets away so it made me appreciate how great our city is all the more!)  I also got to chat with the lovely Georgia Perry, a recent immigrant from Sydney, and again appreciated how supportive we Melbourne creative types are of one another, especially through bodies like Craft Victoria.  Don't take it for granted!!
I did however make a bit of a crazy fan idiot of myself upon meeting my gardening idol Georgina Reid.  I may never live it down.  I hope she really was just tired and needed to change her shoes....

Tiny Portraits for Jo Grant's Home Show

These tiny portraits -- 10 x 10cm each -- will be part of curator/ artist Jo Grant's annual group exhibition Home Show this weekend in Port Fairy.  Last year's was a great success, and I reckon this year's will be too.  I recommend that you pop by if you are in the area!

Home Show 
1 Avery Street
Port Fairy
Saturday December 6 - Sunday December 7
Open from 10am to 3pm daily

Etsy Night Out at the Rose Street Market

Hello!  I will be taking part in the Etsy Night Out at The Rose Street Market in Fitzroy tomorrow evening.  Doors open at 6pm, finishes at 10.  See you there....

The Boom Gallery Christmas show

My first feature!!  Actually, it's a contraption I have made for the Boom Gallery group Christmas show, called Merry Hell.  It's made from Sculpey, acrylic paint, embroidered cotton fabric, an old broom handle and plywood (thanks to Nick E for his help in assembling it).  I thought that you needed to see how it works, and I hope that these films actually work too, as I have never uploaded moving images before...

Above and below: Melbourne Babushke, also for Boom's Christmas show.  They are based almost entirely on types I have seen around our city.  The old man emerging from the Fitzroy commission flats wearing a fake Chanel t-shirt, the person wearing an animal onesie deeply engaged in their i-phone, the Northern suburbs crafty lady bedecked in cute brooches, the call centre worker fagging outside the office into a giant Nescafe tin.  I threw Angry Cat in for good measure.  (My suburb is full of angry cats.)  The blank babushke had been taunting me in my studio for years.  I am glad that I finally put them to good use.

The lovely Boom Gallery is at 

11 Rutland St 

Newtown (Geelong) in Victoria.  

The Christmas group exhibition opens this Friday evening and runs until December 24, 2014.  Plenty of great artists taking part, as always....

Around the place, lately!

Dancing wooden patchwork 'o' men in progress, above.  (These were made especially for William Topp in Perth.)

Above: working on some ideas for a special piece for Boom Gallery in Geelong. (It's actually finished now, and I will post photos of it soon.)

Above: giving the special 'Yeah No' vest an airing before packing and sending it to its new owner in the US!  I must admit that this one was hard to part with.  Behind it on the line: a new length of 'Under the Couch' fabric.  This one isn't destined to be a couch covering either......

Above: detail of my favourite piece made for this year's Design Files Open House.  I will show you more of these soon, too.

Above: an illustration for Gardening Australia magazine, December issue.  An article on the relative longevity of various plants.

Above: working on some new versions of wooden favourites for Markit next Sunday November 23!

(Phew.)

For those in Melbourne, here are the details:

Sunday 23 Nov 2014 10am–5pm The Atrium & Deakin Edge Theatre Federation Square, Melbourne

Markit will be an excellent opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done, I reckon!  I am very pleased to be in Deakin Edge Theatre again, right next to the stand of the beautiful Mrs Emily Green and her lovely staff. :-)

Totem

Further documenting work from my current exhibition at Hut 13....Totem, which is about two metres high and one of the biggest pieces I have ever made.  I'm not sure whether it's 'successful': it was an experiment and a bit of a stretch for me and I'm proud that I took it to completion.  In my recent Design Files interview I mentioned my lifelong fascination with the concept of 'keeping up with the Joneses'.  This piece is about the stuff that you would want the Joneses to see (hipster pot plant, Marimekko cup, OPI nail polish in Pantone's Shade of 2014, bunting, industrial vintage rusted letter, "Eames era" lamp)  interspersed with some things that you might prefer that they really didn't (bloody handkerchief, IVF injecting pen, rotten banana, cake from a packet, the workings of your bowel, mouldy bread).  I would love it if someone bravely bought this item for their designer home......

Some more work from my exhibition at Hut 13

 Hello!  I thought that I would show you (and document) some more of my work from my current exhibition at Hut 13.  The little table tennis bats have stolen the limelight, so I thought I'd give the a few of the other items a social media go....

Above: I want for nothing, acrylic on wood, 30 cm wide.

Above: Love Conquers Fuck All, acrylic on (cut out) wood, approximately 50 cm wide.

Above: Look to the Future!, acrylic on wood, 30 x 40 cm. (SOLD -- thanks DE)

Above: Things I couldn't grow, acrylic on wood, 30 x 40cm.