Charinda

Tingatinga is a painting style from Tanzania that was named after its founder, Edward Said Tingatinga.  Tingatinga painted on masonite using bright bicycle paints, often depicting subjects that would appeal to the tourist market.  The style has since spread to much of East Africa and has developed from the simple copying of Tingatinga's work to encompassing more individual interests.  The work above is by Mohamed Wasia Charinda, b.1947.  

Just a few of the treasures from TingaTinga: Kitsch or Quality: Bicycle enamel on board or canvas by Tine & Hanne Thorup, Copenhagen, 2010.  This book belongs to my friend Anna.  She spent much of her childhood in Tanzania and has a wonderful knowledge of East African art and culture.  Thanks Anna for the inspiration. 

Mr Freedom

Sometimes I make work with the hope that there is a mildly interesting message in there somewhere.  Other times I just want to create funny people and paint nice clothes: the sorts of clothes that I love but can't wear right now because it's too hot.  

Mr Freedom was inspired by a vintage jeans advertisement.  He was going to go for double denim but he chickened out at the last minute and as a result will be donning checked flannel and a fair isle scarf until the end of time.  Even when he has to pose for his photo in 35 degree (high 90s F) heat.  No wonder he looks grumpy.  But then I am grumpy too, and I am only wearing a thin cotton dress.  

Here's to civilised weather, wherever you live.  It's coming!!!

Grey

A new patchwork doona cover, and some photos

For some reason I own a single bed doona (duvet, whatever) but no cover.  Living in a house heaving with scrap fabric, I decided that the best course of action would be to make a patchwork cover instead of just going out to buy one.  Because there were only 35 squares, the project was super quick.  The backing ended up being the remnants of a striped double bed cover which died a while ago.  A form of resurrection, perhaps?

There is a story behind every patch: an old skirt, dress, blouse, scarf, tea towel, pillow case, even a fabric that I designed for Seed.  An apron from my aunt (the pocket in the centre!), beautiful scraps from my friend Anna Banana, op shop finds, even a screen printing experiment from a CAE course that I did centuries ago.  There were also a few scraps from a splurge at a beautiful patchwork fabric shop that briefly graced Auburn Road....
While I was piecing this together last Sunday I watched Kevin McCloud build his shed from discarded materials, and felt similarly virtuous.

I am also trying to take more interesting photos of my work.  I find styling frustrating but also quite rewarding.  On a whim I decided to take a workshop with Sibella Court next month, and I am very much looking forward to it.  In the meantime, I have begun wondering whether I should buy myself some styling props: perhaps a mini world globe, a few sheets of vintage wallpaper, or some interesting crockery?
(Of course if I succumb it will pretty much negate my virtuous non-consumerist patchwork cover making.)

P-Plate Pinterest

I have officially been on Pinterest for about 5 seconds (OK, a week) but I have taken to it like a duck to water.  I find that my appetite for images is instatiable.  Hours can go by looking for the next strange or beautiful thing, brilliant idea or all of the above.  And not just on Pinterest either, I do rather well wasting time on Etsy and Flickr too.  (Wasn't it 9am about two minutes ago?!!)

Above: hand shaped biscuits from Kurokawa Patisserie, New York, via Penelope Norfolk.  

 Above: Japanese artist Misaki Kawai via Mrs Pachinski.  I LOVE her.

 Above: Child's patchwork dress c.1944 via Desdemona Mccannon.

 Above: 19th century Hungarian artist Izsák Perlmutter via Desdemona Mccannon.

 Above: 1960s Italian artist Domenico Gnoli via Robin Ayres. 

 Above: antique French children's sewing set via Penelope Norfolk.

Above: a contemporary Russian home entirely decorated with plastic bottle caps, via Designboom.  (Actually via my friend Anna -- thank you!)

Above: Paula Rebsom via Victoire Meneur.

 Above: Sabine Finkenauer via Mrs Pachinski.

Above: Paul Poiret via Desdemona Mccannon.

My work in Mayhem

Recently I was very lucky to have both my Lonely Hipster and Make Your Own Man Cubes featured in Mayhem, a fantastic online magazine from Townsville.  Have a look at all of the issues here.

Love Me As:

The accidental volcano

I 'accidentally' came up with this volcano yesterday, while I was moving around a few elements in Photoshop.  I do like a happy accident.  (The aqua background I like less, but it will do for now, while I think of what to do next - if anything - with my new geological phenomenon.)

Happy Accidents to you too.

Photos in the front room

Took some photos in the front room this morning while the light (from the skylight) was briefly good.  The Village Heads above are left over from The Design Files Open House and are now in the shop.
The fantastic retro styled wooden blocks from Luft are by American illustrator Christian Northeast -- have a better look at them here.  My favourite is the corn dog, in the middle, above.

Happy Valentine's Day II

Playing around with old copies of the Good Weekend.  Words inspired by a jewellery catalogue.

The orange background is courtesy of some purposely lo-fi (i.e. lazy and can't be bothered fixing it) Photoshopping.

I think I'd like to hang around some primary school art classes and just cut coloured paper into shapes and Clag things to toilet rolls.

Happy Valentine's Day

I have been playing with my fountain pens, after not having touched them in about four years.  I am so happy that most of them still work (after a clean, a change of ink, and a loving squeeze).

Digitally printed cushions.

I had a few of my illustrations printed onto organic cotton hemp by Frankie and Swiss last week.  It was very exciting to see my work enlarged and in the form of fabric, which is weird because I used to work as a textile/ graphic designer and see my work as fabric all the time....
Above and below: my volcano, which spews molten lava at the front but has a very calming vintage rose print at the back.

 Above and below: my little blue apple man, who looks so funny as a stuffed doll but is kind of  endearing.

Above and below: the burning house.  It has a rather homely and relaxing blue and white ticking stripe for its back.  

They are all in the shop.  (The tree cushion is not, it's in Sara Carr's.)

Kitty and Darth

I was going to save this one for Valentine's Day, but I don't have anything else to show for this week, so here they are: Kitty and Darth.  Like Kitty, Darth was painted on wood and cut out as a figure, and is actually, um, a 'full frontal'.  I have decided to show the pair in a slightly more modest form, partly as I think that to hint is more interesting, and because I don't want my blog to become a target for a certain type of spam.

Anyway, Happy Sunday.  

(Let me know how Linden went, Saskia...!)