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.    

Ramona's review on Handmade Life

I don't normally re-blog, and I must admit that now the world is so attuned to Instagram and Twitter, it matters less whether I do or not.  However I was so taken by Ramona Barry's review of my current show that I had to link back to it from here.  I absolutely love the way that Ramona and Beck Jobson write about art and craft, and discuss it on 3RRR radio.  These women are super informed and passionate but never resort to any wankery, EVER.  Words fail to describe how happy it made me to read a review of MY OWN work!  Feels a bit like Christmas, actually.  Thank you so much Ramona.

That's me -- on The Design Files!

I could barely get out of bed this morning, then when I did, I felt too scared to turn on the computer.  Eventually I did, and there I was.  My name up in Design Files lights and my bad-hair-dayed self smiling from Sean Fennessy's photo.  Thank you SO MUCH to Sean, Lucy and Lisa for welcoming me to your blog (for the second time actually, how lucky am I??!!) and for being so very very kind.

Markit at Fed Square

I will be taking part in Markit for the second time on Sunday November 23.  I am very excited that my Burning House has been included in the poster.  (Yes it has been flipped but it was clearly necessary for compositional purposes. The house doesn't really mind.)

Gardening Australia magazine, illustration for November

I enjoyed doing this illustration for Gardening Australia magazine's November issue.  In this article, Michael contemplates how useful it is to plant certain vegetables over others, especially those that are only edible for a short amount of time during their growth period.

The Design Files Open House 2014!

Very very honoured to be included AGAIN in this year's Design Files Open House, which will be open for the temptation of all at the end of the first week of December.  Teaser shot above by Sean Fennessy, showing Mrs Lucy Feagins contemplating a beautiful little piece by Madeline Kidd, with my own little work to her left!  All of the pieces that I have been commissioned to make for this year's House are word based, so it's a very different exercise to the portraits last year.  The lady is evolving, and so must I......

You're invited: Hut 13 exhibition starting this Saturday

Better late than never?  It was remiss of me not to post this a bit earlier; my little exhibition of new paintings at Hut 13 in Richmond is kicking off with wine and cake this Saturday October 18 at 3pm.  It will be a nice and sunny afternoon in the shop!

Some of the work that will be in the exhibition, above.  A mix of small and large pieces, all acrylic on wood.
For those of you who are familiar with Hut 13, please note that it has moved to Richmond:

Hut 13
79 Swan Street (corner of Lennox Street)
Richmond
A five minute walk from Richmond Railway Station; or Tram No.70, Lennox Street stop.

Opening Saturday October 18, starting 3pm
See you there for wine and cake!

Exhibition runs until November 12.

New things in the shop

My Under the Couch quilt which was part of my window show at Craft Victoria last winter, is now in my Etsy shop.  I have been able to offer it at a somewhat reduced price.  Please click here for more details.

The large central panel is a digital print of a series of my illustrations, based on what I imagine might have been hidden under the couch in my household when I was a kid.  The rest of the patchwork is vintage, and each square is different.  The wadding is made from pure wool.

Above: the quilt in progress, and below in the window of Craft Victoria (what a privileged quilt!).

Some new cushions, and a Blue Apple Man to boot.  Below: this is number two in an ongoing occasional series of patchwork cushions featuring digital prints of my artwork.  Each one will be unique (and relatively large).

Above: the Love Me As I Am cushion features hand embroidered spinach in two shades of green.

Miss November in the Frankie Calendar for 2015, and a bit more

I'm REALLY proud (OK maybe even gobsmacked) to show you my page from the Frankie Calendar for 2015.  My November lady is in fantastic company, as the calendar has a beautiful selection of illustrations from around the world.

Above: a peek at a painting in progress, on a tried and true topic.  I aimed to vary my painting style this time, even attempting to channel the beautiful brushwork of abstract painter Merryn Lloyd.  The jury is out on whether I have succeeded, but it was quite fun (and surprisingly quick to do).

An R-rated fabric scrap (you can see a bit more of the actual print here).  I am being a bit annoyingly secretive with this post, but I will show you more soon.

This week: at the studio and at home

Seedling tag and seed packet painting in progress.

Painting a cut out wooden life size head: like playing God, but also kind of like playing with one of those life size Barbie hairdressing heads that I really coveted when I was a kid.

 Wrapping for an Etsy customer: quite a nice way to use a page from the current issue of Broadsheet...

Studio table in a mess: working on Gardening Australia sketches, portrait sketches, book illustration sketches....

 Spam + Souleiado

Kicking goals while watching the Grand Final yesterday.

I am a finalist in the Etsy Design Awards!

I am extremely happy to announce that my The Hungry Eye illustration has been chosen as a finalist in the Etsy Design Awards.  Whether I deserve to win a trip to New York is arguable, but I know for a fact that I really really really need a holiday!!  If you have a spare moment, please vote for me by clicking this link.  You will also have a pretty good chance of winning a $250 voucher to spend on Etsy yourself.  Thanks very much in advance!