World Collage Day Workshop and Exhibition update - POLES APART

I had a wonderful half day facilitating a collage workshop with old and new friends last Saturday 13 May, 2023 at GIGS Art Studios

Autumn inspired Valerie to play with fruits and foliage of the season .

Glenda deep dived into geometric shapes

Renae at work.

I have also been working on collage format for a small booklet for RE-Create Collective's upcoming exhibition POLES APART 2- 22 July 2023. And, finally completed the poster to advertise the event.

Project planning, exhibiting and art

April has flown by. It has been a busy month but not a lot to show for it in terms of artwork. I framed some works for the Albury Wodonga Branch of the Embroiderers Guild Victoria (including West Wind -shown above) and help set up the creative stitch and play group table. It was a wonderful event that showcsae a multitude of embroidered textiles. And I am facilitating a collage workshop at GIGS ARtists Studios in a fortnightr

My focus this coming month is to complete some small collaged and stitched booklets for an exhibition with RE-Create Collective. There has been a lot of behind the scenes work and we have an exhibition coming up and it will be on show in two venues. I am very happy to be able to tell you all that POLES APART will be opening in Creators Artspace Gallery on Gateway Island in Albury Wodonga on 5 July 2023 and then be travel to HR Gallop Gallery, Charles Sturt University Campus, Wagga Wagga in August. It features work done by Jnnie Munday and myself in residencies in October last year and the Collective and invited artists' responses to our blog. My works respond to the sandstone walls that surrounded me in Oatlands Tasmania where I undertook my residency. More details about the exhibition in my next post.

I’ve also been looking to the future and done a heap of brainstorming for both continuing and new projects. It’s very satisfying to get the thoughts out of my head and into some semblance of order on a piece of butcher’s paper. (You know, those large sheets of white paper used to wrap (or once were) product in). The beauty of butcher’s paper is that its cheap. I can scribble, jot, mind map or list to my heart’s content and feel that nothing is fixed: ideas can still move,be fluid and grow according to what is happening in my life. This coming month is full. I’m running a collage workshop in a fortnight, need to be in Sydney for a couple of days, and have my usual meetups with art and craft friends and groups. And of course, working on those booklets.

Filling the creative well.

 

Breezy on the Brisbane River, Brisbane Qld

Two posts ago I wrote about procrastination.   With the benefit of hindsight I feel I was tired and just a bit overwhelmed with everything that I had achieved last year and all the thoughts swimming around my head as a result of it.

This post I feel revived.   I have been fortunate to have been travelling, resting and filling the creative well.

We journeyed up the east coast of Australia between the Sunshine Coast and Townsville getting around by train and bus.  It certainly offers a different perspective to driving by car and you see different things.

 

Fitzroy River, Rockhampton Qld

Views , Ross Creek, Townsville

Me and my little brother on Magnetic Island.  I revert to childhhod pose when aware a photo is taken!

Looking out to sea from The Strand, Townsville

We took in water views on ferries on the Brisbane River and to Magnetic Island.  We walked along the Fitzroy River and admired the substantial old buildings and wondered about the towns past history.  We watched the changing landscape through the train window. 

I was fortunate to be able to see POP MASTERS at HOTA . It featured works from Warhol, Haring & Basquiat together with works of artists I didn’t know.  I fell in love with Mickalene Thomas’s large bold portraits and use of a bit of bling.

Keith Haring, Untitled

Though I was familiar with the work Keith Haring seeing his work real life rather than in a spread in a book really gave much more sense to his work.   There was inspiration in his work which I could take forward in a textile and stitch format and inform some projects I have in mind regarding text and textiles.

Embroidered detail on dress

In Rockhampton we caught an exhibition of clothing by Brisbane designers Easton Pearson just before it closed. It was a delightful surprise.

We rested at Airlie Beach.  I swam in the pool and watched swallows fly down in front of me and scoop water on the wing.   

Birds were a big feature for me – looking for birds which I would not see in my home environment.  From our balcony in Townsville we watched small flocks of Black Cockatoo’s fly by in the distance, spotted Sea Eagles and Kites circling over Ross Creek and were entertained by small birds on the wires in front of us.    And there were familiars like the Ibis, Honeyeaters, Galahs and Cockatoos.

I went with a small sketch book, a glue stick, scissors and water-soluble graphite.   I did a couple of collages but mostly I just soaked up the sights and contemplated. And filled the well. 😊

Musings at the end of the month

Resting on the Rocky Shore  -  collage.
I don't much like cutting up artbooks but I had one on Titian's works which was water damaged

Well February has flown past! 

A lot of life admin done and not a lot of artwork. I posted a couple of collages on Instagram and have delivered some completed works for a joint members exhibition at GIGS Art Gallery, Wodonga. It will be an interesting exhibition with a prominent colour theme of orange responding to Harmony Day. 

Hive/Hover - mixed media collage.

 I set myself the task of responding to some calls for entry/expressions of interest. They take quite a bit of work (especially when you don’t save the online form after making entries) but well worth the effort as some deep thinking is required to respond to the questions. What did I learn? I work in response to the medium and elements about me. I need to be a little more thoughtful about the work and ask does it relate to some issue that I’m trying to give voice to, why I did it, and what pleases me about it. Or not. 

... and a frog jumped onto the page. 
Collage using papers woven seeking design inspiration for an earlier project.   Waste not ,,. 

I also started stitching again after a few months away from this practice. I realised that I was not achieving what I wanted as I hadn’t thought it through properly. And, I had veered away from the work and achievements I had made in my residency at Oatlands. I am revisiting rocks and stones with new works in textiles in mind for POLES APART, a joint exhibition at Creators Artspace in July 5 – 22, 2023. 

And exciting news, I had a collage work accepted for inclusion in an issue of Sonic Boom. It is a virtual magazine featuring prose and visual arts.   I will share more when the magazine is published.

Procastination, paying attention to intention and a bit of collage

Greeting card .... collage ... fish and chips?

 

January has been a bit of an odd month I’ve been regrouping and trying to focus on a couple of calls for entry.  And procrastination seems to have come into play.

I have at least managed to start working on some mixed media and paper collages – small items such as cards and A4 works for framing.  And I have come up with a potential series.   But, I haven’t progressed on the works for the call for entries ☹.   .   Time to reset intentions and pay attention to them!

Greeting Card - collage - Blue budgie and blossom

I propose to work harder on giving attention to my intentions and diarise studio days so that work gets done.   Everything returns to normal after the January break and I know I work better to timelines.

Small play collage -  Conversation with myself

 

So now to work...its the first day of February.  A precious day that will never come again.  I will take full advatage of this opportunity.