Chairs

 

Dolls House Chairs

As a result of a throwaway line I’m working towards a small exhibition, Chairs later this year with art colleagues under the banner of RE-create Collective.     

Chairs explores reuse, recycle and repair by way of practical and fanciful refurbishment of old and discarded chairs together with wall art featuring chairs.

I have taken the opportunity to learn how to fix and reupholster chairs with the exhibition in mind.  It has been a slow process and I haven’t been as focussed as I had hoped to be.  I have been taking apart the chairs and regluing them with the assistance of an awesome instructor at an upholstery class run at a community centre near where I live.   I'm currently working on dining chairs punning on fine dining.  I also plant put together  a third dining chair with a fun theme.

One of a pair of dining chairs reglued.  My awsome  tutor is in the backbround

Starting to  remove fabric from my second chair.   It wasn;t as easy as I had hoped.  There were two layers of fabric and a huge number of tacks and staples

After I started the project (and with 3 chairs waiting attention) I saw this beuaty at the tip shop.  Sadly torn, worn and broken it called out to me as I passed it on leaving,   I returned the next day :-)

Marking time and making

 In the vibe.  Mixed media collage.

Gosh, is the first of April.  I’m not sure what I’ve been up to in the last few months Ive been busy but with bits and peice. 

 

Fabric Book - A4 spread

I started a fabric book iren January.  I still have a few pages to go.  I have used bits that I have connecton with.  Its interesting to leaf through it and remember. The lace a remant from a dress a friend made for her son's wedding, the bobbles from another friend, the printed blue fabric was a left over from a fun day at a friend's studio.

Isolation - central panel A4

Muse  (A4)

I have been working on collage and experimenting (sometimes rather unsatisfactorily) with different media

I’ve definitely been thinking and working on some items for an exhibition with RE-create Collective, a small group I belong to.  There are four of us and, after a throw away line about chairs, we are now working on a chair themed exhibition.

RE-create Collective, as its name implies, values no waste, reuse and recycling.  Added to this we have a focus on  textiles and fibre.    

So wasn’t it a bonus that I have two dining chairs I picked up from the roadside (and been hanging on to for too many years) because they were too good to leave for hard waste collection.

Another abonus, the local community centre runs an ongoing upholstery class.  

Progress so far:

• ·        Removed all fabric from one chair and reglued it.  And in the process discovered it had been recovered twice.  Twice the number of tacks and staples!!!
• ·         Removed all fabric from the other chair.  Its is yet to be dismantled and reglued.  

Awesome Eddie our tutor tells me that they are very good quality chairs.

• ·     Chosen my fabric.  I have made a decision about how they are to be presented but won’t let the cat out of the bag yet.   It is more a bit of a word play – I love puns 😊.

Of course, once bitten I had to do another chair.  I found a lovely one at the tip shop in a very sad state.   It's also on its way to be undressed but will need tender care in deconstruction and reconstruction as it is broken in a couple of places.  This one has been recovered 3 times!   I've got ahead of myself and have hand printed some fabric for this one. 

 

And somewhere in between I've  snuck in a little simple bookmaking with a view to more collage :-) 

Phew!  That's where the times gone!

Take care all and keep creating.

Donna

Steal Like an Artist

My family treated me well this Christmas and gave me books that had been on my wish list for a while.

I was very happy to be receive Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon.   It’s a wonderful little book with thoughts about becoming a creative which he wishes he knew when he started out.  

I follow Austin’s blog, his Instagram and receive his weekly email.   He shares what he has read, listened to or watched.  All interesting stuff which one can choose to dip into. Or not.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

After our time in isolation here it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas :-)   

Christmas decorations from a swap

I'm off to a pre Christmas gathering today and it will be difficult to social distance.   The party is a country drive an hour and half away and I haven't seen these dear friends all year.

We are yet to set up our Christmas tree at home.  Hopefully that will happen in the coming week.   I'm selfishly excited about Christmas this year as I was asked by family members to give them a wish list.  My list contained a number of books.   Hoping I get a couple on my list :-)

My art practice has stalled a bit as there has been a heap to do on  the domestic front - all that household cleaning  I'd been assiduously avoiding for one.  

 

WIP

I'm still pursuing collage.   But it takes time for me to reach decisions and find the right elements.  My altered photo above is distinctly taking on a Madonna like traits.  Perhaps influenced by the 17th century drawing I found of the passion flower.  I printed it out and spayed it with walnut inks. Its glued on now.  But it still needs more work.  Now I'm playing with a bit I cut out of a discarded table cloth and a photo of a passion flower which was sourced from a gardening book I picked up at an op shop.  And I'm thinking about how to mount it. In my minds eye I see the collage cut back to the paint and glued on to some lovely thick paper I have. 

I'm also working (most of it in my head at planning stage in or in list/mind map form) for some works for joint exhibitions next year.  I'll get some of this underway in January when I'm hiding from the summer heat.

Given my track record I won't post again for a while so I will wish you all the best in the coming holiday season and a (COVID) safe new year.

Cheers

Donna

What do you do?

 

What do you do?  I was asked this about 18 years ago.  My response: I’m a hand stitcher but, if could put paper, paint, fabric and stitch all in one work I would be in my happy place.

My blog sort of tracks my progress towards this end.  I have wandered and got lost on the way.  However, that has been to my advantage as I have learnt new skills.  Most recently my focus has been working in mixed media collage with found and painted papers and scraps of this and that. 

And, I have been thinking about working more stitch into some of my works.

I decided I should do some self guided study and see what I can learn from other artists.

I am really drawn to collages by Debbie Lyddon.  She uses cloth paper and fibre together with materials which reflect the subject of her work.   I have copied one of her textile collages below.  Please look at Debbie Lyddon's website and blog to find more :-)

Pay attention to what you pay attention to.

"For anyone trying to discern what to do with their life, pay attention too what you pay attention to. That's pretty much all the information you need."

Tweet by children's book author the late Amy Krouse Rosenthal, 2013

If you have read past posts you know I have been banging on about process.  And trying to work out what it means? And, how do you do it?  I have been trying to commit to making a mini collage ( about the size of the palm of my hand or smaller) each day.  When I look back at them I realise many featured birds. 

Earlier this year I was invited to submit works to an online exhibition  called  Listening in the Anthropocene.  I had ideas for both textile works and collage with found papers and was off like a shot trying both.   Then I read a bit about what the Anthropocene is and had a few more ideas.  And then I looked at the title.  It was Listening in the Anthropocene.   In my excitement I had missed the listening bit ☹.  So, it was back to the drawing board to rejig my thoughts and ideas. 

I had been contemplating trying to reflect about climate change/pollution etc.  but it was the word listening which made me think.   How could I talk about sound and the effect on sound in the recent world.   I settled on a subject dear to my heart… the sad fact that both domestic and wild cats have added to the demise of our native fauna.  I focused on birds.  Less birds, less bird song.   And I focused on collaged papers.

I didn’t come across Amy’s words until after the exhibition.  It would have saved me so much grief if I had paid attention to what I had been engaging me.   Nevertheless,  have learnt more about me and process and what it means to me.

It was a wonderfully broad brief and gave scope to artists across so many fields.  Please take time to visit the gallery.

 

How have you coped in the time of COVID?

Well, who would have thought the year would progress as it has.  Cancelled exhibitions.  Restricted travel.  Weddings funerals and baby showers were missed or zoomed.  I live on the border of NSW and Victoria.  I can't cross the river to visit friends or family.  

 But it is  all in a good cause.  One way or another we must try to get on top of  COVID - 19.

My adult kids have returned home and are studying on line.  My partner works  at home on line.

Staying at home and making art is one way of passing time. Why have I struggled with such a wonderful opportunity?   

I've worked out I'm time line driven.  My social and art calendar fell empty.   Two exhibitions have been postponed until next year.  A third was delayed and now will happen at the end of the month on line.   I will put up a post with links when it is open. 

Add to the mix that I was unfortunate to actually catch the virus and it took me out of action for 6 weeks and left me with lingering fatigue.   I had daily medical support isolated at home.   It made me wonder how others, who are not as fortunate, cope.  As you can guess no art happened in this period.    

A saving grace was  the art communities that appeared on Facebook that shared small challenges ( a plug to Together, We Play) and emails that kept me in touch what everyone was up to.  

I have been trying to make daily mini collages.  No overthinking.  Something about the size of the palm of my hand or smaller and using what is to hand on the desk or near by.   When I think about it I have been pushing issues of  my personal art process by undertaking this project.  There are elements in these tiny works  I would like to repeat in larger experimental studies.   

Now I'm recovering and  again focusing on those delayed exhibitions - now scheduled for March and May 2021.  I will post more on that later.

Keep safe every one.

Donna