diary dates!

The tactile arts craft fair that was cancelled because of bad weather has been rescheduled. It will be held this Friday 6th Dec from 4.30 to 8.30, I hope that lots of people will go along. Unfortunately I won't be there as it's the same time as the dress rehearsal for Chorale. We're singing the Messiah on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon at the supreme court with the glorious DSO!!

Also on Friday evening is an exhibition by Nat (Smallest Forest) and Kris at DVAA, showing the results of their experiments with marbling, I will try to duck in on the way to rehearsal...

Yes, art making continues, here are some new cards, and hopefully a proper post next time!

Ups and downs

The weekend of celebrations at DVAA was wonderful - well done the current committee, admin and volunteers for creating events that were so inclusive and joyful!! The opening was complete with giant chocolate birthday cake, the art fair was relaxing, so lovely hanging out on the verandahs there chatting to other artists. It's exciting to hear that the exhibition will go on to show in Katherine in the new year.

This weekend (just gone) should have been the xmas craft fair at Tactile Arts but it had to be cancelled because of an approaching cyclone which brought not much wind (fortunately) but torrential rain. How disappointing!!! I must admit I was crabby all weekend because of it. Now we are just waiting to hear if the craft fair will be re-scheduled, there isn't much time left between now and xmas, and so many other things happening it could be hard to squeeze in... if the worst comes to the worst it means I have plenty of stock ready for craft fairs next year and can get down to some painting!!! (no excuses) Which is what I did yesterday, I worked back into this one which has been waiting on the shelf for months.

And this imaginary still life.

Hope your week has more ups than downs.

discovering DVAA

Twenty or so years ago I was newly arrived in a new town, my partner was working out bush and I didn't know a soul. I saw an ad in the local newspaper for a life drawing group and summoned up my courage and went along on a Wednesday evening! This is how I discovered DVAA (Darwin Visual Arts Assoc) which became a big part of my life for the next 5 years.

Discovering DVAA meant discovering a community of artists, the chance of a studio, the opportunity to show work in exhibitions and a shared market stall at the local markets. For me it meant a part-time job in the office for a while. I made friends who are still my closest friends 20 years later, and as Darwin has such a transient population, I met lots of people who have traveled on... I met an artist called Anna Curtis who inspired me to try lino-printing again after being hopeless at it at uni. Her many layered reduction prints are technically amazing and so beautiful! I spent wonderful days in the print room, and felt incredibly lucky to have stumbled on these facilities.

Time went on and I got another job, and couldn't commit time to being on the committee, and then had kids and my art practise ground to a halt for a few years. New people arrive and breath new life and energy into the organisation and it goes on from strength to strength. This year DVAA is 30, tonight there is an exhibition opening showing work by artists who have been involved past and present with DVAA, also a photographic exhibition by Fiona Morrison of artists in their studios. On Sunday afternoon there will be an art fair/market, if you're in Darwin I hope you can come along to one of these events and enjoy the celebrations!!

Here are some flags in progress, I'll have these at the art fair on Sunday (17th) and the craft fair at Tactile arts a week later - Sunday 24th.

Reasons to celebrate

Frogs are loud this evening, we had heavy rain last night and they are celebrating!

Here are a couple of photos from my garden, a vine grows up just one palm tree. It only flowers for a couple of days a year but when it does it's spectacular!

Friday morning got taken up with framing artwork and delivering it for exhibitions. ( I hate when the whole morning is gobbled up by admin and nothing creative gets done, but sometimes it's necessary.) This lino print is for the tactile arts members show - themed 'TEXT' - which opens this Friday 8th Nov at 5.30.

Also opening this Thursday is a historical display - DVAA revisited - at Darwin Civic Centre. This is just the first of events to celebrate 30 years of Darwin Visual Arts Association. I'll have more about this next week!!

November is shaping up to be very busy, so I'll keep this short and sweet and get back to my long to-do-list! Have a great week!!

new things!

On my table yesterday...

a new little 4x4 inch canvas and the plant that inspired it! A closer look here.

And here are some sketch book pages from the last month

I'm busy making things for the craft fair at the end of November... and getting used to a new routine, I've changed jobs and have an extra day for art!!! It's a real treat and hopefully I'll have lots more to show for it!

slow progress (is still progress)

A month ago I showed you a still life I'd set up, with the plan to get painting, well I haven't got around to starting a canvas yet, but I have done a few sketchbook drawings, and a gouache. By now the flowers are dead and the aloe vera needs to go back out in the garden for while! So I'll have to make a new arrangement and try again!

I have just about finished the felt dolls I've been making for the group exhibition 'this way madness lies', it opens next Friday at Tactile Arts.

This is the 3rd doll, it took a long time to finish because of sewing all those tiny beads on - half an hour a night for a week, so that I didn't go crazy but I did make a little bit of progress each time.

Here's the blurb I've written to go in the catalogue -

I was a crafty kid, always making something, knitting, sewing, trying everything from paper-making to macramé. In my teens I discovered Degas and the Impressionists, then Van Gogh, Gauguin and Matisse, and fell in love with painting.

Painting, drawing and lino-printing have been my focus for 20 years or more, but recently I’ve been wandering off the path and dabbling in all kinds of things. I get seduced by colour, I had a stash of gorgeous embroidery threads before I ever thought of going back to sewing.

When I first made these dolls they were supposed to be angry, voodoo dolls, but they turned out more like love songs to feisty women. I approach them like drawing. Cutting into the fabric is a way of making a line, a row of stitches is another. Think of them as fertility goddesses, or like paper dolls that can be decorated a thousand ways.

The craft fair - almost 2 weeks ago - was a lovely day, I didn't take my camera, I couldn't bear to carry one extra thing that I didn't have to! But you can see a lovely photo of my stall over here on flickr taken by one of the friends I shared a stall with Nat aka Smallest Forest does amazing embroidery, book binding, painting and more, and writes the most entertaining blog around - do check it out!

Saying it with every colour!

Here are the finished birds that I started back in July, they'll be on my stall at the craft fair this Sunday at the Darwin waterfront.

Also on my table is this doll in progress (the 3rd one for an exhib coming up in Oct), in some way it feels like drawing, cutting out the fabric is just drawing a line, and the same with the embroidery, a row of stitches is another way of drawing. They also remind me of paper dolls that can be decorated a hundred ways...

Last week was my birthday and I just had to share this creation made by my daughter...

I know the boys love me too, but it's so lovely to have one who expresses it in every colour and texture she can lay her hands on!

I hope your week is going well, come and say hello if you can on Sunday.