Guild Trip, it has been exciting!

I have been really thrilled and honoured to be selected as a Guild Trip Artisan, and if you have not taken a look a this wonderful website do take some time to wander and linger. I have not had time to update my blog for a while as have been so busy making sure all has been loaded up to my Guild Trip page!  Most of my art textile work can be purchased from this site and I hope to hear from collectors and people who are interested in my work. A few pieces lend themselves to being commissioned as personal works with stories and memories stitched into the layers.  an example of the work that can be done in this was is the piece I have pictured below. The day I began this I really needed to bring some joy into my mind. It was an exercse in pushing away sadness and losing myself in some small bits of happiness. 

Start of a Joyful Day

I have used a base of heavy firm weave natural cotton and backed with two layers of cotton sheeting which then makes the process similar to working an art quilt. The background is painted using a textile medium and acrylic paint and small pieces of vintage fabrics, vintage lace curtain, some vintage embroidery cut from an old napkin, and strips cut from music sheets these are all layered under pale blue vintage tulle. The prices is then free motion embroidered, flowers and leaves added  to extend the vintage fabric scraps. Often these scarps are saved pieces of Liberty fabric and I treat these with respect as to me beautifully designed fabric deserves to be acknowledged. The delightful pieces of fine brushed cotton in the sky have a tiny bird print all over it and are remnants for the first baby angel top I made over 40 years ago. They contribute a feeling of birds flying in the sky which gives this illustration some movement. Once the free motion embroidery is completed I have cut away the tulle over the body of the bird as I wanted it to stand out to really look full of joy, make the work sing. This style is suited to adapting to a dog, cat, chicken, native animal such as a kangaroo or a wombat. It looks wonderful in a kitchen to remind you to be happy or in a children's room or baby's nursery. I could even see this on a laundry wall! It is mounted over stretched canvas and framed in a lime washed shadow box style wrapped timber frame ready to hang or stand up on a shelf. I loved making this it was such a change from my more serious work, everyone needs a fun day of work occasionally, a day to lighten up and just let the mind wander. It is a bit like spending the day with  one of those colouring books which have become so popular! This work was my day of having some fun, I hope you enjoy it too. I will try to keep my blog posts coming weekly, there is so much going on in the Old Vine Studio! Meanwhile if you want to see what I am doing in the studio I do post on my Face Book page most days. Love to meet more of you over there!

Inspirational Images.

Sometimes I take an image that I am thrilled to bits about because so many things just fell into place at the right time. This was one of them. I was taking images to capture the essence of my hometown, Penola, at the heart of the Limestone Coast in South Australia. There are many historic buildings and locations around my town I could consider but it is very hard to do better than this simple and very profound building. It took a bit of walking up and down thinking about the composition because this modest building has been photographed so many times. I wanted to achieve an image with a bit of a twist to it!

The Woods-Mackillop Schoolhouse is one of the most historic buildings in Australia and attracts visitors and pilgrims daily to see the historical sites and connect with the stories about the incredible journey that a strong, determined, independent and visionary young woman began in my town. She was cannonised in 2010 as Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop. People wander around this 1867 building, which Mary was excited to see built as the first solid schoolhouse for the teaching Order that she co-founded, and they spend time inside and consider her life in her teaching days and the contribution she made. Mary Mackillop’s legacy of providing education to all including many less fortunate children than those she had first taught while working as a Governess in Penola, is still relevant today and the Order she began still follow many of the foundations which she laid. 

What I love about this 1867 building is that it is still a simple limestone structure, and not one that has become adorned with religious iconography which has often happened with buildings and sites associated with a Saint. The Old Schoolhouse remains an authentic building with a whole lot of soul, and many stories have become embedded in the stonework and mortar to be a wonderful source of inspiration for both artist and artisan.

This has been taken along the side from Petticoat Lane and the windmill is reflected in the arched window. These were designed to allow maximum light into the school room. I love the honesty of the limestone wall. 

Having found the best location, one where I could also capture the iconic Australian country windmill across Petticoat Lane, I stood in the middle of the road during the early evening after the day's traffic had gone. I was waiting for the sun to be in its last hour just at the right angle so that orange light would make the front glow and come alive. As I began to take shots with my camera several Galahs flew over and were snapped just at the right moment to be flying close to the roof of the Old Schoolhouse.  I had to be thrilled to bits about that because to me I had been able to then capture the essence of my town! Galahs, parrots and cockatoos fly over our town all the time and they add a lot to the atmosphere with their loud calling, they really make their presence known!

Looking down the street to the Old Schoolhouse and the entrance to Petticoat Lane. Penola is a fascinating town to go walking and wandering, gathering inspiration sketching and taking images. 

Images like these become so useful to me, in that they inspire ideas about my work in both textiles drawing and through painting. My work often involves digital processes and I may print images onto various grounds or fabric to use or develop ideas using Photoshop for collage and textile pieces. Using images I have taken is very important to me as this keeps control of my own authenticity and credibility.  I have thousands of images and I try my best to keep them organized but it takes a lot of time sorting and editing!  Although I am not a professional photographer, my training in using the camera has only ever been basic compared to a professional photographer, but adequate enough as over the decades of taking thousands of images I do have quite a few that are just that bit special and I think this is one of them.  I am investigating having some art prints made of some of them and this is one I might have printed. Hope you like it too! 

If you are interested or curious about the life of Mary Mackillop please visit this wonderful website http://www.marymackilloppenola.org.au/index.cfm

For information about visiting my town of Penola please visit this page or comment below as I love talking about my town and region

http://www.wattlerange.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=328

 

Sketchbook Experiments with Chinese Ink Part Three

I have had a very busy two weeks and had almost completed this draft intending to get it posted but have many interruptions and so will post this as it is and load more during the next day.  In this post I wanted to show what I do with some of the images I take of still life settings. In this example I have changed the image to black and white and then cut away large section and then I have worked this into collage and compositions ideas,

It does not mean that I will always use every still life I have taken an image of in this particular way, but doing this can lead me to think more 'What if I tried this out'  experimentation.

This drawing is a good example of what I often do. Just playing around with the image and allowing the ink drawing to be brushed over with water and gesso. Adding some detail in ink on the back and white image section. I know I am sharing this page of my sketchbook with you, and I am being a bit brave in doing so ........to me there is no such thing as bad drawing, all mark making has value, I got over that when I went to see Matisse exhibition of mainly his drawings, and this taught me some huge lessons about what constitutes drawing.  The point of me doing this originally was not about showing this to anyone, I do these for me, it helps me to experiment with materials and media, explore stories develop new ideas and it is fundamental to my personal development as an artist. 

Last week I called into our local bookshop, I always find it hard to walk by with out wandering around and I noticed a really good book of Brett Whiteley drawings and it is again a reminder to me that these exercises are so valuable for any artist's development and that nothing should be thrown away! If you get an opportunity to take a look as his drawings I am sure you will feel differently about producing the most 'perfect' line work. I have a number of books on my  Christmas list now just wish they were not always so expensive! I love researching artists drawings because they tell me so much about their processes and their explorations and how they take their lines and markings for a walk! 

So no matter what you may think of this drawing in my sketchbook, it has been one that I have used and it is valuable to me. It was a worthwhile  exercise and has added to my series of ink experiments in this sketch book. I hope I encourage others to keep on drawing no matter what you may think go your ability  that is not what is important. Every time I do this I learn more about myself and the stories I hope to build upon through my completed artwork. I learn more about pushing the boundaries on my work and that is important. 

Sketchbook Experiments with Chinese Ink, PartTwo

Apart from drawing, I have also taken images of my objects in various compositions, and then work these images using Photoshop because often doing this reveals new ideas for textile work. Using a cutout filter is particularly good for testing out ideas and abstracting images. It can help me to rethink the directions I was taking, or it can confirm that what I had planned will work. I use my computer as if it was another tool, and I get very annoyed by people who think somehow the magic created is automatic and is just generated  by a computer, because this work often takes me longer than drawing and it can be a lot more complex. It requires another set of skills and knowledge to be able to create good work using Photoshop or similar programs. I have been using Photoshop for 16 years and I still keep learning more about it. 

The base of the stitched book in my sketch book with one image copy I have overworked using gesso. I really like how on each of the old diary pages the ink is 'rusting' through and the drawing can be seen as an alternative work. 

I do try out many ideas with printed out images. I now only use good quality copy paper (I stopped using that super cheap city paper because it would cause me so much grief, either by not holding up to my treatment or it would jam up the printer, and then I waste so much time! I give my printer a hard time as it is using all kinds of materials and various mediums. In this image above I have used gesso over the print out. The small glass has a lot of potential in this image to me. There is a lot I like about it.  It is a very tiny antique glass I found years ago while poking around second and and antique shops in Burra. I often do that gathering bit snap pieces I might like to use as props. 

The 'rusting' of the ink on the back of the drawing is wonderful and so interesting. It was one reason why I wanted to stitch them in rather than use PVA or tape. 

Experiments with Chinese Ink in my Sketchbook, Part One

I'm not really that precious with my sketch books, although I do have pages that look as if I have taken a lot of time to some people who have seen them, and that can be true if I am trying to resolve something or if I am trying to see how far I can take a technique, a material, or a medium.  I thought I would share a few pages in one sketchbook of a still life I had been drawing and then I played around, thinking what would happened if I tried this or that? sometimes I just end up with a big mess and the only constructive thing about it was that I learnt not to go with this again!

I found a bottle of Chinese Ink I wanted to try and did a few quick brush drawings of a still life using some items I had around. I just like the objects, there is not a theme intended, it is all about the shape and the contrast which attracted me to select them. This one was done on a page of a second hand book shop find .. a lonely encyclopaedia in a sale basket (it cost me $2, I had flicked through and found some sayings I liked with my thoughts being that I could use them in my work and that by me buying a throw out book like this one it might help overcome my fear of cutting up or painting in good books.)

I framed it using paper I had painted black over a page in my sketch book I had first used water soluble crayons to create a background ( I love working with these, they always go into my art travel kit)  and have used PVA to adhere this as one page. Doing exercises like this are wonderful to do and they free my ideas, creating new directions, including ideas about embroidery and textile work. In this exercise I am also thinking about how the ink responds and  I love the way it flows and how I can direct it like a flowing river with my brush. 

The next quick ink drawing I did has been done on pages of an old diary which has not been  used, the note section at the back. I kept going with these and made a little book of the drawings once they were dry, then stitched  this into my sketchbook page so I can flick through the different ways I have used the ink on the same still life. 

In this drawing above I have used a nib and then sprayed  over sections using a small cosmetic applicator filled with water. I like this drawing, it may look like a mess to some but to me there is so much potential in it. Some of this drawing looks like machine embroidery. These drawings have been done quickly and by hardly looking at my page until completed, I like how spontaneous this drawing feels and the way I can still see the scratching from the nib. It is a great mark making exciercies as well.  

I then tried the still life using a brush a lot of water and once it had dried I have then drawn over this using a brush and gesso. I like the chalkiness it adds.  Gesso is a great medium to draw with and I use a lot of it in all my sketchbooks. 

In this image you can see that I have machine stitched the booklet of drawings onto the left hand side of this large sketchbook and there is another drawing completed  in pen and wash on the right hand side. The space left is for me to jot down some notes, brainstorming ideas that have surfaced while doing these drawings.  ( I also use a lot of washi tape!)

A bit of history about my Studio and some outside work to do.

My studio now occupies the front two offices which were used by my husband when his business employed quite a few people. When he first added on this section in front of his workshop I insisted that he build with some character that was complimentary to the historic cottage which is next door but still on our property.  (this is heritage listed and not safe to use unless we completely rebuild it, it was always in our plans but the more we look into it the more it is stays in the too hard basket, but who knows?)  A few years ago he really had to rethink how he worked and decided that after so many years of having staff, he only wanted to work by himself again and he is a lot happier about this. It meant that we had too much of everything. I think we have enough paperclips for me to make up panels for an entire wire fence!  Enough filing cabinets (who even uses more than one these days anyway?) to archive a lifetime of documents and none of them are those wonderful full drawer ones which I might have adapted, they are all the ones designed for offices files, just a front, some racks on a slide, most annoying because otherwise these could be filled with supplies for me!  I know a garage sale must be on our urgent to do list! 

As my art work became an everyday activity of the last year, and I tried to juggle this around our home and the housework, and became more frustrated, my husband suggested these front offices as my dedicated studio space. I did not wait for him to change his mind it all seemed perfect, not only for the space, but also as this meant I could feel like I was going to work,a real job and my art would be taken seriously.  (plus the washing machine and ironing would not be arguing with me about what I was spending my time doing.. why does everything now have to have buzzers?) 

 We have both worked very hard to transform the two rooms for me to move in during August so that my studio could be open for SALA (South Australian Living Artists) We still have more work to do in my textile room, such as mounting a design board on the wall and moving in another large storage shelf. Overall though, I am very comfortable in these two rooms for now. We do have plans for him to downsize his office space to a smaller room which has a door  from his workshop.  I will then be able to use the large office at the back of the rooms I have now as my wet studio and I cannot wait for this to happen! There is generally a lot of paint, fabric mediums, gesso, dyes, wax and more being used almost every day as well as fabric stretched on frames to be printed or painted, a wet canvas or more around, all messy stuff and I need the space to cope with all the techniques I use.  But most of all I want to make the front just a bit more interesting, It has such good light as it faces North (this would be the opposite to those above the Equator when  facing South is preferred) There is a compact garden with native trees and a few shrubs and plants which attract many birds and help keep the textile room cooler in Summer. This only needs a bit of a trim and new layer of compost and mulch. 

Old Vine Studio faces North towards vineyards. 

The work I have planned to complete in the next few weeks includes getting the side trellis up to plant the vine cuttings from one of our Old Vines (we have two one with fruit and one is an ornamental but also very old) One will go on the side near the entrance and provide protection from the west and the other will be planted on a side screening wall to the old cottage. I have big pots of plants to go around  the verandah and several inviting chairs and some wall pieces I will mount to make the front look more like an art studio! I might scatter a few empty oak wine casks cut in half in the garden to plant a bit of extra colour. The  gravel gets raked every few weeks. (I did take this last weekend when it had been windy and before it was raked) I will take more images and upload them after I have done some of these jobs and show you how it looks. I have gathered a few bits and pieces to audition around the verandah and feel really excited about getting most of this done over the weekend.

Thoughts tonight about what I will make with a few old cow bells picked up in Switzerland years ago. We bought them because my husband did not believe our children when they yelled out with huge excitement from the back seat of our car, and with the windows wound down, that all the animals had bells around their necks and they could hear them. We were driving into Switzerland from France and to Australian children this was so strange and they had thought it was just a fairy tale out of Heidi books. (so did their Dad)  I think they could be a lot of fun used here they are not making good sue dod themselves inside our  home (they used to be fantastic dinner bells to get children to come inside ... our garden is very large ....but now they are grown up and gone) 

I think it will look very inviting and I can have a picnic lunch and coffee breaks (or a glass of local chilled wine) and enjoy the beautiful view over the vines. Do some sketching or stitching too.......... 

About Stories

Yesterday I had an interesting chat about stories to a fascinating young woman who is collecting the stories of artisans and collectors from around the world. We spoke of storytelling and how important stories are to artisans. I have been thinking about this idea and the importance of knowing the stories behind the work of an artisan and in what they create, as in everything that they do create, pieces of their own story remain. 

 I recalled a story from the time I visited Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican while staying in the old Centro Storico and the Pantheon district in Rome. Two of our children were with us and we stayed for a week wandering around the old quarters. We loved the experience and our children were especially spoilt. Lots of cheek pinching and extra ice creams and fruit given out to them as we stopped to poke around the tiny shops in the quaint lanes. We found so many artisans working away in tiny workshops as artisans have done in this sector for hundreds of years.

When we finally reached  the Vatican, my hope was we would see the Sistine Chapel, but it was closed for a special audience (another story to tell) and so we went along into the Basilica (there must be at least a dozen stories about this visit I could tell you) After being completely awestruck I found we could climb up to the levels inside and outside the Cupola and as we had two active children who could be bored with history, this seemed like the best idea. There is a lift up to the first level and after taking it we stepped into a magical place. We looked down to a view of the Basilica below, into the sheer vastness of it all and we each felt the same. We were looking into a massive space built by people and it was so vast that to us, those on the floor walking around below liked like ants, just small specks.

To me I could not help but consider the artisans who worked on this and wonder about thestories they could tell. As I turned to face the wall covered in a mass of tiny hand cut tiles which make up the stunning mosaics inside the Cupola, I could not help it, the tears just flowed. My husband and our children couldn't understand why I could cry! it made no sense to them. I was so overwhelmed by standing next to Michael Angelo's work. We could touch it. (I might add we should not be able to touch it and I am not sure if this has since changed, maybe it should have)

The single thing that struck me, was the realisation that this was the work of his team of artisans under his instruction. It has helped me to better understand and appreciate the work of Fine Artists and Artisans. High quality craftsman did most of this work (and that is the reality of those times it is very hard to find information about any woman who may have worked on site as an artisan) Artists as we now consider them to be, were managing large teams of artisans to carry out their work. In order to be considered an artists it was necessary to spend often at least ten years as an apprentice to a master. The artists during these Ages worked to strict rules and Michael Angelo himself discovered rules could not be broken because an artist was not free to do what they might be inspired to do. Leonardo da Vinci did so much of his extraordinary art, that which pushed the boundaries and also extended himself in his private drawings, sketchbooks and notebooks.

Looking carefully at these mosaics it as clear that not only did mosaic artisans work on this but every mosaic pice is hand cut from particularly stone or marble from selcted quarries and the grouting and mix that thee sit on required many more artisans and craftsmen I had not thought about until this moment standing in the Cupola. So many stories to be told and each one contained in what I saw around me. 

Standing in the light streaming down from the Cupola windows high above them. My husband and son feeling in awe in the Basilica. (actually they were having some fun with this light, no disrespect intended)  This special moment is all about the story, and unless we record the story the memory can be easily forgotten. 

My story about this day taught me so much about how relevant artisans have been and still are how they can work on something that will last for hundreds of years and how ever piece they add has a story behind it. I only wish they had recorded their stories, how fascinating would they be today. It made me think that telling my own story about my work is important, even if nobody ever reads it! I actually no longer care about that, to me recording my stories enrich my work and allow me to look back in years to come (as I already often do through  the many journals I have filled) and use the thoughts I have today to inspire new work in my future. I love that about wring stories and about drawing and sketching. It does no have to be good, just has to work for me. If others happen to be interested then how wonderful, and it was the reason why I was so happy to have someone I had never met wanting to and asking to hear my stories. 

So, I am being heard in a way I never anticipated and I am also listening to ideas I never expected to be hearing from others.  How to keep the past alive and keep building on that, as a way of surviving the future, it is an idea very close to my heart. I am sure that was one of the reasons for Guilds in the early ages. Stories become legends and myths but also stories create processes and strategies and stories help solve problems both now an into the future. One thing I know is that mass production and consumption of almost everything is not the way for the future, we should have listened to the wisdom of the past. The wisdom that helped create the mosaics in St Perter's Basilica or many other incredible works we still find amazing today are stories that are still relevant. I am feeling happy today that there are a few people this world who are doing something very positive about this. I am really looking forward to reading the stories that Megan, who is a Brand Mythologist has recorded by collecting our stories from all around the world. It is just fantastic this is happening. 

And the point about the image I included in this post? It is a fence that was hand cut and handmade about 150 years ago and we have kept it and taken care of it has links back to the original owners of our property, and are so aware that it contains the stories played out over and since that time. Stories can be told of many ordinary things, we say sometimes if only this wall could talk, if we listen carefully it does. 

Working away building my new website

Building my new website is taking me such a long time as there are so many things to consider. What template to use to start with. I've tried several and the first two I began to use just did not look like me, they did not feel right, I just could not connect to their more formal looking layouts. They were beautiful designs but so organised, too architectural and too minimalist. I love colour and I love my creating art and it is very eclectic. I just get into the story that begins in my head and develop my work as the story rambles on.  Tonight because I was just not making my site look how I wanted it I took another look at more templates and did some research to see what other artists were using and found this one. The best thing is I can keep posting the image of my art work however and whenever I want to and rearrange them as I feel like it. Much like my studio walls really. I hope people do not mind as I know some love categories, such as all the abstract acrylic work in one gallery and all the art textiles in another, the watercolours or collage in separate files and all the landscape in a grid. I love how this portfolio allows me to mix it all up and then you can click on one and up will come the story about that work (once I add it in) this is the thing though that is so important to me about my work, every piece I create has a story. Even my photography is trying to capture a story.