Heart of Arts

Well ..... what has been happening in my artistic life lately ....?
Not much in the way of creations, as I struggle to find energy within, to complete the re-organisation of my studio, which is much smaller than my old warehouse in North Melbourne....... aaaah ......(dreams of all that space .....!)
Yet it is far bigger than a camper van or little bus ! So I can't complain.

I just wake up exhausted each morning, despite how much sleep I get, and many days never seem to pick up, so it's hard to even start to feel creative.

I am way behind on the last few finishing off jobs on the bus also. Soon it will be able to be parked under cover, when a new carport and back veranda roof are added onto the shed.
This will help me in the studio, as it will allow me to devote areas for each type of artistic work, and utilise the outside without the searing sun making it way too hot.

Every Wednesday I am now looking after the Heart of Arts Gallery Shop, in Murwillumbah, which has moved into being a Co-Op and I have finally begun putting my hats and shirts in here.
It is helping me to feel more inspired about getting back into creating work again.

'A Head Full of Love'

As I continue to wait on the final results of this years Beaniefest Awards, that being the People's Choice Award, I shall post some pictures of my hat taken on the 1st of May, during it's creation.

Modelled for me by the lovely Lisa, of The Nimbin Environment Centre

Beaniefest Special Mention

Well I didn't win a'Camel Trophy' (if they indeed do have them again this year).
but I did receive a 'Special Mention' with my hat in the Loveliest Madcap section, second to a 'Wild Thing Monster hat, by friend Louise Thackeray.

I still wish I could have been there this year, to see for myself the calibre of artistry, that whichever judges they choose to judge the event, failed to really see, (yet again).

Whilst glad to receive a Special Mention, I am almost 'offended'by the section.
I spent many many hours layering and adding fine detail working directly to the 'theme', (A head full of Love), and I am again totally bamboozled by the judges decisions. How can four people all agree on many of the 'winners' they chose ?

Why do they 'go for' the relatively boring ones, over those that really stand out with creativity.

Have a look at what I mean here


Fingers crossed for the People's Choice !!

Fingers Crossed and Wishing I was There !!

Well it's now Friday 25th June ( although it's only 1:15 am as I begin to write ).
For the past two days, my mind has been deeply focussed on a large room, in 'Alice' s Araluen Centre, where a hive of very busy women and men, scurry like Beaniologists can only do, creating Beanie Central, which last year had 6,000 Beanies in a Riot of Colour and Yarns. I love helping set up for the Worlds most Bizarre Festival of Beanies........even 'tho it can and does become 'Beanie-Bedlam' at times !!   lol

Today is the day they judge this years entries in the National/International Beanie Competition at the 14th Alice Springs BeanieFest. My fingers and toes are crossed,hoping the judges, will choose mine, amid all the other incredible masterpieces, there will  be there again, undoubtably  !

I realise I never got around to posting a follow up piece about the hat when it was finally finished, partly because in the busy final week of it's creation, I was journeying down to Buundi( Bondi Beach), with The Chai Tent (See Here for that story Part One), and in the busy-ness of that week I totally forgot to take any proper photos of it......(D'uh !!!  lol )

Luckily I did get a few more during it's mid-way point during Mardi Grass Festival at Nimbin, where I gave my hats a rare 'outing' at The Chai Tent.  ( See Here for that Story ).

And while giving the finished hat a final Needle-Felting prior to gently placing it in it's travelling post box, a beautiful young 6 year old girl Mirinda,

and her 8 year brother Lance, took some pix of my working on it, as we ate breakfast at a cafe on Bondi Beach, before we commenced our journey home.

It was wonderful to have it with me over the weekend, as the inspiration for this hat, has very strong connections to the Ceremony, Celebration, and Parliament of Sovereign Originals, that occurred that very special weekend. And yet, I only 'knew' of the gathering about 4 days before heading down to it !

I shall post this now, and go and edit photos which I have been too busy to do since I took them.  It will have to wait til after the Exhibition ends and the hat returns to me, to take some more detailed photos.

..

 

Beaniefest Competition Hat Work in Progress

Just realised that I haven't uploaded any photos of one of my major Works in Progress.....It has been put 'On Hold' for the the past month or so as I had to make something new for the Fibre Exhibition......and also for the next part, to 'Gell' into my creativity....

How to achieve the results I envisage ......???????    Hmmmm that is/was the question.  I think, I have now acquired the right materials, and the other night, lying awake while I was sick; I began visualizing the next steps.....

But first I have to document what I have already begun

My starting concept for the  Beaniefest's 2010 theme, 'A Head Full of Love'

An all encompassing umbrella over Australia and the World.

 

So ....How to 'Realise' the Creation of this ???

 

An Umbrella Frame ..???? 

No....Not quite working after all.....maybe this will work ........

Aaaaah ....Yes, much better, and it was even raining when I was making it !! lol

 

And Then ........for quite a radical change in design, as I realised that my umbrella stand would sit too high, I decided that a small earth would/might be better.......Hmmmmm we'll see further down the track if my ideas actually work out ......????? lol at the processes of a Mad Hatter Beaniologist !

 

Since this pic, I have added in a large Australia in Aboriginal Coloursand a swirling mass of clouds, which I think still need some working on. Maybe with the new blue tones Wool tops I recently found at gallery ......

This is where I am about to continue work, where the yarn finishes, Here I must begin to add in a row/round of tall forest trees, which will, (I hope), give support to the earth. She does tend to 'wobble' a bit if not nurtured and supported.

This I intend to achieve with the new wool tops and some floristry wire I found in the opp shop last week.

 

Mt Warning, one of my favourite mountains that I love dearly.

A Giant Scrub Turkey tending his nest, the Volcanic Caldera surrounding him.

Hopefully the mountain will be seen peeking thru a gap in the forest.....

 

OK until there is more to show, that is your sneak peek at one of my hats I must complete very soon, to enable me to send off to Alice Springs, early enough for it to travel by slower mail, as it will be in a box too large for the 3kg Express Bag.

Hmmm ....must check with the Post Office how long they expect it to take to get my Deadline for sending.....and really get 'stuck into' some work !!

'Fibble Fabble Fibre 2, - Unlikely Stories' Exhibition

 

Polly Stirling, welcoming everyone to the 2nd 'Fibble Fabble Fibre' Exhibition at Blue Knob Gallery near Nimbin.

 

My cluster of pieces

 

Coral Reef Wrap/Cummerbund/Over Skirt

 

Red Dots !!

 

Sold  to Deb Cross, another Fibre Artist

A wonderful evening was had, sharing a meal, and connecting and watching Satchiko's moving film, screened in the new 'Moore' Workshop Space, behind the gallery.

Fibre Exhibition Pieces

Well Tonights the Night !
The Opening of the Fibble Fabble Fibre 2 Exhibition at Blue Knob Gallery

I have put 9 pieces in and 7 hats into the Centre Stage Shop attached

Here are some pictures of my recently completed Cummerbund Wrap That can double up with many uses.

Fibre Fibre Fibre

Not long now till I need to have my pieces ready for the Blue Knob Hall Gallery Fibre Exhibition, and still so much to do.

Recently I was able to give Sophie her new hat she'd ordered, as she was once again at Sphinx Rock Cafe last Sunday, and celebrating her birthday, so it was very timely.
Just remembered I have another custom order when I have time, a rainbow hat for a woman who bought one 10 years ago, but it is over in New Zealand now.

So how are my various fibre projects coming along ? Here is the next photo of my felt Seascape

I must add a little more definition all round and then decide how to finish it, will it be made into a bag, or a cushion cover, just framed some way ? That is the question I ask myself

Works In Progress for Fibre Exhibition

Well what has been happening in my messy studio lately ?  

I recently learnt that the annual fibre exhibition at Blue Knob Hall Gallery is happening in April this year, so I have until April 11 to get my pieces ready, and since I haven't been being very productive lately, I must get working quickly.

     

This piece above is a fibre collage,using some 'found' crochet circles, the crown of someones felted hat wip, also found, and one of my first pieces of 'scrumbling'.

I am Needle Felting these together, and have crocheted round the edge, with still more to come.

I began with the idea of a shoulder wrap, but am thinking it may become a Cumerbund. I am working a pocket or two into it and will sew on quite a few buttons, to enable it to be worn many ways

 

Next I began working on a bag that I also found.....a very plain crocheted bag in pale light blue, which I am revamping with Needle Felting. 

I have attached a  NF piece made late last year, and left the inside open so it became a pocket.

 

I am currently adding some more internal pockets from some pieces of a 'fulled' shrunken jumper, and will join the back one to the lid of the first pocket outside, giving the bag  a very sculptural shape. I think I will have to hand sew these into place. 

Next I have begun work on a Felt painting, a seascape, that may be sewn onto either a bag or a cushion cover, I am not sure yet

  This is just the first stage of this piece, and I will embellish lots more detail in the coming days, some with the sewing machine some by more needle-felting.

And the OWOH winner is ......

Jane of QuiltSmiles from  Adirondacks , has been selected by a long and exhaustive process of Random Number Generator and personal re checking the blogs of entrants and a shortlist that I then created and then another Random Generated  Number.

 

I did a second painting ....so I could keep one as my field notes for the larger canvas to follow one day.

I had a lot of fun again this year seeing soe very creative blogs by some wonderful people. 'Tho I was bemused by the number of people making  very similar collaged works that really left me wondering about this new 'craze'. It does very little for me personally and sometimes got very bored with the same type of stuff that kept appearing.

Would you like to Zibbet your Artworks ?

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  Here is the latest WIP pic of my OWOH Giveaway Painting....I think it is nearly finished.... If you'd like to join, just leave a comment,  "Is it Finished yet?",  on the Giveaway post http://bit.ly/ctT05C  

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OWOH Painting Update

Some more pix of the Work In Progress

 

 

To join in this giveaway please click on the link below and leave a comment there
http://artnomadix-meg.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-world-one-heart-2010-giveaway.html

From my niece's birthday to mine

From my Niece's birthday Jan 26th to mine, today 7th Feb, both of us always sharing the number of the year, ie. this year is a 5 year for both of us Hmmmmmmm What will a five year bring I wonder

Here is a sneak preview of my painting for my OWOH Giveaway , I finally have had some time, two days ago, on Friday afternoon after we had taken the bus into town to get a stunning facelift of new green paint. What a couple of weeks !! trying to get the final preparations done amid a heck of a lot of rain and humid weather.
So now the bus is gone and out of sight for a few weeks Yay !!!

And so I managed a weee bit of time to get started on my painting.
To join the OWOH Giveaway leave a comment on my second post about OWOH
http://artnomadix-meg.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-world-one-heart-2010-giveaway.html

Australia Day AND Survival Day

Hi all,
yes it's That Day again, Australia Day January 26th, the day the Invasion of Australia began when the British Planted the Flag and claimed it for the Queen and Britain.

This is my mum, waving one of Benny Zable's flags down in Canberra a few years ago on January 26th,
in Garema Place before we all marched back to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.
Don't you love this flag !!

But despite it's dubious origins it is a day to celebrate Australia, and like many of my friends in the Australian Etsy street Team DUST (DownUnderStreetTeam)

Read the Storque Article about Australia's Dust Team Members  Here 

      

I am offering a Special Sale today only........I am offering to sell one of my 'Signature Beanies' The Sunset Silhouette' for a bargain price of $100.00

They have sold for $180.00 and recently in my etsy shop I have had it at $150.00

'Tho, since I actually donated this particular hat the other night to an Art Action at a Fundraiser for one of our Greens MLC Ian Cohen, (facing a $1M Court Costs, for calling a Developer a Bully and a Thug !!!)............

I think I will change the listing to this one instead also a sunset silhouette, but with a Whale playing in the southern Ocean off the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia,
Quite appropriate at this time with the Australian Protest of The Sea Shepherd in Antarctic Waters.

See them in my shop

And have a look at the other many talented DUSTers works  here