My Turtle Ran Away to the Carnival

Sometimes the unexpected can lead your mind on a merry dance through some strange stuff.  Yesterday while walking my dog on the jetty at the lake at Boonerah Point, I was reminiscing. The smell of the lake and the jellyfish and weed combine to recreate my childhood. I suddenly saw something swimming toward me, moving slowly through the water, larger than a jellyfish, larger than fish. It was a sea turtle.  I fumbled for my phone for a photo but unable to unravel the dog-lead and swipe for the app, all I could do was stare. It came closer and closer almost breaking the surface, the dog scrambled to the edge, the turtle took a swift left turn and swam away at high-speed.

Boonerah Point

It’s unusual for sea turtles to venture so far from the entrance but a good sign that the lake is healthy and it definitely looked uninjured and in good condition.  I have had  some limited turtle experience so I figure I knew one when I saw one. I’ve snorkelled with them a few times in Queensland waters and on the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve helped my friend Carla feed worms to her hungry turtle hatchlings for WIRES (wildlife rescue).

The one turtle experience however that has stayed with me was a turtle whose name I can’t remember. Dad had found him at the boat shed and he had a hole drilled in the base of his shell. Dad put him in the garden behind the shrubs next to the tap where it was dark and damp and we left lettuce.  The next morning he was gone along with most of the lettuce.  It was near Xmas time and the usual carnival had set up over the road in the park. I always thought that my turtle had run away to the carnival. I hope he had a happy life and his fairy floss was mostly green.

My Headcounter is Running Down

Weeds from the Lake

Sometimes a day is never what you plan.  I wasn’t feeling particularly creative today but after a vigorous bout of gardening and junk throwing-outing I went into the “studio”.  I jotted down a couple of ideas for the lake series that had drifted to the front of the brain. Drew a few thumbnail sketches to see whether a bull in a boat was feasible.

There was no more room in that sketchbook, another one had bitten the dust so I grabbed the next empty. It was a small black moleskin that I had started a collage on the cover. I was using body bits out of an anatomy text-book. I love doing this, simple cut and pasting. I lost focus pretty quick and went from collaging body bits to checking emails.

There was a great podcast on the future of museums so I went outside once more and sat in the sun and listened, watching the counter going down and down. From there I found a link to another creative blogger who had a Vimeo treat for me so off I went watching a selection of  Vimeos, looking at more counters counting down minutes and seconds.

Miniature Melbourne from Nathan Kaso on Vimeo.

I felt I had a counter on my weekend. I tried to remember how it had started but I couldn’t grasp that slide bar to take me back.

A Big Mixed Bag of Lollies

Anish Kapoor Memory

Multiple exhibitions in one venue can sometimes be a mixed bag of lollies.  There’s usually the big musk stick that pops out the top of the bag and draws you in and then there are the ones  at the bottom, the three for 5 cent  jubey things.  My trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney was like that.

Anish Kapoor proved musk stick-like to be as good as it looked. Something sweet and distinct at every bite, leaving a unique taste in your mouth.  The promise of more sweets inside was the huge mirror dish reflecting Sydney Harbour on a perfectly blue hundreds-and-thousands sparkly day.  Having been impressed by his work for a long time I was hoping for the best and I got better. As usual looking at the works on line, in books, on DVDs doesn’t cut the musk stick.

At the same time the other exhibition South of No North jubes proved to be strawberries and cream. Delicious with no fan-fare, three for one. The exhibition was based on works by Noel McKenna, Wiliam Eggleston and Laurence Aberhart. Noel McKenna’s work has always made me smile. From his doggie poster series to big things. This was a wonderful exhibition and although it is hard to compare the  monumental work of Anish Kapoor, there was a similarity in the complete paring down of subject and the strength in simplicity. I especially loved these small tiles of simply drawn ordinary objects and one of the best known useful products ever deserving to be lauded in glazed ceramic : liquid nails.  It was also wonderful to see his influences in Aberhart and Eggleston.

So my little bag of MCA mixed lollies proved to be quite sweet . It wasn’t too sickly and way too tempting to refuse.

If you hadn’t tried this before, click here for my Doggie Quiz inspired by Noel McKenna.

How Much is that Doggie

Give Some, Take Some and Two Bags Full

I swore no more books in the house until some leave. I rummaged the shelves for sacrifices for the next big book fair. I piled them into two huge bags, took some out, put a couple back in and lugged them to the boot.

I can’t believe the Lifeline Big Book Fair has rolled around again so soon and today is half price Sunday. I expected the visual arts section to be dessimated by the last two days of hungry art students but the pickings were great and I chowed down on a Guggenheim publication, an old botanical art book too big for the shelf as well as some lovely old 50′s mags.

Of course I ended up leaving …heaving the same two bags I had arrived with, more fresh old books. The smell of musty books and scouts cooking sausage sangers makes this Sunday in March delightful.

Art Sux

This is my pencil-case. Art Sux. Well it does. Saturday was sunny, a day off and what did I do? Back to see an exhibition I had already seen, what 3 times? Blogged about before….I don’t know what I expect, for it to rub off on me? make me brilliant? more informed? more intelligent?

Then after swearing “no more art, enough!”. I come up with another concept. Maybe I can collect every map of every gallery I go to and eventually make an artwork from that. So now I have a folder and have scanned the images and have then collaged them into a book.  As if I don’t have enough to do.

So after spending a sunny afternoon inside the same exhibition, did I waste yet another day on art? Sure of course. It was a wonderful waste of a day and this time I mapped a plan of the exhibition so I can recreate it and relive it til I see it again and waste even more time.

I Blog therefore I Think

I got a present today. Not for a birthday, not for Mothers day just because I blog.  Blogging has become a continuation of my art making.  Not because what I write about is particularly artistic or new (and some would say uninteresting) but it keeps me being introspective with my work.

So here is my present. I gigantic cup. And how appropriate as I have been making tea bags in order to support my art practice amongst work and other things. The last few days  I have been cutting up old gardening books, collaging, sewing bags, labelling and testing.

Most artists tend to fiddle. Sometimes working in a studio may not be about working on a painting – you just don’t have the right frame of mind to dip brushes so the fingers begin to wander, drawing, mulling over books or putting bits and pieces together.

We make and do. Cut and paste. Sew and stamp. Blog and think. So my mug is well suited, a typewriter on one side “I blog therefore I am” on the other. I can dangle my oversized, hand sewn, tag collaged liquorice and peppermint tea bag in it while I figure out what comes next.

There is always a tenuous link of some kind that leads to the next blog or the next painting, drawing.  During another studio tour of works in the Wollongong City Gallery during last week, I saw works on paper and paper sculpture held in the collection.  The most amazing fact was that I had purchased works by three of the artists on show.  I had not intentionally set out to do this. They were works that appealed to me at the time I bought them but standing in the back room I realised paper was the common denominator whether it be print, painting or sculpture.

Sometimes paper can border on craft and at times I feel I skirt that border precariously with scissors and paste.

Either way I have been able to float my ideas in a giant cup full of artful tea.

 

Head Like a Pinball Machine

I think if I tilt and shake my brain a little, the balls of inspiration might spark and ding and eventually connect.

 

 

The flippers on both left and right brain will continue to flick those thoughts back into the mix until DING! the idea is formed and like a ball heading straight down the ramp, comes out in smooth fully formed thought.

Yesterday was sparks of ideas – balls set loose among the bumper caps. It started with a visit to the op shop on a rainy morning and the plunger pulled back and thwack! the first ball was set loose.

I found these little records of Sicilian folk music amongst the albums.  The covers were amazing – the story in images, sung by an odd man in a great hat.  The first one I picked up had cormorants (a significant symbol in my work). I had to have as many as I could afford.

The way home the rain had cleared and the cormorant boat that I often sketch was perched delicately on the top of Mt Kembla’s reflection – a painters dream and so the plunger pulled again and thwack! my second ball had let loose.  So now I have the 2 balls let loose in there, popping caps and bumping sparks, hitting marks with birds, lakes and reflections.

To make matters worse the absolute best cover of a boy in a green boat. The beautiful pea green boat.

Inspiration will come in all forms and as the balls were dinging in my head I was washing up and ding! another thought – colour. I had sliced beetroot on my wooden chopping board and whilst scrubbing it – the most wonderful layering of colour that speaks to me in oil – alizarin crimson over ochre. Not beetroot over wood. That has to be a 1,000 pointer or a free ball.

I’m confused, I know it all will come together. It will culminate in a painting somehow, I just don’t want to use the tilt. Just yet.

Meanwhile here’s some shots from those albums waiting to happen. And the bonus….love the music! If only I could understand the lyrics….

 

Pieces of Paintings

More snippets and photos of parts of my paintings in the great Ripping Off the Stretcher Bars escapade.

How Much is that Doggie Quiz

So far in the How Much is that Doggie Quiz -Australia has it. No other countries have participated, funny considering I know how much the San Frannites love their poochies. (See my blog about the dog children of San Francisco).

So far we have one top dog with 100%. Well done! You know who you are and I don’t, so congrats and if you want to own up to your score feel free to let me know in the comments. I won’t judge.

If you feel you want to test your knowledge on arty dogs click here to take my quiz.

You can also try the other art quizzes. They are still all open and can find them in my Art Quiz Category. I post the answers later on or if you can’t wait just let me know.

Musicians Love Dogs & Writers Love Cats

Well that seems to be the inference in this article by Emily Temple that recently linked from one of my blogs about David Hockney. I’m a dog person so I think that means I can’t write (or perhaps shouldn’t).

This week my library pick up was wonderful Dogs in Australian Art by Steven Miller. Does it get any better – art and puppies in one book, and it’s not heavy! But wait it gets better. My favourite artist Noel McKenna has my breed of dog -SNAP! (here’s a work he did based on lost dog posters)

Tim Storrier brought his dog Smudge to share in his glory of the win at the  Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery NSW so I have decided to share the love and do another quiz – I know about time! This time it centres around doggies and artists.

Take a stab: How Much is that Doggie in the Window?