I am still yet to post my image on the graffiti wall down the road. My daughter has done her own sketches (lower left corner) to make her own stencils. I am so pleased she wants to do this so I will wait until she is ready too and we can do it together.
Some of the other objects came from a little shop front in Alderley Brisbane right near the train station. I went in and was told that the owner had just died. The shop was packed from wall to wall, floor to ceiling with objects as old as from my grandparents era onwards. Hoarding in its most beautiful form. A few months on there was a skip truck and it was all taken away. At least I got a few little bits to honour that mans lifetime habit even though I didn't know him it was clearly his thing! He may not have sold them to me had he been alive?? I do wonder what he would have been like to chat to.
I visited this space a couple of days ago and didn't take any photographs. If I get back there before the exhibition finishes I will get one of a piece in the exhibition The Encyclopedia of Forgotten Things (put on by the University of Canberra Faculty of Arts and Design). The piece is called The Promise of Transparency (2016) by Caroline Fisher. It was very simple and I can't stop thinking about it. I am going to write her words here...I can remove this if anyone has a problem with me using her words and work here.
Transparency is the new 'buzz word' in the 21st century journalism ethics. With low levels of trust in journalism, the tsunami of online information sources, and the ability of every citizen to be a publisher, journalism scholars argue that increased transparency of editorial decision making, as well as disclosure of personal values and interests by reporters, will increase public trust in journalism and help secure its future. However, research shows that attempts at greater journalistic transparency have not necessarily resulted in increased trust and in some cases greater transparency might have the opposite effect. This ambivalence toward the ideal of transparency is reflected in this sculpture. The sculpture has been made from recovered glass blocks which have been cleaned, reused and re-imagined as a glass sculpture. The undulating glass surfaces tease the viewer with a promise of transparency, but never fully disclose or expose. Her words could be applied to so many situations. Transparency is the word hey! The aim is to get each layer richer. My children wanted to know why I was painting toilet paper. I should have made it longer. Ha! I am so enjoying this space of freedom from thought at the moment. It is my job to soak up my surroundings and when that new object or concept or idea stumbles across my path I can move into interpreting it my own way. I feel really good at the moment so it would probably be useful (for me) to do another self portrait to reflect my mood and emotions and see what marks come out during this phase. Anyway above is a couple of still life set-ups our lovely facilitator Alicia Mozqueira has started us on. We have around 1-2 hours to work on them and it is 1-2 hours of bliss. Alicia has a solo art opening tonight 4 August at 6 p.m. at beaver galleries 81 Denison Street, Deakin ACT. Now she makes oil paint work!
I am trying to convince myself to keep going with an arts practice. The lure of a stable job and a regular pay pack is getting stronger. I wrote this a while ago when I was hoping to recieve the scholarship to travel to New York and I am putting it here for me to ponder again.
I think the experience will develop my confidence to go further into the unknown. I am open to realising future opportunities for travel, learning and experiencing the physical and emotional world and then developing these worlds into artworks. I hope these will then create connections between places, communities and individuals. I hope that my work will eventually be recognised as a contemporary account of culture that resonates with firstly Australians and potentially others that I have connected with abroad. What do I stay true to? It is unbelievable how much pleasure I am getting from riding with the kids to and home from school (I have to admit on the days that the Canberra winds don't blow us back up the hill in the opposite direction we are riding). I had momentarily forgotten how good it is to ride and have aching legs at the top of the hill. I don't know if I am allowed to call these hills hills coming from the part of Brisbane we lived, but enough of a hill to get the blood flowing. So many things that can be so easily taken for granted. The thick woollen underlay on our bed is heaven, the weather that makes us make rich, thick and delicious casseroles, the experience of a Canberra freak shake (look it up its ridiculous), freedom.
For years and years I have admired oil paintings and never actually been properly shown how to use them. Finally I am giving it a crack at ANU, Canberra, under the guidance of Alicia Mozqueira.
We have moved, everything has arrived and I am sort of nearly unpacked. I can soon start exploring our new way of life. Never know when change is going to strike, but I am going to make the most of it. Found a local graffiti wall not far from here, which has inspired me to add my bit. Didn't have anything with me to photograph it the other day. Yeah...forty yeah old mumma spraying walls...??? Ha, why not me!
I wish I was in Canberra next Friday to see Fiona Hall talk at the National Gallery of Australia. I am writing it down so I am in the right place at the right time some other time. Packing boxes instead.
Another picture I did in 2013 called out of nature. I was pretty image productive in 2013. I want to get back to that mode of operation again. It was a huge learning curve for me that year. Huge variations in style. I feel like I have found my own visual language more so now. I have been on a few other learning curves in the following years too actually.
Thank goodness for a program like Q&A (ABC iView). I just watched the latest episode last night. Kate Tempest, Ayaan Hirsi Ali....in fact the whole panel was great. I love listening to people who have their go at seeing the bigger picture without fear of what other people think. Well the fear may be there but they do it regardless. We mostly all come to the same or at least similar conclusions...I think maybe. Kate Tempest did a performance at the end - brilliant summary 'Progress, the world after religion'. I do still think God has a part in it though with or without the religion.
A well behaved post. The National Association of Visual Arts (NAVA) takes a funding cut as outlined in The Sydney Morning Herald. NAVA supports artists and is 'an essential advocate for artists’ rights, professional development service provider, grant administrator and leader in establishing and implementing best practice standards.' (NAVA media release 13th May). Aggggh. So any artist who is not a member, NAVA needs you to be one to keep functioning in the interim until feet are found and grounded. Just posting as an artist who one day hopefully will fully appreciate their work and help.
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