Its here. My very first solo installation. Welcome to Tracery.
The wonderful folks at Frankston Arts Centre  have supported an amazing variety of artists though their ongoing exhibition program. In participating in the 2014 FAC Open Exhibition I was fortunate to have received the Peoples Choice Award which gave me the opportunity to put together Tracery.
Its an iteration of a piece originally conceived for The end of year show at Chisholm Frankston and has come to life bigger and brighter at Cube 37.
Officially open from Thurday Jan 21 until Feb 17. During the day take 10 minutes to enjoy the story of a lonely fisherman who rows out onto a lake one dark moonlit night, or after sunset take a look at the projection of a lunar eclipse cycle through hand woven nets.
Join me on Tue Feb 2nd for an artists chat at the Arts Centre, Davies Street Frankston and cup of tea at 11...

The thing about having some time off (once you get used to that uncomfortable space where you're faced with the daunting unknown of nothing that needs to be done like .... yesterday) is that you can soak in playtime. And this week that playtime involved adventures. 
With kids off school yet before the official madness of official school holidays , we made the trek into the city to NGV and the fabulousness of Gaultier. With mannequin after mannequin of tightly bound corsetry, oh so French stripes, and the mightiest of mohawks it was a grand introduction for the girls to the hyper world of pret a porter and couture. Theres a lot of ground covered here, with a career that spans 40+ years Gaultier gives us an abundance of glamour for anyone with a thirst for feathers, pattern and decorating the human form. Yup - its BIG, but underlying the sparkles and sequins, there's a commitment to the craft of making that makes the whole thing a lot more real. Highlights were an immersion in the side installation of Sydney label Romance was Born and their collage crazy digital printed fabric. Its enough to make you want to go all photoshop.

Getting grounded with a country drive out to Tarrawarra to visit Ian Fairweather's The Drunken Buddha (via Innocent Bystander of course) was an ultimate girls own adventure, thats if the girls happen to be interested rebel hermit painters who shun society to live on a remote subtropical island and the artists who admire his work). Once again, it was the craft of the works that drew me in. Croissant paintings, from the forest. With layer upon layer of earthy calligraphic marks, each picture is a journey into the life of a poet painter. And its a whimsical, bittersweet one. It may require whiskey to truly comprehend the depth of the journey. I'm not sure....
Note: Don't forget to pick up the instruction for the viewer booklet for Gosia Wlodarczak's Found in Translation: The Drunken Buddha drawing, or like me you'll find yourself contemplating the whole David Lynchiness of the thing and wander off in a bemused revery only to be found several years later on deserted island, scratching your head thinking "what was lost highway all about?"

For your viewing pleasure, this ones on exhibition at The Frankston Arts Centre, Cube 37 until September 6th.

Still life with medlars. Whats a medlar ? I here you ask... they're those 3 fruity looking things. Apparently they make most excellent jelly and belong to the same family as apples and quinces. Dear Simon O'Dwyer has a lovely tree at his new house and let me pick some so I should really be making jelly rather than painting. But...As it tuns out, Balnarring Kinder is having a trivia night THIS SATURDAY and have asked me to donate a piece for their silent auction. What better reason to paint medlars.
So ... here it is. It could be yours if you come along to the trivia night but you'll have to be quick.. tables are booking fast. Tix $15 ,7pm sat 24/5 Balnarring Hall ph 59835803.
And on sunday i might make jelly....

Yup. Its that time of year again. Time to head up to BrightSpace Gallery to check out what happened at camp. This years invite features yours truly's very own 'Beyond Big Point'. Opening WED 7th May 6-8pm & continues till 17th May. See you there.

Tomorrow evening sees the final exhibition for the 2013 class of Visual Arts at Chisholm TAFE Frankston. What a year (or three) its been. What an amazingly talented bunch of people. The show looks a treat and the evenings festivities sure to be remembered till antiquity. See you there 6-8, or catch the exhibition till early December. Pics to follow.

Imagine my unbridled excitement at being accepted in the Toyota Sculpture Exhibition. Last year I was lucky to attend to see the wonderful Sam Menzies and Robyn Rich exhibit their work so was honored to be amongst such good company. Wow - I'm playing with the big kids now.
Alas - on the weekend (and 4 days before delivery of my piece), I came home from the market to find my sculpture haliospinosa pluradactyla in pieces. Damaged. Beyond repair. (I blame the cat). Needless to say their was much hand wringing, many tears, and quite a bit of swearing in front of the children.
Monday morning arrived finding me in a casting frenzy and long story short .... today i delivered the new improved version ready for the opening next week.
The moral of the story is : Don't leave your precious fragile bony things where the cat can jump on top of them, and ... it feels really good when something goes terribly wrong and then you're able to fix it. You can visit the exhibition til march ...