radiolata polar bear

I have to admit - it's been so long, I almost forgot my blogger password - such a slacker!

I have not done a pinch of art work for goodness knows how long, mostly because I've been a bit sick with flu and some other strange symptoms, which only a Leo could possibly have. I mean, really - it has to be something melodramatic! Something life changing, career changing, sitting on the edge of your seat changing. Pull my hair out changing. Bigger than big! The biggest.

Back to the rational realm, I'll find out this week as I have some tests done tomorrow. I already know the doctor will say something like - it's all good, everything was fine, and smiling all the while. Meanwhile I'll just have to take some ghastly tablets, and ponder life changing the long way. Goddamnit!

I like a bit of drama... actually, I like alot of drama, but more than that, I'm quite looking forward to feeling super dooper well again. Seriously.

So, there you have it - shop closed, brain closed, brushes laid to rest, but not for too long: I promised myself. not long now.

Of course, my doomsday illness has not stopped me from shopping...

Latest editions include this fabulous radiolata necklace from nervous system. See more at nervoussystem and this totally sublime polar bear bath plug that I could not resist from beautifulbathplugs

I didn't even know you could buy such amazing bath plugs. I can't wait to have my next bath.... it's so awesome.

I'll put on my new radiolata necklace on and have a special date with Mr Polar Bear. Now I just need to buy some nice soap.

See you all soon.

inaluxe on bondville

I've been running around like a mad chook the last week, and amidst all of this, I got the sweetest surprise.

Inaluxe has been profiled on bondville. It's such a lovely write up, I'm flattered as! It's moments like this that really do encourage me to keep going - it's true.

Bondville is a wonderful site that showcases all things australian in art and design. It's such a fabulous site: just adds to me being extra super flattered to be on it!

Here is the link... http://blog.stephbond.com/2009/04/australian-artist-spotlight-inaluxe.html

Best get back to work now... :)

black to black

I've been quiet lately -

operations

flu

family business

life stuff

new dog

time for sleep

and

well

day

to

day

odd

little experiences

BUT!

I have a new lease on life, and a purpose too! I'm all kinds of excited about my new series in black. Simply titled "Black Works" it's an exploration of my favouite hue. The texture, and the striking bold and very delicate language of black. I find it alluring, and enticing. It's as deep as it's broad, and it has infinite meaning (for me). It's super early days... it will be interesting to see how far this obssession goes?

Oh, and yes, Plastiche coming up in early May! Rock on vintage and supply! It is exciting to think I'll be another 'Australian' seller of supply and vintage! Woo-hoo! Never too many supplies!

I hope you're all well, and well, I will write more soon...

The eternal attraction to minimalism

I'm a minimalist deep down, sometimes it's so deep down, you'd hardly know.  I say this because I am also a somewhat frantic and avid collector of all things, most of which never see the light of day once they are neatly tucked away for save keeping: they seem to stay there.  This minimal thing seems to flow through into my art work, and while it's something I aspire to achieve, I also find it dominates. I believe it is an affliction of sorts. Ha ha ha.

It is there in the background with every new piece I create: deep in my psyche - tormenting me, and always persistent and demanding. But enough about the inner workings of my mind, here's some of the new series (available in my etsy shop). 

I find these pieces warming, calm, playful, reflective, open to interpretation and to be honest, they have been really delightful to work on.  A sort of calm if you will. Embrace the inner minimalist, and all is well with the world! So to speak. :)

Endless Paper

It's been interesting getting into working on creative projects again (with a full time job) as it takes about a hundred times longer to do the simplest of things. This current work in progress has taken me some two weeks to get to this point.

I have masses and masses of decorative paper. Some with soft velvety textures, metallics, hand made plant type papers, and cotton papers... of course, card stock coming out of my ears. Some of these works also have fabric shapes too. Cute as! and a real tactile delight.

In essence this started as a little art card project. Each one hand cut, papers then arranged and glued on. Working on them in the evenings was not only meditative, but inspiring. It's been an interesting exploration for me. I'm now thinking about a series of collage pieces. All one of a kind like the cards, but as a whole work.

Who knows.

Here's a couple of photos.

They will make it to my etsy shop soon... as groups of four. With delicious names like "the architect" "gelato delight" "eternal sophisticate" "greener than envy" and so on....

Of course, they don't need to be used as cards, but displayed just like so.... And they are all unique little art works, and totally in keeping with recycling! What more could you want?! :)

Other news....

My vintage and supply shop 'Plastiche' is still going ahead, just taking a little longer than expected to get it all up and running. I've been busy with work, family illness, some personal stuff, and when you add all these things up it's sometimes it's a pure miracle that I get to work every day.

BUT, not long now.... I'm hoping to have the shop avatar and profile done this week, and upload some goodies shortly thereafter.

On the other side of 'inaluxe' and my art work? Well, I've realised that I'm nost happiest when I'm actually doing original work, and not so much the reproduction/print side (for now). The focus is on drawings, paintings, collage, etc. I'm going to stay away from reproduction for the time being.  This direct process helps me focus on creating, rather than reproducing so much.  It's a bit of a thrill if I do say so myself.

Now I just need a day to arrange my new studio space...

Photos coming soon.

Hope you're all well! And remember "safe is risky"

The Mad Goat

The Mad Goat is me, and I think I got that saying right, but then again, I'm known for mangling such things... for example -

I'm putting my finger down!
The raw end of the stick.
It gets onto my goat.
Doesn't cut the custard.

Seriously, I have used all of these, and more (much to my embarassment) more than once. I have this delusional thing where I think I finally have it right, only to experience hysterical laughter from those around me, and a somewhat red face.

This is todays journal entry...
Fairly self explanatory I think. I had a reasonably nice day and then a less than happy evening, but I'm good now. I got it all out of my system, and of course, taking the dog for a walk always makes me feel good. She's a hoot!  (more on our new dog Kibi soon!).

but for now, I hope you're not putting fingers onto goats, or raw sticks into custard, and that you're not mangling the shit out of the English language like I do.

Here's my Goat. 

Summer Breeze and Plastiche: my new ETSY shop!

Ahhhh Sunday!  It's a glorious day in Melbourne today. And it's also the last day of my week long holiday.  Oh well.  I guess we all have to work for a living and support our artistic endeavours - well, most of us anyway.  Of course, the plan is to do this full time again - one of these days, and slowly does it. :)

I finished a new work this week, and it just went up in my etsy shop.  I call it Summer Breeze.  It is a celebration of people and love, summer and relationships.  I created it through mixed media with vintage papers, lino cut, digital colouring and paint brush work. I like the tones, and I love the soft movement in it.  Who knows if it will sell.  It's about loving what you do first and foremost, and sharing that I guess.

I also have some news which may be of interest to vintage and supply lovers.... In about a weeks time there will be all manner of vintage fashion, fabric supplies, bags, accessories, sewing goodies, and juicy can't-live-without finds that I have been collecting for years.  The Etsy shop is called "Plastiche".  I called it Plastiche because I love the way it sounds mostly. I love that work - plastiche.  Nice! So if you love vintage, vintage supplies, fabric supplies, and bags, check out http://www.plastiche.etsy.com/ in about a week and a bit. 

So so so very exciting.

Still yet to do a banner and profile, shop info, but this is going up this coming week.

Hope you're all well, and as always, thank you for stopping by and saying hello. 

Little Monsters

I've been cleaning out my photoshop files and found these lil cuties. A couple of lino cuts I did at least a year ago. I'm thinking I might like to do something with them now. Little Monsters I & II.

I also have the week off work, so it's been all systems go around the house. Moving furniture, fixing the new studio, spending time at the beach, going to a movie in the middle of the day, and generally getting as much out of life and time as possible - without it feeling like work! Hooray for holidays!

Wonders never cease...

Inaluxe shop re-opens!

Hard to believe it myself, but it's true. My Etsy store is finally up and running again. It's taken me about a year to do it, but it's done, and well ok, so there are only three things in there, but it's a start, and more will be coming very soon, as in next week at the latest! (can you tell I'm excited?!)

It's nice to come home again, and before I hit the hay I just wanted to share it with you all.

I'll be adding some old favourites, and new work too, which is all rather thrilling really.
Can't wait! :)

by the way, you may have noticed I've added a poll to my blog. I can't help it, they are so silly, and so much fun! So please feel free to indulge my poll fancy, and share your thoughts.

Have fun, more very very soon, and (of course) a new poll coming soon too.

Revision

2007 - the most productive year
2008 - the not so productive year
2009 - full of optimisim

Below are a few of my favourites covering the above period. There's a lot of it, and it was hard to choose which ones I liked best, but for different reasons, they all stand out for me.

I suppose the most challenging and rewarding thing I've come away during this time is the knowledge I acquired while I was self employed as an artist full time.

What's been most interesting is seeing the shift in the style of work too. It's awesome to go over past work and really look at it. Quite insightful. I think it's essential really. There is alot of work I look at and think "that's just plain old awful".

But there are also those moments when I think " yeah, I really like that". And it's something to build on and develop. Mostly I admire other people's work, and am very critical of my own, but I don't think that's a bad thing at all... as long as you don't hang shit on yourself constantly of course.

So, here's to 2009.... full of promise, and opportunity.

Happy New Year Everyone!

I may add more if I can find the ones I'm looking for: my hard drive is a pig sty!

And finally a photo of my old studio... I miss it, but it just motivates me with the new one I'm now faced with creating. It's a very exciting and busy start for 2009.

Colour & Christmas

when it rains, it pours...

The saying "when it rains, it pours" can easily be literally applied to today. Melbourne has had the wettest day on record for three years. Apparently. Or perhaps the wettest December for three years? Either way - it's bucketing down. Big giant rain drops, all-day-long. It's kind of been nice, or at least; I've enjoyed it.

I took some photos of these beautiful native pods I found on one of our recent walks around our neighbourhood. This photo is just like the weather today. I think anyway.

So with that, I'm off to watch the rain from a soft squishy spot on the sofa and have something sweet and hot. Coffee, chocolate, cake - the possibilities are endless.

Verandah Verandah Verandah

So, what's the story behind the Verandah title? It's all part of the Melbourne / Victoria Etsy Swap.

Participation was voluntary, you could remain anonymous if you wanted, the theme was red and/or green, and the value of the item/s you sent to be around $10.00. I thought it was such an awesome idea, I put my name down, started thinking about what I would send, and also wondered what I would get in the mail too.

And so... one day at work, this little package arrived, and inside it were these lush hand made cards. The cards are divine. The paper is thick, has a beautiful texture, and the rough edges are gorgoeus. They are a tactile and visual delight, as they not only look lovely (the green pattern on one card has gold flecks through it) but they are slightly raised in the pattern. All beautifully presented, and carefully wrapped... and one of the other nice things about getting these cards is that I now now about Verandah! and don't worry! If you haven't visited Verandah yet, now you can too. http://www.verandah.etsy.com/

A really big thank you to SharaLambethDesigns.etsy.com for emailing me, and making all of this possible! It's been such fun!

Small Cluster

I have almost gone blind playing with these shape ideas, but it has been interesting. The multitude of colour combinations is enough to drive any person crazy, let alone the obssessive aspect of structure and design. It's not something I conciously think about, it's just a part of the process. It is what makes it all so interesting (the process of doing it) and challenging.

Aside from driving myself nuts with colour, I've been spending time gardening, acquiring way too much new music (most of which I have not had a chance to listen to over the last month) and more or less, getting a little bit more excited about the holiday festive season.

News I'll be adding this weekend

• 
  
  Special surprises in the mail from an Etsy person
• 
  
  Photos of the special said surprise
• 
  
  And maybe some more rambling about some of my favourite artists and designers

All well and truly good! See you soon!

Letters Series: continued

These two are part of the ongoing letter series. They are not finished works, but explorations and more of a visual journal at this point in time. I thought it may be useful to document the letter series here on my blog, as it happens (more or less) as a way of helping me sort through the mass of possibilities, and it's a nice and organised place to reflect and learn.

Letter Series

Letter I. An illustrated series about letter writing - the old fashioned way. And the fact that I like pattern, and paper.

Sunday patterns

Two patterns to round off the week nicely. I quite like these two together. Imagine a wall in either. Delightful indeed!

Gosh darn it, I'm-a-tagged

I've been tagged by Veronica Darling (see right for a link to her super cool blog) which essentially means I need to do the following, kind of, more or less, minus the tagging other people, because I think I've run out of people to tag over the last few years.

Hmmmm.... (note to self: make more friends...)

So, this is it: Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.

(Should not be too hard to fill the 'boring' category, not sure about the quirky part though...).

one:

Apparently whenever I ask my partner if I look good in something, be that new haircut, new clothes, make up, etc, I tend to put my body into this Frantenstein position where I frump up as much as possible, resembling a pre-historic man with a broken collar bone and bad posture. My neck all but disappears as I shrink into the floor, and my facial muscles are all contorted. (Essentially I think I'm trying too hard not to look OK!) He just looks at me in disbelief and then shows me what I look like. He does a sensational job at mimicking me by the way. He doesn't get why I have this odd behavioural thing, but that's because he's a man. Women are essentially mental!

two:

I'm never completely satisfied with what I create. I have a large collection of paintings I just keep working over and over and over: they will never be finished. It's exciting and rather frustrating all at once - but it's also what motivates me. It's not the end product so much as the process of it all. The thrill of the chase!

three:

My osteopath says I have "loose ankles". I'm not entirely sure what this means exactly, except that they might be loose on account of my falling over constantly, or maybe I fall over constantly on account of the loose ankles. Thankfully my brain does not reside in them, it would be mushy by now if it did.

four:

I collect vintage ceramic pieces made in West Germany. You know the kind - those garish volcano lava looking things with colour combinations like turquoise and aqua with muddy brown, bright orange, yellow... etc. They sometimes have a heavy clunky feel to them. I get very excited when I find one I particularly love.

five:

I need to have a garage sale. There is not much room left to move. It's getting very squeazy in our little house, and I AM a minimalist by nature, contrary to popular belief, alot of my "keeping" of things is not because I'm a hoarder, but an artist. Does that make sense? Probably not... I don't care - I believe it! :)

six:

I am currently obssessed with bright (emerald/apple) green. Green opaque glass beads especially. I can't seem to find the right ones. Big juicy bright green opaque glass beads, so if you're reading this, and know someone out there on the internet that makes rockin' necklaces in this bright green, please put me out of my mistery and let me know.

Thanks for the fun Veronica!

In "Blanket" Love

If you haven't seen Blanket , you're missing out on a whole lot of fantastic!

Blanket is a free PDF art + design + photography magazine that is released bi-monthly. It is aimed at uncovering new, emerging talent from around the world.

Blanket has a website, blog and shop

website: http://www.blanketmagazine.com/
blog: http://www.blog.blanketmagazine.com/
shop: http://blanket.bigcartel.com/






The images above are from the Poster that Blanket has recently produced. It rocks big time! I have one, and it's sexy! You can get your very own at http://blanket.bigcartel.com/product/blanket-poster and feel good about supporting a local Australian publication that brings you art from all over the globe!

My tummy's all -a-knot when I see you.

It's the start of another week - full of promise, love, possibilities, adventure and mysteries to unfold. Of course, I'm kind of smitten at the moment - life is great, I had a gorgeous weekend and I kinda feel like sharing one of my favourite things...


It's a chunky meaty hunk of love knot ring designed and made by Bernice Kelly. To see more, check out thebeside! I love the feel of her shop.

Bernice is awesome, and I love my ring so much I've just bought the knot pendant too. And you know, there is something truly gratifying in knowing I have a real work of art that was cast in wax, sanded and finished by Bernice, not to mention designed from the ground up. Sure beats mass produced any day.


Here are a couple of photos of the ring taken from thebeside shop. Love love love it.


And as you can see, also available in sterling silver.


Mmmmmmm, so delicious!