yuko shimizu

I've been a HUGE fan of Yuko Shimizu's for ages so thought it was time I said something about her here. In my humble opinion, Yuko is an illustration queen! Her gorgeous, playful work above was done for a Canadian mag called Walrus in 2006. Yuko is Japanese but now lives and works in Manhattan and lectures in illustration in a BFA course. She has a press list to die for which leads me to think this woman must never sleep. Read this fab interview with her from illustration friday here. The funniest thing is that she shares the exact same name with the person who created hello kitty and makes a point of saying on her website that if you're looking for that Yuko Shimizu then you've got the wrong person. How excruciating for her.....

And now on to more things Melbourne. As if the Design Festival wasn't enough for all of us there's now the Melbourne Art Fair, which describes itself as 'a biennial trade fair for the exposition of contemporary art in the Asia Pacific region' beginning today. Can't wait to hop on down there and check it out.

illustration art

The very funky Bamakko in North Melbourne (just near Victoria Market) is now stocking a small selection from my range of giclee art prints. These prints were snapped up by Design Market folk last Sunday and so I'm very happy to say they're out and about around Melbourne and not just in my online shop. Giclee is a word (pronounced "zhee-clay") derived from the French language invented to describe the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing. Mizu Designs giclee prints are based on original designs and printed with archival quality pigment inks on acid free, archival, fine art paper. They will last a life time and are packaged flat with sturdy foam core backing and protected by a sleeve of clear wrapping.

Now that I've gotten that bit of shameless self-promotion out of the way let me share some brilliant illustration prowess I found online last night. Nick Dewar is Scottish born but is currently based in Southern Carolina and says on his website that he "no longer has to bathe in his kitchen". I can relate to that statement more than he could ever know! I find the digital print of his above just captivating because of the escapism aspect. Haven't many of us had moments like these at some point?

blue skies

Sunshine at last! Bliss! I've finally been able to photograph some of my prints in natural light today. And sat sunning myself under that deep blue sky while eating my lunch and looking at this lovely pink flower that grows from an even pinker succulent I have in the courtyard.

I'm still a bit fixated with this design and getting it just right before I start carving into a woodblock. I will keep experimenting with the green for a bit.

And having fond thoughts of the Gertrude St gallery crawl I did with feed the dog just last week. Best described by design files like this.

macha green

Work in progress.... I'm designing a new image for a woodblock print and so here are some snippets of how it's progressing. I'm fixated on macha green at the moment. Macha is the finely ground up green tea from Japan used for tea ceremony. It has this wonderful colour I'm always seeking to recreate. My moku hanga teacher in Japan actually used macha tea powder to make ink for printing so that it would be authentic in colour: tea ink!

The Melbourne Design Market was on today and it was jam packed with people and had a great vibe. The Bamakko stall looked amazing! A huge thank you to Ben from Bamakko and also Lara (lara cameron design) and Tim (tu wit tu woo) who staffed the stall all day in that crowd.

circling in red

I've been printing with my lino block winter trees again and I must admit it's been fun experimenting. The winter light is quite poor today so that explains why this photo is a bit dark. But it's fitting really, don't you think, with a winter tree image?

Something interesting from the International Printing Center New York (IPCNY). They're calling for new prints for their Autumn show (that's autumn in the northern hemisphere of course). All the details about the kind of prints allowed and deadlines are here. I feel quite happy to say I even know where the IPCNY is as I searched it out in Chelsea last month when I was visiting New York. It's located in the back of an amazing rabbit warren of a building in the art gallery precinct. It's not easy to find but I did get the sense that they're doing really nice things for artists on a really low/non-existent budget.

And if you're in Melbourne this weekend come along to the Melbourne Design Market and Projekta 57. They're going to be a great events.

dragonfly haiku

A huge thank you to Jacquie from Plump Design for putting together my brand spanking new website ! ! !

And because this post seems to be all about me :) also check out my interview this week on printsy.

mandy renard

This drypoint print by Mandy Renard, another delightful Tasmanian printmaker (go Tassie go!), is so incredibly beautiful I can't wait to see it in person. Look at those gorgeous colours! I was too sick with my cold to go to the opening of Printing Figuratively last night but am hoping when I meet up with the lovely Carmel from Feed the Dog next week (yay she's in town from Sydney for a visit for the Melbourne Design Festival!) that we can incorporate it into a gallery crawl along Gertrude St in Fitzroy. Melbourne winter weather permitting, of course!

figuratively speaking

I'm a huge fan of Tasmanian printmaker Madeleine Goodwolf and so I'm quite excited that her work will be part of a group exhibition in Melbourne from the end of this week called Printing Figuratively at Port Jackson Press in Collingwood. This is one of her etchings titled the turning of winter. Gorgeous! Now if I could just get over this hideous cold/flu I caught a few days so I'm well enough to attend the opening on Thursday night I will be one happy woman.

melbourne design festival happenings

I'm starting to get some of my prints ready to participate in the Bamakko stall on the 20th July at the Melbourne Design Market. It's part of the fabulous Melbourne International Design Festival happening from 17-27th July this year. Each year a lot of really exciting designers, crafters and artisans get together to show and sell their work at this market. Being part of the Bamakko stall is especially exciting because they do so much to promote handmade local products and art in this lovely city. Bamakko's regular shop in North Melbourne (358 Victoria St, North Melbourne) is also going to be part of a fun thing called Projekta 57 during the festival. On 2 Saturdays (19th and 26th July) you can jump on the inner north-west number 57 tram and hop off and visit a whole lot of shops showcasing art, fashion, homewares, furniture etc and meet and talk with some of the people who make the stuff. How cool is that?