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?

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.

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?

printsy interview: marissa buschow

Printsy is the name of a new flickr group for printmakers who have an etsy shop. That is, printmakers working with techniques such as intaglio, relief, screen printing, lithography and monotypes.  And printsy now has its own blog: Printsy: printmakers of etsy. Printsy members are in the process of interviewing each other about their various backgrounds and printmaking processes. The first interview is up on the new blog and is with Marissa Buschow,  also known as fustian on etsy. This is her lovely woodblock print titled 'fox sparrow'. I'm particularly excited to learn that Marissa also works in the moku hanga (Japanese style woodblock printing) tradition. The interview is a great read. 

And a little note here to say that some of my woodblock print and kimono fabric cards are now available at the gorgeous Bamakko in North Melbourne. Bamakko stock hand made products from a range of Melbourne designers and artisans. The shop is a delight to visit.