weeds

In my mind, weeds are pretty special. Meg Keating has a whole exhibition on at the moment focusing on this very specialness. It's called Nature Strip and can be seen at MARS Gallery in Port Melbourne until 5th August. Meg's also doing a floor talk on the 21st July if you'd like to hear more about her work. I'll be going along so come say hello.

When I saw Meg's work it reminded me of my own interest in all things weedy. When I was living in Kyoto (Japan) I made this woodblock print, Wallflowers, based on some weeds I fell in love with in my local neighbourhood. To me they were beautiful.

And then I remembered my recent obsession in photographing one kind of weed I saw everywhere in Greece on my trip there last month. I found a great paddock of them in Crete and went crazy with my camera. Fortunately for you I'm only posting one pic here.

I think the information for Meg's exhibition captures the special quality of weeds:

"In the body of work Nature Strip, weeds are presented as graphic silhouettes that are both beautiful and elusive. The motifs hover through thin veils of pearlescent-layered paint on natural beech grounds. They are delicate in their appearances and at times disappear from view. The wildness presented here is ideal and alludes to utopian gardens and serene vistas while the simple motifs are common and ordinary in their depiction." [MARS Gallery]

billie julien

Billie Julien
Autumn 2008
from The Seasons series
synthetic polymer paint, linoprint, watercolour
81.0 x 50.2 cm
Presentation College, Windsor

If you want to be inspired by very talented year 12 students have a look at this year's Top Arts exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (Ian Potter). The lovely thing about this year's show is they seemed to have caught the lino cutting bug :) as there are quite a few very gorgeous prints on display. Like the one pictured here by Billie Julien, who has 2 prints in the exhibition. If in Melbourne it's worth a look. Or just click on the NGV website here to get a taste of the work on display.

emma morrison: figments

Speaking of figs, this little exhibition, figments, is just wonderful. Emma Morrison's prints and paintings at Sixtynine Smith Street Gallery, Collingwood. Her fig etchings are really extraordinary, such wonderful small scale lines and tones. It's on until 14th March and is a real treat for the eyes. Queen is right next door if you need another excuse to pop by and then there are all those little Japanese eateries north of Gertrude on Smith that are also so worth stopping in to enjoy.

rosalie gascoigne

How is it possible that I didn't know about NZ-Australian artist Rosalie Gascoigne (1917-1999) until I saw her exhibition at the NGV today? All afternoon I've been asking myself if I have been living under a rock (this is, of course, very possible). Just look at all this gorgeous work!
Her story is truly inspiring. Self taught as an artist, she had her first exhibition at the age of 57 and then went on to become the first female artist to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale in 1974.

If you live in Melbourne you can see this wonderful exhibition of her work until 15th March.

drown me in petals

I seem to be on a floral wave. Some designs for a new print. And the orange number is a work in progress with a third layer to come.

If you want to gaze at some seriously good design talent make your way over to see Unfold, the RMIT Studio Textiles and Screen Print Design Graduate Exhibition in Brunswick on until 19th December. I made it to the opening night despite having to brave a spectacular thunder storm on the way. Georgina Cranswick's screen printed textiles are just divine as are Monica Shaw's three screen printed works on recycled card. I can't give you more info about either artist as they don't seem to have web links yet. I'm sure it's only a matter of time though.

fishy-ness

More fish on the move. Click on the image to see a bigger version.

A printmaking exhibition that looks worth checking out is Observatory at the Australian Print Workshop on Gertrude St, Fitzroy. It's on til 20th December. Found on printmaker, Bridget Farmer's blog. And her prints are part of the show.

making doo

A few other bloggers have just jolted my memory cells that the new Lamington Drive Gallery in George St, Fitzroy (can you believe I used to live on this very street and now it's gone all funky and popular?) has some amazing work by Niels oeltJen aka Nails being exhibited at the moment (until 11th October). Niels is the creator of this beautiful piece above which is in the exhibition called Making Doo. Lamington Drive is the new gallery space of the Jacky Winter Group. Must go see!

cod pieces and the like

Well I rode my bike down to Port Jackson Press in Collingwood this morning to see Against the Grain. What a gorgeous spring day it is here! Sun is shining, a light breeze, everything is flowering (sorry hayfever sufferers!). The world looks good today. And at the exhibition I fell in love with a cod piece by Rhyll Plant - the gorgeous wood engraving above. The digital image here does not do this print justice I swear!

And I also really liked Georgia Thorpe's sensual tableau III, a woodcut and intaglio print. The exhibition finishes this Sunday so hurry down there.

I'm going outside now to catch some more of that wonderful vitamin d.

unraveling

I had fun making this new giclee print, unraveling, the other day. You can see the full image here.

The good news is I'm almost completely recovered. I can't believe how many people I know have been sick these last couple of weeks. I guess it's the change of seasons that brings this on.

One thing I missed due to being sick last week was the opening of a new woodblock/wood engraving show at Port Jackson Press called Against the Grain. It's on until the 27th Sept at their gorgeous new gallery space in Collingwood so I hope to get there this weekend. It includes the beautiful prints of Georgia Thorpe and this one by Michael Schlitz called urban camper.

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.

lotus moon

I love it when you see an exhibition and something about it, the objects involved, the location, the subject of the exhibition or even the smells connected to it take you right back to another place, or as was the case for me today, another country and another culture. The exhibition I'm talking about is Black robe, white mist: Art of the Japanese Buddhist nun Rengetsu showing at the RMIT Gallery in Melbourne until Thursday this week (sorry about the late notice if you hope to get to it). Otagaki Rengetsu or Lotus Moon was an 18th century Japanese Buddhist nun who made beautiful ceramics (mostly tea bowls and saki cups) and inscribed poetry about love, the seasons, nature, joy, life, sorrow, celebrations on their surfaces. For the exhibition, the verses have been translated into English so you can really sink into the mind of a wonderfully creative woman living more than 200 years ago. The exhibition also includes her calligraphy on elegant scrolls.

I spent a lot of time drinking tea in Japan out of tea bowls that were so beautiful they held me spellbound. And I can say the same about the sake cups I drank from. There is something really earthy and soulful about the ceramics of these everyday vessels in Japan. As I walked through the exhibition today in Melbourne I was teleported back to Japan through the scrolls, poetry and ceramics I saw there. It was deeply moving and made me very homesick for my other home, Kyoto. Go see the exhibition if you can.

Further info about Rengetsu can be found via the National Gallery of Australia at this link.