Happy New Year! I shan’t delve too much into the vernacular of New Year (new beginnings and all that) too much. Here am I sanding down bumps on the wall at Blend(er) Gallery, home of the Joondalup Arts Association (JCAA) of which I am a Board Member. More...
I have been invited to exhibit my latest series of etchings from my “In My End is My Beginning Series,” the concept of which you can read about here at the Edith Cowan University Spectrum Project Space, part of a group exhibition! More...
Is it the case that when you go to a gallery, exhibition or see an artwork you automatically think “What the hell is this?” Yes? Me too. I often jump in with my judgements and decide on the outcome before taking a step back and looking objectively at the whole picture (pun intended). I have learnt a few tips on how to interpret Art which are really thought provoking. I will outline it in four easy to follow steps. It is simple stuff that will make you look at things differently. I think one can apply this way of looking and thinking wider to other parts of our lives as well. More...
A few things have not quite gone to plan over the last few months. I bought a house and had an attempted break in … twice (I’ll save that one for another blog.) For this blog I will document the process that didn’t go quite to plan for my latest set of etchings in the “In My End is My Beginning” Series… More...
Without chaos, there is no order and without order, there is no chaos. They go hand in hand.
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Okay so it has been a while since I have blogged. Reason being that I moved house, had an attempted break in and have been dealing with the jumpiness and paranoia that transpires as an after effect. It got me thinking about Community and Art, and how Art can have a positive influence on bringing communities together.
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I’ve been reading an article on Art in Austral-Asia. The article states that Art within Australia and Asia seems to mimic Art of the US and Europe; that it is quite tame in the majority of cases. Why is that? More...
The 18th Biennale of Sydney is in progress. It is a large event, and one which I imagine takes a huge amount of organisation and logistics to make it the amazing event that it is. I have been reading about the politics of Biennales/exhibitions and thought I’d share a different perspective with you… More...
I am currently working on some pieces on the concept of being foreign to a place or perceived as an ‘invader’ of of sorts. I was born in Kenya as a second generation Kenyan of Indian descent. At the age of 8 we moved to the UK, then I emigrated to Australia in my late 20s. I’ve never totally felt at home or as if I belong… More...
I had dinner with a friend last night which was so much fun. We could go on chatting forever. One thing she asked me was what I wanted to do once I finish my Art Degree. I didn’t have a concise answer… I am not waiting for the piece of paper which I will receive at the end of my degree to show me my way. I’d be a fool to think that it’d all somehow fall into place once I graduate. I am making plans now and being active as a practising artist. No point in wasting time, right? More...
It seems like the word or concept of “Place” is difficult to define and has many meanings; it can be a thing that one senses that is difficult to express in words, or something which is associated with belonging; a possession, or something that has a memory placed onto it. What does this have to do with Art, or even with Artistic License? I’ll tell you… More...
My new series of etchings is titled Seven Stages. It is the most personal work I have done to date. It is about the stages, or depression, that I went through when my dad unexpectedly died. I have 8 sets of prints; each one different as they have been hand painted with watercolour. I intend to donate 10% of the profit I make of the sale of these to a charity/crisis phone line that I volunteered at as a Telephone Counsellor. They are called The Samaritans and are based in Subiaco, Perth. More...
“Dopamine plays a major role in the brain system that is responsible for reward-driven learning… and a variety of highly addictive drugs, including stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine.” [1] Here’s how you can get a dose of it without taking any drugs… More...
I am reading Somerset Maugham’s “Of Human Bondage” at the moment and thoroughly enjoying following the main character, Philip Carey’s, progress through life. Somerset Maugham says that he uses incidents in his life to inform his work; a lot of his work is semi autobiographical…. It got me thinking about my work, I always put an element of my life and my thoughts into it. More...
I am talking about ‘throwing’ in the ceramic wheel work terminology of course! I did a six week evening course a couple of months ago at Central TAFE taught by the talented Elaine Bradley a while ago and have been meaning to write about it. Look at what I made… More...
This week I had brunch with a Canadian friend who told me about her trip back home. It was great to hear her stories! Driving through Tofino, in B.C, she said that she was struck by awe at the sight of the huge 250+ foot cedar trees towering over her along the roadside. She said it made her feel tiny and in wonder at such beauty. It got me questioning what it is about nature and the sublime that we seek so much in our lives… More...
I watched Real Time with Bill Maher last night and his guest, Zambian born, Ms Dambisa Moyo, an Economist and an incredibly erudite lady made a very interesting point about aid to Africa that I hadn’t really considered. She says it is time to turn off the taps of foreign aid for Africa… More...
I am in the 2012 Joondalup Community Art Exhibition!! I am exhibiting a huge, brightly coloured and sticker like digital print of my Psychedelic Gymea Lily that is a 6 foot+ sized native plant to New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of my Digital Oz Mutant Series. More...
I have been busy with university as well as plenty of extra curricular art exhibitions this semester. My intention this year was to start to exhibit my Oz Mutants Series in Perth. My creative project for my Creative Theory unit encompassed one of my art exhibitions. Here I will document and write about the lead up to the art exhibition and the influences I have had for it. For the Wanneroo Art Award, which is a community art exhibition I entered a piece titled ‘Psychedelic Digital Bug’ which is from my digital Oz Mutants series. More...
On the 3rd of June I have an exhibition at Gomboc Sculpture Park! Details here. For this post I want to share my concept and process I used for creating my sculptures for this exhibition and I want to share a promo video I created which shows my process of mass production. More...
