small scale sculpture from salvaged packaging by Kirsty Fletcher
Last year my sister got married.
She married a wonderful crocodile farmer amongst the termite mounds at sunset.
There is not likely to be another wedding in our family and we made this one count.
We celebrated at the races, on the harbour, at the caravan park, out fishing, swimming at Buley, at the markets, all over town and down the track.
For some friends it was their first trip to Darwin and it was a great introduction.
For me it was an indulgent and special re-acquaintance with the town of my childhood.
Darwin is my place for growing up.
It is where I was born and went to school. Where I turned 16 and 21.
It is where I lost my virginity and where I attended my first funeral.
It is the place I rush back to when I can and miss when I am gone.
And now it is where my little sister became a wife as we danced in the dust with the fairy lights and paper stars.
Painting the base for the piece I have been working on about my sister’s wedding. I used bitumen paint through the doilies onto cardboard.
Making more crocodiles…
A mobile of elephants I made from free paint colour sample cards from Bunnings for my sister’s new baby. I have often thought these paint cards look like elephants. The mobile was easy to make so I have attached a template so people can make their own. Would love to see photos if you do make one.
Has been a long time between posts. I have been renovating and painting walls etc at home so haven’t had much time for cardboard. House work is nearing completion so am starting back on a few projects.
Hope everyone had a good end of year break and are settling into 2012.
A group show of artists utilising discarded and recycled materials.
Opens 6pm Friday 4th November and runs until 17th Nov, 2011. Brunswick St Gallery 322 Brunswick St, Fitzroy (opp Bar Open)
See http://bsgart.com.au/indexnext.html (image 4) for more details.
Artists include: Aaron James McGarry, Anita Larkin, Bengamin, Cyndy Smith, Deborah Redwood, Eliza Lawrence, Eve Young, Feedme, Gemma Horbury, James Cuming, Kaff-eine, Kirsty Fletcher, Michal, Natalia Ludmila, Ryan Richter, Skallywag, Tiziana Borghese, Veronica Cay.
… me and some of my crocodile buddies are heading to Fairfield Primary School for their Art 4 All exhibition this weekend. Come and play.
Fairfield Primary School are about to hold their annual Art 4 All weekend. Centered around an art exhibition, there is an opening night on the Saturday and market stalls on the Sunday.
I am going to be making some crocodiles and maybe some birds between 11 and 1 on Sunday 11th Sept. Come by and see the frenzie of cutting and gluing!
For more information see the school’s webpage.
Have just had some work added to this fantastic website, one little loop. It features a selection of creative professionals who are artists and crafts-people in their spare time. The focus is on recycling, upcycling, craft and whimsy.
Thank you Katy.
Have finally got a chance to upload photos of my rats and mice at the Carbon Black exhibition. Most works have appeared in previously in this blog however it was good to see them in a new space and they seemed to sit well amongst works exploring gritty industrial urbanism. This show finished a few weeks ago but the gallery focuses on interesting work by emerging artists and is worth a visit.
Special thanks to all who attended on Wednesday night and to Daniel Barfoot for these excellent crowd photos.
Some overall photos of the exhibition. (They look a little blurry small. They are much much clearer if you click on them.)
I’ll post some pics of last nights opening in the next few days.
Beware
The giant lizards are about to rumble…
Crocodiles fight dragons in a battle to the death.
The prehistoric hero of the river takes on the mythical beast of the sky in a spell-binding, nail-biting bout of fire and water.
These scaly reptiles are both threatening and tamed. In the guise of innocent pull-along toys, swinging pendulums and flying mobiles there is an air of menace. With the glint of evil, a sudden jump and snap, someone could lose an arm.
The exhibition is on June 15 – July 2, 2011 at Red Gallery North Fitzroy. Opening drinks Wed 15th June, from 6 – 8pm.
Almost ready for my new show.
Studies for new piece.
Heads to go with the winged bodies.
Hopefully there will be some finished dragons in the next day or so.
The crocodiles are ready and fighting, the clouds are puffier than ever… now for some dragons.
If you are in Melbourne on Wed 15th June, come along to the opening.
BEWARE – The giant lizards are about to rumble…
Crocodiles fight dragons in a battle to the death. The prehistoric hero of the river takes on the mythical beast of the sky in a spell-binding, nail-biting bout of fire and water.
Gone are ideas of spiders, bitey insects and meat-eating plants. Instead it is lizards all the way. More pics soon.
A trio of angry snapping crocodiles.
First works fully finished for my June show at Red Gallery.
A couple of weeks ago I received 100 of these postcards courtesy of Linden Gallery. If anyone would like one, let me know your mailing address (my email address is under ‘contacts’). Already have a few address from people who are keen, so will try and get these in the post before Easter.
Making a start on works for a new show at Red Gallery in June.
Am looking at wasps and mosquitos, spiders, crocs and trogan cats, plus venus fly traps and pitcher plants. Really a collection of scary flora and fauna that might attack you in your backyard.
off the kerb gallery (on Johnson St, opposite the tote) is about to celebrate its 4th birthday with a group exhbition. Included will be handful of my spinning ‘say it with flowers‘ and ‘mice in love‘ disks.
Opening night: 6 – 9pm Fri 1st April. Exhibiton closes Fri 22nd April.
The exhibition is called ‘Pirate Existence’ and concentrates on works utilising salvaged and found material. Artists have been asked to turn discard refuse and abandoned items into treasure.
I have just completed my kinetic crocodile piece. Five hungry crocs chasing each others tails. The disk is wall mounted and the crocs spin the waterlilies. As they spin they flip back and forth and their jaw snap open and close.
Working on a new project. Will have some photos of the finished creatures in the next few days.
Fitzroy land snail
Mesodontrachia fitzrotana
Am putting this project on hold for the moment. Really happy with these little endangered snails but rest of the project got a bit ugly!
The new gallery, Dear Patti Smith, located on level 2 of the Patterson building on Smith St, Fitzroy is preparing for the 2nd in a series of 3-day exhibiton events. I am having some issues with links, so for more info copy and paste: http://www.dearpattismith.com/index.php?/documentation/20113-day02marshelved/
Will get these integrated asap.
The exhibition:
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SHELVED
open march 3, 4 + 5, 12-6pm
opening function thursday march 3, 6 – 8pm
It’s on the shelf in the studio. Occasionally it catches the eye from its place in the corner.
Its an object of intrigue that never grew or one of those dead-end tangents.
Perhaps it was part of the process or didn’t make the exhibition cut.
…yet it lingers…
‘Shelved’ is a collection of these works.
Anonymous and untitled – these works sit beside their fellow misfits
and beautiful dead-ends. Collectively they allude to aspects of the artist process
and experience ordinarily undeserving of exhibition.
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With works by: Adam John Cullen, Ai Yamamoto, Anna Gilby, Anna White, Ben Shepard, Bill Sampson, Brandon Hocking, Candice Cranmer, Carmen Reid, Charles Anderson, Clare Rae, Cristo Crocker, David-Ashley Kerr, Fiona Williams, Giancarlo Belviso, Hamish Innes-Brown,iredale pedersen hook, Isabelle Legge, Jemma Clark, Jeremy Bakker, Jon Butt, Jonathan Leahey, Kelly Wells, Kieran Stewart, Kiron Robinson, Kirrily Hammond, Kirsty Fletcher, Lauren Brown, Little Wonder, Louise Harper, Louise Rippert, Marika Nilsen, Michael Roper + Dan Demant, Michael White, Openhaus, Paul Gurney, Paul Mares, Paul Meates, Pippa Makgill, Rachel Ang, Rob Miller, Ross Brewin, Rozalind Drummond, Sam Stewart, Sarah Deed, Stuart Bailey, Stuart McAdam, Tai Snaith, Tim Schork/ Mesne, Toby Horrocks, Todd Anderson-Kunert, Tom Morgan, Tom Nicholson, Will Eicholtz
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I have submitted my metal and cardboard ballerinas which have thwarted me on more than one occasion and have been sitting in the rainy day pile.
For those not so interested in art, but familiar with the Patterson building, come along and see what has been done with the space. It looks fantastic. Very different to this original photo I found in the State Library’s collection: old Pattterson furniture store (circa 1905).
Here is a photo of the original picture disc by Thomas Mann Bayne for Joseph Plateau’s Phenakistiscope and my ‘Winged tribute‘ piece finished. The original picture disk is a part of the Werner Nekes collection which has all sorts of early illusion and animation pieces. The The images of the phenakistiscopes (picture disks) are located under ‘Gallery’ and then ‘Photos of the collection’.
I have yet to do some spinning experiments to see if I need to make any modifications to achieve the animation effect but am hoping it will work. I have tracked down an internet animation of the original wheel. If you scroll down to the thrid image on the left and click on the bottom right wheel you can see the rats running out of the central holes, across the disk and over the edge.
Carta Mista
Paper: various works, varied uses…
A group show on at Anita Traverso Gallery untill the end of Feb 2011.
Included with works by Susan Buret, Nicola Moss, Onerva Utriainen, Stefan Gevers, Kim Barter, Michael Coyne, Pamela Rataj, Jenny Bolis, Jessica Wong and John Bodin are my 3D works ‘For the Love of Shoes… ‘ and ‘Spencer and the Fish‘.
It is an eclectic, calm and crafted exhibition. My favourite works are the large, organic, geometric, mixed media pieces by Susan Buret, Michael Coyne’s photo of Brett Whiteley, Stefan Gevers’ watercolour caravans and the large paper cut of birds and plants, ‘Searching for Sanctuary‘ by Nicola Moss.
A mouse plague exploded in my house this summer and to make matters worse they are enjoying themselves. They are in love and dancing and spinning their little hearts out.
Exhibition is currently on at Brunswick St Gallery, Fitzroy but closes this Thursday, 17th Feb at about 4pm.
This piece didn’t get finished in time to make it into the BSG show. Will finish it in the next few weeks anyway. It is a 3D versions of a spinning / picture disk where, when spun, rats run out of holes and accros the page. Here the rats also grow wings and fly away. Will post a picture of the orginal with the finished work.
These mice are actually finished and installed in the Brunswick Street Gallery, however I haven’t had a chance to photograph the finished exhitibition so thought I’d blog a few more ‘mice factory’ images. Plus they look so cute and naked all prone and in a line. As with the flying mice I really like these guys half finished and layed out like a taxidermy project. The 3 who look like they are wearing bright coloured underwear are the ballerinas (or ‘mouserinas’ as a a friend brilliantly dubbed them) and the others end up as garland dancers. Promise to blog finished photos soon.
The Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts’ annual postcard show opened on Saturday. There was a great turn out and over 1800 pieces, from about 1600 artists on display.
The prizes were also announced and I am very proud to report that my ‘itty bitty kitty machine‘ was awarded one of the 6 postcard awards. Expect to see tiny kittens made from metcards on postcards across Melbourne later this year. I will recieve 100, so if you are not in Melbourne (or want to make sure you get one) let me know and I will mail them once they are printed.
Also in the exhibition is the prototype ‘lucky cat’ from my Cats and Mice show last year at Red Gallery. The post card show runs untill the 26th of March and is well worth the visit. Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts is at 26 Acland St, St Kilda.
Tissue boxes, metcard, postcards and chrissie cards made into mice.
