Breaking News: Recluses Venture Outside

Here's some pictures of a wall I pasted some of my drawings onto. The wall is located out the front of ARThive Gallery, 111 Hunter St, Newcastle. Come see it!
Ps. Thanks to my handsome assistant for helping me paint and paste in the hot, hot sun!

Soft Space Collect

Daniel Smith has started a super cool online art store called, Soft Space Collect. It features some of my ceramic pieces and also some drawings from my beau, Grant Hunter. The work of some other wonderful artists are there too, including Daniel himself, so go check it! It's being updated regularly and I'm sure it will grow into something amazing.
The scoundrels pictured below are Phillip and Stephen, a couple of my porcelain pieces that are for sale in the store.

Edie Bouvier Beale

Another print from the recluses series, this time of Edie Bouvier Beale. If you wanna know more about her, a documentary was made in 1975 by Albert and David Maysles called, Grey Gardens. There's far too many wonderful things to write about her here so just go watch that, you won't regret it because it's amazing.

Henry Darger

I'm officially finished Uni forever and I cant stop listening to posi hip hop. Also, here's a screenprint I did of Henry Darger as a part of my current body of work on recluses. Henry became famous for his posthumously-discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called  In the Realms of the Unreal which includes The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, and extends over 15 immense, densely-typed volumes. The text is accompanied by three bound volumes of several hundred illustrations, scroll-like watercolor paintings on paper, the work of six decades, derived from magazines and coloring books. In addition, Darger wrote an eight volume, 5,084-page autobiography, The History of my Life; a 10-year daily weather journal; assorted diaries; and a second work of fiction, provisionally titled Crazy House, of over 10,000 handwritten pages. He also went through a lengthy phase of feeling compelled to make strange noises which irritated others.

RATS!

Lately I've been quite excitedly working on a body of work inspired by recluses.  I'll post the finished works soon, but for now, here's a sneak peak at some camera phone photos of the line drawings that will end up as hand coloured screen prints!



Drawing Time!

I recently completed a series of works on porcelain and here's a shiny photograph of some of them! This is the first time I have used porcelain and although it was kinda annoying at times it was also really fun. It's nice to start from scratch and actually create the surface you are about to draw on. These guys hang on the wall but you could also eat your dinner off them! (wooooah!) They are going to be on display at Gaffa Gallery in Sydney from Wednesday 7th Spetember (Opening -Thursday 8th September) as a part of the Drawing Time exhibition curated by Daniel Smith. If you are in Sydney you should go check it out because there's some totally awesome artists from both Newcastle and Sydney involved.

Memo To Myself


I came up with this rabbit creature last year for an exhibition I curated entitled 'Sticky Fingers.'  It happened at the same time as This Is Not Art, so lets say I did it in September 2010.
Also around this time I was really obsessed with the idea of getting a pet rabbit and all I could think about were rabbits, placing bids on rabbit mansions at The Tender Centre and obtaining a rabbit of my own. I had my heart set on getting an amazing brown Rex rabbit named Rambo (featured in the photograph below) who had exquisite fur and a rare condition causing his head to tilt sideways at all times. All in all, he appeared to be a bundle of fantastic and I would have totally loved having him around. Obviously I wasn't the only person who felt this way and he found another home one day whilst I was doing something other than acquiring rad pets.
Rambo now belongs to a stranger so sadly I'll never get to see him but, my drawing belongs to my friend, Sarah, so I get to see that whenever I visit her. 


People Need Dramatic Examples

I drew this in my boyfriend's sketchbook a while ago and found it today. It's quite obviously a variation on my standard t-shirt wearing boy/girl. This time he features blue lips and a big lemon yellow eye. Hooray!

And Her Head Has No Room..



Hand Coloured screen print from January, 2010. This one is about losing everything, wearing t-shirts and feeling weird. I recall doing the drawing whilst watching the babe fest that is, Personal Velocity and feeling annoyed. I haven't had a photograph of it until now, and it is too big to scan, so although this is not a great photograph it will suffice for now. It's also totally for sale. So you should buy it! Then I can get a DSLR again and take photographs of every piece of artwork me and everyone around me has and will ever create. Ever.

Hellride





I projected some drawings onto the bodies of my friends and photographed them. This is what they looked like. Thanks for being awesome Eva, Jayde and Grant! 
Sometimes.. I wish Wesley Willis was alive and lived in Newcastle and had an exhibition at ARThive. Maybe he'd get really bored though. Stop being boring Newcastle.

Brosef



Here's a drawing I just finished of Austria's favourite dad, Josef Fritzl.
Thanks to Josef, I met my life partner, Rose Turner and discovered my favourite biscuits in the whole world!

She Likes To Stare and Never Thinks About Tooth Related Metaphors




Today I had the day off so I cleaned up the desk in our bedroom and decided to throw out all of the old pens and textas that no longer work. I set about checking which ones were destined for the bin and ended up drawing a little scribble of my kitten friend, Amy . (Yes I'm heaps lame/ Frank Grimes/ 90years old) NB. I also went to a church sale.
Anyway, this is what it looks like. I played around with it on the computer a little bit because I have a magic pen that can do that sort of thing. It kinda turned into a blurred mess of colour but that's ok!

Seven


This is another print from the 'Why Wednesday?' slash 'Every Boy Always, Always' seriessss of drawings slash screen prints I created last year.
I've been meaning to upload this for ages but most of the time Id rather watch movies and hang out with the awesome cat and boy I live with. Here it is anyway.. I think its some kind of happy skull face day dreaming about rockets, love and the number seven or something.
This one is available to buy in print form from my Society6 shoppe too!

Half Hollenback




This is the painting I came up with for the 'Alternate Woodland Critter Evolution Fan Fiction' exhibition curated by my buddy Logan Knight, a little while ago. Along with the artwork, each artist was required to write a short story (see below) I sold this work last week at the Art & Design Market in sunny Wollongong and so it shall be frightening small children from the walls of the delightful Mia's house forever more. Mia also had a stall at the market that was much less offensive than ours so be sure to check out her lovely blog HERE.

A word from the rabbit:

I guess I started to collect teeth because I liked the sound they would make when I gently disturbed them in their glass jar.
Holding each one up to the light, I visualise its internal anatomy.  All those tiny nerves- fragile, feathery tendrils.  The root canals- vessels that lay deep within the tooth, all hiding under the shiny shell like passage ways to dark, secret places.
I bury them all underneath the forest floor in labeled jars.
I dig the damp soil with my new claws. I treat it like a personal underground Wunderkamer. There’s a collection down there. 
My new signs of evolution- the fur, teeth and claws are all telling me I will soon be living in dark tunnels for good.  
I won’t need t-shirts anymore.

I took some photos of cats

My buddy Jayde gave me a super pretty Holga for my birthday last year because my digital SLR fell off a cliff and died and I kept sulking about not being able to take photographs of anything. I was so happy when I opened the present I nearly cried. Sadly, there is not a photo of this.
Anyway, now I have a camera so I can take photographs all day and night (I just purchased a flash) if I want to, so suck eggs.
Here are some photographs from my first roll of film.




Beep

Another print from the 'Why Wednesday' series. This little gingham sweetheart belongs to my buddies Nici and Sean at the wonderful Blackbird Corner.

Every Boy Always, Always



This little boy belongs to the very talented Rebecca Holmes and is a silk screen print from the 'Why Wednesday' series of drawings I did last year.
This time we see them get a bit wild and adventure onto a fabric surface- gosh!  I prefer this to the gold prints I uploaded a few months ago because to be honest I hate pretty much anything that is gold. I think I only printed on gold paper because the art shop at uni had it on sale and I have no money and also because I'm sometimes attracted to things that are gross.

 

The Novocastrian Files Q&A


Wanna read about me shamelessly promoting the people and things I love? Well here's a little Q&A I did for a website called The Novocastrian files. There's lots of other great interviews and general cool Newcastle stuff if you get a bit bored reading about me! The interview is below but you really should go check out the site if you haven't yet!

Condensed CV:
I was born in Newcastle in 1986. I grew up in a small town in the Hunter Valley called Mulbring. I moved to Newcastle nearly two years ago. I’m currently in my final year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at The University of Newcastle, one half of design duo, Grey Gardens and helping to run ARThive Gallery.


What has been your most memorable project?
Probably the very first stationery set I created with Rose under the name Grey Gardens. We spent ages doing preen release prints, stitching them onto paper and envelopes, tying them up with matching ribbons and hand typed tags telling everyone who we were. We sold them at the This Is Not Art Zine Fair and have never really looked back. Since then we’ve had heaps of market stalls culminating in creating our own market- Young & Baroque (details below)  and selling our wares in both Blackbird Corner and a lovely shop in Wollongong called Milk Thieves.

What would be your dream project?
I guess it would be to run my own shop space that would be large enough to paint, draw, sew and print alongside my friends as well as being able to sell and display Grey Gardens projects and the creations of the many talented people I know.

Considering it’s a dream project the shop could also have an abundance of tea and pets and music and movies and burgers and Dr Pepper and love and could magically float between Australia, Iceland and Japan as I see fit.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I don’t really feel as though I’ve achieved a great deal.. yet! However, the success of Young & Baroque has made me believe that the dream of opening my own shop one day is a little more attainable which I suppose is a small step towards a great achievement.

What is your most treasured possession?
That’s a difficult question, probably old photographs of my family, my dogs Taj and Stella and my new cat, Amy Wong.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?
I don’t really have any typical days making art but I work as a dental assistant so I can afford to create art and live. This typically involves looking in the mouths of strangers, helping dentists either fix or pull out teeth, devising fictional stories about patients to help me get through the day and staring at things. Volunteering at ARThive Gallery, going to uni and making art isn’t work at all!


What is your most valuable pearl of wisdom gained since starting your business?
Start a blog! Mine isn’t very special at all but it’s a super way to show your work to the world and if nothing else it’s a great online space to store and document your images and history.

Where do you derive creative inspiration?
Coffee

Which other designers, artists or creative people are you most inspired by at the moment?
Barry McGee, Maira Kalman, Daniel Clowes, Ed Templeton, Herakut, Anthony Lister, Zak Smith, Ears, Arlene Textaqueen, Sam Kieth, Tom Hovey.


What are some of your favourite websites or blogs?
There are so many so I’ll try to limit it to just a few!
Hello Sandwich is a really great blog. She is a fantastic Australian designer living in Shimokitazawa- my favourite place in Japan so I really love looking at her photos!
Julia Pott has a great blog featuring her drawings and animations. I’m also really fond of Mike Foxalls X-ray Studios, Doodlers Anonymous, Pikaland, the website of Matthew Gray Gubler, Square America, Fecal Face a and my buddy Nick has a great blog called ipatyourdog.

I’m constantly inspired by my friends at ARThive Gallery and some of them just happen to have some great blogs too, so check them out if you can- Jessica Louttit, Rose Turner, Logan Knight, Grant Hunter, Lance Johnson, Adam Clough and Jenna Gill- we have some super exhibitions coming up this year!

Apart from your work, what other interests, passions, hobbies do you have?
Books, comics, cartoons, movies and nerdy things I guess. I also have a predisposition to collecting things; mostly kitsch 1970’s home wares but I also collect bread tags, spoons, books, brooches and DVDs. I have the beginnings of so many collections but luckily I’m able to stop myself..sometimes. I’m about to start studying Japanese this year which should be fun!

How long have you been a Novocastrian?
Twenty Four years.

Newcastle in a word?
Shock

What do you love and hate about living in Newcastle?
Hate-
The fact that there are two kfcs on one street and one of them is the biggest one on earth or some junk
The violent idiots that come out at night
Parking meters
Love-
The fact that almost anyone can try almost anything with considerable ease.
Most creative pursuits can be catered for in Newcastle, this can’t be said for most cities.
Carrington Bridge.


How is Newcastle different to anywhere else?
There’s a variety of reasons really but I think one of the most distinct features is the Renew Newcastle project. Most artists and creative types in other cities fight to gain a small shop or space to call their own and Newcastle has ample empty buildings that are ideal for artists and actually attainable.

Where are your favourite places in Newcastle / Hunter to:
 + eat
Oasis Pide (55 Beaumont St, Hamilton). That place is open nearly 24/7 and they put up with so much crap from drunkards and still manage to make the best pide ever! If you actually want to sit down indoors whilst eating I’d say Govindas (110 King St, Newcastle). Fayes Cakes (177 Nelson St, Wallsend) for treats!

+ drink
There are so many great coffee shops- Suspension (3 Beaumont St, Hamilton), Sprocket (68 Hunter St, Newcastle), Estabar (61 Shortland Esp, Newcastle), Rolador (1 Beaumont St, Hamilton) and especially One Penny Black (cnr Hunter & Morgan Sts, Newcastle).

+ shop
Blackbird Corner (70 Darby St, Cooks Hill) and Islington Markets (Wickham Park, Albert St, Wickham, last Sunday of the month) and Adamstown Lions Markets (cnr Gelebe & Brunker Rds, Adamstown, every Sunday 7am-12pm) for clothes, home wares and miscellaneous items, Vox Cyclops (515 Hunter St, Newcastle) for music and Rice's Bookshop (699 Hunter St, Newcastle West) and Cooks Hill Books (72 Darby St, Cooks Hill, enter via Queen St) for books.

+ play
  Croatian Wickham Sports Club

+ relax
Bike rides through the secret mangrove maze at Carrington and picnics in the park. If I want to relax for real I go visit my Mum and dad in Mulbring, there’s animals and trees and its super pretty!

What is Newcastle / Hunter’s best-kept secret?
ARThive Gallery! (L1, 111 Hunter St, Newcastle) Its hiding in one of the little lanes off Hunter Street and lots of people still don’t know we exist so I guess that makes us a secret to some! A secret you can quite easily get in on! Do it!