fine sticks

I love Staedtler sticks. The fine ones. They are my favourite pen, definitely my favourite ballpoint. Fortunately they cost about 65 cents each, and are even cheaper if you buy them by the dozen. I love to use them in my moleskines (below) and on 'rough manila paper.' That's what this drawing is on (above), at least that is the way it is described on the cover of the pad.

I really like expensive pens, too. I got some letraset pantones for Christmas and they are lovely. But mostly i use them with my stick. My fine fine stick. Or at least one of the 30 or so i've got. Nothing beats a nice ballpoint.

moleskine monster

sketchbook detail, originally uploaded by me-jade.

little monster

little monster drawing, originally uploaded by me-jade.

My computer was broken for about a week, which drove me nuts. Now i am going nuts trying to catch up on everything, especially on flickr.
Some programs need reinstalling, and a lot of my stuff is in strange new places....but i am so happy to have it back. And my USB ports now work - hurrah!

This little drawing is biro and correction fluid.

lazy little monster drawing

sketchbook drawing detail, originally uploaded by me-jade.

I'm kinda working on a little book of drawings like this - might make it as an edition. Probably it will take me a while, other things keep getting in the way. I might even lose interest before it is done...

Click on the image to see things more clearly...

technical trouble insanity

sketchbook page, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Yes it's another bloody sketchbook page.

I finally got my fancy camera and my stupid computer won't recognize it. After buying a card reader, and having that not work, we realized it must be a problem with my USBs.

And now my printer and scanner aren't working either, my computer will not recognize any USB devices. It is all driving me a bit insane. I just want my camera to work and i want it to work NOW.

I am glad it's not the camera with the problem, because it is the most expensive thing i ever bought in my whole life.
Anyways i've got my Uncle coming round tomorrow, I am hoping he can wave some magic wand.....

If it still doesn't work i'm just gonna have to take the photos of my stuff at 4A and download them onto my sisters computer (camera is fine on that) burn a cd and put them on my computer. And i was thinking having my own camera would make documentation much easier. So much for that idea.

Oh yeah, from my experience so far, Canon Australia's online customer support is CRAP. Okay, it is not actually a problem with their product, but i didn't know that at the time, and they still don't know that, and do you think they got back to me within the 2 working days as promised? Of course not. And none of the pages of info or downloads relevant to my camera actually work on their website. Fair enough it is a new product, but they have the links there as though there is something actually there. And it was so hard to find any way of emailing them! I had to work my way through a maze to find their Canon online support query form. Not that it did me any good because of course they have not responded.

another one.

sketchbook page, originally uploaded by me-jade.

sketchbook drawing.
Ball point pen, pencil, correction tape, texta.

open fancy train

sketchbook page, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Opening night went really well, and next week i'll be getting my fancy schmanzy new camera, so photos of the show will be coming soon! But for now just another sketchbook page. Ball point pen, texta, correction tape.
It has been very nice to not have to catch the train to Sydney today. I am tired.

installed!

sketchbook page, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Finished hanging my work at 4A today. Well actually this evening. It has been 3 days of work! Hanging stuff from the ceiling is always a bit tricky, and there were about 60 pieces to hang (not sure exactly), so I spose it is no wonder it was a lot of work.

Today was mostly doing stuff like lighting and labelling, which is a big job in itself. All those dangling sculptures really get in the way when you're moving a ladder around to adjust the lights , not to mention labelling, which, due to the nature of the work had to be on the ceiling. I am kind of suprised we didn't pull anything down.

It is a relief to have it all done. Now i just have to get through the opening night. Back to Sydney for the 4th day in a row. Once again it seems there will be little chance of getting home before 10:30. Oh well.


It is strange to be in such a public place when installing, and even to have my work in such a space. It's not the usual for me. The front of the gallery is just about all glass, and the street is so busy! The Gallery (in Hay street) is between Pitt and George Streets, two of Sydneys major cbd thoroughfares, and a few minutes walk from central station. A lot of people stop and peer inside, and the work is visible even when the gallery is shut. Certainly an odd though pleasing experience for me.

Still no photos, so instead we have another sketchbook page, which is not unrelated to the sculptures. Ball point pen, pencil, collage, correction tape.

another sketchbook page

sketchbook page, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Too busy with the sculptures i'm doing for much blogging, Sydney show installs next week, details coming soon!

Just another sketchbook page; ball point pen, pencil, collage, correction tape. Oh yes, i just 'discovered' correction tape, lovely!

Also just 'discovered' spakfilla, but can't really scan anything i've been doing with that, so we'll just have to wait for the photos.

sketch sculptures

sketchbook page (detail), originally uploaded by me-jade.

Still no photos of the sculptures i'm currently working on, but the good news is i'll be getting my own superduper (not the technical term) digital camera soon and there'll be photos coming out my ears when that happens...my sister will be happy i am sure when i don't have to pester to borrow her camera. But for the moment we are stuck with scans.
Anyways this sketchbook drawing shows the sorts of things i am making with that shredded paper. The sculptures will hang from the ceiling.

another sketchbook doodle

sketchbook page, originally uploaded by me-jade.

drawing book

sketchbook page, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Another moleskine doodle, mostly ball point again. Also some pen and ink, and a bit of colour pencil.

In the drawing you can see the kind of sculptural shapes i'm working with. I don't do much planned preliminary drawing for sculptures, but i find the two are often kind of heading off in the same direction, apparently.
Oh yeah, ignore my whinge about my image looking crap on blog ('unfinished' and 'doodle' post ) i put it back to normal size once it moved below all
the side bar text, so now it's all ok.......i know you must be feeling a great sense of relief for me...

doooooodle

sketchbook, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Well i am rather annoyed at how badly the image in that last posting came up, it looks much better on flickr, so click on it at have a look at it there if you can be bothered.
This is just another dooodle in my moleskine sketchbook, in ball point pen, of course.

another page...

sketchbook drawing, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Another moleskine page. As you can see i really do like those biros.

excercising restraint

sketchbook drawing, originally uploaded by me-jade.

Got some moleskines at the national gallery of Victoria bookshop a few weeks ago when i was in Melbourne....i had never seen one in real life before.
I am using my first one as a kind of excercise in restraint.....most of my work tends to be very textured and heavily worked, so i am keeping it kind of understated, at least for now....
After the large scale complicatedness (is that a word? i spose it should be complexity but i think that is not complicated enough for the meaning) it is nice to be doing something simple and basic, and, well, small. It is a bit like having a little holiday...i have been doing a lot of doodling.
Also, it is not the proper sketchbook moleskine, it's the notebook type
(they are cheaper, and anyway i like the lighter paper, and you get more pages, too) so the paper is no good for heavily worked stuff.

Mostly i have used ball point pen, pencils and a little bit of watercolour in this first moleskine. I really like biros...the fine ones.