inspections

I am still alive. For quite a while there I was very busy doing things so extraordinarily mind numbingly banal and tedious that i will not speak of them anymore, except to say that they involved cleaning, real estate agents, excel spread sheets and tax. These are a few of my least favourite things, needless to say.



The exhibition at Gallery 9 really went extremely well, to my amazement, with most of the work finding good new homes. Some is even going to London.
It was so nice to have my work in such a beautiful space, and to work with such good people. I have lots more photos here, including works-in-progress pictures. And i have added added some to my website, too, and will add more when i get a chance.



I am off to Nowa Nowa tomorrow, in East Gippsland, for two weeks, as The Long Now resident artist. I'll be doing an installation in part of an unoccupied house as part of Open For Inspection, in collaboration with the local community (hopefully!), and my sister Rhiannon, too (she is very good with paper and things, and a very good artist). I am really looking forward to actually getting there, rather than just preparing; there has been lots to pack, and organise, and think about. Some more about what i'll be doing here.



And here is Open For Inspection the blog

filling space

Here are some more photos of what i'm making for the show in August. Not long to go now!

Got the keys to my new studio at the gallery on Monday. I had planned to wait till after the Darlinghurst show to really move my stuff in there, just because of the time involved (i need all the time i can get right now!) but yesterday i caved. I just couldn't resist all that empty space.



Also, i was a little frustrated by the lack of space to put the sculptures together. They take up quite a bit of room when assembled, and so i was having to take them apart at the end of the day because they made it difficult to get in and out of the studio. But, thanks to my dear Mother and her car, i've got the space to set them up, and leave them that way for as long as i like.




It felt a bit ridiculous driving from the old studio to the new one, they are only a block apart, perhaps 150 metres. But it would have taken me hours to move all that stuff on foot (what i really need is a shopping trolley. Not those little ones you can buy, but a full size supermarket one! But then i'd have to put that somewhere) It still took a while, though; there are stairs at both ends.



I'm looking forward to showing some works on paper along with my sculptures, it's often just been the sculptures that i've shown in recent exhibitions. Often in group shows there's far more space in the middle of the gallery than on the walls.




And here is a photo of a crazy tangle of sculptures in my studio (the old studio, that is; will have pictures of the new one soon).

not talking about it

The main thing i'm working on at the moment is something i really don't feel like talking about. Probably because it's driving me a little nuts. But it's under control. I think.
So instead here's a couple of other things.



Above is a new drawing. Ball point pen, pantone letraset markers and white ink.



This is a drawing installation i'm working on. I plan to make it pretty big. It's in early stages, and is 'installed' rather roughly on the wall of my studio. There are many possibilities for different arrangements of the parts. And there will be many more parts before i'm finished with it.
I started it when at Bundanon, slowly it is growing.

It is larger than the photos show, but i have no decent photo of the whole thing. Which reminds me, i'm getting a new lens soon. I actually got a new camera the other day, just a 'point and shoot' digital. Unfortunately a DSLR is not that great to carry around. At least when you're like me and are always carrying a heap of stuff anyway. It is great for documenting artwork, though.

My new camera fits inside a soapbox, with which i have made a case for it (i added some padding etc). Unfortunately the memory is yet to arrive, i can only take about 5 pictures with the supplied SD card. Hopefully Tuesday.

white ink

From a small series of small drawings i've been working on, white ink and other things on paper. I 'discovered' white ink fairly recently and it's really nice to use on a dark surface. Used a nib for these.
Only problem with the white ink is that the pigment seems to be very heavy, so you've gotta really shake the bottle really really well, much more than with other inks, at least that i've used.
Maybe this varies among brands. I don't know, it's the first bottle i've ever had.

These are actually on decent quality drawing paper (nothing flash, but it's not bad). I have this weird thing where my drawings often turn out better on crappy paper. Maybe the better quality is intimidating or something, I really don't know.
But i quite like these, at least for now. Though i'm not sure that they are finished. Often i don't know if something's finished till it comes time to show it or part with it or whatever.

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.

sketchbook slideshow

outgrowths

., originally uploaded by me-jade.

New drawing / monoprint. More on website.

float

,, originally uploaded by me-jade.

New drawing - collage .

website!

I have a website! Besides Spectrescope, of course. Needs a bit of work, but it will probably always be a work-in-progress. And here's a sketchbook page, just because a post with no picture is no good!

decay and breakdown

from 'the decay and breakdown of formal structure and its reinvention', originally uploaded by me-jade.

Detail from a series of works on paper 'The Decay and Breakdown of Formal Structure and its Reinvention.' Collage, acrylic, ink, correction tape and fluid, pens, pencils, machine stitching etc.

stuffed drawings etc.

To make these stuffed drawings i put fabric in an embroidery hoop, draw on it with various things - pen and ink, other kinds of pens and pencils and ink washes. Then i cut the shapes out, sew on a backing and stuff them and sew some more.

I like the way they make the drawing tactile and 3D - like some kind of toy. Making things can be a lot like playing a game or solving a puzzle.

The little origami box has a piece of origami stitched inside. The top left piece is cardboard and collage etc.

moleskine monster

sketchbook detail, originally uploaded by me-jade.

little drawings together

drawings, originally uploaded by me-jade.

most of these started as monoprints. The drawing is mostly biro, some pencil and some correction fluid.

kind of new studio and monoprint drawing

monoprint drawing, originally uploaded by me-jade.

This is a monoprint with biro, pencil, correction fluid. I have really been enjoying monoprinting lately, after not doing any for quite a while.

A week ago I took over the lease on the studio I have been sub-leasing, in order to avoid losing it altogether (with about 3 days notice – I was very anxious about it all for a while there ). I am so pleased with how it has all worked out – I have more space now, and it seems to me much more like a proper studio. I have been painting the walls white (they were a green colour which wasn’t that bad but not so good for a studio) and rearranging things. And I got a little fridge! Such luxury…

I loved my studio before but I really really love it now. It is funny that small things can make a big difference.

I will post some studio pictures soon.

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...

collage drawings

Click on the pictures for decent images.

The pieces are A4 size.

new sketchbook page

from sketchbook, originally uploaded by me-jade.

From a new sketchbook - a squared moleskine. I've been using a bit of grid paper lately.

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.