the art goes on

Byzantium Lady, 2012 collaborative work by Pearl and Rodney Swansborough

I finished the Byzantium Lady yesterday and Rodney put it on a stretcher this morning. Now finished it measures 72x49cm. I am really pleased how she turned out, very exotic!

The Murrurundi Arts Council has invited me to do an art workshop next year, probably around March/April so I will teach something based on this mixed media portraiture method. It will be a 2 day weekend workshop being tutored in the techniques I've developed to embellish a portrait of your choice. Students will learn how to layer and combine paint, stencilling, machine embroidery and applique to create an image on canvas. Let me know if you are interested and I'll file your contact details and send the full information about costs and enrolment early next year.

Rodney has created another wild and intriguing face for me to embellish which is gazing expectantly at me from the wall of my studio... but today I thought I'd make some journal covers. We are taking our art to another Art Bazaar event, at Civic Park in Newcastle on the first Saturday of December. I wanted to make some less expensive items than our canvases.

I made this lovely slipcover for an A4 size visual art diary

The image on the cover is a digitally manipulated image I made about 2 years ago (I submitted it to USA publication "Pasticcio Quartz" and they published in their mag 2010)

The image was printed on canvas, embellished with some decorative stitching over it with the machine and then mounted it on some canvas I'd stencilled. However, all that took 5 hours and Rodney pointed out to me that for what somebody might be likely to pay for it, I'd be better off  working on embellishing the large canvases. Men are so practical... but I see his point, so I'll ditch the other journals I was planning to work on and tomorrow get down that lady who looks so pointedly at me.....

Byzantium Lady

I'm still struggling to get back into a regular habit of blogging. The five months I had off work while my broken ankle was mending was an extraordinary "break" for me....silly pun intended. Apart from the obvious frustrations of the physical pain and mobility limitations I put the time to very practical use and got a lot of art done!

Then with Spring arriving a few months ago I've been preoccupied with gardening and getting as much new garden established as possible before Summer kicks in.

Rodney and I finally got back to making some new art a week ago. He did this wonderful face and I've been working on embellishing it. Heres a picture of the end of the first day working on it and another from yesterday. It is almost done, I just want to continue the dangling motifs down the left side of the face.

Rodney really loves those red lips.....I wonder what that means? ...something about Baboons bottoms comes to mind....?

Byzantium Lady, nearly finished, just a few more of those dangling motifs down the left side of the face, I think

I was thrilled and amazed that within minutes of Rodney putting this work on his facebook page we had an enquiry to buy. The person will come and look at it this weekend when its finished.

More of Melbourne

A building cupola viewed from a train platform at Flinders St Station

There is a lot of street art in Melbourne, which is legal and fostered by the authorities as a tourist attraction. It adds wonderful atmosphere to the laneways. Rodney and I also spent half a day shopping in Brunswick and felt at home in the "bohemian" environment. We had lunch in an alfresco street bar with a delightful jug of sangria.

Plastic people in a shop in Brunswick

Graffiti in the laneways

It is Rodneys and I first wedding anniversary coming up on 11th November. We meet in March 2008 and this was our first ever holiday away together.

Ned in Brunswick, observing the shoppers

rumours of my demise have been exaggerated

Hi dear readers!

I'm back!

Rodney and I took a holiday for 8 days in Melbourne and we had a wonderful time. I've never spent any time there so it was all a revelation to me. I can understand why Melbourne forcefully maintains to have the "cultural" edge over Sydney. Discovering and exploring the "laneways" was a highpoint that involved many hours of intriguing exploration. Strangely enough, they rather reminded me of the backstreets of New Delhi, just not as winding and considerably cleaner (the lack of open running sewers is always an aesthetic and olfactory plus).

Another wondrous afternoon of exploration was our visit to the magnificent Botanic Gardens. The restoration of Guilfoyles Volcano has been a splendidly commendable addition to the garden. Rodney and I are both enthusiastic gardeners so we found this really exciting.

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 Heres a few pictures, more to follow another day plus a little background history about this fabulous project.

Hand stencilled book covers

The next part of my guidelines for stencilling will come out soon. I've been working all week on writing up the instructions and taking pictures to include. Along the way I designed and made these book covers to show other ways that the stencilled fabrics can be used.

Book covers made from hand stencilled fabrics

the "Dream" book opened out

the "Frida" book opened out

When folded closed the lower book measures 18x25xm and the green covered book behind it is 23x31cm. The larger cover slips onto a standard spiral bound A4 size visual art diary. For the smaller book I made some holes in the spine and used a bunch of fibres to tie in some blank cartridge paper pages. Inside the covers of both books I stamped fabric and sewed them on to form pockets that hold loose papers and pens.

book opened out showing pockets to hold papers and pencils

I'm going to offer the pattern and instructions for making the book covers as a download for $12.

Alternately you may purchase the design as a kit which contains - written instructions (same as available for download) PLUS 2 pieces of my hand printed stencilled fabric, fabric for lining, a handmade closure button and stamped fabric pieces for the outside motifs and inside pockets.

I will offer the kit in 4 colour themes : 1)  black, white, ochre (like the "Frida" book shown above)
                                                         2)  Brights with green and red (like the "Dream" book shown above)
                                                         3)  Brights with pink and purple
                                                         4)  Darks with orange and turquoise

Including postage within Australia this kit will be $39. For any country outside Australia add $6.

To purchase either the pattern or kit you'll need to contact me via email at pearl@upstairs-art.com.au to arrange payment by Paypal and give me your postage details. I'm also happy to discuss alternate colour options for the kit if you have some special project in mind.

The Mermaid's Closet: Butterflies, Stencils & Tattered Angels

The Mermaid's Closet: Butterflies, Stencils & Tattered Angels

Part one of stencilling project

In the next 2 weeks I'll be outlining some technical information on how to do my method of stencilling. So as not to barrage you with a huge amount of information in one go the instructions will arrive divided into 4 parts. To be posted twice a week (if I'm organised!).

This is the first instalment with some general background information.

What is stencilling?


It is the technique of pushing paint through a pattern cut out of a thin material. The positive areas of the material become a "mask" preventing the paint from contacting the surface and the negative areas that are cut out - referred to as "cells" - allow the paint to contact and bond to the underneath surface.

an acetate stencil lying on a painted canvas

Modern day stencils are generally made from white or clear acetate plastic. Stencils may also be hand cut from sheets of acetate plastic with an artists scalpel or small sharp scissors. Stencils must be made from waterproof material as they need to be resistant to acrylic paint and washable in water.

Materials and equipment needed


Surface to print on:
You can potentially stencil on a wide range on materials and surfaces such as fabric, all types of paper, walls and timber. In this class I'll be using artists cotton canvas which is widely available from suppliers of art materials.

Paint:
*  I'll be using the "Matisse" brand acrylic paint I have on hand in my studio. Its not necessary to buy special types of paint. Good quality acrylic paint of any brand is fine. You might have problems getting good opacity with "student" colour as that type of paint has low levels of pigment.
*  I almost always mix colours straight from the tube with a portion of white paint before printing as this hugely improves the opacity of the paint.
*  For this class you'll need a minimum of 4 paint colours and as many as 10 for printing plus a tube of white acrylic paint.


Brushes:

Brushes, sponges and paints I use for stencilling

You can buy special stencil brushes but I don't use them and don't think they are necessary. I actually prefer brushes that are rounded rather than flat cut across the bristles, as true traditional stencil brushes are. It is fine to use sponges too. Sponges work well when the stencil cells are large but are too difficult when they are small and fine. In these lessons I recommend to use stiff bristled round brushes.

Other equipment needed:


*  Stencils
*  bucket of water
*  soft cloth for wiping stencils, such as an old face cloth or tea towel
*  tin foil, to use as a disposable palette
*  large paintbrush to prepare the background, like a 3" house painting brush
*  palette knives or popsicle sticks for mixing paint
*  optional, if you want to experiment with making your own simple hand cut stencil - overhead projection marking pen and 1 or more A4 size sheet of acetate plastic, small sharp scissors

Lastly, for this project we'll be making a decorative frame for a focal image. So you need to have selected the image you want to feature in the centre.

For the lessons I'll be picturing an example measuring about 45 x55cm. The focal image in the centre of the canvas is about 20 x 25cm. Its your choice to make anything the same scale or bigger or smaller, size is irrelevant.

Part 2 in about 3 days time. If you have any questions please ask away!

Do some art with me

I had a trip to Sydney yesterday to the annual Craft Fair at Darling Harbour. Because I live in a tiny bush town with only a minimal amount of shops my 1 or 2 pilgrimages a year to craft shows are a significant way  to top up on resources, see what the new fads and trends are and to get inspired from seeing stuff I like.

My main purchases were felting fibre, machine embroidery threads and heaps of stencils. Its so pleasing to see stencilling making a bit of a revival lately. Its such a versatile and useful technique for artisans doing mixed media textile art.

In my most recent blogs I showed pictures of the collaborative artworks Rodney and I have been creating. He does the focal portraits and I do the stencilled decorative borders.While writing this this afternoon I noticed how similar this Frida Kahlo poster is to the pictures Rodney and I have been making. This poster has been on my office wall for a couple of years and I believe it is a coloured ink drawing originally done by Frida in her diary.




The image to the right of the Frida Kahlo illustration is the picture Rodney gave me for my birthday. It was the first one I decorated with a stencilled border and we liked it so much we were inspired to make some more. I haven't yet put my birthday picture on a stretcher, this canvas measures about 48x60cm.

Here is a picture of the new stencils bought at the craft fair. I couldn't wait to play with them today and raced down to the studio after getting out of bed at 11am, after Rodney had served me with chai tea and french toast with yoghurt and blueberries and after having read most of the weekend papers. After all I was cruelly ripped from bed at 4am on Saturday morning to get down to Sydney in the cold and rain....

stencils bought at art show, plus 2 cork stamps at top right

Because I'm really enthusiastic about stencilling at the moment I want to use my next blogs over a week or 2 to write and illustrate 3-4 step by step tutorials on how to use stencils.

Below is a new lovely portrait Rodney has done that I'll use to show in detail how to create layer by layer a decorative border with paint and stencils.

Lessons will begin tomorrow.

Art Bazaar report

Hi to MS (www.middle-state.com) thanks for your delightful comment on my last blog post. Of course I went over to check out your blog and we have a bit of mutual admiration going on here!....you write beautifully - with an elegiac sweet langour and an intense sensitivity to the lowing rhythms of nature murmuring below the clamour, the restless and constant movement and the inane chatter of our species. I absolutely adore the quote from Anais Nin. If I could make pictures as elegantly as you compose words then I shall feel truly accomplished!

Rodney and I had an enjoyable weekend putting our art out for sale at Maitland Art Bazaar. It is nearly a 3 drive from where we live so we went down Saturday night and stayed with Bobbi Oliver who is a well known local doll artist - http://www.lamboart.blogspot.co.au . Thanks to Bobbi and Jane for being fun hostesses. Then on Sunday we had to set up shop at 7am in the morning....ugh!

Fortunately, it didn't rain, as the weather report had predicted. That is always a great relief when you have 30-40 items of your precious art under essentially a large canvas umbrella.We heard it was raining heavily in Newcastle only about 15 km away so it was simply luck that it didn't quite blow over us. I demonstrated free motion embroidery to an interested crowd of ladies who were amazed what a needle and thread unleashed from the conventional sewing foot can do. I've already had a message from someone who got out her sewing machine and had a play already!

Pearl demonstrating free motion machine embroidery at Maitland Art Bazaar

I sold "Out of the Violet and Blue". The work which I won first place with in the Wallabadah Art Show a couple of months ago.

Out of the Violet and Blue

Pictured below is another of the collaborative artworks Rodney and I have made lately. Rodney does the exquisite expressionist renderings of the womens faces and I stencil the decorative background borders. The faces are oil pastel on archival paper and they are mounted on cotton canvas printed with acrylic paint. I had an enquiry what we are selling them for - they are $150. Would be sent rolled in a tube, free postage within Australia, add $10 for anywhere overseas. They measure approximately 50x65cm.

"Amber Eyes" collaborative art by Rodney Swansborough and Pearl Red Moon

This is me

Tomorrow I'll post about our day at Maitland Art Bazaar. Today I want to respond to Eden Rileys challenge that she put out on her blog this Saturday morning. We were packing up to go down to Maitland yesterday morning so I didn't have time to respond.


Recently I wrote how I've started investigating the world of "mummy bloggers". In the last few weeks I've started a list of blogs featuring down the right sidebar that I regularly read. Eden is not only my favourite blogger but was voted Australias best blogger of 2012. To get a greater understanding of why I'm writing about myself in this way today you might want to use the link to Edens blog.
Edens challenge is to answer the question "Who the hell are you?" As of writing this some 60+ other readers have responded and you can access their links on her blog by using the Fresh Horses Brigade linky published above. 

At the Art Bazaar yesterday I bought this little watercolour image (20x13cm) by Anna Buxton Soldal. When purchasing it I asked Anna if she was doing art at High School. She replied she had just finished her Bachelor of Fine Art at University of Newcastle! You know you are old when everybody under 30 still looks like they are high school students.
You know you are still young when you smile indulgently when the wrinklies complain "I don't feel old"...and indeed I don't and its disconcerting to see the grey haired and creased imposter who daily presents herself as "me" in the mirror.
In truth I am pretty comfortable with my aging process and who I am. One thing I have learned for sure is that my physical appearance is something I have very little control over. Existentially we have to manifest in some sort of physical, meat vehicle. We are the end result of biology and physiology, a flesh container for something truly remarkable and almost impossible to define - not simply a human animal, but a "person". 
The real "person" is little to do with the flesh container but is a life long project fulminating from within our environment and how we perceive and act within it. It is a construct based on nature and nurture and activity within the world. I once thought "who" we are was more a product of nurture but having worked in aged care and with people with intellectual disabilities I now believe it is more about nature - our physical, genetic, physiological and neurological inheritance. I have seen how pharmaceutical drugs can change behaviours and how as the elderly loose their memories from Dementia that the person loses their identity.
Annas little image really appealed to me because it resonates with ideas I have about my own identity within my psyche.The image is rendered in a manner completely cartoonish, surreal, funky, maybe even clown like. The figure is female and childlike (I tell myself she is 6) and has a rather distant, droll, dreamy look. An enigmatic slightly upturned but closed smile to the mouth means this little girl likes to observe silently. She is an introvert, feeling more comfortable looking within than being engaged in the outside world.The markings on the face suggest tattoos or wrinkles, which are marks of status, initiation, age and longevity.The coned hat suggests "dunce" or perhaps "witch" but to me implies a way of thinking that is unconventional, a bit crazy perhaps. A dunce or a witch is an outsider in society. Love the frizzy wedge of red hair, that is exactly the hair I wish I was born with! It reminds of the red dyed dreadlocks I grew for 10 years, between the ages of 35-45.The little figure seems to be posing a curtsey, I read that as presenting myself to the viewer as "here I am ". The outfit of pleated tutu, stripey socks and pointy fairy slippers with bells on is an ensemble of whimsy and silliness.That appeals because I love wearing clothes that I feel subvert the stereotype of my age and social class too....
I am a figurative artist because I'm intrigued and endlessly fascinated by the visual signifiers we adopt to display to the world who we are.