Freeloader at Art on the GreenWay

detail of Freeloader in the GreenWay 

Unfortunately it's the end of the Art on the GreenWay show of 6 temporary environmental art works presented by Leichhardt Council and supported by NSW EPA Waste Less, Recycle More initiative funded by the waste levy, as part of the annual event LOST. A fab initiative supporting local artists who provide an innovative approach in questioning our ways with waste through a new view along the GreenWay, at the Iron Cove end.

Happy 2013. Environmental Change...

in the foreground, detail of two sculptures by Gordon Stokes

During December as artist-in-residence in Portland, south-west Victoria, I had the privilege to be involved with curator and artist, Catherine Bailey, in a wonderful group exhibition, Environmental Change - a visual response, at the Portland Art Centre.  The show continues until the end of this month and some of the work can be seen via the fb page here. Most of the works in the show reuse found materials which I find to be a truely inspirational way to make art.... it's economical, environmental and ethical!

Snacks, a few pieces here, depicts remembered threatened animals belonging to the Portland area 

painted on found throw-out food packaging

water debris

© PAOLA TALBERT   Gyre 8   2012  60 x 60cm   awarded Highly Commended at the 2012 GreenWay Art Prize

Above photograph shows a fragment of an everyday urban detritus so beautifully enticing but revealing a part of our human disconnect. This work is from Paola Talbert's newest series Gyre, an ocean vortex, where originally full of plankton now collects millions of kilos of rubbish... our rubbish! Here is a good link with more information on what they call the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a landfill in the ocean.

Your piece Paola is an exquisite example of the beauty and the foul aspects of this wonderful and absurd world we live in! Thank you

did you hear about the fab workshops?

on the mantelpiece are collages by Rochelle Summerfield 

  
Thirning Villa is where Ashfield Council houses their artist in residence programme and this weekend I have just completed a free workshop conducted by the newest artist on the block. 


You can find more on Rochelle Summerfield's blog and all her links. 


Workshops on printmaking techniques are open to all and there will be plenty to choose from so contact  Ashfield Council for details and to make bookings. 

here I printed a collagraph of "litter" over a fragment of an etching... its a great technique.

artists' books at Leichhardt Library

Curve Test - waste nothing is a constructed artist book made during an all day stay in a waiting room. I liked the idea of making this piece within the time I had and with materials I picked up from around this site (except the needle for stitching and the orange marker). The work may look junky but I see it more as a fun and real snapshot or record of a day that could occur for anyone. I do see beauty in the banal and hope others may tune into this too. 

ps no one was harmed during the making of this "book".

JCA Steel Bookbinders competition exhibition presented by NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders 

at Leichhardt Library on until 30th Jan 2012

they all come tumbling down

 

Thank you to the lovely people at the Paper Plane Gallery for your generous time and support.

clustering connections before closing

there are so many pieces that its easy to see new layers and arrangements that respond or speak to one another.. smaller stories of interest within a bigger picture

more pink along the green

here are exquisitely articulated a part 1 and 2 ...as double-sided spinning swingtags are the preferred way!

 

It's wonderful to see the range of freedom expressed in our works when we let go notions of perfection and simply enjoy the process of making. And all ranges of skill are represented from the littlest reaching their first year to someone in their 6th decade. Elements of the GreenWay or sheer play are hanging and conversing with one another. 


Hey Sue, I like yours and mine meeting here.

ampling sampling

Spot the sketches by Frank Pierce, Santo Caggegi, unfortunately hidden here is Xavier Ghazi's too who are a few Artists@Ashfield. Thank you for the diagrammatica egg, Oliver McKenzie who is soon to be exhibiting at the Paper Plane Gallery in December.

Art Est and Paper Plane

Last night was the opening of the Greenway Arts Exhibition at Art Est Art School in Leichhardt. The detail above is from one of my entered works and the lovely director Jennifer McNamara gave me an area during the night to invite people to draw for Greenway Playhouse... here is a couple of favourites. They are now hanging at Paper Plane Gallery  waiting to be viewed by their creators at the opening tomorrow night.

Lots to do now as I prepare for gallery occupation! 

This project has been in the works for a while and I am looking forward to setting up shop and now making the installation. The idea is to keep the process fairly organic in development as visitors over time interact with the growing installation. While the doors of Paper Plane Gallery are open - Thurs-Sun 12-6pm - I will be available to work in collaboration with anyone visiting. As an artist I am happy to guide anyone making artwork or not - naturally as each person is unique so will the participation be. The work also is not limited to the drawn image as I know one young artist who likes to do wall tags and perhaps a message could be written about our GreenWay.                                

It's time for play!

bookart beauties

This month in the display cabinet of Haberfield library are some bits of book art to promote the 2011 GreenWay Festival and the Greenway Playhouse. And below from the Artbound exhibition is this lovely artist book by Gary Smith - only one week left at Gallery Red,135-145 Glebe Point Rd. The work is titled The Day at Braille Beach and is made from found pine needles, shells, beads, buttons, stamps, plastic bits, bone, mirrors, found text, seeds, thread and mesh! Gary says: "Fantasy, adventure, hope - let's go to the beach!"

A Curating Cities Project

Slow Art Collective

at Object :

Try This At Home

8 OCTOBER 2011 – 8 JANUARY 2012

In October, Object’s Project Space is transformed into a cosy yet unusual lounge room for Try This At Home, which invites us to consider the way in which we are each designing the future by our everyday actions – from the products we use to the resource-use patterns of our daily life, and the truly confronting notion that the key material we are designing with is time itself. Artists, designers and collectives including CO2penhagen (Denmark), Haque: Design + Research (UK), Magnificent Revolution Australia, Makeshift (Australia) and the Slow Art Collective (Australia) present examples of adaptive practice in which existing resource use is re-directed for more sustainable outcomes.

Margaret Farmer from the National Institute for Experimental Arts curates as part of the Curating Cities project.

Utilising abandoned objects left by local residents for council pick-up, the Slow Are Collective (Dylan Martorell, Tony Adams and Chaco Kato) present an installation made from household refuse and document the hidden world of fellow jumble scouts, who collect and repurpose these discarded items. Some of the result shown above...

read more here and please take a look as Makeshift for example have a few other related projects around Sydney that may tickle your fancy.....

and another interesting show that is touring:         click here for link