Pics from the Still Life Exhibtion

still

remaining in place or at rest; motionless;stationary: free from sound or noise, as a place or persons;silent:

subdued or low in sound; hushed:

free from turbulence or commotion; peaceful;tranquil; calm:

at this or that time; as previously:

up to this or that time; as yet:

in the future as in the past:

to calm, appease, or allay:

to become still or quiet.

life

the animate existence or period of animate existence of an individual:

a corresponding state, existence, or principle ofexistence conceived of as belonging 

to the soul

the general or universal condition of human existence:

any specified period of animate existence:

for or lasting a lifetime; lifelong:

My Art is all about walking lightly on the earth. I am exploring process through mixed media works utilizing selected natural art materials chosen for their sustainability and low environmental impact.  These have been developed through a series of experiments with traditional/historic mediums such as casein, egg, starch resists, natural dyes and earth pigments.

This series of work explores the nature of grief and the loss of people close to me. Looking at birth, life, death, and the possibility of rebirth - where something positive can hopefully eventually arise from the experience.

I have interpreted the concept of Still Life through the deconstruction of the concept into two separate entities, Still and Life. I hope to convey both a sense of stillness and the sense of a life that still lives on - the still point in a storm of grief, where waves of emotion wash over me.

The base of all the pieces is made from recycled bed sheets. This represents the lived experience as well as the winding sheet (or shroud) and the cloth that binds a new born infant. This fabric is coated in traditional gesso made from rabbit skin glue and whiting (calcium carbonate) and then embellished with naturally occurring substances including beeswax, natural pigments, charcoal, ink and walnut oil. As a final coating all the pieces feature the use of Xanthorrhoea resin which comes from the Australian Native Grass Tree and is only available after the plant has been through a fire.

 

Mending the Unthinkable

 55.5 x 112.5 cm

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Ink, Hand Stitch in Cotton/Silk thread

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

Now for sale in my Etsy Shop

detail

Stillness of Being

54.5 x 114 cm

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Starch Paste (Flour, Milk, Soy Milk)

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits
Now for sale in my Etsy Shop

The Return

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Ink, Egg, Natural Pigment

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

rgin-bottom: 0cm;margin-left:14.2pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center'>Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine) 1pt;text-align:center'>Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

Now for sale in my Etsy Shop

Fragments

81 pieces

Each 12 x 18 cm

Traditional Gesso (Rabbit skin Glue & Whiting),

Charcoal, Ink, Natural Pigments,

Egg, Encaustic medium (Beeswax & Damar Resin)

Cold Wax Medium (Beeswax & Pure Gum Turpentine)

Hand Stitch in Cotton/Silk thread

Xanthorrhoea Resin and Methelayted Spirits

On Recycled Cotton Sheeting

These will be available in Etsy shop soon

Please let me know if you might be interested 

in any of them $50 ea + postage

I can do a better price for multiples

These are the pieces from the exhibition I am currently taking part in

It is up for another week

Opening night was fabulous

Thanks to all who joined me

Home again now and just settling into the routine

Enjoying the cool change

though the swamp around the house

is a little hard to take

Grampians Textures and time spent with 

Velma Bolyard

a truly wonderful experience

I am now looking forward to some teaching

first up in the Blue Mountains for 

Contextart

Here I am doing a 2 day Natural Dye Mixed Media Workshop

and a 4 day Plaster Books and Wax Workshop

Hurry for this one as it is next month

Closer to Queensland

In June I am off to Rockhampton for

Wrapt in Rocky

5 day Plaster Books and Wax Workshop

and in August 

Wendy Bailye's Studio

Brisbane

for a 4 day Natural Dye Mixed media Workshop

Hope to see and meet lots of people

at these workshops

x te 

Workshops in 2016

Where I will be teaching in 2016

These are all listed in the side bar with links.

I am travelling about Australia quite a bit next year

So if you want to do a workshop with me

Go have a look

January

Old Butter Factory, Denmark WA 

February

Open Drawer, Melbourne VIC

April

Context Art Blue Mountains NSW

June/July

Wrapt in Rocky, Rockhampton QLD

August

Hopefully a workshop in Brisbane

September

Off to Portugal

Busy, busy

And don't forget I will be a apart of an exhibition 

in Melbourne opening early March

There have been some images here and on FB

Like this

A Student's Wax Books

I love when I get to see the 

end result of a workshop

I have given

These images are all the work of Louise Plint

who hosted my Wax and Plaster Book workshop

held in Ingham last month

They very beautiful

The beginnings can be seen 

in the other two posts about this workshop

1 and 2

I am very impressed with the finished result

It is such a fun medium to work with

a bit of plaster bandage 

some milk paints

some pigments and

some wax

So far I have two workshops in this technique 

scheduled for next year

at ContextArt

and

Wrapt in Rocky

I am very much looking forward to seeing

the results from those

x te

Plaster and Wax Workshop

On the weekend I taught a 2 day workshop for Louise Plint at her Elements Studio in Ingham

In this post I will show some of the results for day 1

This is the day we prepare all our pieces

on the second day we decorate

I will put those pics up tomorrow

Please excuse the awkward photo angles

but blogger did it

This is also where I let you know that next year

I will be teaching this as a 4 day class

for Contextart

with all that extra time it will be even more fun

x te