Barefoot Wanderings

Streets of Sydney

Yesterday, after a very last minute decision, a friend and I decided to go to the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay in Sydney, to see the Fiona Hall: Force Field exhibition.

It was truly amazing.
It featured photography, etchings, installations, sculptures, videos, and more, all by this one talented artists. Most of her work used everyday / found objects.
Truly inspiring.
Well worth visiting.

On our way to and from the museum we put one of our goals into action. Armed with our cameras we took photos of all sorts of interesting things. The advice we received from Misty & Nina was to take lots of photos, and that we would get used to it and not feel so self conscious. So, putting it all in to practice here are a few of the photos I took.

I know that this is just the start, the more photos I take the more I will see.

I have not done anything to these photos (except add my name), my next big step is to start to play in photoshop!

GPP Crusade No 20 - Casting Call

This is a short and quick entry for this months GPP Crusade as I have been a bit tight for time this month but I thought something was better than nothing.

I took a class once a while ago with Joy Bathie and she taught me this technique. You need a rubber stamp, loo paper or tissues, brush and a container holding water mixed with a little gel medium (the gel medium binds it together).

I like to work on top of a non-porous surface (such as a cutting mat).
Place the stamp image face up and put the paper/tissue on top.
Dip the brush in the water mixture and dab on top of the tissue pushing it into the crevices of the design but not too hard that the tissue will tear.
Keep adding layers of tissue and dabbing with the wet brush.

This is something I have added to Joy's technique.
Once enough layers have been added, I then very gently turn the rubber stamp and tissue over whilst it is still wet.
I then take my wet brush and dab around the edges of the stamp - this is to take away the harsh ridge that would form.
I also wet the excess paper that is not on the rubber so that this also bonds together. Once the tissue is dry the excess tissue can be gently torn and worked more easily into the piece of art that it will be added too.

The image on the left is the one I have just done (it is still quite wet).

The image below is the piece I completed in Joy's Class.

Art Retreat in Melbourne

Artistic Journey held an Art Retreat in Melbourne from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th of May that I was lucky enough to attend. These were the same people who put on the retreat last year in Perth. The tutors this year were Jacky, Ro Bruhn, Traci Bautista, Misty Mawn and Nina Bagley.

Once again my travelling companion and roomie was Megan. We couldn't get down to Melbourne until Thursday afternoon so were not able to do classes by Ro or Jacky, so for the few hours we had on Thursday we took to Brunswick St instead!

I don't go to workshops expecting to complete a masterpiece, for me it is all about learning techniques and having fun. So, true to form, I did not complete any pieces but I did come away with new techniques, inspiration and ideas, and I had fun.

Friday: Traci Bautista - Graffiti Bouquet
This was a fun and fast paced class. The aim was to make lots of different papers, and then collage and paint an artwork. It was fun to use bright colours (you can't help it in Traci's class). Traci is a great teacher who is full of wonderful ideas.

Saturday: Misty Mawn - Altered Ego
Portraits are not one of my strong points, let alone self-portraits, so it was really amazing how comfortable Misty made this class. This was my favourite class of the retreat. I was so glad to have met Misty in person and to have been taught by her. She is a fabulous teacher, and a warm and gentle soul.

Sunday: Traci Bautista - La vie de Boheme Art Quilts
I loved the mono printing technique we learnt in this class, it was sooo much fun, definately something I am going to play with again.

Whilst I didn't take a class with Nina this time it was wonderful to see her again. THANK YOU to all these amazing women for coming and sharing their knowledge and time. It was a privilege, an honour and a delight.

Other Fabulous highlights:
*Catching up again with the woman-of-many-talents
Ro ...nothing is the same as actually having a
conversation face to face, especially over a meal!
*Seeing other familiar faces and meeting new ones.
*Buying two originals paintings by Misty Mawn.
*Eating at FANTASTIC restaurants in Melbourne -
such as Movida (with caprioskas!) and The Chocolate
Buddha (with some truly amazing people).
*Seeing not one but TWO movies (how decadent!) -
9 Lives (amazing acting) and And Then He Found Her
which was light & funny. (We actually saw this second
movie the evening after doing Misty's class, for most
of the movie I kept seeing the light and dark areas of
faces - it was quite bazaar!!)
*Getting more rubber blocks to carve, thanks to Ro & Jo,....YEAH!

All of this would NOT have been possible if it weren't for Jo and Jacky. A lot of effort was put in to make this possible, it can not be an easy task. I know things weren't perfect but I think it is better to see the positives. I am so lucky to have learnt from these wonderful Tutors. Sending a big, warm, heart-felt THANK YOU to Jo and Jacky.

What really made this special for me was spending time with my wonderful roomie and dear friend Megan. It is truly a privilege to be able to share not only the art but the experience with such a like-minded soul. We don't really need to compromise as we like similar things - places to shop, eat, drink and see, and we laugh a lot as we have a very similar sense of humour. I think Nina summed her up well by saying how centered she is.
Thank you my dear friend for being there and making the experience so much better.

Streets of Melbourne

This time last week I was in Melbourne for the Artistic Journey Art Retreat. I will post later about the the actual retreat, here are some snaps I took. Most were taken at night and I still need to learn more about my little digital camera...and photoshop too!

I am often amazed by the photos I see on some of the blogs I visit. The common advice seems to be: always carry your camera with you, don't be embarrassed/shy about taking photos (you get use to it), and take lots of photos of the same thing. I know I am not there yet but I have at least made a start.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Breakfast in Bed. Flowers. Presents. Hugs. Two Beautiful Kids. Perfect.

and for afternoon tea......mmmmm...... chocolate cake.

Just a quiet day at home since the kids have been sick this week.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mums