Traditions

Aprons & Hammers with Emma Greenwood from Craft on Vimeo.

So I'm still in Italy, sweating it out in Rome with the family. We have one day left and then the ridiculously long, uncomfortable flight home. We will be going from extremely long days, sunset after 8:30 pm, temperature around 30 degrees, to Melbourne's wintry weather, and extremely short days. I hope our immune systems are ready.

It has been a very inspiring trip, we have seen a lot of art, both contemporary and classic,  and we have eaten a heap of pasta, pizza and gelati. The kids have had a lot of attention, Hazel is a big attraction, as all the Italians wave at her and talk to her, calling her bella, or carissima. Travelling with kids and a Granny is, um, well, interesting, logistically challenging, expensive, and ultimately quite amusing. The kids are a big icebreaker.

I have been paying attention to the style of the Italians, hot damn they are sharp dressers! In Venice I was gobsmacked, Florence and Rome less so, but generally they have amazing knitwear, leather products (of course), and eyewear/spectacles etc.

I was particularly inspired in Florence, as Tuscany is the home of the leather industry, with many tanneries, workshops and manufacturers. A friend was visiting the San Miniato region to meet with leather producers, and I eagerly await her findings!

I love the traditions of Italy, whether it's food, arts/crafts, family, living with mucho gusto! And so in a very circuitous ramble, I finally get to introduce this short film, showing me in my studio, using traditional shoemaking techniques.

My buddy Tom from Bandit Films was commissioned by Craft Victoria to make a few films on Melbourne artisans/craftspeople, including Philip Stokes, Nicholas Jones, Emily Green and myself. Over the course of a year or so, Tom visited me in the studio and as he filmed we chatted away about shoemaking and crafting, there is no dialogue here but plenty of visual information.

I hope you enjoy it, seeing it all while I am away from home makes me a bit teary, as I do miss my studio, and am storing up all this inspiration and energy for a big frenzy when I get home. I especially love the closing shot of me and Little Hazel, she was only 18 months old, such a munchkin!

Bon Viaggio!

Party people I am in the last throes of packing and organising for our month in Italy. The to-do list is very long, and I am really looking forward to being all packed and sat on a plane with my Sam Jinks, who has worked like a mofo (is still working) to get a gorgeous piece ready for Venice.

I will not be blogging while I'm away, but you can follow me  @emblueski on Instagram.

See you in June!

Arty Farty

 Listened to a lot of The Strokes' new album. Full volume.

Ditto the the new Phoenix album. Glorious.

 Went to the Abbotsford Convent for Brick Club, which is a Lego day on the 3rd Sunday of each month. They also have a Maker's Market in the adjoining rooms where Hazie gets her fix of $2 facepainting, and this week I got my fix of Sandra Eterovic prints. Sandra has a show opening tonight at Hut13.

 I got a haircut.

 Used my Northcity4 shopping trolley token.

 Went to the NGV with Hazel. This is a new acquisition, a Japanese artist whose name I forget. There is a taxidermied deer underneath all the globes of acrylic, glass and crystal, it's all about pixels and magnification. Delightful.

 Bronze woman.

 Toni Maticevski and Richard Nylon for the Australian Ballet.

 Jeremy Scott and Adidas. I love every single variation of these winged high tops.

 Does this look like a 2D stencil-esque work? Because it's not - it's a fiberglass lifecast which is painted.

 On Saturday we went to Lamington Drive to see the Beci Orpin and Kat Macleod show. Hazel loved this installation of streamer curtain/confetti heaven, we recreated it on her bunkbed.

I loved these little beetles which Kat had embellished with sequins and machine stitching. So gorgeous. I'm planning a return visit sans enfants, I was too worried that Hazel would rip the streamers down to really look at the works for a long time.

Art Fair

Yes indeed, the kidlets and I trundled off to the Art Fair last weekend and had a colourful time. I love seeing everything from their perspective, while trying to ignore the wanky arty pretentious folk.

Here are some of our faves, alas we didn't pay attention to a lot of the artists, I blame Hazel who moves too fast for a Mama to read the titles on each work. We are point and shoot people!

 Kate Bergin sold her entire show, and it's not surprising to see why. Gorgeous. She was sharing a stand with the one and only Deborah Halpern. Deborah's work was so shiny and clean and colourful, a great hit with the kids.

 This work required close examination, there were so many little plastic toys and glittery things, and quite a lot of willies, as Leo soon discovered.

 The plasticene free for all, we stayed and made a few contributions to the display, as Hazel prowled along looking for things to destroy.

Sam didn't have any work there this year, he is making work for a new show in Sydney in October. Hence my current art widow status.

My beloved Sam

Sam's work has been at the India Art Fair this past week, enthralling the vast crowds and generating a lot of press.

It's no secret that he works DAMN hard on everything he creates, and we are often caught in the last-minute chaos of primping and packing.

The baby and frogs, called Small Things, is his most recent work, and is so beautiful in all its plump skin textures and contours. When Hazel first saw it she went nuts, animatedly talking about 'baby baby baby'.

Turns out that someone special was also captivated by it, and so we say goodbye to another piece.

Hurrah for art! And for babies and green frogs - what a combo!

More Art Fair Faves

Proud of Daddy's efforts.


Lace-up madness.



I wonder who liked this Lego piece? Maybe the gents at the bottom of this pic.


$44 000 worth.


Subversive ceramics.


Oooh flocking, I wanna touch it!

Random Art Fair Faves

Beautifully blue with Swarovski crystals as buttons


Laser cut ply - yes, again, but with spikes/scalectrix theme


Hanging basket in a stack of encyclopedias (encyclopediae?)


Hose clamps as embroidery hoops

Supremely matte felt-covered frames


Lattice woven figure


Two bags full o' treats

Melbourne Art Fair - so much creativity and inspiration - it finishes Sunday, so go and visit!

Art Fair - Mr Chuck Close

Close
Closer
Closest


Gotta love a Chuck Close in the flesh, those colourful lozenges are just too good! How does he do it? Methinks he's a genius.

Sam Jinks

Our beloved Sam works hard.

He is so driven to create perfection, he gives himself grey hairs. (We think that he looks rather distinguished and handsome).

'The Embrace' is one of the pieces that will be showing at Karen Woodbury Gallery, Albert St, Richmond, from June 30th to July 24th.

Hope that you can attend, and see what fine forms this man creates with his bare hands, as Leo says, 'Dad you're a genius!'

Heide Store

Announcing that Postage Belts can now be found at Heide Museum Store out in Bulleen.

What a great place to visit, we have just returned from a jaunt there, managed to see the last day of the Cubism show and had a posh lunch at Café Vue.

I waddled around the gardens but really just wanted to head home, this Little Miss is doing some strange bulging and I feel the need not to travel far from home. Will keep you posted.

Listening to: Sharon Jones - Tell Me

Hyperventilating

I'm not in the habit of re-blogging items pilfered from other sites, but this one has me gasping for breath. The divine Nikki Gabriel has alerted her readers that The Endless Garment exhibition opens next Friday at RMIT Gallery.

Featuring some mighty fine talent in the world of knitwear, including Issey Miyake, Sandra Backlund, Walter Van Beirendonck, Cooperative Designs, Mark Fast, Yoshiki Hishinuma, Saverio Palatella, Freddie Robins, Sibling....

Have to say it again - SANDRA BACKLUND

I've posted about her work before, let me refresh your memory:

Ouch!

I'm hoping my babe won't be so big.....

Ron Mueck at the NGV until 18th April.

The rest of the gang

For all my interstate and overseas compadres, here's the rest of my footwear posse currently on display at 'Shoe Show'.


'Chinoiserie' - Japanese brocade fabric and leather, machine knitted socks, customised chinese pendants.


'Tron' - My retro homage to the 1982 movie 'Tron'. Kid leather illustrated by my good buddy Sync, stitched onto blue patent, finished off with a classic wedge sole.

The thing that freaked me out so much about these is that the top-stitched pieces are not symmetrical. It was quite liberating to jigsaw the bits all into place, in a random but organised way.

The original 'Fiesta'. Lavish gold leather with crocheted cotton flowers, Swarovski crystals, and scalloped pink sole.

This version has an internal platform, which I left out of my silver ones, but I wish I had swapped them over as mine are too high for me!

'Shoe Show' is on until the 28th of November at Craft Victoria.

Listening to: Commodores - Brick House
1977, check out Mr Richie on saxophone!