Quiet Corner?

First the cat came...

Don't worry, I haven't run out of material and turned into a pet photographer instead! I

thought I'd share the scene in my art corner today. I was trying to create my collage for Seth Apter's Open Call but when I looked up I realised I had company...

Then the dog...(apparently she's a van Gogh fan too)

Then kids...

Pretty soon my art materials had been acquired but I did actually finish my collage.

I will show when Seth does!

I'm loving the new filter effects on Picasa latest update. This photos are lomo-ish plus vignette filters. If you've been visiting my blog for a few years now you will know I went through a lomography stage. Not genuine lomography as I don't have the right camera but my version of lomo.  This filter has me tempted to go and play again...

Life is GOOD!

Just when I thought that I couldn't get any happier after yesterdays fantastic mail, Seth Apter's book arrives in my mail box! I swear I nearly hyperventilated and fainted with excitement!
If you're not familiar with Seth Apter of his book you really need to drop everything and go here!

Seth was kind enough to include 3 of my responses to his questions in the book and I am lucky enough to be featured along side so many people I admire.

Here is the artwork I put forward for consideration.

Paper scrap, thread, pencil

I chose to do an artwork based on a secret. The words say

"There is only so much a Mother can do.

Sometimes love is not enough."

In brief I was referring to the heart struggles I face having a child with a disability. She's a blessing to me, not a burden but sometimes I feel so helpless. Sometimes I am.

There's nothing like laying awake in the middle of the night realising that no matter how much you want to, sometimes you just can't 'kiss and make it better.'

It doesn't matter to me that my art wasn't chosen, I know it wasn't personal. One thing that was personal though was the journey I went on creating this piece all those months ago. I cried making this and I think I came a little closer to accepting the reality and the honesty of my own words.

Buried Treasure 2011- TREEsolutions

Seth  Apter has put the call out for treasure hunters to come and play once again and knowing how fun this is I didn't want to miss out! Below is a link to my "Buried Treasure" which is not actually that old. I posted it on New Years Eve 2010 and I've chosen it for it's beautiful photographs (if I may say so myself!) and because it's a good time of year for me to do a little check point of sorts! In the post below I set myself some TREEsolutions...

***Lucky Dip***: Festival of the Trees: "I was wondering what I was going to do for my NY eve post and happened to come across this blog call out from Jasmine and Nature's Whispers ..."

I enjoyed reading them again, even though they hadn't been forgotten I hadn't consciously pursued them either.  It seems committing them to paper blog was the sowing of the seed and since then they've been quietly growing. Most of them at least!

TREEsolution #1: One of the beautiful treelines my eyes have enjoyed this year. This one was found on a driveway and not in the bush but that didn't stop the air being filled with the beautiful song of the native Tui. How awesome it is to take time out to look and listen!

TREEsolution # 2 Not exactly guerrilla art, but I have enjoyed making several 'landcastles' and flat works.There's still time for flags in trees...

TREEsoloution # 3. I've really, really enjoyed this one! These papers are dyed with natures dyes (eucalyptus and walnut) brewed on the stove top at home. Awesome collage fodder!

TREEsoloution #4. I said I would improve my 'green-ness' when it came to paper. Recycling and reusing is second nature and first preference for me although I said I thought there was always room for improvement...I'm not sure if I really have done this. Nearly all of the paper in the collages above is recycled and/or re purposed but that's not a new and improved thing. That makes this a timely reminder to try a little harder so watch this space!

Thank you Seth for another great online collaboration opportunity!

Anatomically Inspired Grafitti

I am so excited to be back in my art zone! I have been wanting to do another lino cut for a long time now but couldn't settle on an image to carve. I thought a lino cut could lend itself quite well to my graffiti pages for the International Signature Exchange and for want of a better search term I googled "lino cut grafitti' or something to that effect. Look what I found! The whole website is fantastically inspiring for a graffiti 'wannabe' such as myself! Full of inspiration I seized the moment and spent several hours drawing, carving, printing and collaging. In the end I only stopped because my shoulder blades were insisting! (Standing hunched over a bench isn't as easy as it used to be! lol)  Below is the result of my efforts...an anatomically incorrect inspired linocut heart-nest!

I realised after printing several of these that my heart is not anatomically correct. The valves are back to front! I was going to re cut it and but had a little laugh at myself when I realised that I was worrying about making a heart with a nest in the middle anatomically correct! The existence of the nest made it incorrect  and the rest I am putting down to artistic license:)

This is signature two for the swap. I am enjoying adding collage elements to my grafitti inspired papers. Below is the inside of page two, which will have a blank double-sided page in the middle making these pages 1,2,7 and 8.

Above, my sketches, not included in my signature!

Below, signature one for those who missed it.

Below, a segment of the inside of this spread and the back of the signature, heart-nest added!

Sneaky peaks of the signatures I've collaged but not yet stitched. Anatomically correct or not, I love this heart-nest! 

PSSST> Watch this space to see my contribution to Seth Apter's Style File, coming soon!

3 Things....

Time for another miscellaneous post!
Thing 1 are the birds we are fostering...check these babies out!

The triplets. Charlotte, Clover and Coco. I have no idea which one is which but my girls reckon they can tell the difference!

Awwww....

This is Chipmunk. He's the only He and from a different nest. This photo was taken they day we bought him home and I was really worried about him. He doesn't have all his feathers (as you can see) and was so tiny and tired. I say was because now he's nearly as big as the girls were when we got them and he's perching and fluttering about. He eats the most too, I am amazed at how much he can eat! He doesn't even need this nest (woolly hat) now and the girls have all accepted him as one of them. YAY!

Awwww....again! A sleeping bird is just too cute!

Thing two is my studio shot for Seth Apter's studioscapes post. I don't have a studio as such, I have 1 area for the bulk of my storage and this area here which is in the family lounge. It's a place to keep the stuff I use often and it works as a kind of inspiration station. There's received art, my art and some of my kids art, a few nests and boxes with beads etc. I do most of my art in the lounge so it works well to have this there, another reason it works is because I can't hang things on walls where I live so I need a place to prop things up! You can see the other studios featured on Seth's blog.

Thing 3 is the paper (mostly) items that I recieved from my swap partner in Lawendula's paper swap. Thanks Eliza! I've also recieved word that the collage box #1 is on it's way to me as I type..
I havn't done any art this week but ideas are brewing so watch this space:)

Butterfly Effect

The butterfly effect is a collaborative project being hosted by Trudi Sissions of Two Dresses Studios. I stumbled across it when Seth Apter, Lisa Jurist and Kim Palmer posted butterflies that they'd made on their blogs and decided to jump on in.

I thought a butterfly would be easy...but I was wrong! It should have been easy but I kept over- complicating it. I tried loads of different combinations, layouts and colours and hours later (literally hours!) it suddenly occurred to me- stick to what I know!

So....

I started my design with a nest!

Recycled, red electrical wire, beads, cotton string, cotton doily scrap shaped into a nest...bliss!!

FYI:  Lisa J also makes stunning wire nests! See here for just a few of hers. I have a feeling wire nests could be very addictive!

Red wire practically begs to be shaped into a heart!

My butterfly. Recycled beads, fabric, lace, recycled plastic netting and wire.

I think a nest is a perfect addition to the butterfly, not just because it is very 'me' but because the project is about the holocaust and the great cost children paid. Those children needed and deserved a nest made of love and comfort but what they got was in stark contrast. My nest is symbolic of the one they should have had and symbolic of the inner beauty of each child who suffered in the terrible holocaust.

This butterfly will flitter it's way over to Trudi and eventually find itself in an exhibition of butterflies to remember the children affected by the holocaust. To read more about the project or take part in it visit Trudi's blog.  There's loads of time left to play.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about the birds. Sadly Ang joined Ash in birdie heaven. I don't know why, he/she was chirping away all day and ate eagerly so it was a sad surprise to find him dead in the morning! I trust mother nature knows best...

Coming soon...my 400th post! This is post 396 so I better put my thinking cap on and think of something special to celebrate the big 4-0-0 with!

International Kindness Day- November 13...no kidding, there is a international date dedicated to kindess!

ICE collage #2...currently a work in progress:)

Buried Treasure- Nest Love

Buried Treasure is the brain child of Seth Apter of The Altered Page. He's called for artist to dig deep and find a post that they wanted to repost. Lucky for me he also said that you could post more than one!

I've been head over heels for nests for a few years now. They're amazing artworks which defy all the rules. Some a big and messy, others dainty and so delicate you wonder how they work at all. A bird can build a nest without damaging the environment it does it in. That's more than I can say for most humans. The love affair with nests actually started with a concept that hit me one day. For me, nests have come to represent society and my first ICE collage series "Society is a Nest"  was born. My theory is that a well constructed nest will support the birds (people) and will be a place of love, hope, security and warmth. A badly contsructed nest will fail the birds. Baby birds will neglected and struggle to fly high enough to reach their full potential. The 'nest' is of course our home, our communities, schools, churches and governments. I came to this conclusion after watching a movie called "Out of the Blue" which is amount a mass murder that took place in NZ. The gunman was David Grey and although what he did was horrendous I also thought that society had let him down. People knew that David Grey was mentally unwell yet failed to helped. He was able to arm himself and spend a long time obsessed with weponary and warfare of all kinds. What if someone had helped? If that nest had been built stronger? I am not suggesting that the community he took out his rage on deserved what happened but I do think that this attack was preventable and not so "out of the blue."
So that's where it started and since then I've explored them in many ways, their structure, their beauty, shapes and visual appeal.  They truly are a creation of beauty and it's sheer joy for me when I find one or add another to my collection.

 I've photographed them...

Above photo is from a post called "I'm in nest loving heaven" posted October 17 2008.

The photo below is a different nest and was posted towards the end of 2009.  It's a dodgy photo because I was shooting blind, perched litteraly up a tree, holding my camera strap in my teeth and holding the body of my camera over the nest- completely unable to see the inside of the nest! I was so excited I was trembling! The skinny little branch was too...

Turned photos into collage images...

Above image was originally posted in a post titled "portrait of a nest" in Jan 2009.These nests featured quite a lot in my 2009 ICE series. One of the collages I used the photo in is below. It was titled " Breeding birds"

Layered collages like nests...

This nest type layering really appeals to me!

Added them to AB pages...

One of my earlier attempts at Altered Books. I remember being pretty chuffed with this when I did this almost exactly a year ago. I feel like I've come a long way since then:)

Made lino cuts of nests to create more imagery for collage...

Woven them...

These were created in 2007. Seeing them again now makes me want to go and create a new one! I think the reason I stopped was because they had no purpose, I made them and they sat around my house. Maybe I need to start making assembleges or to start attending markets.....

I've even tried making a dye from a nest and adding bits of nest to handmade paper.


 and using the contents of a nest to make a fabric collage of sorts...

It's been a journey of joy and discovery for me and I am sure there are yet more way to explore nests, the concept of "Society is a Nest" and of course more nests to find!

The last words belong to NZ poet Ruth Dallas who wrote this poem about...nests! Of course!

Winter hedge

How like shells they are, these deserted rain-bleached nests
half filled with small black leaves;
the green leaves that summer- long sang like waves
have left the now as shells on sand
are left for anyone to find.

To lift them from the tangled boughs
of theses deep sleeping hawthorn trees
would be like taking shells away
from all that gives them colour-
sea, sun and sand.

How sad they seem
and faded when you take them home.
Marvellously as they are made
with moulded earth and moss inlaid
with woven bark and straws and
warm with thistle-down
half their charm- even when the trees are bare
is in them being where they are.

And the winner is.....

CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS!!

PENNY from the blog "With My Boots and Sketchbook"  is the lucky winner of my ICE Celebration giveaway! I used the old fashioned lucky dip from a bucket method to draw the winner.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to comment on my collage series "chain reaction" and to all those who liked my art enough to want to enter the giveaway! MWAH!

In case you missed it last time here's what Penny has won.

 While on the subject of the International Collage Exchange here's a preview of the official postcard that Dale has put together. It serves as an invitation to the exhibition's opening as well as a momento of the exchange. Each participating artist will recieve atleast one in their package of fantastic collages.

Cheer's Dale!

Very soon I will be able to link it up to the online exhibition going live on April 1st.

Another exciting thing happening in blogland, although completely unrelated to ICE is Seth Apter's
 BOOK GUILD.
This is an event happening on his blog each Sunday now that 18 amazing Secret Sunday's have gone by and that project has finished. Thanks Seth!

Knowing the quality of Seth's posts (not to mention his art!) and can be fairly certain that this is something you don't want to miss so click on over to his blog and sign yourself up!

Oh, and don't forget to grab yourself this snazzy little thumbnail for your blog and enter his giveaway while your there!

Lucky. ICE 2010 # 7

Title: Lucky. ICE collage # 7

Series: Chain reaction

International Collage Exchange 2010

The number 7 seems to be an appropriate number for a collage about luck! It wasn't intentional, but it must make this extra lucky right? I was inspired by Seth's comment on a previous post about the 2 nests Ihad recently  found. He said (probably jokingly) that finding two nests must be a sign of good luck in some cultures and the words stuck in my head. They floated around there until my husband bought me home TWO more nests and I of course did feel very lucky! I took it as a sign of sorts that it was time for the collage to 'be' and from there it pretty much created itself. I love it when that happens!

In keeping with my 'Chain Reaction' series and the idea of luck I created this collage as a tribute of sorts to my love of birds and nests. Birds do a lot of good in our enviroment, natural regeneration and green pest control being just two of them. I certainly feel lucky to watch them, to hear them, to find their nests but It is not due to luck that we have birds. We don't keep their population in healthy numbers by share good luck. We don't have the pleasure of their dawn songs as a result of luck. We have these things as a result of responsible living and decision making. We need to make choices with the chain reaction in mind.

Below is a photo taken by my front door. I don't know anything about feng shui but I do know that this sight blesses my heart each day! The wild and random looking nest on the top of the box is one of the two nests DH bought home for me. It's it awesome? I  would have loved to see how the little bird made that!

This tiny cup like nest is one of my favorites and was the second one DH bought that home today. He found it in some Avocado trees. It's the most beautiful compact yet lightweight little nest. The outside is covered in moss and cobwebs and under the outside covering there's a 1 cm (half an inch?) thick layer of dry grass and sawdust. The inside is lined with very thin thread like plant fibre. It's adorable. I think it's a native Fantail nest (but not positive) judging by the size and shape of it. I've read they created the nest around themselves turning as they go to create the inside of the cup shaped nest. (Just incase you wanted to know!)

Erosion, Death and Secrets

Isn't that a cheery title? That is what todays post is all about though! Or rather, the chance for you to join in a new Erosion Project (think along the lines of Seth's Dis-Co) have your art shown in a Book About Death Exhibition or find out about the Art Secrets being revealed on Seth's blog each Sunday. Interested? Read on:)

The Erosion Bundle Project was inspired by Seth's Disentegration Collaboration project and is similar in nature, excuse the pun. The dates for your calendar are:

January 1, 2010 - place bundle in nature.

In between = share thoughts and photos.

April 15, 2010 - retrieve bundle from nature.

August 1, 2010 - finish art piece using your eroded stuff and rejoice.

The Book About Death is an unbound book exhibition of postcards. Part one is already being exhibited but due to it's success there's an open call for artists to send one postcard or one series of postcards to the organiser for a new exhibition opening 6th of Feb 2010 in Brazil.

The bits you need to know are:

 Individual artists are wanted to submit works, either a single card or a group of cards for exhibition at MUBE.

Ideal dimensions are approximately 6" x 4" either horizontal or vertical orientation, but variations in size are permissible. We would like to ask all artists to be aware that we need to easily install works on the wall, so consider this aspect of the exhibition. Artworks can be handmade or printed commercially. You can mail the card by itself or in an envelope. (Please make a digital capture of the works for your records).

A deadline of January 30, 2010 has been set for reception of all submissions, although we will install any cards received after that date. Digital works are not accepted, sorry. To be included in this exhibition, make a postcard on the theme of death and send it to:

MUBE - Museu Brasileiro da Escultura

Avenida Europa, 218 - Jardim Europa

CEP 01449 000 - São Paulo - Brasil

All works submitted to MUBE will become a part of the permanent collection of the Museum, and will not be returned.

Documentation online of all new works will be made over the course of  the next few months.

FOR INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT : Angela Ferrara (atelierferrara@gmail.com)http://angelaferrara.com/ or http://blog.angelaferrara.com/

Secret Sunday is Seth Apters new project. Be sure to check out his blog each Sunday to find out what arty-secrets your favorite artists have shared. It's also a good chance to discover new artists so there's nothing to loose and everything to gain!

And last but not least, a quick Pulp Redux update! All but one of our books have now been sent and recieved at there respective destinations (although mine was delayed by a search in customs!) and there will be updates on our own blogs as we play. The Pulp Redux blog will be updated when the spreads are completed.