ELSEWHERE

Brimble bramble

Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)
Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
Wood engraving and collage
2014

Plum-headed finch (Neochmia modesta) in disguise
Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
Wood engraving and collage
2014

take I




Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)
Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
Wood engraving and collage
2014

Plum-headed finch (Neochmia modesta) in disguise
Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
Wood engraving and collage
2014

take II

When earlier in the month our artwork for the Brimblebox 153 Birds project was badly damaged in transist, we thought rather than remaking the replacement work exactly the same that we'd have a little fun instead. So here you have our first version and our second take. As we package up the work to send to Queensland, fingers and tail feathers crossed it doesn't happen again.

Bimblebox 153 Birds is a developing project around the 153 bird species that have been recorded on the Bimblebox Nature Refuge, central western Queensland, Australia. The Bimblebox 153 Birds collection of prints, writings and music will represent the unique grouping of birdlife species thriving on Bimblebox Nature Refuge.

You may wish to take part too.

4 X 6

(In the borrowed costume of the Buffoon's Wife, designed by Mikhail Larionov, with a Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) as a headdress.)


(Ruyard Kipling’s “eighth wonder of the world”, Milford Sound, Mitre Peak and Sinbad Gully, for a stage.)


(In the borrowed costume of King Dodon from Le Coq d'or, with additional Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus).)


(In the borrowed costume of one of three brigands designed by Léon Bakst, with a Collared pratincole (Glareola pratincola) as a headdress.)

Gracia and I were delighted to be invited to make work for GOOD MAIL DAY. The 4" X 6" request suited us to a T. We've sent across our costumed troupe and wish we could have included ourselves in the parcel.

Opening on Friday the 7th of November, GOOD MAIL DAY is an exhibition of 60 artists curated by Lisa Solomon and Susan Schwake. I look forward to seeing your photos, Lisa and Susan, and wish you well with the installation.

GOOD MAIL DAY
Curated by Lisa Solomon and Susan Schwake
artstream
10 Second Street
Dover
New Hampshire
USA



And still thinking of costumes, you can read Gracia's fantastic recent piece on The Coffee Drinkers and Zero Zero at Dancehouse as part of Melbourne Festival here (on her blog), here (on Fjord Review), and here (on our site). The font choice is all yours.

Early October rewind

It's all going too fast. A record in thirteen squares from recent days.


(Sunday's equation: Inquisitive Lenni + spray of homegrown orchids + piles of folded zines awaiting stitching = potential disaster)


(Hurrah! An A4 press with handwheel and composite bed is one step closer to being. (Fitzroy Etching Presses))


(A wheel. Two sides. And the makings of a bed. Spoons down, we're getting a real press! (Back of the spoon workings))


(The Contented Lenni (post morning mischief making). Sunday breakages: 0 Close calls: 3)


(Panels and sleeves. Measurement's taken. Patterns formed. (A beautiful new fairisle knit by @pasadenamansions for yours truly. I can't wait.)


(The tattered and torn fantastical confusion of Wojciech Has' The Hourglass Sanatorium, screening as part of ACMI's Masterpieces of Polish Cinema season curated by Martin Scorsese.)


(New collages by Gracia featuring modified costumes from the Ballet Russes. (And the brilliant self portraits that came forth: 1, 2, 3, 4))


(Benzaldehyde. Methyl cyclopentenolone. Ethyl vanillin. Noses at the ready. A Hyper-Natural perfumed dip. (NGV: "Anchored within the world of scent, Hyper-Natural explores how designers in the medium of scent select synthetic fragrances to put together extraordinary designs. These designs, when built, become extraordinary works of scent art. Curated by former New York Times perfume critic and author Chandler Burr, Hyper-Natural introduces us to the thoughtful, intricate, fascinating, and virtually unknown medium of design—invisible, powerful— and expands our concept of design itself."))


(1, 2, 3, they all tumble out the front door and set to the business of sniffing.)


(By the Pricking of My Claws is an artists' book of ours from 2005, created as part of the exhibition and RMIT print residency, Ex Libris. An edition of sixteen, one copy is in the collection of the University of Melbourne's Baillieu Library. And from now until the 2nd of November you can see it as part of Interconnections: Books, Text, Art.)


(My mischief here is done. (Wrapping framed collages for delivery to Port Jackson Press Print Gallery with a Siamese kitten interruption.))


(And finally, Percy's Grin of Contentment (or exhaustion, take your pick).)

Interconnections: Books, Text, Art
Curated by Ashley Sutherland 
Ground floor Baillieu Library 
Until the 2nd of November, 2014

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema
Curated by Martin Scorsese
ACMI
Until the 26th of October, 2014

And now I must return to the studio to paint the edges of these recent collages with gold gouache if they've any chance of making Wednesday's post, but more on that later.

Petrouchka, a Nutcracker, and a mermaid

Some good and recent things to share with you and hopefully delight.




(A suite of seventeen collages made especially for and exhibited as part of In Your Dreams (Counihan Gallery, 2014), and accompanying dream text, assembled in a handmade Solander box guarded by Petrouchka.)

One artists' book, Blurred and Distinct, acquired recently by the State Library of Victoria. Hurrah!




(The Nutcracker and The Summit is Blue, two new pieces for Fjord Review.)

Prepare to meet the Rodent Regent once more as Gracia takes you to The Australian Ballet's 85th performance of The Nutcracker.

And then climb Everest in two volumes, at Dancehouse, with The Summit is Blue.




(3D glasses on!)

Under the water, with a two-colour eye-glass, something similar is a brand new zine available now through our online store. And best of all, each zine comes with a pair of red/cyan 3D glasses!

To those of you on our newsletter, thank-you for your orders of this zine. We'll be heading to the Post Office bright and early tomorrow.

Interconnections: Books, Text, Art

Hooray! A Pig-footed bandicoot, a White-footed Rabbit-rat, and Bavarian pine-vole see the light of day once more.

By the pricking of my claws is an artists' book of ours from 2005, created as part of the exhibition and RMIT print residency, Ex Libris. An edition of sixteen, one copy is in the collection of the University of Melbourne's Baillieu Library. And from now until the 2nd of November you can see it as part of Interconnections: Books, Text, Art.

Interconnections: Books, Text, Art
Curated by Ashley Sutherland 
Ground floor Baillieu Library 
Until the 2nd of November, 2014

The book’s primacy in the dissemination of information has been challenged by the growth of digital communication. Information and text now exist in a variety of simultaneous physical and digital forms, as digital technology facilitates the independence of text and format. What then of objects whose content is inseparably embedded within their physical formats? This exhibition explores books as objects whose physical form, text, design and aesthetics are essential components of an integrated whole. It may be argued that books have always represented more than simply the information or text printed or written in them. They can stand as powerful symbols of the value of knowledge and learning, as well as being artistic expressions in themselves. Whilst texts can be presented in other forms, the physical act of writing or printing by hand using fine materials creates objects that offer information and meanings beyond that of their content. The Private Press movement in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries was a reaction against the mechanisation of the printing process, and a perceived return to the ideals of fine design and craft. The printed books from the Kelmscott, Eragny, Golden Cockerel Presses that are on display were conceived as artistic objects in their own right, with type, design, illustration and binding all conceived as integral to the presentation of the text. Artists books can challenge and explore the role of the book in the digital world. They may be in the form of sculptural objects, unique handmade books or limited editions. As handcrafted objects, either handmade or hand printed, they assert their status as artistic objects rather than mere vessels for information.

September's whirlwind

Three short (45 seconds in total!) instagram videos that sum up September:

(What is Beauty? Especially for @ausballet, a moving pieces collage of all things beautiful in anticipation of their 2015 season launch. Featuring paintings, patterns, and illustrations by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, François Gérard, William Morris, and Walter Crane; dancers Marilyn Jones, Amber Scott, Leanne Stojmenov, Natasha Kusen, Andrew Killian, Lana Jones, Nana Gollner, Nora Kaye, and The Australian Ballet's Corp de Ballet; assorted birds, botanical specimens, lantern slides and other harvested delights.)


(And just like that, Petrouchka is inlaid into the handbound Solander box. This is the view from the working table, and a look at a forthcoming artists' book of Gracia's In Your Dreams collages, which I am keen to show you in detail soon.)


(A chameleon looses his negative space in order to become a piece of a collage puzzle.)

45 seconds, plus Monsieur Poirot himself, performing at The Comedy Theatre as part of The Last Confession. This is the stuff of dreams! And we have a souvenir to show for it, alongside my signed copy of Christie's The ABC Murders.

Which, of course, only leaves October, and it too is off to a flying start. In light of World Ballet Day, currently underway and taking place in the Bolshoi Theatre (you can watch the 20-hour live stream here), we have made a small moving collage of 99 individual and coloured frames of Vera Keralli from The Dying Swan (1917).

Enjoy!










(Five stills from our World Ballet Day celebration moving collage on instagram. We are looking forward to making more work like this.)