ELSEWHERE

Costumed cabinet cards en masse

We'd love to invite you to a One Night Only viewing of Salvaged Relatives (editions I, II, and III).

A suite of three unique state artists’ books featuring sixty-three individual collaged cabinet cards. Housed in brightly-hued linen Solander boxes, these Salvaged Relatives now sport costumes from the Ballet Russes, including Nijinsky’s Blue God tunic modified and a Eunuch’s embroidered silk and velvet sensation from Shéhérazade.

5 – 7:30pm

Wednesday the 11th of February, 2015

Milly Sleeping, 157 Elgin Street, Carlton

Yours in papered costume of a Seahorse and a Squid (from Sadko),
Gracia & Louise
X


In a borrowed cape, designed by Léon Bakst from Papillions, circa 1914.


In a modified costume for a squid from Sadko, designed by Natalia Goncharova, circa 1916, a headdress is fashioned.


In a borrowed costume from Carnival, designed by Léon Bakst, c. 1920, with a Lumholtz's tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi).

Let me draw your portrait

(And, there, a polar bear!)

(A Greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) woodblock near completed met with Frank's approval.)


(A Polar bear and a Greater bilby welcome a Californian sea lion to the lemonwood fold.)


(The heads of a Greater stick-nest rat and a Californian sea lion are equal to the length Percy dog.)

A closer look at my part of a forthcoming collaborative artists' book with Gracia, which currently flies under the changeable working title, Ten Mammals we Especially Like.

This January, a Greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), a Greater stick-nest rat (Leporillus conditor), a Californian sea lion (Zalophus californianus), and a Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) are the first animals I have engraved on tiny lemonwood blocks. But before they are inked up and run through our brand new press, here are the blocks, replete with backgrounds later to be removed and my pencil line planning.

Early January's working table

Waving farewell Old Year, and here's to a bright and brilliant 2015 for one and all.


Olive is none too sure of this back to work malarky.


Three solander boxes, ticking along according to January's schedule, meet with Olive's approval.


Sunday evenings are for familiarising the self with the proportions of the Macrotis lagotis (otherwise known as the Greater bilby).


Nearly there. A home for some Salvaged Relatives.

Roll on, roll on. The quiet and good bits of 2015 looking much like the quiet and good bits of 2014. I feel full of promise.

I look forward to continuing to share more views from the working table and otherwise here at Elsewhere in this broken-in New Year. May it treat you well too.

And before you forget all that 2014 brought with it, from Wayne McGregor’s Chroma to Lucinda Dunn’s last performance in Kenneth MacMillan's Manon, here is G's recent and fantastic post (for Fjord Review) of her 2014 dance highlights.

The twelfth month of the year

(House-trained and well-groomed. Three framed cat collages on the gallery wall until Sunday. Make haste! (90, Port Jackson Press Print Gallery, Collingwood)


(Contentment licked.)


(Through a veil, a merging of fiction and truth, neon and kids' toys. (The opening celebrations of De Anima, Brook Andrew, RMIT Design Hub))


(Big tick. Another team of little painted footy players done. (For Antique Toy World, Camberwell))


(Great leaps and fast flips, I join the acrobatic lineup. (Before dipping into Opera Australia's Falstaff, State Theatre)


(Old hand Perce, at @ronagreenart's studio, admiring the inked beasts of Beastarium.)


(Lenni on the sill, ears cocked.)

Choc-full December is racing by and Christmas is almost here, but not before I share with you two links to Gracia's utterly brilliant recent written pieces on Fjord Review.

In Recovery, Disarming and Delicate, Recovery, Nat Cursio and Shannon Bott, The Substation
and
Ros Warby Returns, Ros Warby: Double Bill, Dancehouse

Last week, I had the good fortune to see both dance works, and I wish I could have read these two responses beforehand.

In other news, we are thrilled to be a small part of Katrina Rodabaugh's brand new book, The Paper Playhouse, and to have a suite of prints available exclusively to Milly Sleeping, Carlton, all December long.

Wild beasts in the gallery

(Installation photograph of Beastly by Silversalt)


(A closer look at That was the very last pair (I); One smooth fated egg (3rd July 1844); and That was the very last pair (II))

A taste of Beastly, which closes tomorrow, and has these past weeks been home to two of my Great auks and their fated egg, and a pair of Gracia's Salvaged Relatives. Though we did not get to see the work in the gallery (in Sydney) with our own eyes, we have enjoyed leafing through the Beastly online catalogue and seeing these installation photos of all manner of wild things.

Thanks for taking such good care of our paper creatures, Catherine.














(Installation photographs of Beastly by Silversalt)

In other news, don't forget, we are having a 30%-off SALE on everything in our online store. Simply enter the promo code DECEMBER upon checkout.

December

In case you missed our recent newsletter, WE'RE HAVING A SUPER DECEMBER SALE!

From now until the very last minute of the month of December, we are having a 30%-off SALE on everything in our online store.

Treat yourself to something nice before the year is out or snap up a treasure for a friend's Christmas stocking. From pointe shoes to inked finch beaks, the super sale is on us.

Simply enter the promo code DECEMBER upon checkout.

(And thanks for all your zine, print, and card orders so far, and your RTs.)

And coming soon to Milly Sleeping in Carlton, a suite of limited edition, digital prints of a brand new series of Salvaged Relatives collages.

I've loved watching this series of work evolve. Expect toucans and Himalayan snowcocks and you wont be disappointed. Head to 157 Elgin Street, Carlton, later in the week to see more, and in the meantime, reacquaint yourself with our earlier Milly Sleeping projects. From Hidden Gems & Rough Diamonds to Nice Work, we always enjoy working on something for good sorts, Leah and Janette.

(Our good friends MIEL books are also having a sale. Do go and see.)

The end of spring

(A polar bear emerges slowly. (A new collaborative artists' book takes shape and I cannot wait to show you more of these ten woodblock mammals.))


(Hurrah! At long last! In my beautiful new Fairisle knit by Elaine Haby, I am ready for next winter. (Thank-you @pasadenamansions.)


(A blow, cushioned. A note to treasure from Sir David Attenborough. ("Dear Gracia & Louise, Thank-you for your message in your charming card. I am so sorry there was a confusion concerning your tickets. Best Wishes, David Attenborough"))


(Spring dash to @operaaustralia's John Bell production of Puccini's Tosca, with tickets in hand (for the right night this time).)


(A sneak peek at a work in progress by @pasadenamansions of Gracia and dear Omar.)


("From an early age, I experimented with various aspects of design. I made my first cone-shaped breasts out of newsprint for my teddy bear Nana. I took a round doily from my Grandmother's house and cut out a circle in the middle of it to make a skirt for my bear. I did a bias cut that way without knowing what it was." Jean Paul Gaultier, 2011 (Collection of Jean Paul Gaultier, Paris, currently on display at the NGV.))


(Find us a nicer early evening than looking at artists' books in good company at the State Library of Victoria. Bet you can't. (Paul Valéry, Album de Monsieur Teste, 1945, Éditions de la Galerie Charpentier. "I have always wanted", Paul Valéry wrote to André Gide: "to invent the story of a young man who thinks" (18 May 1896). The "young man who thinks" stands for Monsieur Teste. This enigmatic figure first appears in La Soirée avec Monsieur Teste. Valéry had meant to dedicate this story to Edgar Degas, but Degas rejected this." [Source: National Library of the Netherlands])


(The very best of libertines.)

Right now, I'm very excited about:

A map to tomorrow night's RMIT School of Art Graduate Exhibitions 2014 opening festivities, designed by us two.  I hope to see you in the crowd.

and

Blindside's 10th Anniversary Celebrations and Launch, with a publication also designed by the two of us, and edited by Verity Hayward and Raymonda Rajkowski. To the left and back some is going to be launched next Thursday the 4th of December, 6-8pm at Blindside.

and a gift for Lisa Solomon received.

Costumed and Inked

To those of you not on our mailing list, I'd hate for you to miss the news that we two have recently added two brand new things to our online emporium.

Yours to lay claim to at feathered last! A Plum-headed finch (Neochmia modesta) is inked and available through our online store. An edition of 10, it has the honour of being our very first wood engraving created on our brand new baby etching press.

And Salvaged Relatives, the Pocket Edition, is a new concertina zine featuring a sextet of characters in borrowed Ballet Russes costumes available for $3.00(AUD). An edition of 75, to whet the appetite, here it is with bird song.




(Louise Jennison, Plum-headed finch (Neochmia modesta), 2014, wood engraving on paper with pencil)




(Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison, Salvaged Relatives Pocket Edition, 2014, zine)

And finally, new works created for two group exhibitions near and far:

90, until Saturday the 20th of December 2014
at Port Jackson Press Print Gallery, 84 Smith Street, Collingwood (VIC)

and

Good Mail Day, until the end of December 2014
at artstream, 10 Second Street, Dover, New Hampshire, USA

Something new, and something beastly

Before new things swap what is already in place, here is a link to Gracia and my collage on the cover of the November issue of the Book Arts Newsletter. In the borrowed costume of a Military Musician from Jardin Public, designed by Jean Lurçat, c. 1935, is a collaborative collage we made espcially for BAN. Thank-you Sarah Bodman.

You can glean further here, and download a free copy to read from here.

And best of all, you can see these collages move in a tiny, fantastical, 9-second film with bird song here. I am so excited about this new direction of moving collage Gracia is taking. Can't wait to see more, more, more.

Until then, we are happy to be a part of, and invite you to Beastly: varmits, critters and strays in art, at Delmar Gallery (Trinity Grammar School, 144 Victoria Street, Ashfield, NSW).

The exhibition opens on the 22nd of November, and runs until Sunday the 7th of December 2014.



And finally, from Bristol by way of New South Wales to New Hampshire, USA, the Good Mail Day exhibition at artstream studios, which G and I are thrilled to be a part of, is now available for a peep online. Thank-you Lisa Solomon and Susan Schwake.

Springtime begin afresh

(Soon to fly to a new home, one of @pasadenamansions' earlier paintings.)


(From the morning Percy amble.)


(Behind me, contented dog is contented.)


(Talking about artists' books, zines, and photocopy machines in Godwin Bradbeer's studio.)


(Kippers? Yes, you may enter.)


(What is this small grocery dash you speak of?)


(One of a charm. An edition of ten inky Plum-headed finches encircled by a ring of grass seeds (drawn in pencil, and barely visible here), available soon in our online store.)


(The gatekeeper of the North Fitzroy bike path, Pauli, lies in wait. Be on your best behaviour.)


(The afternoon view.)


(In which Cinderella realises she won't be getting along to those exhibition openings as promised.)

Yup, this is spring, in a nutshell.

The Trees

The trees are coming into leaf;
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In full grown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.

(Philip Larkin, from The Collected Poems, Faber, 1993)

The Collected Poems (Faber, 1993)

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.)