'the divided self' footpath gallery june-july 2008

the 'pizza family' is a brilliantly funny accident in packaging... it tells a whole story as it sits abandoned on a shop front top step... changing signs to say something else is of course an old one, some of them are particularly clever, this one is pretty standard stuff, but still catches a smile by observant passers by

this is a 'permanent' artwork in the grounds at the fremantle art centre...a whole collection of books buried into the earth. usually public art in open spaces is durable, doesn't erode by weather and very permanent. but this piece has another element... of decay, it changes over time, it's being eaten by insects and swollen by moisture. one day it will disappear all together...

from the train window on the trip down to bunbury from perth.
it seems that the bushlands are so untouched in comparison to the east coast. these huge grasstrees (balga/blackboy) are everywhere, alongside proteas and other native flowers and flowering trees...

my studio emptied on sunday of the twelve dolls i've been working on leading up to my exhibition at the 'footpath gallery' and has given me time to clean down surfaces and start on new things.
these three cojoined twins are the result. they will be going over to melbourne very soon for an exhibition at milly sleeping

'...the little red shoes still danced off into the forest...'
this piece was made a while ago and recently came back to me after exhibition 'brew' finished at milly sleeping earlier this year in. it was also originally part of an exhibition called 'shoes change lives' at the lovett gallery in newcastle last year.

another great exhibition at the moores building contemporary art gallery, 'the garden project'.
this piece by Arif Satar is titled 'lawn series'. strands of grass built from clay. they look like hairs growing from the skin.

this might be an unusual thing to find here in this blog...most of the things that end up here are design or art based...but this system does fit in with the recycling aspect to my work and interests.

i have always been interested in where our rubbish goes once it is picked up from the streets every week. i grew up driving past an open tip in dudley {nsw} on daily trips to the beach. it stank sure, but we all knew where our rubbish went and could see the pile from the road through the trees. we also went there to collect stuff that other people didn't want. it is harder now to know what happens to the things we through away. there is a lot more being consumed so it must be a growing amount of waste.
just recently i discovered that fremantle shire is quite unique with what they do after rubbish collection: it all goes to a big waste site where it is sorted very carefully; all the organic matter plus dirty papers and other biodegradable items go into a huge composting system; which is the second largest of its kind in the world. then all the non-organics get sorted into recyclables or landfill items.
this not only reduces the amount of landfill it also creates a rich compost that can be redistributed into the community.
they do tours of the whole site every week, these pics were taken for me by J when he was there last friday. so we can again see where our rubbish goes.

moores building contemporary art gallery in fremantle always something great to wander through while at the cafe next door.
this installation from the exhibition safety measures is a particular favourite. artist Marzena Topka
not only displays an incredible devotion to crochet, she also cleverly incorporates elements of architecture. it took a while to work out that they were crocheted floor plans. it reminded me of a completely sewn interior of a house in the sydney biennale many years ago. made from sheer fabric and all to life size scale... an amazing exhibit.

beautiful sketches and drawings are so inspiring. i love the work of leah muddle. i have once before posted another of her amazing cards she is indeed a very talented woman.
her skills are varied and very proficient. today i was surprised by these two beautiful hand sewn letters neatly packed into a post-pack... i noticed some of her letters in the window at milly sleeping when i visited her there in melbourne earlier this year. they are printed, appliquéd, stuffed and hand embroidered

these dolls jason & guthrie were made years ago now, but i just found their photos again and thought i'd see if they have found a home yet. i have a little blog of their story as far as i know it on the right side of this blog called last seen. they went over to new york as a wedding gift but never made it to the couple...so they are perhaps languishing in a postage pack in a forgotten postal service room or went to the wrong apartment and have found a new home... i'd love to know where they are and what exciting adventures they've had. maybe one day in years to come paths will cross...just thought it was time to blog them again...

it was an overcast morning of riding around the undeveloped river side of perth... old industrial sites along the swan river are now very much prime real estate. but these old coal and power systems have such character... statuesque and dilapidated and a landmark

it is only the underneath structure of a bridge across the swan river near the old power station, but would be a great pedestrian or bike path too...just something from pillar to pillar and it would take us across...an amazing gallery of pillars, the reflection are especially striking...

i posted another of Victoria Roberts' cartoons earlier this month, but this one just couldn't go without ceremony, not only is it one of the very few where his wife is not speaking let alone omitted from the cartoon all together, it also references a favourite book of mine: the little prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery.

finished the ring today! it was an easy process for the last stage, but very repetitive. no heating or dipping into chemicals needed. it was all done with a round metal tapered bar and a wooden mallet. once it was beaten into an even round shape it was all about filing, sanding and finally the buffing.

three tile mosaics set in to an artist friend's native garden... all the tile parts are from her own handmade tiles from over the years of making them in fremantle.


her studio and garden ordainments. the colour of her studio is as bright and flamboyant as the colours used in her tiles. the mosaic decorations in and around her home and garden hint at her portuguese heritage. apparently the churches in portugal are covered with very decorative colourful tiles...

i have started a traditional jewellery course at the Fremantle Arts Centre
over the 9 weeks i will slowly show the progress of what is made.
below is two stages of making a ring from sterling silver.


stage two: yesterday i finally managed to have it resemble a ring shape. after filing the inside of the raindrops with minute files (and the saw blade for the tiny tips of the drop shape) it was then time to change the properties of the silver to allow for bending. so with flux, a blow torch and various liquids it was then possible to bend until the ends touched. then fluxed again and soldered for a solid join


stage one: last weeks beginning of making a ring of sterling silver. with the help of a delicate saw blade and a lot of patience five tiny raindrop shapes were cut out of 1mm metal.


the sketch of the ring design is first done on paper and repeated. one is cut out to stick onto the silver as a templete the other stays in the book as a record.

this is the newest doll for my exhibition at remedy's footpath gallery, i have mentioned it before in previous posts. a brief and very small preview to some new work before their premiere into the world via Fremantle's High street...
this one is about hair, well, a part of it's story will be about hair. look carefully for the small but real hair ball of silvery-white hair sewn into the dolls head... you'll have to wait for the opening show to hear the full story...

the painted fish bed & breakfast had an open day on sunday, owners Tim & Sharni's have a lot to show off at their Sustainable House from solar panels to worn farms 7 composts...the open air showers were definitely one of the most exciting features. i'm sure we'd all be much healthier if we all washed in the sun, the storm or the rain


outside shower for the 'carriage' room


detail of the shower head made by Tim Darby


most of the houses in the inner fremantle area are small and old and very modest dwelling that have either been lovingly restored, updated or remain heritage listed... this house has evidently sprung up in very recent decades. it seems to be a veritable empire, it seems to go on and on, little balconies and stairs and follies all over the place. it makes me laugh every time i walk past it.

a new stool... this little stool was found for only $5 at melville sunday market.
it had old deteriorated black vinyl on the seat, while the legs and frame looked rusted.
after brushing off the 'rust' which turned out to be dirt and recover the seat with off cuts from some Florence Broadhurst fabric it has turned into an amazing piece of furniture!


cartoonist Victoria Roberts is one of the best bits of The Australian magazine on a saturday morning.
the wife is the only one that ever speaks in this on going cartoon.

this amazing moth was crumpled on the door step...discovered after an early morning walk.


old warehouse doors at moore & moore

dingo flour
"the dingo image painted on the silo, has been a landmark for generations of western australians and is a welcoming sign visible from land and the sea,"

sculpture by the sea at cottesloe beach, perth's favourite swimming beach complete with shinning white sand.

street front retaining wall in north fremantle...house owners are proud people over here in the west. not to mention creative with old, disused and industrial materials. what a great find...i wonder what these numbers were made for originally? i'm still looking for a reverse garbage {nsw} equivalent here in fremantle or perth.
brisbane's reverse garbage {qld} was so exciting that i seriously considered moving to the city...preferably within walking distance or a short bike ride from the amazing array of great stuff.

camouflage collar..wednes day... one of my latest additions to my on-line store at Made It. there are four designs that i have been making: saturday night, sunday morning, monday noon and wednes day.

i stepped over this scene without noticing at first. it was hidden under the footpath in a perth city drain...the light were on and beamed up briefly through the little holes in the steel plate over the hole. it looked so sinister, quiet and desolate, like some spooky torture chamber under the streets of the city.

another ceiling...at kakulas sisters again. an amazing building to house the huge array of whole foods

found this little cartoon in an old New Yorker magazine picked up from a garage sale. it's getting colder here in fremantle, a relief to know that it does cool down...all that merino wool clothing & winter coats were perhaps worth carting over the country afterall.

another doll is cut, unstitched, unbuttoned and deconstructed to make way for the new...this one was made for exhibition 'stuffed' at this is not art a few years back in newcastle. everything was white. she nolonger made sense in my suitcase of exhibited dolls. and an up and coming exhibition, where they all climb out and wander off to another gallery wall, made me clean up and reasses this particular doll. her neck always bothered me, it flopped around and looked poorly finished despite my constant readjusting. it was a mistake right back at the sewing machine... her neck was too long and thin for this white cotton fabric and her head to heavy.
she now resides in pieces inside another new creature!


to find a sign cleverly changed is always a good photo excuse... this one is in a hospital car park and seems sort of curious and fitting...i wonder who and why they changed it

PICA's annual national graduate show hatched 08 opened last night.
this piece was a very large installation of coloured vinyl lily flowers floating on their own pond.

Foto Freo is a biennial photography festival held in Fremantle showcasing international
and Australian photographers. runs from 5 april to 4 may.
so far it has been one long string of openings for photography based exhibitions. one of these exhibitions, Fig, is installed in the fremantle prison gallery and surrounding exhibition spaces house three more. a very stunning setting, what a building! in it's very primitive state it was used as a prison until the 1980s!