T Shirts

I had a lot of running around to do yesterday. I managed all my chores except ringing the printers Gatakers had recommended.

I went to the Screenprinters to see about having some promotional T-Shirts made.

Costs for 4 colour separations A4 $130 + GST (Setup cost)

T shirts:   Aussie     x  50 - $12  + GST

                Chinese   X  50 -  $8.30 + GST  

 

That all adds up to (for 50 Aussie Tshirts) - $29.52 each inc gst.          (3-4 weeks for order to be processed.) 

 

That adds up to:       $1476

Plus setup costs:      $142

Grand Total:             $1618

I think that is getting a bit pricey.  There’s not much room to make any profit there. 

I will have to look up some other options on the internet.

I have attached a picture I made of Kim. She will be quite a versatile mannequin I think.

Lunch at Woodgate

I had a trip to Woodgate to deliver artworks to Jenny McDuff for the festival coming up this weekend. (Woodgate is on the coast about 40 minutes south of Bundaberg.)

Jenny has a huge role in the running of event.

Carol (L), Susan, Jenny (R)

This is the first time I have contributed works for the art show, and my friend Susan Hutton and I thought it would be a great opportunity to catch up with Jenny and our friend from Hervey Bay…Carol Seegar.

Jenny is the quintessential painter. Her control of the medium is impressive. It was wonderful to visit her in her studio and to see so many of her powerful works.

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(If you would like to contact Jenny regarding her work, send me an email at:

christineturnerau@yahoo.com.au

and I will forward your details to her.)

Carol Seegar is a printmaker/painter/jewellery maker…and so much more. She excels in whatever skill she turns her hand to. She had some beautiful artist prints that she had done since we had a weekend print workshop a couple of months ago. (I will post some photos of our print workshop some time soon.)

 

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We had a delicious lunch. Glasses of wine. Good conversation and lots of laughs.

We should get together more often.

Jobs for tomorrow:

* Fine tune the ‘Broken Woman’ Digital Projection

*Go to see a Screenprinter re promotional T-shirts for the ‘Suburban Goddess’ exhibition.

Check with Gatakers to see if they have TV suitable for showing the Digital Projection.

Ring up printers re invitations

Kimberley and Rita

Yesterday I called in to Catherine’s place at Burnett Downs.  She is somewhere in Europe, having a wonderful time sightseeing with her husband Peter.
She has house sitters looking after the place and her two dogs.
I had gone there to pick up a couple of her artworks for  the ‘Woodgate Arts in Winter’ festival which is in its third year. See the newsletter on the Creative Regions  website. (http://creativeregions.com.au/newsletter.aspx?id=54)
Sounds like a fantastic weekend… art exhibition, jazz,  dancing, children’s art activities and so much more.  It’s on this weekend, so you better get organised!
On the way home I visited a local store that sells old wares amongst other things. The vendor allowed me to photograph a couple of her mannequins.  She could not be tempted to sell them.
So  I want to introduce you to Kimberley and Rita, who will star in upcoming  digital artworks in the ‘Broken Woman series.
 

Rita has the habit of falling over all the time when she is not strapped up to the petrol bowser at the front of the premises. Consequently her nose has been severely damaged.  I will be able to restore that…..at least in the digital world.
Kimberley  looks as if she is rehearsing for the role of Venus……I will be able to cater for that too!


I finally got that Business Activity Statement done and posted. So I can have a break from business until I start on the 09/10 Tax Return.
I will be making another post about lunch at Woodgate later this evening. See you then!

New monitor

I am really happy as I have bought myself a new computer monitor. A large one that will make it easier for me to work on my digital images.

It's a beauty!

I don’t know how I have put up with the small monitor for so long.

I referred the other day that I had trouble with the Digital Projection I am developing. I had downloaded some software from a well known internet site and I thought it was going to be perfect for my presentation.

However after a few days using the software, I found it had ‘gremlins’ and I went about removing the program from my computer.

I was quite horrified to see that the program had left watermarks on each of the images I had in the slide show.

So I will be more cautious in future.

I eventually downloaded a great free program from Microsoft for my Windows 7.

I had to start the projection over again in the new program as I needed to delete the watermarked files. Those files were duplicates…fortunately.

I am making good progress on the DP now. Not much progress with the Business Activity Statement though!

More news tomorrow.

Till soon.

Pewter

I am under that digital art spell again….sitting in front of the computer for hours on end when I should be doing my Business Activity Statement.
The  Digital Projection turned out to be  rather problematic.  I will tell you about it tomorrow as it is late again.
I don’t think I showed you my last big silver canvas. It’s all but finished. I will probably dabble with it for another week or two.

I have called it Pewter. It is rather lovely….but doesn’t photograph so well. I will  include it a photo of it in my promotional folder.
I want to have the  DP heading in the right direction before I  get serious about the two new canvases I have waiting for me in the studio.
Good night!
I have included  a close up of the richly textured surface of Pewter.                                       
Detail:

Digital Projection

Yet another mystery…a painted canvas has appeared on my doorstep. I don’t know who has left it there or if there was a special reason for it to be left.

I enquired amongst  friends…though it is not like the work that they do.  In time,  all may be revealed.

I still haven’t found out who dropped off the plastic hibiscus coasters.

I have been told that the appropriate title for a ‘slide show’ is a ‘Digital Projection”….so ‘when in Rome…’

My Digital Projection is coming along  at a fairly rapid pace.  I think I will have it finished by next week if all goes well.

I spent an hour in the afternoon photographing the lids of biscuit tins on Amy’s plastic tablecloths. I thought I would be using the photos for the DP this evening.

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Unfortunately, I selected the wrong settings and have made the shots in low resolution. The photos will be fine for my blog, but I will have to reshoot the tins tomorrow.

I like to get high resolution photos for my archives.

The DP will incorporate most of the ‘Broken Woman’ series and will feature a few new works  where applicable.  The ‘Broken Woman’ series is ongoing.

The Suburban Goddess sculptures will not be included in the DP.

I took a photo of the SG’s huddled up in a corner of the studio. It will be great to see them in a gallery setting. Particularly a setting as beautiful as Gatakers Artspace- Nicholson Room.

Well I better get to work.  Good night.

 

PS:

 

Sometimes art just happens!

 

Not enough hours

I don’t know where all the hours go….and all of a sudden it is midnight. I don’t want to have to sleep! There is so much I need to do.

Tonight I made good progress on my digital projection. I found some interesting software for it on the internet. I think it is going to be perfect for the job.

(I have been cheating a little…starting on my next project…the one I hinted at a couple of weeks ago….Don’t tell anyone!)

Here is a picture of another of the little stars of that upcoming project.

Great news…..I have two more big canvases in my studio…they arrived yesterday! I will probably make a rose garden of one, as I have such gorgeous rose patterned plastic tablecloths…the ones that Amy sent me from Singapore.

The promotional folder of photos of the large collages and paintings is coming up quite well. I have sent an email to Artworkers asking

for their advice on where to send them when they are ready.

The studio is tidy again. I carted out to the storage shed, all the Suburban Goddesses that won’t be needed for the exhibition. Unfortunately my mate Jordan has a part time job at the Dimmeys store in town, so it wasn’t much fun shifting everything without him.

Well, I better say goodnight……… Till soon.

Totem poles

All around the world there are communities that have traditionally made totem poles.
It has been said that the story a totem pole tells is like a poem. Many things are said with only a few words.
The meanings of the designs on totem poles are as varied as the cultures which produce them. Some have spiritual connotations. Some are merely artistic endeavours.


Stories and events  depicted in the symbolic poles are passed down to new generations. In this way, totem poles  preserve  cultural and social histories.

My totem poles evoke family stories and events. They depict old traditions and indicate future directions.They encapsulate symbolism and artistic endeavour. Their meanings are very fluid.
Till  soon.

Another busy day

I have had a very busy day.

Today was about keeping records.

I spent quite a while photographing the goddesses that have been newly created to fit in with the colour restrictions I put in place.

After photographing them, I save the images to the computer.

Next, I reduce all the images to fit a 4“ x 6” photo size and leave a space to put titles and so on They are a bit 'fiddly' to do and it's not my favourite task at all, but they make a handy reference, particularly when there are so many works in the series.

They are also useful when contacting galleries and so on.

I need them particularly for the Gatakers volunteers that will be helping me when I set up the exhibition. They will be able to see the pieces they need to stack up for each individual sculpture.

I prefer not to glue, screw or stick my sculptures together.

I stack them up like ‘Totem Poles’.

I might talk a bit about totem poles tomorrow…it’s getting late.

My son Ben is coming to stay tomorrow night which will mean fun and games and I will see if I can get him to do a few chores around the place!

Ben is a teacher and has a natural gift in the way he relates to his students. He chose his career well. He and his lovely wife Sarah are a great team.

I will try to catch Jyp on the weekend as I have some photos to give him. I guess they will end up on the wall somewhere.

I have had a very productive evening developing my digital works...a few of which I might include in the digital presentation.

Till soon ……C

My son Alan

My eldest son Alan is a doctor in the air force. He has not long returned from a nine month deployment in Afghanistan. He was head of one of the trauma teams at a military base near Kandahar in the south.

 

Needless to say I am so proud of all he has achieved.

 

He has written some comments in reaction to my earlier postings and I thought you might find them interesting.

 

Alan and Ben...my youngest son, have given me so much support over the years and in so many ways. They have been particularly encouraging of my art practice.

 

I just adore them both. I could write a complete blog about them. They have so many stories of their own . But this is probably not the right forum for that.

 

In case you missed Alan's earlier comments, I have cut and pasted them here.

 

Alan said:

"I have vivid memories of trawling through junk and opportunity shops all over South East Queensland as you searched for your "little treasures"! At the time I had no idea what you were up to and my analytical brain had no success in detecting a trend. To boot, as an impressionable and self-conscious adolescent, I spent most of my time hiding behind stacks of second-hand goods, hoping and praying that none of my friends would enter and catch me in such a place (it never occurred to me at the time to question what they were doing in such a place!?!) Little did I realise what grand plans you had in store for all these once-loved items."

" 'Mother' is still one of my favourites... along with 'The Bored Goddess" of course! Have you included a picture of her on the blog? Might be interesting to show some of the early goddesses that came before the "more evolved" Suburban Goddesses! Or maybe you already have... I had best keep reading!"
Alan.

Bored Goddess 95

Decision

Sue was the only person to come to the gallery last Sunday. Catherine is packing for a tour of Europe….starting with a week in Paris – lucky girl!

I can’t remember how long she said she would be away, but it’s going to be a few weeks.

Kathy is in Sydney seeing family and is going to check out the Biennale, and report on it when she gets back.

We are having our own Biennale up here in Bundaberg. Lets face it…..Jyp is the ultimate star here, and always will be.

His artistic instincts are so pure. I don’t think I have ever seen that before.

(I bet they are glad they don’t have that sort of competition in Sydney!)

Sue and I had plenty of time to talk on Sunday while I ran around the gallery trying out potential arrangements of the goddesses for the Gatakers exhibition.

We were really happy at the end of the day, as we both managed to make some firm decisions about the upcoming shows.

My exhibition at Gatakers in Maryborough, will open in about 8 weeks. Believe me – that is not a lot of time. We need to get cracking!

My big decision was about the floor plan for the sculptures in my exhibition.

I have tried all sorts of configurations, but the best is going to be my original plan of a diamond-shaped grid pattern.

The works will have to be at least 1.50 metres apart, possibly a little more.

The downside of this is that I will only have space enough for 20 to 25 of the 50 works.

This is probably a good idea, as I will have to pick the very best works to exhibit.

In one of the configurations of floor plans that I tried, I found I needed to control colour, as I have so much variation. This was quite illuminating and I think it will help to resolve the work in the long run.

Therefore, I have largely withdrawn all green and blue works from the display. I am also removing the more ornate works.

‘Less is more’…as ever.

This afternoon, I selected most of the works suitable for the show and have stacked them in a corner of the gallery, so that I can see how much we have to take down to Maryborough. (1hr 30 south of Bundaberg. I have made quite a mess in the gallery as you can see by the photo I just took.

Tonight I might get back to work on my digital presentation for the show. I think I will have to chase some information on the web.

Thank Sue for your recent comments on Jyp’s story.

Comments are available at the end of the posting they relate to.

Talk soon x

Visit Jip

I will try to post some better photos of Jip's house, if I can get there sometime soon.

To answer the question of how one gets invited to go through his house is to roll up and knock on his door! He loves to show visitors through!

Try to make an appointment though. Give him a little warning, so he can get prepared.

And don't throw out your old calendars. Pass them on to Jip!!

My jobs for today

*More digital art. I am trying to develop my works on a larger scale, but I don't want to loose detail.

*Find out about a projector for the digital presentation I plan to show at Gatakers as part of the exhibition.

* Mow the lawn!