Solo at Gatakers Artspace

I'm very tired after a big day setting up the works at Gatakers Artspace. I have attached some pictures of the new works.  Let me know what you think of them.

C x

Big week

It will be a big week as I have to travel to Maryborough to rework the domestic objects I have there.
The Collective Insites main exhibition is over and each of the five participating artists will be having a solo.

I will have to take some decent photos of the original works before I set up.

Today I spent some time developing my piece for the 'Greed' exhibition I will be having in the Vault at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery opening June 29th.

I will be exhibitng a work  relating to the Global Financial Crisis....Using my beloved rusty old cash register.  Today I even managed to have it ring that bell a few times.

Till soon.  C xx

Gallery 39, Bundaberg, Australia

Susan Hutton spent most of the day in my studio/gallery as she had an online art auction that culminated in sales via my gallery.   She found new homes for quite a few pieces.  Great job Susan!You may  not know it, but my gallery in Bundaberg, is open for hire by artists, photographers or other groups or individuals to run their own art exhibitions or shows of various kinds.  Hire costs are very cheap. Weekly  and daily rates are available.  Like Susan, you could be 'getting your work out there'...lifting your public profile... and even bringing in some welcome cash!!!!      Come by  the gallery and check it out. It's a great space. 13m x 8m of white walls. Contact me on  christineturnerau@yahoo.com.au  or via my blog 'Comments' link. Attached are a couple of views of the gallery. Residencies by arrangement would be possible for city and international artists.  Talk soon.  C xx

Looking for somewhere to exhibit your work? Consider an artist- run exhibiton at Gallery 39 in beautiful Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. Surrounded by sugar cane, small crops and fabulous beaches. The home of Bundaberg Rum! There is a growing interest in the arts in Bundaberg. Come and be a part of these exciting times. Hang your landscapes, project your digital videos....setup an installation. You are in control when you run your own exhibition or event at Gallery 39. Talk soon....c  x

Madonnas

I have quite a history of  producing  Madonnas. This series are, I feel, showing the influence of the work of Frida Kahlo. I haven't looked closely at her work for many years...but she is always in my heart.

Lunch at Cordalba

Susan, Catherine and I had a pink champagne lunch yesterday.  It was so good to catch up on Catherine who  has been snowed under with things other than art for the last few months. Susan and I are hoping she will be getting back into her art practice as she is such a talented printmaker.

She has a show booked at Gatakers next March.

Catherine and I recently bought some animation software. As soon as I get my next two shows on the road, we are going to knuckle down and teach the reluctant T-Rex how to walk!!!..instead of sliding along the floor on his ear!

Photoshop

I spent much of yesterday photoshopping the  pics from Ellen's photoshoot.     Actually I am photoshopping the backgrounds mainly.....not so much Ellen.

I have had some great reactions to the photos of the artworks of Ellen that I posted on Flickr, which is very encouraging.

I am working in the evenings on my new digital series.  The days are never long enough to fit in everything one wants.

I should have an old frame arriving today that will be part of my new work for Gatakers.  I will be putting a digital image of my mother in it.  I will post a picture. It will eventually become part of the new mangle work at Gatakers.

My stats say I have had almost 5000 pageviews  to my blog.  That is wonderful.  Maybe some of you could say hello!!  I would love to hear from you!

Ellen

A limited edition digital print from the series 'Ellen'.

New digital series

I have a new series of digital works on the way -working with images of Ellen. I will go to Brisbane soon to photograph her again and develop the work  further. In the meantime I have been finalising my works for the Gatakers solo in a couple of weeks. I will contact the gallery re details this week.

Ellen's portfolio photo shoot

Sarah my daughter-in-law and I held a photo shoot for a lovely girl called Ellen. She was wanting to have some photographs for a modelling portfolio.

Sarah, a very talented Brisbane stylist did a fantastic job developing the styles for the shoot. It was a very long day but we got some amazing shots. Here is  a small sample.




Makeup: Sarah Elizabeth Turner

Hair - Sarah Elizabeth Turner

Wardrobe & Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Turner

Model: Ellen

Photography:Christine Turner



Collective Insites Pictures

Attached are some pictures from the setting up of the Collective Insites exhibition.

Embed Collective Insites Video

Solo

Look in on Judy Barrass's Blog  http://creativehistories.com/ which details the 'Collective Insites' exhibition progress from its beginning.  It is a very interesting blog.

Each of the artists from 'Collective Insites' will be having a solo exhibition in Gatakers Artspace in the few weeks after the closing of 'Collective Insites'.

Niels and I are up first, commencing June 15th.  I will retain the 3 objects I used for CI  and include the old stove from Mavis Bank.  The mangle, washer and copper will be re-invented.

I will be my own curator for this show, so I am very excited about that.

Portrait of a Stranger

I’m always up early, so I decided to go to the Shalom College to visit the  Sunday markets.   I was keen to take some more photographs for ABCopen’s ‘Portrait of a Stranger’ project.

The markets have a variety of goods. Lots of vegetable stalls… lots of second hand bric-a-brac.  And anything between.

I toured around after saying hello to my past models,-Michael and Erin. They had seen their portraits online and were very pleased with them.

I was drawn to Ana Luz because of her amazing furry red hat. We waited for her husband to arrive to decide if she would pose for me.  He agreed and so we went ahead. Ana and her husband had been growing pumpkins

and had a large table full of them.  It was very easy to take an interesting picture with all these wonderful props on hand.

Ana has been in Australia for four years. She likes going to the markets because she can meet people and practice her English.

Later on I met Jiaou Lee who was minding a stall with her Australian fiancé.  They were selling exotic fish.

Jiaou is very lovely.  She is 25 years old, but looks like a teenager! She is gentle and shy, but when she smiles her face lights up as you can see in this photograph of her.  I think this is one of my best photographs to date.

Dump shop

I couldn't resist the urge to take a trip to the dump shop...or 'Trash & Treasure' as they like to call it.
I just had to have these three small kerosene heaters....Potential Goddesses without a doubt.
I will look at them more closely tomorrow.

Yesterday I  made a drawing of the dimensions of the old stove that I will have for my solo at Gatakers.

(Each of the five artists from 'Collective Insites' will be having a solo exhibition. Mine will be June15th to July 6th.).
I have the Vault commencing June29th...and that will be it till I show the 'Suburban Goddesses' at Pine Rivers Regional Gallery next March.

I will travel to London around September 15th.

All in all it has been a busy and productive few months.



Collective Insites opens

I had a great day yesterday. I was so excited about the upcoming exhibition.

It is great to know that the work is done and one can relax and enjoy the opening.
There were about 135 people there..which is excellent. A cellist was playing in the downstairs gallery.  Delicious horsd'oeuvres were served, and the wine was flowing.

A very enthusiastic crowd attended.
The show was opened by Jenny Galligan, Executive Director Arts Development, Arts Qld. She was very impressed.

The works were quite varied and this added interest. I will post some images through the week.

Elizabeth, from Mavis Bank was there for the opening and I gave her a few photographs I had especially prepared for her and for Patrick ...as a 'thankyou gift'

"Collective Insites" exhibition opening

Setup Collective Insites exhibition

Susan and I had a long and tiring day yesterday.

We had travelled together to Maryborough to set up our artworks for the 'Collective Insites' exhibition.
It is hard to believe that the opening day is rapidly approaching.  It is this Friday evening at 6 at Gatakers Artspace in Maryborough. I'd love to see you there. Details on link:
http://creativehistories.com/


Judy was there to keep things on track and to advise, to divide gallery space, to shift plinths, three four or more times...to get it right......amongst many other things.  Attached are a couple of  pictures of Judy and Susan arranging plinths for Susan's ceramics

Trevor was there to help... to climb ladders, to lift and shift, to do tricky  jobs, to 'bend steel in his bare hands' and basically to solve all manner of  problems. All of which he does willingly.  I have never heard him complain.   He's an angel.

My works came together well and look fine in the small room next to the sculpture room. We had to call Patrick in to help re-assemble the mangle though. 

I can't wait for you to see the works from Collective Insites...but you will have to wait till Saturday, when I post them.

Susan and I didn't leave till late and had a horror trip home in the rain and fog.  But we were happy that the work is done and we can look forward to the opening on Friday.

Till soon   c x

 



Strangers

I went to the Shalom markets early in the morning, hoping to find a stranger or two to photograph for ABC open's project:Portrait of a Stranger. Check out the link if you would like to know more. It's a great project.
http://open.abc.net.au/projects/portrait-of-a-stranger

I did have one grumpy gentleman knock me back when I asked if he would like to take part in the project, but  my disappointment soon evaporated when I met Erin  and Crystal who were selling piercing jewellry.

The two girls were very enthusiastic about the project, and I was able to get some great photos.You can see them on my Flickr site at present and I hope they will be posted on the ABC Camera Club site soon. http://www.flickr.com/photos/christine_a_turner/

I also met Michael who has the best smile and was so kind to be part of the project. You will see from the pictures in flickr that he is very photogenic.

So I returned home with my photographs, a small oil painting and a plant stand. (Which is destined to become another Suburban Goddess).

In the afternoon I went to the skating rink at the showgrounds.

Brad fromABC Online was running another of his photographic workshops. This time more focused on action shots, but also giving us much useful advice about protocols and so on.

I am really enjoying these workshops and also getting a lot out of them. The roller derby girls we photographed were very enthusiastic and helpful.

My little G9 camera struggled a bit at this level, and horror of horrors I ran out of memory!.

So next time I must be better prepared.

C x

Invitations

The invitations have gone out for 'Collective Insites'.....and I am starting to pack my gear.

I have trimmed the white edges off my sepia print .   It looks as though it might curl up on the edges, which is not going to be good at all.  I am thinking of lining it with wallpaper and securing the two layers with paper clips.   That should work quite well.

The attachment above is of my gorgeous little washing machine that will be transformed in this show.  Why don't you come, see the show.  I will post the invitation tomorrow.

I will soon be able to post some pictures from the exhibition  too!...It's going to be a great show!

Till soon...c  x

Milton & Barry

There really are some nice people out there.  Take Milton as an example.You will remember my previous postings with extracts from his emails about my cash register.  He has been very kind also  in contacting a friend and past co worker, 'Barry' who has also worked on the NCR cash registers.

It is great that Barry lives in Nambour (about 3 hrs south of here, but on the way to Brisbane a route I often take).    He said he quite often passes through Bundaberg. So, one way or another we will catch up and take a closer look at this poor old register.

As I said to Milton.....Sometimes I am not very realistic about things......but I hate to give up!! 

Anyway I met two kind gentlemen this week.    Thanks Milton and Barry.

Ka...Ching!!

The good news was that the old cash register started to work.  It had taken two cans of Wd40 and two degreasings to get  all the keys going and the numbers started turning over too.  Then at last the bell started  ringing and the till would fly out.  So I spent 10 minutes just  playing with making that bell ring...the suddenly, something flew off the machine onto the floor and the keys on the cash register are locked again.  Unbelievable!

Anyway, I took Clinton down to Jenny McDuff's studio open day. She had a great many people coming through as one would expect. She is so highly respected in art circles and amongts enthusiastic locals also.

She had some wonderful artworks for sale and people were very keen to buy.    I took my camera and tripod so that I could make a slide show  for her, which I have done.  It needs a few more close ups of some of the works and it should be good enough to put up on Youtube.

I finally managed to drag Clinton away.  He had beeen enjoying the wine and nibblies all day and wasn't keen to get home!!

I'm trying to  get some digital prints listed for sale via ebay.  It's taking a little longer  than I thought it would as I found I needed to make my own template. But it should be worthwhile.

I'm tired....think I will have an early night.  Sweet dreams!  c x                           

Doilys

I am looking for a special type of doily for one of my works for the 'Collective Insites'.  I cant seem to find one anywhere. It is quite a gorgeous old thing.  See attachment.

I'd like to have a couple of these, so check  out your Granny's  doilys if she has any. I really only need to borrow one.

I am finding it harder and harder to find this kind of doily. Sadly they are not often made these days.

As an artist, creating my works from objects and primarily women's things, I  will find that the character of my work will change as these beautiful hand crafts and needleworks become impossible to find.

What will I be making then?  I can't yet imagine. I don't want to imagine.

I have a tin of beautiful old embroidery patterns too. I will show you how I have used them in my works in the past.

I went to Rachael's  yesterday  to see if she had one in her extensive collection. But no luck.  She was amazingly kind and climbed into her roof space to try to find what I was looking for. 

You may remember Rachael from an earlier posting.  I will put up the link.

http://christineaturner.blogspot.com/2010/09/rachaels-obsessions.html

She's dropping over soon for a glass of chardy!!  It could be a hectic evening!!

By the way, Clinton rang and has sold another work at Gatakers. He has done really well.

I am going to pick him up on Monday and we are off to Woodgate to see the Jenny McDuff, who is having a studio 'Open' day.



Grant application

I think I should have stayed working.I am far too busy since I  retired...I finished the contracts and so on for the Vault at BRAG.  I have spent the last few days getting an Australia Council grant application ready.  Left it to the last minute again!  I got the disc made with a slideshow for the application and while at BRAG, I asked Trudie to check the disc for me.  We couldn't open the disc and found after a while, that only a shortcut had saved. So I went home and saved the show onto a new disc. And then returned to BRAG to make sure I had it saved correctly now.

I found a big long smudge of light on the black background of one of the most imporrtant works.  So home again  I went,  to fix the image and make a new disc. Of course. I then ran out of discs, and had to borrow  a couple from Jordy across the road..Finally finished the disc and went back to Jordy, but his computer didn't have  Office, so I wasn't able to check the disc there.. I headed down the road to see Rachael and when she opened the disc, my new slideshow was there ready to go.

I arrived with my grant application at 10 to 5, just in time to lodge my application  before the deadline at 5pm.

This was a truly ridiculous day and I will have to get better organised than that.

Attached above is a photo of one of my works in the 'Suburban Goddess' exhibition last year.

Portrait of a Stranger

What a great day Friday was.  Firstly, my computer tower was back from a Warranty repair, with a new DVD  drive. The new drive  is so quiet.

Then, best of all, my print for one of the works  was produced and it looks fab! I hope Judy and Fiona will like it. I will have to trim the narrow white borders off myself.

Dropped in on Clinton, who has just retuned from a few weeks in Sydney and Brisbane.  I gave him a cute skunk ornament and a bag of ornaments sent for him by Jenny McDuff.

He gave me a glass of wine and we had fun talking about all our plans.  Clinton is going to repaint his shed.  Yes, Clinton lives in a shed.  The interior changes all the time, but it is always full of treasures.

I got my paperwork ready for BRAG and have a grant application on the go.  There is more paperwork to be done for 'Collective Insites'. I hope to finalise all of these projects tomorrow.

At last I got Blogger to accept an image.   I don't think I was doing anything different, so I am not sure why my files were being rejected.

I had a great Saturday  morning with Brad at ABC Open, and a handful of others interested in photography.

Brad gave us lots of advice and was very encouraging. We went later with a partner to find an interesting spot to take each others photo.  I will ask my partner Sue if I can put one or two of the pictures I took of her on my blog.

We have to go and seek out a stranger to photograph and write a short story about.
Some of our stories will be posted on the ABC Open web site:('Portrait of a Stranger').

It's a great project.  I think I gave the link already, but I will post it again.
 http://open.abc.net.au/projects/portrait-of-a-stranger

Attached above from 'Boom Baby Boom': 'The Birth of Eve'.

Talk soon.  Cx

Cash register 4

I was really delighted to get a reply to my emails to America re my rusty old cash register.  I received an email from a kind gentleman named Milton, who gave me the following information and advice:

These machines were made in Dundee Scotland or assembled in Sydney. By the serial number it has not been converted to decimal which means that it was too old for a full conversion subsidy or it was a decimal machine to start.. The S in front of the serial number states it was re-built and sold as a second hand machine and may have been converted when overhauled. The unfortunate thing for these machines they do not have much value for collectors, I have 5 of these machines and have not paid more than $35 each. They require quite a few hours to make them work again and with the hourly charge nowadays and the cost of refinishing them they do not present good value for money. Please look up in your local phone book to see if there is a NCR office near you, They may know of someone local to repair it. You could try the Brisbane office. Keep an eye on e-Bay to check prices.

The main reason these machines dont work is the grease and oil set like cement on the shafts, the parts are made from powdered metal and over time there is a chemical reaction if not regularly serviced. Try using WD 40 to spray in to the gearbox for the indicators, this can take a few days for it to penetrate. The cabinet comes off by undoing up to 6 screws where the cash drawer comes out 2 each side and 2 at the back but most only have 2 to 3 in it. When putting cabinet back on you must hold down the pawls that lock the lid and guide it past the reset lever.

Thanks Milton for your interesting email.

c

Woodgate

I looked out some framed digital prints that I thought might be good to  send down for the Woodgate in Winter art show.  I have picked two of the best to show you.   They are from the 'Boom Baby Boom' exhibition curated by Shelley Pisani for BRAG (Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery).  That was an exhibition that travelled quite extensively.   As a 'Baby  Boomer' myself, it was fun to look back on the 60's and produce work that reflected on such an amazing time.

NB....my laptop is refusing to post my images properly, so I will have to wait till tomorrow, when I hope to have my tower back.

Cash register

I took my cash register to the wonderful people at Sharps on Takalvan Street the other day.  They are so kind and helpful there. 
They got that stubborn screw out in no time at all with their magic screwdriver.

They made two suggestions for cleaning the register up.

Firstly, wash down with shellite with a good squirt of sewing machine oil mixed in.

Secondly, spray with degreaser and hose out. 

I chose the second option as I had a can of degreaser on hand.  The register is looking great after that.  I dried it in the sun and gave it a quick spray of wd40 so it wouldn't develop more rust.

Sadly, I am no closer to getting it to work.  So, I put  it back together, and low and behold I have a spare part. I can't remember where it goes!  Typical!

Anyway , I may have found a  model number on a small metal plaque.  I will have to clean the surface with Jiff or something like that and hope that it doesn't completely erase the number.
Armed with that number, I might try to email NCR.

Well I am sick and tired of the database I am trying to develop for the web.  I want to link up with Paypal and have some of my prints available for sale via my website.   I just can't get the database quite right.   I need someone to come and read out the instructions while I feed the info in.  It's quite complicated.

I'm going to take time out and get a few good closeups of the register. The I will pop in to see Catherine up at BRAG.  She is conducting a print workshop there.

c x

Hooray!

Our very happy curator - Judy, reported all our pictures and data arrived safely at the printers!
Great news...we can all relax a little and get excited about the exhibition.    c   x

Attached is a picture of one of the wheels of the MavisBank mangle. The mangle will become part of one of my artworks at Gatakers Artspace in the 'Collective Insites' exhibition in June.

Hectic days

              

In the morning I prepared a folder of images and text to send to Allison at Hervey Bay Gallery. She will be producing some educational resources about the CI project.  That done I went down to the gallery to take some pictures of the cash register for Trudie at BRAG.   My show there in the vault will be on June 29th.  Trudie will come to see me this week regarding the show.     The exhibition was required to be relating to  banking, so I have been planning a work about the Global Financial Crisis.

The  cash register is now in the boot of my car, to go up to  Sharp's to get one persistent screw out of the till section.   I hope removing that section will give me a better view  deeper inside the cash register.
Maybe then I can get the register going properly.

I nearly forgot to tell you, my computer tower went on the blink....wouldn't you know it... It will be away for repairs all week.

One good thing that came out of it was I found a printer who can do my print at the same shop.  That will save me travelling to Maryborough for it.

The wallhanging for one of my 3 works in  the 'Collective Insites' exhibiton is looking rather beautiful.
What do you think?    Come on now don't be shy!

Busy week

What a busy week I have had,  I have given my website a face lift...I like to change it regularly and although I am currently showing some earlier works, it is my aim to post some very new works shortly.
I am also introducing a photography page.  Photography is becoming such an important part of my art practice.

I am really excited that I am going to be involved with a  photography workshop run by Brad Marsellos
for  ABC Open later in April.   Brad has had an interesting project called 'Portrait  of a Stranger'.....it's online....check it out:
http://open.abc.net.au/projects/portrait-of-a-stranger  

I have finally made a decision about my digital print for one of my works in 'Collective  Insites'.  It should be printed next week. It is a relief to have it  settled and  I can get on with sewing my backdrop for another of the works.

My artist card  has been sent and writing completed.  I'm hoping that I haven't overlooked anything.
I will send Judy an email in case she needs more photos.


The opening of 'Collective Insites' is not far off now....May 2 and 3 for setup and opening May 6 th  closing TBA.  It's getting really exciting now.  I  can't wait to see what the others have produced.

Judy's catalogue for the exhibition should be interesting too- she is a very good editor and I am keen to hear what she has to say in her article.

Attached below are some photos of Clinton's exhibition. These 3 sold.....look out Paris....here comes Clinton!!

Till soon....c x