Sunday in the gallery

I am getting prepared for the  group exhibition in October at the Brenda May Gallery in Waterloo, Sydney.   I want to have some photo books on hand. I will adapt the previous publication I arranged, and may also include a couple of new books.  I may design a book with the Coonar Bride works if I have enough of them...and perhaps a book of celestial bodies.

I also made up some new business cards and had them printed today.

Now that all my tins have come back from Hervey Bay, I will pick some of the best ones to include in my installation.  My car is stuffed full of boxes of tins at present!

On Sunday there will be a lunch in the gallery for the artists in the upcoming 'people are people' exhibition. We will work out the details for hanging the show and so on.   Artist, Adam Anderson  will come earlier for a photoshoot.  I will have the opportunity to try out my new Nikon d3200.  c x

Adelaide

I spent the last two weeks looking after my two grandaughters, Isabella and Charlotte, while they were visiting Adelaide. They are such beautiful girls in every way. Smart, pretty, funny, caring, witty, loving!  There just aren't enough adjectives!  It was such a joy to spend time with them.

Today I drove to Hervey Bay to pick up my biscuit tins from my floor works that I called 'Citadels'.  The 'renew' exhibition was very well received apparently.  Unfortunately, I can't attend all these exhibition openings as they are just so far away.  Hervey Bay is an hour and a half  away, at least - one way.

My skeleton or part thereof, will be  sent from Adelaide tomorrow.  I carried some of the leg, hands and feet bones home in my 'carry on luggage' when I flew home the other day.  I  was pulled aside at Adelaide airport for a security bag check.  They had noticed the bones on their x-ray machine.  Once the security man checked what they were I was allowed to proceed!

My grandaughters don't seem to be concerned at all that their grandmother carries skeleton bones  around in her luggage!!  They are used to me collecting strange things!  They call the skeleton...Mr Deadibones (from Snugglepot and Cuddlepie).

Talk soon,   c x

'people are people'

The 'people are people' exhibition at Dirty Linen artspace is fast approaching! ABC Open Wide Bay Producer, Brad Marsellos will be showing a selection of his photographic portraits.  Adam Anderson will present figurative  paintings, and Petrina McDonald (of 'Fledglings' fame), will show 'instagrams'. The exhibitions will only be open for one night.  July 27th 2012, 5pm-8pm.   This will be an exciting show with a twist or two!   Try to catch it if you can.  c x

Skeleton

My latest acquisition is a full adult size skeleton.  It will be very interesting to work with.  I found it in an Adelaide second-hand furniture shop.  There are many second-hand and charity shops in Adelaide....they have been wonderful to explore with my two gorgeous grandaughters this last week.

Justyn

Justyn came to the studio to have some photographs taken by Brad Marsellos for  the upcoming  'people are people' exhibition.  Justyn has lots of piercings now and is very proud of them

Photo above by Brad

Photo above by Chris

Photo above by Brad

Photo above by Chris

 Photo above by Brad

I took a few photographs too with my new Nikon  DX 3200.  We got some great pictures!!! c x

New artworks

In between all the hustle and bustle of the recent Fledglings show and all the running around I seem to have done lately, I have been making a couple of works for the Blake Prize.  Images must be sent in by the  end of July, so there is a little time still. I won't be getting my hopes up for this competition, it is incredibly hard to have a work selected. I'm keeping those works under wraps for the present.

I am however, posting a couple of digital works I made today  from photographs taken at Coonar Beach.  There will probably a few more coming.  Hey...why don't you tell me if you like them? c x

BRAG Networking

A networking meeting was held at BRAG this evening. Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery (BRAG)'s  Trudie Liego ...on behalf of the gallery, reached out to local artists to  discuss matters of concern .

This was an important initiative by the Gallery and could augur in a new era in the arts for Bundaberg....if that is what the artists want.  So much depends on the artists now.   Ultimately we will reap what we sow!

Sadly, the 'Fledglings' exhibition was taken down today.  It has been a whirlwind few days culminating in a truly exciting event. I hope the Yr10 art students will treasure this experience.  I know that art teachers,  Petrina McDonald and Megan McFarlane most certainly will.

More light painting

Here are some more fabulous pictures resulting from our light painting exploits!

Networking meeting

There is an important meeting this week at the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery (BRAG), and I urge all visual artists to attend.  5.30 to 7pm Wednesday 20th June at the gallery.  (RSVP to the gallery).

Discussion will center on ways the gallery can assist artists in their art practice.  This is a great initiative by the BRAG.  Bring your ideas!   Don't miss this opportunity to have your say.

For more info click here

Fledglings opening

Oh my! ...I can't begin to tell you what a lovely night I have had.  The 'Fledglings' exhibition was a tremendous hit...all thanks to the Dynamic Duo of Bundaberg North State High School art teachers Petrina Mc Donald and Megan McFarlane.

We estimated about 120 - 150 people attended the exhibition. 

The exhibition was followed up with a pizza party which took us well into the night.  We sampled the entire range of Sauvignon Blanc!  Not bad!!

There was an interesting conversation about the upcoming  networking meeting  with BRAG. Precursor of things to come!

Good pizza....good wine.. great company...great art!!!

Thank you Bundaberg North State High School Yr10 art students, you did a brilliant job!

Thanks for coming Kerry.!!

Till soon,
c x

PS    The image above is of the group artwork created by ths students for the exhibition.  Great work!!

'Fledglings' exhibition video

Capturing Coonar

I was really excited to be on the road to Coonar with Brad and Jess and Darling the dog. The road to Coonar cuts through a kaleidoscope of landscapes from newly planted lines of rich brown earth, to abundant ordered  fields of small crops...tomatoes and capsicums...and lavish crops of  sugar cane that seem to encompass everything.   This years cane crop looks perfect...dense, lush and velvet green on top, shimmering gently in the comforting breeze.

On we went through an  avenue of tall majestic pines that guided us  down into a dark wetland which we crossed via a narrow bridge. The wetlands were filled to overflowing from recent rain. Gushing from beneath the bridge ...a small waterfall  reinvigorated the dark and silent, mysterious wetland, feeding it with new life, like a mother feeds a child.

Crunching gravel roads led us onwards towards signs of habitation.   We had arrived at Coonar Beach.

The beach is dotted with a small number of houses old and new, but there was no sign of life. The houses were locked up and unresponsive. Blank facades  hid secrets of the lives that must go on behind those walls...lives that were irrelevant to us today as we had come to the beach.

From the back of Brad's car we extracted, a dress shop mannequin torso, two mannequin legs, three parts of arms, a bag full of wedding veils and our photographic equipment. We were off on another adventure with a mission to 'capture Coonar' in a new way.

Darling loped  about joyfully, sniffing up all that is Coonar... and loving it.

Relentlessly waves rolled in across a large vista of empty beachscape, licking the littoral. Savouring its briney taste.

The big sky above bares down on the landscape compressing it into the thin dark line of the distance.

We head off towards those distant places, where the dead trees have fallen.

We pass a group of beautiful young people camped around a small fire.
"What are you doing?"  they called out having noticed the unusual props we carried.
"We are off to capture Coonar" we replied.
"Good luck!"

Finally at our destination Brad and I set out to take our photos.  Jess helped me with setting up for pictures with the  wedding veil and later set up the tree stump from which the arm emerges.

Brad, ever helpful, persists in his belief that if he remains patient with me, I will eventually master some understanding of photography basics.  He helps me with some suggestions.

And then, in his 'zone' he disappears into the landscape....where I know he will be capturing magic.

The  photographs we took speak for themselves.  The mannequin, Adele takes on a new role as Venus emerging.  She has lost the veil that hid her truth.

As we prepare to leave, the huge grey sky is graced with an enormous rainbow...then soon after, a double rainbow. 

It has been a truly wonderful afternoon.






Photo above:Turner


    Photo above: Marsellos

   Photo above: Turner

 Photo above: Marsellos

Photo above: Turner

Photo above: Marsellos

'Fledglings' 2

The 'fledglings' exhibition has been hung and it looks fabulous! Our 'lighting designer', Brad Marsellos has been on the job and the results are gorgeous.

There is an incredible amount of work on show.  The body of artworks produced is a credit to the dedicated and inspiring art teachers, Petrina McDonald and Megan McFarlane.

The opening will be  at 5pm this Friday.There should be a huge turnout for this one day event.
There will be a  soup kitchen providing soup prepared by Bundaberg North State High School catering students....Great idea in this cold weather.
Buskers will entertain into the evening. Entry is free!  Hope to see you there!  Till soon...c x

                                          
                                         A small part of the 'fledglings' exhibition.

More stencil works

More North Bundaberg State High School  magic! Exhibition next week. See below for details.

 Artwork above by Brooke 

 Artwork above by Kristy

Artwork above by Linlin

Fledglings

The excitement is building now as it is not long before the opening of 'Fledglings' (North Bundaberg State High Yr10 art students exhibition).

As well as handling a multitude of press engagements, the students  have been powering along, finishing their works for the show.

Don't miss this one night only art party, featuring stencils.  It is going to be wonderful!  cx

Painting with Light

Our indefatigable ABC Open Wide Bay Producer, Brad Marsellos has introduced us to another  interesting subject to extend our photography practices.   We have been learning how to  'paint with light'.

Bring together a group of people, each armed with their camera, tripod and a torch. Find a quiet park, on a dark night. Add to the mix our tutor Brad, and soon the fun begins

Cameras were fixed to tripods and were set to Manual. The cameras were also set for long exposures of 15 to 30 seconds. Flashes were turned off sometimes and on at other times.  Usually we stood behind our subjects, torches pointing towards the camera.  We would quickly paint the subject person with the illuminated torches, then run to the back of the camera to see what results we had.

There was great excitement  amongst the participants! We ended up with pictures of  angels and Jedi type warriors and all manner of things.  Some very interesting portraits were produced.

I went on to experimenting at home with mannequins in my studio. I hope you find the results interesting.  I have selected a couple of the best pictures to show you. If you want to see more, check out my Flickr site at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/christine_a_turner/

Brad will be conducting another Light Painting Workshop soon, so join in by contacting him through the  link above.  Use that link also to find out about the Snapped:Light painting project that you can join in with if you want to.  The workshop and project are both free to participants!!

Till soon,

c x

Till soon c x

Blog problems

You may have been looking for one of my past blogs recently and  found it to be unavailable.  I was not aware of this problem for a while, but it has been sorted out.  Old posts are now available.
Hooray!

Talk art soon!

Joe Saxby aka 'These Guy'

Joe Saxby is a very talented young singer/songwriter living here in Bundaberg. At least till next year when he hopes to go to Brisbane to study music.

Brad Marsellos, Producer of ABC Open Wide Bay has made a fabulous video of Joe singing his new song...'Sunburnt'.

I was able to able to  assist in a very small way.   I really enjoyed seeing how Brad approached and developed the finished product.

Check out Joe's guest blog for ABC Open at the following link:   http://open.abc.net.au/openregions/qld-wide-bay-71AY7Fz/posts/my-name-is-joe-50ay2mb


And I will embed the video on this page.  It's a great song Joe!!   c x

Guest blog

http://open.abc.net.au/openregions/qld-wide-bay-71AY7Fz/posts/my-girl-89ob0tk

Check out this link to my guest blog for ABC Open Wide bay.  It's about the Moreton Bay Art Awards presentation.

PS  Thankyou Edward B for your recent kind comments.  c

'fledglings' stencil art exhibition

Yr 10 North Bundaberg High art students exhibition is coming on well.  It is going to look fabulous in Dirty Linen.

Check out this flickr link.

www.flickr.com/photos/petrinamcdonald/

Moreton Bay Art Awards

This blog post was written as a guest blog for ABC Open Wide Bay  http://open.abc.net.au/openregions/qld-wide-bay-71AY7Fz/posts/my-girl-89ob0tk

I travelled to Strathpine last Friday for the official opening of the Moreton Bay Art Awards. It was a wonderful event. The theme for the night was 'black and white' and this added to the special feel of the whole occasion.

There was a real hum of excitement in the air.

Hundreds of entries had been submitted for the competion. The walls were covered with a vast array of works. People roamed through the exhibition, glass of wine in one hand, offering their opinions on the various works. Most finding something they liked amongst the offerings.

The work I had entered into the competition was a digital print of a girl seated and alone in a dark environment. Her body is covered with celestial patterns which transform her into a goddess-like figure.

From their small rostrum, decorated with black and white balloons, the Mayor and other speakers, introduced the business of the night.

The presentations were about to commence. An eery silence fell over the crowd.

Four commendations were given and a local artist was awarded her prize. The audience were most appreciative. .

I was very fortunate then, to have been awarded one of the two major awards. My artwork will also become part of the Moreton Bay Council collection.

I met with the judge Mr Ross Searle and had an interesting conversation with him about my artwork.

It is wonderful to have received this award. It confirms that people are connecting with my work. It builds confidence.

In a practical way, the award will help me to continue my art practice in these difficult economic times and for that I am most grateful.

Next on the agenda is Sydney in October. I can't wait!

                                          

Video bombing the Laundromat

I drove to Hervey Bay to set up my 'Citadels'.  The 'renew' exhibition looks great and I think that Gallery Director, Curator Marj Sullivan is pretty happy with the works that have come in.  I was going to take some pictures to post here, but  when I went to take a photo I got the message on my camera...'no memory card'!!!  So, I will have to be more careful next time.

However, I do have some new pictures to show you as Brad Marsellos and I went video bombing the Laundromat.  Some good results, but this session seemed to be all about learning... and there is so much to learn!! The following stills are by Brad and videos were from my files.   c x
My favourite artwork in 'renew' is a boat sculpture by Trevor Sphor. Very talented fellow!

Packing up

The North Bundaberg High art students exhibition, will come around before we know what has hit us.  I thought I had best start tidying up the studio space, so it can be a 'gallery' for this exciting occasion.

With the exhibition in mind, I have had to dismantle my 'Lifescape' 2 and pack all the 300 or so tins into cardboard boxes.  Tins were stacked inside larger tins, so as to pack more efficiently.  I will weigh and measure the cartons tomorrow and get some firm quotes on freighting them to Sydney.

The exhibition at the Brenda May Gallery (BMG) is not till October, so I will have to be very patient.

I can't wait !!!!!!!!!!!

Today I produced some CMYK files  of 'Lifescape' 2 for the BMG printer, should they be required.  I will send them down on a disc and I have almost finished my artist's statement.

In the meantime, I am working on another of my 'Brides'.  I hope to post a picture of her soon.

Till soon.  C x

Jess

Jess likes this image I made of her after a recent photoshoot..  Inspired by the works of Frida Kahlo of course.
I merged the photo of Jess with a picture taken of the lid of an old biscuit tin.

I like the second image even more.

C x   

PS Thankyou for your comments below!  Lovely to hear from you!

Moreton Bay Art Awards

This week I have been trying to get a work ready for the Moreton Bay Art Awards.I had a few print dramas though and consequently ran out of time to get one in the mail.  I wanted to send a print down to a framer  in Strathpine and have them deliver the finished work to the gallery.  Works were due in today.

So, I drove to Brisbane yesterday.

When the framer and I saw the second print under overhead lights, we decided to have a new one printed by a local printer. So, with that arranged, I left to meet the printer.  He was very helpful and said he would deliver the print to the framer late that afternoon.

Today the work will be framed and then delivered to the gallery.

On my way home I dropped off my tins for the 'renew' exhibition at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery.  I will come back to the gallery next week to set up the 'Citadels'.

I had time to drop in to a couple of charity shops, and true to my beliefs, two fabric bride's horseshoes turned up!!

I chose the one that is completely white as it doesn't compete with the other parts of The Bride.  It almost becomes invisible.  The horseshoe and the wishbone add to the symbolism already in the work. So I will leave The Bride set up this way and see if I have to make any changes later in the week.

The Bride

This is a recent work I think I will call 'The bride wore white'.  I am looking for a white satin horseshoe to finish the piece.  I know I will find it soon.  When you work with found objects, they often seem to come to you when needed.

The rusty old iron gate represent the home of an older generation of women, the fifties I would guess. The white tablecloth represents the bride who's life centred around the family and home.

Objects from the  fifties and sixties are in particular, the objects society is discarding.  The values of that generation seem to be cast aside to some degree also.

I will be making several works about the bride in the next few months. These works also reference recent flooding as in the 'Water Falls 1' piece.


Till soon,

c x

Jiao

A large group of well-wishers joined Brad Marsellos last night to celebrate his birthday.  A 'welcome home' to Clinton Cross was also on the agenda as he had been away on an extended holiday, taking in Egypt, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

We dined out at the Blue Garden, a small chinese restaurant in the central business district of Bundaberg.

I was delighted to meet Jiao there.  She was one of my subjects in the 'Portrait of a Stranger' photographic  project that Brad had been running for ABC Open Wide Bay.
Jiao has been working partime as a waitress at the Blue Garden. She has been really improving her English since I saw her last. Apparently she has been attending a Tafe course of some kind.

Jiao Lee arrived in Australia in February 2011. She had come from Chang Chun, a densely populated city in North Eastern China.

Jiao came to Bundaberg to marry her Australian fiance. She has been helping him on his stall where he sells exotic fish at the Shalom markets.

She is an absolute delight. and has the most captivating smile.  I think I will have to do some more portraits of her.

Brad and Clinton's dinner was a huge success.  I was able to catch up with Petrina re progress with the art students up and coming stencil exhibition.  Apparently there is great excitement over North about this show, and all is going well there. 

The students are very lucky to have such a dedicated and enthusiastic art teacher as Petrina McDonald.  She's also lots of fun!

I am looking forward to meeting the year 10's other art teacher, Megan McFarlane in the near future.


Till soon!   c x

Stencil Art

Dirty Linen Artspace is going  to be the venue for a most interesting art event.  The Year 10 art students from North Bundaberg High School are going to have the first  'Hit and Run' art exhibition to be held in 'The Laundry' event room... the larger of the two spaces available for hire at Dirty Linen.

Brad Marsellos came up with this idea of exhibiting for a couple of days only, and plans to do this for his photographic exhibition in early July.

The students exhibition will only be showing for a maximum of  one or two days....so you will have to be sure not to miss out on seeing it!  North art teacher, Petrina McDonald and I have discussed June 15th, so mark that on your calendar.

Petrina  posted an instagram on fb a week or two ago. It showed a number of pieces of stencil art that her students had been producing.  I was really taken with them.  I couldn't stop thinking about these small self-portraits, some done on scraps of paper or pages torn from notebooks.

The stencilling process denies detail, but  achieves an expressive quality that in some cases is quite haunting.

There are sure to be some surprises on the night.

Talk art soon!  c x

Ring Christine Turner to book your 'Hit and Run' event.  Ph 0402403270 or email: christineturnerau@yahoo.com.au

Hit and Run!

Dirty Linen Art Space will be hosting some very interesting projects in the near future.....the 'Hit and Run' events will be short and sweet , spanning only one or two days at the most.

This format will be excellent for those people that cannot commit to a longer more traditional type of exhibition.

Charges will be quite minimal, so call me if you need any information. 

Attached below are a couple of the works of some very talented young artists who will be exhibiting in Dirty Linen's Laundry ArtSpace in our first 'Hit and Run' exhibition!!

I will tell you all about them tomorrow!    Talk art soon!  c x

Interesting!

An enthusiastic  crowd turned out last night to meet  representatives from Artsupport Australia 's Queensland Manager Fiona Maxwell, Australia Council for the Arts' Chief Executive Officer Kathy Keele and Artslink Queensland Chief Executive Officer Arthur Frame.

They had been on a fact finding tour of regional areas, assessing our needs.

After each of the three guests had made a short informative speech about their organistion, there was time to mingle and to gather up some of the promotional leaflets and books and so on that they had bought with them..

I was especially keen to meet with Kathy Keele of the Australia Council  Having had a grant from the AC in 2005/06, I was keen to tell her that I had just finished my third exhibition of the works I had made back then.  It is highly likely that the Suburban Goddesses will have a few more airings too!

Kathy was very interested in the work that was going on in the Wide Bay area.   She was most encouraging about my work too...(I had given her a photo book and a disc and a few odds and ends).
Kathy may be able to come to my opening at the Brenda May Gallery in Sydney this October. That would be wonderful, so I will keep in touch with her.

Till soon  cx