Isn't it amazing how a chance remark can can lead to all sorts and some least expected outcomes...
A few months back we employed a new member of staff at the bookshop - a lady who had recently moved from South Australia... Over the course of a few shifts together I learnt that she, Wendy was an artist who was wanting to try and break into the Melbourne art scene with her work. Quite a few more shifts and after meeting both E and my sister who is a ceramicist I made a chance remark suggesting that they all team up and have an exhibition locally. Wendy looked at me with a look I have come to know as a 'yes let's do it' which started a ball rolling that will see the three of them exhibiting their work at a local gallery in June 2008.
Meanwhile I was happy to have been the impetus of sorts behind this 'rolling ball' and my involvement would be me ironing the best tablecloth for the supper table and making my famous sausage rolls for opening night and general 'well being person' - nurturing these arty three... But the Universe it seems had other plans and another chance remark by me has me plunged right amongst the art so to speak...
Let me explain - for quite awhile now I have watched E developing her art in quite a few directions as part of her course. Some of her character designs I believe would lend themselves very nicely to textiles interpretation and some of her more simple sketches to embroidery or cross stitch...
Just lately she has been doing a triptych of babushka - Russian stacking dolls - when I happened to say how similar they were to the little fabric doll I started to make last summer. I had also said a couple of times how I would like to stitch a couple of her drawings just to see how they would turn out. E is more than happy for me to 'play' and has encouraged me to do so. But time is always such a factor...
Yesterday E - at the request of a friend's small daughter - painted a large babushka doll on her bedroom wall who by chance had a doona cover with a babushka design. It looked fabulous. This led me into thinking about matching decor cushions and since then my mind has since worked overtime at the possibilities of producing E's designs as soft sculptures/ decor cushions made with bright colourful fabric. Again - just for the fun of doing it and to see how they would turn out.
Somehow I have talked myself into creating some of these sculptures for the exhibition in June. All that I said was that wouldn't a couple of 3-D soft sculpture dolls look good beside the triptych and bingo I have a job to do...
To be honest I am quite excited at the thought - more of the creating than the exhibition - as for awhile now I have been waxing lyrical of wanting to replace one day's work with something I enjoy doing as well as making a little money from it. Now I have both a challenge and a goal to meet. I see this is perhaps a way of the Universe opening that door or illuminating a pathway to an unknown horizon which will enable me to bring about that dream.
A few months back we employed a new member of staff at the bookshop - a lady who had recently moved from South Australia... Over the course of a few shifts together I learnt that she, Wendy was an artist who was wanting to try and break into the Melbourne art scene with her work. Quite a few more shifts and after meeting both E and my sister who is a ceramicist I made a chance remark suggesting that they all team up and have an exhibition locally. Wendy looked at me with a look I have come to know as a 'yes let's do it' which started a ball rolling that will see the three of them exhibiting their work at a local gallery in June 2008.
Meanwhile I was happy to have been the impetus of sorts behind this 'rolling ball' and my involvement would be me ironing the best tablecloth for the supper table and making my famous sausage rolls for opening night and general 'well being person' - nurturing these arty three... But the Universe it seems had other plans and another chance remark by me has me plunged right amongst the art so to speak...
Let me explain - for quite awhile now I have watched E developing her art in quite a few directions as part of her course. Some of her character designs I believe would lend themselves very nicely to textiles interpretation and some of her more simple sketches to embroidery or cross stitch...
Just lately she has been doing a triptych of babushka - Russian stacking dolls - when I happened to say how similar they were to the little fabric doll I started to make last summer. I had also said a couple of times how I would like to stitch a couple of her drawings just to see how they would turn out. E is more than happy for me to 'play' and has encouraged me to do so. But time is always such a factor...
Yesterday E - at the request of a friend's small daughter - painted a large babushka doll on her bedroom wall who by chance had a doona cover with a babushka design. It looked fabulous. This led me into thinking about matching decor cushions and since then my mind has since worked overtime at the possibilities of producing E's designs as soft sculptures/ decor cushions made with bright colourful fabric. Again - just for the fun of doing it and to see how they would turn out.
Somehow I have talked myself into creating some of these sculptures for the exhibition in June. All that I said was that wouldn't a couple of 3-D soft sculpture dolls look good beside the triptych and bingo I have a job to do...
To be honest I am quite excited at the thought - more of the creating than the exhibition - as for awhile now I have been waxing lyrical of wanting to replace one day's work with something I enjoy doing as well as making a little money from it. Now I have both a challenge and a goal to meet. I see this is perhaps a way of the Universe opening that door or illuminating a pathway to an unknown horizon which will enable me to bring about that dream.
