The Obsessions of a Woman of a Certain Age - Cohen & cats

It's been very quiet here lately because I've been frantically preparing for a solo exhibition at 69 Smith Street Gallery, Fitzroy. You might call it a self-indulgent celebration of things I love!

It's installed now, in a small gallery upstairs.  There are two bodies of work - A Taxonomy of (Art) Cats, linocut prints of cats from Art History, organised into pseudo-scientific classifications; and From the Book of L.C., a cluster of small paintings of fragments of Leonard Cohen poetry/lyrics in colourful abstract fields. The opening is on Saturday afternoon - do drop in if you are able!

Here is a peek at the paintings. It's not actually that blue. I was SURE I had the camera on the right setting!

Another print exchange print

 

Earlier this year I decided to participate in three or four print exchanges.  This is for the second one - a  Print People exchange. Relating to the series A Taxonomy of (Art) Cats (read more here.), for these small-print exchanges I've decided upon hybrids - cats that combine elements from two or three sources.  The form of this one is based upon a work by an anonymous 19th century American printmaker working in a naïve style, with markings from a 17th century woodcut from an English publication, The Historie of Four-footed Beastes, compiled by Edward Topsall; and Barbara Hanrahan (Australian printmaker and writer.) I bought myself Annette Stewart's biography of Hanrahan for Mother's Day and it arrived in time for me to incorporate the dotted chest/underbody markings she often used. I hadn't realised that there were cats in a lot of her prints. If you don't know her work here is a link to some of her prints, held in the Art Gallery of NSW. (oh, now that I look, there are lots of cats!)  I read most of her books, both novels and short stories, years ago...think I'll have to dip in again after the biography.

 

 

A Girl Waiting - BookArtObject

I have posted off the first three copies of my BookArtObject artist's book, A Girl Waiting.  Six more to go!  Details of the project can be seen here.
So here are a few images...can't really show any more until I've sent off the others. Linocuts of places the girl might be waiting, obsessively typed reasons and the girl silhouettes all derive from Art History.

Jackie Gorring @ The Light Factory Gallery in Eltham

Just a very quick post to share a couple of images from Jackie Gorring's exhibition Balkote - zing up life, which finishes this Sunday. Jackie is a printmaker who I first met six years ago at the 6th Australian Print Symposium at The National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. I ran into her again at a Print Council of Australia forum in Hobart a couple of years ago and discovered that she had moved from NSW to central Victoria.  I have been fascinated by her inventive low-tech printmaking methods, many of which utilise found material such as polystyrene, packaging and pipe cleaners as matrix.
This body of work was made during an artist residency at Ragini Art Village in Balkote, a few kilometres from Katmandu, late last year.
For more information http://thelightfactorygallery.com.au/exhibitions/current-upcoming-exhibitions/jackie-gorring-printmaker/

Zing up life relief print on canvas

Installation shot - Teeth over Katmandu and Spiralia spiralia, both relief prints on canvas



Watsup relief print on canvas

 

Leftovers

Just printed my edition of 5 x 7" linocut prints for the Leftovers IV print exchange.  Has to be posted by Friday.  Hoping it dries in time!

Some of the edition of Egyptian goddess cat (with Raoul Dufy stripes).

It relates to the series A Taxonomy of (Art History) cats on which I'm currently working. 

 This is a hybrid.

 

My press is up and running!

I bought a second hand etching press two or three months ago but it's taken me all this time to clear a space to set it up to work in.  Finally there!!  There's barely enough room here, but works for the time being.

I have been working away slowly this year with not a great deal to show - cutting lino plates for my artist's book for BAO Edition 4, A girl waiting.  Now the press is up and running I've started printing them. These are some of the places the girl might be waiting.  The girl and her reason for waiting to come.

  I think I'm going to love having my own press!

First post for the year!

When I've left it so long between posts, it becomes more and more difficult to do so.... Will I start with all my excuses...?  Not, this time.    So, I'll just wish all my bloggy friends a happy, productive and fulfilling 2013.
 Haven't made much progress on work to show you, although I have seen a few exhibitions about which I could have written. I enjoyed Elizabeth Banfield's solo exhibition at red gallery, and actually bought a print.  Very happy to have it!  Her work is very beautiful.
Also enjoyed BAZE at Handheld Gallery which has work by a number of you. The gallery reopens next Wednesday, so you could pop in if you are in Melbourne, and catch the end of this - a fabulous exhibition of zines and artist's books.
I should also mention the highlight of my recent exhibition viewing experiences.  I'm not sure whether I've mentioned before that I work in Visitor Services at Heide Museum of Modern Art.  I am so loving soaking up the fabulous Louise Bourgeois exhibitions - Late Works and Louise Bourgeois and Australian Artists - lots of fabric sculptures, fabric drawings, works on paper and the huge spider.  Perhaps because I'm a printmaker and artist who loves working with text, my favourite work is a suite of prints called What is the shape of this problem? -  nine diptychs, letterpress text panels paired with abstract lithographs, intense doodling/patterning (like I do when I'm on the phone).  'The telephone call from the slammer' is the panel that still makes me wobbly just to think about.  The first time I stood in front of the work I got very wobbly indeed!  It's intensely emotive, for me, and quite beautiful. Text fragments from 'The papillion, the ray of hope' and 'To unravel a torment you must begin somewhere' to 'The hour is devoted to revenge'...all very powerful and moving.  The exhibitions are highly recommended!
And just so as this post is not all text here are a couple of proofs of prints for my BAO book, which is very much a work in progress. I am making a book titled A girl waiting.  These are places that a girl might be waiting.... A tram stop in High Street, Northcote,

 the waiting room at Tamworth Station.

And outside Westgarth cinema, Northcote.

The girl and her reasons for waiting are to come.